Aquaponics is basically a 2 part system, an aquaculture tank for the raising of fish and a hydroponic (non soil based) garden for the growth of vegetables.  Basically in this system, the fish tank water becomes full of toxic effluent, or fish waste and uneaten foodstuffs. Though toxic to the fish, this effluent is transformed into a food source appropriate for the growth of various vegetables.

I got on the Aquaponics wagon as I learned more about water scarcity on the planet as well as the fact that there are places where the soil just isn’t fit for the growth of healthy and rich vegetables.   The instructor Eric had worked in a dry desert like area of Kenya showing local folks how to put together  aquaponics systems with things found locally and helped the folks of that remote region take control of their food security issues.

On a recent trip to Senegal West Africa, I saw a locale that could greatly benefit from the implementation of Aquaponics urban gardens.  In the city I was based in Dakar, I saw so little in the way of food growth and though one organization Jica, a Japanese non governmental was doing aquaculture projects in the South, I still saw room for some massive projects involving Aquaponics in this fish industry based nation.

I wrote  a blog on Earthkeepin a few years ago about Agnihotra.   A lot of long time Agni hotra practitioners, many from India, responded with so much enthusiasm and a strong sincere belief in the healing possibilities of this practice.  Some details of what Agnihotra is are better explained in that blog.

In the report  I read today in Satsang, they speak on Soviet scientists discovery that most of the food on the planet was in fact already radioactive at the time surrounding Chernobyl. Well, with this last disaster, we can only imagine the condition of things.  These scientists are even suggesting that people eat some of the Agnihotra ash before each meal in order protect themselves from the radioactivity.  All of this is interesting given that we scarcely even hear anything about the spread of the radiation from the Japan incident to other parts of the world, and needless to say aren’t given any advice by the mainstream on ways to counteract that reality.

I’m very interested to see what changes could be made to the conditions of, for one our food supply with the global implementation of Homatherapy in gardening practices and Agnihotra to bring about an all around healing of the atmosphere and the reality of biology on this planet.

My lil one and I did some starts yesterday so we can have some fall harvests of collards, cabbages, etc..We will have as a next project, the adding of the compost to the dirt and plant matter in our planters.  Compost for those that are new to the agricultural sphere is organic matter such as food stuffs, wood, pine and all types of organic matter that is left to decompose in various conditions and then reused as fertilizer and to amend and heal the soil.  Compost is so useful as a fertilizer,  a conditioner for the soil and even as a natural pesticide.

I’m excited to see how our garden benefits and thrives with the compost addition for the upcoming season.

Tomatoes Still Goin Off

From the Bay, we launched off to Senegal West Africa early this year to check out the Sahel and discover the magical richness of that land and any movements surrounding that.   From there, we blew across the lovely island of Gran Canaria for 2 months, taking in the subtle beauty of the dry, while lush terrain and the incredibly kind and friendly folks of the Canaries.  Our little few month tour has landed us right back home in the so called Dirty South, living close to the earth and enjoying watching the reap of our sow..

As of late, my lil one and I have a primary interest in growing yummy scrumptious delicious food!  We have done it all, from hydroponics to aquaponics and right now, we are back to working with the good ole earth,  to grow organic  food to nourish the nation!

Stay with us as we embark on larger scale food projects and grow deeper in our knowledge of sustainable practices,  and organic living…

This is Ka sowing away

This is from the Yard

Straight from Earth's Garden

So Ka and I are definitely enjoying our new life in Sunny Tulum, Yucatan Mexico.  Tulum is an interesting locale because it is kind of a microcosm of the greater world in that you can find just about all types of humans in all their varied levels of lunancy right here. It’s a major hub for tourists so you’re constantly interfacing with global travelers from Italy, Holland, all over Latin America, Canada, the States, etc…As any touristic locale, despite the sacredness to the locale to the Maya that once had great empires throughout this region, there is that strange phenomenon of trying to market your culture and ways to visitors just to make a living.  That creates a certain dynamic between locals and visitors that is strange to observe but very common.

The town is dope because their are a ton of hippies and musicians from around the globe passing through, performing at the multitude of live music venues here in Tulum Town as well as along the extensive coast line close by.  There are constantly folks in the street, eating at the many restaurants,  people watching, listening to random live music or out at one of the seemingly constant fairs going on in town.

Me and Kamania spend most of our time, walking the streets with friends, making delicious foods in the kitchens of amigos that actually have full kitchens, unlike us, and finding ways to get ourselves to the incredible beaches for some relaxation time.

Last night I finally ran into my wonderful, new mother girlfriend Yazmin from Tepotzlan that I met working in Northern Cali last year. She and her mate and their crew had traveled up by van visiting Chiapas, Michoacan and all these other incredible locales  and invited Ka and I to come down and get on that journey but at the time I was feeling like grounding so thats what we did. Her and her crew Circostancias de Musica del Todo Mundo, did an incredible cirque do soleil type of performance. It was insane, her rhyming on the mic, playing cajon, tablas, chanting, oming, her man doing amazing acrobats, jungling and other insane feats with his brother and other friends. This went down all 5 min from my front door at this spot Charlies that at any given time you can see the most ridiculous stage show of flamenco guitarists or acts like Yazmin and her family.  That’s Tulum..The fun never seems to cease. It reminds me of Bahia Brazil in that way. Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming for a mama like me.  At 4 am in the morning I’ve been awakened many a time to loud ass sound systems pumping out Reggaeton or whatever Latin Music.  It’s slightly insane really…But overall the Yucatan has been good to us…

I am even considering taking Ka to this Montessori-esque school 12 miles away that is run by Mayan women and basically only ask that parents volunteer a few hours a week. It will be an opportunity for her to really socialize and learn in an environment that is wholesome.  So all in all this place has a lot to offer us, plus it’s close to Cuba, lol.

I’m in love. Though Ka and I were stoked to be Cuba bound, our damaged passports found us trapped in expensive while captivating Quitana Roo, where Cancun is, after 10 years of not coming across that border…At first I felt frustrated because my heart was definitely set on Cuba but the last week has really opened my eyes to just how amazing this country is..

We started in commerialized and pricey Cancun to our dismay but over a couple of days, found it to possess it’s own magic…Mexico reminds me much of Brazil in that the folks love to get their party on.  We spent a Tuesday night in Cancun floating from a free salsa dancing party, to a huge carnival and then on to live reggae in the plaza.  And children are welcome everywhere here, even at some club, so you know we’ve been doin it up over here in Mexico.  Overall I can say Cancun is dope if you avoid the odd Hotelera, with the extremely disturbing mega resorts and supersized oddities.  We spent a day on the beach in Cancun, which while blessed, had us a bit perturbed by the 10 feet of sand space we had to function in before the water because our backs were slammed against the wall of some huge hotel catering to 5 star, 3rd world culture vultures..

Our passport business had us wondering North to the Yucatan Peninsula, the well known region of the Ancient Maya to a lovely lil city called Merida, which I fell in love with right away.  Merida had a plaza area where on a Monday night you’d find all types of street vendors, performers, government sponsored cultural events like Mayan dancers and musicians, and 100s of flamenco and local guitarists wondering the streets playing music for visitors.  We got to go to live Reggae shows, play african drums with some musicians in the street, build with elder Mayan musicians hustlin in the plaza and relax and enjoy the friendly hustle and bustle. Oh and the food in Merida was worthy of shed tears.  I ate like some kind of crazy person.  It wasn’t really cheap but so high quality I had little control.  One day we rode with some hippy craftfolk friends to the ocean in Progresso.  All the cruise ships docked in Progresso so our folks were getting their hustle on and we were baking in the sun and taking dips in clear blue/green ecstacy.

Though thoroughly enjoying Mexico, Cuba stays on my heart in a powerful way right now but I figure Goddess knows so we are in the flow.  And this  flow delivered us to Tulum back in Quintana Roo last night.  I’d been hearing about this lovely lil town from some dear friends of mine from the area that live in Northern California as well.  So we moved in to this delightful lil hostel called Rancho Tranquilo with cute cabanas typical of this region. Tulum contains many ancient Mayan ruins overlooking the incredibly blue-green Carribean.  We just came from observing the ruins, swimming in the warm and delightful playa and feeling the energy of the Ancient ones that once inhabited this incredible coastal paradise….This place is so magical that within 5 minutes of each other, I meet a lovely man that is great friends with a dear friend of mine from this area and a woman I bonded with in African dance class on Kauia, ran into at a Midnite show in Oakland after leaving Kauai, and now am seeing here in Tulum, oh and she invited us to join her crew to go down to Belize tomorrow btw.. we’ll see.

I’ve been directed by some drummers in Merida to check out trying to do some African dance performance with here in Tulum for a bit so I’m going to see what’s up with them tonight.  2 be continued lovies.

Mexico me encanta

Like the powerful movie “Life and Debt” by Stephanie Black demonstrated, many farmers in Jamaica and world wide have been forced out of business due to their inability to compete with the flooding of their local markets with foreign, primarily gmo’d foods.

Project E.A.T. held a public viewing of the film this past weekend to expose the greater public of Ft. Lauderdale to this information. Many felt like the film was “preaching to the choir” for them yet there was an overwhelming sense of helplessness and an inability to counteract these superpowers and the damage that is being done to poor people worldwide.

The most important and self empowering thing we can all do right now is start with the basics. We need to be saving seed, planting seed,composting our foods, reaping food planted with our own hands, and  buying from local farmers and going GREEN in every single way that we can…

As I sit here in a beautiful home in South Florida, a literal swim away from the island of Haiti, I think about the gross disparity of here and there and the fact that children are eating mud pies mixed with oil to stay alive right now.  As much as many Americans and world citizens want to block out the reality, it is going on all over the world and should not be ignored or dismissed as ‘karma’.  It seems like we have to start at home, taking small steps to create the change that reverberates throughout the globe.  It’s up to us….

With the current food crisis upon us, the need for further control over our own food is of utmost importance. Backyard and kitchen gardening with compost and other organic products are some practices we can all incorporate into our lives to increase sustainability. There is a growing shortage of organic seeds and heirlooms on this planet now especially with the common practice of planting gmo and using other unnatural substances such as chemical based pesticides, herbicides and a whole host of frightening substances that negatively effect our health and environment.

Seed saving is a simple way to take charge of our food and our lives.

Steps to seed saving (the simple method):

1. Remove the seeds from all fruits and veggies that you have eaten, especially those that were most delicious to you since those are the strains we want to see proliferate again.

2. Clean the seeds thoroughly with apple cider vinegar and distilled water or even a biodegradable soap, ensuring that none of the fruit flesh remains on the seed.

3. COOL AND DRY. These are the key words for storage of these seeds. Allow them to be in a cool and dry place for as long as needed to ensure thorough drying. You’ll know smaller seeds are truly dry if they break as opposed to bend when pressure is applied.

4. Store the seeds in labeled containers such as paper or plastic envelopes and if storage is for extended periods, then place in a jar and store in the freezer.

These are some simple steps to saving seeds and will allow us to preserve our organic seeds and continue in promoting the planting of natural, healthful foods!

]]> http://ecovillagelife.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/the-need-to-save-the-seed/feed/ 1 indigoseed http://ecovillagelife.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/project-ecology-agriculture-and-trade-eat-doin-the-good-work/ http://ecovillagelife.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/project-ecology-agriculture-and-trade-eat-doin-the-good-work/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:32:34 +0000 indigoseed http://ecovillagelife.wordpress.com/?p=17 ]]> I recently trekked with my 3 year old across country to link up with an organization called Project E.A.T. (www.projecteat.org). This non profit organization is in the processing of carrying out some key missions throughout the South Florida regions as well as in Jamaica, Ethiopia and Ghana currently. E.A.T. Jamaica is a really important project right now involving the formation of a farmer co-op in the Blue Mountain region of Portland Jamaica. It is in this region that farmers are being forced to watch their own crops die because of foreign monopoly of the produce market and the unwise heavy import of foreign gmo’d produce to the people of this land. It’s sad to see the way in which these farmers watch their hard work and care go to waste while engineered foods from outside have taken over their former markets. E.A.T. Jamaica seeks to rectify some of this disparity by documentation through multi-media, co-op formation and export market creation as well as shipping services for these farmers and other poor farmers throughout the world.

Some of the focuses of the organization right now in regards to the E.A.T. Jamaica project are centered on matching the 200,000 seeds the Minister of Agriculture recently commissioned to be planted by Jamaicans in response to the looming food crisis effecting 3rd World countries and the world currently. As an answer to this call, Project E.A.T. seeks to match this seed request. In addition, we can provide the government of Jamaica with high quality Mother Earth Foods organic fertilizer as well as donated farm equipment. Through these missions, a more solid foundation of socio-economic stability can begin to be formed for the people of this region.

The reality is that folks all over the planet are being forced to be made more responsible for the food they eat and where it comes from. No more can we blindly allow others to provide us with our food sources and expect true quality.

See the movie “The Future of Food” for more details into the frightening status of food and agriculture right now….

To learn more about the plight of Jamaican Farmers in the Blue Mountain Regions, please check out www.projecteat.org.

Experimentation in places like Venezuela and Peru with Homa therapy in agricultural settings has produced pretty significant results. Apparently, when the Homa is performed in a garden or around trees, the leaves are the first to receive the smoke and then stimulates the generation of chlorophyll.

In Homa atmospheres, areas in which the precise sunset, sunrise rituals are practiced, the metabolism of the plant is activated causing the plant to receive more of the nutrients it’s in need of so that it can yield these same nutrients, healing the plant itself as well as the ecology around.

The basis of the concept of performing the ritual of homa therapy has to do with the susceptibility of plant life and all life in general to more subtle forces. Through the use of innovative, though ancient practices like homa therapy, we may actually have a chance at regenerating and restoring our denatured soils and plant life so that it can yield us the things that we need to sustain and be healthy.