In Trinidad and Tobago, current waste management practices for vegetative cuttings face issues of environmental and economic sustainability. The vast majority of vegetative cuttings generated by agencies such as CPEP, households, and agriculture end up in any number of landfills or burned.

This practice results in the production of greenhouse gases, exacerbates landfill fires and reduces air quality, furthermore it is a waste of valuable organic material. In addition, communities involved in CEPEP face uncertain livelihoods, as their employment is dependent on the government?s ability to support these programmes financially.

Finally, farmers face increasing costs for agricultural inputs which are not produced locally. With increasing national focus on agriculture production of inputs such as compost must increase.

It is important, therefore, to establish ventures that promote sustainability as an impact and a process; improving the state of the environment while producing sustained livelihood options for people

No turn rapid composting presents an economically sustainable livelihood options which can simultaneously, improve waste management practices for vegetative cuttings and contribute to local agricultural production. This method enables the conversion of vegetative cuttings such as grass and dried leaves into rich odorless compost in 6-8 weeks with minimal input. The Spring Village council proposes the development of a community based composting facility which can integrate into local waste management and agricultural activities.

Specifically, this project proposes the implementation of a planning grant in order to achieve the following objectives;
? Examine the Economic and financial feasibility of the Community composting project
? Examine the potential environmental benefits and the potential agricultural benefits of the Community composting project
? Build the capacity of the Spring Village community, specifically in the areas of composting technologies and strategic visioning abilities.

Overall this planning grant aims to enable the thoughtful and strategic development of the community composting project while taking the time to build relationships with external stakeholders, and examine all of the potential risks to such a project.