Government pensioner makes mud balls to treat water

A government pensioner’s sheer doggedness to make mudballs to purify water enabled him and his wife to earn an income of RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month since 2010.

The couple, Mohd Nashir Yaacob and his wife Ramlah Salim, both 61, made mudballs from organic materials at their house in a village which found a high demand in Kelantan and outside the state.

‘’Hearing customers often complain of persistent problems with water such as having foul and fishy smell and rust, I suggested that they use mudballs to purify the water and the move proves effective.

‘’The process of making mudball goes through a storage and fermentation process of up to two weeks. So, 1,200 mudballs are made in a month which are packed into 400 packages and sold at RM10 each,’’ he told reporters in Kampung Che Arus Kok Lanas, Ketereh here, yesterday.

He said the mudballs could be used in water catchment pond, river, well, drain, toilet and canvas fish cage to purify problematic water.

Mohd Nashir, or more popularly called Pok Sir, said the materials for making mudballs, namely, clay, padi husk, a microbial solution, effective micro-organisms (EM) and red sugar went through a storage and fermentation stage.

He said they were then mixed and moulded into mudballs.

‘’The materials used functioned to break down all forms of contaminations in the water, raising the quality of water to a safe level to be used for farming, fisheries and livestock rearing.

‘’Mudballs which are ready must be stored in a shaded area or room temperature for a one week fermentation process and, a reactivation of the microbes must be done, if it exceeds six month,’’ he said.

Commenting further, he said the mudball could also stabilise the alkalinity (pH) of the water, reduce bad smell and break up organic molecules and garbage wastes.

-- BERNAMA