Trash Solutions

This is post is about trash.  Yes, in Ghana, trash warrants a whole post all to its self.  You see, there are no fancy trucks that come by with mechanical arms to dump the contents of our neat blue trash dumpster on wheels into its back to be hauled off to someplace where I don't have to think about it again.  (I miss those trucks)  And on top of that, we discovered (which is also something I hadn't given much thought to) that we generate trash like an average American family of seven generates trash -- in VOLUME!  Shortly after we arrived here, we realized trash was going to be a serious problem.  The morning we woke up on our second week and found that Ernestina had hired Joe (now 1 of  our Wego drivers!) to dig a HUGE hole in the front yard to bury our trash, I knew we were going to have to come up with  different plan.

Phase #1:

We implemented a "goat bowl".  At every meal, we had a big bowl where anything and everything that goats would eat was put into that bowl.  Fruit rinds, plate scrapings, all food that was swept up off the floor, EVERYTHING went into the goat bowl.  Then the last thing we did after all the dishes were washed and table was wiped was send one of the kids out the front gate to "feed" the goats (& chickens!).  That spot became a favorite hangout for the neighborhood animals.  :)  

Phase #2:

We separated burnable trash from non-burnable trash.  The non-burnable was packed up to be transported by taxi (or Vytrak vehicle!) out of the neighborhood and the burnable we burned.  Now normally, we are very careful to have the kids in the house by dusk to avoid being bit by malaria infected mosquitos.  But one night, we decided to spray them all down with bug spray and have a bonfire with our trash!  And of course, we had to introduce Ernestina to s'mores.  We found these sweet little graham cracker like crackers from England, some European chocolate, and a marshmallow product that hit the spot!  :)

What's a good bonfire night without glow sticks!