Permaculture

Swales (swale)

Perhaps the most important ingredient for creating a permaculture environment, which is about cultivating life, is water. At Kailash Akhara swales are a major aspect of our water cultivation – worthy of their own heading in this Kailash Akhara description. So, what is a swale? A swale is a trough dug in the ground that is designed to slow down water run-off thereby enabling the water to slowly seep into the ground, raising the water table and drastically improving the soil. Upon arrival at Kailash Akhara we quickly learned that the soil here was totally dysfunctional for growing purposes. We had nothing but red, lateritic soil. It is true that in general the soil in this part of Thailand is not great for growing nutritious food, but our land was especially poor as the slope of the land caused all of the rainwater to quickly run off into the adjacent properties and ponds below. Not only was the soil very dry, but in the process of this fast run-off, the water would take with it any nutrients that would otherwise be stored in the ground. Therefore the few things that we were initially able to grow were particularly tasteless and lacking any worthwhile nutritional value.

But, all that is changing now – and though we still have years of improvement ahead of us, our soil is now viable and we are able to grow delicious, nutritious organic food. This is in large part due to the 4,500 meters of swale throughout the site. In five different locations, major swales have been cut, totaling 1500 meters in length, each swale being 3-4 meters wide. Careful calculations were made to ensure that even the greatest rainfall would not overflow the swales. Rain amounts, topography, slope and foreknowledge of future buildings were all taken into consideration. Each swale was cut on contour, which is a time consuming process of staking the ground every five meters using geographical equipment to find the leveled line. In order to follow the contour of the land the swales snake beautifully throughout the property. The swales now provide us with natural water-saturated spots where we plant all sorts of good things. We began by growing the type of plants and trees that rebuild and fix nitrogen into the depleted soil. We are now moving into phase two where the areas down slope from the swales are being used for the food forests, forests that will eventually feed our entire community. Additionally the swales assist us by raising the water table on the land, which ensures a safe source of water for many years to come.

When you come to visit Kailash Akhara there may be many more glamorous things to see, but don’t forget to check out the swales and keep in mind that they are one of the most important functional aspects of the landscape, ensuring good, nutritious soil and lots of water for generations to come.

Worm Project

One of the main aspects of the permaculture design for Kailash Akhara is the worm-composting project. In short, we are utilizing red worms, in 2 troughs that are 16 meters long and two meters wide, to make the very best liquid fertilizer and organic potting soil. At its height the project will have over 150 lbs of worms, which is about 200,000 worms! Currently we are at about half capacity. These worms eat food that is collected from local merchants in town who would otherwise be throwing out their compostable “waste” products. Everyday the Kailash Akhara work truck goes into Phu Rua to collect 10-12 barrels of vegetable scraps from various restaurants and farmers markets. This food is then taken to the worm house where it is sorted and placed on top of the worm bedding. Each worm can consume about half of its body weight in food per day. Worms are essentially one entire digestive track and as the food moves through the body and comes out the other end it does so as worm “castings”. These castings, effectively, are just about the best-fertilized soil you can imagine. All toxins are digested and transformed by these worms and what remains is rich, dark, beautiful soil. Additionally, the liquid run off from this process is drained from the worm troughs and stored in tanks where it will be bottled and sold as a top of line fertilizer in the Thai marketplace.

In combination, the sale of high quality potting soil and liquid fertilizer, known as “vermicompost tea” is intended to be one of the main financial supports for the auspicious functioning of Kailash Akhara. However, as with everything at our site, the bottom line is not our top priority. In addition to doing the town of Phu Rua a nice service by recycling their waste, we are also keen on teaching the local people how to do this process on their own – either as a simple means to recycle their own personal waste products or as viable source of income. It is important to us to share what knowledge we have in order to assist our local community, who are quickly becoming friends and family. A wider and more long-term aim is to teach the local farmers how they can make their own fertilizer, which is more productive, safer and better for the environment then chemical fertilizers. This way, not only does the environment benefit, but so too does the local economy as most farmers are in debt and dependent upon chemical fertilizers and genetically modified seeds. Additionally, the worm project has been one of the best ways for us to connect with the local community. Many have come to expect and enjoy our daily trips into town to collect barrels, and are quick to express that they miss us when we take a few days off here and there for various reasons. Our work has demonstrated to the Thai people that we are not typical tourists coming to take and consume. Many have commented that they are impressed by our work ethic and by our desire to be of service to, and become a part of, the local community.