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Rachel Gibson

My International Permaculture Article

"After the Tsunami, the Permaculture" by Stuart Coles. Permaculture Magazine. No. 53 Autumn 2007. pp 26-29.

This article was about the GreenHand field school of permaculture in Aceh, Indonesia. The school was founded in 2005 in response to the need of tsunami victims. It was started by a Bali NGO, IDEP. The school's instructors are all Acehnese, which has greatly led to the success of the program, as the initiative and motivation is within the real people involved: "The key thing about GreenHand is that it is tsunami survivors teaching fellow survivors how to help themselves". The destruction caused by the tsunami destroyed families, land, businesses, and lives. Thousands of people have been relocated and housing and supplies for the refugees are poor. Even two years after the event 70,000 people are still living in temporary housing with inefficient sanitation and water supply. In families where the men were killed, women are left with the unimaginable task of providing for themselves, something they are not prepared for in the traditional muslim society. With their lives torn apart, it is incredibly important and valuable for these people to learn skills to design their lives, providing for their needs. Within a few months of graduating from the school, students are growing their own food and improving the quality of their lives. The pride they feel in their abilities spurs them on, and seeing the new growing plants gives them hope for the future. The knowledge of permaculture design and community education through the GreenHand school is helping restore the lives of the Acehnese.

Bioneers Experience

To be honest, I was only at the Bioneers conference because it was required for class. I planned on having a survivable, maybe slightly enjoyable, weekend of semi-boring speakers, friends, and work on our design project. Everything was going according to plan as we sat in the auditorium for 40 minutes waiting for the satellite speakers to begin, and then something went wrong. The speakers were fascinating. The introductory speeches by Kenny and Nina were really great. I don't remember the details of what they said because they touched on everything, and they were both very personable and spoke very well. I felt very engaged and it touched on things that I think but cannot express so eloquently. The first plenary speaker was Jay Harman of Pax Scientific. He works in the field of biomimicry, using nature's designs to create efficient and effective fan, water treatment, and marine craft parts. I've heard introductory talks on biomimicry before, but Jay brought out the actual products and showed us concrete examples of how it is used. I wish he had gone more into the details of what nature does and how he extracted that to his industrial product, but it was still really great to the see the real application. It was a level of concreteness I don't feel I've really had before.

I really enjoyed the talk by Judy Wicks, owner of the White Dog Cafe. Aside from the denim jacket and rhinestones I felt a deep connection and affinity with her ideas and how she works to uplift her community. My main interest in sustainability is in local food and building communities. Judy achieves this through her restaurant, which buys directly from local producers, and through her numerous community outreach programs. She lives above the restaurant, so her business is not something separate just used to make money, but is an integral part of her life, and she makes healthy decisions for her business, such as paying a living wage to employees, as she would make decisions within her own family. Judy said that business is about relationships, money is just a tool. This really resonated with me as a clear and profound expression of a thought that can be hard to articulate amidst a despise of corporate growth and a desire to return to simpler times. In our society money has become the end desire, but money is only a tool to facilitate actions and relationships of life. It is the community relationships and the things we do, make, and share that is the real goal.

Wiki article

on local foods and canning: a virgin's experience

Eating local foods is a simple way to make a powerful difference in your own life and eventually in society. The health and social benefits of buying and growing local foods and putting more attention into the food you eat are felt in individual lives and throughout the local economy. Our culture however is not set up for an infrastructure of local foods, though this is rapidly changing, especially in a progressive town like Fairfield. In my own life, I have been working to learn more about how I can use local foods, because I have seen through experience how taking the extra initiative is entirely worth it.

Preserving produce through canning, freezing, and drying is an important part of a year-round local diet. The abundance of the warm months can be preserved and enjoyed throughout the year. Connecting with local producers is a great way to gather extra produce to preserve for winter months. Farmers dealing with grocery store standards often have seconds that they will sell to you for a cheaper price. They will not look as perfect as what you buy in the store, but the taste and quality will be just as good (maybe better if you're getting it closer to the time it was picked). In the beginning of September I heard through a friend that Vedic City Farms had an excess of red bell peppers. I got a 20-pound box. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from "second" peppers, but when I opened the box I was amazed at the beautiful, glowing red flesh before me. Aside from a few with black spots, I could not find the fault in these peppers. Organic red peppers can be expensive (especially out of season) and I usually don't have them too often, so this abundance (and for such a great price) was like Christmas for a six-year-old.

Despite my love of red peppers, there was no way I could eat all those peppers before they rotted, unless I served a banquet to the entire block. So I looked to preservation. Deanna Freeburg, a friend and local gardener, had also purchased a box of peppers, so on Sunday I went over to her house and we marinated and canned them. I knew of home canning as a means of preserving food, but though it is not a difficult process, it requires specific tools and some knowledge and practice for success. Deanna is not an avid canner, but she had the supplies and had done it in the past, so I was excited for the opportunity and experience. I was also mystified as to how canning worked to preserve food.

Food spoils because of exposure to molds, yeasts, and bacteria present in the air. Canning works by sterilizing the food and sealing it in a closed jar. The simplest method is water-bath canning, which simply requires preparing and packing the food in jars and then boiling in a large kettle (the canner) for the prescribed amount of time. The boiling temperature kills mold and yeast within the jars. When removed from the canner, the air within the jar is hotter (lower pressure) than the air of the atmosphere. As the jar cools, the air inside shrinks, creating a partial vacuum. Because of the pressure difference, the atmospheric pressure presses on the specialized rubber seal, sealing the jar so that no new organisms may enter. This method of canning only works for high-acid foods, as low-acid foods can house bacteria which can withstand the 212 degrees of boiling water. For low-acid foods one must use a steam-pressure canner, which reaches temperatures of 240 degrees, successfully preserving the food. Fruits such as apples, berries, peaches, cherries, pears, rhubard, and tomatoes may all be canned using the water-bath method. Vegetables such as beans, squash, beets, corn, peas, cabbage, and asparagus, as well as meats and poultry, must be processed in a pressure canner.

Peppers are low-acid, so on their own they would require a pressure canner. Deanna does own a pressure canner (purchased with friends during the Y2K scare) but she has never used it, so we figured we should start off with the water-bath. Useful methods to can low-acid foods in a water-bath canner are pickling and marinating in a vinegar solution. The high acidity of the vinegar creates an environment in which bacteria cannot grow. We made a marinade of vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, onion, and herbs, which we poured over the peppers in the jars before sealing and putting them in the canner. That afternoon we spent over six hours roasting (both in the oven and on the open-flame grill outside), peeling skins, marinating, and canning the peppers. It was so much fun being in the kitchen all day and chatting with Deanna, and at the end I had yummy red peppers to eat on sandwiches, in salads, and in stir-fries all winter long. And still there were peppers left over! I put some in the freezer for later use in soups and stir-fry, and almost every meal for the next month included some red pepper. I suppose I got rather spoiled from this abundance of red peppers, but abundance is what life should be about. As we try to move to a more sustainable and ecologically-friendly society we try and cut back on our consumption, but if done the way nature does it, consumption and growth are good. When you are working in holistic environmentally-friendly systems and there is no waste, use as much as you want. Nature loves abundance and enjoyment and I see that firsthand when I indulge in local foods.

Summary essay on

The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka

During the introductory permaculture presentation, The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka was flashed on the screen as one of the early works in the permaculture field. My father has a way of accumulating books, and every so often he pushes them off on me. I recognized the cover of Fukuoka's book (a head of rice) as one of the books he gave me this past weekend. This prompted me that evening to begin reading the book.

The book is Fukuoka's explanation of his method of "natural farming." This method is highly tailored to his specific area in Japan, as it works so closely with the natural cycles and climate of the area. For readers outside of Japan its primary value is in expounding Fukuoka's profound and simple view of life. Throughout the book he basically says the same thing over and over, but it is a joy to read because he is so sincere and the importance he places on the natural harmonies of nature is so refreshing in comparison to the trend of modern society.

Fukuoka's basic philosophy stems from a realization he had as a young man. He had been hospitalized with pneumonia for some time and on leaving the hospital was stuck in severe depression. He was plunged in doubt and had lost his spark for life. One morning, resting beneath a tree and watching the dawn, he had the realization that man knows nothing. The complexities and interconnections of life can never be understood. All human endeavor is useless; we can never understand nature. This view of life could be depressing and lead to inaction and stagnation, but Fukuoka found it empowering and of great importance to human life. He found that all of human knowledge has only proven how little in fact we know. All human endeavors to improve life have only created more problems. Nature is infinitely intelligent and prosperous, and we as human beings should not interfere with her systems. Fukuoka's purpose in farming was to put this idea into practice.

Fukuoka refers to his farming method as "natural farming" or "do-nothing" farming, because compared to traditional farming methods it requires far less physical work. Modern agricultural advances has been formed by thinking of what more we can do, but in developing his method Fukuoka thought, "What if I don't do this? Or this?" Coming from the standpoint that he knew nothing, he interfered as little as possible with the natural growth of the rice. His job as the farmer was rather to learn about the natural cycles and plan his planting to make best use of them. He found that the problems that plague modern agriculture - diseases, pests, and weeds - were not a problem when he let the fields form their natural balance.

The four main principles of natural farming are: no cultivation, no chemical fertilizers or prepared compost, no weeding by tillage or herbicides, and no dependence on chemicals. Fukuoka grows the traditional crops of rice alternated with winter grains (rye or barley). Traditional farming floods the rice fields throughout the growing season, and it was thought this was necessary for successful rice growing. Fukuoka found this to be untrue. The primary purpose for flooding the rice fields is to prevent weeds. Fukuoka plants a ground cover of white clover within his fields. The clover takes over from other weeds, adds to soil structure, and fixes nitrogen. Fukuoka also times his planting to fit within the natural cycles of seasonal plant growth so that the intended crop gets a head start against the weeds. As long as the grain crop gets adequate sunlight and moisture, weeds growing along with it are not a problem. Diversity in natural ecosystems provides stability and promotes overall growth. By allowing weeds and insects to flourish in his fields, Fukuoka creates a naturally balanced ecosystem where problems and pests are naturally kept at bay.

In October, a few weeks before the rice is harvested, Fukuoka broadcasts the winter grain seeds throughout the fields. The standing rice provides protection for the seeds from birds and other predators. Once the rice is harvested, all of the straw is returned to the fields. This provides mulch for the new plants, dissuades additional weeds from growing, aids water retention, and adds to the organic material in the soil. Fukuoka does not use any prepared compost, but instead relies on the straw and other plants naturally completing their cycle of growth and decomposition. He used to keep ducks in the field, but with the expansion of modern civilization, a highway was built through his fields and the ducks were no longer safe, so he adds some chicken manure to aid in the decomposition of the straw. Within six months the straw decomposes into the soil and it is time to plant the new rice seeds, following the same method. Sometimes Fukuoka eliminates this second planting, mixing in the rice seeds with the winter grain. The winter grain grows throughout the winter months and the rice seeds lie dormant until spring. To help ensure germination and protect against predators, he encloses the seeds in clay pellets before planting.

Fukuoka yields about 22 bushels (1300 pounds) per quarter-acre. This is comparable to the highest yields in his area at the time, using both traditional and conventional methods. And he does this without the use of fertilizers, chemicals, or plowing. Looking at his plants compared to those of neighboring chemical farmers, Fukuoka's are much smaller. The trend of modern (especially American) society is to see bigger as better; this is a misconception. When a plant puts more energy into growing stems and leaves, there is less energy reserved for grain production. Even though his plants are smaller, Fukuoka gets the same or higher grain yields. Another significant example of modern misconception related to grain yield is in the problem of stem bores. These insects eat the stems of the rice plants, causing them to wither and die. A study was done, spraying one field with insecticide and leaving another field as a control. The sprayed field had no stem-bores. The control field looked eaten away, with many insect infected plants. Yet which had the higher yield? Surprisingly, it was found to be the control. The insects attacked the weaker plants, killing them and providing more light, nutrients, and water for the others, which in turn put out more and bigger heads of grain. Studies with results as these are often not publicized and are written off as mistakes, because they do not fit the modern agricultural paradigm.

Masanobu Fukuoka looks to nature for his answers. He sees the natural world as perfect and beautiful. Compared to nature's perfection, human beings are insignificant, and it is preposterous of us to think we can dominate nature. We cannot improve upon nature's designs and systems. Fukuoka's style of natural farming makes use of nature's design. By interfering as little as possible with the natural flow of plant growth, his fields form a naturally balanced ecosystem. The balancing mechanics within the laws of nature mediate insect populations, plant growth, nutrient cycling, etc. Fukuoka follows the path of least action, working alongside the spontaneous functioning of nature. He has put his simple philosophies about life to the test and found that following the natural courses of plant growth and ecosystem development, with minimal interference, provides high yields, high quality, improved soil, and deep satisfaction in his connection to the earth.