permaculture

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

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [SANET-MG] [Fwd: [permaculture] Cuba in Crisis - CAPE support 
appeal]
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:40:49 +1100
From: Don Miller <donmillernz@gmail.com>
To: Lawrence F. London, Jr. <lflj@intrex.net>

Thanks Lawrence,

Here is a link to an approach I used in the SW Pacific a while back.
http://www.vetiver.org/VAN_REEF/VAN-reef2.htm

The conditions were extreme and it was not agricultural land by any
definition.  The significant point I noted after Cyclone Yali in 1998
was that if erosion control work is started in the very smallest
catchments they are not affected at all.  The time of concentration in
the these small catchments is less than the duration of the frequent
intense tropical rainstorms that occur many times each year.  The
trapped sediment (these would be productive terraces on agricultural
slopes) increases infiltration and reduces the peak flows in the
larger catchment.  The roots of the vetiver are deep enough and strong
enough to resist mass movement.

I certainly hope it isn't a pipe dream to do this as I have now moved
here in the longer term to try and get the system used in the many
farmed steep slopes on other islands in Vanuatu.  Cyclones are
inevitable and predictions are that they will be bigger.  A return to
the land for food is already happening here due to rapid population
growth and the loss of land to foreign developers.  Ever steeper and
more susceptible slopes are being farmed so something has to be done
for there to be food security in the longer term.

I am very happy to share my experience with others who might want to
help in Cuba or Haiti etc.  I do have professional qualifications in
this stuff but find that my 40 years practical experience in several
countries is a lot more valuable.

Feel free to pass this on to anyone who might use it.

Regards
Don

On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 2:53 AM, Lawrence F. London, Jr.
<lflj@intrex.net> wrote:
> Don Miller wrote:
> > Dear Ron and Larry,
> >
> > Living in one of those impoverished disaster prone countries and
> > demonstrating hurricane proof erosion control methods might be a
> > start.  Is that a foolish pipe dream?  What do others think?
>
> That is not a foolish pipe dream. I have had to deal with enormous amounts
> of rainfall
> in a short amount of time in my farm's fields, many of which are surrounded
> with tall dirt
> embankments deliberately put in place to contain rainfall within the garden
> beds.
> 8" in two days broke through one of these walls in a weak place. Anyway I
> have learned a lot about
> containing and preventing erosion in farm fields and collecting runoff in
> catchment ponds so the
> nutrient-rich water is not lost off-site. In some places I use long rows of
> hay round bales to
> stop erosion while allowing flow through of water.
>
> _Hurricane-proof_ erosion control is one thing but one can definitely
> prevent most soil loss,
> nutrient-rich water is another matter unless you're directing it to huge
> swales and/or catchment
> ponds with aquaculture systems and with the intent of pumping stored water
> back to the farm fields.
>
> LFLondon



--
Don Miller
Agricultural Advisor
c/- PO Box 758
Port Vila
Vanuatu
mobile: +678 7769388
donmillernz@gmail.com