Permaculture in Namibia's Poorest Area: 6-Month Update

[@martinmcfarlane2826]

I'm watching from Scotland, fabulous to see how you are applying the skills you are learning.

[@srantoniomatos]

Dont have experience in that kind of soil, wheather, and social envoirement, have no clue if you are doing a good job or not, nor tips that can be usefulll, but sure like your enthusiasm and commitement. Pretty sure you will see positive results soon, in a few years time. Hope you do.

[@24bellers20]

Waiting patiently for a good downpour to see the results of all this work.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@antbyrne3531]

he should put some grass seed, etc and worm soil at the tape of his water tank, it probably get more water then anywhere, every time that tape opens some is getting on the ground. It's mad that there was no vegetable scraps, bones, any biodegradable waste in the compost/worm farm, even the plants to the right of it had so much dead material to chop in put in the ground and use for mulch. I hope you can get across to them that anything that was alive put back into the soil, plus water can bring back fertile soil. I wish I had the means to get over there and show them. Fair play to you for giving your time and energy.

[@FionaGordon-x7m]

I was chuffed by how things were going with Emanuel. Yes, things could have been better, but this guy only started 6 months ago and knew nothing and as we have seen with the first of the other attempts in the township, a clean yard (brushed dirt) is socially and culturally very important, even when you understand the principles of mulching. So well done Emanuel and Danou! The baby in the wheelbarrow was a harrowing tale and you have done amazingly well to clamber over that horror and to continue to work with Emanuel and to dream permaculture dreams for the wider township. Thank-you.

[@Altheodi]

Would rock mulch be more socially acceptable?

[@claireskrine4837]

Do thank Emmanuel and his wife for letting us see their house and garden. I'm also pretty impressed at his English skills, and he has a neat and tidy house.

[@Rescueluv]

Thankyou for the update seeing your property sprouting green is inspiring your forays into the township are equally heartbreaking and uplifting I think Emmanuel is doing great and with your continuing guidance will keep going forward your kindness and generosity is humbling to someone who never has to think about not having water, has food in abundance and biggest worry is having too much stuff.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

It means so much to me that you see the impact, thanks for your kind words!

[@KristelViljoen]

❤​@@thefoodforestnamibia

[@AdmiralReering]

He has quite a lot organic material on his roof next to the larger tree I saw in the drone shot!

[@tantrictami]

I'm so sorry for the loss of the baby I understand how hard it hits you. Near the end of his life, Thomas Jefferson said I am an old man, but a young gardener. You can spend several lifetimes working with the land, but it's never enough time. Your project will magnetize people who vibe with you, and they will seek you out for your knowledge when they see the results of your work. Stay strong.

[@louislombaard900]

Beatifull and a briliant idea to help the poeple in the townships to create a permaculture culture so they in the small can help to green up our environment.

[@tesha199]

Guys must be feeling amazing to work in shade, and a much lower temperature on your property compared to everywhere around it.

[@NirvanaFan5000]

wow, what a video. ... that story in the middle was heartbreaking... and I think you're right: there are enough people who want to do permaculture that you shouldn't need to force it. let the examples speak for themselves until people are asking for your help... and very nice to see your teammate's house and permaculture system. it could be doing a bit better, but it's moving along and he seems dedicated, which are both what's important. When people like him succeed, his neighbors will take notice too... thank you for your hard work and sincerity

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

You are dreaming. There is no commitment on Immanuel's part to water trees and grow worm casting let alone use it. It is a sad statement but true. Be honest and clear eyed. Africa is a very tricky place to create change. Stick with Danou. The work on his farm may start to have some interest as a demo project in 5 years. ✅

[@NirvanaFan5000]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 : the cactus was clearly watered. the worms are alive... I agree he could be doing better, but I still see progress and learning, personally

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

@@NirvanaFan5000 The worm bin was bone dry and there were no vegetable peelings or scraps as worm food. This is 6 months in. Everything should have been mulched and watered. Sorry, I draw the line when beneficiaries are not doing their part to at least 90 percent. I donated to the gutters and it looks like that water is being used for washing and being dumped straight onto the ground. SHAME! ✔

[@BESHYSBEES]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171give the kid a chance, he probably walks to work, swings a pick all day, walks home, has 2 children and a wife to tend to, and by the sounds of it she’s not invested in the permaculture idea, there’s lots of things going against his efforts.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

@@BESHYSBEES Sorry - at 6 months I expect to see some progress. look at what Danou has accomplished in one year. Danou's accomplishments are because he embraced the concepts. Immanuel demonstrated no buy in. Call it tough love. life is not fair - it is hard. Wasting resources is a sin. Read the Bible. Drive on. ✅

[@zxtsf]

FROM ❤ERITREA 👍👉🇪🇷

[@kjellolavwittersoe8456]

When you are making the BDAs, it migth be an idea to cut the branches into singel sticks. It will be easier to weave the sticks between the poles to get a dam with less openings. Your first attempt will stop debries, but seens to be less effective for slowing down the water. I really enjoy warching your videos. I grew up i Etiopia, but now I'm stuck in freezing Norway.

[@OublietteTight]

Good point. Single branches can indeed be woven like a basket around the poles. Are they green enough to flex? How long does winter last in Norway?

[@makingsenseofourworld]

2) Also a quick thought for shading your plants. You could use cardboard, lifted an inch or so off the ground around the base of the tree. Not sure how easy it is to get, but if you can put out a 12" piece around each plant, you can shade the roots, making the water go further and keeping the soil cooler. Good luck, watching from the U.S. Praying for a gentle, soaking rain for you all.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

! DANOU ALERT ! 5:15 You are building the deflector on the WRONG SIDE OF THE RIVER! In this shot at 5:15, you want to force the flowing water further LEFT in the river. The deflector you are building should run from the deepest part of the river up the right hand bank - forcing the water to the left. You want to erode the left bank so the soil will settle in the leaky weir where the grasses are growing. Always remember, the goal of the deflectors is to make the bends in the river more extreme. You DO NOT want to make the river straight. For deflectors, the tires should be in a single chain, stacked two tall in positions 2, 3 and 4. 6 tires total. That will be sufficient. Don't put more tires in the river than you must. They are ugly and potentially toxic over time. You do not need ANY brush in a deflector. Use it for the next leaky weir upstream 30 meters from the first leaky weir.. Do you have problems with lucas not following your instructions? It appears he is consistently doing his own thing. I would be annoyed because he doesn't fully understand what you're trying to accomplish. Adding extra tires, building the pond - these acts are not helping your cause. Doing his own thing costs you time, material and labor dollars and it confuses the rest of the team.✅

[@BESHYSBEES]

You should jump on a plane and go supervise his project for a couple months while he’s at work, you know pick up and organise the guys and the days tasks etc, drop them off after work, make sure they aren’t having too many piss breaks or having a few minutes long on lunch, pilfering etc etc you’d make a good supervisor I reckon. #supervisor STEVE!

[@pascalkuipers8099]

Wow, this was cool. I've never been in afrika now . did thanks for taking me with you guy's 🍺🍺

[@leelindsay5618]

That water catchment is nice and it looks like he is adding some white rock for a path. The pits in the front yard look like they have collected some rain, but they are still not embracing the worm farm entirely or mulch around the small trees. Some shade cloth over the worms would be a big help, and additional food. Just a thought, perhaps if he were to make a stone ring around each tree and then fill that ring with mulch, perhaps they could see each ring as a planting area that is designed to hold the mulch. They seem to "sweep the dirt" so that there is no sign of life, but that is very unhealthy. They could easily have pumpkins and corn and beans in those front yard pits with adding mulch to the ground as well as watering a small amount daily.

[@hotbit7327]

I like your idea of stone rings to encourage mulching. Could be a clever way to get through "fashion" rather than explanation (which, as we see doesn't work well).

[@jeffmarner3106]

It looks more like systems were put in place and neglected. The worm farm seems lucky to have any worms left in it. Obviously a lot of teaching still to do. I don’t think I’d have the patience.

[@hotbit7327]

@@jeffmarner3106 I agree. Nevertheless, I think Manuel deserves some praise for going the extra mile to keep the trees and worms alive. While he still has a lot to learn, his efforts are commendable.

[@TheCongratulationsChannel]

Corn is a bad idea as it need a lot of nutrients and pumpkins need a lot of water too and have only a few fruits. As you could see the cacti grew nicely in the climate. So you could grow cacti with edible fruits. I would hang up a cover between the walls to give the plants a shade and would do vertical gardening in plastic bottles as these can hang at the wall and use the water and the compost most efficiently. You can grow a lot of vegetables and fruits in bottles with 'vertical gardening'! Regreening his property won't work! If it shall work you have to do it on ALL properties of the township at the same time! The trick with Permaculture is to raise the ground-water table so the plants can get water from it in the dry season. You can not raise the ground-water table if you plant something on only 1 square meter soil !!! It is just a waste of water! You can grow small trees and (berry) bushes in big (60 to 100 or more litre) buckets which you put into the ground because they hold the water back. (if necessary you need a few tiny holes to prevent waterlogging).

[@sms3037]

I think it's positive that you are open to other people's opinions and pay a lot of attention to the comments! Like you, I think that the most benefit can be achieved in the townships by sharing the knowledge you have acquired with Simon Lucas and other staff members with the residents. Maybe you could lend them digging tools one day a week so they can build pits. The water collection system in Manuel's garden is perfect!!!! Just before you said something about covering the well, I thought about this in connection with standing water, which can act as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, causing nasty tropical diseases. The moisture that comes from the worm tower is best mixed with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 before it is given to the plants. Otherwise there is a chance that the concentration of moisture is too strong and the roots will burn. Cow manure must also be thoroughly diluted with water before it can be spread over the land. A good addition for the worms in addition to compost/food scraps is brown cardboard (unbleached, untreated). They love it! Many supermarkets give away their cardboard to save on waste disposal costs. With the available amount of compost that is ready, he can apply a nice layer in the zaai pit. I hope he has enough branches/twigs and/or other organic material to protect the fresh compost layer from rapid dehydration due to the scorching sun. For example, unbleached (brown) cardboard could also be used for this. To save water, Manuel should water his plants every day just after sunrise and sunset. At least not during the hottest period of the day!

[@ajl1973]

Lekker idea. I love Namibia.

[@christinepyscher6781]

I can see hope for you and Emmanuel. It takes time to change minds and even longer to change habits. He is trying and having successes. Good on you for encouraging him.

[@KristelViljoen]

There is alot of labour going into digging that holes. It is back breaking work especially in the harsh sun. Years ago my husband hand digged and planted with a team of ten people 2000 trees in seven days ( Mine rehabilitation) It is not just digging a hole, there is a science to it to ensure that the trees can sustain themselves without being watered. He had blisters and a painfully back for weeks. The people he worked with was jobless and he negotiated a daily wage. He didn't tell them but decided in advance that he will split the profit equally amongst every person involved.( The project was part of practical mine rehabilitation to get his horticulture degree) He still made alot of money even though he split it equally. I suggest you research how to build a rain saucer to catch extra water without using a roof.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

Thank you for viewing with me! Where are you viewing from?

[@jerometeyssier3171]

France ! 🇨🇵 ❤️ 🇳🇦

[@taniamew]

Hastings, South East England

[@Forseti2]

Czechia 🇨🇿

[@ErvaSaboeira]

Lisbon, Portugal

[@SudarSanja]

Denmark❤

[@vanrensburgsgesicht]

If I were dropped in a landscape like this, my first instinct would be to create shade. For animals, young plants and me (I don't tolerate heat well). The sun seems to burn mercilessly down there.

[@schnauzpig]

I agree. But the comments section here voted to chop down the only dense patch of shade for some reason.

[@ad2040]

It is a good point. Reducing evaporation as much as possible by creating shade is as much part of a dryland strategy as catching, slowing and spreading the available water.

[@Brian7083]

Thanks!

[@TheCongratulationsChannel]

An interesting video for the township projects: How Farmers Reshaped a Region and Solved Drought All have to work together, or it won't work!

[@kirschkola]

It's great to hear from your passion. Sounds like a very positive outlook. Keep up the great work. At some point when I can, I also want to help you out ❤

[@pampotgieter7611]

So sorry to hear about the baby. Shame I can see why it upset you. Emmanuel is trying, and I can see he is working under difficult circumstances. Permaculture is a strange and new concept for him and he is willing to try it. Lovely to see the Moringa tree is doing well. Thank you for sharing.

[@jeffreysachs3423]

67 existing comments. I do not have a good sense of the berms and check dam orientation but… In general the more curves and turns in a creek, the further the water travels at a slower rate. The slower water flow rate, the more sediment should drop out and longer travel distance increases the surface area that water can be absorbed into the soil. Making the berms or tire check dams should help, the more the better. I am told it is better to have one large park, then many smaller parks of the same surface area. That way you get critical mass for shaded areas and more water retention. Within 5 meters off the property line, water drifts into adjacent properties and has increase evaporation on those less shaded lands. So one large parcel of land has less circumference (border areas) and less water loss than a bunch of small tracks of land. It would be more better to do adjacent properties than scattered homesteads. Every little bit helps, but I would focus on your immediately adjacent land (brother-in-laws) than scattered parcels. Planting trees is better than leaving land fallow, but I would focus on continuous parcels (even up stream of your land). The efforts in the village may be small, but it may help change the social culture to enable future population buy-in for permaculture and water harvesting. Good luck and thank you for the acknowledgment, I never know if the buymeacoffee really gets the money to the desired destination.

[@ichifish]

Your story of the "dirty mulch" rings true. I also have trouble with my neighbor's obsessive "cleanliness" here in Japan, where my 1/8 acre plot abuts a tiny mountain. The land is severely degraded, and I'm letting weeds grow to bring a tiny bit of life back into the soil and figure out what will flourish. One neighbor expressed shock that we'd build a house and then keep such an unsightly yard, and my wife yanked everything out while I was at work. Then another neighbor weed-whacked my mulberry bushes down to stumps while generously "trimming up" the grass I was growing to seed around it. Out in the mountain, which also has degraded soil, another old duffer weed- whacks everything down to the dirt (to make it clean and prevent attacks by mamushi, a poisonous snake not seen here in a generation, he says), ensuring that the only thing that will grow is the same invasive that's been growing there for the past 20 years. Patience. Patience. Patience.

[@TheCongratulationsChannel]

Do you have a bokashi bucket? It is a Japanese invention for fast composting. You could produce fast compost to fertilize your land.

[@ichifish]

@TheCongratulationsChannel I have tried bokashi before, but currently I don't have any going. This spring I hope to start it up again, although most of my food scraps go to my worms.

[@claireskrine4837]

Also I was wondering - if a neat and tidy yard is important culturally, but you also want areas of weeds and grass, can you adopt some UK landscape gardening tips - we like a tidy, well kept garden too. So placing a nice fan or border of sunk brickwork around the green areas to show that those are a neat and tidy garden - like a flower bed - then the rest of the yard can be kept swept clean. Emmanuel's yard is already quite landscaped like this. Awnings for shade can also be put up and made to look like a garden feature if constructed well. You can fix hooks into the side of the house and splay out cloth or tarp from there onto poles, and fix the poles in place with ropes and tent pegs. Can be put up or taken down quickly. Raised beds that create contained areas for flowers and vegetable growing are popular here but we get lots of rain - sunken beds like Emmanuel has are probably better.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

@@claireskrine4837 I also think we should try the marked ways. That way it does not feel so strange culturely

[@minxyminx7148]

It's a shame that he hasn't quite embraced it as much as I'd hoped. Some shade cloth will make a difference on the worm farm and the water catchment

[@markthompson180]

I agree with you on this. His yard is very small. It wouldn't take much to keep up with a few basic things. The cacti look like they had been recently watered, but the soil around the lemon trees was dry. They could use a little shade at the very least.

[@1millionpumpkins542]

I thought Danou was very gentle and accepting of his friend's baby steps towards permaculture. It's an uphill battle to contradict an entire society's definition of hygiene, and he is the minority in this context. Mulch is considered filth in the township while cars must drive iver drifts of non-compostable garbage. It's a whole other gestalt lost in translation until undeniably fact.

[@mechanics4all405]

great update,Emanual can make it with a bit of encouragement,still nu mulch present there,was a shame❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@1millionpumpkins542]

RIP poor little baby. 😢

[@hotbit7327]

Emanuel 👍 good job keeping trees and worms alive. You need to remove good stuff from the bottom more often and keep that barrel full of worm food. Keep on going, you will learn more and by very happy man in 2-3 years with what you did today!

[@OublietteTight]

@@hotbit7327 is the plan to sell worms? Or personal local use?

[@mieessaayaachis2336]

Minnesota, USA

[@BESHYSBEES]

On the topic of worms Danou did you watch the video about the wedge technique at Arizona worm farm? How is the new worm site doing in the shade vs in the sun?

[@JaimeBird-n8m]

Great house I won't to build with mud brick in Australia .IV started putting old plastic chairs over my smalle trees to help shade them looks abit messy but in long term fingers crossed it'll pay off

[@TheCongratulationsChannel]

Did you watch the Australien projects Natural sequence farming: How Peter Andrews rejuvenates drought-struck land | Australian Story and the donkey project?

[@OublietteTight]

The chairs sound smart to me. Using what we have means less consumer products in the system. 😊❤

[@JaimeBird-n8m]

@TheCongratulationsChannel haven't seen as yet I follow Geoff Lawton green the desert and permaculture Australia

[@JaimeBird-n8m]

@@OublietteTight I notice people chucked out alot of plastic out door chairs so I collected 20 to put over a few trees helps shade on 40c days

[@OublietteTight]

@JaimeBird-n8m A great example of reduce "Reuse" recycle.

[@MotosAllotmentGarden]

👍

[@tantrictami]

You are a brave man to put up your work for KZbin experts to critique! I would love to see a contour map of your projects site it is hard to comprehend the levels as you walk around with the camera the angles play games with your mind. the drone is nice but I lack context.

[@whytedraegon66]

I was waiting for an update on the town projects ty ... shade cloth would be good to use to keep the plants from burning in the sun while the plants are young and putting a lid on the well will keep the birds and insects from drowning themselves also he needs to cover the worms house with a shade cloth wrap to cool the metal sides so not to cook the worms needs to run water through a little more often get a garden sieve to separate worms from castings until the amount in worm city is raised :D maybe he can give his neighbors buckets for their table scraps too :) maybe leave a scrap bin for their donations at the gate is there a local market with full bins on market day?

[@whytedraegon66]

it dont need to be shade cloth for shading the plants even sheets tied like tents lol maybe tie dye them or use coloured sheets to uplift the areas bland colour scheme

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

If Immanuel doesn't have the capacity to water his plants and use the worm castings he has, any more input from Danou is a waste. ✅

[@AlmaTlust]

01:20 you will probably find that after your massive water harvesting being in place that your ground water levels will rise. We have about 2.5 million liters of water holding capacity on our 60 acres farm, and we have several shallow wells at the lower end of our property that serve us (and the neighboring villages) up to 10.000 liters per day for our 7 months dry season. It gets tight at the end, but we manage.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

@@AlmaTlust that is fantastic. I can't wait for this to be the case for me.

[@daggaboom]

It's a little dissapointing to see how much space is in that worm farm for fresh waste for them to compost and how much castings is sitting there waiting to be used. I'm not sure Emanual understands the value of those castings. I wonder if encouragement for him to do a experiment with/without casting grow would help him see the value? But saying that, I think the lesson you learned is the most important one, don't be helping someone who wants it less than you want to give it. Maybe the best help is tojust let him see how you are succeeding and then hope he follows your lead.

[@Superxtremedits]

There is an active resistance to what you are teaching. I dont believe it has anything to do with a lack of understanding or culture. We tried to do the same thing here in my community. A piece of land with a borehole was acquired. Seeds were provided. A notice was put out for those interested in starting a communial garden. Ten people pitched on the first day. All they were interested in was how much they would get paid to grow their own food. That was the beginning and end of the project. People would rather sit in abject poverty then help themselves. The Sasa grants all land up enriching the bottle stores. A very very sad and disappointing reality.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

Thank you for the dose of reality. of course, the bleeding hearts won't listen. ✅

[@NirvanaFan5000]

Thinking about the local distaste for mulch on their land... what about loose mats? e.g. woven grass. just a thought

[@1millionpumpkins542]

I agree!

[@muellermade4857]

large rain water tanks are very common in Australia people have up to 100,000 liters or storage collected from gutters on houses and sheds.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

@@muellermade4857 I have a plant to build somthing like that for our property.

[@muellermade4857]

I left that message before I seen the tank you built in town.

[@zxtsf]

14:38 plants and soil need sheds

[@nikkster01]

just wondering, does Namibia do any research or projects on covering rivers and water sources to stop evaporation? they are trialing this in Australia for canal systems can you "borrow" any water from the Zambezi???????

[@tarkangurler5317]

Qanat systems once used by old Persians worked amazing for desert,still there are operational to my knowledge

[@TheCongratulationsChannel]

In the townships without much rain people have to collect the water from their roofs in a lot of barrels (cover them after the rain) and grow vegetables in bottles or potts with water reservoirs. So they can use the water most efficient. Especially 3 or 5 litre bottles are nice to use. Look for these videos on YT which show how to do it: - Vertical Garden Bottle System - The Green Wall Vertical Farm - How to Grow an Urban Food Garden - Kenya Sustainable Agriculture - gardening plastic bottle ideas - DIY Garden Ideas - Terracotta water spikes (I use them with water bottles on top) I do use (bought) potts with water reservoirs for my tomatoes and it works great as the plants have water around the clock. If I water them once a day they grow much slower.

[@geerjonk2314]

Netherlands

[@owbeer]

no, namibia

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

@@geerjonk2314 welkom!

[@uszouszo4316]

Times 2

[@JosiahK555]

I'm not sure if that rain catchment would ever fill very far but if it did it could break the brick wall at the bottom. that would be too much weight for it most likely.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

No it would be ok double bricks with steel in it. Same construction as my "swimming pool" but the swimming pool holds allot more water.

[@LordNezghul]

15:55 poor dog :(

[@kellerhorton]

Dan, do you have a rooftop water harvesting system? Do you want one?

[@tarnr5713]

I think Imanual is doing well with his property considering the challenges he faces. It's all very well to be doing the "weird and untidy" permaculture stuff in an out of the way spot like your farm but to try doing it in town with no like minded people around is tough. Hopefully Imanual has the support of his wife - I think that was the problem with your previous town project.

[@1millionpumpkins542]

Whenever I listen to regenerative ag podcasts, they always say that peer pressure is the biggest hindrance to farmers making the change. Peer pressure amongst the wives must hit epic peaks. My suggestion back before I learned that the couple couldn't be responsible for the life of their own child, was to have wives compete for best mulch covers. Now i understand how woefully short my suggestion falls in context.

[@AlmaTlust]

Did you grow the marula trees yourself? I had a very hard time getting them to grow...

[@threeriversforge1997]

Emanuel's house is pretty amazing. Good to see that he's caring for the land and looking to the future. One thing he should consider is that planting next to those masonry walls and floors will cause a tremendous "heat effect". It's a micro-climate of heat because the masonry serves a lot like a Reflector Oven. It's not impossible for plants to grow there, but they'll need more water and mulch than if they weren't near the block wall and patio. Also, with those huge agave plants growing there, he has some decent supply of mulch. You can see a lot of dead leaves that could be cut off and placed around the small plants to help cool the soil. It's not much, but it'd be better than nothing. Bare soil is Bad soil. I know it's a cultural thing, but keeping the ground swept clean really is a problem. If he had even 4" of mulch on the ground, you'd see much better growth in the plants because their roots would be cooler and the moisture would stay around longer.

[@IfEnjoinder]

[@EarlFrans]

Think, no want to suggest you should investigate Ferocement tanks to

[@sl0ls]

I’ve noticed you use a lot of used tires, is there any particular reason? Tires leach various toxins from rubber to heavy metal, and I wouldn’t suggest using them for anything especially not directly in waterways. Similarly, I wouldn’t suggest using plastics either, as some have suggested in the comments as they leach various toxins as well.

[@Nphen]

Every house in that township has kitchen table scraps. There are restaurants & coffee shops. Stores. Add up all the cardboard & food scraps and it could feed a community garden. Maybe someone designs some kind of decorative scrap bins for the houses, and have designated food scraps trash can at restaurants? Build one permaculture oasis in or near the township. Perhaps Emmanuel could teach classes in a few years once he learns more. That's a lot of time & resources though. Maybe I set up a "permaculture church" here in the US Bible Belt, and that's our African mission. Cheers.

[@patti280]

You can’t dig enough holes to hold water when it comes.Even little holes do so much.

[@DoreenFraser-d5s]

Are you saving your rainwater off the roves of your buildings? I’m sure you are but if not worth a thought

[@uranixcz]

I'm not sure I would waste my time with them after what they've done to you. You have some patience. Not much redemption there sadly.

[@thefoodforestnamibia]

@@uranixcz you must remember that this is not the same person. It was a previos project where that happened. And yes I don't help them anymore

[@jeffmarner3106]

Honestly, if this is an example of someone who is doing well, I would just focus on my own place. Maybe on your property you could create all the systems you’ve created at his house but do it on your property. Make it a replica in both size and plants then daily part of his work could be feeding your worm farm, adding mulch and other things. Then in time he can compare how what he is doing on your farm works relative to his home.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

@@thefoodforestnamibia Good. At 6 months you should expect some indication of voluntary compliance. I saw no indication at all that Immanuel and his wife have bought into the program. Drive on. ✅

[@MrAlvinDude]

@@jeffmarner3106 Ah yes, I agree, that helping others to learn about a new concept like the worm-farm-in-a-barrel, will often need a good setting, a supported and protected set up, where it is possible to get very frequent supervision, of the daily/weekly processes that is needed to make the system work. So I think it would be a great idea, to have a learning barrel at the farm. A become-more-familiar with the processes of how to keep the worm-barrel going. How to teach, with practical experience, is a great tool. And it would hopefully only require a few minutes (or even just one minute every other day) of Danou's time. I think I will buy a few coffees to possibly support such a teaching and learning setup.

[@BenRadic]

lucas, please please dont put tires in the creek 1, its rubbish 2, people will copy you and put tires in the creek mate ,this is not good for the creek take them out use rocks or logs or more bushes all of them , no tires in the creek

[@Ifyouarehurtnointentwasapplied]

170 it's coming along ✌️👏

[@darrelllingman63]

Have you built a pond!Have you considered a mechanical digger?Do you store water in tanks underground?Do you harvest water from routes of buildings?

[@ad2040]

This is Africa. Mechanical diggers are expensive to buy and run in the 3rd world, but labour is abundant and people need jobs.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

NO PONDS Permaculture is all about moving water across all of the land slowly so it can soak the entire terrain - not one spot. ✅

[@zxtsf]

​@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 tarp ponds are the solution 👈👈👈

[@ad2040]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Ponds are very useful in permaculture for multiple reasons, if you have the water for it.

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

@@ad2040 This is a desert. Comment on the specific site. Generalities confuse the dialog. ✅

[@BenRadic]

don't put f,,,ken rubbish in the creek mate

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

This is EXACTLY why the use of tires should be kept to a bare minimum. And why I told you not to bring any more tires on to the farm. Make due with what you have. Make Lucas fix his mistakes. ✅

[@BESHYSBEES]

❤

[@antontk2531]

You cant help people who dont want to be helped

[@zxtsf]

👍🌿🌿🌳🌴🌻🌱☘🌹🌵👈

[@portiamonnette]

An idea for your workers house permaculture project...since we know the culture doesn't like mulch seeing it as yard waste maybe try cutting a cactus pad length wise in half so one side is wet and the other acts like a moisture barrier....lay them around the base of the trees wet side down and put rocks on top

[@portiamonnette]

Actually you could bring in a lot of pads to cut and multi layer them inside the the pits entirely...you already have that extra rock piled up outside to use... If you also put worm compost under the pads make sure there aren't any worms if possible so they don't eat up the pads too quickly 😅

[@Argrouk]

#60 I understand your thought process, but I think you are making a mistake with that new check dam. You really need to tie any dam into the bank, not provide a spillway for it at that point. That will cause serious erosion in that area, especially your sandy soil. You want the water to overtop the dam in the centre, or its whole width like a weir and continue in its existing channel, not create new ones in other places. Tamp the sticks down with some loose soil to get more touching the ground and to provide mass. Since you don't have rocks, a slope is better than a steep wall. Good luck

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

This is not a leaky weir. This is a water deflector to erode an S curve into the bank that will be caught by the downstream leaky weir. Step 2 - SLOW THE FLOW ✅

[@Argrouk]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Rivers usually form an S curve because they have slowed down, artificially creating one may not slow it down much. Without rocks to stabilise the planned route it's possible you could lose a lot of top soil. Pete Andrews had some really interesting techniques where he could turn water against itself to spend some of the energy, I think looking into that may be of beneift. The lack of rocks on the property really hinders quick and easy experiments. I'll have a look see if I can find the video...

[@Argrouk]

@@stevejohnstonbaugh9171 Watch "Peter Andrews visits the Burdekin - Building a dam"

[@xsix16]

👍