permaculture

[Rain Tenaqiya <raincascadia@yahoo.com>]

Hi John,
 
It would be good to hear more about the intended uses for the water, and I 
don't know anything about Columbian technology, but for domestic use, I can 
make some recommendations.  I assume you know the basics of rainwater 
harvesting.  In the humid tropics you need to be more careful to keep animal 
wastes off the roof.  Try to get or make as tall of tanks as practical 
(making a ferrocment tank with a built in tower extension would be really 
cool for some extra height).  It is worth even piling up some soil or 
building a pad to lift them up a foot or more.  I have 19 ft (6.3 m) of head 
when my tank is full.  
 
As far as plumbing, keep the pipe as big as practical (I don't know what the 
standard metric sizes are, so I'll just give you the English sizes).  I have 
1" (2.5 cm) poly pipe going right up to the house.  3/4" (2 cm) pipe is the 
minimum I would recommend for inside the house (I have only half inch).  Get 
PEX for inside, if you can.  It is so easy, and earthquake resistant.  Keep 
the pipe runs as short and direct as possible.  Pay attention to the actual 
diameter of all valves.  Many severely restrict the flow.  Sometimes you can 
find valves that are labelled "full flow."
 
For faucets, there are several options, especially if you are not overly 
concerned about what they look like.  You can make your own out of plumbing 
parts.  Here, we have to look very carefully for fixtures with large 
openings, or at least without unnecessary (water conserving, for people with 
typical, outrageous water pressure) obstructions.  Sometimes you can just 
remove the aerator.  Otherwise, you need to look for industrial or commercial 
kitchen faucets.  In Columbia, you can probably just use ordinary faucets- I 
am completely ignorant.  Showerheads are similar.  We are currently just 
using a garden hose sprayer with multiple spray patterns.  I know there are 
better options.  Even just the showerhead from a solar shower would be 
better, once I change the plumbing.  For laundry, you might consider having a 
larger faucet outside, with direct access to the supply pipes.  This will 
help you fill up buckets faster.
 
When you design your system, you need to think like water and go through 
every bit of the plumbing to identify obstructions.  Even with the crappy job 
I did, I still have flows of 1-2 gallons a minute and an adequate shower.  
Part of it is lowering your expectations (at least for us gringos).  However, 
low pressure leads naturally to water conservation.  My partner and I make 
very little effort and only consume 12 gallons (48 liters) a day.
 
I can also give advice on irrigation, but some of this is limited to the 
brand names and technology available in the US, unless you are willing to 
have stuff shipped to Columbia.
 
Good luck,
 
Rain



>From venaurafarm@bellsouth.net  Wed May 12 22:33:34 2010
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Subject: Re: [permaculture] How Much Land Does It Take To
        Become  Food    Self-Reliant
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Toby Hemenway wrote:
> On May 12, 2010, at 10:28 AM, jamesdavid Sneed wrote:
>
>> That seems so disappointing, an elitist attitude that discourages
>> people from growing all their own food . . . . I find that
>> independence impossible in anywhere but the most remote regions, I
>> am returning to those locales, which to me is the REAL WORLD
>
> Reality is often more disappointing than dreaming of something we've
> never tried; yes, my point was indeed to discourage people from the

Trying something and failing, though disappointing, is better than not
having tried. What do you know about the reality of homesteading (urban
or rural) for self sufficiency and independence? You said sometime ago
that you gave up your rural lifestyle to live in the city. Fine, but do
not criticise others living a rural lifestyle intent on surviving and
remaining on their land; maybe they have no other option.

> simplistic, near-impossible fantasy that when it gets tough they can
> just grow all their own food. I hope that idea dies soon; it's a

Simple lifestyle, yes. Frugal and efficient. As if millions of folks all
over the world aren't in need of this approach to living these days.
You think the multinational vertically integrated agriculture
corporations, IMF, UN, Red Cross, etc are going to feed them?

Good grief, you hope that idea dies soon...say it isn't so, Toby.
For someone who has written a great book on permaculture you're not much
help or encouragement. I think you've signed onto the wrong forum;
you need one that is 99% rhetoric and politics and .99% corporate
funding and .01% action.

I think you've fallen off the edge of the Earth. Now I am wondering if
Toby's account has been hacked and you are not who you claim to be. This
is what I might expect to hear from a Monsanto greenwashing PR agent.
You seem intent on trashing the decades of work by hundreds of thousands
of folks. I can't believe what you've written. My thoughts about it:
total and utter horsemanure. You do not know what you are talking about.

> terrible deterrent to facing a real solution. I beg you all: Stop
> thinking that way!  And, James, when you return to the "real world,"
> of the wild, just remember who made your equipment for you; that's
> how self-reliant you'll be. The "I'll harvest the wild" dream only

Maybe he won't need much equipment or will make his own from scratch.

> insures the destruction of the last wild places.That's
> anti-permaculture: stay out of the bush, says Mollison, and he's
> right. With 7 billion people, all wild resources would be depleted in
> a matter of months. I was recently in Alaska, and kept running into
> people who thought they'd just hunt after the oil gets scarce. Not
> with the size of the population of Alaska. That's a horrifying
> thought: goodbye caribou, elk, deer, bear.

Ridiculous. Would you say the same about the American Indians
when they dominated the Plains and fed themselves harvesting the
buffalo? Ever heard of sustainable harvesting?
Encouraging wildlife by protecting and nourishing their habitat, partly
through forest gardening. There is little or no impact on wild animal
populations when harvesting in limited numbers for food, if done
correctly. The Sustainable Urban Homestead and The Sustainable Rural
Homestead are ideally diversified small, mini or micro farms with
livestock. This concept is integral to a realistic survival plan in this
day and time. Being part of a Greater Urban or Rural Homestead, i.e., a
community of farms, or farming cooperative wherein the individual
members supply each other with goods to allow for specialization,
cropping or livestock production, for those lacking either.