Right around the time a barrel of oil was around $150 USD I stumbled upon an article from an "expert" saying that the solution to resolve hunger was to give more money to poor countries in order to buy more tractors and more agrochemicals! So wrong! Then a thought popped into mind: " Do something! No matter what! Anything is better than nothing! ". Mission: increasing awareness of hydroponics and aquaponics as key tools in fighting hunger around the world.
Roger Pilon, Editor
Hello everyone! How I got into hydroponics is a long story...let's just say that it involves a lot of tedious farm work as a child, unsuccessful 'dirt' gardens of my own and a near electrocution from a semi-submersible hydroponic pump. I've learned that hydroponic gardening is the only way to garden for me and I've been working at it for several years now. I've built ebb/flow, nft, Mittleider, wick and passive systems and I'm always on the lookout for the easiest and most efficient means of hydroponic gardening...If you have questions, I would be more than happy to answer them...
Mint as a home industry may sound "off the wall". But consider the markets for mint.
·Medicine; [digestion, joints, colic, +]
·Food & drink [meat, veg., tea, +]
·Cosmetics
·Candy, [chewing gum, chockalott]
·Soap, toothpaste
·Cookies, cigarettes:
The basic home or neighborhood products are usually but not limited to:
·Fresh & dried leaves
·Mint oil
·Mint distilled water
Production is not complicated and know how is widely available. The basics require only a small, intensive, well watered plot and a greenhouse or cold frame. Six to nine crops a year are normal. Markets are accessible on the web. Processing at small scale require a community or cooperative group. It's fairly simple.
Kabul Afghanistan is a particularly impressive case study in terms of quick start-up and return to labor and investment. The term used for the monetary returns is "value added", although the market for the fresh leaves is substantial in many cities, and Wal-Mart.
Reference: ICARDA Caravan No. 24, June 2007 Contact: J.Rizvi@cgiar.org
Links
Articles
Videos
Top Tags
News
Enter comment