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About
About Us
My name is Aaron and I am the owner of www.compost-bin.org. This website was developed to help build an awareness of the benefits of composting, as well to give the author Mario Lopez (see “Composting Articles“) a voice on the internet. Mario’s writings on composting are fresh and complete, he studied the subject with the same intensity he has for martial arts so I know you will enjoy them! You also will find the latest in composting news displayed on our homepage as well as interviews with experts in this interesting field. My plan is to make this the #1 place to go for anything related recycling organic materials.
Composting Capoeiristas
About Mario Lopez
My first experience with, composting, was a magical experience. My father would always take my brother and myself to the Pow Wows and go camping on the weekends. At the Pow Wows, to the sound of a drum and over the campfire light at night, we would hear stories about ancient warriors, heroic shawmen, the spirits and nature itself. We learned how to deal with our wastes in a spiritual way. We learned that we are one with nature, that from nature we came, and to nature we return, and no amount of ambition or greed could ever change that.
I never thought much of it after growing up, until my third year at the University of Sao Paulo. It was my vision quest at age 12 that took me to Brazil. The quest, has brought me thus far, I speak Portuguese fluently, tell enchanting stories in both languages, and walk the path of a true warrior. Composting, martial arts and college all went into developing that path. A warrior, as with the soldier or the fighter, in a time of war, is a lethal killing machine, effective and unstoppable. But what makes the warrior different is that unlike the soldier, who, in a time of peace has no purpose but to follow orders, and the fighter merely that of an exhibitionist, or entertainer, a warrior has a vital role in society. In a time of peace, the warrior is a hunter, a fisherman, a farmer, teacher, a scientist or a leader. In a time of peace, the warrior is something that neither a soldier nor a fighter, ever are. In a time of peace a warrior is useful. Useful to his people, both in war and peace, that is a true warrior.
I educate others about composting and Capoeira is my chosen martial art. Capoeira was developed by the African slaves in Brazil some time in the last 200 years, it came from the cellars and slave pits, as it came from the escaped slaves in free villages hidden away in the Atlantic jungles. When slavery was abolished Capoeira was outlawed and Capoeiristas knew once again the agony of chains. But Capoeira grew… and won its freedom. it’s a mystical martial art of the oppressed, and is honored for its survival. I have studied Capoeira since I was 17 years old, and in all my years of study I have learned something so important. “Freedom” is ours, but not equality.
Capoeira was considered dangerous, falling into criminality and black magic, because it was a weapon in the hands of a crushed people that had suffered for hundreds of years in the hands of slave traders. Their heritage, their stories, their religion, their countries, their families and their homes were stolen from them, by the greed of a chaotic and ambitious western culture. But we rebuild. We grow, and Capoeira grows with us. Capoeiristas no longer need black magic, those who still practice it, do so because they are stuck in the past. Living hatred and despair… They have only known poverty and oppression their whole lives, and take it with them into the prisons. Systems built to forget about the crimes western ideals inflicted on an innocent people.
The children who I teach in the ghetto, learn a Capoeira that wants to grow. And with it they learn the truth about who they are, where they come from, and what their real limitations are in life and nature. They learn… to hope.
We compost because no one else will, or wants to. We show that human fecal material was not, meant to be discharged into the river behind the house. People learn that human fecal material needs to be composted. And by doing this, people learn about themselves. They see hope… where the small, one room wooden sheds… filled with five to six people, would, on any other Saturday, only show despair and hate. Hate for the people in the overlooking three story seven bedroom houses up on the hill, not even 400 meters from their families shed. Hate for the police that beat their son, because he was a “suspect,” or shot their mutt because he growled when they invaded the family shed. Some would say composting has nothing to do with Capoeira. But my students, and myself, would tend to disagree. Disagree because composting like Capoeira, rebuilds a people who have lost their very essence and a region in great need of environmental repair.
This is a free, educational resource; if you would like to reprint an article on your website please contact us after reading our guidelines.
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