A crash course in changing the world.
Before I get to my plan for increasing food security of the suburbs, some advance knowledge of Keyh*** gardening might be in order. As mentioned before the WWO experience did change the way that I look at the world. When I am surfing the net, I am always looking for ideas to add to my disaster recovery tool kit. Last year I discovered the Keyh*** garden.
HISTORY
Lesotho is a mountain kingdom located right in the middle of South Africa. There is a lot of poverty. The soil is depleted and the climate is hot. There is also a very high rate of HIV/AIDS. Often people are too sick to bend over and work a garden. The story goes that some unnamed USAID worker discovered a way of elevating gardens to waist level. The idea quickly caught on and the skill set needed to build these gardens spread through the use of force multiplication.
DESIGN AND MATERIALS
The general principle behind Permaculture is to use what is on hand. Bearing this concept in mind, a keyh*** garden can be made from a lot of different materials, hence if I am in:
Michigan use lumber (preferably reclaimed)
Haiti use sheet metal and angle iron
Chile use rocks
The size of the garden is limited to the size of the gardener. The Keyh*** garden is designed so that any one working the garden is able to access any part of it without walking in the garden. Usually, children are given the job of tending to the garden. When the gardens are designed, the width of the garden is established by measuring the Childs arm. That measurement is one half of the width of the garden.
ADVANTAGES
The Keyh*** garden has a lot going for it.
It can be used in areas where the land is polluted and bio-remediation is not feasible.
It can be used where there is no land at all for instance, parking lots.
One does not have to bend over to work the garden. As a result a person with mobility issues can still garden.
Because one does not have to walk through the garden plants can be place closer together, increasing yield.
My drawing can be found at the Makers Guild site here.
Here is a great video of a rock version of the Keyh*** garden.
That just about sums it up. Now let’s get out there an’ start growin’ stuff. Oh and by the way don’t forget about spices. It has been way too long since I have tasted any Za’atar!
Ma’asalama
Megiddo
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