In my family we have always composted our kitchen scraps. My parents have a big compost heap in their garden. Since I moved out, I have been working to find a way that I can compost in my own garden. I have yet to find the right practice. I usually just toss my scraps in a hole in my garden and burry it. I once learned about giving back to the land with “offerings”. I cant remember where or when I learned it, but it helped me understand “An Offering” by Robin Wall Kimmerer much better. I have long considered my composting practice a way of giving back to the earth that feeds me, and her words on a simple practice becoming a ceremony. She said “The power of ceremony marries the mundane to the sacred” and that is what I consider as my offerings to the land. I offer it leftover food and I also pour the water from my fish tank in my garden every time I do a water change (bi-weekly). I see this as something that the soil with appreciate. I see my offerings as a way to take care of the earth that takes care of me. I found her idea of “leave this place better than you found it” quite inspiring. For this weeks visual representation, I decided to play with my compost a bit. I drew faces on some egg shells!
Kimmerer, R. W. (2015). Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and the teachings of plants. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions.