'Container Farming in the Slums of Mexico' by Claire Kurtin

In the mid 1990's, half of Mexico's population fell to below the poverty line (some 40 million people). 15 million of those lived in extreme poverty, and most of them were concentrated in urban slums, such as those of Mexico City. About a decade ago, a group of some 20 NGOs attempted to create a method in which people living below the poverty line could produce their own food using "little or no land, little or no investment in infrastructure, no purchase of chemical inputs, and be light weight for rooftop cultivation"1. This development would hopefully alleviate some of the economic pressure on these slums.

The technology is relatively simple and accessible. Produce is grown in 18-20 litre containers filled most of the way to the top with grass clippings or tree leaves. A thin layer of soil is placed on top, where the seeds are then planted. There is a drainage hole 10-15 cm from the base, which allows for a water reservoir. Because the container is filled mostly with leaves and grass, it weighs a lot less than it would if it were entirely filled with soil.

The key to the whole system is the fertilization method. Chemical fertilizers can be expensive and often don't work well. The recommended fertilizer for container farming is actually urine. The decaying leaf matter in the bottom of the container breaks down the urine quickly, so that the smell is reduced and germs do not survive in urine. Also, most importantly, urine is obviously inexpensive and quite easy to produce. Due to the decomposition process happening inside the container, plants proved to be more pest resistant and resilient to disease as well.

The project has proven extremely successful in creating a form of farming which is cheap, self sustaining and accessible .

Sources:
1. Willem Van Cotthem. "Mexico: Container Farming in Slums," Desertification Blog, posted on February 16, 2008, http://desertification.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/mexico-container-farming-in-slums-mmc-journey-to-forever/ (10/04/09 10:30 am)

-Claire Kurtin

'Logistics of the Agricultural Economy' by Victor Poon

Logistics, the science dealing with “the integrated management of all the material… from supplies through transformation of input materials up to the end consumer” (Vanecek 1) is fundamentally tied to concepts of the economy. The concept of an agricultural economy can be visualized as a plane, with a system of individual supply lines linking the producer to consumer. At each point, resources such as water must be consumed to maintain the system.

The raw material that is consumed by the system (the input) has a cost – including but not limited to: the cost of water, the cost of supplies and the cost of transportation. In the United States, only 21% (see diagram source) of energy expended for food production goes into agricultural production – the rest is consumed for subsidiary activities such as processing, transport and refrigeration.

(click for larger image)

If we look at a newly industrialized country like Thailand, we can begin to better understand the new stresses placed on a developing agricultural system. Food prices will continue to escalate, for reasons including but not limited to: the diversion of food-producing fields to fields that produce biofuels, rising fuel costs or simply as a result of higher global population and demand. There are two solutions for the poorer citizens of Thailand to cope with the increased prices – first, to increase their income or second to reduce the costs of their food production system, or to develop new ones altogether. (Thepent et al.)

Looking at Thailand’s recent history we can see that the increased production of rice has not corresponded with an equal increase in price. During the years of 1955-1985, Thailand increased crop production by increasing productive area, rather than increase the productivity of the land itself. In 1976, the government began to slow down the reallocation of forested areas to become farmland, and usable agricultural fields became capped. Despite increased efficiencies, total energy costs have increased by about 22 times since 1950, while crop yield has only increased by 7 times. (Aphiphan et al.) It is clear that this new energy usage is both unaffordable and inefficient.

This is in part due to the Thai government’s push for a high-input, export-oriented system to help supplant its fast growing economy. The new agricultural systems are now heavily reliant on mechanization and chemical product use and much less so on worker labour.

Thus, economic pressures in the agricultural sector have forced resource consumption to dramatically increase (water shortage less an issue in Thailand) and for farmers to produce more product, rather than a cheaper, more efficient crop yield. In order to simplify the current logistical model, energy usage must be trimmed at each and every point in the system. The methods outlined in this blog begin to relieve the stresses imposed on the system – from sustainable water management to the creation of keyhole gardens (which serve to introduce a new self-sufficient model completely). These are not simple problems that agriculture faces today, and solutions must be both economical and innovative to be effective in addressing the issues at hand.

Image Sources

1. Vanecek, D. and Kalab, D, “Logistics in Agricultural Production,” University of South Bohemia, http://www.cazv.cz/2003/AE9_03/8-Vanecek- Kalab.pdf.

2. Thepent , Viboon and Chamsing, Anucit, “AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION DEVELOPMENT IN THAILAND,” Agricultural Engineering Research Institute Department of Agriculture, Chatuchak, http://www.unapcaem.org/Activities%20Files/A09105thTC/PPT/th-doc.pdf.

3. Thepent , Viboon and Chamsing, Anucit, “AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION DEVELOPMENT IN THAILAND,” Agricultural Engineering Research Institute Department of Agriculture, Chatuchak, http://www.unapcaem.org/Activities%20Files/A09105thTC/PPT/th-doc.pdf.

Information Sources

Pookpakdi, Aphiphan. "Sustainable Food Production in Thailand". Department of Agronomy, Kasetsart University. http://www.agnet.org/library/bc/46012/. (accessed November 1, 2009).

Thepent , Viboon and Chamsing, Anucit. "AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION DEVELOPMENT IN THAILAND". Agricultural Engineering Research Institute Department of Agriculture, Chatuchak . http://www.unapcaem.org/Activities%20Files/A09105thTC/PPT/th-doc.pdf. (accessed November 1, 2009).

Setboonsarng, Sununtar and Gilman, Jonathan. "Alternative agriculture in Thailand and Japan ". Asian Institute of Technology School of Environment Resources and Development. http://www.solutions-site.org/artman/publish/article_15.shtml. (accessed November 1, 2009).

Vanecek, D. and Kalab, D. "Logistics in Agricultural Production". University of South Bohemia. http://www.cazv.cz/2003/AE9_03/8-Vanecek- Kalab.pdf. (accessed November 2, 2009).

- Victor Poon

'Urban and Rural Irrigation Water in Beijing' by Devon Holdsworth

One of the leading producers and consumers of agricultural products in the world is China. Nearly 300 million Chinese farm workers are in the industry working on virtually all of the arable land in the country. Beijing’s econmy relies greatly on its agriculture, as it is their primary industry. With a population of 13, 000, 000 their urban agriculture is greatly relied upon to be a source of inexpensive food as opposed to the alternative of importing goods. Therefore, it is not a shock to find out that their ground water resources are quickly depleted from farming and in some places the water table has become over 20 m deep making it completely impossible for farmers to tap into. For many years farmers in Beijing have compensated for this by reusing wastewater, however they have not been practicing proper wastewater management until very recently. It was not until 2000 that they started to use water from central wastewater treatment plants. The organization known as SWITCH is now projecting high hopes for the future of Beijing’s water; with the use of water treatment plants the water table is hoped to be restored to 1960s levels, rivers and lakes will meet Surface Water Quality Standards grade III and above and tap water will reach international drinking water standards.

In the 1980s Beijing’s population was discharging 2,000,000 cubic meters of sewage; half from domestic wastewater and half from industries but nearly all of it was pumped into rivers and lakes without receiving any treatment. Beijing is still recovering from their previously low standards of sanitation and the Gaobei Dian Wastewater Treatment Plant is playing a large role in this by treating 40% of Beijing’s daily untreated wastewater. Beijing’s water is treated to the secondary level by neutralizing and disposing the wastes using biological matter, which makes it suitable to be used for agriculture. Now 1,350,000,000 cubic meters of water is discharged, of this 1,000,000,000 cubic meters of water is treated and of this 230,000,000 cubic meters is used for agriculture. Not only is this plant promoting sanitary wastewater concerns, it is also restoring Beijing’s natural habitat, boosting their economy by providing water for the agricultural industry and it is providing job opportunities for the people of Beijing.

1. Gaobei Dian Wastewater Treatment Plant

Unfortunately water from wastewater treatment plants is not available to all farmers in Beijing, some are too far removed in rural areas from these plants to access it. For these farmers there is another option, which is harvesting rainwater. This technique is also used by many citizens in residential areas and has been largely promoted since the year 2000. There are multiple techniques to do this, which makes clean rainwater available to almost anybody. One technique includes water pooling in roadside gutters, storing in local deposit pools, and then being transferred to large water-saving ponds for primary treatment (sedimentation). The most common form of rainwater harvesting which has been practiced for thousands of years in rural China uses the roofs of houses and since recently greenhouses have been promoted for capturing rainwater and irrigating crops.

2. Greenhouse Rainwater Harvesting System

One greenhouse, which is specially made to incorporate rainwater harvesting, can on average collect 200-300 cubic meters of rainwater each year, which can irrigate large amounts of area with efficient (drip) irrigation. Unfortunately at this time only 1 percent of irrigation systems in government subsidized farming uses rainwater as only twenty of these greenhouses now exist, however it is expected that more will be built.

Beijing is now doing their part in order to continue farming for their economy in an environmentally friendly way. Whether its done using state of the art Wastewater Treatment Plants or simply collecting rainwater off of their roofs to feed their crops, both urban and rural parts of Beijing are adapting to water scarcity. Any country that cannot afford a Wastewater Treatment Plant could easily learn from rural Beijing’s rainwater collection techniques and there is no reason that any place should be without clean drinking water and clean water for agricultural uses.

3. Greenhouse in Beijing

Image Sources:

1. "Introduction to Beijing Drainage Group," BDC, http://www.c-sewage.com.cn/cenweb/portal/user/anon/page/BeijingDrainage_CMSItemInfoPage.page?metainfoId=ABC00000000000009498 (accessed November 4, 9:30pm)

2. Zhang Feifei, "Innovations in Greenhouse Rainwater Harvesting System in Beijing, China," UA-Magazine, December 2007, http://www.ruaf.org/sites/default/files/UAmagazine%2019%20H7.pdf (accessed November 4, 10:00pm)

3. Sara Elliot, "How Greenhouses Work," How Stuff Works, 2008, http://home.howstuffworks.com/greenhouse.htm (accessed November 5, 6:00pm)

Information Sources:

Ji Wenhua, Cai Jianming, "Adapting to Water Scarcity: Improving Water Sources and Use in Urban Agriculture in Beijing," UA-Magazine, September 2008, http://www.ruaf.org/sites/default/files/UAM%2020%20-%20pagina%2011-13.pdf (accessed November 4, 8:00pm)

"Drinking Water Health Advisories," Water Quality Criteria US EPA, November 2009, http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/drinking/index.html (accessed November 4, 7:45pm)

"Economy of People's Republic of China," Wikipedia, November 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China#Agriculture (accessed November 3 10:00pm)

Michael Levenston, "Water for Urban Agriculture," City Farmer News, October 2008, http://www.cityfarmer.info/?cat=315 (accessed November 4 9:00pm)

- Devon Holdsworth

'A KickStart on Farming - The MoneyMaker Pump' by Dave Holborn

The Super MoneyMaker Irrigation Pump is a cost effective solution to irrigation issues. It provides the user with the ability to pump water up from the ground and even uphill in order to water crops. Its is a two-cylinder, foot operated pump, meaning that it uses no energy and produces no waste. It is low cost (from $35-$95 for retail and install) and is light weight and portable. The pump can pull water from up to 7m underground and pump it to a height of 14m, it can pump water 200m on flat ground and has the capability of irrigating up to 2 acres of land.

1. The irrigation pump in use

The Food and Agriculture Organization states that irrigation can increase crop yield 100-400% so this pump can easily benefit farmers in developing countries. Also, it allows for crops to grow year round, even in the dry seasons when food supplies are minimal and the market prices are high. It can also allow for a greater diversity of cash crops like fruits and vegetables. The farmers can sell these high value crops in the marketplace and can help increase their net incomes by an average of ten times.

Use of the MoneyMaker Pump in Africa

2. Pump use in Africa

As well as being economically sound, the pump is environmentally sound. As mentioned before, the pump is entirely human powered so there is no use of fuel or energy (also a good economical factor). It is also water efficient in that there is no water waste. As well, this form of irrigation (unlike flood irrigation) does not lead to build of salts in the soil which can ruin crop and create conditions in the soil which are unsuitable to grow in.

The KickStart organization has many other technologies and ideas which help farmers in Africa such as using SMS technology (text messaging) to keep in touch with the farmers and to supply information on new products. They also produce a block press for easily creating building bricks and a cooking oil press to produce and sell cooking oils (a rather expensive product in African countries).

Agriculture in third world countries is crucial to the development of the country and is the one of the main factors in increasing the economy. The urbanization of the slums of the world depends partially on economic development, thus making agriculture a crucial part of urbanizing a third world society. Agriculture can also be beneficial in an already urbanized society. Urban Farming is a charity in Detroit who help to turn urban wastelands into vegetable garden to help feed the poor residents of the area. This concept is a way of maintaining a pre-existing urbanity as well as helping to boost the economy, especially in Detroit where the economy is in a downfall and they are need of new, marketable ideas.

3. Urban farming in Detroit

These developing forms of urban agriculture can definitely have come impact on architecture. New designs can be created that incorporate these concepts into a space. These designs could include rooftop gardens, maximize yard space, and utilize water systems that stress irrigation for farming.

Image Sources:

1."Super MoneyMaker," http://www.kickstart.org/products/super-moneymaker (accessed Nov. 2, 2009 , 8pm).

2. "MoneyMaker Irrigation Pumps," January 2009, http://www.kickstart.org/news/KickStart_B2B_BrochureJan09.pdf (accessed Nov. 2, 2009 , 8pm).

3. Matthew Wells, "Urban famring takes root in Detroit" July 10, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7495717.stm (accessed Nov. 2, 2009 , 8pm).

Information Sources:
"Super MoneyMaker," http://www.kickstart.org/products/super-moneymaker (accessed Nov. 2, 2009 , 8pm).

"Kickstart Technologies: irrigation, and cooking oil human powered pumps," July 25, 2007, http://www.afrigadget.com/2007/07/25/kickstart-technologies-irrigation-and-cooking-oil-human-powered-pumps/ (accessed Nov. 2, 2009 ,
8pm).

Rita Kiloo, "An SMS 'kickstart' for Kenyan farmers," October 27, 2009, http://www.kiwanja.net/blog/2009/10/an-sms-kickstart-for-kenyan-farmers/
((accessed Nov. 2, 2009 ,
8pm).
Giok Ling Ooi and Kai Hong Phua, "Urbanization and Slum Formation" March 27, 2007, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891640/ (accessed Nov. 2,
2009 , 8pm).
Matthew Wells, "Urban famring takes root in Detroit" July 10, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7495717.stm (accessed Nov. 2, 2009 , 8pm).

-Dave Holborn

'Keyhole Gardens' by Alex Bodkin

Developed by the Send a Cow organization for citizens in Lesotho, Africa, keyhole gardens provide a great space for growing vegetables in such an unfavourable climate. They are circular in shape with a notch cut in, and are raised up to waist-height in order to allow the sick and elderly to tend to the crops without bending over. Manure and compost from the kitchen are placed in a basket of sticks and straw that rests in the middle. Rusty cans and ash are also placed within the soil, to give it iron and potassium, respectively. When water is poured in to the basket, nutrients are delivered to the plants.



1. Keyhole Garden in Lesotho

The soil in Lesotho has had all of the nutrients sucked out of it by massive farming operations, and droughts are not unheard of. The land is also very high above sea level, which adds even more frustration to the process of growing crops. Keyhole gardens ensure that the soil stays nutrient-rich, which allows crops to grow even when there is a water shortage.

One thing that I think is important to note is that the garden does not require purified water. Greywater is recommended because, although it has already been used once, it still is valuable. Greywater is wastewater that comes from activities such as washing the dishes, doing the laundry, and bathing.



2. Graph showing the breakdown of wastewater.

I assume that this pie chart is using statistics from a Westernized society, but it still shows the general idea that a majority of the water we use becomes greywater. This is actually good, because greywater is much easier to clean than blackwater. Some of the impurities in greywater also end up becoming food for the plants in a keyhole garden.

Clearly, the keyhole gardens are great for reusing the old to produce something new. This brings me to how it relates to the economy. The BBC did an article touching on these keyhole gardens in 2008, and interviewed Mahaha Mphou, a local citizen. They saw that, although she had nine other members in her family, she was able to produce excess food from her garden. The extra vegetables were sold to other citizens, and brought in a bit of an income to the previously poor family. The whole family helped tend it, and therefore they all saw the benefits.

Check out the videos below to see real footage and an animation on how one is built.



1. Making a Keyhole Garden


Image Sources:
1. "Keyhole Gardens," African Gardens, 2007. http://www.cowfiles.com/african-gardens/keyhole-gardens (accessed November 1, 2009).

2. "What it is, How to treat it, How to use it," Greywater, 2000. http://www.greywater.com/ (accessed November 2, 2009).


Video Sources:
1. "Lesotho - Make a Keyhole Garden," Making a Keyhole Garden, December 13 2007. http://www.sendacow.org.uk/makingakeyholegarden (accessed November 1, 2009).


Information Sources:
Rethabile. "What's a keyhole garden?," Black Looks, June 4, 2008. http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/06/whats_a_keyhole_garden.html (accessed November 1, 2009).

"Lesotho gardens relieve food crisis," BBC News, June 3, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7432972.stm (accessed November 1, 2009).

"Keyhole Gardens," AfriGadget, July 5, 2008. http://www.afrigadget.com/2008/07/05/keyhole-gardens/ (accessed November 1, 2009).

"What it is, How to treat it, How to use it," Greywater, 2000. http://www.greywater.com/ (accessed November 2, 2009).

-Alex Bodkin