We never know what may be of topical interest to others in our very large network. This is a some what tamer version of Twitter or Buzz. We want to keep an up to date alert system; so send us your “hot topics” of interest, questioning, research, curiosity and we will post them here as part of our on line news feed.
Here are some valuable conversations from among our network members; for more information follow the links, and please join in the conversations.
Amazon – active projects – Simon Fjell
Biochar
With biochar it is important to note that the fresh charcoal must first be “charged” before it can function as a biotope. Uncharged charcoal can bring a provisional depletion of available nutrients when first put into the soil - until its pores fill up with nutrients. This is overcome by soaking the charcoal for a few weeks (2 to 4 weeks) in a liquid nutrient made of urine (or animal manures), compost tea and Bokashi (EM) juice. Mixing char to the bokashi mix provides habitat and support for the microorganisms. It’s a winning combination, producing a superior fertilizer for organic growing.
NOTE : My family heritage (Norwegian) is the making of EM soil starters. Some of this knowledge was taken by Rudolf Steiner. It was originally used by the Fjëll to bring life on to the ground stone powder left behind in Neolithic times as glaciers retreated. They could then extend the grazing for their Fjëll (Fjall) cattle. There is a lot more to this than Steiner copied
Eco Forestry - Chopping Down Trees to Save the Forest
Conventional logging operations commonly harvest selected mature trees using heavy machinery to extract the logs to poorly constructed feeder roads. Many landowners, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) perceive the benefits of these conventional operations to be insufficient to compensate for the environmental degradation and social costs incurred.
Community eco-forestry has been considered one of the most promising options of combining forest conservation with rural development and poverty reduction objectives. Eco-Forestry is a term that collectively describes activities that sustainably utilise forest resources with as much benefit as possible being retained by the resource owner. This approach to forest management has considerable benefits in terms of the sustainability of resource use, in assisting grass roots rural community development and in ensuring environment conservation. Eco-forestry is an alternative to industrial logging. Using minimal impact harvesting methods, landowners fell a small number of carefully selected trees, process and transport the timber without damaging the surrounding forest.
Eco-timber is sold to local and overseas markets, providing local people with independence, an income and employment while protecting their forest resources for the future. Greenpeace estimates that ‘eco’ timber provides up to ten times more profit to local communities than large scale logging operations.
Small Portable Sawmills - ‘wokabaut somil’
In Papua New Guinea they harvest and process local trees using an Australian invention, Small Portable Sawmills called ‘wokabaut somil’ http://www.lucasmill.com . They consist of a metal beam on a frame, along which a circular saw with two perpendicular blades moves. The whole setup can be dismantled and carried on foot.
Large transnational logging companies are unable to move in to eco-forestry areas because the communities and forest owners make more money than from selling off logging rights and having to tolerate the resulting damage.
The saw mill is carried manually into the forest and set up adjacent to the trees to be felled. On average about three or four trees are cut before the sawmill is moved on, leaving behind a gap in the forest canopy of up to twenty meters by twenty meters. With disturbance of the canopy kept to a minimum, the rainforest is better able to recover.
The trees are milled on the spot and the timber is carried out along narrow bush tracks. No new roads are needed for their sawmilling project. The sawmills operate up to a kilometer away from existing roads, so that the cut timber is carried out of the bush by hand and then by road.
The sawmill can also provide timber for community projects, a village home building scheme, and as any visitor to the village can see, it is a source of pride for the village. Initially the sawmill was intended to provide for a village house building project. After discussing their needs, the villagers decided that a village timber yard should be established and all timber sold at the market rate.
Eco-Forestry allows us to continue to use the resources within the forest without destroying it - ensuring that the present and future generations of local people will continue to benefit. It allows development while protecting the resources and the environment.
This type of operation has a number of benefits:
- The type of technology used is appropriate to the rural community situation
- The operation brings training and new skills to local people
- The business provides local employment and wages
- Sawn timber can be sold or used in other development projects
- The operation of the sawmill builds esteem and local capacity
- The level of harvesting does not threaten the forest eco-systems.
Evidence also shows that small-scale portable sawmills are usually a catalyst for other local enterprises and other development activities such as trade stores, public transport and small-scale agriculture.
Power from Forestry
Community Power Corporation http://www.gocpc.com have been working in the field of modular biopower since 1999.
- World’s leading provider of small modular bioenergy systems. (Other than electricity the output is char – lots of it)
- Inventors of a highly efficient downdraft gasifier technology that converts low cost biomass residues into a clean, fuel gas stream that is renewable, much lower cost than fossil fuels, and is greenhouse gas neutral.
- Developers of a series of fully automatic, mass-producible, modular, biopower systems for the distributed generation market.
Programs and Research in Zambia– Rainlands Timber LTD – Nick O’Connor
Rainlands has taken the following initiatives
2008
- Made 75 tons of compost using Pine Sawdust, not good as a compost as the antiseptic slows down the composting process but great as mulch for reclaiming finalized mine slims dams
- We make commercial compost Pine sawdust and we are about to experiment with compost tea
- We have a full nursery supplying tree seedlings indigenous, timber, also fruit, and vegetables
- We have an organic Nematode trial and a production zone with continual infection
2009
- We have installed a hot water Kettle that can burns Saw dust to heat our Timber kiln with double under fire fans heat without giving off smoke, if the stoker does not overload the fire
We have a To Organic nematode trial production zone with settled treated water (Chlorine once a week)
- We trained farmers in organic and Permaculturr Production, compost. Virmycompost,natural Nematode reduction, permanent mulch farming
2010
- Trials with nematidal compost
- Trials with Bio-Char putting in a new Permocultured iorchard with ani ntensive production zone
Working in partnership with Copperbelt University http://www.cbu.edu.zm/
New Posts:
- Elected Chairman of the Ndola collective Saw-millers association. ( most small saw millers are in crisis and are using very inefficient Cara saws with mountains of waste choking Ndala,Kitwe, Mufalera, Chingola towns on the copperbelt.
- Elected Vice Chairman Copperbelt Branch of the Wildlife and Environmental society of Zambia.
Needs and future plans:
- We would like to use waste to generate 200 kva of electricity to run the sawmill and Kiln. ( because power from hydro is currently so cheap in Zambia, it is not economical to generate power but the the situation is changing and in time this will be viable
- We need more Knowledge on how to apply Bio char and how to practically apply to the land, We need advice on Ph etc with use of virgin land.
Choice of trees for re-forestation and building timber in Africa
In Africa the wood borer is so destructive that apart from the very slow growing hard woods all the fast growing indigenous easy worked softwoods do not last longer than two years before they have to be replaced.
The resin in Pine and the ease it can be worked make it the timber of choice for construction. Of interest the demand for small farmers to crop after 29 years of pine plantation is so high they even move in to the government plantations before the pine are clear felled I am in favor of the permaculture model incorporating all trees food and construction. We would like to see the small scale farmers taking over from the Government as the timber suppliers of the future.
- Most of the pine planking in Kenya is imported from Tanzania
- Malawi is also running out.
- Zambia has 10 to 15 years to go.
- The southern DR Congo imports from Zambia.
- It is too dry in Botswana and Namibia,
- Eastern Angola is very short on supply
- Mozambique has a big replanting program which started 2 years go so will be the savior of Southern Africa.
The bottom line is that the continent that requires the most development in the world will have to import the building timber from Europe or the Americas 10 years from now unless we come up with a plan.
