Urban Farming
Permaculture is an efficient and sustainable system of agriculture. Crops are grown in clusters, often mixed together or placed in terraces one above the other. By carefully selecting the plants and their placement, the waste from one becomes the fertilizer for the next.
Permaculture not only provides high yields from smaller plots, it is good for renovating land that has been neglected or overfarmed.
Permaculture exists in force in South Africa. The Tlholego Ecovillage is situated on 120ha (300 acres) of land outside Rustenburg in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Attached directly below is a Powerpoint presentation detailing the vertical garden collaborative of Lift Africa Technologies and the communities of Jane Furse and Orange Farm.
Permaculture has great momentum and viability in the urban areas of developed nations and is practiced with enthusiasm and dedication toward this sustainable and localized vision. "The intention is to develop sustainable agricultural systems on vacant, currently blighted urban lots, and co-op them in a network, creating large-scale agricultural output which will justify jobs and growing the agricultural economy in southeast Michigan. There's plenty of available land."-Ryan Rowinski, M.S.U. Crop and Soil Scientist
Below is a brief video of Ryan Rowinski at the 2009 Michigan State Fair Urban Gardens. A detailed tour of the garden, along with strategies and techniques for the urban farmer, may be found here -
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