Global Peace Hut Blog

Healthy Soil = Healthy Veggies = Healthy You

globalpeacehut — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:52:59 +0000

By: Jesse Lemieux, February 2012
Lecture Date: March 1st 2012
Location: Strut Studios 203 – 910 Richards Street Vancouver, BC V6B 3C1

Some of you might already know this, and I am assuming that most of you don’t. Above all other environmental issues: air pollution, deforestation, water pollution, and even CO2 emissions; soil loss is the most critical threat to human survival on this planet. Both historic and pre-historic culture have had dramatic, and often catastrophic, affects on soil. Soil repair and soil conservation are the keys to our continued existence on this planet. Restoring and maintaining robust fertile soil lays at the heart of turning the tide on our current environmental and economic woes. It is a good thing we can all take immediate and positive action toward building and protecting healthy soil.

Soil is an overwhelmingly complex web of life. Without soil, land based life is not possible (that includes YOU). A professional soil scientist will dedicate a lifetime of study, and might only scratch the surface of understanding the most basic interactions in a healthy living soil.

Fortunately, we need not be experts to restore and build healthy, complex and resilient soil in our: planter boxes, backyards, and neighborhoods. Successful soil building and thus successful gardening depend upon our ability to recognize and implement the simple patterns of natural soil production. Whether you are an experienced gardener; a first time balcony gardener; or want to know more about how soil will save life as we know it; YOU NEED THIS INFORMATION.

We invite you to join us on Thursday March 1st. Jesse Lemieux will be giving a lively and entertaining presentation on key Permaculture strategies for building healthy productive soils.
Don’t forget your notebook
Remember healthy soil = healthy vegetables = healthy You.

Can’t make it to the workshop?

Have a look at this book:

“Teaming with Microbes: A Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web” by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis

This website:

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/

The 80-20 Rule: A Permaculture Lesson From Uganda

globalpeacehut — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:45:40 +0000

By: Jesse Lemieux, January 2012
As Part of our Spring Lecture Series:
Lecture Date: February 2nd 2012
Location: Strut Studios 203 – 910 Richards Street Vancouver, BC V6B 3C1

As a teacher of Permaculture design, I am regularly recommended books to read. I am a slow reader, I always have been, and I always will be. Even if I made a full time job of reading, I doubt I would ever get to the end of the recommended reading list. Not all books are created equal. When I read a book I need it to be high value. So, I will only read a book after it has been recommended to me by at least two people I know and respect. It keeps my reading list impressively small, and the books on it of high value. “The 4-hour Work Week” is one of the books to have made my list. Though the author, Timothy Ferriss, might not see the world through a Permaculture or even environmental perspective; I am impressed by the strategies he suggests for success in any course of action.

Central to Ferriss’s approach is the “Pareto Principle” popularly referred to as the 80-20 rule. Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto identified, the often noted fact, that 80% of the wealth is held by 20% of the population. It can also be said that 20% of the factors yields 80% of the results. In fact the two numbers need not add up to 100 at all. It is entirely possible that 5% of my clients will result in 90% of my income. The other side of the coin is what I find most interesting. It is equally possible that 95% of my clients might only yield 10% of my income and a full 100% of my headaches. Without careful consideration we can end up spending most of our time working too hard and too much on the wrong things.

Rather than wasting large amounts of time on things that yield little, we should make the smallest possible moves for the greatest amount of positive change. Really, this is just an amalgamation of two Holmgren Permaculture Principles “Use small slow solutions” and “Obtain a Yield.” Please allow me to share with you an example that clear demonstrates the 80-20 rule application in a Permaculture design scenario.

The per capita electricity usage in Canada is 43 Kwatt-hours/day or 43000 watt-hours/day (4th in the world 2007). The per capita consumption in Uganda is 186 watt-hours/ day1. A Canadian uses approximately 231 times more electricity than a Ugandan.

Obviously we Canadians consume far more electricity than Ugandans, but how does this relate to the basics? Most people in Canada have access to: clean food, clean water, clean air and safe shelter. Because these basics are relatively easy to come-by, Canadians enjoy a certain amount of leisure, recreation and opportunity for creative self-fulfillment. This is not the case in Uganda. Is 43Kwatt-hours/day a requirement to enjoy security the basics of a high quality life?

Consider the question from this angle. If electricity were to become infinitely expensive what are the last things that you would give up? I am willing to bet that lighting and an internet connected computer or smart phone are at the top of your list. Think about it for a minute. What do you really need and what could you live without? For my home: hairdryers, kettles, and curling irons would be the first to go (check out the wattage on these items); air conditioners then fans; electric cooking devices and heaters; refrigerators fourth; and pumps for moving water fifth. Electric cooking can be replaced by gas, liquid or solid fuels; refrigeration with cold rooms, root cellars and ice boxes; windmills and hand pumps could be used to move water from wells and rainwater tanks. Information technology and lighting require a fraction of total household electricity consumption. Their net benefit is immeasurable. I challenge you to share a gardening technique with someone in Australia using a candle and Morse Code. The value of lightning speed global communication is to high, and likely impossible to replace without electricity. If we have lights we can read when the sun goes down, reserving day light hours for critical production activities.

In May of 2011 I taught a Permaculture design certificate, for Global Peace Hut, in Uganda. During that course we had an afternoon workshop on solar photo voltaic (PV) systems led by, USA expatriate, Peter Scott. This workshop was an eye opener for me. Peter showed us tiny scale solar systems that would supply the direct current (DC) watt/hr demands of a modest house wired with LED lights2 3 and laptop computing technology. These systems consisted of a single solar panel, a single small battery, and a charge controller for the battery. In some cases these systems came in under $1000 US. For a relatively minor investment a family can be working and reading after the sun goes down and be able to connect with the larger information network. With more time available for study and education, such small scale technology can have far reaching and lasting benefits locally and globally.

These small scale systems have been developed by the boating and sailing community, where small lean technologies for critical infrastructure are essential. I see no reason why this approach to on demand electricity cannot be applied to households here in Canada. Just because we have relatively abundant electricity does not mean we should waste it.

If I have learned one thing in my young Permaculture career, its not how much you have, but how you use it. The secret to success is identifying the key factors and focusing effort in those areas. This is especially true when working with a limited resource base. I was astounded by the workshop in Uganda, but it wasn’t until a month later when reading about the 80-20 rule in Ferriss’s Book that it really sunk in. I have always advocated that the priorities on the ground are clean food, clean water and safe shelter. If we can also provided affordable reliable lighting and information technology we should. As it is with books, not all solar systems are created equal and bigger does not always mean better. We might not always get a perfect fit, but with a solid set of design directives and guidelines we can achieve a high return on minimal investment. The 80-20 rule is fast becoming one of my go to principles when faced with new design challenges.

1 http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_ele_con_percap-energy-electricity-consumption-per-capita
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp
3 http://www.nemalux.com/

Thanks to Everyone That Attended our Recent Media and Information Event

globalpeacehut — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:23:47 +0000

It’s been over a week since the Media Night event for Global Peace Hut at Strut Studios but we have finally updated the GPH website, this blog and our newly created Fields of Yields YouTube account.

So thanks to everyone that came, the feedback was great and everyone I had a chance to talk to at the event commented on how much better they understood what we are doing – some we’re down right inspired. To those who couldn’t make it, but wanted to, please check out the links below.

I won’t make this a long posting but would like to direct you to some of the video content that was presented at the event. Visit our Youtube Channel here.

Also, many of you indicated a desire to help out with a tax deductible donation and/or get involved in our mentoring program. To do that or communicate your interest please visit the GPH website at www.GlobalPeaceHut.org

The donation button is at the bottom left hand of the Home Page and we now have a Subscribe Button that allows you to make a recurring, monthly donation.

Stay tuned to this blog. We are announcing a series of lectures by Jesse Lemieux on Permacutlure. These will be presented at Strut Studios in Vancouver as well. You’ll find the calendar here

Thanks Again. Look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Come And See What We’ve Accomplished. And our plans for 2012

globalpeacehut — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:56:04 +0000

We have been cataloging the pictures, transferring and editing the video footage, lining up the speakers and planning an evening that is sure to please. So, do please join us for an evening of multimedia, great speakers and presentations that will inspire and challenge your mind as we all begin a brand new year with renewed vigor and hope. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 17th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Strut Studios; Suite 203 – 910 Richards St., Vancouver, BC. All guest must RSVP. Details HERE:
http://www.globalpeacehut.org/events.html

What will you see and hear about? In 2011 we have accomplished a great deal and our seedling of an organization is beginning to sprout and show great promise and we have plans for a lot of growth and excitement for 2012.

In 2011 we launched a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative for the Roofings Corp. in Kampala Uganda. A full Permaculture design demonstration center complete with the construction of a dedicated building as a media and meeting center, all funded by Roofings. The center will be run and managed by Global Peace Hut and this will give us a tremendous asset in the region to educate and build our programs.

We ran our first full Permaculture Design Certificate program at the Dewe School for Practical Arts and Sciences and certified 17 students. We now have a full lease on the property at Dewe – located on Lake Victoria 1/2 way between the cities of Kampala and Entebbe – and we have begun developing more accommodations for students and visitors, establishing a camp site and building traditional, but high-tech African Huts. Very cool.

And, we have now undertaken a project to develop 20 acres of land on the shores of Lake Nabugabo. The property is owned by Herman Kasozi a local entrepreneur who runs a small resort on the lake front. Herman has dedicated a portion of the property for the building of an orphanage, funded in part by the UN and managed by a Spanish educational organization.

The property also features about 20 acres of undeveloped land and we have contracted with Herman to establish a Permaculture forest that would support the orphanage and the local population. There is a nearby town centre called Masaka.

These are a few of the projects we will be presenting and talking about. Stay tuned for more updates very soon.

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Our First High-tech Hut Nears Completion

globalpeacehut — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:43:56 +0000

See the foundation of this first hut pictured here. These will be roomy abodes complete with solar power and LED lighting. We’re anxiously looking forward to the completion of this first hut to fine-tune and demonstrate the design. We have also sourced DC powered computers (12 volts, like a car battery) that can run off these systems as well.

A hut like this is estimated to cost not more than $1500.00 to complete. Add to this solar cooking capabilities and a good Internet connection and you have a pretty high-tech place to live and work. We anticipate building another 5 huts on the Dewe site to accommodate students and visitors. We will also have camping facilities for short term stays as well.

On the last day of my visit we spent some leisure time at, a now deserted lakeside resort on Lake Victoria called Lutembe. A posh destination in its day the Lutembe resort was developed in the 70s and was very popular.

There is a large estuary on the lake at the location that is a major destination for migrating birds from all over the world. The Lutembe site manager has become a good friend – our Dewe site is just a 5 minute walk down the road. There are new investors involved at the site and they are beginning renovations in January with a view to re-opening the resort early spring 2012.

They expect to attract local vacationers as well as international eco-travellers who visit the region for bird watching and the ecological wonders that the lake and estuary have to offer. We are excited about this development and the relationship established there. Every visitor to Lutembe must drive right by our site and we expect to benefit greatly from the traffic and this association.

We are looking at establishing a small cafe on the roadside side of the building. And make our camping facilities available to those who prefer a camping experience.

I have returned to Vancouver now, after 30 hours of travel and wait time I’m pretty bagged. Quickly recovering from jet lag now I’m looking forward to putting together all of the media collected and making presentations to those who would like to get involved in supporting these initiatives. So, stay tuned. I’ll be announcing presentation dates soon. Until then, hope you all have a merry Xmas and best wishes for a prosperous new year.

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Going Solar

globalpeacehut — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:45:18 +0000

After several days of intermittent rain we are making progress on the first hut at the site. When I say rain I’m not talking about the usual drizzle one would expect around my home town, Vancouver, Canada — this is real wrath-of-god biblical deluge stuff with constant rolling thunder and lightning. Frightening at times. Last week a local school was hit by lightening while the children were out on the field at play.

Forty kids were injured, some seriously, in the electrical assault. It’s not a good idea to be out working in the field during these events so our construction schedule has been set back a few days. However the hut is now well underway with the trench dug for the foundation wall and the site for this hut is, hmmmm, lovely I’ll say. Up on a small hill it over looks the field area looking back at the buildings. So we’re excited to see this one in progress. The weather has been relatively clear over the past two days so it won’t be long before we’ll be forwarding pictures of the completed structure.

We also met with Peter Scott this week at his home in the Muenga area in Kampala. We had a wonderful dinner with Peter, his wife Sheri and daughter Nikki. Peter is pictured here demonstrating his portable solar power technologies to our last group of PDC students. He and his family are now living full time in Uganda. Educated in the sciences in Washington State USA, he has been contracted by agencies such as the UN to work on power, sustainability projects all over the world.

Now working in East Africa he is well-known in the region as ‘the’ expert in solar technologies. His home is virtually a lab of various prototypes of clean-tech and enviro-tech technologies. He runs his entire home on solar, though he does have access to the local power grid as a back up There are no power outages at Pete’s place. Energy is stored in an impressive bank of batteries that are constantly monitored. Also, all the water that comes into the house is filtered, ozone treated and a couple of other processes I couldn’t quite follow, so that the water used in his home is absolutely pure – and tasty too!

Also pictured here is Peter demonstrating the power of a solar cooker made from a satellite dish clad on the inner surface with small mirrors. These things are very powerful, with heat output several times higher than a traditional stove. These are ideally suited for an outdoor kitchen facility. We have the one shown here at the Roofings site now for demonstration there. We’ll set up another at the Dewe site soon.

We’re absolutely delighted to have Peter’s support. We are going to have all his systems demonstrated at The Centre for Sustainability Centre at the Roofings site, and, we hope to have his portable solar lighting and power operating in our huts at the Dewe Site. These systems allow a small hut to have a constant source of available LED lighting and low wattage appliances such as computers and cell phones. Very cool, high-tech African Huts. We are allowing for up to seven on these huts on the Dewe property to be used by guests, students and staff. Exciting stuff.

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Lake Nabugabo – Another Permaculture Project Site

globalpeacehut — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:03:59 +0000

We visited The Sand Beach Resort on Lake Nabugabo over the weekend. Part business, part pleasure and recreation — it was nice to get away from the Kampala area for a while. The lake is located south west of Kampala City near the small town of Masaka, about a 2 hour drive from Kampala. The owner of this 20 acre property is a local businessman named Herman Kasozi is interested in developing the property for multiple uses and is particularly interested in developing sustainable systems and supporting the local community.

He has recently contracted with a Welsh-born educator named David Batten to build a school and orphanage on the site. David is a trustee with The Kindred Project, a charitable organization in Spain. He has traveled the world as an educator and is currently the head master of a school in Andalusia Spain. He was on site as well over the weekend and we had an opportunity to meet with both him and Herman to discuss the overall vision for the site. David has support from the UN for the orphanage project and he and his wife will be re-locating here in the near year to build the school and orphanage.

Herman has offered the balance of the land to be developed into a Permaculture food forest program that would provide education and employment opportunities for the local community. He has asked Aaron to develop a plan and a proposal for development, so we were there over the weekend touring the property, taking pictures and videos to get a feel for things. The next step will be to get satellite images of the land and begin mapping out the architecture. The land is amazing and totally undeveloped. We see this as a tremendous opportunity for GPH to be involved in the development of the site and place students and graduates of PDC programs to work on site to further their work experience and gain employment.

A handshake agreement at the moment, Herman wants to see the plan and we made a deal to provide a comprehensive site plan in trade for two of his donkeys! That’s right a new colt and another young one. The donkeys will be re-located to the Roofings site, which – if I hadn’t mentioned it before – will be called The Cultural Centre of Sustainability. The donkeys will be a great addition to the site and will be employed to provide mulching and fertilizing services.

All in we had a great weekend of relaxation and stimulating conversation. The resort is a destination for all kinds of parties and event. On this weekend there was a couple of bus loads of students from a near by college getting a bit of R&R on the lake.

We tried to teach them how to throw a frisbee to no avail

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Opportunity abounds

globalpeacehut — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:23:30 +0000

Everywhere you turn in this country you see opportunity. The people are amazing. The landscapes are beautiful and the energy and enthusiasm here is palpable. And, we’re not the only interlopers who see it.

We met yesterday with Denis Richardson, Managing Director and Chris Johnson, Financial Manager for CLS Ltd. From England, Denis and Chris make their home in Kampala now and have been doing business in East Africa for eleven years. CLS is an IT company dealing in computers, peripherals and ICT solutions. They do government contract work, educational installations and commercial.

Recently they have been heavily involved in solar energy and LED lighting. They’ve developed systems that can be used in remote locations (80% of Uganda’s population is rural) to provide reliable lighting and power for appliances and computers. For example, they have a computer with a built-in hard drive that draws only 12 Watts of power! Using their highly efficient solar panels, in a solar rich environment, these systems can provide all of the power requirements for a home, school or office. Reliable, 24Hr a day service — something that is not found anywhere in Uganda presently, unless you’re in government or the military

And of course these systems are sustainable and totally green, to use the vernacular, and fit well with the GPH ethic. We are discussing how we can work together to demonstrate these systems at our soon-to-be-launched, Cultural Centre for Sustainability at the Roofings site and employed in our African Huts on the Dewe site. Also, part of our discussion is how we can help to bring high bandwidth wireless Internet to the region, something we feel would be a great boost to the economy here, giving people more access to high quality media-rich information. It’s all about information and education and that’s what GPH is all about. A good fit with Denis and Chris and we’re looking forward to working with them. We have another meeting lined up with them next week and to hopefully meet with their contacts within the Ugandan Communications Authority.

Of course Uganda has suffered through all of the plights and problems that have beset all of Africa for generations and those scares are still quite evident. A lot of the infrastructure, or the lack thereof, doesn’t seem to make much sense in a country so rich in resources. But with the determination of local entrepreneurs, help from organizations like CLS and GPH, and, the abundant energy and goodwill of the people here, Uganda will soon be able to once again claim to be “The Pearl of Africa.”

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Rainy season

globalpeacehut — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:06:13 +0000

It’s the rainy season in Uganda. I think they should give it a better name like, a deluge of torrential buckets of precipitation preceded by ear shattering, frightening, multitudinous barrages of thunder and lightening, followed by rivers of red mud. Or something like that. That’s what it was like here on Sunday evening and throughout the day on Monday. Needless to say our load of bricks and the fellows we contracted to begin the building of our first hut on the Dewe property… wisely stayed home.

It’s Tuesday, a bit moist but workable and the materials have arrived on site. So… we are animated with anticipation as we break ground on the first hut. Transportation and communications are hampered by the wet roads and frequent power outages. We decided to hire a car and go to Kampala in anticipation of lining up meetings in the area.

We use the services of our man Moses, a valuable companion and confidant that lives in our compound. He drives a motorbike called a Boda-boda (just like it sounds) for his living. Boda-bodas are prolific on the roads of Kampala and area. They carry one, two even three people at a time for hire. It’s one of the best ways to get around as the roads are full of pot holes and traffic jams make getting to and from appointments time consuming. Moses is constantly running errands for us as the Boda-bodas have no trouble navigating the congestion and precariousness of the roads and traffic.
Today Moses ran several errands for us including laundry delivery and pickup, and delivering the cash payments required to get construction moving on the ground at the Dewe site while we cool our heels in Kampala writing blogs, making appointments.

Kim Elton
(604) 340-2270
iMambo.com
StrutStudios.com
GlobalPeaceHut.org

Back to Dewe

globalpeacehut — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:26:06 +0000

On Saturday, Nov. 26th., we were back at the Dewe site. We’re getting materials brought in from local suppliers to begin build the first of three “African-Style” huts on the site — sand, gravel and bricks have been dropped off and the crew will arrive Monday to begin building the first hut. Very exciting. These will be fantastic structures to have on the site and we’re looking forward to getting these done.

During the day Brian and I harvested some pole wood from the forest. I don’t know what the species is but it is prolific here and grows very quickly. We got enough to do a bit of experimenting with the wood to see how suitable it would be for making stick furniture. The next day Moses and Kiisa joined in and we made our first chair. See photos attached.

Building chairs like this s relatively simple. All you need is a few hand tools and have a feel for symmetry and design and you can build a very unique, functional, long lasting (heirloom type vintage) piece of furniture. This chair is made with fresh cut green wood and the joinery is done with butt joints and nails. The structure gives it strength and as the chair dries out the wood contracts and makes these nailed joints very strong. We will also harvest a collection of wood that can be pre-dried and suitable for mortise and tenon joinery. More tricky and time consuming but chair building is an art, a practical one that produces very singular pieces that can fetch an excellent price. So we’re thinking that we can run a small chair building business off the site and generate employment and revenue for the project.

Moses and Kiisa caught on right away and soon took over after I got them started. We had our first chair ready for commission in few hours. Not bad for the first one off the line. Everyone took turns posing in the new chair and it came in handy that evening as we stopped for dinner before heading back to the city.

A great weekend. Everything is right on schedule with the buildings and we can see that there is so much potential here to develop programs like this.