Permaculture Lessons From the Desert
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2024
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Geoff is visiting Saudi Arabia for a consultancy, and he is out exploring the desert in a nature reserve. They’ve done a fine job planting trees in the area, but Geoff has found a lot of potential for earthworks to improve the area’s recovery. Now, we can follow along with him to discover how he sees the landscape.
A ten-year-old planting is doing well in areas, but on the whole, it hasn’t taken into account water flows that could be advantageous to quicker growth. For example, the hard surface runoff from the roadway hasn’t been utilized. Across the road, an expensive planting with full irrigation has largely failed. Geoff has noticed the vegetation suffers when a speed bump stops the runoff from feeding the landscape.
Walking down the road, he discovers detritus and debris against a road sign and a shrub, signifying which way is downhill. From here, we can see that the successful trees are in the direction the water is moving, and the areas that haven’t worked are where the trees have depended on irrigation.
With earthmoving equipment, we could design to replicate the successful side of the road. In fact, in the middle of the field with irrigation, along the low side of an access track is where water congregates, and trees and vegetation are growing very well. It’s essential for us to harmonize with this water flow pattern as opposed to blindly using convention, like irrigation systems, which are wasteful and costly.
We can do this in all climates, but in drylands, it’s very obvious. And, this is how we can see patterns in what’s happening. Now, we need to learn to use them to our advantage.
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About Geoff:
Geoff is a world-renowned permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher. He has established permaculture demonstration sites that function as education centers in all the world’s extreme climates - information on the success of these systems is networked through the Permaculture Research Institute and the www.permaculturenews.org website.
About Permaculture:
Permaculture integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies - imitating the no waste, closed-loop systems seen in diverse natural systems. Permaculture applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban contexts and at any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics, and community development.
#permaculture #permaculturedesign #patternunderstanding #saudiconsultancy
I live on 10 acres in a desert in Arizona, USA. It amazes me why most of the people who live around my area don't bother to plant trees! When I bought my property, the first thing I did was plant a tree. And something else that amazes me is how many people want to terraform Mars when there are so many deserts on Earth that could easily be "terraformed" into a more lush and green environment.
all the best with that
Amen! Worry about other planets when we can even help ourselves on the one we have is a bit "cart before the horse."
My parents live in a suburb of a major city in Arizona. They planted a few trees. A lemon, orange, peach, lime, and a nice palm. Not to mention growing grapes, tomatoes, broccoli, okra, carrots etc. The Arizona desert can be productive with some effort and care. I hope you plant more trees.
Simply because they are not aware enough about the environment
The fact that no one plants water is even more worrying.
Sometimes you get Geoff the gardener, and sometimes you get Geoff, the mystic water shaman.
th-cam.com/video/hynOzzXbaXc/w-d-xo.html
What is that?
I agree with you completely. Most people forget that even in desert sometimes it rains and when it does it can cause flooding. Wherever water then stays it soaks in and provides water for dry season, even months afterwards. To read the landscape should be first part of project of planting trees in any dry areas. Not just in desert.
I have noticed the same thing with the desert Southwest in the USA, nice trees growing next to the road in the middle of a vast desert. Our road system could also be a giant water manipulation system as well.
For what it's worth. In France large projects of road run off water collection are ongoing. On that particular example. Large collecting ponds, strategically placed and distanced along highways. Collect considerable amounts of water for later use. I was driving from Norway to Portugal and back. When this amazing detail caught my attention! Seems to be a nation wide project. For the ~900 km I drove trough, the ponds can be seen on both sides of the highways. The sheer amount of water collected is staggering by any means!
As an added bonus, many of these large ponds have been collecting. Not just water, but also the attention of wild life. The shallow water vegetation and birds gathering there is remarkable!
I don't have any details about these projects, other than what I just wrote. I was just driving trough. But either case I can say, unbelievable! :-)
I agree. In many cases roads disrubt natural drainage, this should be a requirement in road design.
Amazing , this is what I’m trying to teach people here in Joshua Tree, California
I'm building a 6 acre "permaculture" farm in Twentynine palms. We may cross paths one day.
Hi from Yucca Valley
@@RegenerativeMojave How much was the land? Do you do run off water like this?
@@vladimiroboukhov8395 6 Acres for $9,000.
I currently have no municipal water on property (Cost about $3,000) I hope to run a "desert savannah forest" off of soley the harvested rainwater. Till the place is fully optimized to survive that goal I will have to do the municipal water to establish the system.
Landers here! hope to do something similar
I love it, Geoff is getting SAUCY. Keep saying it for the people in the back.
That drip irrigation makes trees dependant and lazy. They'll root in the surface layer and if it fails for just a few days, the trees die off. Excellent video again Geoff!. I'm really excited to see what you'll be doing there. Everyone wants to see what greening a desert looks like. That's why it's too bad we don't get to hear from Al Baydha anymore. And that plantation you showed a few years ago was very nice as well
09conrado this is very true, you must be responsible with drip irrigation, I water once or twice a month with drip in the summer, with my drip lines running on the outermost part of the canopy, I do one deep watering so the roots feel more like they had a rain storm and I let it dry out so the roots will chase the moisture into the earth as the surface dries first. Lots of mulch is also involved allowing trees to survive a month in the hot so cal sun with no water.
Drip irrigation was meant for row crops to get water in hot and dry places to limit water waste through evaporation.
Al baydha just update take a look
Al Baydha update: th-cam.com/video/T39QHprz-x8/w-d-xo.html
I did the exact same thing on my property. I love to look at the water flows. I discovered a spring along an old road this winter. I had no idea the two existed!
4:54 I love to listen to Geoff vent frustration. He's so even tempered and laid back it actually shocks people when he expresses annoyance or anger. Sick em Geoff! I would love to see what becomes of this project, just like in Jordan.
The Arabs trust to God (insha'Allah) to do everything for them. Idleness is their forté but the extreme heat encourages that.
Hi Geoff . I have been following your projects for years and I must congratulate you on succeeding in such a harsh environment .I have been working on small scale projects in a very arid environment here in South Africa with similar climatic conditions as yours . I had the best results by starting with ground covers , followed by shrubs , and only once they were established , slowly introduce trees . Over the years I found this sequence to yield the highest success rate . It became obvious that that soil was just as , if not more ,important than water . In this particular video two things caught my immediate attention , the growth on the piled up gravel road , hence soil , and the beautiful large green tree next to the dilapidated training center . Choose the correct tree species , preferably indigenous , and available soil . A good ground and shrub cover will prevent soil erosion during heavy rains . Keep it up and good luck .
" I don't like to point out things that haven't worked" but it is exactly what we should be looking at! we should all learn from each others mistakes! :)
..... i have been trying to promote it contacting many companies even for their corporate social responsibility... but inshaAllah, with you here, someone will take serious consideration that #permaculture can be helpful!!!
We need to swale the world!
Such valuable information. I hope you can help the people who live there rehabilitate the land.
Yeah, it's all about Patterns Geoff,, Thank you for sharing
I would love to see a trench grid pattern (say 100 feet x 100 feet) with dried dead bush debris filled into the grid pattern then covered up with soil....then add bunch of twigs like they did in China to prevent sand erosion from the wind and here also slowing down water run off...
Natural flow by design....very well explained.
Thanks Geoff ! After learning from Allen Savory & you, I shudder at all the run-of-the-mill " Let' plant 10,000 trees" which they of course want $ for or something, or the like. Regenerate the desert 1st, and the trees will grow either A: on their own ( as seen with the trees supposed to have been extinct even ! on Allen Savory's land in Africa ( I think it was Dimbangombe, not a another project ) or B: Then it will be worth planting some ! Allen really has seen it all, tried a lot b4 too, and - why not ?- so I really would support using animals most, but obviously you really know your stuff & are very successful, so, I truly respect you & your work & instruction too ! I think the whole world needs to sit down, shut up, and listen & well, obey, U two plus Joel Salatin. Throw in Mark Shephard too. God bless you for caring & working so hard !
th-cam.com/video/eoUlfRUxcmw/w-d-xo.html
Thank for everything that you shearing. I just bought a cashew nut farm full of trees, over five thousand trees and about two thousand baby tree and we want to learn to transform this to permaculture farm. Really want to follow your foot steep.
Shoutout from Tucson, Az. Thanks Geoff 🙏🏼😁
Excellent, rain water harvesting is a must in desert areas. Such practices were used from ancient times. I always encourages such methods in my practice and teaching. Unfortunately these days only expensive techniques are supported by the government. Currently Prof. Ibraheem Aref is carrying an experimental project to harvest rain water in the mountains of Saudi Arabia.
mashAllah finally you are here.... alhamdulillah.. I AM SO SURE YOU CAN HELP AND #PERMACULTURE IS THE ANSWER
@Allington Marakan Oh shove it, he was expressing his gratitude and you just feel the urge to attack
Great hands on explorative explanation. Great job
Great to hear both what you see and what excuses you're being given for why things are working how they are. "Oh it must be the type of trees, the planning, the irrigation." You illustrate not only what to correctly see the landscape telling you, but hinting at the massive resistance this vision is always met with!
I really amazed how permaculture understands the efficient, low cost and smart use of naturally available resources like water. In contrast to permaculture, the commonly practiced, high technology, high capital and chemical intensive commercial agriculture has become the most destructive kind of agriculture in the world.
inoticed the same thing when I was there 28 years ago but you've explained it beautifully. there is hope.
Thank you Geoff, loved this. I'm really seeing the value in an ability to read the landscape. Love your work, thanks for teaching and inspiring me and so many others.
Look forward to meeting you and developing my ability to teach.
Resilience, to me, means not giving up in times when things are uncertain, just knowing that the universe is always providing us with abundance of stuff. We just have to put our energy into places where it can come from, like, the earth.
This is an idea worth sharing. A conference with four individuals. Geoff Lawton, Paul Stamets, Elon Musk, and Tony Robbins. These individuals are all respected in their fields. This can be a teleconference. Solutions to the current problem and to build a system for the future. Thank you for your time.
I just bought 5 acres in the Phoenix Arizona west valley. I'm definitely going to use your advice on my property.
What a precious example!!!
They may need to use cameras to record rainfall to study your findings Geoff, This is great work!
when i thought the good people, and good examples to follow have gone...here you are! so much respect for what you teach and for what you do! i wish to you all the best!
Great lesson Jamal, lots of us here in Jordan who took the PDC will start PC projects, some of us already started... Right on time video and please talk to us more through videos like this as we really need it.
I saw this same failed irrigation and tree planting attempt in southern spain. Total failure on huge broad acreage
Awesome Geoff always loved your enthusiasm and insight...
Thank god u r in Saudia... we really need ur knowledge I this time...
Great video, Geoff!
Thank you.
Geoff should be donated trillions of dollars to take this to the next level!
I think what the desert needs first is to grow some invasive plants like gorse for example just to fix the soil and harvest the water and from there we can start to do something.
Very interesting! I agree, it's definitley important to consider water patterns , especially in the desert. Lots more potential than annual rainfall alone might lead one to believe.
Wow Thank you on all your amazing work at greening the planet, we need more people enlightened like you. Thanks again
Thanks for the amazing video and all those explanations. I felt that the philosophy of permaculture is strongly expressed in this video.
Great video and unbelievable lesson!!!!!
#Samir Bordoloi of Assam,India planted mangoes in the deserts of Rajasthan as a challenge given to him....he is an awesome planter...an Idol farmer...another awesome man near my town is Jadav Payeng!
Thanks for sharing. This realy helped to get a differnt view in the landscape arround me and in my garden.
I wish the best for you and your family in this harsh time ... wonderful approach to restore drylands. thx for share it :D!
This was really inspiring. This makes such a vast subject of permaculture and summarizes it. Go with the flow of nature. HarmoniZe with natural energy flow.
I have yet to see this guy produces something of value that can help in deserts.
Very cool!
Groasis Waterbox system in addition to permaculture techniques would definitely have increased the success rates of the planting, especially for trees. They do both a plastic reusable version & a cardboard one. They largely remove the need for irrigation - very handy in a desert.
Enlightening as usual. Thank you Geoff!!
I live and work close to Santa Fe in the mountains where its got high erosion and flash floods and we work to contain and hold the soil. Human manure in the gardens.
Thank you for what you do.
fantastic resources yet again mate! stay safe!
Well said. God Prevails!
Great achievement keep continue
Wow.
Thanks for that one Geoff
Thanks for the wisdom!
Is there a follow up to this video? Geoff is a true God send. 🙏😊🤗
You are a hero sir.
A drone view might make it easier for me to understand.
Hello there, tes vidéos sont toujours un plaisir et de belles leçons !!
Your knowledge is amazing!
This is what's been missing from your videos, the how to analyse a piece of land, work out where the water is flowing and where / how deep do you make swales and recharge dams?
A good follow up would be if you mapped the entire region and then drew up the permaculture swale setup to adjust to this landscape.
I find flat landscapes the hardest to work out where to put swales. Would you actually put swales on those hills first to slow the flow and recharge the water table? I've never seen you recommend check dams before, is there a reason why that is?
Perhaps you could contact the owners of that land and see if they'd be willing to try your method? Perhaps show them your Garden first ;)
Ever consider using poles and nets to create a temporary instant canopy, until tall trees have time to grow tall?
I am discovering permaculture with Geoff Lawton
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So, now, bring the people who work in these areas down there and show them how to do it right!
It's these kinds of skills the natives need to be taught, learn how to see the patterns and then use the natural landscape, manipulate it to their benefit. It's so sad to see all that money wasted on irrigation when your techniques are well proven.
I hope that they hired you to fix this
if so Please document all of it for us to see here.
hopefully with a better audio quality .
My question is: How do you build a system that stops the water from flowing past the “dry” areas?
The thing is, in an arid climate you can't water with rain everywhere. So it is ok to have dry patches … they contribute their rainwater as runoff to the areas actually watered. As an example, Geoff mentioned below one of his "Greening the Desert" videos form the Jordan site that there, they'd need 20 times the garden area to collect rainwater if they were to do without irrigation water.
Geoff, as a point of interest: - I've seen a number of TH-cam videos from the most recent rains/storms showing a large amount of flooding in different parts of the country, some of which showed the roads under H20. Now it wasn't clear where exactly in Saudi Arabia they were filmed but this could have been one of these areas.
God bless Geoff Lawton. Save the Swales!!!
I am so motivated from this. Your explanation so simple anyone can understand. Can be apply this methods in small area like backyard i want make wall from trees but we don't have water. We in desert
Hi Geoff. Are you embarking on a desert greening project there?
Geoff can't we green the deserts of Australia bit by bit and help change the climate and give our wild life somewhere to go having been pushed out by human development? Maybe our aboriginal community might like to be involved, and unemployed people? It could be a work for the dole to help combat the climate and make parts of Aust more habital. And what an education for those helping.
Achala Devi leave some desert for those that live there.
Some native plants in the desert don't like a lot of water
I've had an idea of introducing more bush turkeys to our woodlands and Forrest's to help reduce the scale and ferocity of bushfires. This is due to their giant compost pile-ish mound nests. I think the way they gather up leaves and dead brush might help to locally reduce the amount of matter that is spread on the forrest floor. Hence will hopefully reduce fuel for fires. This may also allow more plants to germinate? Or conversely, expose ground to the sun and dry it out? I'm also unsure of how introducing a large number of bush turkeys will affect local populations of other fauna. Hopefully not give feral cats more dinner. Anyways, i reckon regenerative earthworks in barren climates is never a bad idea. Especially to curb dust storms and erosion!
We can green Oz all over. It is so easy and cheap. No government help is needed.
I will link to an aussie bloke who needs to be shared. He and Geoff are both top blokes. Enjoy and please give me your feed back or questions after watching this link :) Respect from QLD th-cam.com/video/eoUlfRUxcmw/w-d-xo.html
Good luck getting that past your moronic govt
This was such a great video! Thanks!
You had me at [harmonious] patterns
Just look at some of the Mars photo and track for the same patterns.
I have seen similar landscapes in W Texas / New Mexico, and I believe that for a bit of countouring, West Texas could look like East Texas. I just want to take a shovel and start digging. (After a bit of planning, of course.
I'm in Dallas, and just looked at some westerly land, mostly junipers but I couldn't help but scheme the same thing you believe. Perhaps during these hard times instead of huddling in our houses maybe we should be out greening the desert like our pattern worker here.
Hi... been in agriculture for a while now...not that that means anything 🙃😊...but my two cents...I really AGREE with everything you've said here but I suspect one of the reasons the irrigation failed might have been lack of maintenance...they probably just installed it and walked away...? In my experience (if it was maintained properly and babyed along it should have worked better??
Have you though about greening the deserts of Calif, and Arizona.
Bravo, thanks.
The Arican tribal man has it right. They thought he was crazy. When he was digging holes and filling them with dung. (shit) the termites came to eat the dung. Leaving their tunnels... Giving the rain a place to soak into.....he turned the desert into a lush Forrest....
I'm trying to understand all that he's talking about but I'm not completely. How do I learn more about this stuff?
Well there's an awful lot of books out there on the subject now so you could do a little search for them. Alternatively just keep searching youtube for more video's, there's an awful lot here too. I know there's various places that do permaculture courses but sadly they always seem to cost a lot of money and so are out of reach of most of us poor people, it's a real shame.
So if you put in swales, what do you grow in the swales since you have to wait a long time for anything to grow. Or do you time your plants around the rainy seasons
Start with local pioneer plants shown on the video soon as establishing their roots introduce soil improving plants
@@hafidhhasanusk162 so, you would dig up and replant some of the ones there?
@@hafidhhasanusk162 also, if you're coming in cold, how would you determine which are pioneer species without living there and watching for a few years? Would you bring in non natives from a similar climate?
Superbe initiative ... Vive l'Arabie Saoudite verte ^_^
L'irrigation goutte à goutte est bien adapté pour les cultures maraichère de fruits et légumes mais ne convient pas pour les arbres car çà rends leurs racines paresseuses. Les racines des arbres restent à la surface pour attendre l'eau qui coule goutte par goutte, donc les racines ne s'enfoncent pas profondément dans le sol pour chercher l'eau de la nappe phréatique. Ces arbres ne deviendront jamais autonome en eau et le jour où vous arrêter l'irrigation goutte à goutte, les arbres meurent ... L'idéal serait donc d'imiter la nature et la pluie qui tombe fort et peu de temps ... Il faut donc arrosant beaucoup chaque arbre, 1 fois par semaine, 1 fois par mois, selon les besoins de chaque arbre ... Il faut arroser les bébés arbres, rarement mais en quantité, durant leurs premières années jusqu'à ce qu'ils deviennent autonomes en eau et fassent tomber la pluie ...
Pour créer de la terre, je pense qu'il faudrait vider tous déchets verts de la ville dans les déserts directement sur le sol ... Ces déchets vont se décomposer sur le sol et apporter de la matière organique à la terre ... Au fil du temps de l'humus se créera sur la superficie du sol et les plantes pousseront. N'oublions pas que les déchets verts sont pleins de graines ... Les déchets verts sont : les déchets végétaux des cuisines, des marchés, des magasins, des animaux, des jardins publiques, etc, des tonnes et des tonnes par jour à verser sur les parcelles de désert à reverdir ...
Pity Geoff can't get out to Madagascar where deforestation has devastated tree/plant life & animal biodiversity. Even the 800 year old baobab trees are being affected.
I think also that the soil is too hard and it needs some disturbing for it to absorb water
I could see myself watching hydrology investigation vids like this a lot
Sensei 🙏
Would be fascinating if the right and proper kind of effort was applied to this,
Can you share your wisdom with the locals there??
I believe he's hired for consultation there
Good one
You rock.
Hey guys, What are the possibilities of foresting an arid landscape that is lowlands. The highest elevation is around 600meters above sea level. The region is also between a rain shadow.
can the rain shadow's disadvantage be turned into an advantage. the max rainfall is 400mm.
I'm wondering what animals / livestock could bring to these kinds of environments. Regenerative agriculture including animals / livestock / herds that wander around, could also bring natural irrigation to these deserts, isn't it? Like mimicking the old wandering of wild animals. Just an idea I got from the Savory Institute that has bring thousands of hectares of desert to life.
It could have been worse. Instead of an irrigation system that failed they could have used 80,000 Groasis boxes, which wouldn't have fared any better but would have cost a million+ US dollars.
they dont have mulching,if have help 90 percent survive the trees ,grass and others