permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

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.