PERMACULTURE ARTICLE

1. What is permaculture?

Permaculture is derived from the word permanent agriculture and is defined as working with natural forces. It is the development of agricultural ecosystems aspired to be sustainable and self-sufficient. It is system of cultivation which seeks to integrate human activity with natural surroundings so as to create high efficient self-sustaining ecosystems.
 
Why are we doing permaculture in Nourish?

• There are numerous benefits  which includes:
  • Less waste – everything within the permaculture systems is utilized, using garden waste, & food waste as fertilizer.  Using leaves as mulch. The use of waste is one of the reasons why permaculture is sustainable.
  • Saves water - We harvest rainwater and wastewater (greywater) and making it more efficient and cost effective, this also helps us during dry periods. Mulching also saves water by preventing water loss through evaporation.
  • Economically feasible - permaculture is cost efficient, since we aren’t using pesticides, and our systems require less maintenance. All we do is to water our crops and do mulching from time to time. It is a system that works with nature to do the work!

 

• Resilient to Climate Change Permaculture helps our property to withstand the effect of climate change and continue to be productive. It is also an agricultural practice that is healthier to the environment, allowing for sustainable production for longer periods of time.  It allows us to produce more crop with fewer resources and less maintenance. Because we catch resources such as rain when they are abundant, we are able to have resources ( or energy)  in times of need.
•  Environmentally friendly – since our food gardens does not depend on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides it means our carbon footprint is less! Growing trees and gardens also promotes oxygen into a cleaner environment.

 

• Provides Food Food from the permaculture garden is used in the feeding scheme to bring health to the children eating daily. 

Some lessons we can learn from permaculture.
 
 

1. Design from patterns to details: Whether designing a new vegetable garden or new sustainable way of life, we have to look at the bigger picture before we become stuck in little things.

 

1. Integrate rather than segregate: Plants work well in diverse systems, same is true of people too. In your garden, home and life in general, it is a good idea to promote and value diversity in all its forms

 

1. Use small and slow solutions : Every journey begins with small step. Making small, incremental changes is the best way to move towards sustainable change,

 
 

1. Creatively use and respond to change : Change is the inevitable part of life. The changing seasons, the changing attitudes, our changing climate, how we respond to these changes will shape sustainable progress in years to come.

 Two years ago I had never heard of Plogging - the new environmental craze founded in Sweden and now literally sweeping the planet.  Now the activity involving running whilst picking up rubbish has literally changed my life.

The unimaginable scale of plastic production, coupled with an equally mind-boggling littering culture across the globe, has put immense pressure on our beautiful planet. It has never been easier to access disposable items, with convenience taking the lead over environmental responsibility and, unfortunately, it’s Mother Earth that suffers the most. With over 8 million tonnes of rubbish entering our seas and oceans every single year, our waterways and the wildlife that inhabit them are literally choking at the hands of human carelessness and ignorance. However it’s not just marine life in far off locations that are suffering. In my hometown of London, England, wildlife is dying simply because a small but significant part of the population are simply too lazy or just don’t care enough to put their rubbish in the bin. Foxes, Badgers and even the famous Deer of Richmond Park, all mistaking our single use plastic for food which then clogs up their digestive systems. How crazy that something like a bottle of water which takes 5 minutes to drink can sit in the environment for literally hundreds of years!
Something needed to be done to break that cycle, so when co-founder Michelle sent me an article about the latest eco fitness craze we had to give it a try. Our first plog was held in a small corner of London and with both a running and a walking group, in which 16 of us collected over 30 bags of rubbish from the local community. The event was a huge success and with that Plogolution was born. What better way to bring people together to make a difference?
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Since our first plog we have held over 50 events across the UK and even as far as The United States , bringing people together of all different ages and backgrounds, and giving them a platform to give back to our planet. We soon realised it was also an amazing platform for people to make new friends - meeting people that they potentially wouldn’t otherwise interact with in everyday life - as well a chance to get active and a different gateway into what can sometimes be an intimidating fitness world. This really was the perfect opportunity for people to improve their minds, bodies and their planet.

The first community plogs brought our attention to one group in particular. The children. At every plog we had such incredibly passionate young children attending with their families. Clearly aggrieved at what old generations were doing to the environment, they were keen to fight back. We soon set up our first Primary school plogging club, with most schools heading out on a weekly basis for just a 20 minute run or walk around their local community in a bid to make it that little bit cleaner. Our aim was to both educate and empower our young people so that they had not only the passion to change the world, but also the platform to do it. In just over a year our now 34 plogging schools have collected a staggering 4,019 plastic bottles, 4,321 cans, 1,495 glass bottles and 41,938 cigarette butts!! Those figures are huge already but just imagine the stats if thousands of schools across the world were plogging just once a week, it’s enough to blow the mind!

​NOURISH COMPOST ARTICLE
 
INTRODUCTION:
Compost is an essential decomposed material that are used in combination which includes crop residues, leaves, grass clippings, animal manure and what is regarded as kitchen waste. It has proven time and time again that it provides soil with many essential nutrients to support proper plant growth and as a result it’s considered as an organic fertilizer.

Furthermore compost has the ability to improve soil structure in a way that the soil can have high moisture holding capacity, it also improves the texture of both sand and clay soils. Making either type rich, moisture retentive to proper growth of plants
In our organic gardens, compost is regarded as the best natural mulches and fertilizers for improving for improving soil fertility that creates a viable environment for plant growth. Composting has a both agricultural and social b benefit which serves as an important process to us and members of the society.

• Reduction in waste volumes which results less garbage in our spaces and surrounding community areas.
• It helps to prohibit the growth of weeds.
• It is a natural fertilizer and reduces overall costs of purchasing synthetic fertilizers.
• Reduces the costs of irrigation rates, it saves water.
• It improves soil fertility.

Essential materials we use for effective compost

• Carbon - rich ( dried plants , weeds, dried grasses and sawdust( untreated)
• Water – assist in allowing decomposing process to take place as it attracts microbes.
• Nitrogen –rich ( green leaves, fruit and vegetables scraps)
• Animals manure (cow dung and chicken manure)

Caution (unwanted materials in the compost.)

• Fish, meat: This food material usually attracts detrimental and undesired pests to both the compost and the soil which the compost will be applied.
• Plastics and plastic bottles : These materials takes a very long time to decompose (10-1000 years)

Come visit me at the Nourish Eco Village and I will show you our compost heap, and the processes we use to mulch, water and make compost, and the beautiful vegetables we grow in our garden that we use in the Granny's kitchen to provide food for the children everyday. 

In nature, compost is being made all the time. 

Organic matter in the form of leaves, bark, grass and animal droppings are being broken down and decomposed.  You might see some of the bigger creatures (decomposers) responsible, like termites or millipedes however you won’t see the microscopic life involved in the process.  Beneficial microbes in the form of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and micro arthropods are functioning in a soil food web. 


​Much like when you drive through the Kruger National Park, you see complex habitats with predators, omnivores, herbivores and scavengers all filling a niche while benefitting the system – the soil is no different, it’s just happening at a microscopic level.  In a healthy ecosystem you could potentially find billions of beneficial microbes in just one teaspoon of soil.  Many microbes work symbiotically with plants, the plants provide food in the form of root exudates (sugars generated through photosynthesis) and the microbes (depending on their type) might provide protection from harmful microbes, extract trace minerals from the surrounding soil or convert nutrients into a plant available form.