permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>]

I think there is ongoing work using composted water hyacinth compost as a growing medium for mushroom spawn. I think I 
read about this happening in a community Colombia and possibly in Africa too. Maybe some of you with international 
outreach will be interested in Alexander's work.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Water Hyacinth Substrate
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 14:44:30 -0500
From: acorri2@po-box.mcgill.ca
To: lfl@intrex.net <lfl@intrex.net>

To whom this may concern,
I recently read a series of articles on your alternative uses for water
hyacinth which help eradicate the plant while providing financial
benefits to local communities. I am currently working as a project
coordinator for a Luo community on the Kenyan shore of Lake Victoria.
Our project is very grassroots oriented and bases itself on the idea
that projects can only be accomplished if they are community-owned,
thus we attempt to find economic niches in the community for
environmentally-friendly and sustainable forms of construction,
agriculture which can be implemented by marginalized youths, AIDS
orphans and widows to empower them economically and socially. While the
threat of water hyacinth is greatly diminished since the introduction
of South American Weevils to consume it, it remains a presence on the
shores of this community. I would be keen on communicating with someone
from your project and potentially coordinating with them in order to
bring this initiative to Gembe East. I look forward to hearing from
you. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Alexandre Corriveau-Bourque
Project Coordinator
Gembe East Health and Development Project