Letters from Jordan: ‘Greening the Desert – the Sequel’ Site Contrasts Against Jordan Insanities
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conservation, Consumerism, Deforestation, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Plant Systems, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Urban Projects, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor November 8, 2011
Staring into the eyes of the future of Jordan, one wonders how things could be….
All Photographs © Craig Mackintosh
Al Jazeera’s very recent feature of the new ‘Greening the Desert’ site
Introduction
Why did the photojournalist cross the road? It sounds like the beginning of a joke, and, in a way, it was. I was standing at a busy road in Amman, Jordan, contemplating crossing. I say ‘contemplating’ as there were three lanes in each direction, and the traffic was moving fast. Several hundred metres away I spied a pedestrian overpass, but, before reason could sway impulse, I saw an opening and took it. Then, with three lanes behind me, standing proudly on the 1-metre wide centre strip, it seemed that the deity in charge of roads decided to conspire against me…. In the 37°C+ heat, I watched, waited, and then watched and waited some more. The minutes dragged by. A few times I ventured one foot forward, only to snatch it back again. The sun blazed. I began to have visions of being stuck here until the traffic slowed in the evening….
Comments (16)Getaway Films Talks to David Spicer About Water Issues in Morocco (Video)
Aid Projects, Conservation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Irrigation, Land, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Trees, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor November 5, 2011
Here’s a sneak peek at Morocco — looking at water issues and the need to relearn traditional catchment management whilst adding in modern permaculture techniques of water harvesting and food forest development. David’s point about market gluts due to farmers all growing the same crop and harvesting it all at the same time is an important one. Diversity is stability — ecologically and economically.
Duration: 5 minutes
Why Food Forests?
Conservation, Deforestation, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Food Shortages, Health & Disease, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Soil Composition, Soil Conservation, Structure, Trees — by Angelo Eliades October 21, 2011
We’re all familiar with the concept of forests — lush, abundant expanses of pristine wilderness, teeming with life, a richness of biodiversity and awe-inspiring to behold. Trees and plants intertwined, filling every possible space, the very well-spring of life itself!
Forests exist fine on their own. There’s no mowing, weeding, spraying, or digging required. No pesticides, fertilisers, herbicides or nasty chemicals. No work and no people either. They somehow do very well, thank you.
Now, imagine if everything in this lush, abundant, spectacular forest was edible!
Comments (36)The Rodale Institute’s 30-Year Farming Systems Trial Report
Compost, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Food Shortages, GMOs, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Irrigation, Land, News, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Society, Soil Biology, Soil Composition, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor October 13, 2011
 The Rodale Institute’s 30-year Farming Systems Trial report (1.3mb PDF) |
The Rodale Institute has been, for a full 30 years now, conducting a long-term comparative Farming Systems Trial. Starting in 1981, when it was already abundantly clear that industrialising nature was creating far more problems than it solved, the Rodale Institute began documented research comparing organically fertilised fields and conventionally fertilised fields on its 330 acre farm in Pennsylvania, USA.
It’s the longest running comparative study of its kind in the world.
In time for their trial’s 30-year anniversary, the institute has put out a report outlining its documented observations. You can download this report via the link at right.
This report is one of several well-researched reports that have come out in recent years, including the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Failure to Yield report (which proves GMOs do not perform as claimed) and the IAASTD’s 400-scientist-strong, 3-year worldwide study (which concluded we need to quickly transition back to relocalised, diverse, agroecological methods).
Comments (6)Rhamis Kent: Permaculture in Somalia (IPC10 Presentation – Video)
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conferences, Developments, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor October 7, 2011
Rhamis Kent speaking at the Tenth International Permaculture Conference
(IPC10), Amman, Jordan, September 2011
Photograph © Craig Mackintosh
The PRI’s Rhamis Kent talks about the situation in Somalia — including the so-called ‘aid’ work presently underway, with its short-term business oriented methods and the social blackmailing it encourages, and constrasts it with the more holistic Permaculture aid methods we are now seeking to bring to the beleaguered nation. The latest good news I’ve had from Rhamis is that Somalia’s Environment Minister has given a big thumbs up to Permaculture and has offered assistance for us to start to wedge Permaculture concepts into the country.
I can’t help but get excited about the potential for Permaculture goodness bringing peace, health and happiness to Somalia. Imagine one day our being able to bring you reports of smiling faces and peaceful and purposeful collaborative success from Somalia as we did recently with Tanzania?
Watch the video below to see Rhamis’ excellent presentation. If you want to follow along with more visible slides from Rhamis’ Powerpoint presentation, you can download that here (14mb Powerpoint) or here (5mb PDF).
Comments (0)Tony Rinaudo: “Against the odds: Reversing desertification in arid and semi arid lands” (IPC Presentation – Video)
Aid Projects, Animal Forage, Biodiversity, Community Projects, Conferences, Deforestation, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Land, Medicinal Plants, Nurseries & Propogation, Plant Systems, Presentations/Demonstrations, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Seeds, Trees — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor October 3, 2011
Tony Rinaudo’s IPC10 conference presentation was one of the highlights of the event for three good reasons — 1) because of the scale of impact his Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) work has achieved (more than 30,000 km² of re-greened, regenerated land to date); 2) the utter simplicity — and thus doability — of this work (it requires no financial investment or out-of-reach technologies, only a little educational guidance and community collaboration), and 3) the speed at which this regeneration can occur and lives can improve.
We’ve brought people’s attention to FMNR before…
… and now I have the great pleasure of being able to share Tony’s IPC10 conference talk in high definition video (at top). Note: If you want to see the slides in higher quality, you can download Tony’s presentation (9mb Powerpoint) and click through it in a different window as Tony talks if you like.
Readers can also download:
Comments (3)From the Mara Soil – a Film About Simple and Natural Solutions to Poverty, Hunger and Disease
Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Energy Systems, Food Forests, Food Shortages, Health & Disease, Land, Medicinal Plants, Rehabilitation, Society, Village Development, Waste Systems & Recycling — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 29, 2011
What if global hunger, poverty and disease could be solved with resources already at our disposal?
A film directed by Steve Schrenzel
It was a pleasure to meet Tara Blasco and Lyn Hebenstreit at the Tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10) in Jordan this month. Tara and Lyn have been deeply involved in a Tanzanian success story that you’ll quickly become immersed in via the excellent new documentary above.
Comments (7)Brad Lancaster: “Urban Water Harvesting Systems” (IPC Presentation – Video)
Biological Cleaning, Conferences, Conservation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Irrigation, Potable Water, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Storm Water, Urban Projects, Waste Water, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 28, 2011
Brad Lancaster presents at the IPC10, Amman, Jordan, Sept. 2011
Photographs © Craig Mackintosh
Brad of harvestingrainwater.com has well-honed presentation skills — urban water harvesting has never been more interesting and compelling than after Brad has laid it all before you, and injected no small measure of fun and humour into it as well. I applaud Brad’s valuable contribution to the permaculture toolkit, as I’m sure will you after watching the video below!
Comments (4)Roberto Perez Rivero: “Permaculture’s Use of Water in Time of Climate Change – the Cuban Experience” (IPC Presentation – Video)
Biodiversity, Community Projects, Conferences, Conservation, Consumerism, Deforestation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Irrigation, Presentations/Demonstrations, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor
Roberto Perez Rivero gives his presentation at the IPC10, Amman, Jordan
Photographs © Craig Mackintosh
Roberto Perez Rivero gave an excellent presentation at the Tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10). Watch it below. As the projector wasn’t the best, you may also want to make use of the links below to download the slideshow from this talk so you can click through those in a different window as Roberto speaks:
Comments (2)German Military Peak Oil Study – Full English Translation
Biofuels, Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 3, 2011
 Peak Oil: Security policy implications of scarce resources Download PDF (1.77mb) |
In previous articles (here and here) we’ve linked to the German language version of a study recently undertaken by the German military on the topic of peak oil, and we also linked to a couple of English summary-only translations as well. Now we can link you to a full English translation!
It’s great that this landmark document is being made more accessible.
It’s quite a fascinating analysis, where you can begin to envision some of the oft-not-discussed implications of peak oil — like how oil can be used by producer states as a weapon to enforce their particular ideologies and/or political and economic agendas on oil-dependent states. Current allegiances between nations may be broken up and reshuffled as politicians prioritise good relationships with oil-rich countries, no matter what those countries might be doing in other areas. Hypocrisy can become the new norm, as authoritarian regimes get empty for-show lectures on human rights on the one hand, whilst being mollified and propped up with oil dollars on the other.
Comments (1)Introduction to Food Sovereignty: Food and Democracy (Download the E-Book!)
Consumerism, DVDs/Books, Economics, Food Shortages, Society, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor August 30, 2011
 Download the Food and Democracy e-book (1.75mb PDF) |
To give some excellent reading for the readerholics amongst you, regular contributor Marcin Gerwin has put together an excellent collection of articles to create a highly readable e-book focusing on food sovereignty — the necessity for it, the challenges to achieve it, and the solutions associated with it.
Produced by 17 authors from around the world, attacking the same topic and interconnected issues from different angles, this is a great read and is not only a valuable overview of the crisis we face but ships with excellent holistic suggestions for how we can extricate ourselves from it.
Read it, enjoy it, and please do circulate it!
Nice work Marcin!
Comments (7)Expanding Deserts, Falling Water Tables, and Toxic Pollutants Driving People from Their Homes
Deforestation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Population, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Earth Policy Institute August 28, 2011
by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
People do not normally leave their homes, their families, and their communities unless they have no other option. Yet as environmental stresses mount, we can expect to see a growing number of environmental refugees. Rising seas and increasingly devastating storms grab headlines, but expanding deserts, falling water tables, and toxic waste and radiation are also forcing people from their homes.
Advancing deserts are now on the move almost everywhere. The Sahara desert, for example, is expanding in every direction. As it advances northward, it is squeezing the populations of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria against the Mediterranean coast. The Sahelian region of Africa—the vast swath of savannah that separates the southern Sahara desert from the tropical rainforests of central Africa—is shrinking as the desert moves southward. As the desert invades Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, from the north, farmers and herders are forced southward, squeezed into a shrinking area of productive land. A 2006 U.N. conference on desertification in Tunisia projected that by 2020 up to 60 million people could migrate from sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa and Europe.
Comments (4)Raging Storms and Rising Seas Swelling the Ranks of Climate Refugees
Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Society — by Earth Policy Institute August 16, 2011
In late August 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approached the U.S. Gulf Coast, more than 1 million people were evacuated from New Orleans and the small towns and rural communities along the coast. Once the storm passed, it was assumed that the million or so Katrina evacuees would, as in past cases, return to repair and rebuild their homes. Some 700,000 did return, but close to 300,000 did not. They are no longer evacuees. They are the first large wave of modern climate refugees.
One of the defining characteristics of our time is the swelling flow of environmental refugees, including those displaced as a warmer climate brings more-destructive storms and rising seas. The prospect for this century is a rise in sea level of up to 6 feet. Even a 3-foot rise would inundate parts of many low-lying cities, major river deltas, and island countries. Among the early refugees will be millions of rice-farming families from Asia’s river deltas, those who will watch their fields sink below the rising sea.
Comments (1)Australia’s National Food Plan – Heard about it?
Consumerism, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Markets & Outlets, Processing & Food Preservation, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Genevieve Hopkins August 15, 2011
Have you heard about the Australian Government’s proposed National Food Plan? Nope? Neither had we until we read an article in the most recent newsletter from Green Pages stating that Senator Joe Ludwig has extended the deadline for submissions until September 2. Don’t get us wrong, we’re supportive of extending the deadline but we are very concerned that this is the first time we’ve heard anything about the government’s efforts to develop a national plan for our food production, supply and consumption.
Comments (5)Peace for Somalia & Its People
Deforestation, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Society, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Rhamis Kent August 9, 2011
A comprehensive, lasting security is created through giving people a viable means to provide for themselves.
The ultimate goal should be to enable the country of Somalia and its people to create a self-sustaining economy of their own. Only then will there be a meaningful, lasting peace.
Comments (1)
