Composta SMA / Composting Program for San Miguel de Allende

Published December 26, 2021

By Kim Malcolm
Originally published in the UUSMA Newsletter

When Daniela Del Villar was 7 — and San Miguel was a little wilder — she attended a workshop that changed her forever. The workshop was about composting.  It was lead by Silverio, a passionate environmentalist who owns Pronto Pizza next to Iglesia San Antonio church. Silverio’s composting workshop and the composting comic books he later wrote helped Daniela understand the importance of taking care of San Miguel’s soil. Since then, she’s been composting, educating communities about composting, and installing community composting facilities.

For Daniela, organic waste is precious. “Some people still see a compost pile as a garbage mountain,” she says. “But a well-designed compost should not smell or cause problems with wild animals. The same material in the right place is gold, and in the wrong place is poison.”

Four years ago, Daniela started Composta SMA, a non-profit organization with a mission to educate local communities about composting and facilitate composting efforts. The program has changed since its beginnings to accommodate customer needs and get funding, and it’s finally reaching critical mass. Today, Composta SMA has 60 customers who turn in their organic waste to Daniela every week. At the end of the month, customers get composted soil delivered to their gardens.

Composta’s customers love the project. Susan Page of Writers’ Conference fame says, “Turning our waste into compost is the perfect opportunity to be the change we want to see in the world. They are making it happen locally!”

Another customer, Ron Lenox, calls composting “the logical, ethical, humane, sustainable and smart thing to do.”

Daniela hopes to create a replicable program that can be scaled to suit a larger group of clients and cities. She’s already conducted workshops in other countries and different regions of Mexico to advocate for better care of the land, especially as climate change is increasingly dictating better stewardship of natural resources.

One of her clients, Kate Van Doren, says it perfectly: “Composting could change the future and we are excited to be part of this change.”

If you want to be part of the change, contact Daniela compostasma@gmail.com or visit Composta’s website to learn more.  https://www.compostasma.com/

Composta SMA / Composting Program for San Miguel de Allende

♦ What is it? Weekly organic waste collection service at home with buckets that returns compost every month.

♦ Where? San Miguel De Allende (service delimited to an area 3 kms from Centro.  Service available for los Frailes)

♦ How much? $ 500 pesos for registration and $ 360 monthly payment ($ 90 for each collection)

• • Register right here Registration is $ 500 pesos and it is a single payment.

  • For the monthly payment we will send you a payment request to your email.

♦ How many? The bucket is 20 liters.

• • You can get together with friends and neighbors and share the expense.

  • You do not need to fill it, the amount we collect is recorded and it is the amount of compost you will get.

  • You can also become a green guardian and make your group of friends and be a collection point. You will get many benefits.

♦ Share this page with your neighbors and friends so that together we can reach our goal! A GREENER FUTURE