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Date: Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 4:03 AM
Subject: Permaculture TV - The Bush Tucker Man - Arnhem Land part 1 of 3
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   Permaculture TV - The Bush Tucker Man - Arnhem Land part 1 of
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The Bush Tucker Man - Arnhem Land part 1 of
3<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/permaculture/EHmn/~3/TASAl58F8l8/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 07:59 AM PST

Explore Australia and learn how to survive with legendary Bush Tucker Man,
Les Hiddins

 In a battered army truck, his home a simple roll of blankets, Major Les
Hiddins seeks out and records the different kinds of bush food and medicines
used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

He’s a bush survival expert for the Australian Army and travels alone
through the vast, almost totally unpopulated lands of northern Australia to
carry out his unique job. And despite the solitude he’s a chatty, humorous
man who is as entertaining as he is informative.


Buy DVD from ABC <http://www.abc.net.au/abccontentsales/s1174897.htm>

Major <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major> *Leslie James (Les)
Hiddins* AM<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Australia>(born
August 13, 1946 in Brisbane,
Queensland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane,_Queensland>), aka “The Bush
Tucker <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_tucker> Man” is a retired Australian
Army <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Army> soldier and war veteran,
who is best known for his love and knowledge of the Australian bush. Hiddins
is recognised by his distinctively modified
Akubra<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akubra>hat and big grin.

As a soldier with the Australian Army, Hiddins did two tours of duty in
Vietnam <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War> between 1966 and 1968,
the first as a forward scout in the infantry. In 1987 he was awarded a
Defence Fellowship to research survival in northern Australia. He was the
principal author of the Australian Army’s Combat Survival manual (1987) and
was awarded Member of the Order of
Australia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_the_Order_of_Australia>(AM)
in 1987
[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Hiddins#cite_note-0>.

Source: Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Hiddins>

Everything is growing, Thank God - Extreme Permaculture with Steve
Cran<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/permaculture/EHmn/~3/G-GjeBVkw78/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 02:19 AM PST

*It’s my third week in Uganda’s Karamoja province. It feels like I’ve been
here for years. *

[image: Steve Cran at well]

*We load the pick-up truck with tools*. There’s a village 5 km north of
town. The name of the village is too hard to pronounce for a Mazungu like me
so I call it “the 5 kilometer village”. We load steel shovels, hoe rakes,
steel digging bars, large sacks for hauling dry manure, and the African
hoes.

The *women’s group* at this village have promised to build a fence for their
vege garden. I don’t expect much because I know they don’t have any tools.
If they make an effort I’m going to help them.

We arrive and they are waiting under a shady tree beside the road. Its hot
and a fierce winds blinds us with dust as we get out of the ute. *The
mountain behind is on fire*. The wind is fanning the flames to amazing
heights. The fire eats he vegetation off the mountain like a hungry monster.

[image: Steve Cran and garden group]

The women clap and cheer when I shake hands with the chief. He’s the only
man in the group of 30. He has a list of everybody’s name. He’s done this
before. The charities have trained him well. I tell him I don’t want names
just a garden. He smiles and translates this to the group. I drop the
tailgate and pass the tools to Santos and Ram my trainees.

The women go nuts. *They whoop and make a lee lee lee lee noise between
their teeth*. The enthusiasm is genuine. I’m a bit embarrassed.

They take me over to where they have cleared an area for the fence. The
shrubs have been chopped down and piled up at one end. We mark out an area
for the first garden with a shady tree at one end. I visualize the tree as
the meeting point for the garden crew. Lots of kids sneak up all around.
Some are brave and touch the blonde hair on my arm and run away. *I spin
around and growl as they shriek and evaporate*. Everybody laughs when they
realize I’m not going to eat the children.

This is one of my *pilot projects to test my designs for the manual*. The
women ask about seed. There are 40 kg of non hybrid seed at HQ. You get the
seed when the garden is dug, I tell them. They begin to sing this time. I
wonder why after 40 years of aid somebody hasn’t taken the time to cover the
basics. water and food. Grow your own is better than American GM flour off
the back of a truck! I tell the women no more cheering until the garden is
dug and the fences are up.

We head to the prison in *Moroto *with the first sample of seeds. This time
*we get invited in to the inner prison*. As the guard closes the heavy doors
as we enter I feel a little apprehensive. Inside the prisoners are playing
volleyball. Whew!

The governor ushers us in to his office. We make a deal. The garden project
will grow all the new crops, and some for seed. Our crew will consist of
several Karamajong rival tribes all mixed up. *Traditional enemies will be
working together. *

The Guv, as I call him, shows us around. He takes us to a patch of open
ground where he wants the project to start. *The soil is heavy dark clay*.
It needs a fence. The water pump is nearby. Yep it’ll work. The Guv’s happy
and the head warden looks on with a big grin. We have to go. Lots to do.

*We visit a farm run by ex-warriors.* Its way out in the middle of the bush.
The leader speaks english. He sees the permaculture designers manual in the
back of the landcruiser. I show him the mandala design. He gets excited. We
need training, not handouts he says.A deal is made. We’ll train his mob if
he trains warriors in the future. He offers us land for a field school. I
tell him we’ll be back in 10 days with tools. He’ll have the leaders ready
for a training session. I give him some seeds. Very happy guy.

*On the return trip I decide to take the dangerous short cut*. The security
dudes warn us against it. My gut says go. We go. We drive like rally
drivers. Nice road most of the way. The four of us are tense. No warriors.
We make it no worries. Next day we find out warriors ambushed the safe road
where we were supposed to go. One motorcyclist killed, a truck shot up and
occupants kidnapped. My guys say lucky we listened to our gut! The gut is
smarter than the security guys.

*My garden is taking shape back at HQ*. Many villagers watch its progress
through the bamboo fence. Every demonstration is a teacher. The kids
watering the garden each day are proud now the seeds have sprouted. They
talk to the other kids through the fence as they water. They are junior
trainers whether they know it or not. *Everything is growing…Thank God!*

Source: Steve Cran, Ugana
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