Here is my newest video :
Building towers of recycled bottles and/or pots offers fantastic opportunities to grow fresh food with a minimum of water and fertilizer. One can grow at home, in cities and villages, all kinds of vegetables and herbs. Bottle towers are a wonderful tool to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. They can be build at the lowest cost by any family everywhere on earth, particularly in drylands and deserts.
Video seen at :
http://www.mylittlehomestead.com
Video seen at :
http://www.thesanctuaryatsedona.com
Why don’t you start with the same enthusiasm as this young lady ?
Even if you have less means than these Sedona people, you can achieve wonderful things at a smaller scale. Don’t sit and wait for your daily ration to be brought to you. Stand up and just start your own dryland family garden.
Grow your own veggies and make your children happy !
These photos, taken in February-April 2010 in some of the family gardens in the Saharawis refugee camps near Tindouf (S.W. Algeria), show that the former UNICEF-project, nowadays called “The Not Forgotten International Family Garden Project”, is still a remarkable success three years later (sustainability !). The idea for “Seeds for Food” was born in these refugee camps.
With a minimum of brackish irrigation water an important production of food crops is realized in the Sahara desert soil. It’s a nice contribution to the alleviation of child malnutrition in the camps. These fresh vegetables and fruits are a highly valued supplement to the monthly food basket provided by the World Food Program (WFP), a positive contribution to the general health condition of the refugees.
IMG_0638 – 2010-02-06 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Smara – Greenhouse of Engineer Taleb Brahim with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and fig cuttings (left). (Photographer : Phil Hittepole)
IMG_0724 – 2010-03-15 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Auserd – Fatimatoo Hanoon tending young watermelons between rows of millet and barley. (Photographer : Phil Hittepole)
IMG_0732 – 2010-03-15 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Auserd – Selma Khandood Mahmoud tending young watermelons between rows of millet and barley. (Photographer : Phil Hittepole)
IMG_0733 – 2010-03-15 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Auserd – Engineer Taleb Brahim with Fatimatoo Ahmed Salem Adeed in her garden of watermelons and canary melons between rows of millet and barley. (Photographer : Phil Hittepole)
IMG_0850 – 2010-04-22 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Auserd – Engineer Taleb Brahim and Mohamed Mas’aoud with Mineto El-Khatat in her garden of watermelons and canary melons between rows of millet and barley. (Photographer : Phil Hittepole)
DSC03617 – 2010-04-28 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Auserd – Engineer Taleb Brahim posing in the garden of Mariam Mohamed Ali Taleb. Watermelons, Canary Melons, barley, and millet are being grown with fabric wind breaks to help protect the produce. (Photographer : Kate Lenz)
DSC03663 – 2010-04-28 – Saharawi Refugee Camp Auserd – Watermelons in the garden of R’aba Mohamed Seedy, with her son. (Photographer : Kate Lenz)
My attention was caught by some statements in Mrs. Priscilla ACHAKPA’s interview, referred to a former posting on my desertification blog:
This Executive Director of the Women Environment Programme (WEP) urged the Nigerian Government to speed up the implementation of the Green Wall Sahara programme (GWSP), which she called “an integrated development strategy for combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought and climate change” (see also UNCCD).
Mrs. ACHAKPA observed that the impact of desertification raised security concerns, especially among the vulnerable groups. She stated that “the impact of climate change is more on women in the rural areas as they have little or no understanding of the issues involved”. Her NGO, the WEP, intends to conduct a study on gender awareness of climate change issues, because adequate information on climate change is necessary to evolve steps to control it.
Agreeing with some of Mrs. ACHAKPA’s ideas, I want to congratulate her for asking to speed up the implementation of the Green Wall programme. Indeed, such a nice programme, being a real challenge for all the Sahelian countries involved, merits massive support to speed up its achievement.
On the other hand, I disagree with her that Nigerian and other Sahelian rural women will be better off with “adequate information on climate change necessary to evolve steps to control it“. Even supposing that there would be a small chance to find adequate information on climate change for rural women, I am not so sure that this will help these vulnerable women to handle their security concerns raised by the impact of desertification.
Even if the Green Wall programme may play a little bit of an interesting role in some aspects of climate change, it will not be tremendously important for the rural families in the northern provinces of Nigeria and in the other countries concerned. I rather believe that it would be more efficient to invest in awareness building of the local population about the need to combine small-scale agriculture (or gardening) with reforestation in the Green Wall programme (agroforestry).
No doubt, we are all aware of the fact that such an enormous reforestation plan, with billions of trees to be planted in the Sahel belt, can never be achieved without “an army” of labourers for growing seedlings, digging plant pits and planting the seedlings. These labourers will have to be well fed. Tons of food will have to be produced at the local level. By whom ? By the local women ? In this case, we would prefer that long time before the activities of the GWSP start all women can get “adequate information on ways and means to cultivate sufficient food for hundreds (thousands ?) of labourers of the GWSP working in their region”.
We can’t imagine that these women would be more interested in climate change issues than in best practices of food production in their dry region.
If well trained in cultivating all necessary species of vegetables and fruits, (dryland farming), they can not only use these skills during the implementation of the GWSP, but also for the rest of their life and that of their children, grandchildren, …
Therefore, just allow me this little piece of advice : start today laying out a small-scale garden for every woman in the northern provinces of Nigeria where the GWSP will be applied, because if there is not sufficient food production in those provinces when the labourers have to start planting trees, there will not be a Green Wall at all. Never, because planting trees with an empty stomach is so extremely difficult. We all know this, even those strongly interested in climate change.
Dragonfruits and tree tomatoes can be bought in supermarkets or fruit shops.
Dragonfruit is grown on the cactus Hylocereus :
The fruit contains hundreds of black, shiny little seeds sitting in the pulp. One can wash out the tender pulp in a fine sieve and dry the seeds on a plate (not on paper). They usually germinate around two weeks after shallow planting. Dry seeds can be sent to us (Beeweg 36 – BE9080 ZAFFELARE (Belgium). We offer free seeds to different development projects in the drylands, thus enabling hungry people to grow fresh fruits in a sustainable way.
Oval fruits only look like tomatoes. The juicy orange pulp with purply red seeds can be washed out in a fine sieve by squeezing the pulp under running tap water. The dark colour of the seeds (anthocyanins) disappears gradually until they are brownish. Seeds can be dried on a plate (not on a paper). Seedlings develop quite easily in humid potting soil.
Dry seeds sent to us (see address above) are offered for free to development projects in the drylands, where these tree tomatoes bring fresh food full of vitamins to the local people. Thus, anyone can contribute to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in this world.
As we are setting up tests with drought-resistant varieties of trees to be introduced in refugee camps in the desert, we are looking for small cuttings (20-25 cm, 8-10 inches) of the Navajo Globe Willow (Salix matsudana ‘Navajo’). We would be very grateful receiving some cuttings to compare their drought tolerance.
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‘Navajo’ is a very hardy tree, adapted to high desert climates, round-headed upright and fast-growing, spreading, large, deciduous, long lived tree, medium-sized, 20’ to 70′ tall and wide.
The tree seems to be sheared into a perfect ball. Its branching habit results in a characteristic globe shape: a broad, rounded, perfectly symmetrical crown spread of mostly fifty feet. Young 15’ tall trees start showing the rounded crown.
Slender leaves are bright green, lance-shaped, 2″-4″ long, turning yellow in fall.
Unlike most willows, this variety is popular in high desert and drylands because it is drought-tolerant, adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions
The name of the ‘Navajo’ variety of the Globe Willow is probably synonym with ‘Umbraculifera’.
The Navajo Globe Willow is related to the Corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’). Cuttings of this Corkscrew Willow would also be welcome.
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Please send some cuttings to:
Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM
BEEWEG 36
B 9080 ZAFFELARE (Belgium
by Willem Van Cotthem – University of Ghent (Belgium)
We have been setting up successful tests with drought-resistant varieties of trees to be introduced in refugee camps. We are still looking for small cuttings (20-25 cm, 8-10 inches) of the Globe Navajo willow (Salix matsudana var. ‘Navajo’).
We would be very grateful to receive some cuttings from different origins to compare drought tolerance.
Who wants to help us to some cuttings ? Please send them to :
Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem
Beeweg 36
B9080 ZAFFELARE
================
‘Navajo’ is a very hardy tree, adapted to high desert climates, round-headed upright and fast-growing, spreading, large, deciduous, long lived tree, medium-sized, 20’ to 70′ tall and wide.
The tree seems to be sheared into a perfect ball. Its branching habit results in a characteristic globe shape: a broad, rounded, perfectly symmetrical crown spread of mostly fifty feet. Young 15’ tall trees start showing the rounded crown.
Slender leaves are bright green, lance-shaped, 2″-4″ long, turning yellow in fall.
Unlike most willows, this variety is popular in high desert and drylands because it is drought tolerant, adaptable to a wide range of soil conditions
The name of the ‘Navajo’ variety of the Globe Willow is probably synonym with ‘Umbraculifera’.
The Navajo Globe Willow is related to the Corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’). Cuttings of this Cortkscrew Willow would also be welcome.
===============
Please send some cuttings to:
Prof. Dr. Willem VAN COTTHEM
BEEWEG 36
B 9080 ZAFFELARE (Belgium)
Read at :
AfricaFiles
Title: Uganda embarks on seed improvement
Author: Aidah Nanyonjo, Kampala
Category: Ecology
Date: 12/9/2008
Source: New Vision
Source Website: <http://www.africafiles.org/database/>
African Charter Article# 24: All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory environment favorable to their development.
Summary & Comment: Uganda has embarked on a two year project to develop and adapt seed varieties that grow well in the local environment. The research is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AB
http://allafrica.com/stories/200812100139.html
Uganda has embarked on a two year project to develop and adapt seed varieties that grow well in the local environment.
Dr. Peter Seruwagi, the head of Horticulture programme at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCCRI), Namulonge says the multi million project which is called ‘Vegetable breeding and seed systems‘ is funded by the Bill and Merinda Gates Foundation through the World Vegetable Centre. “We want to come up with seed varieties that are of good quality for improved productivity as well as consumption,” he said. Seruwagi says most imported seed varieties especially for horticulture do not do well in the Ugandan environment. The project will cover tomatoes, egg plants, onions and other vegetables. “It is not true that all the imported seeds are of low quality. They may be of high quality in the country of origin, but due to climatic differences they fail to do well here. We have received several cases where these seeds fail to germinate,” he says.
The Institute has organised a seed fair where Ugandan seed companies will exhibit their products. The seed fair, with a theme ‘Vegetables for health and wealth,’ will take place on December 12, 2008. “As part of the project, the seed fair aims at promoting the use of quality seeds and increased vegetable production for income generation,” he says.He said the market for vegetables has grown widely following the benefits they contain. “Eating a wide variety of vegetables means you are more likely to get all the vitamins and minerals that are important to your health,” Seruwagi added.
It is a well known fact that some imported seeds, even of the highest quality, will not germinate and develop into healthy plants, due to climatic or edaphic(soil) constraints.
For that reason some comments on our “Seeds for Food” action doubt about the positive effect of the seeds we send abroad to development projects.
It goes without saying that we are conscious about the right choice of the species sent. But even if not all the seeds offered for free to projects will germinate or develop into healthy plants, the percentage of them germinating and producing fresh vegetables and fruits is a big step forward for the recipients, because “Eating a wide variety of vegetables means you are more likely to get all the vitamins and minerals that are important to your health“. And even the non-germinating seeds will always play a positive role, being organic matter that will be decomposed in the soil and thus contribute to the organic content of that soil.
We appreciate very much the efforts of the “multi million project which is called ‘Vegetable breeding and seed systems‘ funded by the Bill and Merinda Gates Foundation through the World Vegetable Centre. We expect that the outcome will be : an interesting selection of excellent varieties of seeds, producing bigger plants and better tasting vegetables.
However, the question remains if these selected varieties will be produced in Uganda (and in the other developing countries) at such a large scale that sufficient seeds will be offered for free to the poor rural people. Or will they be produced by companies, putting commercial varieties of seeds on the market which again will be too expensive to be easily purchased by smallholders.
We remain convinced that offering free seeds of tropical fruits, collected from all the juicy fruits we are eating in developed countries, to small-scale farmers in the developing countries, is a valuable contribution to their sustainable development. Taking into account the climatic and edaphic conditions at the sites or regions of the developing countries, where we are sending the collected seeds of vegetables to, is also a major step in that direction. Once those smallholders have these free seeds developing in their kitchen garden, they are in a position to select seeds from the plants they are growing. They will not be dependent anymore on “donations of seeds”. They will be able to enhance bit-by-bit their annual income by taking the surplus of vegetables and fruits to the local market. And at the end of the day they will earn sufficient money to buy the “top quality seeds” selected by their national experts and produced by the commercial seed companies.
In the meanwhile, we continue to collect seeds of vegetables and fruits and we offer them for free to every development project wanting to lay-out kitchen gardens, in particular in the drylands.
Is this working well ? Ask the people who received already some seeds … or look at the pictures of newly installed kitchen gardens, even those in the Sahara desert. Seeing is believing, isn’t it ?
I was reading with great interest the content of the former postings on my blog http://desertification.wordpress.com
FOOD SECURITY MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR WORLD’S POOREST, BAN TELLS US STUDENTS
“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a gathering at an American university that the daily reality for one third of the world’s population who live on less than $2 a day include decisions such as which of their children gets to eat.
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Mr. Ban noted that one billion people around the world, known as the “bottom billion,” live on less than $1 a day and two billion live on less than $2 a day, and many if not most are children suffering from hunger and malnutrition.
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Some families ended up eating one meal a day instead of two, explained Mr. Ban, with some family members going without food. “Sometimes parents have to choose among their children as to who gets to eat, and who doesn’t.”
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He pointed out that families who spend more on food have less for health and education, beginning a social spiral which the whole society goes down.
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The challenge of food security must be addressed immediately, said Mr. Ban. “We need to strengthen agricultural infrastructure, increase productivity and do away with unfair terms of trade.”
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So far, so good for some parts of Mr. BAN’s speech at St. Louis University in Missouri last Friday.
Today, I can’t avoid dreaming, eyes wide open, of a world within which every family has its own allotment, its own kitchen garden (and not only the Queen at Buckingham Palace !).
Let’s dream together, eyes still wide open : all the international organisations, nowadays carrying responsibilities for food programmes (WFP, FAO, UNICEF for the children’s health and education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, etc.), working together to ban malnutrition, hunger, famine, starvation from this world, could start up a worldwide programme to construct family gardens or kitchen gardens and school gardens “for one third of the world’s population who live on less than $2 a day include decisions such as which of their children gets to eat”. They would certainly find the necessary donors for such a global programme, because the survival of our whole human society is at stake.
Together with Mr. BAN I notice that “one billion people around the world, known as the “bottom billion,” live on less than $1 a day and two billion live on less than $2 a day, and many if not most are children suffering from hunger and malnutrition“. So, why don’t we construct school gardens for these kids, not to make them richer, but to learn them how to produce vegetables in the school yard for at least one decent meal with fresh food, vitamins and minerals per day ?
If it is true “that families who spend more on food have less for health and education, beginning a social spiral which the whole society goes down“, why don’t we stop that sliding down of the whole society simply by teaching the world poorest people how to grow their own vegetables and offer them their own small kitchen garden.
“Don’t give them a fish, but teach them how to fish” or in this case “Don’t send them food, but teach them how to grow it“, for even in the most difficult situations of poverty, drought and desertification, we have already the most appropriate ways of soil conditioning, water harvesting and food crop production. Methods and techniques are well known; they have shown their cost-effectiveness.
If Queen Elizabeth felt the need to have an organic vegetable patch at Buckingham Palace of about 10 yards by eight yards in size, why do the poorest families of this world don’t get a similar patch for their own welfare , close to their humble home? (see my posting at https://containergardening.wordpress.com).
Impossible, you say ? Just have a look at my former postings about the family gardens in the refugee camps in S.W. Algeria on this blog (a former UNICEF-project !).
Have a look at the picture below and judge for yourself : if such a kitchen garden is possible in the Sahara desert, why not everywhere else. Even a much smaller one would do, don’t you think ?
I strongly believe that family (kitchen) gardens and school gardens are an unavoidable solution for the hunger and health problems of this world.
It suffices to believe in it to find ways and means for the realization of such a programme, full of beauty and supreme human feelings. Isn’t that one of the the main goals of the United Nations and of many of the aid organizations ? It’s not a dream anymore, for reality knocks at our doors. Why would we keep our doors locked for such an idea, such a fantastic solution (that’s what the people, having already a small kitchen garden, told us) ?
So, who takes the lead ? The winner takes all the honours !
Just wait and see ? No, don’t wait anymore, let’s do it together, tomorrow or the day after.
CONTAINER GARDENING 
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