Have you ever wondered if it was possible for one plot of land to be self-sufficient? One organization in Nicaragua called CIPRES did, and they figured out that indeed it is possible. Not only that, but fairly easy. Here’s the plans:
And here’s the link:
http://www.cipres.org/ (it’s in Spanish)
So, what does that mean? Or at least, what does this mean for Lucy? This means that a family of humans can potentially live on two acres of land without ever having to import food or energy.
So, if everyone in the World (roughly 6,700,000,000 people) moved to the state of Texas, every single person would have about 1,090 SF of land to live on. Not much for a farm, I know.
But, if everyone in the US (roughly 295,700,000 people) moved to the state of Texas, every single person would have about 333,500 SF of land to live on…That’s more than 7.5 acres per person. Am I wrong, or does it seem as if there is plenty of land for everyone? And with this land that’s so plentiful, with the model shown above, comes lots of food to go around. It’s all just a matter of “doing” it.
Good luck with this Slingshot, I’ve actually been meaning to show this to you for a while. I’m thinking you’ll be into this.
Love,
Lucy
God if only I took Spanish in High School! It’s like the Gift of the Magi.
No, it’s awsome and we really are getting close to it, right now! I can’t wait for you all to see our progress. I’ll print this out and use it as a compass. Thanks Lucy!
Comment by Slingshot — April 5, 2006 @ 7:02 pm
I’ll try to redo it in English, ‘cause I also have plans to build the “biodigestor” that is indicated in the middle of the chart…also in Spanish.
Comment by Lucy — April 5, 2006 @ 9:13 pm
Questions: what about erosion, crop rotation? Or is this an all-hydro affair? What about pests? What about, I don’t know, other human beings?
Comment by Johnny Palmetto — April 6, 2006 @ 2:04 pm
Erosion: what kind of erosion are you talking about? Soil Erosion? Nutrition erosion?
Crop Rotation: in this model, multiple crops are encouraged. Soil erosion, or Soil depletion happens if you encourage a mono-crop culture, such as large corporate farms. If you plant a diverse number and types of plants (depending on which types), they benefit each other, and add to the soil.
Pests: This strategy detailed here combined with Permaculture techniques can provide for discouraging crop and food pests from nesting and eating.
Other Human Beings: what are you planning, Johnny? We always have to be aware of other human beings don’t we?
Comment by Lucy — April 6, 2006 @ 3:08 pm
Erosion: both kinds…intensive agriculture leads to both…
Other Human Beings: you know, let’s all go off to the woods and escape the world…or, let’s create a world in which everyone has their own little farm…j
Comment by Johnny Palmetto — April 6, 2006 @ 8:16 pm
I actually don’t think that erosion would be a problem, as long as you use the ideas of permaculture.
Although it would be great to ask someone who really knows about this sort of thing.
I just find it interesting that it is extremely possible. Of course you can always say that someone’s gonna screw it up, but you can say the same thing about democracy, nation-states, or whatever: “nothing will work because people who are either selfish or destructive will ruin it”
Comment by Lucy — April 7, 2006 @ 5:03 pm