Humanure composting being used in places where it's most needed. Quick video. Although the buildings are wayy!! over-built, at least the people are using it and empowering themselves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/opinion/...stof.html?th&emc=th

For those without video, the article mentions a bit, it tells the story of a couple women helping communities build composting toilets where people used to go in the streets or down by the river/streams. One of my favorite books is by Joe Jenkins: Humanure Handbook, free online or in paperback; very funny and packed with information. Has capability to end sewage getting in contact with drinking water forever, and much more benefits.

a,

I have read about using sand to clean water and it looked to me to be very viable. I was researching ways to clean up 'gray water' and the water from roof collection to use in the garden and possibly get the water to the point of drinking. Cleaner than municiple water *for sure*!!! I know someone north of me who tested his rain colletion water against the city and the stuff off the roof was cleaner for drinking!!

Been doing some more reading and thinking about terra preta, will post it here when I finish.

Thanks, I didn't know about 814 and 759 yet; oh jeesh.

****

Regarding seeing this article:
"Baghdad's water still undrinkable 6 years after invasion"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090318/wl_mcclatchy/3191674
I was thinking how obvious to me, and should be to everyone else worldwide at what is going on, considering I've been cleaning my water to drink for over a year and a half with just sand.
Yes, just sand (available to basically everybody all over the world).



-biosand filter

a,

Good for you I hadn't thought to post this here good idea!

This was the meat of the message that I received ...

"The bills (Stop HR 875, HR 814, SR 425, and soon, HR 759 ) would require such a burdensome complexity of rules, inspections, licensing, fees, and penalties for each farmer who wishes to sell locally - a fruit stand, at a farmers market - no one could manage it. And THAT is the point. The whole dirty tricks point. The whole "be in tight control of everything needed for survival because it'll be worth a fortune" at some point."

I then went here to verify ...

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/legislation.xpd

Also let my local Co-op know too as they have their own farm and also support all the local small (and larger) growers here too.

Carla

Hi KandD, just looking over your revised edition, and happy to read it looks like you guys are just using your humanure compost for fertilizer. I love to see people flexing their personal power and doing things totally outside the status quo.

Have y'all heard that the Ob. administration is trying to pass HR 875 S.425 that apparently will criminalize organic farming? I didn't find a good comprehensive link to the following so I copied and pasted the following quoted material from an email:

Before the quote I wanted to share that A.Jones just released his movie The Obama Deception so people can look for it to consider what it presents and for awareness. The online version is here
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7535755025025800195

 "2. HR 875 food Safety Modernization Act of 2009

To establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes.

This bill is sitting in committee and I am not sure when it is going to hit the floor. One thing I do know is that very few of the Representatives have read it. As usual they will vote on this based on what someone else is saying. Urge your members to read the legislation and ask for opposition to this devastating legislation. Devastating for everyday folks but great for factory farming ops like Monsanto, ADM, Sodexo and Tyson to name a few.

I have no doubt that this legislation was heavily influenced by lobbyists from huge food producers. This legislation is so broad based that technically someone with a little backyard garden could get fined and have their property seized. It will effect anyone who produces food even if they do not sell but only consume it. It will literally put all independent farmers and food producers out of business due to the huge amounts of money it will take to conform to factory farming methods. If people choose to farm without the industry standards-chemical pesticides and fertilizers - they will be subject to a variety of harassment from this completely new agency that has never before existed. That's right, a whole new government agency is being created just to police food, for our own protection of course.

 DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, READ THIS LEGISLATION FOR YOURSELF. The more people who read this legislation the more insight we are going to get and be able to share. Post your observations and insights below. Urge your members to read this legislation and to oppose the passage of this legislation.

Pay special attention to

Section 3 which is the definitions portion of the bill-read in it's entirety.
section 103, 206 and 207- read in it's entirety.
Red flags I found and I am sure there are more...........

Legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept.
Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn't actually use the word organic.
Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it.
Effects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game.
Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics which is bizarre considering how long the legislation is.
Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they are going to side with?
Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities. The wording is so broad based that a backyard gardener could be fined and more.
Section 207 requires that the state's agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment.
There are many more but by the time I got this far in the legislation I was so alarmed that I wanted to bring someone's attention to it. (to the one person who reads my blog)
Didn't Stalin nationalize farming methods that enabled his administration to gain control over the food supply? Didn't Stalin use the food to control the people?

Last word...... Legislate religion and enforce gag orders on ministers on what can and can't be said in the pulpit, instituting regulations forcing people to rely soley on the government, control the money and the food. What is that called? It is on the tip of my tongue..........

I haven't read any of the Senate's version of the bill as I have been pouring ove the House's version. Here is the link and I hope some of you can take a look and post your observations and insights below. One thing I am pretty sure of is that very few if any Senator's have actually read the legislation and when it comes up for a vote they will more than likely take someone else's word on how they should vote. The other thing I am pretty sure about is that the legislation was probably written by lobbyists and industry experts.

3. Link to HR 875 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-875


4. You Tube video on HR 875 "

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epXNJNjYBvw

Hi folks, just wanted to let you know that we have posted a revised edition of our free on-line book, The Subtle Way, on our EarthStar website
http://earthstar.newlibertyvillage.com/SWAIPdf.pdf

Basically, it was about many health issues are a result of a lack of beneficial probiotics in our bodies. I'm intending to look into it more so I can find out other than fermented food, beverages, and stuff like yogurt, if there are other ways to encourage and inoculate oneself with beneficials.

I was surprised to see that some are promoting a drink made from cow urine. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_.../article5707554.ece

Related to your digitized medical record database mention, along same lines are a couple other recent points: Good news and bad news. Bad news first (but people can take action)

The USDA has proposed a rule to require all farms where animals are raised to be registered in a federal database under the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) for existing disease control programs. The draft rule covers programs for cattle, sheep, goats, and swine. It also sets the stage for the entire NAIS program to be mandated for everyone, including anyone who owns even one livestock animal, for example, a single chicken or a horse. USDA: Docket No. APHIS-2007-0096


And, good news:

Ron Paul Introduces Bill to End Interstate Raw Milk Ban
http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-01feb2009.htm

Edited by author 02-13-2009 03:43 PM
I really enjoy Weston Price's work and love the Nourishing Traditions cookbook by Sally Fallon (with Mary Enig) based around his ideas (imo one of the best cook books out there).

Have not heard of Dr.McBride but will do some investigation next week as this weekend is the "Blacksmith Conference" so it will need to wait a few days.

As a side note for those of you not following what is going on in the latest mess in d.c. one of the items that was, not sure still is as *no one* has even read the stimulus bill that they voted on today, is the creation of a new office/department that will be a "clearing house of all the digitized medical records of everyone in the u.s." I will be looking to see if this makes it into the final mess. A really good reason to know how to keep your self out of the loop. As of my last look I saw even your vist to the Accupuncturist will be there.

'a'

If there were any gems that you found on the video please share. I am a firm believer that "we are what we eat".

Edited by author 02-10-2009 08:54 PM
Ahh, the secret missing ingredient: (and it so far stays secret because it doesn't make anyone money, but we can all have it if aware :)

Carla wrote:
"I don't think that they will find what they are looking for though because I don't think that they want to look at what I think may be the missing ingredient ... humanure! "

*****************

I was thinking of you Carla when I went to a Weston Price potluck last night and they showed a video of a presentation by Dr. Cambell-McBride about the topic of her book: The Gut and Psychology Syndrome, in relation to your mention of probiotics. I wish that video was on Google vid. or YouTube, although there are a couple shorter ones featuring her. And, it regards the possible cure for 'autism', 'add/adhd', 'dyspraxia/dyslexia', and other learning 'disorders' that some find are occurring more and more, especially in children. I really like that she stresses that it be done, and most effective by food, not pill/powder supplements, medicine, drugs, etc. From hearing what others have said about successes, and from seeing a few reviews, it sounds like it addresses whole health, in other words many more things than the book states it does on the cover. Curious to hear if anyone else has any experience with her practice.

a

There is always that first link 'www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com/terra_preta'.
What I have seen so far is that the knowlege of Terra Preta has been around for a while and it was in the 90's that 'they' discovered that the main property (that surprised the scientists for some reason) was charcoal. That said they have not been able to duplicate the bacteria/fungus content or even identify the little critters.
My take on this is that they are trying to come up with something commercial, at least that was the unspoken message that I found here and there while I was searching.

I don't think that they will find what they are looking for though because I don't think that they want to look at what I think may be the missing ingredient ... humanure! That and just the daily refuse of life that a pre colombian family/tribe would have had, lots of fish I think bassed on the canals and the man made fish holding pools/ponds that they made, and somehow that pottery. It is obviously there for a reason. So far I have found only two references to the use of urine and possibly the pots as a devise to gathers 'it' for disposal later. Still thinking on this but in any case it has been shown that only adding the charcoal to the soil was of great benefit to the overall soil quality and did increase yield although not the amounts seen with terra p.

Would like to hear from Kevin and Donna on their experience with the humanure and if they are using it in the garden etc...

For simplicity, I liked the motherearthnews concept, and actually had come to think of that method as being easier. However, I may do the pile of debris out side of the garden bed so as not to fry all the good nutrients, worms, organisms in the bed. But if I have a big pile of debris, by doing an initial fire out of it, it would burn off all the little twigs, small branches (that are taking up a lot of space ) so that the pile could be raked into a tighter pile, then covered with some straw/pine needles/leaves then quickly covered with a bit of dirt to make charcoal of the rest.

Edited by author 02-02-2009 04:11 PM
one more time ...

www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com/terra_preta

hypography.com/forums/terra-preta/3451-terra-preta-parent-thread-started-all-3.html

myblog.michaelpbyron.com/2008/08/21/making-terra-preta-soil-ramonas-recipe-for-homemade-dirt.aspx

biochar.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/seacharintro

www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Make-Biochar-To-Improve-Your-Soil.aspx

www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/research/terra%20preta/terrapretamain.html

www.energybulletin.net/node/29250

home.alltel.net/bsundquist1/tpgw.html

a ... the critter comment in my last post was in refrence to the birds and your cover crops. When I read my message it came out different :)

This will be the third time that I have tried to post this message.

Them critters be smarter than us I think.

Thanks for the heads up on the Seeds of Change buy out.

And I have a boat load of web sites with Terra P info that I finally had time to search for although I haven't read through it all yet, I print out and get out the highlighter and pen when I am in the research mode, but I will post them in another message and see if that is the problem.

Good questions. Another example I'm aware of is the 'Certified Organic' Co. Seeds of Change, which is owned by Mars Inc. , owners of Mars bars, Milky Way bars, Snickers bars, Skittles, 3 Musketeers, M&M's, Starburst, .... I was surprised at how many 'organic' companies have been bought out by major corporations. Good reason to save seeds.

And, a good reason to locally test the 'terra preta' idea locally, as in these strange times some ideas may be planted to veer people away from true independence and easy, natural health.

Semi-related example: I planted a couple different beds with cover crop. One I amended with rock phosphate, the other no rock phosphate. Pretty much 97 % of the sprouts of the cover crop planted in the r.phos. amended soil were eaten by the birds and other critters. However, barely any of the sprouts of the non-amended soil were touched by critters/birds.

That is one of the reasons that he has the corporation and we don't:).

The 'organisms', if memory serves, were obtaind by his dad from an 'unknown health guru' he was desperate enough to try anything, including dirt, and it worked or at least was the turning point in his downward spiral of degeneration/decay. This info was in the first book the Makers Diet and some marketing materials. As far as sprinkling on your garden ... would be very expensive turnip :)

What I am thinking (pondering etc)is this ... the analsys the scientists gave of the 'contents' so far of Terra P is very close to the description of HSO probiotic and knowing how anemic our soils are and the lack of nutrients left and contamination currently what if the soils are super enriched/super nutrient from the Terra P process/combination? Then ...

The plants yeild increases around 800% what wasn't included in that information was the nutrient content of the plant. Knowing that sprouts are super nutrient rich would growing in Terra P maintain a high level of nutrient value in the plant to maturity/food for consumption while maintaining a very happy garden plot with little maintenance?

I wonder if animals like this dirt? They usually have an instinct about this kind of thing that we seem to have lost.

The reason that my mind is headed along these thoughts is this ... for the past 16 years (at least) the gov/ptb have been trying to control alternative health and supplementation (and the alternative health aparatise is at times questionable too). Now that alternatives are taking a good size chunk from the pharma companies and economic times getting to be what they are they are more motivated. There are some signs of 'them' buying the supplement makers through layers of other companies to hide their tracks. An example would be Burt's Bees although quiet not exactly hidden. So I fugure that it will be necessary to figure out how to get the best nutrition that I possibly can from food and my medicine too (herbs et al).

Right now I am thinking about the Terra P from a indegenous peoples point of view, more practical. Where did the knowledge of this process come from or was it a natural outcome of their daily lives? The science says that they concentration of Terra P is highest around the settlements/habitations and falls off as you get a distance away, why I wonder? What part does the pottery play? Where the worms in the 'bad' soil or only in the Terra P and are they a necessary component? Is the organic material human, animal, vegitation and what percent?

Sorry I am rambling and not very well, didn't sleep well and I don't type or think well with out sleep.