LAO TSE TOLD :IT IS RIGHTTO GIVE FISH TO THEHUNGRY.

IT IS BETTERTO TEACH THEMHOW TO CATCH FISH.

BUTWHAT TO DOWHEN MANY MILLIONSARE HUNGRY?

IT IS BESTTO TEACH THEMHOW TO PRODUCE THEIRFOOD THEMSELVES.

ENVIRONMENTAND

SELF-RELIANCE

Yona Friedman & Eda SchaurCommunication Centre of Scientific

Knowledge for Self-Reliance33 BD Garibaldi, 75015 Paris, France

COMMUNICATION CENTRE OF SCIENTIFICKNOWLEDGE FOR SELF-RELIANCE

Under the auspices of the United Nation Universitywith the participation of the International Council of Scientific Unions

I. Introduction

II. You and Your Environment .................................. 1

1. Your Environment is Important for You .............. 22. It is your Own World You Pollute .................... 103. Don’t Live With Garbage ................................ 204. Environment and Poverty................................. 245. Weed into Wealth............................................ 326. Waste into Food ............................................. 427. Grow Your Own Fuel for Cooking .................. 488. Urban Waste : a Valuable Resource ................. 56

III. Grow More Trees ............................................ 71

1. What is Agro-Forestry? .................................. 722. Agro-Forestry : Which Forests? ...................... 783. Agro-Forestry : Which Crops? ........................ 854. What Care Does a Woodland Farm Need? ..... 895. Farming in ‘Three Storeys” ............................. 956. Growing Trees with Little Rain ....................... 102

IV. Wasteland Into Farmland ............................... 109

1. Wasteland Into Good Land ........................... 1102. Washing the Salty Land ................................. 1203. Self-Forming Terraces on Slopes ................... 1264. Catching the Run-Off Water .......................... 1325. Crops that Need Little Water ........................ 144

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Communication for Self-Reliance

Today we find ourselves in a multifaceted, global crisis that touches everyaspect of our lives: our health and livelihood, the quality of our environ-ment and our social relationships, our economy, technology, our politics -our very survival on this planet. The nations of the world have stockpiledmore than 50,000 nuclear warheads, enough to destroy the world severaltimes over, and the arms race continues at an undiminished pace. Whileworldwide military spending is more than one billion dollars a day, morethan fifteen million people die of starvation annually - thirty two everyminute, most of them children. Developing countries spend more thanthree times on armaments as on healthcare. Thirty-five percent of human-ity lacks safe drinking water, while nearly half of its scientists and engi-neers are engaged in the technology of making weapons. Economists areobsessed with building economies based on unlimited growth, while ourfinite resources are rapidly dwindling, industrial corporations dump toxicwastes somewhere else, rather than neutralizing them, without caring thatthere is no ‘sink’ on mother earth. Modern medicine often endangers ourhealth. The scourge of HIV/AIDS is threatening to wipe out entire nationsin Africa and Asia.

While the world’s ten percent rich, corner and control over eightypercent of the world’s resources, the poor are left to fend for themselves inshanties and ghettos. Diseased and ill fed, the poor in the Third World —deprived of any ‘social security net’ have been pushed to the very brinkof survival. Amidst mounting foodstocks, the poor still starve to death, asgovernments often have no mechanism to even dispense ‘charity’.

It is in the context of this grim social scenario that the work ofYona Friedman —a French architect and humanist of international repute,becomes so relevant. Friedman was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1923.He studied at the Technical University in Budapest, before continuing histraining at the Technion in Haifa, Israel. In 1957, Friedman set up a studioin Paris and continued his work from there. His belief that an architect,rather than having an autonomous point of view, should instead be thereto serve the users and offer advice on technical and organizationalmatters, gained him few allies among the professional fraternity ofarchitects.

In the early 1960s, he made animation films for French televisionbased on African folk stories; he developed a computer programme withwhich the user could design his own apartment; and he advanced thesociological definition known as the critical group-size, which dealt withthe communication among groups of people.

Friedman also devised his own special visual language tocommunicate ‘life skills’ and ‘survival skills’ for self-reliance to ordinaryunlettered people. ‘A picture is worth more than a thousand words’ —that people always think in images and pictures and not in words, is thebedrock of his strategy. To communicate scientific knowledge to the poor,Friedman uses a ‘sign’ language — a small hieroglyphic matchstick figure,accompanied by a few words. His nonthreatening, exquisite artistry,coupled with his humanism has blazed an entirely new path in the realm ofscience communication. His message, simple and direct goes straight tothe heart.

Along with his able assistant Ms. Eda Shaur, Yona Friedman hasbeen able to create over 300 picture manuals on a very diverse range ofsurvival skills for the benefit of humanity at large. The topics range fromenvironmental education, architectural self-planning, minimal kitchengardens, growing food on shelves, fighting the drought, disaster preven-tion, health and nutrition, safe drinking water, basic sanitation, waterharvesting etc.

These cartoon strips have been serialised in hundreds ofnewspapers and magazines across the world. Full credit goes to Mr. B.Khan — ex-editor of the science magazine Invention Intelligence formaking a host of these picture manuals available to the Indian public forthe first time. It is with the kind permission of Mr. B. Khan that the presentvolume is being printed. Like most visionaries, Yona Friedman’s work is inthe public domain, and it is hoped that the publication of this volume willinspire its translation into various Indian languages. These books havealready been published in Hindi, Marathi, Oriya and the Tamil NaduPollution Control Board has recently commisioned the Tamil translation. Itis hoped that these books will give fillip to the printing of Yona Friedman’sother picture manuals.

Friedman was also commissioned by UNESCO to make variousstudies of housing issues in Third World countries. A few years back,Friedman won the coveted Japan Award for designing a low-cost rooffor the Third World. Under the auspices of UNESCO, he built the Museumfor Simple Technologies in Madras (India) in the early 1980s.

Friedman never actively allied himself to prominent groups ormovements within the world of architecture or urban planning, but throughhis teaching activities and publications (over 500 articles and severalbooks), his ideas have become widely diffused.

Today ‘environment education’ is the buzz word in progressiveschools. Recent school campaigns in curbing the use of plastic bags, andcrackers during the festival of Diwali have borne heartening results.Freidman’s simple manuals could be very effectively used by schoolchildren for undertaking projects and tackling real environmental issues.For issues like Environment and Energy are too precious to be left to themercy of experts. We all have a stake in the environment, specially thechildren.

As Chief Seattle — the wise and widely respected Red IndianChief said in his most eloquent statement 150 years ago:

This we all know:All things are connected like the blood that unites us,

We did not weave the web of life,We are merely a strand in it,

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

- Arvind Gupta

2 3

Your Environment is Important for YouAll things around you

make up the environmentare interrelated,

and any imbalance in thisrelationship can be harmful to you.

Environment is everythingaround you :

physical matter(like air, water, earth)

living matter(like plants and animals)

and all the other humanbeings and their differentorganisations.

Indeed, society belongsto the environment.

All those things thatbelong to the environment

are interrelated amongthemselves :

thus, living matter could notexist without physical matter

and you could not exist if bothof them were not there.

4 5

All those things thatbelong to the environment

are not availablein unlimited amounts.

Only those relationshipswhich acknowledge this factwill survive.

Both living things and physicalprocesses (for example)dissipate energy andtransform matter

by what they feed themselves.

In consequence of this factthey can exist only as long as

there is energy to disperseand matter to transform.

Organisations of human beings(we call them societies)

have as their main purpose amore balanced distribution

of resources limited stock

hoping thusto prolong human survival.

All this complicated system(here sketched only in a fewframes)

is based onCOMMUNICATION —

6 7

linking all elementsof the environment :

physical matter,living things, and people.

Each act or event provoked byphysical forces or by livingthings or by people

is a message

which triggers a response.

Responses of differentelements of the environment

can be very different.

Thus physical events

can have tremendousimpact on living beings

and acts of living beings

can trigger processes in thephysical world.

8 9

Communication about thecommunication processin the environment

cannot be done by physicalmatter, neither by livingbeings other than humans

( at least, that is what we think).

Physical matter or living thingsdon’t care about their effectson the environment

even if some of these effectsare fatal to those who madethe effects.

We human do careabout such effects (sometimes).

So we should not continueto distroy the raftin which we sail.

For this goal we have to useour communication tools :

to remind us each day that theenvironment is important to us

and that we must not triggeran irreversible process.

It is your Own World you Pollute

When you pollute your environmentyou risk your own health

as well as of all thoseliving beings around you.

Natural environmentassures us, generally

fresh airgood to breathe

fresh watergood to drink

and unspoiled and clean land

that retains its sustainability.

When we breathe,we exhale an air already used;

when we wash ourselves,we make the water less cleanwith the dirt of our body;

and all the garbagewe produce while living

spoils the land.

10 11

Living makes air, water and land

polluted.

Air, water and land don’t getreally polluted by only onehuman living in a place.

But when millions spoil the air,water and land

it becomes a matterof serious concern.

There are also the factories,the machines; the cars,which serve those millions

and which further,increase pollution.

Air, water and land,once polluted

become less appropriate forsupporting all sorts of life.

Polluted air destroysplants and animals,

which might be vitalfor our own survival;

it can make people sick

and often corrodes eveninanimate matter like steel,stone or wood.

12 13

It is difficult workto clean your clothes

and it is far more difficultto clean the air,the water or the land.

It is easier to keep clothesclean than wash them.

The same is true with air,

with water,

with land:

it is better to keep themunpolluted than toclean them later.

You can do somethingyourself to keep yourenvironment clean.

If you insist with officials, theywill press industries to stoppolluting the environment.

14 15

If you refuse to buy productsof industries, which pollutethe environment,

your protest might beseriously taken.

If you yourself, yourneighbours and your friendsdon’t contribute to pollution(beside the pressure youexercise on industries)

your air, water and landwill remain unpolluted.

Don’t dump garbage intowater or into fields

and oppose as strongly asyou can if industrial plantsdump their refuse there.

If you must burn refuse,or if industrial plants do so,

make sure the smokeis not harmful

to you or to other living beings.

We live in a period whenindustry is powerful

and often you will not be ableto stop environmentalpollution.

But you can make surethat it is kept within limits

16 17

at least around the placewhere you live.

Your health isimportant to you.

If you protectyour environment

you protectyour own health.

When air, waterand land are clean

plants, animals and people

live in an environment, which isself-sustaining in every respect.

18 19

Don’t Live with Garbage

Garbage makes the environmentdirty and unhealthy

and it is in your own interestto cart it to the dumping ground yourself.

Garbage in the street

makes the living spacelook ugly.

It can be a riskto your health as well.

It smells,it attracts flies and rats

and it makes the footpathdangerous to walk.

We should get garbageoff the street.

What can be done toget rid of garbage?

You first need to find adumping place.

It is advantageous to fencethe dumping place with walls

since garbage is not nice tosee and it smells.

20 21

But how to get the garbagefrom the house to thedumping ground?

The best way is to collectit separately in each street

for example,into an empty barrel.

You can as well use two barrels:one for garbage, which cannotbe used any more

and the other for the garbage,which can be, recycled(bottles, conserve tins, etc.)

How could the barrel full ofgarbage get to thedumping place?

You can use awheelbarrow

or a tricycle

to transport the barrel,every evening or morning,to the dumping site.

It might be a little difficult toorganize getting the garbageout of your locality

but if you don’t start doingit yourself and now

you might have to wait manyyears before the city authoritieswill do it.

22 23

Environment and PovertyWhile the rich try to live

in an environment pretty to look at,the poor have to suffer an environmentpolluted and degraded by the things,

which make the others rich.

The environment belongs tothe poor and the rich alike.

But, while the rich tries to livein an environment pretty tolook at

the poor is left with anenvironment decayedand polluted

by the installations, whichmake the others prosperous.

People who livein a decayed environment

(because they are so poor)

don’t have the means orthe will to upgrade it

or even to stop further decay.

Thus, poor people’senvironment becomesmore and more degraded.

But this degradationis not inevitable.

An environment can beimproved with no orlittle investment;

the community’s own labourcan be enough investmentfor this purpose :

24 25

by accepting, for example,certain self-discipline

and bestowing upon theenvironment a little careand appreciation.

But, even in the poorestneighbourhoods, it is oftenforbidden to inhabitants

to alter positivelytheir environment,

which is used as dumpingground by other communities.

Sometimes, on the other hand,speculators wait for thesquatters to improve theirneighbourhood

and chase them away (or buythem out) to profit from theresults of the poor men’s work.

Upgrading the environmentdoes not just mean making itmore pleasant to look at;

it means, as well,to make it more healthy

and more usefulto those who live there.

26 27

The principal method ofupgrading the environmentis the plantingof trees and other plants.

Plants can be usefulin many ways :

they give fruits for children;

materials for building andmending houses(for example, bamboo);

their branches and twigscan be used as firewood

and their leaves can provideforage for domestic animals.

When you plant treesin your neighbourhood

you must arrange to collectleaves and other organicwaste in one place

to be made into compostfor fertilizing the soilaround the plants.

Industrial waste, too,can be kept separately(cardboard, plastics,scrap metal, wood chips)

to be employed by craftsmenworking for the community.

Such craftsmen can situnder the trees.

28 29

Trees planted in the middle ofthe street make it easier toreserve the street

for the pedestrians alone.

It may be right to plant treesaround the settlement

as a sort of protectionagainst outsidersas also against wind storms.

In flood-prone areas,trees could be so planted

as to build a dam

all around the settlement.

If a poor settlementhas not enough power

to improve its surrounding areas

it can at least make the“inside” better

by separating itself from thedecayed outside

by a wall of trees orby a dam.

30 31

or completely.

Many peopleand most authorities

consider aquatic weedsa nuisance:

they make the passage ofbarges and boats difficult;

they facilitatebreeding of pests

for example, mosquitoes;

Weed into Wealth

The aquatic weeds,often considered to be a nuisance,

can be used as cattle food, compost and fueland for making mats and baskets.

Ponds, tanks, lakes and rivers

are often coveredby aquatic weeds

partially

32 33

they might serve as refugefor harmful animals.

In general,they pose many problems.

But aquatic weedscould be made useful, too.

They contain valuablematerials as all plants do

and can be usedfor many purposes,if used the right way

particularlyas they breed in mass

without much care or labourand without occupying dry land.

Take an example :the water hyacinth.

It can serve as cattle food,

as compostto fertilize your land,

34 35

or even as fuel foryour kitchen

when dried,or by generating biogas.

Water hyacinthgrows everywhere

in shallow wateror in deep water.

It is a floating plantwith no fixed roots

so it can beharvested easily

by collecting the plants onboats, rafts

or simply bywading in the water.

Water hyacinth,to be used as cattle food

has to be chopped.

If you want to useit for compost

you have to chop it

36 37

and then leave it toferment –

but turn the pile often.

Water hyacinth can be usedfor the biogas plant as well.

For this purpose you canferment the chopped weedin a leak proof pit

covered by a bamboo domemade airtightwith plastic sheets.

Once the biogas generatedhas been used say,for cooking or lighting

the rotten residuescan be used as fertilizer.

You can dry the harvestedwater hyacinth in the sun.

The dried plant looses9/10 of its weight.

It can be used to makefire for cooking

38 39

or the dry stems can be madeinto mats, baskets

or other similar objects.

Water hyacinth can slow downthe evaporation of water

in your tank

by keeping the watersurface under the shadeof its leaves.

And, if a weed covered watersurface becomes a breedingplace for mosquitoes

a few fish, which feed onthe mosquito larvae

can solve this problem.

You find, around you,water hyacinth in many places.

Don’t consider it a weed

but rather as a new resource

to better the conditionsof your life.

40 41

Waste into Food

How organic wastes,which make our environment unhygienic,

could be converted into usefulmanure for plant growth?

Every living being that eatsgives back a part of whatit has eaten

in the form of organic waste.

Organic waste is valuable,as it can fertilize the soil

helping plants to grow.

Organic wastecan be also harmfulas a source of diseases.

Flies and other insects,for example, can widelydiffuse dangerous germs

to people livingin the proximity.

Human waste is organic wastelike that of all animals;one cannot leave it on thestreet or in the neighbourhood

because of the dangerof infection.

But human waste itself can betransformed into compost andused for growing food.

A public latrine can thus havea double utility :

it keeps waste apartfrom the community

42 43

and it can serve, at the same time,as a compost factory.

In order to be useful a publiclatrine should not necessarilybe fixed to a specific place.

It would be better to shift itfrom station to station alongthe periphery of thesettlement :

each station will be first alatrine site, to serve theinhabitants

then, when the latrine isshifted, the site becomes acompost plant.

For this purpose the latrinehas to be a light shelter,which can be movedby a couple of men

to be placed over a shallowditch wherein waste canaccumulate.

The ditch of the mobile latrinewill be full in a few months

(depending on its depth).

Once the ditch is full, it shouldbe covered for a while

and, at the same time, thelatrine (the shelter) should betransported to a new site

and installed over a new ditch.

44 45

Thus the latrinewould move during the year

from one site to the other.

The waste from the old ditch(which became liquid in themeantime)

should be spreadout in a thin layer

and dried in the sun.

Once the waste is dry,it should be mixed with earth

and the mixture should besprinkled with water,remixed several times

then let it dry again.

Thus the mobile latrine keepsdirt outside the settlement

and produces compostwhen disaffected :

it keeps, first,the inhabitants in better health

and it can assure, on the otherhand, a small revenue for thecommunity.

46 47

Grow your own Fuel for Cooking

Some fuel giving treescould be advantageously grown

in the fieldsalong with the regular crops.

You cannot cookyour food without fire.

So, in order tohave hot food you burn

wood, bush or charcoal,

cow dung,

petrol or gas.

Cheap fuel to make fire

is difficult to find :

wood and charcoalare expensive

and so are petrol and gas.

Bush wood or strawyou have to bringoften from far away.

48 49

As for cow dung,it should be better used

for fertilizing your landinstead of making fire.

If you have a gardenor a field

you can grow your own fuel.

There are many fast growingtrees or shrubs,

which can assureyour firewood,supply for many years

if you know how to collectyour firewood crop (how manybranches and how often)

without killing the plants.

Firewood is a crop of value

and you can plant firewoodyielding plants(trees or shrubs)

in the form of hedges aroundyour garden

or around your field.

50 51

Planting firewood crop

around your land

does not use uptoo much space.

All the space insidethe hedge

stays reserved

for your other crops.

Hedges of firewood crophave other advantages, too :

some firewood cropsimprove your land and soil

(by supplying nitrogen and fallingfoliage, in certain cases).

These hedges also keep outthe stray animals,

which would otherwisedamage your fields.

They also limit erosion,and help maintainmore humidity in the soil.

52 53

When plantingtrees or bushes for firewood

you have to protect theyoung plants

against herbivores

who could damagethe saplings.

You can use for this purposebarriers, made out of drythistle, for example.

Finally,hedges of firewood crops

once sufficiently grown

give shadow

where it is nice to restduring the hot hours.

It might be a good idea tocombine the various cropsin your fields

with a few trees for firewood.

54 55

Urban Waste: a Valuable ResourceUrban waste could prove to be a valuable resource

for extracting a variety of important materialsuseful for constructing houses,

making household goods,producing compost etc.

People living in the countrysidecan find many resources– space, materials,etc –

to which they have accesswithout spendingextra money.

They have free accessto trees (for wood)

to plants (bamboo, grass)

to clay and stones, etc

which they can useas building materials, for instance.

People living in the cities,however,can find such materials

only at a price.

But in cities, too,there are materials,which don’t cost money :

these are the waste productsand materials

thrown away by the richand the various industries.

56 57

This wastedoesn’t need to be purchased

and can be made use ofin a variety of ways.

Materials, which are easy tofind in urban waste are

paper and cardboard,

woodchips,

plastic products, metal sheets,glass bottles

empty conserve tins

and similar stuff.

Many things can be made outof these materials.

For example,paper and cardboardcan be used directly

to make various objectsout of them.

Paper can also be used as rawmaterial for papier-mache

58 59

or it can be used as filler(for insulation against heat,for example).

To make papier-mache

you have to boil scrap paperin water, with some glue

till it becomes a thick paste.

This paste can be shaped andmoulded the way you want.

After cooling and drying thepaste becomes hard and themoulded object retains itsshape.

Papier-macheis vulnerable to water :

on getting wet it softens again.

Therefore,it is suitable for applicationswhere it does not get wet :

for example,as containers, cases or drawers.

You can protect papier-macheagainst humidityby water repelling materials

60 61

like grease, oil and paint.

You can make stratifiedcardboard yourself

by gluing together layersof paper, papier-mache,or ordinary cardboard.

Stratified cardboardcan be quite strong :

it can be easily cut or shapedbefore the glue gets dry.

But, take care that it is notexposed to humidity

otherwise it gets deformed.

You can make many usefulthings out of cardboard :

walls, partitions, roofs(but be sure to protect thematerial against humidity)

tables, chests,and other furniture

62 63

containers

and manyother things of daily use.

Plastic wrapping and casing istoday a commonplace waste.

Plastic foil is an excellentwaterproofing material,

which can protecta cardboard roof adequately.

But some plastics arehighly inflammable

and need to be safely used.

Many objects are made ofplastics, which become softwhen heated, carefully

(most plastics burn with toxicfumes, when excessively heated).

You can shape such softplastics easily by hand

or by means of moulds.

64 65

After cooling down,the soft plastics (reshaped)become hard again.

Pieces of wood,broken crates, etc as well

are excellent raw materialsfor many purposes

apart from being usedfor burning in a stove.

Most household objectscan be made of wood.

Empty tin cans

can be flattened

to be used as sheet metal

for the roof, for example.

66 67

In their original form,they can serve

as plates, cups etc.

Glass bottlescan have their own uses :

they can serveas drip irrigators

as light inletin brick and mud walls

and if you have a lot of them,as substitute bricksfor making a fancy wall.

Besides these materials thereis another important resource :

the organic wasteoriginating from kitchens, etc.

After carefully removingnon-organic materialfrom this waste

it can be converted into compost.

For this purpose you mixthe rotting organic wastewith humid earth,sprinkled with water

and remix it repeatedlyover a period of time.

68 69

After a long whileyou shall get good compost –

fertilizer for your gardenor for sale.

Urban waste is thusa sort of modest mine of materials

which can be used

for making shelters,

furnitureand other household goods

or for small handicraftsto make a living out of them.

70

What is Agro-Forestry?

Forests could be profitably used as farmlandwithout destroying the existing trees.

A combination of trees and undergrowthmay yield multiple cropping to the farmer.

Peoplewho want new farmland

often destroythe existing forests

by cutting downall the trees

or by burning them down.

The deforested area

they convert into fields.

This trendis very dangerous

practically in all regions.

Under certain climates

certain types of soilturn into solid rock

when not protectedfrom sunraysdue to absence of trees.

Such hardened soil becomessterile for growing crops.

72 73

Normally, trees retainwith their roots the fertile soil

particularly on a slope.

Once those treesare cut down

the rain washes awaythe fertile layerand the slope becomes barren.

In most regionshaving too dry a climateor too violent a rainfall

existing forests could be madeto give better farming resultsthan deforested areas.

Trees of a forest

keep the soil intactand improve its fertility

often more successfullythan does the farmer

even with his modern tools.

Trees improve the soilaround them in many ways :

they make it fertilewith rotten leaves and moss(which act as natural compost).

Their roots often containsoil enriching microorganisms.

Trees also lessen evaporation

and make the soilkeep its humidity.

74 75

Besides keeping the soilin good condition

trees furnish firewood,

raw materialsfor craftsmen,

food for people

and fodder for domestic animals.

But a forestdoes not consist of trees alone :

there is the undergrowth

wherever there is enoughdaylight for the plants to grow.

The right approach is not tocut down forestsbut to use themas a special type of farmland

replacing the undergrowthwith plants you want to grow.

Similarly, new trees canreplace some of theoriginal trees to make the forestmore fruitful.

Indeed, undergrowthand trees complement each other

and can give multiple cropsto the farmer :

fruits, legumes, vegetables,fodder and firewood.

76 77

the simplest way isto stabilize the undergrowth :

it can be often usedin its natural state

as pasture (sparingly)for domestic animals

like sheep

or goats or cattle.

The undergrowth varieswith each forest.

But most undergrowthcan be used for pasture;

78 79

Agro-Forestry: Which Forests?

Well-managed woodlands can give higher yieldsthrough agro-forestry

than what can be achievedthrough farming on deforested land.

To use forestsas farmland

one has to know what typesof forests are good forwhat kinds of undergrowth.

To make the forestsuitable for farming

some undergrowthcan be used as fodder.

Using it as pasturemight often be more easy

involving less work.

But it can be more interestingto use the forest area

for growing food crop

as undergrowth

using suitable food plants ornew trees which can co-existwith existing trees.

Cutting of existing treesshould be avoidedas far as possible.

To plant food cropamong the trees

does not involve much labour.

However, to growundergrowth cropin the forest,

the forestshould not be too dense.

You can make small openingsbetween the trees

80 81

by cutting down(for example) one tree in 3 or 4.

The best way is tocreate corridors,about 10 meters wide.

You can as well replacea part of the forest trees

with such treeswhich give you valuable crops

and whose vicinitycan be beneficial

to the undergrowthyou have planted.

But it is best if you don’t plant

only one kind of undergrowthor only one kind of trees.

If you learn how to manageyour woodland the right way

it may yield even more thancommon fields do.

But if you consider the valueof your land in the long term

woodlands will yield more

82 83

than what you can derivefrom deforested fields.

Trees as well improvethe climate at the spot

by filtering the light.

Finally, trees can give fruits,forage, fuel wood, timberand even vegetal materials

and thus make a woodlandfarmer prosperous.

Agro-Forestry : Which Crops?

Any forest could be adapted for agro-forestrykeeping in view the climate, type of soil, kind of trees,the needs of the people, and by selecting the suitable

undergrowth, which can co-exist with the trees.

It is important to selectthe right plants(matching them to the right trees)

for farming within the forest

because every food cropmay not grow well

as undergrowthamong the forest trees.

Planting of cropsamong trees

84 85

and harvesting themfrom there is not easy.

In this respect vegetablesand legumes could be preferred

over cereals (rice, wheat, etc.)and grass-like plants

which are easierto grow on open fields.

Vegetables and legumesare some timesmore nutritious than cereals.

They are also easy to cookcompared to the cereals.

Creepers like beanscould be ideal for agro-forestry,which easily creep on the trees.

They can also co-existwith the undergrowth.

However, it ultimatelydepends on the climate,

on the type of soil,

86 87

on the kind of trees

and on your needs,

as to which plants are rightfor your woodland farm.

There is no forest on earth,which could not be adaptedto woodland farming

with suitable undergrowth,and some of its trees substitutedby trees of your own choice.

What Care Does a Woodland Farm Need?A well-managed woodland farm

demands more of your timeto observe the various plants growing there

but less of your timeto perform actual physical labour.

If you do farmingin the woodlands

it necessitates a care

different from thatinvolved in farming on the fields :

more attention, less tools

and less work.

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First,give attention to those trees,

which were there beforeyou started to farm.

Select those trees,which give useful productsand have 60-80 trees a hectare.

See that they are in good shape

and cut down those,which seem weak,

diseased or dead.

If you cut down a treeyou should replant a newone with marked utility

near the same placewhere you cut the old one.

Think it over wellwhich kind of crop you will plant

in the “corridor” or patchwhere there is sunlightin the vicinity of the new tree.

You have to take careof the undergrowth as well.

If you use it for pasturefor domestic animals

beware of overgrazing :the plants need time for rest.

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Don’t thus let the animalsroam all over your forest land

but let them graze infenced compartments,one compartment for acertain period.

Such enclosuresserve as a source of dung.

You should tendthe undergrowth that you haveyourself planted for its crop

as you wouldyour own garden or plantation

keeping it well watered,enriching its soil

and checking it for pestsand plant diseases.

The trees and bushes fromwhich you take your firewood

you should harvest carefully.

If you strip them of too muchbranches or twigs, taking allfrom the same plant, or cuttingbranches too frequently

the plants will die.

It is better to takea few branches from this plantand another few from another one

keeping all of them alive.

A well-kept woodland farmasks for much time

to observe all plants

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and far less timeof actual physical work.

Mechanical toolsare practically excluded(except those with draft animals)

as plant bedsare practically too small.

Hand tools, oxen, handwork,observing eyes and a goodhead on your shoulder

are whata woodland farm needs.

Farming in “Three Storeys”By growing mutually co-existing plants

of three different heights – trees, shrubs and grasses –you can protect your land from deterioration

and at the same timeincrease the total yield from it.

The soil, if unprotected,gets bone dry during drought

and deteriorates in quality.

Even ifthere is adequate rainfall,

fertile soil is subject todeterioration due to erosion.

Constant sunshine makescertain soils barren

if there is noprotective plant cover.

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Plants protect your land

by resisting erosion.

Plants alsokeep your soil in shade

and their roots reinforce it

and help it keep its moisture.

If you combinevarious plants together

such protection is more effective.

Trees give enough shade

and their roots go deep.

Shrubsare able to live among trees

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becausetheir roots go less deep.

Between trees and shrubs

grass-like plants can also haveenough room to grow :

their roots reachthe upper layers of the soil

which are unexploitedby trees or shrubs.

You can thusfarm your field

in three “stories” :

you border it with trees

(which give you fruits,or firewood)

you plant hedges of shrubs

(which produce useful leaves,fruits or seeds);

and you seedgrass-like cereals

among them.

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These three categoriesof plants

can mutually improvetheir growing conditions.

So do certaintrees and shrubs

and certain shrubsand grass-like plants(cereals, legumes, etc.)

enriching the soil for each other.

Land cultivatedin three “stories”

yields more thanit does the ordinary way

if you look at theTOTAL production.

Farming in three “stories”helps your land produce even if

the climatic conditionsare particularly bad.

The “three storey” culturethus protects your landand gives you better yield.

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Growing Trees With Little Rain

In areas where it rains too little to grow any vegetation,one can make some income by growing trees

and other plants in micro-catchmentsthat could be easily made.

In areas with too little rainfallfor plant survival

farming can be made possiblewith some effort :

fruit trees, forage plants,firewood or crops can beproductively grown.

In dry regions,a plant cannot survivewith the rainwater alone

which fallsin its immediate proximity.

But plantsdo grow in depressions

because of the extrarun-off rainwater that getsconcentrated around them.

A large piece of land,sloped to one point,collects enough run-off waterto ensure survival of one fruit treeor a few other plants.

We call such a plot a“micro-catchment”.

A micro-catchment consistsof a large rainwater collectingarea and a small plotof fertile soil.

Its size dependson the local climateand the kind of plant grown.

Micro-catchmentscan also be made takingadvantage of natural slopes.

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In case of a level terrain,an artificial slope can be madeto design a catchment.

Here, even a very slightslope is sufficient!

The surface of the catchmentcan be left in its natural state orcleared of stones and rocks.

Each catchment is surroundedby a low wall,to protect it against erosion.

(You can make this wall usingstones or dry mud).

At the lowest pointwithin the catchmenta basin should be dug

which can beone or two feet deep and

large enough to storethe run off watercollected by the catchment.

The soil in the basinbecomes so fertile,that plants can grow there easily.

However,to facilitate plant growth,the basin can befertilized with manure.

To enable easy waterpenetration the soil in thebasin should be kept loose.

A mulch of strawor some other kind of covercan reducewater evaporation from the soil.

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In hills, where the slopes aremore steep, micro-catchmentscan have a different form :

Here the fertile soil isdisposed in long, narrow basins.

A basin is placedalong the lowest stripwithin the catchment.

Here you can growtrees and other plants.

A similar arrangement can beadopted also in the plains.

Here the rainwater collectingarea can be placed on both sidesof the basin having fertile soil.

The micro-catchment techniquehas one limitation :

it makes use of much landfor each plant.

But itsadvantages are greater :

It makesbarren land productive;

it is less expensivethan most other techniques;

and it can help you makesome income by spendingalmost nothing!

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Wasteland into Good LandYou can make your salty barren land fertile

by washing its extra salt content by means of rainwater.But when the infertility is due to erosion of the top layer

it could be enriched by compost prepared on the spotand by growing suitable crops and plants.

There is much landin our country,

which cannot be usedfor farming in its present state.

But much of such landcould be converted

into farmland

if, for a few years,people invest in them

some labourand the necessary care.

The first thing to do forconverting bad landinto good land

is to provide water.

Everywhere there is some rain,even if sparse

on good landas well as on bad land.

Rainwater can often sufficefor convertingbad land into fertile one

if you knowhow to collect and store water

as near to your land aspossible.

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But having wateris not enoughto make wasteland fertile.

You have to find outwhy your land is barren :

it might be due tosalty soil,

or it might have beendestroyed by erosion

(wind and water carrying awaygood top-soil).

If the soil contains salt

you can makethe rain wash it :

deep furrows every few feetcan work as drainage.

During rains water tricklesthrough the top layerof the soil

washing the salt away

into the furrows.

The strips betweenthe furrowsthus become free of salt.

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If the land has lost its good soil,what you need is not to wash it,but to feed it :

you should createa fertile cover over it.

For this purposeyou can use compost

made of animal waste,vegetal waste, kitchen refuse, etc.

You can even useas a base for the compost

water weeds from ponds.

It is not difficult to makecompost out of organic waste :

you just pile the waste intoa heap and let it rot

by watering it from time to time.

You have to turn overthe heap periodically

in order to exposethe whole mass to air.

When the compost is ripe

mix it withthe top layer of your land.

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You should grow(for the first few years)

on the washedand composted land

crops,which can tolerate poor soil

and even enrich it.

Such crops differfrom region to region.

But, generally,it is better to start

with certain treesor shrubs.

There are trees,which grow in poor soil

and some treeseven improve the soil quality.

Their foliage can serveas the next compost.

And these treesmight give you fruits

as well asbranches for firewood.

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You can also convert yourwasteland into farmland(if you have enough rain)

by converting itinto a pond for a year

and growing water weeds(or even fish) in this pond.

(Water hyacinthmight serve the purpose).

When, in the dry season,the water becomes shallow(or even disappears)

you can convert the weedinto compost on the spot

and thus enrich the soil.

There are many waysto convert barren land

into farm land

and there are many plants,which grow on poor land.

If you grow every yearplants that enrich the soil

(even if the cropdoes not enrich you)

you can procurefor yourself in a few years

a fertile farmland.

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Washing the Salty LandThe barren salty land could be made fertile

by washing off its salt contentwith the help of rainwater

by making suitable furrows to drain out the waterthus rinsing the soil.

Barren landoften contains mineral salts,

which make it difficultfor the plants to grow.

Some of these mineral saltscould be washed awaywith rainwater

if the rain-washing the soilcould be evacuated.

In order to wash the salt away

the land has to be drained.

Such a drainage systemconsists of shallow canals

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for collectingthe water rinsing the soil.

A simple drainage systemconsists of deep furrows

separating plant bedsof about 2-3 feet width.

The furrowsshould be about one foot deep.

The actual depth depending onthe thickness of the soil layer

you want to wash.

Each rainfallthus gets soaked in the upperlayer of the soil

and rinses it

and the water rinsingit is collected

in the furrow.

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Washing of landis not a quick process :

indeed, the waterrinsing the land should not run offtoo fast on the field;

and even the water in thefurrow should flow very slowly

(make your furrowsparallel to the slope)

else your landcould get eroded

and thus loosethe good top soil.

Washing salty soil in a regionwith sufficient rainfall

can take a couple of years.

You can even washland reclaimed from the sea

in about 5-6 years.

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Self-forming Terraces on Slopes

Rows of trees planted on terracescan serve as “soil traps”

to protect your landagainst the ravages of the rain.

On hillside land

in the regionwhere rain is very violent

or very frequent

all the fertiletop-soil gets lost

washed awayby the run-off water.

You can slow downthat run-off

so the water will pick upsmaller quantities ofthe top-soil.

For slowing down the waterand making it loose the fertilemud it carries

you can make “soil traps” :

for example, by building lowwalls horizontally at the slope.

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The run-off water will thendeposit all the washed-awaysoil at the uphill side ofthe wall.

The deposited mud will forma horizontal flat area : a terrace.

Such soil-trapsare built most often with stones

or formed by barriersmade with wood.

There are other ways, too,to create such a soil-trap :

for example,by planting trees (a hedge)

instead of building a barrier.

These trees should be short,stubby fast-growing kind.

There are many advantagesof a planted soil-trap :

first of all,these trees will produce

fruits, leaves, and firewood.

At the same time,if they are leguminous plants,their roots enrich the soil withnitrogen (a natural fertilizer).

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Thirdly, their rootshold the soil in placeand make it resistant to erosion(destruction by water or wind).

Besides, it is less expensiveto plant treesthan to build terraces otherwise.

If you decided to plantsuch a soil-trap(with leucaena, for example)

you should plant trees in doublerows (30-60 cm between rows).

These double rowscan be planted every 6 meters(or less if the slope is steep).

The trees should be plantedclosely to each other (8-10 cm).

When the treesare sufficiently grown

you can layalong the hedge twigs,branches, corn stalk, etc.

You can even cut downthe crown of these trees,once the terraces are formed

leaving only the stems and theroots, essential for the soil-trap.

You thus save your landwith simple means

and even get additional profitby usingwhat the trees produce.

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Catching the Run-Off WaterThe extra water of the rainy season,

which flows over the earth, could be preservedfor the dry days by trapping it in small damsmade of earth filled sacks or in deep holes

made in the way of the flowing water.

In many regionsall the yearly rainfall

is concentratedin one short period.

During this periodthere is plenty of water

but during the rest of the yearpeople have to dependon water reserves,natural or artificial,

made during the rainy season.

The large part of rainfallduring the rainy season

floods the country

and these floods run offwithin a few hours or a few days

towards the riversand into the sea.

There is anothersmaller part of the water,

which seeps into the soiland becomes ground water(accessible through wellsand water holes).

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There is someleft over water as well

which is collectedinto ponds and tanks.

If people can collectpart of the run-off waterduring the rainy season

and if they can keep it

this can be a good wayof makingan important water reserve

for the whole year.

Run-off watercan be caught by traps

if you knowwhere to make such a trap

and how to do it

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with small dams,terraces or water holes.

In order to catchthe run-off water

you have to first observethe path the water follows

immediately after rainfall.

Run-off water generallyflows in many small guttersalong gentle slopes

making these guttersdeeper after a few days

and formingshallow basins here and there.

If these guttersbecome somewhat deeper

you can stop the waterwith small dams

made out ofearth and straw mats.

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Such dams, with the gutter,will form small ponds.

The best wayto build a small dam

is by making sacks or bigpockets out of straw mats

and filling them with earth

(the mat will keep the earthfrom being washed away).

You can build your damwith these sacks of earth,as if they were large bricks.

You can occasionallyfix them with bamboo poles.

If you can haveclay you should use it

as clay resists seepage.

The sacks protect the clayfrom being washed awayby the running water

and the bamboo poles anchorthe whole dam (if it is high)

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to the ground.

It would be advantageousif you can line with clay

the bottom and the sides

of your pond

to prevent seepage.

You can lessen evaporation,too,

by keepingthe water surface in the shade.

There are simpler ways, too,for collecting the run-off water :by digging deep holesin its way, for example

(but don’t forget to take the dugout earth away from the rim).

The running waterthus gets trapped,filling the hole up to the brim

before continuing its course.

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Run-off waterways happen tobe everywhere when it rains.

You can thusmake your water trap

as near as possible

to your field

or to your house

where you needthe water most.

By makingyour own water trap

you take onlya little of all the rain water :

there remainsenough for all your neighbours.

The run-off wateronce it has filled your trap

continues on its way

and can fill upthe water traps of all others.

Thus, only one rainfall can givemore water than all of youcan catch.

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Crops that Need Little Water

Farmers can virtually evade droughtby growing crops and trees that need little water.

Millet and coconut, for example,can be successfully grown in drought conditions.

Water for household use

is generally sharedequally by each householder.

But water for irrigating cropsor for watering plantsis required in varying quantities

depending on the kind of plantsyou growand the type of land you have.

In regionswhere drought is frequent

one can grow plants,which need little water.

For example :

rice needs a lot of water,much more than other crops;

wheatneeds less water than rice;

and milletneeds even less water than wheat.

Indeed, millet is an idealstaple food for dry land.

Using the same amountof water that you needfor one acre of rice,

you can growseveral acres of millet.

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Millet is rich food,and easy to harvest.

By growing millet you will haveless fear of drought.

Many trees, too,can survive droughtand give you nourishing fruits.

The body of such a tree keepsa reserve of water and its rootsreach deep to find moisture.

So,even when you growrice or wheat

don’t forget to growsome milletand some coconut trees

as a safeguardagainst possible droughtin the days ahead.

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AND WE ARE LOOKING AHEAD

THAT ISWHAT WE DO.WE SELECT METHODS,WHICH ENABLE PEOPLE TOASSURE THEIR LIVELIHOODWITHOUT SPENDING CASH,

MAKING USEBOTH OF TRADITIONALKNOW - HOWAND OF ADVANCED SCIENCE.

THAT INFORMATIONWE MAKE ACCESSIBLEFOR UNSCHOOLED PEOPLE.BY EXPLAINING IT INDRAWINGS WITH LITTLE TEXT.

THAT EXPLANATIONWE DIFFUSEAS WALL JOURNALS,POSTERS, INSERTS IN THELOCAL PRESS OROTHER SIMILAR WAYS.