[Terrapreta] work involving terra preta and EM fertilizer in the Ecuadorian Amazon

[David Hirst .com]

John,

If you do get such yields, and they persist, you may have discovered a
method of placing atmospheric CO2 into the soil safely, as well as
substantially enhancing fertility. My understanding of the state of play
from my first experiences of this list, and other research, is that this is
new, or rediscovered knowledge, and many of those trying to do it are not
succeeding quite so well.

I fear you would then be exposed to a risk of a form of "biopiracy", by
which somebody in the USA files a patent on your method. (The USA seems to
have weaker protections for knowledge discovered outside the USA than most
patent offices and a Mexican Yellow Bean seems to be a classic example of
this sort of activity).

You can protect yourself (and others) from this risk by publishing all that
you know in the open literature. There is "The Disclosure Project" which is
designed for such purposes. Unfortunately, it is not free.

Alternatively, you can file for a patent yourself in your own country. This
offers the possibility that you (or a foundation) can profit from the new
knowledge and this might enable you to gain support from corporations in
speeding up adoption of the ideas. But it is a very capitalist move!

Regards

David

 

David Hirst

From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of John Nivison
Sent: 26 February 2008 21:54
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
Subject: [Terrapreta] work involving terra preta and EM fertilizer in the
Ecuadorian Amazon

 

our work at the Yachana technical college on the Rio Napo, in the Ecuadorian
Amazon, has involved the use of small agro-forestry style fields
incorporating charcoal and effective microorganism fertilizer. We are
expecting our first rice yield, ready in about 1 month, to produce a yield
at least three times the average yield for the area, and we will then
demonstate a continous cultivation of a hectare using crop rotation where
each mini-field can get three harvests per year. This will then be
demonstrated to farmers in the area and we aim to get our students to work
with farmers to incorporate these techniques on their farms.

I would be very interested in any views from people, and would like to
officially add our project to your website.

many thanks

Rob Nivison

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