Last September 26, a group of seventy-six students from Isabela State University visited the experimental site to learn about permaculture.
In the dining area of the administration building, they were briefed about the use of compost toilets and the general structure of the administration building, which are made out of natural materials.
A tour followed the briefing, and the throng marveled at the landscape orchestrated by natural energies. The students especially wondered at the aerator, perched by the pond. Another piece of ingenious low-energy equipment, an aerator is used as a temporary basin for fingerlings placed under intensive care or adult fishes ready to be cooked. A handle is turned to direct oxygen into the tank.
They were also taken around in different zones and lectured about vegetables, hardwoods, and trees named after a number of local cities. As part of closing, the students watched documentaries about alternative technologies based on nature and the horror of industrial agriculture in the United States.
System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is about experimenting with different rice varieties and methods to simply and organically improve rice production while at the same time maintaining smaller plots relay-and intercropping. It is a good way to improve rice production without being dependent on external inputs. Aside from improving the lives of farmers with scarce economic resources, it also makes sure that the soil is healthy and the land is used sustainably.
Rainforestation method for improved reforestation is about mimicking the rainforest. This method forms the basis for a quick and healthy tree growth: local tree species and some naturalized species are being used. They are also integrated with other food or economic crops.
Mulching is not an alternative for compost; rather, it is a perfect complement to compost as it helps the latter in enriching the soil for optimum plant growth. Mulching also aids in retaining the moisture of the soil.
General resource management is about creating systems that will efficiently turn waste into an asset. This corresponds with the principle of seeing the solution in the problem. As an example, runoff water from the bathroom is filtered through the gravel, and this filtered water may be use for plant irrigation. In addition, a compost toilet turns waste into a productive component. The wastes, decomposed by dry carbon materials such as ash from a stove, wood shavings, or rice husk will prepare it for composting material.
In a permaculture system, designers prioritize the use of readily available and renewable biological resources for construction. Focusing on the use of bamboo, houses, handicrafts and the morphing of bamboo and cement are created and experimented with.
Cabiokid also cares for deer, wild pigs, monkeys and civet cats. Other wild species are invited on site and welcomed by the many habitats that Cabiokid has created over the years
Wildlife refuges also contribute to the enrichment of the system. Native deer and geese graze on vegetation, and at the same time provides manure for compost.
Cabiokid, like everything else, started out as a kid—5 ha in size—but still continues to grow as it has now expanded to a 13 ha experimental site. Development started in 2001 with the quest to incorporate a meaningful system in development works done here in the Philippines during the past 20 years. It is a living museum of different technologies that are harmoniously connected to each other so that the excess of one component can benefit the others surrounding it. Connections and relationships among them make the system stable and productive while not setting aside efficient energy use.
Before Cabiokid, different pesticides and other chemical implements were being applied to improve the yield of rice being planted. Initially, soil-building activities were done such as planting nurse trees and native trees to hydrating the landscape by means of building natural ponds. A solely dedicated area for forest and water to provide biomass and necessary nutrients were the first and the most important undertaking that had been done as they will provide an ample source of biomass for a long time.
Limiting inputs sourced from the outside were practiced throughout the succeeding years to prove that most of the implements needed in a permaculture system come from inside it. The flow gradually turned into cycles to save on energy exerted. Only in 2008 did Cabiokid feel confident about sharing what had been doing since 2001. It was then enough to say that most of the components established are working harmoniously. Until today, it continues to conduct Permaculture Design Certificate Courses. Cabiokid is still developing, and like a ‘kid’ it continuously grows to provide stability, yield, diversity, energy efficiency, and complexity.
Cabiokid, Permaculture, Non- Renewable Energy Sources, and Climate Change
Climate change has been a looming issue for our generation. We have become increasingly dependent on machines and other technologies that operate through fossil fuels in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas. Our cars, planes, farm fertilizers, and asphalt all come from fossil fuels. Aside from the fact that fossil fuel is non-renewable, the pumping of it from underground also speeds up climate change. Carbon is a component of all three fossil fuels, and this causes the unreasonable heating of the planet.
Permaculture as embraced by Cabiokid believes that it is a probable solution to alleviate the problems we have with climate change. As an experimental site in the tropical setup, it is surrounded with richness and diversity. The energy it utilizes is tapped from its system as it prioritizes regenerative sources. Embracing important permaculture elements such as energy and patterns derived from nature, Cabiokid tries to improve on the current, existing, and passive forms of energy. It mimics how nature operates to reduce the negative impact of the mentioned climate change and dwindling supply of non-renewable energy on our planet and among people. It observes tree branches to form irrigation systems, amphibian skins to create effective roofing materials, and others. Cabiokid believes that the knowledge and application of ecologically sound technologies and lifestyle can help alleviate the problems of climate change and unfair share.
All elements in a system have a place. A careful placement creates connections between elements, which will increase the benefits we derive from them. The backyard pigs will produce manure. A composting area is therefore best placed nearby as well as the vegetable gardens, which will need the compost as fertilizer. Also the house needs to be near the vegetable garden for its occupants to have easy access to food.
Each element performs multiple functions
For instance a rice farm is not just a farm. It also provides shelter for other living organisms and will serve as nutrient provider for mammals and birds. This knowledge will help us design a better and more productive farm, which, in the end, will perform far better than being just a rice-producing farm. A well-designed farm becomes an integrated production area and, together with the surrounding land, a healthy poly-culture system.
Each function is supported by many elements
Producing compost will not only be supported by animal manure but as well as plant debris, beached seaweeds or grasses, human wastes, kitchen wastes, nitrogen yielding plant weeds…. and so on. Many elements will support the making of healthy organic fertilizers.
Energy efficient planning
The correct planning and placement of things in accordance to each other will surely maximize energy for a site while at the same time lessening the need to exert too much effort. If elements around us are well planned and worked out, we will be less tired or exhausted. For example, imagine water to be available nearby the area where we need it; there will be no longer a need to fetch it far away, food crops can grow abundantly around the house and other services needed by the community can now be found nearby. In a community scale, if we are actively involved in the planning process (and not just leave it up to those in power) we can start making impressive changes where it counts most. Permaculture divides an area in zones from 0 to 5, in order of decreasing energy levels. Zone 0 is usually very busy and bursting with energy, while a zone 5 does not require our attention at all and serves as the wilderness area beyond human commerce.
Using biological resources
When making or constructing something, we should make (as much as possible) use of regenerative resources, which, if carefully managed, never run out of supply. There will be little need to buy materials at the hardware store when we construct our houses with bamboo, grasses, leaves or wood. Applying the appropriate technologies to improve durability and strength of these materials makes them very competitive with non-biological resources or high-tech materials.
Energy cycling
Making good use of energies that pass our ecosystem will improve the overall quality of life. By trapping the wind, rain and water that runs through or off a mountainside, we retain its potential for the longest possible time on-site. A creek, which has been dammed at several levels, can function as a dam, an irrigation system, a pond and so on. In this example, the gravity of water will be used efficiently without further needing any extra energy (pumps).
Small-scale intensive systems
A 1000sqm productive garden is easier to manage than a four-hectare ‘slash and burn’ system. The energy devoted to a small-scale and intensive system will result in more
productivity and, if well planned, can match the produce harvested on a multi ha farm. In tropical ecosystems, energy is stored in plant organisms and not in the soil, so many and densely planted crops make more sense in an ecosystem where the temperature allows a year-round growth.
Natural plant succession and stacking
If we observe the cycles of life and death in nature we can design a system that produces throughout the year. This is a basic principle of food security. We can also mimic the multistory levels of a rainforest in our vegetable garden. For instance, there can be corn intercropped with beans, tomatoes or eggplants while in its shade gingers or other shade loving plants grow. As such, we will drastically increase the productivity of a relatively small area.
Polyculture and diversity of species
Relying on more than just a few crops will protect against times when disease or disaster strikes. Polyculture balances the ecosystem, provides more space for predators, and keeps the overall production system healthy. More species will also provide us with many and varied foods and allow healthier human beings to develop, given the right set of nutrients.
Increasing edge within a system
Nature has the richest nutrient exchanges near the edges of ecosystems or where different elements, areas, or bodies meet each other. Copying this exchange system results in an overall improved productivity. A water body shaped in the form of a multifaceted star gives more edge to plants, allows more crops and provides more space for fish to hide and more space for water border plants to flourish.
Observe and replicate natural patterns
Patterns are nature’s way to communicate with us. Observing them is like discovering the do’s and don’ts for making use of natural resources. By seeing certain plants growing densely, others creeping on the ground and yet others reaching out to the light, we gain a wealth of information. For instance, a spiral patterns is often related to growth in nature. We observe this phenomenon in many shells. A spiral can be used to put up an integrated garden, allowing successive plants to take root.
Pay attention to scale
Start with small intensive systems before experimenting on larger areas. Allow ample space for uncultivated areas and get to know other species that occupy your ecosystem. The least effort for the greatest change is the idea.
Attitude
The problem is the solution. Waste can easily be viewed in a pessimistic way as either a problem or disadvantage, but it can also become a unique blessing. Setting up a system where waste becomes profitable for humans would be easier and cheaper to achieve and more sustainable in the long run. It is a matter of seeing the advantage of at first sight disadvantageous elements. Lately various research works have turned out regarding homes made out of used tires, chandeliers made out of pretty glass bottles, and many more. If anything causes an obstacle to sustainable development it will be us!
cabiokid 