Stone Flour
Marco Antonio Umaña Aguilar
CCIAL/El Salvador
- Approximate Duration:
45 minutes - Ecological Theme:
Stones
Stone flour or stone powder is made by participants by crushing small and medium-sized stones with a hammer or mallet to strengthen soil used for planting or potting. This avoids the use of environmentally hazardous chemicals.
- Stones to crush.
For each participant you need:
- A hammer or mallet.
- Several fine strainers, they can be homemade or a fine mesh.
- Glasses to protect the eyes.
- Plastic or newspaper.
- Potting soil.
- Small bags for the mixture.
- One pot and one plant per participant.
- Look for small to medium sized rocks near the activity area.
- Put on your glasses to protect your eyes.
- With the hammer, crush the stones on the plastic or newspaper until they are the size of grit or flour.
- We have an older person to supervise or in case you need help
- When finished, collect all the content that everyone managed to get out, then sift it with the strainer.
- Mix with potting soil. The proportion is 1-3% of the total mix.
- Put the mixture in the pot and plant the plant.
At the end of the tour, let’s clean up the site where they worked!
- Beforehand, make sure that the chosen area is large enough for the participants to collect stones and work without causing accidents.
- You should have enough plastic bags on hand to fit the stone flour.
- If the group is very large, divide them into small groups with an assistant to lead and supervise them in each group.
- Teach them the handling of the hammer or mallet, also the necessary precautions to avoid damage, give some safety rules: do not grab the stone while hitting it with the hammer, the use of glasses, keep the necessary distance.
- If it is possible to request extra materials from each participant in advance, do so. (hammer, lenses, strainer, plastic bag, etc.) Otherwise you have them on hand.
- Have soil for the pot, to make the mixture with the stone flour.
- After you have the mixture, place it in the pots and plant a plant.
Note: This activity could also be carried out in planned stages of several days to achieve greater benefit in the preparation of stone flour and obtain greater production at the end.
Pedagogical Stage 5: Being Stewards of Creation
The activities of this stage invite you to take concrete actions to fulfill God’s mandate to care for and preserve his creation. They biblically guide the participants to act in accordance with God’s mandate, not because we feel guilty, but to be obedient stewards to the Creator.
