Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.
In 1999, when he purchased his first treadle pump, Robert Mwanza, a farmer in Lusaka, Zambia, was struggling to make ends meet and without reliable access to water. As his country dealt with drought and economic weakness, Robert lacked the necessary resources to irrigate his farm and “couldn’t grow enough to eat, let alone sell.”
Access to water is a luxury that many rural households, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, do not have. Farmers must often travel long distances to collect water from streams or public wells, making it impossible to irrigate crops or have enough water for cooking and bathing.
IDE is making irrigation more efficient by combining technology specially designed to address the needs of small-scale farmers with on-the-ground support staff to provide training and education. This allows farmers to expand their farms, feed their families, and earn a profit from selling surplus crops.
After just two years of improved irrigation provided by a treadle pump, Robert Mwanza grew more than enough vegetables to feed his wife and eight children. He also earned enough money to purchase an additional pump, doubling the amount of land he could irrigate. He recruited his brother, Andrew Mwanza, to work the additional pump, and in three years, with the help of IDE field staff, Robert began to sell his produce to Agriflora, a company that exports high-quality vegetables to Europe. Now the two brothers are growing enough vegetables to afford a motorized petrol pump for $750, further reducing the labor required to increase production.
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Mokolodi Wildlife Reserve used to be known more for raising livestock than protecting wildlife. But after years of ranching degraded the land, the owner decided to devote the area to protecting elephants, giraffes, impala, kudu, crocodiles, hippos, ostrich, warthogs, and various other animals and birds. But the reserve hasn’t stopped raising food.
In addition to teaching students and the community about conserving and protecting wildlife and the environment, they’re also educating students about permaculture. By growing indigenous vegetables, recycling water for irrigation, and using organic fertilizers—including elephant dung—the Reserve’s Education Center is demonstrating how to grow nutritious food with very little water or chemical inputs. (See Malawi’s Real “Miracle” and Emphasizing Malawi’s Indigenous Vegetables as Crops.)
I met with Tuelo Lekgowe and his wife, Moho Sehtomo, who are managing the permaculture garden at Mokolodi. Tuelo explained that the organically grown spinach, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, green peppers, garlic, basil, parsley, coriander and other crops raised at the garden are used to feed the school groups who come regularly to learn about not only animals, but also sustainable agriculture. Tuelo and Moho use the garden as a classroom, teaching students about composting, intercropping, water harvesting, and organic agriculture practices. The garden also supplies food for the Education Center and Mokolodi’s restaurant, feeding the hundreds of students and tourists who visit the non-profit reserve each week.
The Mokolodi Reserve is another example of how agriculture and wildlife conservation can go hand-in hand.
Outdoor Industry Foundation (OIF) is a non-profit
foundation established by Outdoor Industry Association
to encourage active outdoor recreation.
OIF's charter is to increase participation in outdoor recreation
and to support healthier active lifestyles.
Key Findings
* Participation 17.8 million Americans ages 6 and older participated in - kayaking, canoeing, and rafting in 2008.
* 9.9 million Americans participated in canoeing in 2008.
* 7.8 million Americans participated in kayaking and 4.7 million in rafting.
* Paddling participants made 174 million outings in 2008, averaging 10 days per participant.
This week I've been in Israel, on a trade mission to cultivate water technology economic development in Michigan. As co-chair of the joint Michigan-Israeli working group on water technology, I know there's great opportunity to diversify our economy and create jobs -- while leveraging our most precious natural resource, the Great Lakes.
I want to be clear: I am not proposing to sell Michigan's water. Companies seeking to use our water should locate here in Michigan -- where they can have all the water they need. Instead, through our Green Jobs for Blue Waters initiative, I want to position Michigan as North America's center of excellence for water technology. Right now, water technologies are a $500 billion global market -- but by 2020, that market is expected to grow to nearly $1 trillion. That means great opportunity for Michigan's economy -- and that is why we intend on seizing the opportunity, much as we did to become the Nation's leader in advanced battery technology.
Michigan's unique position in the water technology field proves we are at the forefront of this technology. Michigan's location in the middle of the Great Lakes, which contain about 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water, has primed the state's successes in agriculture, tourism and the auto industry. We need to continue to protect water resources and use it wisely for economic development purposes that include retention of current businesses and the attraction of new ones.
We were the first state to sign an official agreement with Israel to develop water technologies for export in the United States. Due to its arid location, firms in Israel have a strong need to effectively and efficiently use their scarce water resources. Michigan is poised to help them do just that. With the Green Jobs for Blue Waters initiative, we can provide Israeli companies with the assistance they'll need to be successful in the U.S.. With our water resources and top-notch higher education system, we can provide the perfect environment for water technology research and development. And, with our hard-working advanced manufacturing base, we can improve products and bring them to market faster than ever.
I've had an opportunity to meet with a number of CEOs from water technology firms while in Israel, and spoke at the 5th Annual International Water Technologies & Environmental Control Exhibition in Tel Aviv yesterday. The meetings went well, and I'm excited for the work we will do in months to come to build Michigan's Blue Water Economy.
Together with Israel, I believe we can seize what is undoubtedly a historic moment. We can prove that protecting natural resources, promoting economic growth, and creating jobs of the future all go hand in hand -- and there's no better place to prove it than in Michigan.
Senate Bill # 2747 was introduced to the floor of the Senate on Monday, 09 November 2009
Legislation to permanently provide $900 million to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF),
the federal government's main program to protect land and provide outdoor recreation opportunities.
is supported by a broad coalition of conservation and recreation organizations.
The program also includes grants to support state and local parks.
Those grants help develop park facilities and recreational amenities - creating jobs and
supporting the quality-of-life factors that allow communities to attract employers and a strong work force.
Because only a fraction of the funds dedicated to the purpose have actually been spent,
there is a backlog of more than $30 billion worth of lands that federal agencies would like to protect.
In addition, states say they have a huge unmet need for local parks and recreation resources
-- totaling more than $27 billion in eligible projects.
Federal and state public lands as well local parks and recreation facilities greatly enhance communities' quality of life,
which in turn helps large and small localities to attract new residents and businesses and to generate tourism-related jobs and revenues.
Outdoor recreation including hunting, fishing, camping, climbing, hiking, paddling, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, wildlife viewing,
and other activities contributes a total of $730 billion annually to the economy, supporting 6.5 million jobs (1 of every 20 jobs in the U.S.)
and stimulates 8 percent of all consumer spending according to the Outdoor Industry Foundation.
Many studies show that this type of commitment to our nation's recreation infrastructure would easily pay for itself
in the resulting reduction in health care costs and the increase in the mental well-being of our children,"
said Frank Hugelmeyer, president of Outdoor Industry Association.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition is an informal partnership of national, state and local conservation
and recreation organizations working together to support full and dedicated funding for LWCF.
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The Huron River needs your immediate help. The Ann Arbor city council will be considering a sudden, unannounced dam-in resolution TOMORROW, Monday, October 19. This is a blatant effort to jam "dam-in" through council. The resolution, sponsored by council members Marcia Higgins, Stephen Rapundalo, and Sandi Smith, was just added to the council agenda. Resolution DC-4 pertains to Argo Dam and resolves to "maintain the Argo Dam and Argo Pond and directs the City Administrator to develop specific strategies to mitigate any infrastructure deficiencies with the headrace embankment to satisfy the MDEQ's requirements, and to take actions in support of this declared intent, including identifying a timetable and necessary funding sources to support the work."
At least three council members are irate that the resolution was placed on the agenda last minute, that council members weren't consulted, that the Mayor will be absent at the meeting, that council member Marcia Higgins, who sponsored the resolution, will be chairing the meeting, and by the politicized timing of resolution-- right before the election--where Marcia Higgins is being challenged by a dam-in candidate.
Despite all the noise on this issue, council has still failed to undertake a normal public process:
City Council has never held a public hearing on this issue. It canceled the hearing it had scheduled in July when the city asked the DEQ for an extension on the dam's toe drain repair.
City Council has never received a presentation on this issue from its own experts on city staff, nor had time to ask questions about and challenge evidence from either side.
Council has failed to address even the non-controversial elements of the HRIMP report, the two year study that brought the Argo question to the fore.
Council has failed to consider how the City will pay for Argo's upkeep when those costs are moved to the Parks Department budget.
Bottom line: A few members of city council are again failing to undertake a responsible public process to understand the complex issues of Argo Dam, and to force a politically expedient--for them--resolution on the citizens, completely bypassing questions of the environment and budget. Whatever your opinion about Argo Dam, this kind of political bullying needs to be stopped.
The resolution needs 6 votes to pass. It will be VERY close.
HOW PADDLERS AND FRIENDS OF THE HURON RIVER CAN HELP:
E-mail the entire city council about this resolution ASAP.
Copy these addresses into your address bar:
JHieftje@a2gov.org
ssmith@a2gov.org
Sbriere@a2gov.org
SRapundalo@a2gov.org
TDerezinski@a2gov.org
CTaylor@a2gov.org
LGreden@a2gov.org
MHiggins@a2gov.org
MTeall@a2gov.org
CHohnke@a2gov.org
MAnglin@a2gov.org
Let them know:
The city should remove Argo Dam. To help you make your case, the HRWC has produced some brand-new graphics of what the Huron River will look like when Argo Dam is gone
www.hrwc.org/argodam/argo-visions-report1.pdf
Implore the council to conduct a serious, legitimate process to gather public and staff input on the future of the Huron River. Premature votes will not improve paddling opportunities, improve the river's health, or provide an economic boost in the form of new parklands and recreational opportunities in downtown Ann Arbor.
Forward this to your paddling friends and family. We need to get more people speaking up!
For more detailed info, contact :
Jonathan E. Lutz
jonathanelutz@ gmail.com
(517) 290 - 9901
How thirsty do you have to be to try to move a state border?
It sounded like a joke when I first read about back in February while visiting Georgia, but it was all too true. Plagued by drought and in the midst of a water feud with the states of Florida and Alabama, Georgia had set its sights northward, and began asking the state of Tennessee to allow their shared border to be moved, so a portion of the Tennessee River would enter the Peach State.
The twisting headwaters of the Shiawassee River surprises people with it's beauty in OakLand County.
The seven miles of the premier paddling river from Holly to Fenton seems like a long way for many paddlers.
A mid-point landing is really needed for true optimal recreational enjoyment.
"Mighty 200" is the answer.
We are looking for 200 people willing to contribute $100 each
-- $25 each month for four months.
Together these donors will show their "might" by raising enough money to purchase an acre of land
-exactly where the river runs adjacent Fish Lake Rd.
You can become one of these key supporters.
Any contribution is helpful, since after purchase will come the construction phase -- parking, deceleration lane, boardwalk, landing, restroom signage and a picnic area.
The site will be both a public starting point and a pleasant end to an one-hour trip from a start at Holly's WaterWorks Park.
Pause a minute to download the donation form.
Help us open the Shiawassee to paddlers of all ages and skills.
