Wrath Of Gnon Profile picture
Feb 15 9 tweets 5 min read
If we are to have any chance for a future we need to start looking at what we have that is sustainable now. The FAO registers Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), for example the Minabe-Tanabe Ume System, Japan: an integrated orchard and water control system.
The Ume orchards (a sort of hard plum) has been in business for 400 years without the need for technology, pesticides or fertilizers, without erosion. The system integrates the entire area (population 79,000) in a satoyama-satochi system: rice, vegetables, orchards, coppicing.
The key part of the system are the ume orchards, accounting for 50% of all the processed ume fruits sold in the country. Its productivity is astoundingly 200% of any regular ume orchards in Japan, and this is done by relying on honey bees for pollination. So pesticides are out.
Ume is always consumed processed, and the production of ume liquor, salted or dried or pickled ume, is very suitable for small scale home industry: the farmers traditionally process the ume themselves, which means a far higher income than regular orchard growers.
The grasses and weeds growing underneath the ume trees are mown and becomes fertilizer, the 300 honey bee hives thrive on the orchards and are kept in good health throughout the year with almost no human interaction by feeding on trees and flowers outside of the ume season.
Above the ume, and protecting the mountain ridges from erosion is a 10-year cycle coppicing system (which also minimizes damages from deer). The coppiced oak is turned on the spot into high quality charcoal in great demand from as far as high class Tokyo restaurants. More income.
Beneath the coppicing and orchards are ponds, storing water for the little land the area have that is suitable for rice paddies and vegetable gardens, meaning that the population of the area is more or less self sustainable in basic food items.
The whole thing is tied together in a profitable local tourism industry. In early Spring the orchards especially draw a lot of tourists come to see the spectacular blooming, and they arrive by regular commuter train: no need for the thousands of parking lots otherwise necessary.
The unique thing about this system is that it has been refined over many centuries, but most places on Earth once had a similarly integrated agricultural system of some kind. It is vital that we have as many of these up and running as possible, while the lights are still on.

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More from @wrathofgnon

Feb 6
Most interesting thing on twitter last month was a tweet from @ploughmansfolly suggesting that 1 in 10 Americans might be better* employed in market gardening, raising a furor similar to what we get when talking parking.

*For reasons of economy, health, soil, animal rights, &c.
The furor was to be expected of course, but it shone a light on the familiar blue-tick disconnect. @ploughmansfolly based his argument on vegetables/chicken. Let's look at chickens. Already 13% of Americans keep chicken. So his argument was low-balling it: just get a bigger coop.
Second argument: grow your own vegetables. This is easy, since the largest crop by area already is lawn turf. 63,000miles² (the State of Georgia is 59,425miles²). Just convert 3-4% of it to greenhouses and cabbage fields. Several farms/gardeners are already doing that.
Read 8 tweets
Feb 6
The Batdam ( 밭담 ) dry stone walls (no mortar) of Jeju Island have been likened to black dragons crawling over the landscape: 21,108km of volcanic field stone dug up by hand and built gradually over the last 1,000 years: without these most agriculture here would be impossible.
The walls protect the little soil there is from wind erosion, they keep livestock out and create a better microclimate at ground level, and provide habitats for wildflowers, insects, animals, and effectively mark family properties.
Due to the rough surface of the volcanic stone and the built in gaps winds can't blow them over. The walls make mechanization difficult preserving and actually contribute to building soil over the centuries which means more and more of the island can be farmed each generation.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 3
"Rice Paddy Dam" is a concept for river basin flood control that originated in northern Japan around the turn of the century. It uses agricultural land as a sort of reservoir to protect downstream urban areas from flood damage and excessive water, the fields used to store water.
When bad rains are anticipated fields can be emptied prematurely and filled up again in a controlled manner that prevents overflow, erosion and scouring using a system of weirs and channels. Depending on the size of the system it can hold vast amounts of water, millions of tons.
As a bonus, after installation it becomes easier to regulate water in the rice paddies with hugely beneficial effects on flora and fauna. The system is voluntary but many cities are now paying farmers to compensate for any damages to crops and for maintaining the system.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 27
Map of Toyama City's (pop 419k) resiliency project by city densification and public transport improvement: development in red zones* get subsidized (think ca. 1/3 of cost of new build). Target: 45% of pop. bef 2045.

*500m from train/tram.
*300m from high freq. bus (>60 per day).
In 2003 Toyama City was facing skyrocketing infrastructure and social services costs: the population was aging, city trams were losing money, health levels were dropping, young ppl. had little hope for the future. Car dependency was increasing at over 70% but fewer could drive...
...so the mayor decided to promote programs to move people into the city, lessen car dependency, improve public transport & promote healthier more active elderly, lower cost of establishing family.
1. The city center zoning laws were relaxed.
2. New home construction subsidies.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 24
Every building technology is ultimately a compromise. Hundreds of factors weigh in. Faced with similar situations, vastly different cultures will reach the same conclusions: take the thatched roofs of the N. Atlantic Hebrides and those of Jeju Island in the Korea Strait for ex.
Both areas are characterized mostly by strong winds and relatively meager soils. Hence roofs were thatched (which grows amply on poor soils) and built with a low angle (nearly flat) with an oblong shape weighed or tied down with a net of rope to minimize the effect of winds.
Normally the primary purpose of a roof is to shed water but here that job had to take second place: longevity is sacrificed in order to ensure that roofs can survived hurricane or typhoon strength winds. Rain permeates the thatch so in the case of Jeju, they only last 1-2 years.
Read 9 tweets
Jan 16
Went to look at a possible source of thatching materials. This stand was last harvested by a village about a century ago. Unfortunately the soil here is poor in minerals and having been left to grown wild for so long the material is of quite low quality: not worth the effort. Image
There used to be a village here, growing rice and herbs and vegetables and foraging for food and materials in the mountains. Today all that remains are some old stone foundations and pieces of pottery. This piece comes from a tea cup ca. 17th-19th century. Unearthed by moles. Image
Another sign of the village that once were: there was a stand of windmill palms nearby. These trees were used to make the rope that thatchers and carpenters needed to build the mostly round timber roofs. Quick and easy the rope lasts for centuries and can be composted at the end. ImageImage
Read 4 tweets

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