Mervin (View Profile )

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The brand name will be 'Nurture the Earth' It is your solution to good agriculture. 2 product categories I. Nurture the Earth - Vermicast Organic Fertilizer II.Nurture the Earth - Selected earthworms 2 product categories I. Nurture the Earth - VermiCast Organic Fertilizer II. Nurture the Earth - Selected earthworms

Our organic fertilizer utilizes by-products from already existing processes. By-products refer to food and kitchen wastes from restaurants, bones, blood wastes, and spoilage from supermarket and other organic wastes from agricultural industries such as cotton, sugarcane and oil palm industries. Well-established companies with concentrated sources like Jusco and Tesco will be the initial partners. These providers will be given merits or recognition from practicing good CSR. In return, we will handle their organic wastes at zero cost. With this service, organic wastes can be recycled without having to dispose them on landfills, prolonging the landfills’ lifespan. The wastes will be fed to soil organisms and the feces produced are known as worm cast. These living organic fertilizers are the best type of fertilizer that can be found. The multiplying worm populations will be sold separately to various demands.

‘Nurture the Earth’ not only meets the demands of organic farmers but also the agricultural industry as a whole. Commercialization of this industry would encourage the farming industry to take a more organic approach. With the growing paranoia in the community concerning the side effects of chemical fertilizers in food products, many people are turning to organic products. These products cater to the needs of a health-conscious community. ‘Nurture the Earth’ is a solution to the growing global concern over the environmental problems. We help reduce the wastes that end up on landfills, by turning them into vermicasts that can improve soil structure in your garden or farm. It can increase the water and nutrient holding capacities when the organic matter is added to the soil maintaining the quality of the cultivated land. Most important of all, it heals the environment instead of harming the environment. ‘Nurture the Earth’ provides a hassle-free solution instead of making your own organic fertilizers which could be messy, time consuming and odorous if not handled properly. But if you are keen on DIY, we will have tools and guide to help you get started.

VermiCast is categorized into 3 grades according to their purity and quality. Grade S caters to International demands. Grade A will be for the local agriculture market. Grade B will be affordable to local farmers and consumers. From the picture, earthworms are sold separately to different market as well.

‘Nurture the Earth’ will be a certified Organic fertilizer required by the growing organic farming industries as well as agriculture industries. This will enable us to fulfill the increasing demand of organic farming industries. Besides, we will also produce affordable vermicasts as well as vermicompost organic fertilizers to encourage local farmers to switch to organic farming. This will help to provide the consumer with healthier and better quality food. The manufacturing processes will be advised and monitored by renowned experts in this field headed by Dr. Hasnah Md. Jais from Universiti Sains Malaysia. ‘Nurture the Earth’ products will be manufactured in a tightly controlled environment to ensure our products are constantly at its highest quality and are weed-free as well as free of harmful microorganisms. We also provide consultancy services to support your farm ensuring you better yield and give you the edge in the market. Choosing ‘Nurture the Earth’ and you help to contribute to the recovery of the environment and helping the society. How? The encouragement of switching to organic fertilizers means reduced water pollution caused by leachate of chemical fertilizers to drains and rivers. Most importantly, vermicast will help to recover the cultivated soil to their prestige condition.

My direct competitors would be other organic fertilizer suppliers and also other worm suppliers. The competition is relatively low in comparison to other industries as it is not yet a popular industry in Malaysia. Besides that, the existence of a growing marketing scam in the worm growing industry would discourage potential customers from investing in this industry. The scam offers seminars which provide inaccurate and incomplete information in worm rearing methodology. Some promises quick rich with little effort which is absolutely untrue. Established chemical fertilizer suppliers would be my indirect competitors as our products are of similar functions. As stated above, organic fertilizers are of higher quality compared to chemical fertilizers in many ways.

For vermicast, the price will be according to both grade and quantity. Grade S vermicast will range from RM6-10/kg depending on the quantity ordered. Grade A vermicast will range from RM2-5/kg to promote organic farming. Grade B vermicompost which is a mixture of vermicast and other organic matter, will start from RM1/kg to help the small scale farmer. For selected worms, it will depend on the type of worm requested. The price will depend on a few factors like adaptation, breeding speed, qualities, and benefits. E.g. European night crawler natively to Europe will cost RM100/kg compare to India Blue that cost RM30/kg.

One strong point about this business is that I can start this business in a small scale using limited funds. In fact it has to be started small as we are dealing with living organisms which has high variables. The price money of RM10,000 will be sufficient as a kick start for me to start a small composting facility, home office , maintaining a website and transportation of supplies. It is possible for me to collaborate with School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (I’m a student of this University) under the Supervision of Dr. Hasnah Md. Jais. She is the expert in this field. Estimated costs for Initial Set up for Composting Facility (1st 6 months) 1. Worm Bin Trays RM 400 2. Collection bin RM 200 3. Equipments RM 100 4. 1kg of Tiger worm (Eisenia fetida) RM 300 5. Domain and hosting of website registration RM 30 6. Design Website (USM resources) 7. Composting Facility (USM resources) 8. Home office and stationaries RM 300 Total: RM1330 Estimated operation cost (monthly for 1st 6 months) 1. Wages (me) RM1000 2. Supplies cost (none) 3. Transportation(fuel) RM100 4. Composting Facility (USM resources) 5. Website hosting RM25 6. Home office RM75 Total: RM1200 per month Initial set up of a specially designed a 5-Tray worm bin with 1kg of Tiger worm (Eisenia fetida) will be around RM700 to run as trail. Eisenia fetida is the most prefered species of earthworms for composting purposes. The cost of these earthworms in the market is around RM300/kg. The earthworms population will be projected to double within 3 months. Only kitchen waste and bone waste will be used to feed the worms at this point. To maintain a website it will cost about RM300 per year. Converting my home into home office would require RM300 for an addition of a fax printer and stationaries. More worm bin will be added as the worms populate. With the success of worm-growing and cast-producing, I will start selling to the local farming industries by means like agricultural seminars, resellers, distributors, online orders, direct approach to organic farmers, promoting through clubs, forums, and websites. With the expansion of the composting facilities within 2 years, the production size will allow me separate and classify the cast into different grades to cater different market. At this point of time, the worms can also be sold as they would have multiplied enough to cater to customer demands.

by abd hadi Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:44 AM

correction>>mervin :p

by abd hadi Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:41 AM

hey kelvin..r u running this project now?? or u just find the other job..?? for ur information, im also usm's alumni and now im doing this kind of project/ business with Dr hasnah.. :)

by mong Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:04 PM

Hi Mervin,
Congras on winning!
I'm from Singapore & is interested in vermiculture...
Can u tell me where u get the worms to get started? U can contact me at mong1979@gmail.com
Tks a lot!

by Jazz Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:34 PM

Hi Mervin, I am Jazz.. I am from Penang... My KDU College is launching Green Environmental Project .. I would want to ask if you can collaborate or work out something with us to turn recyclable items into usable items.. =) Drop me a line if you are interested?? thanks... my email JJ_ChanQiWah@hotmail.com or jux text me 016-4157022