Sex and Poop: Fertile Earth's 2013 Ladies of Manure Calendar (Photos, Video)

Fertile Earth's Ladies of Manure Calendar 2013

If you've ever toyed with the idea of a kitchen compost -- or growing tomato plants in your own feces, for that matter -- but didn't know where to start, there's a Miami-based organization called Fertile Earth Foundation that would like nothing more than to help you become less wasteful with your, uh, waste. And if this talk about growing tomatoes in your poop didn't get your attention, maybe their calendar of near naked women bathing in tubs of fish excrement will.

Lanette Sobel, creator and co-founder of the Foundation, had the idea for the calendar while at a workshop on a farm in Homestead. "Something inspired me to say, 'I love poop,'" Sobel said, "and one of the other girls, actually a model for the calendar, she really took that to heart. She said, 'I wish more people would say 'I love poop.' And that sparked the idea for a project that would get people more connected to poop, something many are so disconnected from now."

The end result is a whole year's worth of women in their birthday suits and bathing suits, basking in piles of cow feces, squatting on toilet seats, and slathered in all kinds of South Floridian shit. Each calendar shoot was staged on a different sustainable farm in the region, and each model was chosen not just for her lovely lady lumps, but because she contributes in some way to sustainable living in South Florida.

Fertile Earth's Ladies of Manure Calendar 2013 (she's sitting in fish shit!)

"They are all amazing women," said Sobel of her sexy, shit-covered sirens. "Many of them are originally from South Florida. A lot of them have formed their own organizations. Jennifer Secada, for example, did Architecture for Humanity [an organization that seeks architecture and design solutions to global social humanitarian crisis], one has an environmental magazine, another is working on developing aquaponics farming in Puerto Rico, and another is involved with bringing the Moringa Tree, a very nutritious plant that can help eliminate hunger, to Africa. Many of them are certified permaculturists. So they're very smart and passionate women," Sobel said.



Priscilla Schmidt is a certified permaculture designer and a model for the calendar. For her shoot, her first modeling experience, she had to squat half-naked on a composting toilet. But it was worth it, she said. "Despite the shocking name, this calendar is a tasteful synergy of art, sustainability education, and good ol' sex appeal," Schmidt said. "In the male-dominated world of composting, it is quite unusual to find such a large group of females who are willing to get their hands dirty. It's even more rare that they're all incredibly hot!"

Fertile Earth is selling the calendars at 25 bucks a pop through a Kickstarter campaign. The group plans to funnel the proceeds toward funding a number of its initiatives, including bringing "worm workshops" to Title I schools. These workshops are aimed at educating students - and teachers - about composting and recycling.