Permaculture Design Course - Essay Example

?Permaculture Design 2. Three individual design tasks: 1500 words plus appropriate drawings Make a base map & write a brief for a small site (either your current garden/balcony, or another small site you can access) This map shows the location in London of a small, three-story apartment building with three flats and a rooftop area that is approximately 68 meters by 45 meters. The location is in a dense urban environment with significant traffic and air pollution. There is little greenery in the area, a few trees on the sidewalk and street areas or found around the parking lots and yards in the area behind the buildings. The rooftop area of the house is flat, cement, and currently unused. This proposal advocates for the creation of a sprout production facility, wheat grass juice production center, manna bakery, and garden of salad greens, medicinal herbs, vegetables, and other biodiversity related or endangered species plants in the rooftop terrace area as an example of Permaculture transformation of the urban environment. This project includes a production facility that is generally considered as supplying the food or a portion of the food for the members of the household who live in it or in this instance as a supplement for fresh salad greens, sprouts, herbs, vegetables, bread, and juices. It is possible for this facility to also be constructed inexpensively, from recycled or salvaged materials and to include a greenhouse facility on a portion of the rooftop area. The greenhouse will contain three tables that are dedicated to the production of sprouts – alfalfa seed, radish seed, garbanzo bean, and broad bean primarily. These sprouts will be grown in cyclical progressions so that a supply is ready each day for household consumption, or a seven day cycle. In association with the salad sprout production there will also be the production of sprouted wheat for “manna” bread, wheatgrass juice, and rejuvelac production. Sprouted wheat requires pure water, and this must be changed every day on the wheat berries. Similarly the salad sprouts should be grown with pure water which is changed every day. The greenhouse facilities should keep these facilities relatively protected from air pollution that is dust, particle, or ash. However, the greenhouse takes up only around 33% of the rooftop. The other part of the terrace will be used to set up a salad greens, medicinal herb, and vegetable garden that is created by filling barrels, buckets, and clay pots with earth for planting. These barrels should be wood and organic if possible, and clay pots should be used in both for wheat berry sprouting and for containing the earth in which the vegetables are grown. This method of compact community farming was developed in Essene communities over 2000 years ago in desert type of conditions, but allowed for concentrated agricultural production co-mingled with residence. The barrels can be preferably of wood and the type that is used for wine. The earth can be transported in to the facility from a rural location using one or two pick-up trips only. The earth can be shoveled into nylon grain sacks that are easily available for carrying up the stairs to the roof area. The larger barrels can be used for mixed plantings, such as tomatoes in associations with greens or corn and beans. The smaller clay pots can be used for lettuces, basil, salad greens, and medicinal herbs and the lettuces can also be planted in cycles to be ready on a regular basis for daily harvesting and use in the house. By growing these fresh vegetables, sprouts, wheat grass juice, and manna bread, the household implements permaculture ideas into the urban environment in a manner that is at once self-sufficient, environmentally improving, and transformative to the community and individuals who participate in it. The health effects of the fresh vegetable, sprouts, and sprouted bread diet can also be considered beneficial, though the plants should be misted as well as watered on a regular basis to keep them free of any accumulation of pollution that may be prevalent in the environment from automobiles or industry. 2. Carry out ONE of the following analytical tasks for the site you have chosen: a. An input-output analysis for one of the elements you would like to include in your design. How could this link to other elements? b. An analysis of limiting factors, and some suggestions for how they might be overcome c. A sector analysis An input-output analysis of this location is required particularly for the use of water in the project. The building is made with iron reinforced concrete about one and a half foot thick for the roof. There is currently a single pipe connection for water, and this is connected to the city of London water supply. There is an ability to install an industrial, stainless steel sink for the main production use in the facility, but this should be located in the greenhouse facility where the manna and sprout production will be conducted. Therefore, a water line must be installed from the center of the building to the greenhouse for the sink. The main water connection in the center should be connected to a manual faucet that is used to water the vegetables in the barrels and clay pots. These containers should include an iron or clay bottom plate for preventing run-off water from collecting on the roof. Rain water can be collected and also allowed to run-off through the existing drainage pipes located on the corners of the terrace. Manual watering will be employed for the vegetables using wide-spout watering buckets and hand-misters. The water facilities and sink can also be used to wash vegetables and sprouts before taking them downstairs to the kitchens for preparation. One issue of concern is the level of chlorination or chemical treatment in the London water, and whether this should be filtered for the sprouting. Carbon filters and even Vitamin C filters can be considered for this, though it adds to the production burden of the facility. Evaporation purification and transportation of outside water for this use is contraindicated by the needs of the project and are not considered viable or sustainable solutions. There is a need to contain the earth in the pots, barrels, and plates so that it does not clog the water drains that allow rainwater to escape the rooftop area. The sink installation requires a drainage system that must be either connected to the building’s sewage pipe or to the drain by which the rainwater is disposed. As the latter will empty into the street area, another option is to recycle the sink water for the watering of plants. Nevertheless, the extra expense and work of installing the proper drainage for the sink in the greenhouse should be judged as worth the additional cost and work, because it also keeps the facility within the codes of local residential permits and avoids any direct release of waste water to the local environment. 3. Do a 'bubble design' for your chosen site, and explain how you chose the locations for different design elements The main contingent in the design for the rooftop garden and sprout production center is the need to keep a path for walking and watering the plants between all of the rows. The main walkway is designed to contain medicinal herbs, bio-diversity plant species, wildflowers, etc. as an aesthetically pleasing path through the garden. The three large barrels on the right side are meant to contain a variety of vegetables grown together, such as corn, beans, tomatoes, mellon which vine across the roof, cucumbers, and peppers. These can be used in kitchen facilities by the residents, but the vegetables largely have longer growth and maturation times than the sprouts and greens. The left side contains three rows of 7 pots which are planted in cycles over three weeks so that one pot can be picked every day, and the greens mature regularly to be used for daily household use for 10 people. Both of the vegetables and greens / lettuces can be watered by hand and misted daily. The greenhouse area will contain the sprout production facility and main sink. There should also be two large barrels for biodiversity plants to be germinated. The greenhouse can be used for six large clay pots that are approximately 5 to 10 gallons each and used for sprouting wheat berries. These should be cyclically managed on a three day basis for bread production. The sprouted wheat must be ground for bread, but this can also be sun-baked in a solar oven on the roof on clear days. The sprout trays can be plastic, and modular, as per industry standard and cost-effectiveness. Alternatively, stainless steel can be used and kept clean in the sink. The sprouts should be divided by varieties: alfalfa sprouts, garbanzo beans, radish seeds, bean sprouts, and other varieties planted in three and seven day cycles as per the germination and use in the househod kitchens. The goal of the facility is to provide regular salad greens, including fresh lettuces and sprouts, to the 10 residents of the building. The sprouted wheat will be about 5 kilos per day and can be purchased in bulk. The wheat that is not used in bread or additional sproutings can be done for the purposes of wheat grass juice production, and the same grinder used to grind the sprouted wheat for bread can also be used or adjusted to make the wheat grass juice. The spouted wheat water if pure, can be used as a type of fermented beverage such as rejuvelac. The occasional production of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs, teas, melons, berries, and other produce from the garden will still unlikely be sufficient to fully supply the daily needs of the 10 residents, but the ability to add a terrestrial garden nearby can be sought in tandem if the goal is urban farming in organic vegetables for household self-sustainability. 3. One Essay: 1500 words 1. Take a detailed look at a case study of a permaculture project/initiative that involves working with both land and people. What lessons emerge from this case study in relation to peace and/or development? Auroville in India was created as an intentional community or ashram by “the Mother” a follower of Sri Aurobindu near Pondicherry, India in Tamil Nadu, established as a model world peace village. This community would lead to the creation of a protective environment for intra-religious study, and give long term residents the ability to live “free of possessions or property ownership” by pledging all of their property to the collective and receiving their needed food, housing, sustenance, community resources, utilities, etc. from the ashram. Yet, the people who created this experiment also attempted to use Permaculture ideas and techniques to terra-farm a large region outside of Pondicherry to restore the local forests, introduce sustainable organic farming, and promote bio-diversity. Auroville was founded, according to “the Mother” to build progress towards world peace that involved equality and tolerance of all religions and nationalities. She stated, “Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.” (Auroville, 2011) Similarly, the founding Charter of Auroville states, “Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.” “Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress and a youth that never ages.” “Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.” “Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.” (Auroville, 2011) It should be noted that Sri Aurobindo was a key leader of the anti-imperialism movement in India at the time of Gandhi, but pursued a path of deep study in yoga, Indian philosophy, and meditation in retreat rather than political activism. His work has been compared with Teilhard de Chardin, and “the Mother” was also a French woman living in India inspired by his message. Auroville evolved in a deep experiment with the ideas of governance, property ownership, and evolution of consciousness, while also maintaining an active group of permaculture enthusiasts building ecologically designed communities of self-sufficient organic farming, biodiversity species support, medicinal plant preservation, spirulina cultivation, and land reclamation farming. Flyer advertising Permaculture Training Programs at Auroville, 2011. (toniijoseph, 2011) Two of the main Permaculture communities at Auroville are “Solitude Farm” and “Sadhana Village” or “Sadhana Forest”. Auroville permits the organization of semi-autonomous sub-communities organized around personal group ideologies or religious beliefs so that individuals can join household or working operations and participate in the greater community in that manner. At Solitude Farm and Sadhana Village, the Permaculture techniques employed involve reclaiming dry and arid land in Tamil Nadu by planting trees to anchor water in the soil and provide shade. While the trees may take as long as 20 years to develop, the Auroville community has been active for over 40 years, thus significant land reclamation successes have been seen in the area. From the basis of forest restoration, the community members of these groups also engage in organic farming, bio-diversity plant species preservation, the cultivation of medicinal plants, and the construction of traditional Indian residences from natural materials that are combined with alternative energy projects. “Sadhana Forest is off the grid: photovoltaic solar panels provide electricity, power a pump which provides water from onsite well, huts provide comfortable accommodation out of locally sourced natural materials.” (Watson, 2011) The photo above of “Sadhana Forest” shows the combination of solar electricity generation with traditional tribal dwellings, organic farming, and community building under a spiritual governance system. Organic farming at Auroville involves banana, papaya, coconut, fresh garden vegetables, greens, herbs, spirulina, and other fresh produce that is sold in community stores to other locals of community members or donated to the central dining facility. The goal of the permaculture farming techniques is to provide self-sufficiency in food production while also avoiding toxic chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, and other commercial farming products that can have wider and unintended effects on the environment and food supply through pollution. The organic farming establishes a sense of active care for nature, the environment, and community which in turn furthers the spiritual and political goals of the community. In this way, Auroville stands as an example of how permaculture techniques can be put to use in an intentional community as part of a wider holistic pattern of growth and order. As the organizers of Solitude Farm wrote, “Solitude is a 6-acre sustainable farming community specializing in natural farming and permaculture methods. We grow a variety of indigenous millets, rice, pulses oil seeds as well as a wide diversity of fruits and vegetables. We build most of our own buildings using natural materials and use solar energy, compost toilets and wind power. We host volunteers from around the world and there is also an organic restaurant. We have been deeply inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka and his vision of a true road back to nature, growing the food we need in a simple and harmonious way.” (McKenzie, 2011) One aspect that Permaculture can assist with in this context is by providing an alternative model for development in poverty areas on India and the world where entire populations or villages are beset with structural issues of marginalization, chronic lack of education and utilities, lack of clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, or a sustainable food supply. Thus, the Auroville permaculturists also provide community training for locals and international volunteers in these techniques so that they may be learned, practiced, and spread to other locations, building a transformative effect on the wider global society. Sadhana Village – Auroville Permaculture Community (Watson, 2011) Sadhana Village Center (Kaila, 2009) The photos above and below show the natural harmony and landscaping that is created along Permaculture principles in Auroville, combining low impact structures constructed with organic materials and the local integration of food cultivation within the intentional village structure of the community. “Keyhole Garden bed and constructed shade shelter” (Kaila, 2009) In summary, the Permaculture initiatives at Auroville can be seen to include: 1. Reforestation Projects: Tree planting efforts over a period of 40 years have led to major positive changes in the environment consistent with Auroville’s spiritual and ecological approach to community building. “Since the 1970s, millions of trees have been planted behind bunds, next to dams and ponds. Fences have made from thorn and cactus to protect the vegetation from grazing. As the vegetation has grown the microclimate has changed. It has become cooler and more humid, which facilitates more plant growth, and brings in many species of animals, birds and insects. This in turn further enriches the environment through seed dissemination and fertilization.” (LeFay, 2011) 2. Appropriate Technology: Auroville focuses on using sustainable, organic, and self-produced building materials for structures that have a low environmental impact in pollution, and also strongly values the indigenous or traditional tribal knowledge systems of India that are dismissed as “backward” and “primitive” in modernism, so that a more holistic, balanced, and egalitarian approach to society can be constructed. 3. Renewable Energy: Experiments with alternative energy sources at Auroville include the use of solar panels, hydroelectricity, tidal power, biogas, solar ovens, and wind mills. (LeFay, 2011) This forward thinking use of sustainable and non-polluting technologies is also integrated with the Permaculture philosophy and value system. 4. Water Treatment Systems: Auroville has developed over 40 decentralized, small-scale water treatment and waste water processing stations on its location, with composting toilets also used in locations that cannot be centrally connected to a sewage system. (LeFay, 2011) 5. Ecological Architecture: Auroville is “centrally planned” so that the main community is architecturally designed to resemble a spiral galaxy, with the “Maitri Mandir” or “Temple of Love and Compassion” at the center of the community. The permaculture techniques such as tree planting and landscaping are designed so that over time they create the organic structure and living architecture of a wider community with a large number of sub-groups organized around spirituality and ideology in the organic landscaping. As Rachel LeFay wrote (2011), “There are 14 farms working around 400 acres, managed by the Auroville Farm Group. Most farms are diverse, with a combination of fruit trees, field crops, vegetables and livestock. There is a strong focus on traditional breeds and varieties, and on keeping seed banks to preserve agricultural biodiversity. Each farm integrates appropriate technology, such as rainwater harvesting, wind pumps and drip irrigation. They experiment with perennial agriculture, biodynamics, natural farming, and more recently EM technology (an EM-fermented plant extract from the leaves of the indigenous Neem tree has been developed for pest management).” (LeFay, 2011) 6. Economics & Governance: Designed to be a “world peace” village, with a plaza of nations and a community focus on spiritual, religious, and philosophical study, Auroville is a very advanced intentional community that uses Permaculture values as part of a wider holistic and integral worldview that seeks to transform both individuals and society. The photos below show the central Maitri Mandir and “galactic” master design of the Auroville community, which illustrates how macro-cosmic ideas can be used to design and plan an intentional, experimental, or alternative society even within the existing global paradigm and industrial system. It can be argued that global poverty presents conditions internationally that need to be addressed by both individuals and communities, while the traditional industrial, chemical, and economic solutions currently employed either ignore the problem or present unsustainable or non-egalitarian policies which do not value all interests fairly. The forward looking, reformist, and simultaneously traditional values of Auroville are thus built on the foundation of Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Gandhian, and Yogic principles primarily, but embrace the unity of all religions, the necessity of personal spiritual development, and use Permaculture techniques to create a sustainable intentional community that can inspire while also presenting valid and tested environmental solutions to global issues caused by industrialization, modernization, pollution, and loss of meaning in value systems which are considered characteristic of late capitalist development in developed economies internationally. Auroville – Maitri Mandir (Mdu, 2008) Auroville Map / Design Plan (Magee, 2011) Bibliography Auroville (2011). Ecological Architecture. Auroville.org, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.auroville.org/environment/agri.htm Auroville Earth Institute (2011). Welcome to Earth Architecture! Aurovile Earth Institute, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.earth-auroville.com/ Burnett, Graham (2008). Permaculture: A Beginner's Guide. London: Spiralseed, 2008. Kaila (2009). Sadhana Forest 5 week PDC-Tamil Nadu, Auroville, India, January 2009. TreYo Permaculture, 2009. Retrieved from http://treeyopermaculture.wordpress.com/previous-treeyo-courses/sadhana-forest/ LeFay, Raven (2011). From Dust til Dawn. Permaculture Magazine, 2011. Retrieved from http://gen.ecovillage.org/iservices/publications/articles/Auroville%20PM45low.pdf McGee, Debbie (2011). AUROVILLE - THE CITY OF DAWN in SOUTH INDIA. The Feminine Whispers, 2011. Retrieved from http://thefemininewhisperers.net/2009/03/01/auroville--the-city-of-dawn-in-south-india.aspx McKenzie, Krishna (2011). Experimental Permaculture Workshop. Auroville Green Practices, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/events/76-events/252-experimental-permaculture-workshop Mdu, Vijayy (2008). Maitri Mandir Photo. Skyscraper City, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=698434&page=6 Mollison, Bill (1988). Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual. Tyalgum: Tagari Publications, 1988. Sri Aurobindo Society (2011). THE PURPOSE OF AUROVILLE. Auroville – The City of Dawn, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in/subnav/aurovil.htm Toni, Joseph (2011). Love farming? come along! Natural Farming and Permaculture Workshop at Auroville, Pondicherry. (Permaculture Flyer from Auroville – Photo), IMG.mu, 2011. http://img.mu/6jGoz5 Watson, Thomas (2011). Living simply and consciously in Sadhana Forest, part one: background and arrival. Notes from a Wanderjahr, Sustainable Philosopher, 2011. Retrieved from http://sustainablephilosopher.wordpress.com/tag/auroville/ Read More