kinda funny how the solution to many modern (agricultural) problems is to simply start using ancient methods again....makes you wonder why they were ever abandonned
I mean accessibility probably. Modern farming techniques became a reasonable way for most everyone to receive food in a reasonable and affordable way (in places like North America and Europe). But now our technology is also our enemy and we most take the economic advantage we have thanks to these things and many times revert to ancient techniques to continue living in this world.
Because they're directing their slave race to accomplish other agendas, it's not about finding us an easy way to survive and thrive. Otherwise there would be free everything people safe living off grown good they grew themselves. Everyone would have their own land at least a few acres
Why am I 3 weeks late on finding your channel! As an Egyptian who recently found passion and enthusiasm in permaculture, I was just starting to dig into existing practices in Egypt signifying permaculture, both in the field of agriculture and construction (as a construction engineering senior) and my GOD! your video is such a gem! I knew some of the local technologies you mentioned but was unaware of PLENTY!, please please PLEASE keep making follow-ups on this project and others like it in Egypt.
Please if you have not look up "Geoff Lawton" he helps with re greening area's and his very big on permaculture. Its not simple but after you understand then it gets easy. it will not be easy to stop Africa/middle east turning to dust. One step that everyone could take is to not Burn organic matter such as dead tree's/plants/sticks/leaves. lots of work to be done in those places to help people get shade/water and food, hope all the best.
Incorporating a magnet into the irrigation system to reduce the iron is an amazing idea, did you find out how well it had been working? How long have they been using it? Echoing others, I would watch dozens of videos from this project. Really interesting.
@@amillison The problem with iron seems very important to be solved. If you manage to analyse that water you can find out if the iron is in it already as Fe2O3 (which is not magnetic) or it's elemental iron which oxides when in contact with air (e.g. on the top of the sprinkler). In the first case if the particulate is big enough, adding a water drum between the pump and let the particulate settle in the bottom can be a cheap and scalable idea.
@@davidetosches6014 That would be great if it were so simple. No one I saw in the oasis is doing that so I am a little suspect, because I imagine if there was such an easy solution that it would be common place. Do you have some reference or diagram you could point me towards?
@@amillison thanks for your reply! I guess it's not so simple but sometimes the issues can be more "human" than technical. However, I had a quick check on Fe oxides and I see that the Fe2O3 (the reddish rusty-looking deposit from your video) is insoluble, but then how it can be in such high quantities in this acquifer? So the hypotheses that there is fe2+ in the groundwater that turns in fe3+ when exposed to air will explain why the local didn't solve the issue with an easy decantation process. Maybe later I can wrap up some of the info that I got and send you an email on your institutional address.
Geoff Lawton found in Jordan that building up the organic matter in the soil via mulching and chop-and-drop allowed a particular fungus to develop that would encapsulate the salt in the soil and render it completely inert. So, that's definitely something to add to the list for the oasis. 👍
Ha! Quite the opposite for me! I've managed to watch half before coming to the comment section to say, "I can't watch anymore! It's all too dry for me! Just seeing it makes me feel parched!" 🤣
I have a small park on the west bank of the Nile River. I've been growing gardens there for 11yeard and have learned s lot. I would like it to be more permaculture based but it's very hard to find people who understand the idea.
You may wish to consider attending Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Design program out of Al Jawfah, Jordan in the Dead Sea Basin. You can go on line and see his “Greening the Desert 2” Videos here on TH-cam. The Israelis have also been using these agricultural techniques in various areas of their land, and have become one of the only water/food sovereign nations in the region.
Have you taken a look at Geoff Lawton’s education and training facility in Jordan? He and his Wife Nadia have developed a “Greening the Desert 2” project which teaches “rubber meets the road” grass roots dry lands/desert permaculture. Israel has both grass roots community and huge commercial agriculture permaculture installations. Muslim Aid Australia supports the program in Jordan, and Geoff’s work there. Some amazing stuff.
This is fascinating. It’s like meeting someone who has a really interesting and meaningful job and you get a glimpse of what another persons reality is, how they problem solve and process an important task. Thanks for sharing!
All I have to say is... wow... these videos are so well put together and the amount of research and effort you put into them is great. This video brings to light something I had never known about before. Thank you!
Subscribed! What a fascinating video! I am from the Philippines and my climate is the complete opposite of Egypt's. Yet this video has given me renewed appreciation of ancient farming techniques and of water itself. Thank you for this!
Sounds like a mission! Keep us posted on that yeah? It's a subject likely to span out for a while if you're engaged on the case. And, finding the partitulars for what plants and methods they might appreciate there will make doubtlessly for good interest.
As a retired economist having worked in many Arabic countries, I believe that if one could strongly reduce the number of goats that mostly pull up all the plants they feed on instead of eating the leaves like cows do ! This important change in Arabic pastoralism could prevent large newly cultivated areas to be turned back into desert. I have seen this idea developed in Tunisia with a lot of success after miles and miles of fences had been installed around newly planted area of accacias, locust tree, olive, palm trees, castor oil and ate palm trees and other varieties, Watering was made drop by drop. After 2 years, a natural cover up was enough to plant other vegetable such as onions, etc... Permaculture would not be possible without keeping goats away for any new effort to plant any kind of "good food" in these regions. Thank you very much for this very interesting video ! And good luck to you !
Wow what good luck to stumble upon your channel! I've always looked for this kind of insight when studying geography and history of places like Egypt but I wasn't able to find anything as good as this! Thank you for sharing your great work for free!
In the far corners of the planet, these abilities are essential. Humans would not be engaged in conflict with one another if we had taken such actions. I am so grateful for your amazing effort 🙏 greeting from Somalia .
This is the first time I’ve considered the connection between permanent agriculture and terraforming. There’s some philosophical ecoethics at play here that are fascinating
So amazing how the ancient civilizations were so much more in tune with nature! We can learn so much. My question in regards to irrigation practices... It sounds like whether they're using sprinkler or flood irrigation, they're still pumping the water from the aquifer... It's my belief that through obtaining sub-moisture using flood irrigation practices it allows root systems to run deeper, soil temperatures to run cooler, and extends time between irrigations. Roots will only travel as deep as the water infiltrates the soil. Although sprinklers may use less water in the short term, they also break up water molecules when being sprinkled: which increases evaporation, water is constantly misplacement through wind, requires more irrigations per year, and overall obtain less water infiltration into the soil. The long term benefits of deep water penetration into the soil using gravity flow systems outweigh the short-term benefit that sprinklers provide. Flood/gravity flow systems will use more water short term, but as the system evolves the water demand slowly decreases as system matures long-term. Instead of slowing down how many years the aquifer will last, the ultimate goal should be understanding how to use water from the aquifer, while equalizing the amount of water that's seeping/filtering back down into the aquifer.
yes, that's actually what happens here in my settlement, my city is in sahara desert but in Algeria, local wells are between 10-30m deep depending on the place of the valley it's located on local wells water recharge by intermittent rainfall (it floods once in a decade), or from local water usage (waste water comes from fossile underground Albian reservoir that get used for domestic usage and the grey water infiltrate back and recharge the local traditional wells ) also another reason is that flooding is practiced to flush local soil from excess salts
Dear Andrew, thanks for your excellent presentation of mankind’s attempt at living where everything seems all too hard. Your projection of maximum potential service of 300 years is not long when you realise that settlement in this area has been present for 6,000 years as you mention. Your projections of water use are linear but population growth is exponential. The doubling rate is somewhere between every 20 ~ 50 years. If it is 30 years then the current population of 90,000 will grow to 180,000 by 2050, 360,000 by 2080 and 720,000 by 2110.That gives the ancient aquifer at projected use may last only 100 years. What then? Clearly by encouraging the exponential population growth which is the vogue is unsustainable. We have got to get serious about ZPG if we hope to survive as a race on this world. If ZPG happened suddenly in this basin then the water table would last 500 years and then some. Cheers and thanks for the excellent presentation.
Great video! Also, natives to an area aren't "applying the basics of permaculture without knowing it" - western categorized and defined "permaculture" is based upon native lifestyles. And yep, that's a pretty important distinction. We already knew what we were doing and why those systems/acts/designs etc. were important millennia before settlers and "explorers" came along and declared that what we were doing was either right or wrong/good or bad based off their own limited perspectives.
The ancients and natives had great knowlege but throughout history there have been ecological catastrophies caused by things they simply could not have known and abandonment and migrations from exhausted land. It is good to take cues from them but also to apply new and rediscovered information.
I am from Egypt n I am telling you the video is amazing! Let me clarify why the majority of the people living in just small percentage of the land .. First the Egyptians are very socially connected they love to live next to each other so the idea of the expansion for them is like being isolated from their family and friends Second thing is since 1952 coup from the military over the royal family the country is full of corruption in every aspect so no priority of true development educational, environmental, economical If A mega reforestation project was started decades ago while there was less population and much excess water could have changed the entire country weather drastically Making it more humid thus more rain fall and that could have encouraged people to expand Thank you again for the video it's very informative.. I am looking for water management and desalination free scholarship I'm the states if any one knows any that would be appreciated thank you
There’s a huge underground lake deep below the outback , time to do controlled explosions to get at that absolutely huge water resource. NOW is the time to tap into this
@@johngamerschlag7001 It is already being used. The Basin as a resource Basin water emerges naturally through cracks in the rock, flowing into springs, shallow water tables, creeks and rivers. This creates a permanent water source even during dry periods. Most springs and leakages occur on the edges of the Basin where water is close to the surface. The Basin generates nearly $13 billion per year and is a vital resource for 180,000 people, 7,600 businesses and 120 towns. It has enabled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to occupy dry inland areas of Australia for more than 40,000 years, and for communities to maintain cultural, social and spiritual connections with the springs and their associated ecological communities and landscapes.
(Add'l edit) Agrivoltaics would be great in shading the ground slowing moisture loss while reducing immediate temps. These give shade for more tender, shade-loving plants, reducing watering needs overall. The plants conversely cool the solar arrays. Win-win in this harsh environment. You might want to figure out what kinds of seeds/grains those native pigeons are eating. I found my pigeons rid their area of *all* seeds save grass. That may be a problem: 1) Grasses are typically difficult to grow. 2) Natural diversity is diminished (much as with goats). 3) #2 includes animals and plants. At first blush this looks great but tweaking around pigeons may improve it a lot. Think the towers are ingenious and beautiful. Indigenous stuff really wows. Windbreaks actually speed up winds around the break. They are more problem than cure. If you plant trees loosely with spaces in between the wind is significantly calmed. While the breezes are cooling, they also dessicate... Whitewashing the surfaces would effectively reduce retained heat. It could reflect up to 90% of heat, preventing conduction to interiors. It would also make the surfaces more impervious to the rare rains, as it strengthens the surfaces. Great for protecting the architecture and history. Very beautiful location. That surface water boils off quickly. Have they tried buried perforated pipe similar to those used in leach fields as opposed to relying on emitters? The holes are significantly larger than emitters for drip irrigation. Trees and shrubs are obviously their best planting bets in a dry climate. They reduce possibilities of washout from pipes are reduced by extensively-rooted, long-lived plants. Humus allows soil activity to bind salt and render it harmless. Tree hay can be used on livestock other than goats. It is believed cattle in Great Britain relied heavily on trees. There may be benefit to planting several (cover) crops together in the same fields. It counterintuitively retains more water than it uses according to some reports. We have missed an opportunity while we continue to have a glut of used clothing. Companies and charitable organizations are currently and rightly discouraged from sending worn garments to 2nd and 3rd world countries because it harms local/indigenous textile and clothing industries. In dryland and especially hot arid places, dead plant materials dessicate rapidly under the hot sun leaving bare soil quickly. These materials could be a stopgap. Our duds could be repurposed as mulch, shade cloths and quick, temporary bunds. (I'm assuming they flood irrigate some fields). They would provide manageable solutions until permanent structures are built. Using bulk old clothes this way solves the issues with our current throwaway clothing culture while permanent water harvesting structures are built. This keeps and encourages local industries while repurposing a waste product. Win-win. One more thing: in this kind of climate using human waste solids to make biochar has promise. The moisture in the solids would evaporate quickly, which may be a problem for other surface-type waste treatment methods. It would be ready quickly compared to other treatments, adding resiliency faster. Biochar increases soil water retention when applied to soil, and is very stable. Ideal for this climate. Most nutrients are in the urine so there's that positive, too. Not sure which is more likely to retain medicines, but biochar may help with that, too.. Studies bolster the 'symbiotic relationship' between the two as being particularly workable in hot arid climates where there is a possible net increase in food production...
We can be the researchers. One of the first rules of permaculture is to observe, then share. High tech will not save us, we need to save ourselves by being resourceful and clever and helping others to be clever, too.
This was great to watch. I have been looking up the Fayuum and Bahr Yussef, it is truly a huge accomplishment of ancient engineering, Imhotep brought the Nile to Saqqara. PS. The Tamarisk tree will take the salt out of the ground naturally restoring balance.
What a wonderful video, I would love to see more on this project! I might try to take bits and pieces from the old techniques even though I'm i na completely different context. I might build a swallow tower since those are plentiful here.
I was thinking of swallows earlier because of 'guano'. I haven't seen swallows in years, let alone in my area. I am less than 15 miles away from where I last observed them, though the other location was savannah and farmland, too. Has me wondering.
There are so many possibilities for reclaiming iron as well as trace elements from this ancient water. I'm sure in the centuries to come there will be some incredible things done. Wonderful documentary.
Your filmmaking skills keep going up and up, from a filmmakers point of view I feel this is one of the best you've done. Also incredibly original and important research. Yet, what were the original ways of producing food that have kept people living in those oasis? Cause you and I know that three hundred years go by quickly, and those cash crops are gonna kill it fast. Therefore making the land unlivable in the future.
Thanks Emiliano. I've been really working on it, and got some new gear. And this time I had help with the editing by the university's production company who did the final edit and the animations. As far as original crops grown there, I think it's always been a pretty high water-use situation, using flood irrigation on thirsty crops. There just has never been the idea of water scarcity there until more recent times. I mean dates are the main crop there and they are thirsty trees. So switching crop types will be one stage in the long arc to reducing the depletion. But the Nile is all-in on cotton, and with the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam now filling up and the Nile supply diminished, then people may be starting to think seriously already about growing less thirsty crops.
@@nicolagiuliani3212 I did not see hand dug wells, but they must have been there when the oasis water was at the surface everywhere. The water table at this point has dropped far below where hand dug wells can reach.
@@amillison There are actually wells dug by hand more than two thousand years ago and are working to this day wells since the days of the pharaohs and other wells called Roman wells. There is the Farafra Oasis, which is a very rich oasis, the percentage of iron in it is low, and its water is very irrigated, three hundred parts per million more fresh than the water of the Nile. The medical center has sulfur eyes, salt pans, and a natural eye, Cleopatra’s Bath. Welcome to Egypt. There is also the Kharga Oasis.
Thank you for this excellent and fascinating video! Beautifully visual intro to Permaculture. Fascinating to see it done in a desert, who knew there was such a large ancient reservoir of water under the Sahara. I'm happy to discover you and I'm looking forward to more. 😁❤️
Fascinating! Thank you for this great video. BTW permaculture isnt something new. Its the oldest farming system. So dont be surprised to see it being practiced in the oldest agricultural societies on Earth.
amazing confluence of traditional technique, modern practices, and a stunning and unique technological ethnography. really excellent video, I learned so much!
Recycle sewage as much as possible. Filter the sewer water and purify with water plants. Purify the sewer water further with passive solar water distilling. There must be some way to farm Moringa, Duckweed, tilapia, and rabbits. Probably best to keep building with adobe. Underground shelters and storage Cash cropping and grazing animals can excel depletion. Thank you for sharing helpful videos!
Great job documenting! looking forward to seeing how this project unfolds. Do you think with wide spread polycultural orchards that we could actually see a shift in rainfall patterns? Were the last measurable rains 13 years ago come as monsoons?
Sean, they were light rains, and just 3 steady days of light rain that started to melt people's roofs! Neal Spackman suggested that flooding the Qattara Depression with seawater and creating a Mangrove forest there could bring rains inland to the Western Desert. Look it up! And good to hear from you, Sean. Hope all's well with you bro.
Absolutely amazing and inspiring! There are so many things that come to mind, like If there is so much wind, why not use it to produce electric energy, or can the iron that is so highly concentrated in the water be harvested as a ressource, orhow can the fact that the wateris coming hot out of the ground be used in a meaningful way, etc?Annd once again we can see how incredibly ingenious the traditional techniques are. Greetings to Egypt from Switzerland, You people do an amazing job and I bet the food that is produced in this oasis is absolutely top notch!
Amazing video Andrew! I’ve been throughly enjoying all of your episodes! For this project, has the thought of using Solar Stills come up? I learned as a kid that if you dig a hole, put a clear tarp over it with a water collector in the center, it will slowly fill up with evaporating condensation. Could you take this concept to a larger scale and have something like subterranean bio domes to grow plants and trees in?
Wonderful video great to see the interesting ways people live in extreme environments. Incredible how ingenious ancient people were that they were able to effectively cool their buildings so significantly using nothing but clever architecture and design, it makes me imagine a modern city built using such methods, it could greatly reduce the power consumption of settlements during summer months
Whilst this video is interesting for viewers who know little about arid parts of the world like Egypt, this video was a like a history lesson and little in a way of designer illustrating potential plans/designs on how to build the eco-village. Ultimately, that is what the viewer wanted to see; clever and thoughtful design.
That was a fascinating and inspiring with so many great examples and ideas, a magnet to extract iron, how elegantly simple. Some wonderful camera work too, I really enjoyed seeing the buildings and landscape like that, I got quite a feel for the place.
I'm glad to hear that you found the video fascinating and inspiring! The magnet idea is definitely a clever solution to a problem, and I'm happy that the camera work was able to convey the beauty of the buildings and landscape. Thank you Jim for taking the time to watch the video and share your thoughts! :)
Fascinating, superb informative documentary. I live in Devon, England where I take a green landscape and plenty of rain for granted but I'd like to visit Egypt and see for myself the marvellous country hopefully away from the standard tourist destination. Subscribed😎
Great use of modern and traditional technology to limit waste. This way of thinking may be the way to save the environment from pollution. Now we have to get the rest of the world onboard. Keep it up permaculture guy
Looks like the locals where doing pretty good with their practices that already mimic Permaculture , I'm curious as to what you'll be actually implementing to make things even better in Egypt.
I mentioned at the end that a couple examples of practices that could be introduced are biological wastewater treatment systems, as well as alley-cropping agroforestry systems. Both would be huge in recycling water and preventing loss through better wind protection.
@@amillison Thank you for your reply. I do not quite get it. You show us your orientation and exploration. You did not show us your clients site and you did not transfer your findings and plan to your client. Did I miss something? What that not the goal?
@@marcusgaius35 My clients do not want the specific information about their project to be public, so I could not include details about the site or the people. The video is more about the general regional analysis and the thought process that goes into doing a design under these conditions.
Great video ! I wish we have more of this kind pertaining to agricultural technologies both ancient and modern that could significantly improve human living condition. Kindness,respect, understanding & cooperation must transcend religious & political differences.
Hello Andrew, this is the first of your videos i´ve watched and i was stunned by your knowledge and the prospect of permaculture farming in the desert. I´d be really excited to see more of this. I would like to ask where you learned all of these things and if there are university courses that teach things like this or how you can get into this field, as i´ve been interested in designing landscapes and agricultural systems for a long time. I´m only 20 years old and this seems like something i would like to contribute to the world, transforming landscapes and creating sustainable ways to live and produce food in sync with nature. How could someone best learn in this field?
Building a renewable home. In a area that has limited rainfall but some times can have a heavy rain fall. The home is an original mud and stone home where the majority will be preserved but will have modern upgrades. I plan to use a rain water catch system and recycling. Solar power. And traditional chimeny heating. I just came across your channel in hopes to understand how to do this in a desirable and aesthetic manor. I struggled to grasp the concept,but your videos make so much sense. I will be including in my children's homeschooling. Thank you thank you thank you.
Great video - thanks! I was thinking that a soaking-type irrigation, like would be achieved with weekly watering with a hose/watering can, could be better than drip irrigating since the constant low flow of drip wouldn't encourage roots to dig deep, but then I was thinking that there's probably not a ton of use for the roots to dig deep since they wouldn't reach water in the ground and probably aren't receiving a ton of fertility deeper down. That got me thinking that the shallow(ish) roots watered by constant low flow and (I assume) supplementally fertilized sounds a lot long hydro/aquaponics, except that hydro/aquaponics should be a good deal more water efficient. I wonder if large-scale aquaponics would be worthwhile at your site - I've seen it done in arid climates elsewhere, and there's the increased cost and plastic issue to deal with (depending on your system), but it could be something to consider
Deep roots are important for retaining soil from wind (big problem), the rare flooding, and gathering every bit of water. Their roots themselves can create sorts of bunds that slow the rare surface water down, too. One of the things that seem to be missing are 'zai pits'. Those depressions around trees assure water is retained *exactly* where they want it. One of my thoughts was burying leach field-type piping. It is less likely to clog while buried. They'd work best placed near trees, shrubs and any other plants resistant to washout. They have clay somewhere. It would have been impossible to make those buildings from sand alone. Clay may retain some organic matter, I think...
Some scientists feature the Sahara desert as one of the places in the globe that may benefit from climate change. They predict that the Sahara will have wind patterns changed and eventually will accumulate more moisture resulting in increased rainfall. This is actually a pattern observed in Egypt with water lines in the middle of the desert, showing that there were rivers and lakes there, many years ago. It may be from weather patterns that were changed either as a result of a short ice age or from the Milankovitch cycles.
Yes I once saw a video about that too; once the temperature of the soil is hot enough it'll change the wind direction from the ocean towards the land instead of from the land to the ocean as is currently the case. It used to be rainforest in the past apparantly 🤷
On the issue of the dwindling aquafers, i feel there needs to be a more permanent solution on not using the aquafers to irrigate more land, rather, use the aquafers to produce more water. Here's how, come up with a massive tree planting irrigation scheme using water from the aquafers, which will in turn lower the temperatures in the desert hence preserving more water from evaporation and also in turn, increase preciptation levels in the desert. This will reduce pressure on dependece on the aquafers and present a long term solution to the water problem in the desert. The answer is more trees fisrt, not more agriculture.
I live in Kenya and here is the opposite along the coast… people use tar and concrete to eliminate nature because they scared of the animals that it’ll attrackt. Now the small coast towns and citys are dusty, dry and hot. If i buy land here i will leave my garden like a permaculture with coconut trees, dates, banana, cilli and other smaller vegitation. It keeps the surrounding cool and the air clean as well as providing a variaty of food supplys.
If you plant spiky plants densely and let them grow you can keep many creatures at bay. Research older practices and see what you can borrow that is practical and cheap.
Wow thank you, your team and production so much for all these gathered informations… I pray human beings learn again how to live on Mother Earth. Thank you and others who are active and recreate the paradise❤😊 Yes and the way won‘t be easy but it can get easier
kinda funny how the solution to many modern (agricultural) problems is to simply start using ancient methods again....makes you wonder why they were ever abandonned
Because greed was introduced so
Globalization that strives for more profit and not efficiency~
Food production should have never been globalised to such massive scale~
I mean accessibility probably. Modern farming techniques became a reasonable way for most everyone to receive food in a reasonable and affordable way (in places like North America and Europe). But now our technology is also our enemy and we most take the economic advantage we have thanks to these things and many times revert to ancient techniques to continue living in this world.
Labor.
Because they're directing their slave race to accomplish other agendas, it's not about finding us an easy way to survive and thrive. Otherwise there would be free everything people safe living off grown good they grew themselves. Everyone would have their own land at least a few acres
Why am I 3 weeks late on finding your channel! As an Egyptian who recently found passion and enthusiasm in permaculture, I was just starting to dig into existing practices in Egypt signifying permaculture, both in the field of agriculture and construction (as a construction engineering senior) and my GOD! your video is such a gem! I knew some of the local technologies you mentioned but was unaware of PLENTY!, please please PLEASE keep making follow-ups on this project and others like it in Egypt.
Please if you have not look up "Geoff Lawton" he helps with re greening area's and his very big on permaculture. Its not simple but after you understand then it gets easy. it will not be easy to stop Africa/middle east turning to dust. One step that everyone could take is to not Burn organic matter such as dead tree's/plants/sticks/leaves. lots of work to be done in those places to help people get shade/water and food, hope all the best.
Research Primary Water. The earth makes water.
Never give up, change your strategy...
please looked counpiracii
Y gu vkk
😮😮😮😮(
Incorporating a magnet into the irrigation system to reduce the iron is an amazing idea, did you find out how well it had been working? How long have they been using it? Echoing others, I would watch dozens of videos from this project. Really interesting.
The magnet on that farm has been working at least for a few years, so is very promising.
@@amillison The problem with iron seems very important to be solved. If you manage to analyse that water you can find out if the iron is in it already as Fe2O3 (which is not magnetic) or it's elemental iron which oxides when in contact with air (e.g. on the top of the sprinkler). In the first case if the particulate is big enough, adding a water drum between the pump and let the particulate settle in the bottom can be a cheap and scalable idea.
@@davidetosches6014 That would be great if it were so simple. No one I saw in the oasis is doing that so I am a little suspect, because I imagine if there was such an easy solution that it would be common place. Do you have some reference or diagram you could point me towards?
@@amillison thanks for your reply! I guess it's not so simple but sometimes the issues can be more "human" than technical. However, I had a quick check on Fe oxides and I see that the Fe2O3 (the reddish rusty-looking deposit from your video) is insoluble, but then how it can be in such high quantities in this acquifer? So the hypotheses that there is fe2+ in the groundwater that turns in fe3+ when exposed to air will explain why the local didn't solve the issue with an easy decantation process.
Maybe later I can wrap up some of the info that I got and send you an email on your institutional address.
@@davidetosches6014 I would definitely appreciate that: amillison@gmail.com
Geoff Lawton found in Jordan that building up the organic matter in the soil via mulching and chop-and-drop allowed a particular fungus to develop that would encapsulate the salt in the soil and render it completely inert. So, that's definitely something to add to the list for the oasis. 👍
I could watch 10 more videos on this region, thank you so much for taking the journey Andrew.
check out the Al Baydha Saudi Arabia videos on TH-cam. Very interesting concepts.
Really good video
Ha! Quite the opposite for me! I've managed to watch half before coming to the comment section to say, "I can't watch anymore! It's all too dry for me! Just seeing it makes me feel parched!" 🤣
@@Scuffedgin OH man, that one video. Makes me almost cry every time.
I’m an Ancient Egypt nerd and a permaculture fan, so you bet I was a fan of this video
As an Egyptian too and intersted in permaculture, we need follow-ups this project and others like it in Egypt
Indeed!
As an Egyptian I am a great fan of your work, good luck and I would live to follow the rest of your work
I have a small park on the west bank of the Nile River.
I've been growing gardens there for 11yeard and have learned s lot. I would like it to be more permaculture based but it's very hard to find people who understand the idea.
You may wish to consider attending Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Design program out of Al Jawfah, Jordan in the Dead Sea Basin. You can go on line and see his “Greening the Desert 2” Videos here on TH-cam. The Israelis have also been using these agricultural techniques in various areas of their land, and have become one of the only water/food sovereign nations in the region.
Have you taken a look at Geoff Lawton’s education and training facility in Jordan? He and his Wife Nadia have developed a “Greening the Desert 2” project which teaches “rubber meets the road” grass roots dry lands/desert permaculture. Israel has both grass roots community and huge commercial agriculture permaculture installations. Muslim Aid Australia supports the program in Jordan, and Geoff’s work there. Some amazing stuff.
Thank you for your helpful advice and encouragement.
I think Andrew Millison offers an online Permaculture course. That may be helpful to you.
This is fascinating. It’s like meeting someone who has a really interesting and meaningful job and you get a glimpse of what another persons reality is, how they problem solve and process an important task. Thanks for sharing!
this channel is the most feel-good channel ive ever stumbled on. It has restored my hope in life.
All I have to say is... wow... these videos are so well put together and the amount of research and effort you put into them is great. This video brings to light something I had never known about before. Thank you!
Thank you for visiting our country and reviewing our problem with dense population and limited water!
Subscribed! What a fascinating video! I am from the Philippines and my climate is the complete opposite of Egypt's. Yet this video has given me renewed appreciation of ancient farming techniques and of water itself. Thank you for this!
Man, your career looks awesome. You get to travel and you're doing meaningful things.
Sounds like a mission! Keep us posted on that yeah? It's a subject likely to span out for a while if you're engaged on the case.
And, finding the partitulars for what plants and methods they might appreciate there will make doubtlessly for good interest.
cull that patronizing tone!
@@crypton_8l87
Lol!
@@crypton_8l87 What's that? I can't hear you above the sound of your patronizing tone.
Glad we could get you out in the drylands! Deserts are lovely places to work!
As a retired economist having worked in many Arabic countries, I believe that if one could strongly reduce the number of goats that mostly pull up all the plants they feed on instead of eating the leaves like cows do ! This important change in Arabic pastoralism could prevent large newly cultivated areas to be turned back into desert. I have seen this idea developed in Tunisia with a lot of success after miles and miles of fences had been installed around newly planted area of accacias, locust tree, olive, palm trees, castor oil and ate palm trees and other varieties, Watering was made drop by drop. After 2 years, a natural cover up was enough to plant other vegetable such as onions, etc... Permaculture would not be possible without keeping goats away for any new effort to plant any kind of "good food" in these regions. Thank you very much for this very interesting video ! And good luck to you !
Wow what good luck to stumble upon your channel! I've always looked for this kind of insight when studying geography and history of places like Egypt but I wasn't able to find anything as good as this! Thank you for sharing your great work for free!
In the far corners of the planet, these abilities are essential. Humans would not be engaged in conflict with one another if we had taken such actions. I am so grateful for your amazing effort 🙏 greeting from Somalia .
I was so disappointed that this video came to an end. I was totally mesmerized by it. Very interesting, thank you for posting
This is the first time I’ve considered the connection between permanent agriculture and terraforming. There’s some philosophical ecoethics at play here that are fascinating
This is the future! Food Forests Everywhere!
So amazing how the ancient civilizations were so much more in tune with nature! We can learn so much.
My question in regards to irrigation practices... It sounds like whether they're using sprinkler or flood irrigation, they're still pumping the water from the aquifer... It's my belief that through obtaining sub-moisture using flood irrigation practices it allows root systems to run deeper, soil temperatures to run cooler, and extends time between irrigations. Roots will only travel as deep as the water infiltrates the soil. Although sprinklers may use less water in the short term, they also break up water molecules when being sprinkled: which increases evaporation, water is constantly misplacement through wind, requires more irrigations per year, and overall obtain less water infiltration into the soil. The long term benefits of deep water penetration into the soil using gravity flow systems outweigh the short-term benefit that sprinklers provide. Flood/gravity flow systems will use more water short term, but as the system evolves the water demand slowly decreases as system matures long-term. Instead of slowing down how many years the aquifer will last, the ultimate goal should be understanding how to use water from the aquifer, while equalizing the amount of water that's seeping/filtering back down into the aquifer.
yes, that's actually what happens here in my settlement, my city is in sahara desert but in Algeria, local wells are between 10-30m deep depending on the place of the valley it's located on
local wells water recharge by intermittent rainfall (it floods once in a decade), or from local water usage (waste water comes from fossile underground Albian reservoir that get used for domestic usage and the grey water infiltrate back and recharge the local traditional wells )
also another reason is that flooding is practiced to flush local soil from excess salts
@@zazugee Stacy G… commented that the Tamarisk tree removes salt from the soil.
because cities are unsustaible, people are much better with sporatic villages
Dear Andrew, thanks for your excellent presentation of mankind’s attempt at living where everything seems all too hard. Your projection of maximum potential service of 300 years is not long when you realise that settlement in this area has been present for 6,000 years as you mention. Your projections of water use are linear but population growth is exponential. The doubling rate is somewhere between every 20 ~ 50 years.
If it is 30 years then the current population of 90,000 will grow to 180,000 by 2050, 360,000 by 2080 and 720,000 by 2110.That gives the ancient aquifer at projected use may last only 100 years. What then? Clearly by encouraging the exponential population growth which is the vogue is unsustainable. We have got to get serious about ZPG if we hope to survive as a race on this world. If ZPG happened suddenly in this basin then the water table would last 500 years and then some. Cheers and thanks for the excellent presentation.
Great video! Also, natives to an area aren't "applying the basics of permaculture without knowing it" - western categorized and defined "permaculture" is based upon native lifestyles. And yep, that's a pretty important distinction. We already knew what we were doing and why those systems/acts/designs etc. were important millennia before settlers and "explorers" came along and declared that what we were doing was either right or wrong/good or bad based off their own limited perspectives.
The ancients and natives had great knowlege but throughout history there have been ecological catastrophies caused by things they simply could not have known and abandonment and migrations from exhausted land. It is good to take cues from them but also to apply new and rediscovered information.
This is absolutely fascinating. Thank you for offering us outside of Egypt a glimpse into this amazing area!
I am from Egypt n I am telling you the video is amazing!
Let me clarify why the majority of the people living in just small percentage of the land ..
First the Egyptians are very socially connected they love to live next to each other so the idea of the expansion for them is like being isolated from their family and friends
Second thing is since 1952 coup from the military over the royal family the country is full of corruption in every aspect so no priority of true development educational, environmental, economical
If A mega reforestation project was started decades ago while there was less population and much excess water could have changed the entire country weather drastically Making it more humid thus more rain fall and that could have encouraged people to expand
Thank you again for the video it's very informative..
I am looking for water management and desalination free scholarship I'm the states if any one knows any that would be appreciated thank you
This is the most spiritually enlightening channel I've ever come across. Hallelujah 🙌🏻
97% of the population lives in 3% of the land. The rest of the country is desert 🌵.
That’s a description of Australia mate.
Literally only 18% of Australia is desert......
@Weasel Can't Swim Jason is correct. 35% receives so little rainfall it is effectively desert, classified as arid or semi arid.
It's Arrakis also known as DUNE The Desert Planet.
There’s a huge underground lake deep below the outback , time to do controlled explosions to get at that absolutely huge water resource. NOW is the time to tap into this
@@johngamerschlag7001 It is already being used.
The Basin as a resource
Basin water emerges naturally through cracks in the rock, flowing into springs, shallow water tables, creeks and rivers. This creates a permanent water source even during dry periods. Most springs and leakages occur on the edges of the Basin where water is close to the surface.
The Basin generates nearly $13 billion per year and is a vital resource for 180,000 people, 7,600 businesses and 120 towns.
It has enabled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to occupy dry inland areas of Australia for more than 40,000 years, and for communities to maintain cultural, social and spiritual connections with the springs and their associated ecological communities and landscapes.
(Add'l edit) Agrivoltaics would be great in shading the ground slowing moisture loss while reducing immediate temps. These give shade for more tender, shade-loving plants, reducing watering needs overall.
The plants conversely cool the solar arrays. Win-win in this harsh environment.
You might want to figure out what kinds of seeds/grains those native pigeons are eating. I found my pigeons rid their area of *all* seeds save grass. That may be a problem: 1) Grasses are typically difficult to grow. 2) Natural diversity is diminished (much as with goats). 3) #2 includes animals and plants.
At first blush this looks great but tweaking around pigeons may improve it a lot.
Think the towers are ingenious and beautiful. Indigenous stuff really wows.
Windbreaks actually speed up winds around the break. They are more problem than cure. If you plant trees loosely with spaces in between the wind is significantly calmed. While the breezes are cooling, they also dessicate...
Whitewashing the surfaces would effectively reduce retained heat. It could reflect up to 90% of heat, preventing conduction to interiors. It would also make the surfaces more impervious to the rare rains, as it strengthens the surfaces. Great for protecting the architecture and history.
Very beautiful location.
That surface water boils off quickly. Have they tried buried perforated pipe similar to those used in leach fields as opposed to relying on emitters? The holes are significantly larger than emitters for drip irrigation. Trees and shrubs are obviously their best planting bets in a dry climate. They reduce possibilities of washout from pipes are reduced by extensively-rooted, long-lived plants. Humus allows soil activity to bind salt and render it harmless. Tree hay can be used on livestock other than goats. It is believed cattle in Great Britain relied heavily on trees.
There may be benefit to planting several (cover) crops together in the same fields. It counterintuitively retains more water than it uses according to some reports.
We have missed an opportunity while we continue to have a glut of used clothing.
Companies and charitable organizations are currently and rightly discouraged from sending worn garments to 2nd and 3rd world countries because it harms local/indigenous textile and clothing industries.
In dryland and especially hot arid places, dead plant materials dessicate rapidly under the hot sun leaving bare soil quickly.
These materials could be a stopgap.
Our duds could be repurposed as mulch, shade cloths and quick, temporary bunds. (I'm assuming they flood irrigate some fields). They would provide manageable solutions until permanent structures are built. Using bulk old clothes this way solves the issues with our current throwaway clothing culture while permanent water harvesting structures are built. This keeps and encourages local industries while repurposing a waste product.
Win-win.
One more thing: in this kind of climate using human waste solids to make biochar has promise. The moisture in the solids would evaporate quickly, which may be a problem for other surface-type waste treatment methods. It would be ready quickly compared to other treatments, adding resiliency faster. Biochar increases soil water retention when applied to soil, and is very stable. Ideal for this climate.
Most nutrients are in the urine so there's that positive, too. Not sure which is more likely to retain medicines, but biochar may help with that, too..
Studies bolster the 'symbiotic relationship' between the two as being particularly workable in hot arid climates where there is a possible net increase in food production...
Whatever you do, don't hire the Aussie military to hunt them. They've lost a war to birds once before.
@@neutronpixie6106
Just have fewer pigeon towers and get more critter diversity.
Commenting to save this info about permaculture and pigeons
@@chew7656
Hope you find it useful.
@@neutronpixie6106 or China...
Fantastic episode. I hope this works for them and more of the same emerges. Its about time for Egyptians to look into new-old ways! Thank you!
There needs to be be way more funding and research into ways we can terraform the deserts of the world.
We can be the researchers. One of the first rules of permaculture is to observe, then share. High tech will not save us, we need to save ourselves by being resourceful and clever and helping others to be clever, too.
Additionally, we can do some ourselves. Why wait? And remember to tell neighbors and friends.
Deserts are already earth like.
@@aaronm.3581
Really???
@@b_uppy Yes.
Mate we would love update on this project. This is no doubt a series worth following!!
Egyptian here! Good luck with whatever you are doing i hope for the best
Amazing and beautiful footage. The ancient architecture is tried and tested. Looking forward to updates on the work here.
I’m gonna be honest with you here, I’ve never watched anything like this and I’m pretty much addicted by the educational factor alone. This is cool.
This was great to watch. I have been looking up the Fayuum and Bahr Yussef, it is truly a huge accomplishment of ancient engineering, Imhotep brought the Nile to Saqqara. PS. The Tamarisk tree will take the salt out of the ground naturally restoring balance.
Do you have links you can share? Do you know if there are any updates to this video? And I totally agree that it is great to watch and learn about.
What a wonderful video, I would love to see more on this project! I might try to take bits and pieces from the old techniques even though I'm i na completely different context.
I might build a swallow tower since those are plentiful here.
I was thinking of swallows earlier because of 'guano'. I haven't seen swallows in years, let alone in my area. I am less than 15 miles away from where I last observed them, though the other location was savannah and farmland, too. Has me wondering.
@@b_uppy I have swallows trying to nest in my garage... Might as well make them a safe spot that doesn't bother me.
@@Tsuchimursu
My thoughts if we had them here...
You could sell the nests after they're done with it I suppose. Those go into soup.
God blessed you sir watching right now here in egypt
I'm excited to see the development of your project. Thank you for sharing this important mission
Absolutely amazing video. Not only do i love the content but I really love how you put it together.
This truly amazed me. The city, agriculture, and pigeon towers were fascinating!
Thanks for your efforts to educate others.Great documentry. Best wishes from Sri Lanka
There are so many possibilities for reclaiming iron as well as trace elements from this ancient water. I'm sure in the centuries to come there will be some incredible things done. Wonderful documentary.
This is such a complex process. It's beautiful to see what humans can accomplish by working with nature.
Andrew Millison you have done a great job as usual manner. This is a great privilege that I come to know about you. Thank you for sharing the video.
Your filmmaking skills keep going up and up, from a filmmakers point of view I feel this is one of the best you've done. Also incredibly original and important research. Yet, what were the original ways of producing food that have kept people living in those oasis? Cause you and I know that three hundred years go by quickly, and those cash crops are gonna kill it fast. Therefore making the land unlivable in the future.
Thanks Emiliano. I've been really working on it, and got some new gear. And this time I had help with the editing by the university's production company who did the final edit and the animations. As far as original crops grown there, I think it's always been a pretty high water-use situation, using flood irrigation on thirsty crops. There just has never been the idea of water scarcity there until more recent times. I mean dates are the main crop there and they are thirsty trees. So switching crop types will be one stage in the long arc to reducing the depletion. But the Nile is all-in on cotton, and with the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam now filling up and the Nile supply diminished, then people may be starting to think seriously already about growing less thirsty crops.
@@amillison are there also ancient wells (hand-dug?) or where there other water sources in the past?
@@nicolagiuliani3212 I did not see hand dug wells, but they must have been there when the oasis water was at the surface everywhere. The water table at this point has dropped far below where hand dug wells can reach.
@@amillison There are actually wells dug by hand more than two thousand years ago and are working to this day wells since the days of the pharaohs and other wells called Roman wells. There is the Farafra Oasis, which is a very rich oasis, the percentage of iron in it is low, and its water is very irrigated, three hundred parts per million more fresh than the water of the Nile. The medical center has sulfur eyes, salt pans, and a natural eye, Cleopatra’s Bath. Welcome to Egypt. There is also the Kharga Oasis.
@@abomoaaz7245 Thank you and I hope to visit Farafra Oasis some day and see more of the beauty of Egypt.
Fascinating! I look forward to learning more about this region and what can be done to help it become a sustainable place for agriculture.
Them not overpopulating it. It has grown 10 fold in 100 years.
What are your thoughts on the ways they could increase resiliency?
Thank you for this excellent and fascinating video! Beautifully visual intro to Permaculture. Fascinating to see it done in a desert, who knew there was such a large ancient reservoir of water under the Sahara. I'm happy to discover you and I'm looking forward to more. 😁❤️
Fascinating!
Thank you for this great video.
BTW permaculture isnt something new. Its the oldest farming system. So dont be surprised to see it being practiced in the oldest agricultural societies on Earth.
amazing confluence of traditional technique, modern practices, and a stunning and unique technological ethnography. really excellent video, I learned so much!
I seriously love your videos. Amazing. Please keep it up. We love trying things we learn from you on our farm.
Recycle sewage as much as possible. Filter the sewer water and purify with water plants. Purify the sewer water further with passive solar water distilling.
There must be some way to farm Moringa, Duckweed, tilapia, and rabbits.
Probably best to keep building with adobe.
Underground shelters and storage
Cash cropping and grazing animals can excel depletion.
Thank you for sharing helpful videos!
Plant trees and the rain will come.
Regreen Deserts 🌏💚
It's important that they be appropriate trees at first and, and with proper diversity.
Looking forward to see your project take shape
i love the content and the advocacy, i hope that perma culture will be successful and be supported so that the planet can be saved.
Great job documenting! looking forward to seeing how this project unfolds. Do you think with wide spread polycultural orchards that we could actually see a shift in rainfall patterns? Were the last measurable rains 13 years ago come as monsoons?
Sean, they were light rains, and just 3 steady days of light rain that started to melt people's roofs! Neal Spackman suggested that flooding the Qattara Depression with seawater and creating a Mangrove forest there could bring rains inland to the Western Desert. Look it up! And good to hear from you, Sean. Hope all's well with you bro.
@@amillison
If they whitewashed the roofs it would help strengthen them...
Do a docu-pod on that meal cooked under ground. It sounds fascinating.
I feel like I can really learn about permaculture in your channel. Thanks!
Andrew this is wonderful! I always love your videos. Thank you for your healing work.
Dang I was honored to watch and learn , heck far thanks 😊
This is how you dad Bill Millison may allah bless his soul collected tge human heritage in permacultre "travelling, coriousity"
I hope this is a series. This video was very very interesting
Absolutely amazing and inspiring! There are so many things that come to mind, like If there is so much wind, why not use it to produce electric energy, or can the iron that is so highly concentrated in the water be harvested as a ressource, orhow can the fact that the wateris coming hot out of the ground be used in a meaningful way, etc?Annd once again we can see how incredibly ingenious the traditional techniques are.
Greetings to Egypt from Switzerland, You people do an amazing job and I bet the food that is produced in this oasis is absolutely top notch!
Amazing video Andrew! I’ve been throughly enjoying all of your episodes! For this project, has the thought of using Solar Stills come up? I learned as a kid that if you dig a hole, put a clear tarp over it with a water collector in the center, it will slowly fill up with evaporating condensation. Could you take this concept to a larger scale and have something like subterranean bio domes to grow plants and trees in?
This has been suggested in other comments as well. There are larger scale structures to harvest dew and fog that use similar principles.
Wonderful video great to see the interesting ways people live in extreme environments. Incredible how ingenious ancient people were that they were able to effectively cool their buildings so significantly using nothing but clever architecture and design, it makes me imagine a modern city built using such methods, it could greatly reduce the power consumption of settlements during summer months
Whilst this video is interesting for viewers who know little about arid parts of the world like Egypt, this video was a like a history lesson and little in a way of designer illustrating potential plans/designs on how to build the eco-village. Ultimately, that is what the viewer wanted to see; clever and thoughtful design.
Fantastic documentary about human environment relationship in desert region !
Dude this is extremely interesting! Will you keep the series up?
That was a fascinating and inspiring with so many great examples and ideas, a magnet to extract iron, how elegantly simple. Some wonderful camera work too, I really enjoyed seeing the buildings and landscape like that, I got quite a feel for the place.
I'm glad to hear that you found the video fascinating and inspiring! The magnet idea is definitely a clever solution to a problem, and I'm happy that the camera work was able to convey the beauty of the buildings and landscape. Thank you Jim for taking the time to watch the video and share your thoughts! :)
Fascinating, superb informative documentary.
I live in Devon, England where I take a green landscape and plenty of rain for granted but I'd like to visit Egypt and see for myself the marvellous country hopefully away from the standard tourist destination.
Subscribed😎
Great use of modern and traditional technology to limit waste. This way of thinking may be the way to save the environment from pollution. Now we have to get the rest of the world onboard. Keep it up permaculture guy
This is si interesting! So inspiring as well, look forward to more like this.💚🌿
Who are you bro? I'm obsessed in what you're doing. Binge watching all your videos. Much love and respect!!!
Awesome man, love to see permaculture more and more widespread!
You are living the dream my friend and changing the world. Full speed ahead. Show us the way
So interesting. Look forward to future postings on this project. I hope you come up with an amazing design that will actually get built.
Very well done. Thank you for creating this video
Looks like the locals where doing pretty good with their practices that already mimic Permaculture , I'm curious as to what you'll be actually implementing to make things even better in Egypt.
I mentioned at the end that a couple examples of practices that could be introduced are biological wastewater treatment systems, as well as alley-cropping agroforestry systems. Both would be huge in recycling water and preventing loss through better wind protection.
@@amillison Will there be a part 2 please?
@@marcusgaius35 When the clients pay me to come back :-)
@@amillison Thank you for your reply. I do not quite get it. You show us your orientation and exploration. You did not show us your clients site and you did not transfer your findings and plan to your client. Did I miss something? What that not the goal?
@@marcusgaius35 My clients do not want the specific information about their project to be public, so I could not include details about the site or the people. The video is more about the general regional analysis and the thought process that goes into doing a design under these conditions.
Great video ! I wish we have more of this kind pertaining to agricultural technologies both ancient and modern that could significantly improve human living condition. Kindness,respect, understanding & cooperation must transcend religious & political differences.
By far the most amazing permaculture video I've watched. So interesting. I was glued to my screen. Very well done. Thank you.
amazing works, couldn't wait for the update!
Hello Andrew,
this is the first of your videos i´ve watched and i was stunned by your knowledge and the prospect of permaculture farming in the desert. I´d be really excited to see more of this. I would like to ask where you learned all of these things and if there are university courses that teach things like this or how you can get into this field, as i´ve been interested in designing landscapes and agricultural systems for a long time. I´m only 20 years old and this seems like something i would like to contribute to the world, transforming landscapes and creating sustainable ways to live and produce food in sync with nature. How could someone best learn in this field?
I teach online permaculture design courses. See the video description for links 😉
Building a renewable home. In a area that has limited rainfall but some times can have a heavy rain fall. The home is an original mud and stone home where the majority will be preserved but will have modern upgrades. I plan to use a rain water catch system and recycling. Solar power. And traditional chimeny heating. I just came across your channel in hopes to understand how to do this in a desirable and aesthetic manor. I struggled to grasp the concept,but your videos make so much sense. I will be including in my children's homeschooling. Thank you thank you thank you.
Came across your channel, love the content.
This is highly informative , hope there is more in this region
🌺🇦🇺
Loving your videos! High production value and dense with information. Great work!
Great video - thanks! I was thinking that a soaking-type irrigation, like would be achieved with weekly watering with a hose/watering can, could be better than drip irrigating since the constant low flow of drip wouldn't encourage roots to dig deep, but then I was thinking that there's probably not a ton of use for the roots to dig deep since they wouldn't reach water in the ground and probably aren't receiving a ton of fertility deeper down. That got me thinking that the shallow(ish) roots watered by constant low flow and (I assume) supplementally fertilized sounds a lot long hydro/aquaponics, except that hydro/aquaponics should be a good deal more water efficient. I wonder if large-scale aquaponics would be worthwhile at your site - I've seen it done in arid climates elsewhere, and there's the increased cost and plastic issue to deal with (depending on your system), but it could be something to consider
Deep roots are important for retaining soil from wind (big problem), the rare flooding, and gathering every bit of water. Their roots themselves can create sorts of bunds that slow the rare surface water down, too.
One of the things that seem to be missing are 'zai pits'. Those depressions around trees assure water is retained *exactly* where they want it.
One of my thoughts was burying leach field-type piping. It is less likely to clog while buried. They'd work best placed near trees, shrubs and any other plants resistant to washout.
They have clay somewhere. It would have been impossible to make those buildings from sand alone. Clay may retain some organic matter, I think...
Drip irrigation is not constant.
Amazing perspective on building in desert biomes. Ancient peoples knew so many methods for building.
Some scientists feature the Sahara desert as one of the places in the globe that may benefit from climate change. They predict that the Sahara will have wind patterns changed and eventually will accumulate more moisture resulting in increased rainfall. This is actually a pattern observed in Egypt with water lines in the middle of the desert, showing that there were rivers and lakes there, many years ago. It may be from weather patterns that were changed either as a result of a short ice age or from the Milankovitch cycles.
Yes. The clients are confident that the climate will move towards more rain. I take a "I'll believe it when I see it" approach.
Yes I once saw a video about that too; once the temperature of the soil is hot enough it'll change the wind direction from the ocean towards the land instead of from the land to the ocean as is currently the case. It used to be rainforest in the past apparantly 🤷
😊thanks for showing real videos, it allows us to see the original instead of animated videos or copied videos which distort the true story
I could watch dozens of these!
On the issue of the dwindling aquafers, i feel there needs to be a more permanent solution on not using the aquafers to irrigate more land, rather, use the aquafers to produce more water. Here's how, come up with a massive tree planting irrigation scheme using water from the aquafers, which will in turn lower the temperatures in the desert hence preserving more water from evaporation and also in turn, increase preciptation levels in the desert. This will reduce pressure on dependece on the aquafers and present a long term solution to the water problem in the desert. The answer is more trees fisrt, not more agriculture.
Please keep 🙏 up alot of these episodes
I feel like permaculture is just a fancy word for city people to what we've been doing for ages in the countryside and rural areas lol
I live in Kenya and here is the opposite along the coast… people use tar and concrete to eliminate nature because they scared of the animals that it’ll attrackt. Now the small coast towns and citys are dusty, dry and hot. If i buy land here i will leave my garden like a permaculture with coconut trees, dates, banana, cilli and other smaller vegitation. It keeps the surrounding cool and the air clean as well as providing a variaty of food supplys.
If you plant spiky plants densely and let them grow you can keep many creatures at bay. Research older practices and see what you can borrow that is practical and cheap.
That pigeon tower is amazing
This is outstanding. You inspire me. 🤩
Wow thank you, your team and production so much for all these gathered informations… I pray human beings learn again how to live on Mother Earth. Thank you and others who are active and recreate the paradise❤😊
Yes and the way won‘t be easy but it can get easier
Brilliant and informative video, thanks.
How Malthusian...
Nice potpourri of agricultural and engineering ideas, thanks for this.