Feb 10, 2020
MakeSoil.org is a global movement and platform mobilizing humanity to make soil together on a planet-saving scale. MakeSoil’s online platform matches Soil Makers (who make compost) with Soil Supporters (who give their food scraps to be composted) by allowing Soil Makers to post their Soil Sites to an online map and invite their neighbors and friends to participate.
The MakeSoil platform launched in late 2018 by Josh Whiton. However, it was really back in 2009 that the concept was born. “Back then I was living in a suburban apartment block in Raleigh, North Carolina where all the residents were throwing their food scraps in the trash to be taken to landfills. So one day I knocked together some discarded wooden pallets into a compost bin and knocked on my neighbors’ doors inviting them to start giving their food scraps to me,” Josh tells us.
He further explains, “People instantly loved having an opportunity to do something good for the environment, and as I began to master the art of soil making, they were amazed by the soil-making process.” The experience re-connected people with nature, brought the building’s residents together, and revealed the truly awesome potential of people simply making soil together.
MakeSoil Tackling Environmental Challenges
The big challenge, and opportunity, facing humanity right now is how to progress from destroying the planet to regenerating it, and it all starts with soil, for many good reasons.
Diverting food waste from landfills and using it to make soil has many benefits for the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and capturing carbon in various ways. It also provides the basis (i.e. the soil) for the decentralized food system the world requires.
However, the most fundamental environmental challenge that MakeSoil tackles, is how to get the billions of people out there who are so preoccupied with their everyday lives, to care about the environment, to feel a personal connection and responsibility for taking care of it. Because no matter where you are, the small pieces of nature that each of us are in charge of every day, are the food scraps we have leftover in our kitchens and sometimes our plates. And this moment, when we either scrape them into the trash or save them for composting, is a daily opportunity to treat the ‘nature’ on our plate differently, with honor and respect.
What’s more, when people watch their humble scraps, under the care of a good Soil Maker, turn into rich, living soil within months or weeks, this leads to a transformative experience. They witness first hand how the planet heals and renews itself, and gain a greater sense of how our human lives can be harmonized with nature. We call this feeling ‘Earth empathy’, and we’ve seen how it can drastically change people’s behavior to be more eco-conscious.
MakeSoil In Urban Environments
MakeSoil is perhaps best suited for such dense urban environments. That’s because a huge amount of food scraps are generated in these places, which then get taken out of the cities by gas-guzzling trucks, either to landfills or industrial composting sites. When instead local communities can come together to compost their own scraps with MakeSoil. All these nutrients stay within the city and can be used to grow food locally and benefit the city.
MakeSoil also helps alleviate social isolation and disconnection that many people feel living in cities. It turns out that making soil together is one of the most enjoyable community activities you can get involved with, caring for the planet while also rebuilding the community.
Josh explains, “The movement has started well with huge numbers of Soil Makers and Soil Supporters joining all around the world, as you’ll see on our online map. However, our ultimate goal is to see a Soil Site in every single neighborhood in the world, with pretty much the whole of humanity participating, so we still have quite a long way to go!”
Josh Whiton is an impact entrepreneur blending technology and business with active care for the planet. The companies, projects, and planetary interventions he serves aims to harmonize society with nature, catalyze a regenerative economy, and elevate human consciousness.