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July 17th, 2008
foolfaerie420
 | 07:23 am - Amy Smith : Sustainability Superstar
"Co-creation" is the focus of her work, and she has created an International Development Design Summit (IDDS) (happening right now!) to gather problem solvers from about 20 countries and invite them to do more than collaborate on an invention. With an emphasis on co-creation the gathering encourages the dissemination of design skills.
Popular Mechanics: "Sometimes people don't refer to what I do as real engineering," Smith says. "It's so simple. But sometimes simplicity is harder than complexity."
Amy Smith is the fastest rising star in the area of appropriate technology. She is a 45 year old engineering professor at MIT. If you are one of the lucky 30 students to get a spot in her D-lab you prepare for you field work by living off of 2$US a day in Cambridge Mass (she does so as well by your side). With a gift for true simplicity that eludes most modern American trained engineers she was drawn to solving the problems of the world's poorest citizens. She worked hard to produce a design for an electric grain grinding mill for example, something which her mostly male engineer peers did not understand. During her years in the Peace Corp she has worked right alongside the women in the villages of Botswana and she had experienced firsthand the drudgery of the task she was replacing. Smith also developed a very low-tech way of creating charcoal from biomass as a way of making a cleaner burning kitchen fuel and reducing child mortality from respiratory infections.
IDDS Logo: An ancient West African symbol of cooperation and interdependence. BOA ME NA ME MMOA WO - "Help me and let me help you"
Her students are really the proof of the method she uses to ignite their passions about the world problems needing simple solutions.Two students Dossa and Dafalla created the treadle pump. This week in Sudan 400 "stairmaster" treadle pumps will be delivered to farmers replacing the bone crushing water buckets with a few hours a day of stairclimbing type activity. This will triple food production on their farms and free up hours a day. Another example is the Open Source Green Car: Gas and Electric
Here are her 7 Rules of Design:
1. Try living for a week on $2 a day. That's what my students and I do when I teach my class about international development. It helps them begin to understand the trade-offs that must be made when you have only very limited resources. More broadly, it was in the Peace Corps in Botswana that I learned to carry water on my head, and noticed how heavy the bucket was; and I learned to pound sorghum in to flour and felt the ache in my back. As a designer, I came to understand the importance of technologies that can transport water or grind grain.
2. Listen to the right people. Okay, so you probably don't know what it's like to carry fifty pounds of firewood on your head. Well, don't pretend that you do. Talk to someone who has done it. I believe that the key to innovation in international development is truly understanding the problem, and using your imagination is not good enough.
3. Do the hard work needed to find a simple solution. As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”—and it is the key to this type of design work.
4. Create “transparent” technologies, ones that are easily understood by the users, and promote local innovation.
5. Make it inexpensive. My friend Paul Polak has adapted a famous quote to the following: “Affordability isn't everything, it's the only thing” and there's a lot of truth in that. When you are designing for people who are earning just one or two dollars a day, you need to keep things as cheap as you can and then make it even cheaper!
6. If you want to make something 10 times cheaper, remove 90 percent of the material.
7. Provide skills, not just finished technologies. The current revolution in design for developing countries is the notion of co-creation, of teaching the skills necessary to create the solution, rather than simply providing the solution. By involving the community throughout the design process, you can help equip people to innovate and contribute to the evolution of the product. Furthermore, they acquire the skills needed to create solutions to a much wider variety of problems. They are empowered.
Current Location: humboldt woods
Current Mood: hell yes!
Current Music: birds,road, comuter hum
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July 7th, 2008
verbenamo
 | 09:44 am - Saving money!
Just FYI for any starbucks drinkers out there: they'll give you 10 cents off your drink if you bring your own cup/mug! I love my mocha, so this is very nice for me, and for the landfills.
Most grocery stores give you 5 cents off for every bag of your own you bring- also nice. I have one nice cloth bag, and bring back some plastic bags if I get a lot of groceries :] I'm not sure the estimate is correct, but I read that plastic grocery bags can take up to 1,000 years to break down in a landfill.
Just a couple ways to cut back on our waste creation and save money.
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July 2nd, 2008
ponygirl72
 | 04:36 pm - OM NOM NOM
After a recent Homer Simpson-esque "D'Oh!" moment, I realized that I'd still been throwing away vegetable and fruit scraps from the kitchen.
The chickens Do Not Approve of such silly human behaviors as throwing away food.
They are particularly fond of watermelon rind.
Yes, I made a video of chicks mobbing a piece of watermelon rind.
No, I don't get out much. And yes, I'm easily amused. :-)
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June 28th, 2008
foolfaerie420
| 06:30 am - Free Market swap RRFM Really Really Free Markets
Subject: The Really Really Free Market(RRFM), Pasadena
Saturday June 28: The Really Really Free Market(RRFM), Pasadena
When: 8:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.
Where: 1480 E Washington Blvd, Pasadena, in the parking lot of the Bresee, Church of the Nazarene, Pasadena 91104;
Cost: FREE, but you're invited to bring foolish things/skills/services to give away.
Take or give away anything you can think of at the RRFM!: Its like a community yard sale, except everything is free, no $ are exchanged: A gathering of folks come together to give freely of their time, talents, items. You don't have to bring something but if you've an artistic talent like juggling or guitar playing you want to teach people, a service you want to share like hair-cutting or face painting, a game you want to bring to play, hugs to give, or think up something else --some folks sit & make crafts & give them away: Its all very welcome, as well as bringing any items in good condition that you're not using: Art, furniture, DVDs, costumes, instruments, housewares, etc. Celebrate & support community creativity, recycling & local autonomy! Invite your silly friends! For more info go to the LA_Swaps list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LA_Swaps
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June 24th, 2008
sandramort
 | 08:32 pm - Garden update, crossposted hither and yon
( Yard and garden pics, two kid pics also )
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June 23rd, 2008
ponygirl72
| 12:06 pm - Meat Indepence, Day... um, I lost count
Just an update on how things are going with the chickens,
over at my journal...
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June 6th, 2008
jaime88
 | 02:30 pm - Kefir Grains: Where to find them
Kefir (alternately keefir, kephir, kewra, talai, mudu kekiya, milkkefir, búlgaros) is a fermented milk drink that originated in the Caucasus region. It is prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep's milk with kefir grains.
It's a wonderful probiotic healthy sort of drink.
Kefir can also be made vegan, with nut or seed milk, Yay!
So you wanna make kefir?
Well it turns out that lots of folks will share Kefir grains with you, maybe some are right in your neighborhood. Here's a list of folks on the kefir grains distribution network.
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June 4th, 2008
jaime88
| 03:09 pm - Sustainable Soil Management
Another nifty guide, The Sustainable Soil Management: Soil System Guide from Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas part of the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
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jaime88
| 10:01 am - Practical Action: Technology Challenging Poverty
Here's another great organization providing information that will be of use to all of us as time goes by. They started back in '66. Tons of articles in major topics such as:
Adaptation to Climate Change
Agriculture
Crop and Food Processing
Manufacturing including Candle, Paper and Soap making
Transport including Aerial Ropeways, Bike Trailers, Bicycles, and more.
They do accept donations, and want information about how the papers one downloads will be used.
Current Mood: Perky
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May 30th, 2008
jaime88
| 05:19 pm - Cool Web Resource: Journey to Forever
The Journey to Forever is a new discovery for me. I was looking for a recipe to make biodiesel, and came across their biofuels library.
Then I started poking around and found their small farms library.
It's an amazing amount of useful info.
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bete_noire
 | 12:54 pm - Victory garden - bringin' Waste Not, Want Not back
i know the victory garden concept has always been an inspiration to me, as a small-space container gardener. here's an article on treehugger:
It's not quite war time, although sometimes it feels like it... Endless articles on the "credit crunch", cutbacks and soaring food prices are putting a chill in the air. During WW2 the British were digging Victory gardens in squares and public parks across the country. They were growing their own food in very tight compact spaces as a response to food shortages due to the wartime restrictions on food imports. Wartime principles of eating seasonal food grown locally and organically have a message for us now.
entire article here.
me, i can't afford to buy a plot of land and haul up stakes, so my own personal food garden is mostly vertical. i do think everyone can benefit from the 'use what you've got' ethos, though. ^_^
happy friday!
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May 27th, 2008
crankles
 | 10:41 am - What have you done that successfully reduced home energy/water consumption?
So what steps have you taken that helped to reduce your energy or water consumption at home? There are tons of articles out there about what you can do, but what did YOU do that made you go, "Wow, I'm so glad I did that - it made a noticeable difference!"
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May 24th, 2008
wolfsilveroak
 | 11:11 pm - Soo...
Went to the Farmer's Market today. The Iris Lady was there again.
I picked up FIVE new Irises. FIVE!!!!(Hey at $4 each, when online/in catalogs, they go for $10-20.00, that's a steal and they're local grown). Schreiner's was the only place I found excellant photos of most of them-
Apollodorus
Avalon Sunset
Fall Fiesta
Supreme Sultan
And Kentucky Derby.. that I haven't found a photo of yet, but it's a rich coral-peach color, with apricot tones.
Now I need a 'black' Iris, and a red toned one, and I'll have at least one of every shade.
This is what Immortality will look like next year, when it blooms.
We then went to Riverside Nursery, with the Bro in law and sis in law.
There I picked up a Black & Blue Salvia, a False Indigo, 2 Nasturiums, and a 4pk of Black Beauty Bell Peppers.
Came home, did some gardening. Potted/planted new plants, repotted the Japanese Red Maple, added dirt, about 2 inches worth to the potted Witch Hazel, planted the Curly Willow Tree, as it wasn't happy in a pot anymore, brought that thing from North Carolina as a tiny seedling started from a cutting. It's now nearly 4 ft tall.
Because the front bed decided to try to eat my mechanical pencil, I ended up tearing out more variegated vinca, ponytail plant(nasty thing, I HATE that plant) and ivy searching for it.
I'm getting to the point where I need to map out where each Iris is, and it's name, otherwise, I won't remember it in a year or so.
I also perused Schreiner's and found others I want eventually. After I build the extension for the 'L' shaped brick bed, transplant the Siberians, and build a the Daylilies a raised brick planter on the otherside of the driveway. And dig out my pond.}:P
As an aside- my Detroit Red Wings won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, against Pittsburgh Penguins. 4-0, the game was a SHUTOUT. Take that, Morlith! }:P
Crossposted to ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) gardening,
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) content
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foolfaerie420
| 10:11 am - Canadian teen discovers plastic eating bacteria
The student at Waterloo College institute walked away from the Canada wide Science fair with a 10,000$ prize, a 20,000$ scholarship and instant international recognition from the sustainability community.
Burd used very basic science techniques to isolate his strains of bacteria and create a 43% digestion rate of plastics. Observing that some plastic does degrade he hypothesized that bacteria is the responsible agent. He has yet to take a longer trail than six weeks of his strains which he isolated himself from dirt and yeast. There is a large likelihood that he will return home and develop a method of 100% digestion of the bags by the bacteria colonies. He has already found that one of the strains symbiotically boosted the other one, it will be interesting to see what is possible when people begin to investigate their own dirt. Following his method in several months you could have your own wild strain digester.
IIndustrial application should be easy, said Burd. "All you need is a fermenter . . . your growth medium, your microbes and your plastic bags."
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May 23rd, 2008
wolfsilveroak
| 03:41 pm - More Irises in my garden...
My Japanese Irises have started blooming. I'm thinking the Siberians won't this year, as they are too crowded and need transplanting as soon as I get a new raised bed built for them. My final German Bearded bloomed first this past weekend, while I was out of town, but still had both open and unopened blooms/buds so I could get good photos this week.
( Continue )
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May 21st, 2008
ponygirl72
| 07:08 am - As promised, the rabbit butchering post.
By request, this post contains graphic description of the mechanics of rabbit butchering. Please only click through if that will not bother you.
( Read more... )
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May 20th, 2008
ponygirl72
| 08:13 am - Q: So, do chickens graze? Seriously? And, y'know-- how?
That's a version of the question I asked years ago when I first heard about geese grazing. 'Cause, y'know, they're *birds*, for crying out loud. With *beaks*. Beaks, for eating bugs, and berries, and... stuff.
A: Yep, they do. Seriously. How? Like this:
ETA: There's a video of happy chickens under the cut, but below the video is some frank discussion about the ethics of slaughtering lambs on-farm vs. off-farm, which will upset some people (it certainly upsets me!). If you want to see the video, it's the first thing, and the discussion is down a ways below it. Cheers.
( Grazing chickens... )
Oh, and I'll try to get the rabbit-butchering post up tomorrow.
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May 19th, 2008
crankles
| 02:20 pm - Solar Dehydrating: car and basket method
I took a class on food preservation this weekend, and my instructor, Sandy Cruz, has a method of solar vegetable/fruit/herb drying I liked. She lines flat baskets with parchment paper, then spreads her her veggies on them. She puts them in the back seat of her car and closes the doors and windows, creating a solar dehydrator. In summer temperatures, it doesn't take long before the food is thoroughly dehydrated. She starts in the early morning and then turns the veggies in mid-afternoon. Apparently you can wash parchment paper in your sink and hang it to dry, then re-use it.
She reminded us that it's always good to have an electric dehydrator even if you want to do most of your dehydrating with solar methods. On cloudy or humid days, you won't make much progress and you don't want your food to spoil. She said that with particularly wet veggies like tomatoes, it's better to start them in an electric dehydrator and finish them in the car because if it takes too long to dry your food, it can mold.
She also showed us a picture of a "root cellar" someone had made by burying an old refrigerator in the ground so that only the door showed. You have to drain the freon and add some ventilation, but apparently it worked for these guys. Someone else did something similar with an old refrigerated truck that they half-buried in the hillside.
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ponygirl72
| 09:54 am - Now we're up to...
Meat Independence, Day 21
Today was Fish Day. This morning I got up, fed the chickens and the horses on pasture, and collected a large trash can with a tight-fitting lid, a bucket, and some bungee cords.
( So long, and thanks for all the fish! )
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May 18th, 2008
ponygirl72
| 10:32 am - Moving on to...
Meat Independence, Day 16
Beautiful, sunny day? Check.
Lush, green grass? Check.
Slightly bewildered chickens? Double check.
( Gorillas In The Mist? Er... Chickens In The Grass )
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