Vokashi

January 14, 2009 – Brooklyn, NY – Sponsored by Citi Foundation and the Brooklyn Public Library, the 2009 PowerUp! Business Plan Competition came to a conclusion on January 12 at 7:00 pm when the winners were announced.

 Vokashi, the startup composting service, received one of the two Excellence Awards. “Anyone who completes a @#%# business plan is brilliant,” declared Vandra Thorburn, founder of Vokashi. “And, with due respect to our sponsor, we all know there are a bunch bankers out there who have yet to write a business plan!”

“This is a thrill and an honor,” Vandra Thorburn continued, “and there are many people to thank, but my main praise goes to the Japanese Professor who began the EM (effective microorganisms) network twenty years ago. This simple and natural application is happening across Asia, Latin America, Europe and England. It is time for EM to come to the United States!”

Based on the Japanese method of fermented food waste called EM Bokashi, Vokashi is a composting service for individuals, households, small offices and catering companies wishing to recycle their food waste. Fermenting food waste prevents the food waste from putrefying which means there are no bad smells, odors; no pests, insects or pathogens. Having a new way to handle food waste introduces a dramatic solution the problem of rotting food waste.

There are many problems associated with urban food waste, however, from an environmental point of view, the biggest problem is the methane gas emissions produced in landfills which contribute nearly 34% of all man-made methane gas released in the U.S.

Also, there are huge municipal costs associated with waste management. The NYC budget for 2010 allocates $333 million just for ‘exporting’ municipal waste of which 1/3 is organic matter. “The City could use $111 million of that budget for recycling programs,” says Vandra Thorburn.

“There are very few options for city dwellers – the green-at-hearts living in an urban environment – to recycle their food waste. Fermenting food waste is simple, safe and secure and could be a huge breakthrough for the entire composting community. Hundreds of thousands of people could be recycling their food waste.”

Fermenting Food Waste

“We're not talking about pickling food extras to preserve them for later consumption,” says Shig Matsukawa, a New York consultant familiar with the Japanese EM Bokashi method. “We're talking about pickling all food waste – vegetable scraps, meats, fish, dairy and fatty and oily foods as a precondition for composting.”

As with traditional pickling, fermenting will naturally preserve the food waste. This is important in the recycling process for two reasons: antioxidants are produced to help preserve and stave off decay, and the preservation makes it possible to keep the food waste in air-tight containers for extended periods of time (just like pickled foods) until they can be used.

            Fermenting food waste also increases the number of beneficial or good microbes which are key players in preservation producing the antioxidants and enzymes. The enzymes, among many other functions, help to break down lignin. Good microbes are also necessary when the food waste ends up in the soil. Among the many factors necessary for rich, healthy soil, is the

presence of a vibrant population of microorganisms.

Most important, though, the fermentation process actually helps to break down

the lignin, the fibers and stringy structure, in foods: vegetables, fruits, as well as, seeds and

seed shells. This makes it easy for the food waste, once fermented, to quickly break down when

buried in the soil or added to a compost pile or vermi-compost bin where the worms can

go through the food waste much more quickly.

A Unique Service

Vokashi’s composting service provides customers with EcoSmart recycled plastic airtight bucket and bran. Vokashi produces the bran inoculated with effective microorganisms to ferment the food waste.  EM-1® – a trade protected solution containing lactic acid, yeast and phototropic bacteria creates a mix of ‘safe’ microorganisms which is combined with wheat bran, molasses and water. The bran stabilizes the organic matter preventing it from putrefying or rotting. No rotting food, no smells, odors, pests or flies.

Vokashi demonstrates how easy it is to use and will pickup full buckets and provide fresh buckets and bran. Vokashi guarantees to compost fermented food waste in community gardens or urban farms or dedicated composting sites to produce nutrient-rich top soil and mulches.

While Vokashi is a niche service between commercial carters and funded environmental recycling programs, it will advocate for expanded municipal recycling programs now that there is a viable method for handling food waste.

“We are still at the beginning of our endeavor,” says Vandra Thorburn. “There are tests and pilot programs that need to be accomplished. But based on how EM technology is being used around the world, I am positive that collecting fermented food waste will play a significant role in the green revolution.”

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2009 POWERUP! FINALISTS

GRAND PRIZE WINNER ($15,000):

Inside Out Tours, Stacey Toussaint & Sheila Collins (Prospect Heights 11238)

As Borough President Marty Markowitz says, “112 is the zip that’s hip.”  Inside Out Tours will offer “off the beaten path” cultural walking and bus tours of Brooklyn designed to give visitors an intimate look at the artistic, social and cultural diversity of the borough. The Company’s mission is to bring tourist dollars to local communities, as well as to introduce visitors and residents alike to history and vitality of Brooklyn.

SECOND PLACE WINNERS ($5,000 each):

Vokashi – kitchen waste solution, Vandra Thorburn (Clinton Hill 11238)

A simple, natural solution to disposing of kitchen refuse, this firm will give residential households and small catering companies the tools to recycle their food waste. Using innovative technology, the business creates a product that quickly ferments discarded food and distributes it to composting sites where it becomes organic soil.  The process is natural and easy and sure to appeal to Brooklyn’s eco-friendly residents. 

Organic Bed-Stuy, Evelyn Oliver & Darell Brown (Bed-Stuy 11216)

Organic Bed-Stuy will be an organic grocery store located in Bedford Stuyvesant that will offer quality food at affordable prices to a neighborhood that lacks enough healthy food choices.  Through an agreement with a farm in New Jersey, the store will offer appealing fresh and local produce and will focus on the cultural make up of Bed-Stuy, offering recipes and dietary information.  Supported by an advisory board of food consultants committed to making healthy food an option, this venture is sure to become a much needed fixture in the neighborhood.

ADDITIONAL POWERUP! WINNERS

Merit Award Winners ($750 each)

1. 86 List, Gregory Fanslau and Laura Werts (Park Slope, 11215)

Networking and job posting website for the NYC restaurant business.

2. Pop Up Plus, Camille Newman (Canarsie, 11236)

Pop-up stores for plus size women.

3. NCS Enterprises, Inc., Simeon Doytchinov (Marine Park, 11229)

A software company which offers a multi-dimensional reporting application.

Honorable Mentions ($500 each)

1. Brooklyn-Based Coconut Expressions, Bridget Goldsmith (Flatbush, 11225)

Coconut milk based ice cream products made with all natural ingredients.

2. Mama’s Boys Café and Collectibles, Patrick Guglielmo and Eric J Snyder (Clinton Holl, 11238)

A neighborhood café that will offer a place to relax in a comfortable setting filled with vintage antique collectibles that are not only decorative, they are for sale!   Currently looking for space on Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill.  

3. KinderKALENDARS, Emily Morgan (Beorum Hill, 11217)