permaculture advocate in Zimbabwe - too little/too much rain

The last two days in images. It was Prim's first time to see a well and Clara was more than delighted to show off her newly acquired skill of getting the water out of the well. The great thing is Clara's mum is the one who was doing all the talking explaining why we were digging the holes, the benefits of putting the pile of soil on the sloping side   and why we needed mulching. It was music to my ears, because when we were going through this discussion before, I was not sure if I was explaining myself clearly to her but the way she explained, without being asked was really good. I am crossing my fingers that we get it right again this year, I will know that we would have won over her family without doubt. The other main targeted objective was to emphasize on the issue of daily productivity to Clara's mum ( for anyone who has a child they are addressed by their child's name in our community), how what we spend our 24hours doing has a major impact on our overall success. The lady in the yellow head scuff is the one who was explaining how this method was not successful in her area, she was actually shocked when she saw the sacks of maize we got from last year's harvest.  

"Would it be possible to wait until the rains come before doing any significant amount of digging, such as zia pits"
Jason, thank you for the question, I paid attention to the pattern we have had on this year's first rains and indeed we can wait for the rains in order for us to dig pits. We received a substantial amount of rain 3 days ago meaning for the past 3 days if anyone wanted to dig it would have been possible and a lot easier without any disturbances from the rain.

Rufaro, I really admire your work!

We have finally put the maize seed in the ground and the seed has emerged. Thanks to the internet we have managed to use the first rains for the emergence of the maize. Each year we are going to improve with one small step until we exhaust everything to increase the chances of attaining a good yield. To add to the use of holes, this year we have increased mulch quantities and this is still an ongoing process, in order to improve water retention in the field as well as suppression of weeds.

Instead of relying on the rains only as our water source for the maize crop, we are going to use both water from the borehole as well as from the well to reduce any strain that might be caused by dry periods within the rainy season. Last year we compiled the water needs for maize, during its different growing stages until maturity, from our research on the growing of maize. With the help of different weather forecasts, we will develop a watering schedule for this year’s crop (we have already checked on the feasibility of watering the maize field using both buckets and a hose).  The aim is to minimise the excuse of water shortage on crop yield.

We had some challenges with compost making this year, we tried the thermal compost a number of times and only got it right after the third trial. For the past years we have had chicken waste and this year we used mainly cow dung as our animal waste and the compost would not heat up.
We planted our maize without manure and fortunately the compost piles are almost ready now, so we will be applying manure to the growing maize. On plant pests, is there anything, not too artificial, we can use to avoid being attacked by the maize stock borer for this is a potential problem.  

This year our neighbours used tractors in their fields. So there is still some work in finding out how to best communicate long term effects of conventional farming.

The number of green plants per square meter throughout the year has increased a little this year. Our area used to be mainly green during the rainy season and afterwards most of the ground space is usually dry. This is slowly changing.There is so much hope in improving food accessibility. Imagine if every household increases the probability of a good yield for every plant they grow, we will not talk about food shortage at all.  

Yes, chicken manure is much more powerful the cow manure. And getting a hot compost pile is not as easy as it sounds!

Good luck!

If you gather wild green mater that comes up after the rain and mix it in your compost it will help the bacteria, fungi and critters that make the compost continue to reproduce and make their nutrients available along with the moisture in the vegetation.  I have a flowering annual her that makes flowers for my bumble bees but also stores large amounts of water in it's stems. These become very valuable during our dry months.

My uncle sent me images of his compost making process and he is in Matopo which is around 200km from Gweru the town I am staying. I know we can start a chain reaction if we just appreciate regenerative ways of living.
I took images from our rains as evidence, on the potential solutions that can be offered by simple shifts in how we already live our lives. Below are pictures taken of how rain can be a source of problems if handled in one way and can be a treasure if handled differently.  Currently most of the water from roof tops is left to flow as runoff and of the places where there were proper drainage systems, they have been closed by soil that is deposited, as runoff water flows through the drains. A little rain thereby results in flooding of roads and yards.
On the contrary if the same water is harvested, it will reduce runoff water and increase water that is stored for future use. Reduced runoff reduces washing away of soils and when more water is harvested, then there will be reduced floods which in turn reduces the chances of waterborne outbreaks.
Ground cover goes a long way, just a patch of loan we have planted this year has proven that ground cover works in increasing water infiltration.

I don't have any advice or help to offer you, but I do want to say that I think what you're doing is really inspiring. Trying to alleviate poverty through permaculture is a great idea, and I think a lot of good will stem from the work you're doing.

I look forward to following this thread and seeing what you do in the future. Good luck with the growing season.

-Spencer

Hello Rufaro, I have been watching your progress, since you first joined us. You are an inspiration to your entire community, and to this one. Your command of English, is impressive. You have never solicited money. So, I want to do it for you.

You are a teacher, and teachers need to be paid. Both of my daughters are teachers, and they get paid.

 I have friends in Kenya who use wave.com, to send money to some of their older relatives. It is easy for them to send a few dollars, directly from their cell phones. Do you know if there is a similar system, for Zimbabwe, so that anyone wishing to contribute, can easily do so? My friends in Kenya use the safaricom telephone network. I'm not familiar with what is available in Zimbabwe.

I will start it off by sending $20. I'm in Canada, so that amounts to about $16 US. I will wait, to see if you know of a system that is set up for this. You can put that information here or send me a private message, where we can sort things out and then post a link, so that others may contribute.
.....
Here's a short economics lesson for those of us in more wealthy countries. Zimbabwe is usually ranked at about number 3, of the world's poorest countries. This may be a little low, since Zimbabwe has many beautiful places and untapped potential. But, the average person does not earn much cash income, which makes the purchase of any imported, manufactured item, expensive.

One of the best ways to spread knowledge, is to hire  young apprentices. I wonder what would be an appropriate wage for a young man, like the one who helped gather mulch? How many days of labor and learning could 16 US dollars pay for? This is a very small quantity of money for me. What would that amount of money do for that boy and for his family?

On many occasions, you have wondered how to get others in the community interested. I'll bet that if they could see that you hire a helper occasionally, this would draw some attention. Just about everyone likes to have some extra money.

I'm sure that there are many projects on your land, which could be pushed forward faster, given a little extra cash. I will leave this in your hands and I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for all of your hard work, Dale.

Rofaro, I have been inspired by your thread. God bless you and don't give up.

for the pest issues, check out Push-Pull as used by Biovision Foundation in East Africa:

Desmodium is planted as an intercrop between the maize or millet and its smell repels the stemborer moths - Push. The ability of the soil to absorb and store moisture is improved, nitrogen is fixed and so soil fertility is improved. In addition, desmodium decimates the striga weed and so increases yields.

Napier grass is planted as a border crap and it draws the moths away from the field - Pull. The moth larvae then perish on the sticky leaves of the napier grass. Both napier grass and desmodium are also a welcome source of healthy animal fodder.

http://www.biovision.ch/en/projects/sub-saharan-africa/push-pull/

You might get support trough the ECHO network https://www.echocommunity.org/ South-South exchange of reserach and practices in Sustainable Agriculture.

My brother planted Napier grass and now spends hundreds of hours every year, trying to control it. Investigation is needed.

We managed to apply manure from the compost, thanks to Dale for the encouragement, we finished just before we received rain after 7 days of dry weather. The field has different soil types and some of the maize looked so healthy even before applying manure. There is an area which is mostly sandy and is at the lower side of the filed (the field is not level), there is so much water that settles in the area and from the look of the maize in that section, it seems there is a lot of leaching of nutrients. So we will see how it will be like, a couple of days after putting the manure. There is a field adjacent to ours which has pretty much the same soil structure as ours and there is maize which was grown on the same day as ours. Yesterday the owners applied fertilizer, which is close to the period we put manure. So I will just take pictures of the different fields to help understand the effects of conservation farming vs the conventional way.

On a different note, our roads are being fixed and one of the things that was done was to remove dirt that was blocking the bridges which form part of the drainage system. The pile of mud was just too much. I wonder if a lot of us realize that, it is top soil from different fields, gardens and bare patches of land. The city council has initiated improvement of the place, but it is up to us the residence of the area, to avoid or minimize the washing away of soil through adopting some affordable practices like mulching and growing ground cover plants as individual families. The machinery that was hired to remove the dirt is good enough to show how much our seemingly trivial choices and actions translate into huge costs in the long run.  

I will post images when I have good connection.

Hey there Rufaro, I just came across this thread today, and I love what you're doing.

I think many of us struggle with the fact of people not taking enough interest around us, my family happily eat what I grow, but none of my siblings help out. I have, however, started teaching my nieces and nephews, and I got them tiny watering cans they can carry (I'm on the coast in Sweden, and have lots of rain that we collect in 200L barrels), and I have special small projects for them to see quick results with. Now, whenever they're here, they run out to the garden and want to water, sow or plant... and my sister still doesn't know you can't sow zucchini here in winter! So things are changing, slowly. And I leave my permaculture books out for visitors to read. One of them had an absolute "aha" moment two years ago, where he saw the change in soil structure before and after a farm was started (video here https://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/18/canadian-rocket-stove-powered-greenhouse/) - and I gave him some comfrey to start his own farm when he left. It was fantastic to see!

Regarding your young friend, I don't either think you should give him a fence, and I know it all took place months ago, but there's an option I use with my nieces and nephews: I always ask if they'd like me to show them how to do something. I never say "let me", or "this is how you do it", because I want it to come from them. So I ask, "do you want me to help you" or "do you want me to show you how to do that", and 99 times ot of 100, the say yes. So, if you have the time, you could ask your friend whether he would like you to show him how to build a fence to keep the donkeys out, using sticks. Also, what other solutions might there be? Keeping the donkeys in a pen instead? Not something that has to be done, but it's more of an exercise in creative problem solving. It can get as silly as you want, like putting the donkeys on the roof (obviously impossible), just allow for any and all solutions and then select the best ones.

For example, you can both weigh the pros and cons of building with sticks.
It's cheap, but it's frowned upon (manual labor).
Well then, you weigh the pros and cons of that:
getting a garden started, versus people sneering at your efforts.

Obviously, you have done this whole trip and know your truths and answers, but my suggestion is guiding the neighbor into the line of thought, rather than a simple yes or no answer to whether he'll receive  a fence. Helping him get in the mind frame of self sufficiency will give him so much more than a fence ever could. Since it's months since you posted about this, I presume you've already solved the problem, but I thought I'd give you a shoutout and say I love what you're doing, loved reading about it, and that the change will come, even if slower than you might initially want.

Thanks for sharing your story, and best of luck to you!

Hello Rufaro,
 I just been reading your thread and I ‘m so glad to know you haven’t lost any of your enthusiasm and commitment to permaculture and to developing conservation agriculture in your community.  I love hearing your story and admire your spirit and your PATIENCE.  The pictures of your maze growing and of your garden, and especially of your family and friends working together are beautiful and have lifted my spirits .
 I’ve been gardening for many years in the U.S. midwest for fun and fresh food and have been incorporating permaculture methods and principles for several years.  As Kate has lamented, it seems harder than it should be to interest people around me in the benefits of permaculture for solving the problems facing the planet.  My daughter who gardens is gradually incorporating some of my methods and her children – ages 3 and 5 – love to run around and “work” in my garden.  So I have hopes that that I can gradually help spread permaculture ideas.
 It's heartening to see how many people in the Permies community have responded with support and with offers of help and ideas.  That's just the way it should be.
 It’s exciting to hear what you’ve accomplished and how you’re working to spread the word while being wise about how to bring people on board, by starting where they have a level of comfort.  Good luck, and please keep posting!

Thank you everybody for the supporting words, they really go a long way in ways that I cannot describe.