Subject: Re: Vegan PC - again

From: CK Valois/B Brummitt <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 12:25:19 -0500 (CDT)

Steve...
Your cynicism does nothing to further the cause...but I must admit, it is
rather funny.  We, too, have a serious problem with gentrification of this
area...much of the "hillbilly" architecture is being razed and in it's stead
is two to three thousand square feet "cabins" and increased property taxes.

There is a grave problem with maldistribution of land, as well as population
centers that are designed for consumption and competition, rather than
cooperation and sustainability.  That is the focus of permaculture.  Change
will come, one-by-one...and oftentimes through necessity.  We aren't there,
yet...but there are paths emerging.

Have a good day...
I've heard recently that compassion is one of the greatest immune system
stimulaters...and cynicism our own worst enemy.

Bruce

  Cheryl Valois and Bruce Brummitt
           <[email-masked]> 
             46N56' 95W20'
   Visit the Natural Building Gallery
   <http://www.zianet.com/blackrange>

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edited text...
From: "Steve Diver" <[email-masked]>
  ...Of course, in a cool town like Fayetteville or Berkeley or Asheville,
we have progressive 
landlords and they understand we need these animals to practice
sustainable living...  By day--off to our
income destinations to pay for the feed--we tie the single cow to the 
shower faucet and place hay in the bathtub.  We have created a special 
micro-barrel composting method, mixing in-situ wheatgrass sprouts with 
kitchen scraps and cow poop.  The compost makes a fine potting mix for 
container-grown veggies and houseplants.  The latest appropriate 
technology craze is really an old indigenous solution, strap a poop sack
underneath the cow so it collects in one easy-to-retrieve bag ....instead of

the labor-intensive pooper scooper.  Sort of like sheet mulching instead of 
hoeing.  There is an ethical debate here in Fayetteville though.  Some
PC'ers 
have adopted high intensity discharge lights to raise indoor veggies, while 
others askew the electrical inputs.  Invariablly the naysayers are the lucky

ones with south-facing windows though.  It's always easier when you're 
sitting on a goldmine of sunlight in a town with beautiful trees but 
concommittment shade, to be ethical on the electricity issue. 

Oh, were we still visualizing the ideallic PC homestead on 0.5 to 5.0 
acres?   

Steve Diver
Fayetteville, Arkansas 

--
[email-masked]

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From: Katherine Waser <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 10:57:46 -0700

Steve Diver does raise a valid point about those living in apartments or
townhouses or whatever who don't have enough land for chickens, ducks,
cows, horses, goats, sheep, buffalo, yaks, elephants....

But hey, that doesn't mean they can't have animals in their systems!
Instead of the above, how about earthworm bins? Grow herbs and miniature
fruits/veggies on your windowsills in pots, feed what you don't eat to the
worms, and use their castings as fertilizer! You can keep them under your
sink; they don't make noise and they don't smell as long as you set up &
maintain the bin properly. Or how about guinea pigs? In research I did on
urban agriculture for the last issue of the Arid Lands Newsletter, I
discovered that guinea pigs are very common elements in urban agriculture
as practiced in Peru (and for all I know in other countries, too.)
Apparently they are very tasty, and if you don't want to eat them I'm sure
at least the poop is useful.

Incidentally, regarding the need for enough light in the house to grow
veggies, last January I had something called a "Solatube" installed in the
(very dark) utility room off the kitchen in my house here in Tucson,
Arizona. These are sort of like skylights but less costly to install. My
utility room is now flooded with light--in fact for several weeks after I
had it put in, every time I walked into the kitchen I'd think "oh @#*($!, I
must have left the back door open!" --and then I'd realize it was just the
solatube. I'm sure the light would be enough at least for herbs and green
veggies, though maybe not fruits or "fruit veggies" like tomatoes or
eggplants (though I haven't tested it yet because I have plenty of garden
space outside). Best of all in this climate is that there's very little
heat gain.

Of course, it did require a financial outlay (in my case about US $300),
but now I have much more interior light at no environmental or financial
cost. These solatubes are very popular now here in the American
Southwest--I don't know if they are readily available elsewhere-- do
listmembers from other areas have any information on this?

Anyway, Steve, let poor Bossie go back to the farm, and Think Worms!

best regards,

Katherine Waser
****************************************************************************
Katherine Waser, Editor                    Tel: 520-621-8584
Arid Lands Information Center            Fax: 520-621-3816
The University of Arizona                   E-mail: [email-masked]
1955 E. 6th St.                                 
Tucson, AZ 85719-5224

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From: Miekal And <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 02 May 1998 20:06:59 +0000

does anyone have any info about using rockdust to grow sprirulina as a
remineralizing soil amendment?
--

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From: Katherine Waser <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 10:57:46 -0700

best regards,

Katherine Waser

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From: Miekal And <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 02 May 1998 20:06:59 +0000