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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Elephants in Permaculture

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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Elephants in Permaculture
  • Date: Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:29:09 -0500

On 2/8/2012 3:51 PM, Ossi Kakko wrote:

Dear community,

In 2008-2009 I discussed with adivasis in Chhattisgarh and Orissa
(India) about shifting cultuivation and elephants coming from northeast
(where their livelihoods were currently destroyed) - and these people
explained how elephant's eat wild plantain which regenerates easily on
hillsides under traditional shifting cultivation - and unless the
villages have enough food for elephants - the elephants eat the
cultivated gardens/agroforestry systems and possibly even devastate home
dwellings. Traditional shifting cultivation has some similarity in
patterns with chop and drop systems - and in case of elephant eating
plantain it's maybe more like "munch and drop". Some people have
domesticated elephants for transport, and they're very huge - and I
wouldn't want to face a raging elephant. I strongly suggest to
investigate this issue with indigenous people, who have a lot of
practical wisdom with elephants - rather than to try to invent systems
without practical relationship with elephants. Elephants are pretty
extensive pathways in forests.

Best wishes,
Ossi Kakko (in Finland)

Oxen and draft horses, then.




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