Sustainable Way of Living – Homeschooling the Youth

Mainstream education has caused difficulties for the youth of northern Thailand in reaching their dreams. In most cases, they are forced to take exorbitant student loans which brings their families in poorer conditions.

This video proposes an alternative to mainstream education by home schooling the youth and teaching them the sustainable way of living. They are taught to live in a sufficiency economy model, consuming what they only need and driving themselves away from greed.

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A ‘green revolution’ that may save Filipino coconut farmers

In agroforestry, farmers plant more than one type of crop and in different heights – a concept called multi-storey cropping. Like in the Marjes’ farm, you’ll find coconut trees or tall fruit trees watching over everything.
In lower levels are shorter fruit trees, coffee or cacao trees, and herbal plants. On the ground are pineapples, tuber and root crops like cassava, potato, and peanut.

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Water harvesting: nourishing the land, body and mind

Bouwas Mawara and his wife Nyengeterai, small scale farmers in the semi-arid Zvishavane district of Zimbabwe, are renowned for their innovation in water harvesting for crop and animal production, and for setting up local structures and systems to spread innovations amongst fellow farmers. Today at least 160 farming families in their community are more resilient in the face of droughts, dry spells and the long dry season.

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A technology to drastically save irrigation water

At the Centre for Environment Concerns, an NGO based in Hyderabad, India, the challenge was clear: develop an inclusive irrigation technology suitable for low rainfall areas. Alongside farmers and female farm labourers, they developed a system that provides assured moisture directly to the plant root zone. Initial trials show two unique benefits: it requires about one fifth of the water needed for drip irrigation and it supports a healthy soil ecosystem. Key to the effectiveness of this technology appears to be the gradual wetting of the soil rather than abrupt provision of water in ‘concentrated’ loads.

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The páramo, where water is born

San Isidro is an indigenous community in Ecuador’s central Andes that collectively built and manages an irrigation pipeline. The pipeline has brought life back to family farming and created more space for the community to protect the páramo, a source of water and life for farming communities and urban residents alike. This story proves the strength of longstanding models of community organisation allied with the national indigenous movement.

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Struggle and success in an inter-regional water conflict in the Peruvian Andes

Large hydraulic projects that aim to capture and control water flows are increasingly entering territories of local Andean communities. This is a story of pastoralists in the region of Huancavelica, Peru, who stepped up in defence of their local wetlands, pastures and water sources. After more than a decade of protest, alliance building and negotiation they have established themselves as the crucial actor in inter-regional water governance.

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A watershed evolving

Intense watershed management and water harvesting in the state of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, have transformed the area beyond recognition and increased food security and enhanced resilience to floods and droughts. A new way of thinking about watershed management and the efforts of local farmers have contributed to the success of a number of initiatives.

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From slash and burn to ‘slash and mulch’

In semi-arid cropping regions of West Africa, fallow periods are getting shorter. As land becomes more scarce, farmers are not able to give their soils enough time to rest. This is leading to depletion of soil organic matter, severely threatening soil fertility and damaging soil structure. In the worst cases, crops hardly yield anything anymore. But this is not an option for family farmers. In Burkina Faso, some have found ways to restore their soils that have been dubbed ‘slash and mulch’. The improvement and spread of these techniques also proves the importance of partnerships between farmers and researchers in developing locally suited practices.

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From farmer-pastoralist conflicts to profitable alliances

The area around Wum in the Northwest Province of Cameroon is notorious as a conflict hotspot. As pressure increases on available land, conflicts occur more frequently between sedentary family farmers and pastoral communities. Farmer-pastoralist alliances are helping to resolve the conflicts by transforming the relationships between these families.

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Seasonal Rice Production Facilities for Income Generation and Fight Against Food Insecurity in Tillaberi region

Started in 2013 to 2013 by ONGAGDL FAHAMEY IRI BONSE AND COMMUNITY in Twenty (20) villages vulnerable in the center – north of the Region of Tillaberi where The agricultural production system in the target area is based on rainfed agriculture based on the cultivation of millet, sorghum, cowpeas and groundnuts on depleted soils.

In addition, rainfall is low and poorly distributed and there is a gradual decline in productivity (300kg per hectare of millet) and a continuing degradation of existing agroforestry areas are an important source of income and food for people; and a disappearance of the soil itself as a natural resource. Population pressure (human and animal) complicates the scenario, and there is a difficult food situation. A situation made even more precarious by the alternation of good and bad crop years due to drought unpredictable. The people in the area consider rice as a ceremonial meal that is consumed during festivals, weddings and baptisms which often forced the heads of households to sell millet is consumed 12 out of 12 months at a low price to pay for the rice very expensive day parties. Improving the precarious food situation and the fight against land degradation require a diversification of agricultural production systems. The introduction of rice cultivation ponds is on the one hand more adapted to the environment, and other high-performance and high economic potential in production systems represent a promising way to food security; generation of income and environmental protection

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