Straw Bale Pick-up Truck, Daruma EcoFarm, Thailand

250 straw bales on a pick-up truck

 

Korean Earth Bag Building 韓国のアースバック建築

Another natural building technique gaining in popularity in South Korea is earth bag construction. Earth bag building involves stacking and tamping sandbags filled with earth in order to create bearing or infill walls, and is suitable for DIY construction.  For example, Ms. Hwasoon Lee, age 62, built her own earthbag house and is now building a home for her mother.

 アースバック構法は、土嚢を積み重ねて壁を造る方法で、その手軽さがＤＩＹに適している。

 例えば、六二歳の女性イ・ファソンさんは、この構法を使って自ら家を建て、いまは母親のためにサウナ室も建造中だ。

Seongwon Kim’s Earth Bag Building Association promotes earthbag construction, appropriate technology, and fuel efficient, hand-made wood burning stoves.  In Korea, Seongwon Kim is regarded as the godfather of DIY hand-made wood burning stoves. He’s published an excellent book in Korean describing the fundamentals of wood burning stoves and features practical models appropriate for owner-builders

Bamboo Architecture, Puree Hut, Koh Sichang, Thailand

December 16, visited Puree Hut resort on Koh Sichang island.

 

 

No-till Wheat and Sweet Potato Cultivation 不耕起栽培で小麦とサツマイモのローテーション

In 2002-2003, when I worked under Hashimoto-san of Hashimoto Natural Farm in Wakayama, we grew sweet potatoes and winter squash in a no-till rye and hairy vetch mulch.  Hashimoto-san got the idea from a farmer living near Osaka, I believe his name was Turukawa, who had succeeded at growing rice and winter grains using Fukuoka's no-till method.  This same farmer grew summer vegetables using a method similar to Steve Groff and the Rodale Institute in Pennsylvania.  Basically rye and hairy vetch are seeded in the fall and the crop is crimped (trampled) and killed when the rye and vetch flowers.  If the rye and vetch are crimped too soon, they bounce back up.  If too late, much of the nitrogen fixed by the vetch is used for seed production. The crimped rye and vetch becomes a natural, no-till mulch for summer vegetables.
2001-2002年に和歌山県橋本自然農苑で研修を受けたときに不耕起栽培でサツマイモを作りました。橋本さんは、福岡さんの稲と穀物の不耕起栽培を成功させた大阪の農家さんからアイディアを得て、さらにはペンシルバニア州のRodale Instituteという有機栽培を研究している機関と同じ栽培方法で、ライ麦とヘアリーベッチのマルチでサトイモとカボチャを作りました。ライ麦とヘアリーベッチの花が咲くと倒す。咲く前に倒すと、また立っちゃう。遅すぎると、ヘアリーベッチの根に存在しているバクテリアが固定した窒素が種を作るため使用されてしまいます。
 
In 2005-2006, I used this method while managing the organic market garden at Slippery Rock University's Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Research and Education.  Basically winter rye and wheat were crimped to provide a mulch for tomatoes.  I remember that the wheat alone did not provide enough much and needed to re-enforcement with additional mulch.
2005-2006年に大学院生のときにマーケット・ガーデンを担当した際、ライ麦のマルチでトマトを作りました。うまくいかなくて、雑草を押さえられなかったです。

Unlike the systems described above, the system described below harvests the grain of the cover crop, in this case winter wheat.  Since I did this by hand, it might not be adaptable to a commercial system.  A very rough calculation of time and yield harvesting wheat in this manner is 10-15m2/hour/person which yields maybe 2-5kg after threshing. After harvesting the wheat ears still need to be threshed and can be done with a stationary harvester after drying.
今回はRodale Instituteのやり方と違う方法で穀物を収穫します。手で収穫しますので、大規模なものには向きません。大体一人が1時間に10-15平方メートルを収穫でき、収穫量が2-5キロになります。 

I chose sweet potatoes as the summer vegetable crop because of it's strong vegetative growth and ability to compete with weeds.  Sweet potatoes also like a well drained soil, and there is nothing like the tilth of a wheat field to improve drainage.  I first became interested in Sweet potatoes after meeting David Cavagnaro of Decorah, IA.  David is a master gardener who is able to store sweet potatoes for not one year, but two.  I think I'm starting to get to that point.  I don't think I lost a single potato in storage this year and have been growing out the same variety for about 4 or 5 years now. I'm telling you the trick is love and super gentle harvesting and storage.

Step 1: Start Sweet Potato Seedlings サツマイモ苗作り
We start our seedlings in April with the new academic year because 4th year students help with watering. Also, the season is long enough as not to require an early planting.  In addition, growing your own sweet potato seedlings provides a huge advantage when planting out.  Less transplant shock and an enhanced root system that you don't get with purchased seedlings.
4月に苗の仕込みを始める

 定植する前の様子

Step 2: Harvest Wheat　麦を収穫
This was done on a dry sunny day and the ears will be dried for a couple of weeks before threshing to allow seeds to fully mature.
手で穂を収穫する。脱穀する前に2週間ぐらい乾かして、実を成熟させる。

 Wheat Harvest 小麦の収穫

Harvested roughly 15kg of wheat.

約15キロを収穫できました。

Step 3:  Crimp Wheat Stalks　小麦を倒す

Step 4: Cut surrounding wees and add to mulch　周辺の雑草を刈って、ちょっとはげているところを隠す(*/_・*)

 

Step 5: Plant out sweet potato seedlings サツマイモの苗を定植

 こんな立派な苗は売ってない

 I suspect that this well developed root system improves growth and competition with weeds.

Step 6: Sweet Potato Harvest　サツマイモを収穫
In November, before the first frost, the sweet potatoes are gently harvested. 11月に霜が降りる前にサツマイモを丁寧に収穫。

 Cut sweet potatoes at the stem and remove crop residues from the garden for convenience (to be returned shortly). 先に茎を切って、邪魔しないようにつるを撤去（後ほど戻す）。

Harvest sweet potatoes by hand, being careful not to damage the skill. Sounds tedious, but the improves preservation.　手で傷がつかないように丁寧にサツマイモを収穫。めんどくさいと思うかもしれませんが、保存で役に立つ。

Step 7: Sow wheat seeds 小麦をまく

Broadcast wheat seeds and return all residues to the garden. The residues provide a mulch to suppress weeds. And given wheat's vigorous growth, no weeding is needed.　小麦の種をまいて、サツマイモのつるや藁を畑へ戻す。

Step 8: Cure Sweet Potatoes サツマイモを加工
Gently wash and dry potatoes. Store for 10 days at 30C and 90% relative humidity. By doing so, the skin on the potatoes becomes thicker and scratches are self-covered with a naturally occurring wax. Since these conditions are difficult to arrange, storing the potatoes at 20C should be fine. Under these conditions, the potatoes will keep until the following year and possibly longer.
芋を軽く洗って、土を落として、半日外で乾かす。乾かしてから、10日間ぐらい一定な高温多湿な環境に保存。そうすると、芋の皮が厚くなり、長持ちになる。こういう環境が無い場合、一定な温度（約20度が適切だと思います）で芋を保存。こういうふうに大事にされた芋はせめて次の春まで持つ。上手な方は2年先の春まで保存できます。

Step 9: Go back to step 1 ステップ１へ戻る

Convection Rocket Heater 対流式ロケットヒーター

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

韓国ハジャセンターにて火遊びワークショップ Pyro Workshop at the Haja Center, Seoul, South Korea

In November, participated in a pyro workshop at the Haja Center in Seoul, South Korea.  The workshop covered various cooking and heating stoves, many of which were developed by Seongwon KIM, South Korea's godfather of self-built cooking and heating stoves.
11月に韓国ソウルにあるハジャセンターという代替教育センターで行った火遊びワークショップに参加しました。内容は手作り暖房と調理用ストーブです。講師は韓国で手作りストーブや自力建築を普及しているキム・ソンウォン氏です。

 

Wanju Appropriate Technology Symposium

November 16 presented at the Wanju Appropriate Technology Symposium.