This article is from an email received from Scott (Five Streams Community)

Imagine two intersecting circles. The left circle represents “me” and right circle represents “we”. A community must have these two components.

Firstly, it requires that each family have the ability to be totally independent if they choose. This is the “me” circle. In the Ringing Cedars books, Anastasia advises that each family have a domain that is 1ha in size. Although we do not specifically follow Anastasia’s principles at Five Streams, we happily adopt this concept. Put simply, the idea of 1ha domains is sheer genius. 1ha is just big enough for a family to grow their own food, have a house or two, and not have to talk to anyone if they do not want to. But… it is also just small enough to allow community to develop naturally. You can walk to your neighbours, share with them and commune with them without having to pay toll fees.

On the other hand the “we” component is what is created on the shared space (the space not taken by domains). On Five Streams, we have a full time farm manager, Sid, who manages a team of staff, and it is their job to maintain the main house and equipment, develop the land, grow vegetables and fruit trees, look after the animals, etc. This is the right hand circle, the “we” and nobody is under any obligation to get involved. The “we” circle is NOT community. It is what is happening on the land that facilitates community. This is very hard for many people to grasp. Apart from the above undertaken by Sid and his staff, the “we” also includes building our pyramid, our labyrinth, the walks and turning the main house into a community centre. It includes all those real and tangible things that are developed for the community to use, but it is not the true essence of community.

Let me illustrate: have you ever been to a cluster estate with a pool, clubhouse and maybe even a gym? Yet nearly all the time, it stands empty? This is what you get when you develop the “we” (the infrastructure) without the “me” (happy independent people on domains who actively seek community). It is crazy. They build community facilities, but they design houses that do everything they can to ensure people’s privacy! They live like sardines and sardines can’t commune because they are too close together. (And, of course, they’re dead.)

What I’m trying to say is this: community cannot be forced. It arises naturally when the “me” and the “we” are in balance. This take a lot of work and, over time, the essence of community begins to materialise.

Here is a challenge that many communities face: the lazy people don’t pull their weight so they fight with the busy people. We have avoided this on Five Streams by making everything voluntary (yes, you heard me correctly). Nobody has to do anything, because the farm has its own economy that runs whether or not the people contribute. Even if the people do nothing for the “we” the farm continues to develop, and all the people are able to share in the bounty.

Does this sound strange to you? Is it fair that they should take when they do not give? Well, they do give, that’s the point! They give because they are working on their own individual domains! That is why I say this to each new person that joins Five Streams: “Just focus on making your domain a paradise! If you do that, and nothing else, you will be doing a huge service to the community.”

Now comes the interesting part. Where the two circles intersect is where the actual “community” happens. This cannot be forced or planned. On one side we are developing the farm for all to share. On the other hand we have the individual domains. Where they intersect is the cause of some of the most awesome community experiences one can ever hope to be part of. They happen like little pieces of magic, often out of the blue. It’s fantastic! However, it is also the space that causes huge anxiety for some people. It is like trotting on a horse: if you get it wrong, it can be like Chinese torture, smacking your bum up and down over and over and over again, going nowhere slowly. If you get it right however, it is a smooth, lovely form of travel.

If you truly get what I’m talking about here, then you get what community, and Five Stream really is.

I hope you come visit us sometime. Having guests really supports us. See our website for details.

Scotty

PS. You may be asking “if nobody has to do any work, then surely nobody would do anything?“. That is precisely why we employ a team to make sure things get done, regardless. The idea is to make the farm so enticing and so attractive and so exciting that the people want to join in! They get involved in the “we” without wanting anything in return because their domain (the “me”) already gives them everything they need.

When: 3 – 5 January 2012
Three day courses at Doornlaagte, Rustenburg, North West, South Africa.
These courses will run weekly up until April 2012.

Cost: R6,800 per person
Food & accommodation included or adapted if staying nearby. Max. 6 persons per course.

BIO-ORGANICS
By Nico Snyman. B.Sc.Agric. (Agron) Pret. Cell: (071) 547-9814

Nico & Texas Grano onions. It was the 5th consecutive trial where the soil is now fertile enough that it does not need Bio-Muthi for the time being, only raw material for food for the organisms.
The image on the right: a single onion was placed on a side plate with 18cm diameter. These onions are too big for the market, but sweet and tasty. We donated 10 to the church fair where they fetched R4-00 each.

Course Programme

1. Soil microbiology – Humus, organic material, carbon analysis.
2. Pioneer plants and Climax plants, weeds and maize evolution.
3. Biological soil restoration for increased production and maintenance of fertility.
4. Residue free production of fruit and vegetables and tastefulness.
5. Production of Humus, soil structure and water absorption.
6. Centre pivot irrigation inputs.
7. Application to cattle-, game-, sheep- and chicken farming.
8. The sun, the moon and the climate.
9. The operation of a bio-bank for own purpose.
10. Advantages: Profitable with minimal inputs, higher production.

What students are saying

“Ewald admitted to Nico that he now sees the light, because for 9 years he got nowhere with EM. They swooned over the size and the healthy state of our spinach, onions, beetroot and the pumpkins, which I displayed in the lecture room together with pictures of Peter’s carrots etc.”
~ Ewald, course leader (after a 2 week permaculture course with 40 attending + 25 dignitaries)

“Janie and Nico, thank you so much for your incredible sessions with the students. They are so inspired.”
~ Stephanie of Thlolego Learning Centre. After Nico’s Lectures at the Permaculture course showing the students the visible results in the vegetable garden with the Bio-Muthi

Soil is alive

“The point is that where the soil is altogether depleted, no Permaculture or EM (which is only forest floor bacteria combined with household bacteria like yeast and beer & wine bacteria), can resuscitate depleted soil quickly without the addition of an unspoiled balanced mix of natural bacteria which occurs in virgin soil of that specific region, depending on that area’s rainfall, climate etc. Farming can’t be farming without farming with the bacteria itself.

Soil is not just soil where we see nothing. Soil is alive with populations of microbes that vary by the way that you treat and feed them. Work with them and farm with them. Then you discover that food production is easy, plants are healthy and yields are high.

Pests previously experienced (a problem created by ourselves) disappeared when the soil was treated right. In the end farming the soil is very easy and uncomplicated to do.”

~ Nico Snyman

For bookings and further information contact Janie;
Cell: (076) 600-6196;
Email: gentracsnyman@mtnloaded.co.za;
>> Download the Bio-organic Farming Methods Course Programme PDF

Nico on the left and Janie on the right

*** Latest news (December 2011) ***
The Lebone College in Rustenburg (more or less schooled on Steiner’s Waldorf Schools) will be using Nico’s Bio-Muthi on their vegetable garden. Their tunnels will be supervised by Keith Kirsten.

If there is one book you should read as soon as you can, this is it. Your outlook on the plant world will be forever changed. Prepare to be amazed.

You can get the book from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Plants-Peter-Tompkins/dp/0060915870

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8

Kalala Karumba Aaron

Par la Présente, nous voudrions vous informer sur la pollution en cours par les pécheurs non informés sur le Lac Tanganyika; et plus particulièrement à Uvira.

Nous voudrions par votre autorisation, les sensibiliser puis les interdire sur la pratique des filets maillants ayant des produits chimiques toxiques dangereux pour la vie des poissons, d’autres êtres vivants et des personnes.

Permaculture défend la pratique des produits chimiques dans l’agriculture pour éviter des graves conséquences socioéconomiques et environementales.

A tous les membres des GEN-Permaculture Congo, vos commentaires sont bien venus.
Permaculture & Plan Africa DRC

Etant donné que la technique de capture des poissons dans le Lac Tanganyika reste traditionnelle en favorisant la destruction de la biodiversité, la population de la RDC, ces dernier temps, commence à importer les produits du Lac Tanganyika des pays voisins : de la Tanzanie et du Burundi pour suppléer à la carence halieutique à Uvira.

Rappelons qu’il y a moins de 25 ans, alors que l’environnement lacustre n’était pas encore détruit, un pêcheur pouvait attraper plus de 200 kg de poissons par jour avec son filet et 2 lampes. Tandis qu’aujourd’hui, avec plus de 10 lampes, le pêcheur est incapable de rapporter même 20 kg de poisson ! La population pense, à tort, que cette pénurie est provoquée par les sorciers et/ou la punition de Dieu suite aux péchés…

Généralement cette maigre capture est le résultat de mauvaises pratiques de pêche :

• filets à fines mailles qui attrapent les alevins
• filets géants qui emportent les algues et les pierres vers l’extérieur quand on les tire (ces algues et pierres constituent la nourriture, le refuge ou les sites de maternité des poissons)
• grenades pour tuer les poissons et produits naturels toxiques « mbangho », qui tuent les poissons de tous âges ainsi que les autres êtres vivants lacustres.

De plus, le territoire d’Uvira est devenu le dépotoir de tous les filets maillants synthétiques fabriqués à partir de produits chimiques toxiques. On y trouve actuellement plus de 500 filets et ce nombre croit chaque jour pour détruire l’environnement lacustre et préparer une prochaine famine. Ces filets ont été d’abord refusés au Rwanda, à Goma et à Bukavu (Lac Kivu) puis en Tanzanie, Burundi, Zambie (Lac Tanganyika), pour arriver finalement ici à Uvira. Ces filets ont été interdits dans ces contrées suite à leur toxicité car, une fois introduits dans le lac, ils polluent plus de 4000 m³ d’eau pour un seul filet : les poissons tombent malades et meurent. Combien de m³ pollueraient les 500 filets qui sont actuellement à Uvira ? Y aura-t-il encore des poissons dans 10 ans ? Cette pollution ne pourrait-elle pas s’étendre à tout le lac ?

Signalons que les poissons attrapés par ces filets se décomposent seulement 1 heure après la capture (ce qui prouve aux pêcheurs et habitants que ces filets sont toxiques), la personne qui consomme ce poisson court le risque de maladies diarrhéiques, nausée, vomissements, maux de tête et de ventre et finalement le cancer des intestins. Si aucune solution n’est prise dans l’immédiat, d’ici 10 ans, tout le lac risque d’être pollué et la vie des poissons serait impossible. Des conséquences fâcheuses vont surgir à tous les habitants comme maladies, la pauvreté et la mort. En plus, pour dépolluer ce lac, cela demandera beaucoup d’années et d’énormes moyens humains et financiers seulement parce qu’on n’a pas interdit à temps l’utilisation de ces filets maillants.

Nous disons non à l’utilisation de ces filets maillants et condamnons avec énergie son utilisation dans le Lac Tanganyika. Uvira, réveillons-nous ! Combattons pour notre survie et pour celle de notre progéniture !

Que la population d’Uvira prenne conscience en regardant le futur et non en se contentant de peu, de ces poissons ramenés par ces filets maillants.

Nous demandons aux autorités politiques et administratives de la RDC de prendre des mesures d’interdiction d’usage des ces filets maillants et de punir tous les récidivistes.

Le Lac Tanganyika est un patrimoine mondial, il ne devrait pas souffrir tant que nous existons car il nous fournit une eau douce, des bons poissons, et son bel environnement attire les touristes qui peuvent nous apporter des devises.

Evitons que cet héritage unique ne devienne comme le Lac Tchad qui s’est rétréci comme un simple étang parce que les habitants du Tchad ne l’ont pas protégé.

Merci de prêter attention à notre requête.

Kalala Karumba Aaron

APAA Congo-Permaculture/DRC
Uvira, 6 Septembre 2011
Tel. +243994329277
Email : apaacongo2@yahoo.fr, kalalakarumba@yahoo.fr

When the question came up, “How could permaculture be applied on a commercial scale successfully?” it led to an amazing opportunity to meet up with Nico Snyman, a long time South African farmer, and his wife Janie, who are using soil organisms to rehabilitate polluted and damaged soils.

Nico & Texas Grano onions. It was the 5th consecutive trial where the soil is now fertile enough that it does not need GROW AGRA for the time being, only raw material for food for the organisms. The image on the right: a single onion was placed on a side plate with 18cm diameter. These onions are too big for the market, but sweet and tasty. We donated 10 to the church fair where they fetched R4-00 each.

Over the years Mr. Snyman has noticed a decrease in the number of farmers countrywide due to ever increasing input costs. He mentioned that farmers’ major expenses are the purchase of fertilizers and pesticides. (Many farmers of his time were brought up and taught at university to farm with these products.) His son, Peter, B.Sc Agric (Hons.), who is farming in Zambia, also noticed that after a number of years of the soil been treated with fertilizers, it had become infertile, infested with eelworm and nothing would grow at all.

They began to wonder if there was another way – a way which would require a new way of looking at farming in a new light. They realized that they would need to replace the biological component in the soil.

This eventually led Nico to (the now late) Dr Pieter Cloete, a D.Sc. (Agric) Biochemistry and eventually a medical doctor who discovered that when he took a soil sample from a totally undisturbed forest or wildlife area and was able to reproduce the organisms and introduce them into infertile, poor or damaged soils, that he started experiencing astonishing results.

Dr Pieter Cloete also discovered that plants feed anaerobically from deep soils. He proved that by applying organic material and his anaerobic organisms, he could regenerate orchards of peaches, citrus, mangoes, apples, paw-paws and bananas miraculously.

Soils which were polluted and depleted, suddenly had new life within them. Nico tested the organisms on various crops (corn, vegetables) and noticed a marked difference and improvement in soil quality, plant growth and yield. eg. his corn had grown to over three metres tall and he was also getting a double increase in his yield with the additional deep feeding.

Nico explained that if the soil is healthy and balanced with the necessary soil organisms, the surrounding environment is in equilibrium too – ie. pest populations are non-existent or are limited in numbers and plants and trees are healthy and acquiring the necessary nutrients from the soil. “As above – so below” now took on the perfect meaning.

During my conversation with Nico and Janie, Janie got up, went to the fridge, and sat down again at the table with a bottled organism mixture from their bio-bank. It smelled of molasses. I was a bit taken aback at what she did next. She poured herself a cup and drank it. Janie explained that it was even beneficial for humans and animals too; that it was a pro-biotic.

After this meeting and back at home again, I stayed in contact with Janie. She emailed this to me a few days later:

The GROW AGRA bio-organisms and trials can restore depleted and eelworm infested lands within 2 years without chemicals. We think that Dr Pieter Cloete, posthumously, deserves the Nobel Prize in Agriculture and that his findings of anaerobic feeding of plants and trees and the establishment of such a bio-bank is in the same category like the findings of Albert Einstein. I am forwarding the pictures of our old peach tree which had, on top of its old age, Hyvar X contamination, which affected a huge Karee tree behind it to such an extent that it died completely.

Janie told me that after 50 years of the old peach tree being presumed dead/dying it had started growing leaves again and then had all of a sudden started producing fruit. She put it down to the tree’s roots being able to reach and feed off the nearby compost heap (which had these soil organisms within it).

The old peach tree, brought back to life

I’ve also included 3 articles written by Nico, below (PDFs). Afrikaans and English versions available.

Organic? Biological? Natural Farming?

By NT Snyman B.Sc. Agric (Agron.)

• Organic Article 1 with photos
• Organies Artikel 1, met fotos
• Organic Article 2 with photos
• Organies Artikel 2, met fotos
• Organic Article 3 with photos
• Organies Artikel 3, met fotos

Background: Nico Snyman

Nico is a scientist and researcher at heart, apart from being a farmer. He started off on an engineering degree but switched over to farming (B. Sc. Agric. (Agron.) Pret). He was also a Tractor Dealer and during that time introduced the Stubble Mulch and Minimum Tillage idea in the Bothaville/Viljoenskroon area years ago (1970) for the wind blown and dusty fields. He was also Head of Extension services & Head of Research and Development for many years in the tobacco industry.

After retirement he built a few revolutionary machines like a High Crop Tractor, Sugarcane Harvester, and low profile Stope Drill Rig for the mines. He is currently working on a proto-machine for commercial farmers to introduce the GROW AGRA straight into the soil together with organic material in one shot. There is however a lack of capital for further research and development until a grant can be obtained somewhere. In the meantime he carries on with the vegetable and maize trials (for the 5th year) and does cross breeding of maize and sugar maize for more tasty and edible corn.

Corn towering over Nico and Janie

As I was putting this article together, an update came through my RSS news reader from the Permaculture Research Institute; and yes, you guessed right, it was all about soils, so I’ve decided to include it as well.

Bio-Agriculture – a Solution to Climate Change by Craig Mackintosh

GROW AGRA is available from the bio-bank started by Dr Pieter Cloete, but now managed by Andre Van Rensburg near Mokgopong (former Naboomspruit) at Cell 082 431-5065 or theresa.vanrensburg@gmail.com.

Janie Snyman near Rustenburg could also be contacted on Cell: 076 600-6196 or via email on: gentracsnyman@mtnloaded.co.za. The pricing for Grow Agra is at a very reasonable low price of R10/litre. (The results of 1 litre Grow Agra per 1000litre drinking water for cattle, game, sheep have been very effective).

The Afristar Foundation permaculture educational poster series to educate children, the youth and communities around South Africa on specific aspects of sustainable livelihoods, food production, greening and land care.

The posters all have the same look and feel and link to the permaculture curriculum to serve as educational resources for teachers wishing to establish “Outdoor Classrooms” and for communities wishing to establish viable organic gardening and food production programmes.

See more on Urban Sprout’s site for a great article about the posters:
http://www.urbansprout.co.za/awesome_permaculture_poster_series_by_afristar

See images of the posters here on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/

To get your posters, please contact Nick at: nic@afristar.org.za
http://www.afristar.org.za

We are writing to see if anyone on this network has links to people or organisations that may be interested in setting up or be involved with a group setting up sustainable schools in Tanzania.

Agricultural education is widely accepted as a vital part of economic development particularly for countries with high rural populations. A major problem is that low-income countries just don’t have the money to provide such education free to all those that could benefit from it, or the quality of the education is poor. This has given rise to the development of schools that pay for themselves –  self-sufficient farm schools.

This is essentially a new model where students spend half their time outside the classroom learning ‘in-the-field’. Farming is also a business, so students learn not only to increase yields, but also how about add value, keep records,  and marketing and selling their produce. This builds their confidence as agro-entrepreneurs and allows them and the school to create income.

We are looking for people who have a background in organic agriculture, sustainability, permaculture, entrepreneurship, education or organisations that are established with resources to assist with a sustainable schools programme in Tanzania. Please circulate this post to anyone that you feel may be in a position to assist or add value to the development of this concept and its implementation in Tanzania.

Contact Nicholas Heinamann: nic@afristar.org.za

To sign up to the Plan Africa group and receive newsletters and information, please do so by filling in your email address at the top right under the ‘Sign up for our newsletter’

Many thanksThe Plan Africa Team

The book costs R230 excluding postage.
Please contact nic@afristar.org.za if you would like to order a copy.

This book is designed as a guide to the internationally recognized 72 hour course that qualifies students as Permaculture Design Consultants as set down by the Permaculture Institute.

It provides an enormous amount of detail as it leads step by step through a recommended course structure. However, the teacher should take a flexible approach and adapt the course content to the specific conditions of the local bio region. With advice on teaching aids, topics for class discussion, extensive reading lists and tips on teaching adults, this book is bound to be an invaluable friend to the experienced and novice teacher alike.

ISBN 9780864178008
Binding: Paperback
Pages:160
Dimensions:280 x 210 mm
Released:01/03/1997

The Siyakhana Permaculture Food Garden on Lunch Box

TEDx Johannesburg – Mandla Tshabalala – Garden of Dreams