| Integrated
Farming Stories |
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Article
about Integrated Farming by George
Chan
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EcoLiving Glossary& Terms
of Interest |
Ecological
Design - infuses an understanding
of ecology & ecosystems into the
design of human systems |
Social
Sustainability - Considers the
long terms social impact of technology
& development |
Value
Added Products - products that
add value to farming & resource
extraction |
|
Natural
Capitalism (Restorative
Economy)- Considers the economic
value locked in natural systems.
|
Biomimicry
- Mimicking natural processes in the
design of human systems |
Bioregionalism
- a alternative top down governance
systems that puts the focus on indigenous
& cultural values |
| Unity
Center EcoLiving Solutions Modules |
Holistic
ICT for EcoLiving |
| Sustainable
Agriculture |
| Renewable
Energy |
|
EcoBuilding |
Healing
and Human Potential |
Name: Integrated Farming
& Waste Management
The Challenge:
Inadequate processing of organic liquid
waste is a major health and ecological pollution
issue in many developing countries. A key
issue is the lack of sewage and water treatment
facilities for people living in rural communities
and urban slums. Thus people often get their
drinking and bathing water very close to
where they defecate or where other industrial
or agricultural waste is disposed of.
Vision/theme:
Complements the Open Digital Villages and
Multipurpose Unity Center Programs by promoting
renewable and sustainable agriculture solutions.
While beginning virtually through the development
of a knowlegebase wiki and through social
network building, this program will eventually
be developed into a working holsitic model
of sustainability that can be a model for
community oriented development training
that can be replicated globally.
Design:
We are working with our partners to develop
pilots in Africa to serve communities suffering
from serious waste management problems in
emerging markets. Through the development
of an aggressive train the trainers program,
we hope to begin addressing organic waste
processed in significant numbers both in
urban and rural areas. This effort will
build on efforts in the ZERI network to
promote Integrated Farming as part of a
global approach to sustainable development.
Core Activities/Values:
Integrated Farming is an inspirational
example of how waste can be used as an engine
to drive economical, environmental and sustainable
agriculture development that shifts the
dynamics of globalization in a fundamental
way towards the empowerment of small farmers
rather than multinational corporations.
Integrated Farming systems offer a potential
solution to a lot of problems and is particularly
suitable for countries, because it is relatively
low cost way to deal with human waste and
of course it provides fertilizer and energy
for heating cooking, hot water and in some
cases electricity
Methodology:
oneVillage
Initiative is an multi-sector, assets-based
approach to development for deploying
motivated change agents in underserved
communities. We combine information and
communication technologies (ICT) with
a process to holistically interconnect
best practices with a multi-sector partnership
development strategy.
OVF promotes a facilitation
process that includes a whole systems
approach to community development. Going
beyond simply looking at the sustainability
of the built environment, we promote the
development of social networks that will
lead eventually to the development of
"social architectures" through
the effective use of cutting edge tools
like blogs, wikis, portals, etc. The goal
is to design human habitats that authentically
reflect people's needs for a prosperous
and lively existence, while also respecting
the limits of the environment to sustain
us.
ICT is used as a tool to
enable research, collaboration and analysis
of the challenges, potential best practices,
leading to an end product that suits the
needs of the community. A key aspect of
the program is that its multisector orientation
encourages the practical application of
ICT. Community members can then take ownership
of the process and through the social
enterprise training incubate related ventures
to create an ecology of commerce around
the centers that leads to an improvement
of local sanitation practices.
Expected Impacts:
Impact will focus on developing
valuable uses for human and animal waste
that would otherwise adversely impact
waste quality.
- Reduction in the amount of untreated
waste released into the environment
- Sequestration of Methane gas and the mitigation
of Global Climate Change
- Reduction of sickness and disease due
to spreading and mixing of untreated waste
into the water supply
- Increase in locally sustainable agriculture
products
- Increase in the utilization of biogas
as a renewable fuel source
- Increase in the number of waste to wealth
schemes contributing to economic development
and the creation of meaningful employment.
Policy Intervention Strategy:
While primarily an entrepreneurial program
we do plan to close work with local governments
to:
- Encourage local government support of
youth through development of youth programme
like in Ogun State
- Design local development and planning
programs that encourage integrated farming
as a low cost approach to waste management
and an as alternative to high cost centralized
waste treatment systems
Beneficiaries:
We expect that the demand for our innovation
will be great because of the many situations
where wastes are being treated improperly.
Integrated Farming will have a wide ranging
impact on a variety of local actors. The
primary beneficiaries include:
1. Youth entrepreneurs empowered to develop
local farming solutions for rural and urban
areas
2. Ensuring the proper disposal of liquid
organic waste, reducing sickness and ecological
degradation among community members without
access to tap water.
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