As we all know, water is one of the most important resource in the world. While your Iphone can cost 1000€ water is very cheap, you can survive without your phone but try without water.
2.4 billions of people do not have access to drinkable water nowadays. So yes, water is important although that in some country people use drinkable water for theirs toilets. But the world is changing and we need to change with it, there is more and more drought each years which will impact our life soon if we don’t adapt our self. No water lead to no vegetables and to no meet, no clothes, nothing in fact. We cannot live without water and as you may have seen this year, the weather start to be really really hot each summer.
This spring in Bozevce it didn’t rain for almost 3 month, consequence of it one of our well was already empty beginning of may. What is happening as you can see on the picture beside is if it doesn’t rain for a long time the level of the ground water will be very low because rain has this role to regulate the level of the water localized under the ground.
There is different sources of water, you can collect the rain or have a well and pomp the water from it. The best option is to have wells and water tank to collect and store water from your roof.
Afterthought, we decided to build our summer kitchen with on the top two water tank which can content 1000 Litters each and connected to our roof. And the miracle happened. One afternoon a big storm arrived with a lot of water to share, filling by the way 400 litters of water inside our water tank in not more than 30minutes. Did we expect that? No, we were all surprise by this big amount of water collected in only 40 minutes!
Sometime it’s easy to collect water, sometime it’s not. But instead of collecting water you can save some. How? Nothing easier, we can give you some tips!
- Re-use the water you use to clean fruits or vegetable by watering your garden or your plants.
- Take shorter shower.
- Don’t flush every time you’re peing (except if it’s smelling bad)
- -Buy second hand clothe, equipments… ( textile industry use a lot of water)
- Eat less meat (1kg of meat needs more or less 20 000 litters)
- Drink beers instead of water ( it’s a joke)
Here some example of the crazy amount of water we need to produce stuff that we use every day.
That why some action as buying a second hand jeans can seems not important but think about it now, ten thousands liters of water just for one pair of jeans? Yes it’s not a new one, yes it’s not perfectly clean but again, while the textile’s industry is using billions litter of water you can make a difference.
Yes it’s not a lot if you do it alone, but it doesn’t matter , the other will follow and there is already a lot of people trying everyday to save water, energy, resources..
Despite the challenges, saving water bring you something that over-using water doesn’t. The sensation to do something which make sense, something now you know important.
Max
Take a moment and picture yourself in a peaceful place up in the mountains surrounded by rolling green hills and tree filled valleys where the sun rises and sets in the warmest gradient of colors. Now, lets make this image in your mind even better by adding a great purpose to bring knowledge, connect people, and engulf yourself in the surroundings and you’ve landed in Boževce, Kosovo on GAIAs permaculture estate.
The first few days were dedicated to getting to know each other, becoming familiar with the property and learning about the principles and ethics of permaculture along with natural building. We learned so much in such a short amount of time; it was exhilariting to take it all in. The staff was so informative and welcomed all questions with no hesitation. I feel one successful aspect during camp, for me, was being taught something in such a condensed way and then putting it right into practice afterwards. We learned about reed beds and it’s function of filtering grey water; then proceeded with making one at site. We also learned about the making of a compost and why we have them and then created one too. The trust in the volunteers to get things done from the staff was so encouraging for the work. We watched a film on the building of a straw bale house and was given some books for further references on the subject of this project we were about to endeavor on. One activity that really stuck out to me during one of the educational sessions was when we were given the task to design a house plan with the new knowledge we had just ingested on building with natural materials. I thought this was extremely fun and even helpful for us, as volunteers, to get creative and really understand how GAIAs permaculture project is impactful.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officiale): Dandelion grows everywhere in spring. The plant is up to 25 cm high, the flowers are yellow and the leafs are green and look a little bit like teeth. That’s where the name comes from; it means “tooth of lion”. These leafs are very tasty in salads when they are young. The roots are eatable as well, and from the flower you can make a delicious dandelion “honey”.
Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria): This plant covers the ground in shady areas which get some water from time to time. Its leafs are always arranged in a group of three and the flower looks like elder, which means that it is white and it is arranged in a creeping with white umbels.
ll leafs which occur more often near the top of the plant on small branches. The flower is pinkish-purple. It gives your food a lovely Mediterranean taste.
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica): This is a plant almost everybody knows and most of us hate it: Because it hurts you, as soon as you touch it! The leafs are dark green and in a triangular shape and the plant is up to 1.50 m high. The young leafs which do not sting yet are very good in salads and once the plant gets older, you can use it like spinach. But nettle is not only tasty, you can also make a very good fertilizer for your garden with it: Fermented for two or three weeks in water and then sieved, it becomes a good treat for your tomatoes, beetroots and other plants.
green leafs and all have this typical mint smell. They grow up to 70 cm high and the blossom is slightly violet. A tea from it helps against digestion problems and against a cold.
and the “edges” which let it look like nettle a little bit. Lemon balm can grow up to 80 cm high and it prefers cool and shady places. The blossom is white-blue, small and not very spectacular. The tea of the leafs is good for treating nervous complaints of stomach, intestine and heart. It is anti-depressant and oil of lemon balm can help to heal wounds.
they are red-violet and they have darker stripes and five parts. The leafs are parted into five sections. This plant is marvelous as a tea against colds and it strengthens the immune system in general.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): This plant you probably know from pizza. The Italian kitchen is famous for using it which is not astounding since this plant prefers the hot Mediterranean climate. It often grows on rocky places and dry grassland. Thyme basically has tiny leafs and tiny flowers which can appear in different colors. It can be recognized by its characteristic smell. In tea, it helps against colds and in oil it is antibacterial. So if you plan to make your own toothpaste, thyme gives you a good smell and a good outcome in the same time. And of course, it tastes very good on pizza!
Rue (Ruta graveolens): This perennial plant grows up to 50 cm high. It has yellow flowers in a kind of little “crown” at the top of the plant and it has small and long leafs which are arranged to little “hands”. Rue prefers a rocky and sunny surrounding. It helps against blood pressure and vein problems as well as against epilepsy. Furthermore it is good to have one in your property if you have animals since fleas don’t like its smell and so your animals will be free from them.
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla): This little flower is actually a wonder-healer. The blossom is white with a pretty big and outstanding yellow “ball” in the middle, the leafs look like tiny little feathers. The plant is little itself, it can grow up to 40 cm high, but most of the time it covers the soil on the corner of paths. So watch out, maybe you are stepping on a treasure! The smell is strong and aromatically, and the tea out of the flowers as well. It helps against multiple diseases, first cold, but also womanlike diseases, it brightens up your mood in general and it helps your digestion system. You can also make oil or crèmes for the skin from it and this will calm down irritated skin.
Plantain (Plantago sp.): This is another plant we are often stepping on and we should pay more attention to: Planatain has either big or thin and long leafs, depending on the type of planatain, but they have in common that each leaf has some strong little strings crossing it in a distance of 2-5 mm. The leafs cover the ground, while the blossom grows up on a long steel and looks cylindrical, up to 7 cm long and covered with little pink or white flowers. Tea of the leafs and the flowers helps against cold, chewing the flowers helps against toothache. If you have a stitch of a bee, you rub a leaf between your fingers until the juice comes out and you put the juice on the stitch. The swelling will disappear.
Alex, June 2019
Permaculture as a Path to Peace 