The Magic Gamla Pot

By: Trupti Godbole | Govind Mukundan | Poonam Bir Kasturi
Illustrated by: Radha Ramachandran

Saving the Earth seems to be the latest mantra in today's world. Everywhere we look there is green consciousness, so much so it's trendy now to "Go Green". But like everything else, going green begins first and foremost at home. And who better to reach out to, than the youngest generation at home. After all, it's them we're saving the Earth for! But recycling and conserving are complicated topics for your average 4 year old. And that is where this book scores.

This first section of this activity based book by Daily Dump is a story of the leftovers from Mummy's cooking, what is referred to as 'kachamucha waste'. ( The very word 'kachamucha' is sure to elicit giggles from the little ones) What happens to these banana peels, fish and egg shells, the where do they all go?.

They all go into a magic pot - Grandma's gamla pot.

Peels and stale food of any type,
Go and dump in the Gamla pipe.
Worms and boochies too small to see
Will eat my kachamucha waste for free!

And then what happens? Magic! ofcourse. 'Boochies' (worms, bacteria and insects) eat their way through the kachamucha and convert them into compost. Compost you can use to feed the plants in your garden. Composting 101! All in a rhyme with cute pictures to boot.

There's a second section, that has lots of questions, additional information related to living/non living things, fermentation, fun facts about 'boochies', and a detailed look into the biology of composting (definitely for the adult) and ends with a step by step guide to making your own Gamla pot. Parents reading this book beware - now you have a knowledgeable consumer in your hands, who will watch hawk eyed to see if you're throwing away the waste of your house instead of dumping it into the magic Gamla pot!