Permacultureglobal.org - the interactive map and database of the Worldwide Permaculture Network

The Congo Project

Details

Commenced:	01/10/2010
Submitted:	02/11/2011
Last updated:	07/10/2015
Location:	Buyungule Pygmy Community, Kivu Province, CD
Website:	www.congoproject2011.blogspot.com
Climate zone:	Wet/Dry Tropical

My Projects

(projects i'm involved in)

GREEN BEAT FARM- TULUM, MEXICO

Tulum, MX

GREEN BEAT FARM- TULUM, MEXICO

Tulum, MX

Followers

Back to The Congo Project

Germinating Seeds and Capturing Rain Water

Project: The Congo Project

Posted by Xavier Fux about 13 years ago

We planted 27 seed flats with tomato, cabbage, carrot and onion , made a nursery, and installed a rain capturing system!!

We had 3 important tasks to accomplish today:

1. Planting the first seeds in the seedling flats

2. Creating a rainwater capture system

3. Build a nursery

The kick-off today was slow and discouraging... we had the sense the Pygmies weren't grasping the importance of the small steps we've taken so far (composting, building a nursery and seedling flats, etc.) and it seemed they weren't interested in working.

We have to understand the Pygmies had always lived in the bush and seldom had contact with other human beings. Social skills that other people take for granted because we live in a world that revolves around human relationships and communication were completely alien to them until they were forced out of the forest.

After a while though, we managed to gather them around and separate them in two groups: women would work with Mel planting seeds and men would work with Xavi building a rainwater capture system. Another team, led by Jeph the agronomer would build the nursery out of the wood planks we bought yesterday. Once they got to work things ran smoothly... the women finished preparing their seedling flats and placed them in the nursery we built yesterday.

The men dug trenches along the sides of the church roof, leading to a large, 4x4 meter hole where water would be captured with every rainfall. We lined the hole with a thick tarp and had the little children jump in to spread the tarp evenly around the hole... we secured the edges with large rocks and Jeff placed a layer of banana tree trunk at the bottom of the trenches so the water flows directly into the hole.

Mission accomplished!! Now things will be moving along at the Pygmy village! The three compost beds will be decomposing, the seeds will be germinating and the water will be gathering!!

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to comment.

Courses Taught Here!

Project Badges

Administrators

Team Members

(close)

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

	Member A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Permaculture Matchmaker One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.
	PDC People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.
	PDC Verified People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	PRI PDC People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.
	PDC Teacher People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.
	PRI Teacher With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable. PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.
	Aid Worker The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Consultant The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.
	Community Project Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.