Farid Chbeir

Hi everyone,

I’m excited to share the Uzumaki Project, a student-led initiative at the Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC) of the American University of Beirut (AUB), designed to explore sustainable permaculture techniques. This project was born from a desire to address key agricultural challenges such as water scarcity and soil erosion, using a combination of traditional and innovative methods.

Project Overview:

The Uzumaki Project integrates permaculture principles with practical, hands-on applications. Our design includes hugelkultur spirals, keyhole gardens, a water reclamation system, and mycorrhizal fungi inoculation to enhance soil health. This project aims to serve as both a research hub and an educational tool, showcasing how sustainable practices can be implemented to create resilient agricultural systems.

Key Features:

Hugelkultur Spirals: These raised garden beds, constructed with decaying wood and organic matter, are designed to improve water retention and nutrient cycling. The spiral shape maximizes planting space and creates different microclimates, allowing a diverse range of plants to thrive.

Keyhole Gardens: Compact and efficient, keyhole gardens allow for easy access and minimize water usage. They incorporate central compost baskets, which provide a continuous source of nutrients to the plants.

Water Reclamation: A central feature of the project is a water reclamation system that captures and reuses excess water from the spirals and keyhole gardens, reducing water waste and promoting resource efficiency.

Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation: By inoculating the soil with mycorrhizal fungi, we have enhanced nutrient uptake and soil structure, creating a healthier ecosystem for the plants.

Goals and Community Engagement:

The project is designed not only to produce food efficiently but also to serve as a kickstarter for research on permaculture at AUB, encouraging more students and researchers to explore sustainable agriculture. We've hosted field days and workshops, inviting the community to engage with permaculture practices and learn more about sustainable farming techniques.

Future Plans:

As we move forward, we aim to expand the project by incorporating more permaculture zones, refining our water management systems, and exploring new plant varieties, especially those suited to water-scarce environments. The Uzumaki Project stands as a model for how small-scale, sustainable agriculture can be implemented in various environments, including urban areas.

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

If you're interested in learning more about permaculture, collaborating, or simply offering advice, please feel free to reach out. We believe that by working together, we can make a significant impact on sustainable farming practices in Lebanon and beyond.

Thanks for reading!

Farid Chbeir
Founder, Uzumaki Project

Hi everyone,

I’m excited to share the Uzumaki Project, a student-led initiative at the Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC) of the American University of Beirut (AUB), designed to explore sustainable permaculture techniques. This project was born from a desire to address key agricultural challenges such as water scarcity and soil erosion, using a combination of traditional and innovative methods.

Project Overview:

The Uzumaki Project integrates permaculture principles with practical, hands-on applications. Our design includes hugelkultur spirals, keyhole gardens, a water reclamation system, and mycorrhizal fungi inoculation to enhance soil health. This project aims to serve as both a research hub and an educational tool, showcasing how sustainable practices can be implemented to create resilient agricultural systems.

Key Features:

Hugelkultur Spirals: These raised garden beds, constructed with decaying wood and organic matter, are designed to improve water retention and nutrient cycling. The spiral shape maximizes planting space and creates different microclimates, allowing a diverse range of plants to thrive.

Keyhole Gardens: Compact and efficient, keyhole gardens allow for easy access and minimize water usage. They incorporate central compost baskets (work in progress), which provide a continuous source of nutrients to the plants.

Water Reclamation: A central feature of the project is a water reclamation system that captures and reuses excess water from the spirals and keyhole gardens, reducing water waste and promoting resource efficiency.

Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation: By inoculating the soil with mycorrhizal fungi, we have enhanced nutrient uptake and soil structure, creating a healthier ecosystem for the plants.

Goals and Community Engagement:

The project is designed not only to produce food efficiently but also to serve as a kickstarter for research on permaculture at AUB, encouraging more students and researchers to explore sustainable agriculture. We've hosted field days and workshops, inviting the community to engage with permaculture practices and learn more about sustainable farming techniques.

Future Plans:

As we move forward, we aim to expand the project by incorporating more permaculture zones, refining our water management systems, and exploring new plant varieties, especially those suited to water-scarce environments. The Uzumaki Project stands as a model for how small-scale, sustainable agriculture can be implemented in various environments, including urban areas.

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

If you're interested in learning more about permaculture, collaborating, or simply offering advice, please feel free to reach out. We believe that by working together, we can make a significant impact on sustainable farming practices in Lebanon and beyond.

Thanks for reading!

Farid Chbeir
Founder, Uzumaki Project

Me and my Feinds have opted to build 4 herb spiral at the north south east and west points of our plot plus some keyholes in between. we have  put an underground tank which collects the excess water from the pond so it can be recycled in the next irrigation cycle. I have also used hugelkulture in the spirals: I have put huge logs , then branches, then straw, then straw, glass clipping, a mixture of topsoil and compost. i am facing 2 problems now: lots of debris are being collected in the pond and are entering the water tank. i don't know what irrigation system to use because one sprinkler on the top can't irrigate all the areas of the spiral because of a fault of the design. could someone help

I salute you sir and i apologise for being of no use to you

Hello, I'm a university student and i'm working on my final year project. I decided to add herb spiral to the already exisiting permaculture area in my university's campus but i was told i need to draw an autocad representation of my project in 2d and 3d but I'm not well versed in autocad so if can anyone give me predrawn 2d and 3d model or at least tell me a source from were i can download them i'd be grateful

Arthur Wierzchos wrote:Looking at my Permacopia book to see what might be helpful for you Tim.

According to this resource:

Lavender originates from the Mediterranean highlands.  

It prefers soil that is loose, fast draining, mineral rich, more alkaline, on the drier side, and of average or poor quality.  Compost is not recommended, but decomposed granite or gravel is great.  Acidity, waterlogging, and humusy soil are not good.  

Full sun.  

Watering should only be occasional, but deep.  No fertilization.  

If you plan on starting from seed they won't be true, but they do stay viable for a long time (it doesn't say how long).  Germination can take a few weeks.

Looks like there are a lot of species to play with. Do you know which one(s) you are getting?  

Mediterranean mountain boy here

I grow lots of lavender here for oil extraction, using it for perfume production and agri pest management.

my experience with lavender is just getting cuttings, soak them in water and let them grow their root system then transplanting them in compost-filled pots rich in organic material till you have a well-developed root system. keep on gradually expanding the size of the pots till you have a minimum of 5 stems then you can place them in any type of soil. drip irrigation is the best way to go.

Bojana Vojvodic wrote:Hi!

Concrete question here: does anyone have heirloom, untreated blackboy peach seeds they could sell me? I would REALLY appreciate this. They aren't so easy to attain.

Thank you!

I would recommend looking in countries which were french colonies like my country Lebanon where we have alot

Bojana Vojvodic wrote:Hi!

Concrete question here: does anyone have heirloom, untreated blackboy peach seeds they could sell me? I would REALLY appreciate this. They aren't so easy to attain.

Thank you!

just a friendly tip, I would recommend getting a scion rather than a seed if you're looking for a genuine fruiting tree because there's a high chance you'd just get a wild variety if you're looking to grow it from a seed

Joe Hallmark wrote:Did I screw up?

I have 2 rows of established blackberries and planted a raspberry right next to it this year. I randomly came up on an article that said this is bad. Do I need to move my raspberries to another spot farther away?

I'm a plant pathology expert and instances of viruses being transmitted from blueberries to raspberries are rare. if you practice good intercropping strategies you're safe don't plant different raspberry varieties next to each other and you'll be fine

Joe Hallmark wrote:It’s worth mentioning I’ve also now seen articles saying how wonderful it is lol. I actually planted them there last year but some jerk raccoon or something kept digging them up until they finally died. Only one was apparently not attractive enough to warrant attention so 4 are new

if racoons are still bugging you I recommend spraying hot pepper extract with water or just buy some really hot hot sauce and spray them on the plants and it would do the trick