Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Elephants in Permaculture

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Elephants in Permaculture
  • Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:38:58 -0500

On 1/29/2012 11:20 AM, Chris Carnevale wrote:
I have no personal experience with elephants as livestock, but I imagine
they kick out an inordinate amount of manure--like a personal manure
factory. Manure can often be the best perk of keeping livestock--they can
process green material and turn it into a form that will quickly
incorporate into the soil and enrich it. I cannot speak at all to the
particular chemical composition of elephant manure, but presumably it could
play a primary role in your soil building process. I am imagining that you
could use the elephant to eat vigorous plants that will quickly grow
back--you may even want to plant vigorous feedstock plants like this to
keep a constant supply of elephant food. Another option, which I don't
know if it would work or not but is worth considering, would be to use the
elephant to clear land of vegetation, similar to how a goat can clear a
weed patch or pigs can till up the soil. While elephants might temporarily
compact the soil due to their weight, they would presumably leave behind a
lot of nutrient rich organic from their manure, which would provide the
basis for a healthy soil building process.

That's a great idea.

In combination for land clearing and soil fertilization and tilthing:

Elephants and goats followed by pigs and poultry, then crops, in rotation as often as is needed. Have the elephant pull a hiller/beddder/tilther if you don't already use draft animals to do this (horses, mules or oxen).




  • Re: [permaculture] Elephants in Permaculture, Lawrence F. London, Jr., 01/29/2012

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page