Compost Tea

This is my dads solution to urban kitchen waste. He trains people how to maximize the utility of the resources around them to increase crop yield using bio-intensive techniques that don't require much monetary or labor input. One of the major components to his training (of peace corps volunteers, heads of households, and farmers,) is the use of compost which is a new concept to most. In urban areas there is very little space for crops let alone a compost pile (which also smells due to the input of kitchen waste i.e.. veg/fruit scraps.) To confront this issue my dad designed a contraption made of easily available and cheap materials which allows poverty strickened, cramped urban dwellers to recycle their kitchen waste. He took a large, sealable barrel and poked a few holes about halfway up the barrel to provide ventilation. He then poked a hole right at the bottom of the barrel with a little chute coming out of it. The barrel thus acts like a smaller contained compost pile allowing the vegetation to rot (he suggests a combination of fruit, veg, wood chips from the surrounding stables and dry leaves from the neighborhood.) A little water starts the process and as the cocktail starts to disintegrate it exits the barrel through the bottom hole forming a sort of "compost tea" which my father then cuts with water so that the mixture doesn't burn the plant roots to which this concoction is then directly applied. I thought this was a great way to maximize the use of local products to maximize the crop yield upon which families are completely dependent. To see a picture of my fathers contraption follow this link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=484508511582300&set=a.102210999812055.5269.100000694654252&type=1&theater