Happy New Year!!

All the best for 2010 everyone! I hope it is a good year and brings you all everything you hope for. A special thought to people everywhere who are less fortunate, may your lives be enriched and full.

More Travels in Africa

A Little Argus Reed Frog, Mozambique

A view overlooking Monkey Bay, Cape McClear, Lake Malawi

Exploring the hills overlooking Monkey Bay, Lake Malawi

A beautiful, dainty Nyala doe, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

A lovely Bush Buck doe (Bush Buck is the common name) same family as the Nyala, above. Mozambique

A male Warthog foraging for food

Crownd Cranes in the Urema flood plains, Gorongosa, Mozambique

A group of baby Water Buck, Gorongosa, Mozambique

Apart from the malaria, everything else; the climate, the people, the big open spaces; paridise! and we lived there, I grew up in that bush. I obviously have something on my mind, pleasant thoughts I imagine. Now I live in one of the most built up areas of the UK, all in the name of a secure future? Who am I kidding, give me the uncertainty any day

The sunsets never get boring

My eldest son (right) and his friend from Australia with a Baobab tree in the back ground

Snorkelling in the crystal clear waters of Lake Malawi

 

Fishing at a dam near Chimoio Mozambique

The view from the lodge we stayed in on Benguerra Island, Mozambique

Pansy Island, Mozambique. So called because of the Pansy shells found there. This Island is only above water at low tide.

An Organic Approach to Farming

Mulching to conserve water which also provides an ideal habitat for life in the soil such as earth worms

A work hardened hand holds some of the pests infesting the crops of a woman's cooperative market garden in Mozambique. We helped introduce Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to control pests in an environmentally friendly way

A little Jumping Spider, a fierce predator of aphids and other small pests.

A small scale farmer in Mozambique uses 'Conservation Farming' practices, using a multi-cropping rotation. In this case a row of maize and three of beans. The beans help fix Nitrogen into the soil and in the next season maize will be planted where the beans were and visa versa

School children at a school in the Vinho area of Nhamatanda, Mozambique are shown the benefits of compost and how natural fertilization occurs

Our Wild Neighbours

An African Fish Eagle, Lake Malawi

Beauty in the smallest things, an inch worm, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

A Black Headed Heron, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

A herd of Impala antelope, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

A young Lioness, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

A harmless, but feisty little Herald Snake, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

A young Elephant bull warns us to stay our distance, Shire River, Malawi

My son and I back burning a fire set by poachers, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Travels in Africa

Our home for two years in Gorongosa National Park Mozambique

We also lived here for two years. Vila Ulongue Mozambique

Vila Ulongue Market

Cape Mclear Lake Malawi, fishing village scene in the morning

Chembe Eagles Nest Lodge looks out onto Lake Malawi, Monkey Bay

Murombodzi Falls, Mt Gorongosa, Mozambique

Bicycles for sale, Vila Nhamatanda, Mozambique

Flood plains near Lake Urema, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

2009: Another year gone!

Who would have believed it? Christmas 2009 already and it seems only a week or so ago that I was spending my first Christmas in the UK. Not all of the snow has melted yet from the past few days so it is going to be a whitish one! The sun is forecast for the day though, not to say it'll be warm!

My three sons and my oldest, Mathews' girl friend Natalie pose with the snowman they built in the middle of the night a few days ago.

This picture taken from our front door, the snow completely changes the face of the world. Nice on a post card






Click the images to enlarge

What Are We Losing?

People, the world over, work because they have to make a living. Some are fortunate enough to travel and see other parts of the world, go on safari and appreciate the thing that is the worlds biggest tourist attraction; Mother Nature. Indeed, she has many wondrous and magnificent things to show us, and whilst on holiday, those who can afford the luxury, these wonderful things are seen, explained by tour/nature guides and appreciated. But this appreciation is sometimes only for the moment, and only individual aspects are highlighted and the 'big picture', how everything within an ecosystem works is not understood. These fleeting visits to enjoy the beauty of nature does not leave an impact on the visitors, the plight of ever receding natural habitats does not register as a problem. In short, most people do not understand what we can lose, and so one of the biggest and most daunting tasks the people who do understand this problem have, is to make people realise what is really happening, then there is an outside chance that something can be done simply because more people do something positive to help.

Changes

We used to go to this place on the shores of Lake Malawi quite often. A lovely, relaxing retreat

This tent was our home for two years in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique

Our good friend Carlos, holding a baby croc caught in the camp swimming pool in Gorongosa when the park flooded

One of Africa's many gems, a lilac breasted roller.

A warthog gives us a cursory glance then continues foraging for food

From the heat of Gorongosa to such cold as I have never experienced!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

That's Life

Young people, the world over are all in a similar position. We are born, we develop personalities, some of that personality we are born with and some of it is from the influence of other people we know or read about and the things we see. We are all different and we all perceive things in individual ways. We develop passions, love and hate and fear. All animals, on one level or another must have emotion, it is what determines each and every character. But for humans, life is much more complex than the lives of any other animal species, we are unique, our thought processes are more advanced. When we leave school, we leave the sanctuary of our parents home, this is one of the many things we have in common with many other animal species. We have been taught what we need to know so that we can choose a career and become a productive member of whatever community we live in. But there is an increasing number of people who, from their mid 30's suddenly discover what they really love to do and because they are passionate about whatever this new-found thing is, they know they would have excelled doing it as a career. Is this growing phenomenon a result of us having access to so much information, so much stimuli? I don't think it's a bad thing, I think it is a temporary condition that will disappear as more young people, globally, are given access to the information that my generation didn't have such easy access to.

An interesting topic, perhaps? Or is it just pie in the sky?

Finding a Happy Medium

I am passionate about many things; the Southern African bush, wildlife, plants, photography, all the intricacies of organic farming etc etc, the list goes on. But whilst I am passionate about some things, I am careful not to become the over bearing know-it-all fanatic. Whilst watching a program on the telly tonight, a couple wanted to build a home whilst being considerate of the environment. They wanted to take a responsible approach. Fantastic! But the problem arose when their architect who obviously has a passion for 'eco-building' started using methods that had not been properly tried and tested and despite the 'limecrete' foundation not setting properly, she still couldn't understand why her clients were questioning the use of materials that have yet to be properly tested. Let's remember; they wanted a responsibly built, afordable eco-home and yet their architect, so totally focused on experimenting with materials, at her clients expense, was completely blind and deaf to the realities right in front of her!

We all need to think more like the couple in this story, and bear in mind that it is just such a practical yet responsible mindset that will move humankind toward an existence of harmony with their natural surroundings. It is the misguided fanatics who will get us deeper in trouble because they just do things without rational thought.

What he heck!!

What the heck am I becoming, every day I wake up at the same time (ish), I get in my car and drive the same route to work, get fully engrossed in my job (even though it is not one I like), get in the car and drive back home, have supper, watch tv, bath, read then go to bed. The kids even jokingly ask me, every day, "How was work Dad" and my reply is always the same; "The same as always". The big worry is that my imagination seems to have gone numb and I am blogging less and less, It's dark when I leave home, it's dark when I return, it's raining, it's cold, I work a half day Saturday so only have a few hours of day light on Saturday and maybe 8 on Sunday, but chances are it'll be raining and it is always cold, so the time left for me to see some of the out doors is minimal. I am not living my life right now, I am existing. Bummer, roll on summer!!

A Look Into The Future

Is the outlook a bleak one? As the natural balance tips, overloaded by the sheer force of human impact, what can we expect? Everyone seems to have an opinion, but in the main, only a handful of people really understand what might happen and how soon it will happen. Will it be gradual or will it be sudden? I have heard on one hand that the ocean levels may increase by 5 meters in as many years and I find this hard to believe, I have heard that global warming has been caused by human impact and another that argues that human impact has contributed in only an insignificant way in what is otherwise a natural global/planetary cycle.

Al Gore has done a lot of research on this subject, and is campaigning for change to take place globally. I am inclined to follow his way of thinking, predictions based on scientific research, and, I believe, we have to take steps to repair the damage we humans have done. So join this ever expanding mindset, read, watch the many documentaries available on the subject and help keep our impact to a minimum.

A Farmer Who Dared

This is a true story. A small scale farmer in Mozambique, by Western standards, a poor man, saw the benefits of organic farming, made the transition and has never looked back. A church missionary organisation had come into the area and began teaching farmers organic farming. Their progress is good but slow because the local markets sell pesticides of all kinds and farmers are reluctant to change the way they have farmed for so long. But the farmer in this story patiently watched the demonstration plots set up by the mission, he saw how healthy the crops were and how abundant the crop yields were, so he too set about changing how he farmed. He told me that he always struggled to feed his family, but in the 5 years since he began farming organically his fields have provided well. Walking through his fields, he shows me how damp the soil is under the thick layer of mulch and ground cover crops, pumpkin and water melon. The maize is a healthy green colour and towers above us, yet all the adjacent fields are barren and dry whilst their owners await the rain so they can plant their crops. The organic farmer, on the other hand will soon be reaping the third crop that year. But although his methods are obviously successful, whilst many of his contemporaries in the community now farm as he does, the majority do not. Why? I don't know, but there is a transition taking place, and that is encouraging.

One thing to think about here, is that this story is about a farmer who has no mechanical aids to farm with. What he and his family produce from their land is what sustains them, it is their livelihood in the true sense of the word. These people do not have lots of money, they do not have the modern material possessions that we in the Western world take so much for granted, they do no own a car or even a motorcycle, and yet their lives are full and rich. They have had fewer choices in their lives than I have and yet they are more content than me. From such people, we have much to learn, the farmer in this story is a wise man, he has chosen to farm organically after careful consideration because he would and could never jeopardise his family their bread and butter. He is a good man, and I am privileged to call him a friend

Crazy Sick World

We live in a world that is ill. We are out of kilter with nature and in a crazy spin of repetition. From one generation to the next and the next and the next our inventiveness gives us all these wonderful gadgets, our nature is to be inquisitive, to want these wonderful things. We toil day in day out to make enough money to pay the bills and to buy the things we want, and so it goes. It's great, isn't it? But we haven't achieved a balance, the impact we humans have on this planet is huge and although we are slowly learning how to reduce that impact, it is all too plain to see, wherever we look, that whilst some try hard, others don't think there's anything to worry about, that it's OK now and that is all that matters.

If the vast majority, or maybe even only half of the people living in high density population areas took an active interest in just one of the millions of natures little intricacies and that interest spread through to things linked to it, that little bit of personal knowledge or even expertise will raise that persons awareness to the plight of mother earth. Be thoughtful, get interested, become involved, become a part of the solution, not the problem.

Organic Farming, Opinions

There are a number of arguments fore and against the use of organic agriculture. Today at work, a young man who comes from a farming family in the Northwest of England said that organic farming doesn't work here. This reaction is typical to 'modern farmers' all over the globe, and in one sense that young man was correct, but only in the sense that anyone attempting, for instance, Integrated Pest Management and surrounded by neighbours who control pests with chemicals, the efforts of the farmer in I.P.M. would be hampered because the pest predators would perish if the chemical spray drifted over. Another set back would be that pests would migrate to the crops that are free of chemicals, and even if there are good predator numbers, the pest numbers would be too great. So this is why entire areas would have to be dedicated 'chemical free'. My opinion is that organic agriculture is the only sustainable way forward. But my opinion is only my opinion. There are others who share this opinion, but the majority of farmers who control the land are in the business of survival or profit. They are the ones who have to be convinced and no amount of yelling and screaming will hold with them if money is to be lost, or yields reduced during the transitional phases. For them it is too big a gamble because their entire livelihood would rest upon such a decision. They would rather stick to what they know works, and that's the end of it. The answer is to prove beyond doubt that becoming fully organic actually works, and if there are losses during the transitional phase from non-organic to organic, then assistance should be given.

I also believe that the future of food production will rely upon more sustainable use of land. The world, as always, and possibly even more rapidly, is changing. The raw materials from which fertilisers are made are not in endless supply, toxic chemicals and rapidly expanding populations continue to pollute the air and water and soils, yet we bumble aimlessly along, completely unaware of the long term and only living for today. We say we want a better world for our children and so many of us do, but some do not mean what they say because they are blissfully unaware of the implications and others just don't know any better.

We hope that the next generation and the next and the next will be more aware..............

Organic Farming; Local Knowledge

Local knowledge on any farm is important. This picture shows a little jumping spider on a tomato plant. This spider is a hunter, and by spraying it with an insecticide, just like the pests, it also dies. Then begins a vicious circle in which the farmer sprays, wipes everything out and invariably the pests come back quicker and stronger causing even more damage because the natural predators have been eradicated. The balance is upset, and the scales tip, and the crops suffer.

Toxic chemicals offer an immediate solution in the control of diseases, pests and weeds, but pests do build up resistances against pesticides, residues of specialised herbicides build up in the soils and ultimately cause problems with crops, such as stunted growth. The natural elements of the environment adapt and change, the chemical companies develop new chemicals to replace those to which a resistance has been forged by nature. Nature is an immense force and to work against it is folly, work with it, apply what occurs naturally and she does not have to fight back, she settles down, the farmer, and nature win.

Organic Farming; An example of transition

These are images of an excellent attempt (and a rather successful one at that) by a small scale farmer in Mozambique, to change to a more sustainable way of farming. The reason this farmer is doing this is because he has seen the benefits of doing so, and says his crops have done well since he started. His is a more 'regimented' approach to what I promote, but it is still a huge step in the right direction. I do not mean that my approach is all higgldy piggldy and all over the place, but what I promote is something that is more permanent. In the 1970's two Australians coined the term 'permaculture', a term they derived (I believe) from 'permanent agriculture'. The idea is that people farm using all the natural resources available to them, to their benefit. It is a state of everything within a given environment, plays a role toward the balance and health of that environment. Absolutely everything is used in some way to add value to the environment, to earn it's keep. The idea is fantastic but since the introduction of modern agricultural methods, we have all but lost the knowledge of how to farm without the aid of chemicals. We became a little too clever for our own good.

But do not worry!! Not only have our scientists worked out how to make things that ultimately destroy, some have gained a deep understanding of how most things work, and we can use that knowledge to bring our depleted agricultural soils, back to health. Nature always fights to make a come-back when people tear it down and strip it back, so the cause is never fully lost; soils that have relied on heavy chemical fertilisation to support crops, can be rehabilitated.

In these pictures the farmer has planted a bean crop and every three rows of beans there is a row of maize. The following year the main crop in this field will be maize and every fourth row will be beans, and so on. This type of farming has been called 'Conservation Agriculture' or 'CA'. CA does tick some of the boxes, and will sustain land for much longer periods than 'mono-cropping', but it is not, in my humble opinion, a fully self sustaining system.

A self sustaining system is one that has a number of permanent or long term components. It is a system that fertilises itself, providing all the plants nutritional needs. It supports everything on its soils, livestock, people and plants and if done properly on a scale that can be managed by one family, it will produce a healthy excess which the farmer can sell.

This is what must be aimed at, it is an attainable goal, but many obstacles exist.......................

Organic Farming; Integrated Planting and Pest Management

Integrated Planting is to plant an assortment of plants in the same field, each plant having a specific purpose. The whole idea of farming is to produce food and whilst the principles outlined in this article can be used on any scale, it is primarily aimed for use by small scale farmers in developing countries, who do not have access to the same resources available in more developed countries. Having said that, the issue of whether to resort to Organic Farming or not is a global concern and forward thinking and the more enlightened farmers in developed countries are already changing the way they farm.

So, to a subsistence farmer in a developing country, the primary concern is to produce enough food for the family. Any excess is a bonus and that excess is often difficult to get to market before it goes off. Our aim is not only to introduce these farmers to a system of agriculture that is at one with the environment, it will also produce greater yields of superior quality and without any trace elements of toxic chemicals.

Now back to how to select plants for an integrated planting. The things to be considered are

(a) The creation of an environment that will provide an adequate habitat for pest predators

(b) Leguminous plants who's root nodules provide a habitat for Nitrifying bacteria that are essential to the production of Nitrogen in the soil

(c) Trailing plants that provide 'ground cover' and help shade the soil from the direct sunlight

(d) The seasonal crop, which in many cultures, is a staple food such as maize or rice

With the above as a guide, a number of other issues must be considered; What will grow well in the climate of an area, Ideally all the plants selected must produce a crop that will be used and can be sold in the local area, Will some of the plants provide an adequate habitat for pest predators and the plant populations must be carefully considered so that not too much demand is placed on the soil, but enough produce can be yielded.

A basic example is;

The staple crop is maize

The legume crop, pigeon peas

Ground cover using cucumber and pumpkin

Ground nuts can also be used as a ground cover crop

Inter-cropping can be done in a number of ways, and what we want to achieve is a natural balance;

Say for example we plant two rows of maize, two of ground nuts and one row of pigeon peas. All the rows with an 1 meter spacing and an inter-row spacing of say 50cm. We would then plant cucumbers an pumpkin; 1 station every 3 meters in-row and every 4th row. Each year/season, the maize and groundnut rows should be alternated because the ground nuts 'condition' the soil.

Looking at this we now want to establish some permanent structure for our plant predators without taking too much from the soil. This, we will discuss in the next post...........

Organic Farming, a few tips

It is not always possible to make an immediate transition to organic farming, so here are some things that can be done during the initial phases to minimise pest damage and reduce the incidence of disease;

In a healthy natural habitat, pest infestations are controlled by pest predators and if the balance is right, pest numbers are kept to a minimum and plants can remain healthy because that damage is negligible. This includes life that resides in the soil, on the soil or in plants. Unfortunately all life, pests and predators are wiped out when a farmer sprays to control the pest levels. Chemical pest control wipes out the natural control and in monoculture (the practice of single crop fields) the habitat is not ideal for pest predators. So how do we tackle the problem in the transitional phases? Farmers firstly need to provide the ideal habitat for pest predators. My experience is that pest predators do not necessarily require specific plant types in which to live, they require structure in the form of shrubs, trees, grass and a healthy soil adequately covered with dead plant matter. The provision of this structured habitat for predators will take some time to establish properly, so until we have created the right environment, we still have to contend with the pests. This can be done in a controlled manner; (a) by teaching farmers what are predators or pests (b) teaching the farmers to 'scout' their fields and record pest and predator numbers and to use given pest/predator numbers as a guide as to when to spray and (c) to spray using chemicals that pose the least threat to the natural environment.

As already stated, the transition will take time, and until such time the natural balance is achieved and the farmer understands what is required to maintain that balance, some 'modern farming' practices will have to be used, but only as a last resort and only in a strictly controlled way.

More to come......................

Organic Farming, some pictures

A tomato plant has been transplanted from a nursery into a well mulched field.

This field was planted with cabbages and mulched in the initial phase of soil rehabilitation. Interplanted among the cabbages were cow peas for the supply of Nitrogen