permaculture

["keller" <ak.and.ak@on-line.de>]

----- Original Message -----
From: georg parlow <georg@websuxxess.com>
To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2001 10:17 PM
Subject: Re: pc in Kabul


> >                      Cererals:
> >                         * castor oil plant
>
> thats about the most toxic cereal i have ever heard of  ;o)

By the way: it is also the fodder plant of the eri silk worm. Eri Silk, a
wild silk of white to golden colour, different from mullberry silk, is
produced in Assam in India. However, if they use castor oil plants for
something else in Afghanistan, then of course the eri silk worm would be a
pest and is better not introduced there.

Did they make mulberry silk in Afghanistan before (bombix mori silk worms
eat the leaves of the white mullbery)? Even if they are not used for
commercial silk production (which is complicated, and where it is hard to
compete with the quality and low prices of the chinese, but maybee the know
how of silk production exists in Afghanistan) silk worms are in principle
eddible and can be used to feed fish (in china, I think they feed carps with
them). Don't know if they can also be used as poultry food (for ducks,
maybee). Mullberry leafs are also used as fish fodder in china (to feed
plant eating species) and can probably be used for lifestock. Are there
areas in Afghanistan where there is sufficient water for aquaculture? Fish
polyculture like the chinese systems could be interesting then.

Andreas Keller