Animal Systems at HEPA, Vietnam
Aid Projects, Animal Housing, Bird Life, Breeds, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Fencing, Fish, Livestock, Working Animals — by Marty Miller-Crispe May 19, 2011
At SPERI’s Human Ecology Project Area we have a number of Farmer Field Schools (HEPA FFS) which are host to students from a variety of indigenous minority groups from Vietnam and Laos. The students are here to learn about eco-farming and permaculture whilst respecting traditional laws and customs.
The main focus of the farms isn’t to be productive, but rather to provide an environment where the students can experiment with various farming methods of growing crops and raising animals. So, although we do obtain a yield from the farms, the greater yield is the knowledge the students gain from trial and error.
HEPA FFS is in lush rainforest near the Laos border south-west of Ha Noi. The weather here varies from very cold winters (no snow but feels like it could!), to hot dry summers toasted with hot winds from Laos, and moving into cold monsoons and flooding at other times of the year. As such it is a challenge for the students to obtain a yield from the crops year round, and even more of a challenge to keep healthy animals.
Comments (4)IT Volunteer Wanted for Web Application Development at HEPA, Vietnam
Aid Projects, Project Positions — by Marty Miller-Crispe
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
The Social Policy and Ecology Research Institute (SPERI) located in Vietnam is seeking a volunteer to live and work at the Human Ecology Practice Area (HEPA), located in a beautiful rainforest south west of Hanoi, close to the Laos border.
Comments (1)Our First Week at HEPA
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres — by Marty Miller-Crispe April 2, 2011
Just over a week ago I arrived in Vietnam with three of my daughters to work as a Volunteer for SPERI (The Social Policy Ecology Research Institute). SPERI have a number of properties where they have established Human Ecology Practice Areas (HEPA) which run Farmer Field Schools (FFS).
Upon arrival in Vietnam we spent a few days in Hanoi with an introductory workshop at SPERI’s office. The following day we took a nine hour bus ride to HEPA and arrived around 9pm to freezing temperatures and torrential rain. But even in the dark, cold and rain we fell in love with the place.
Comments (4)Happy Little Accidents
Compost — by Marty Miller-Crispe February 5, 2011
Last October (2010) I travelled from the Gold Coast to Melbourne to do my first PDC, with Geoff Lawton and Bill Mollison. What an awesome experience!
During the course Geoff mentioned having “Happy little accidents” in permaculture. Those unexpected results from events that provide a positive outcome. Of course, at the time I nodded and ‘got it’ intellectually, but recently I have experienced a few of these HLAs myself. (I work in IT so it is mandatory that I use acronyms to retain my geekiness.)
One HLA I recently experienced involved my driveway. My property has a fairly steep bitumen driveway, so the good folks who built it were smart enough to put drains at various points across the driveway to slow down and divert storm water. If not for these, my office located at the bottom of the driveway would probably be flooded after every rain event.
This is the view looking up from my office (note my trusty wheelbarrow, it is there for a reason).
Pig Tractors
Animal Forage, Fencing, Land, Livestock, Rehabilitation, Waste Systems & Recycling, Working Animals — by Marty Miller-Crispe January 28, 2011
Pigs in Vietnam
Photos © Craig Mackintosh unless otherwise indicated
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals. — Sir Winston Churchill, British politician (1874 – 1965)
Like Winston Churchill, I also like pigs. They are intelligent, highly social, are fun to watch, and make awesome tractors!
The use of animals to clear and manure land in preparation for planting is a well known permaculture approach to agriculture that can reduce the need for machinery, eliminate the need for artificial fertiliser, and provide pest control. The classic example is the chicken tractor for preparing veggie beds or the use of ducks for pest control once the veggie garden has been established.
The use of pigs enclosed in a movable pen or ‘pig tractor’ is a great way to clear large areas of land, or help break up hard packed, or clay ground.
Comments (8)Observations from a New Permie
Dams, Land, Surveying, Swales — by Marty Miller-Crispe January 26, 2011
One of the principles of permaculture is to ‘observe’. Having started in permaculture about 18 months ago I’d like to share some of my observations, especially in regards to my own behaviour, assumptions and, importantly, mistakes I’ve made along the way.
Back in October, 2009, having just discovered permaculture, my wife and I became very excited about the possibilities for our 8-acre property in the Gold Coast hinterland in Queensland, Australia. Our property is on the side of a hill, and formerly having horses as tenants, it has hard, stony, compacted earth with a number of areas of erosion caused by fast flowing water after rain events. For us to have any hope of growing anything useful here, other than the few struggling natives, we needed to perform some major earth surgery.
