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Two Permaculture Design Courses are to be given in Ethiopia in May and June 2008 by Dr Rosemary Morrow, author of “The Earth Users Guide to Permaculture”

When we arrived in Tanzania, just as when we arrive in most third world countries to do this kind of work, the most serious issues to deal with initially are firstly sanitation, toilet systems, then drinking water, then fire wood systems or sustainable fuel systems, then diverse interactive food production designs.

Tanzania was the same. We stayed in the same town of Musoma where we taught the course regularly visiting the main proposed project site in a village called Kinesi which is 45 minutes by taxi boat across Lake Victoria. This is where the NGO Global Resource Alliance main work focus is situated.

The PDC course was conducted in Swahili which has a lot of Arabic in it and so I could understand some of the Arabic words that were spoken. 40% of the Tanzanian population is Muslim and having worked in a lot of Muslim countries, understanding the culture was therefore easy for me. This helped me relate to the students and the local people in the area.

Westerners don’t realise how big the problems are in most third world countries. To a large extent they are created by the promise of modernism. Greatest of these problems however in third world countries include

• a need for good diversity of food production of an eco systemic style
• good waste system design for grey water
• appropriate toilets
• garbage disposal methods
• good drinking water systems
• a sustainable fuel system.

To first world countries these things are important not just because of the momentary guilt we feel when we see those pretty little starving children on tv commercials asking us for donations, but because the most important promises of “modernism” can provide solutions that will save millions of lives (mostly chilren) and millions of dollars in aid.

Third world people need to fully understand their own problems and the problems of their own lands, and then how they can deal with it themselves without any outside help.

It comes down to a few basic but important things and when these are understood, Third World Populations can actually design their own solutions to their own problems.

Dear Friends of IDEP, Two years after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the province, Aceh is struggling with a new disaster. Torrential rains over the past week have triggered flash floods and landslides which have forced around 300,000 to flee their homes on the island of Sumatra, with Aceh and North Sumatra provinces the worst hit.

As of yesterday reports showed that about 100,000 people were stranded by floods which have claimed at least 110 lives. Water levels, which rose to as high as five meters in some places, have been receding, but today the sky was dark again with clouds. We pray that the rains will not start again.

Officials say a combination of heavy rains and widespread unregulated deforestation are to blame for the flash flooding. By removing dense vegetation the ground is less able to absorb heavy rainfall, creating torrents of water that quickly overwhelm river systems.

The aims of the project were numerous:

• Create a Container Deposit Based Recycling System. Outcome: Aluminium cans and PET bottles pay 5c each at import, Lead-acid Batteries pay $5 Deposit / Refund, Cans and bottles refunded at 20c for five, One cent handling fee ensures system sustainability
• A Fully Operational Materials Recovery Facility. Outcome: $260,000 paid out in refunds; 4.7 million aluminium cans recycled; 800,000 PET bottles recycled; Over 8,000 lead-acid batteries collected. Over 100,000 items per week on average; over 500 cubic metres of crushed waste exported; Equivalent to at least 3,000 cubic metres of landfill.
• Car & Scrap Metal Recycling. Outcome: Over fifty cars and buses have been completely processed, and can now be cut up for scrap. About 500 tons of scrap vehicles and heavy machinery have been collected. The car dismantling area has also been used for training mechanics from the Tarawa Technical Institute mechanics course. The scrap recycling operation has now been turned over to a local business.
• Pre-Paid Geenbags for Landfill Wastes. Outcome: Organic waste in the Landfill at a residual 1-2%.

Outlook for 2006: The Project is completing its work in early 2006, with the recycling system now run by private sector operators under contract with the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD).

For complete info, grab the PDF: http://www.permaculture.org.au/files/KM_Annual_Rep_05.pdf

Please note, the dates have changed for this workshop!

About the situation on the ground around Yogya at this time

The latest reports put the death toll from the Java quake at over 5,800 and sources estimate that some 647,000 people have been displaced and are in need of basic food and shelter.

As night falls over Java, international news services and eyewitness reports from our partners in the field inform us that while more aid appears to be arriving at the now open airport in Yogyakarta. Yet many people whose homes have been destroyed are facing their fifth night without food, shelter, water or even basic medical aid. Assessments from our partners in the field suggest than many thousands more people will spend further nights with out their basic needs met.

Our partners are coordinating with local organizations to identify places where many of the larger NGOs have yet to arrive and are focusing their efforts of delivering emergency aid to areas.

About IDEP’s Emergency Response Activities happening now

Drawing on relationships established during the Aceh disaster, IDEP started working immediately with partners on the ground in Yogya. When the banks opened on Monday, IDEP emptied out its emergency reserve funds (US$10,000) and started wiring money to the partner groups.

Rp 30,000,000 (US$ 3,200) was sent to Kelompok Peduli Bencana / KAPPALA for purchasing emergency supplies of food, shelter and basic medical supplies. This group is running a 24 hour mobile clinic program which is reaching the most remote areas that have little or no other aid whatsoever.

This excellent initiative is in desperate need for vehicles and medical supplies to be able to expand their mobile clinics outreach. Any kind of vehicle that is rugged and can be modified into a mobile clinic such as Kijangs or Panthers would be wonderful. Ideally 4 wheel drives so that the team can continue to access hard to reach isolated places. The team says they are able to increase their current fleet of 2 vehicles up to a maximum of 8 vehicles, should support be available. If you are able to help with this

PLEASE CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY if you are able to donate funds to purchase medicines and other supplies please go to our website: www.idepfoundation.org/idep_donate.php