If there’s anything you should be throwing into the Pasig River, it should be Mabuhay or Bokashi balls. And perhaps some love.
Last night, I saw a post on Facebook about these balls of mud. Published by Kester Ng Wee, a second-year Intarmed student from the University of the Philippines Manila, the post reads, “The Mabuhay Balls, cheaply sold by the Asian Social Institute for 15 pesos a ball, facilitates the growth of algae, dilutes silts, regulates ammonia levels, and suppresses pathogens in the pond. As a plus, it reduces the foul odor you can smell in these areas!”
In other words, these balls are one of the many ways we can clean Pasig River or any other bodies of water in the country.
Originally conceived by the Japanese, Bokashi balls are mixtures of garden soil, molasses, bokashi or rice hull (protecting coverings of rice grains), and effective microorganism (EM) solution. The EM solution has microorganisms that consume bad bacteria in the water. Good bacteria would multiply in the garden soil and the molasses would serve as their food for faster multiplication.
According to a news feature in GMA’s State of the Nation, Bokashi balls and cleanup drives revived the Angono River in Rizal. They’re the first municipality in the country to widely use these mudballs.
If you plan to make some but have no time to source the ingredients needed, you can buy ready made mud balls from the Asian Social Institute.
Fortunately, the post, which was part of Wee and his friends’ project for a science subject, has since gained attention on Facebook. Our waters are still in danger as well as the people who reside near them. In another article, we’ve listed some activities you can participate in to help. Read the story here.
Header image courtesy of Earthventure, Inc.
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