[Terrapreta] Beware The False Prophets of Terra Preta

[dyarrow at nycap.rr.com]

a few decades ago (yes, i am that old), i learned something from 
ethnobotany that got my attention, which i could confirm from my 
observations when living in the rural philippines as a young boy (my 
father was an advisor under UN FAO -- in forestry, not agriculture).

it was termed "garbage heap gardening," and recounted how indigenous 
people had places (usually more than one) in their backyards where 
they dumped their garbage -- everything -- kitchen scraps, broken 
pottery and baskets, ashes, charcoal, clothing, bedpans (if they had 
them at all).  these garbage heaps would spontaneously sprout a 
variety of plants, most of them food plants, especially squashes, 
melons, kamote, yams....  and these crops grew very well in the 
enriched yuck of these heaps.  the result was an abundance of these 
foods with almost no work except a bit of occasional weeding and 
harvest.

i experienced the same kind of food-without-effort phenomena in the 
temperate climate of NY with squashes, watermelon, tomatoes, potatoes, 
amaranth, and other crops.  quite by accident, i even developed a 
sheet composting system that turned infertile sand into thick, lush 
gardens:
www.championtrees.org/topsoil/topsoil.htm

unfortunately, the year after this discovery, i was electrocuted by 
6000 volts and broke my back.  it would be almost a decade before i 
could garden again.  but i can confirm that this garbage heap system 
works amazingly well.

consistently, indigenous people were and are astute observers of 
nature.  they undoubtedly discovered what i discovered: how to make 
rich, fertile topsoil from garbage, with very little effort.  perhaps 
in the amazon, the indigenous people went beyond garbage heap 
gardening and expanded this technique to convert large acres of land 
into productive fields of food.  not perhaps -- you can bet on it.

i could go on, but i'll stop for now.

David Yarrow
"If yer not forest, yer against us."
Turtle EyeLand Sanctuary
44 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush, NY 12061
518-330-2587
dyarrow at nycap.rr.com
www.championtrees.org
www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
www.citizenre.com/dyarrow/
www.SeaAgri.com
 
"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, 
if one only remembers to turn on the light."  
-Albus Dumbledore

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Sean K. Barry 
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org ; Shengar at aol.com 
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 3:21 AM
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Beware The False Prophets of Terra Perta

I think they made "Terra Preta", because one day they found some 
burned down area that grew food crops much better then anywhere else 
in the leached out Amazon River basin.  They, smart bunch that they 
were, wanted to replicate Nature.  My guess it that was a good idea 
then and about as technologically advanced as one could be.  They 
recognized that they were part of the natural world and that nature 
was far more successful at the running the world then they were, so 
she could help, if they only observed and learned.  Many of the doers 
in 21st century humanity could stuff the arrogance and do with a 
little of that humility towards Nature.