For too long, sustainability and profit have been treated as opposites.

One was about doing good, the other about doing well. But the businesses that will define the next decade are the ones that understand the two are now inseparable.

Sustainability is not a cost. It is a new way to make money.

At HiveKeepers, we stopped asking how to make beekeeping more sustainable and started asking how sustainability could make it more profitable. That shift led to the Micro Honey Harvester, a world-first modular system that lets anyone, anywhere, harvest pure honey without the complexity, cost or waste of traditional extraction.

Traditional honey extraction is messy, expensive and inaccessible for most people who care about sustainable food production. Large rooms, heavy machinery and dedicated facilities all create barriers for smaller producers trying to operate profitably.

The Micro Honey Harvester removes those barriers entirely. Designed with precision and intention, it eliminates the need for an extraction room. With a simple push of a button, beekeepers can harvest fresh honey from hive to home in minutes with zero mess. The result is less waste, higher yield, lower setup costs and a cleaner product ready for sale.

And here’s the part businesses rarely acknowledge: it can make you money.

Whether you are a commercial grower, hobbyist beekeeper or retail equipment supplier, this system opens a new income stream with minimal environmental impact.

For the first time, sustainability is no longer only an ethical choice. It is a financial strategy.

Consumers today expect transparency and traceability from the businesses they support. They want to know their purchases make a difference. By integrating sustainable systems like the Micro Honey Harvester, businesses don’t just meet this expectation, they exceed it. They attract new customers, command stronger margins and tell a genuine story that resonates with modern buyers.

HiveKeepers is already proving this model works. Our technology has been recognised globally, winning both an Apimondia Gold Innovation Award and an Australian Good Design Award. These accolades represent more than engineering excellence. They signal a vision for how design, purpose and profitability can coexist.

As Founder Simon Mildren puts it, “We didn’t want to make another product. We wanted to redesign an entire process and make it profitable for everyone involved, from the beekeeper to the planet.”

The Micro Honey Harvester reflects a shift in mindset. It shows what happens when sustainability sits at the centre of design, not the edge. Every element was created to reduce waste, save energy and simplify the harvesting process without compromising quality. The result is a product that benefits both the environment and the economy. It empowers individuals and businesses to take part in regenerative production, turning sustainability into something tangible and rewarding.

This is also a glimpse into the future of food production. Local, traceable, small-scale and connected. Just as microbreweries redefined beer, micro-harvesting is redefining honey.

Distributed production strengthens resilience and creates a closer relationship between the producer, the consumer and the land. It shortens supply chains, reduces waste and builds a more transparent and trustworthy marketplace.

HiveKeepers is part of a growing movement proving that innovation and sustainability are not competing goals, they are the same goal. The companies that understand this will lead the next wave of growth.

The Micro Honey Harvester is not just for beekeepers. It is for innovators, growers and entrepreneurs who see that doing better for the planet and doing better for their business are now one and the same.

This is not a trend. It is the future. Sustainability is the way forward, and it is the way to make money moving forward.

Simon Mildren, HiveKeepers: team@hivekeepers.com

The post Sustainability That Sells: How Profit and Purpose Come Together in the Hive appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Syrian civil war was an indirect result of extreme drought in Syria at the time. As history unfolds before us, we see that lack of water breeds unrest and unrest leads to conflicts that spill between countries in the Middle East and North Africa region –– often referred to as MENA, if you are a policy maker. So how can global powers exert soft power to avoid conflict and avert major climate migration?

Water scarcity isn’t only an environmental issue—it’s a driver of political tension, migration, and even conflict. In the Middle East and North Africa, shared rivers, shrinking aquifers, and climate stress are making water diplomacy as critical as water technology.

Green Prophet is keeping our eye on various areas of concern:

The Nile Basin: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia remain locked in dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Without a binding agreement on dam operations, water security for millions downstream is at risk. As of July this year, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed publicly announced that the GERD is now fully constructed, with plans to officially inaugurate it in September 2025. What will happen when it goes online?

The Jordan River: Water allocation between Israel, Jordan, and Palestine is under strain from drought and population growth. While it was once a major river in the Levante area, the Jordan River today is a trickle of its former glory. Water diplomacy through groups like Friends of the Middle East – good friends to Green Prophet, may not only be averting crises, but is a path to peace and prosperity in the Holy Land.

The Tigris-Euphrates: Turkey’s dam projects and climate-driven drought are squeezing flows to Iraq and Syria. Turkey’s ambitious Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) includes more than 22 major dams and 19 hydroelectric plants across the Tigris and Euphrates basins, with key structures like the Atatürk and Ilısu dams. These have significantly altered and reduced downstream flows into Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, the Euphrates has seen over a 60% reduction in flow over the past two decades, while the Tigris has also shrunk alarmingly.

Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier

Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and more frequent droughts amplify existing disputes. Water scarcity can fuel unrest, as seen in Iran’s Khuzestan protests, and can undermine fragile peace deals in post-conflict states like Libya and Yemen.

While water can be a source of conflict—it is veritably a bridge to peace. As scarcity worsens, MENA nations must decide whether to compete for the last drops or collaborate for shared security. The coming years will test their capacity for water diplomacy.

The post Water conflicts in the Middle East region to watch in 2025 appeared first on Green Prophet.

With the summer lull in Brussels drawing to an end, the EU is bracing for a showdown on the agri-food front. At stake is the Commission’s push to cap the amount of subsidies any single farmer can receive – a reform whose negotiations with the Council of the EU are slated to begin in the autumn. This bold move notably pits the EU executive against certain member-states and large agri-food producers. 

Indeed, while most European farmers would be spared by the rules proposed under the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) proposal, the continent’s farming giants stand to lose significant sums. Anticipating their resistance, Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen has remained firm, reminding that “if we have to deal with the same amount of money and we want to better support young farmers, new farmers, small farmers,” this additional funding must come “from somewhere.”

Since taking office, Hansen has steered an encouraging pivot in EU agri-food policy, with the long-overdue CAP reform proposal aligned with a broader trend of farmer-friendly decisions. With EU producers facing rising international trade threats, staying on this course will be vital.

Setting CAP system straight 

Brussels’s past efforts to limit subsidy flows to the largest farms through “capping” have collapsed under pressure, and Hansen’s announcement of the reform in July has been met with similar hostility – hardly a surprise given it strikes Europe’s biggest landholders. Yet the proposal offers a much-needed correction to a subsidy system that has long disadvantaged small producers – the very farmers who underpin Europe’s food traditions and world-renowned GI exports.

In the 2023 financial year, just 20% of farms received 80% of direct CAP payments. Most of these are area-based subsidies, calculated per hectare regardless of actual production, allowing large landholders to draw enormous sums. To redress this imbalance, the Commission’s plan would set payments between €130 and €240 per hectare and cap overall income support at €100,000 per farmer, with progressive cuts above €20,000 – namely, a 25% reduction between €20,000 and €50,000, and a 50% reduction between €50,000 and €70,000.

Despite the uproar, the reality is that most farmers would escape unscathed. More than 90% of EU producers received less than €20,000 in decoupled payments in 2023, well below the level where cuts begin. What’s more, in every member state except France and Luxembourg, under a quarter of farms would even be affected. As Théo Paquet of the European Environmental Bureau has rightly posited, this reform should mark a first step toward “real redistribution” and the gradual phasing out of area-based payments detached from production results.

Moving past flawed Nutri-Score system 

Under Commissioner Hansen’s leadership, the CAP payment proposal marks the latest in a series of strong policy decisions that benefit the EU’s small local producers, who were utterly neglected by the last Commission’s ‘Farm to Fork’ policy agenda. One of F2F’s original pillars, the front-of-package (FOP) nutrition label is among the high-profile policies to get axed from the Commission’s agenda, with Hansen leaving it out of the new ‘Vision for Agriculture’ and work programme unveiled earlier this year.

The EU executive’s U-turn on the FOP label proposal has dealt a major blow to France’s Nutri-Score system, once considered the front-runner for EU-wide implementation before attracting an ever-growing coalition of member-states, farmers and researchers opposed to the label. For its critics, Nutri-Score epitomizes F2F’s shortcomings: a one-size-fits-all algorithm that penalises GI heritage products such as cheeses and cured meats, distorts consumer perception and threatens the livelihoods of the small producers Hansen aims to support.

Experts argue its absence will hardly be felt. For example, food law specialist Katia Merten-Lentz has observed that existing labelling rules already protect consumers, while Nutri-Score’s withdrawal would bring “relief to most businesses.” Scientific opinion has also shifted, with researchers spotlighting issues with the independence of pro-Nutri-Score studies, as well as the label’s limited effect on healthier diets and evidence of negative impacts on consumer choices – as confirmed by a new Medical University of Warsaw study published in August.

Despite mounting political opposition, growing scientific criticism and even the retreat of many former industrial supporters like Nestlé and Danone, certain member-states and supermarket chains continue to prop up Nutri-Score. The Commission must therefore remain vigilant to ensure these attempts do not undermine farmers, distort fair competition or compromise the integrity of the single market – particularly as other pressing threats loom on the horizon.

Shielding farmers from unfair trade 

Looking ahead, the EU’s upcoming trade deals with major partners will test the Commission’s resolve to pursue a genuinely pro-farmer agenda. As Brussels juggles political complexity, it must ensure trade ambitions don’t override the needs of European agriculture. Tariff negotiations, market access and safeguard mechanisms must be crafted with one boosting agri-food exports and the other firmly on protecting local farm livelihoods and food sovereignty.

Mercosur looms as a critical litmus test. Though the political deal was struck in December 2024, final ratification is expected by December, with both Council and Parliament approval pending, and national parliaments still in play. To secure France’s support, Brussels has introduced “circuit-breaker” safeguards for sensitive products like beef and poultry to prevent sudden import surges. Recently, EU politicians and farm leaders have warned that the Mercosur deal could severely undermine the competitiveness of domestic agriculture unless these protections endure.

Getting Mercosur right has become all the more important in light of Brussels’s apparent capitulation to Trump’s demands in the US-EU trade deal, with new details confirming enhanced market access for US agri-food exports in the EU without meaningful concessions gained to protect European farmers. If Brussels allows such asymmetries to persist, its credibility in defending EU farming may unravel under international pressure.

From looming trade agreements to mounting global competition and environmental pressures, the EU faces a pivotal moment. In the crucial months to come, staying the course will mean keeping small and local farmers at the heart of the agri-food system – not as an afterthought, but as the foundation of resilience, fairness, and food security. Europe’s strength tomorrow depends on protecting the diversity and vitality of its farms today.

Photo by Bernd ? Dittrich on Unsplash

The post EU’s CAP reform continues trend of supporting small farmers in hour of need appeared first on Green Prophet.

Babaà was founded in 2012 by Marta Bahillo, a textile designer with a passion for natural fibers and sustainable fashion. After studying textile design in Dublin, Ireland, and gaining experience in Argentina, Bahillo returned to her roots in Spain, where she created Babaà with the goal of offering beautifully crafted, eco-conscious clothing. Her vision was to bring timeless, locally made garments to life, using the finest natural materials sourced from Spanish sheep. Marta’s commitment to sustainability and the slow fashion movement is embedded in every piece, ensuring that each sweater is crafted with care, precision, and respect for the environment.

Babaà’s mission wasn’t just about creating clothes—it was about creating a lifestyle. Bahillo, who values simplicity and a natural way of life, made sure that every aspect of her brand aligned with those values. Whether it’s her preference for wearing only natural fibers or her choice to get movies from a “video club” in Madrid instead of streaming services, Bahillo’s dedication to a more mindful and authentic way of living is at the heart of Babaà.

The Appeal of Babaà Sweaters:

Babaà sweaters have a special place in the hearts of those who love a combination of comfort, style, and sustainability. These thick, cozy pieces have a nostalgic, almost “homemade” charm, reminiscent of something your grandmother might have knitted—if she were an expert at working with the best wool and colors. The sweaters are designed with large buttons, simple yet aesthetically pleasing patterns, and come in a variety of vibrant hues as well as calming shades of oatmeal. Their timeless design and high-quality craftsmanship give them an effortlessly cool, vintage feel, making them perfect for anyone who loves to feel cozy without sacrificing style.

Related: Adrian Pepe and his sheep

The brand has gained a loyal following over the years, especially among women who appreciate the slow-fashion movement and a natural lifestyle. In fact, The New Yorker even covered the brand’s appeal to a group of women the author dubs “organic moms,” who are known for their love of co-ops, clogs, and laid-back, sustainable living. These women are drawn to Babaà not just for its beautiful designs, but because it aligns with their values—supporting local craftsmanship, ethical production, and natural materials.

Babaà Sweater Review:

I recently had the chance to try out two Babaà sweaters, and I have to say, they absolutely live up to the hype.

The Oversized Blue Sweater

Bold Yet Comfortable: This oversized blue sweater immediately grabbed my attention. With its bright, bold color and relaxed fit, it has that 80s vibe that feels both nostalgic and modern. The sweater is soft—softer than you might expect from a wool sweater—and it drapes beautifully. It’s the kind of piece that stands out on its own, making a statement without feeling over-the-top.

The softness of the blue sweater is definitely a win. Compared to the natural brown one, it’s much softer against the skin, which makes it ideal for those days when you just want to be wrapped up in warmth and softness. It’s the kind of piece that stands out, whether you’re at a casual get-together or just chilling at home. It’s fun, cozy, and the perfect nod to a past decade of fashion.

The Natural Dark Brown Sweater

A Nod to Nature: The natural dark brown sweater has a completely different vibe. This one is all about authenticity and connection to nature. The undyed wool gives it a raw, earthy feel, and the short-neck design adds to its simplicity.

The sweater smells like a sheep—something that may seem odd to some, but for me, it only adds to the charm. It’s clear this sweater was made with the finest natural materials. The texture of the wool is a bit more rugged compared to the softer blue sweater, but it’s still incredibly cozy. This piece is perfect for anyone who appreciates raw, unprocessed materials and loves that “earthy” feel.

A Minor Drawback – Pilling: One minor downside to both sweaters is the pilling. After a few wears, they do show some light fuzzing. It’s not a huge deal, and honestly, it’s easy to overlook because the overall comfort and style of the sweaters far outweigh this small imperfection. If you’re someone who’s sensitive to pilling, you might want to keep a fabric shaver handy, but for the most part, it’s a minor issue in the grand scheme of things.

That said –– my new babaa sweaters add to my collection of 3. The green cardigan has been a go-to favorite for the last 5 years.

The post Babaa Sweaters Review – A Bold 80s Vibe and a Nod to Nature appeared first on Green Prophet.

Tea cultivation, beloved globally, thrives in fertile, acidic soils. However, the overuse of chemical fertilizers has led to soil degradation, negatively affecting both the yield and quality of tea. Intercropping—growing multiple crops together—has emerged as a potential solution to enhance soil health and mitigate environmental damage. This is also known as permaculture.

This practice has gained attention for its ability to restore soil fertility, but there remains a need for detailed research into its long-term benefits, especially when applied to tea plantations.

A collaborative study by Nanjing Agricultural University and Wilfrid Laurier University, published in Horticulture Research in 2024, explores how intercropping leguminous plants with tea influences soil health, microbial diversity, and tea quality. The study uncovers critical insights into sustainable tea cultivation practices, offering a viable path forward for the future of the industry.

The research specifically examined the effects of intercropping tea with leguminous crops such as soybean and Chinese milkvetch. The results were striking: during the flowering periods of these leguminous plants, soil nutrients saw remarkable increases—nitrate nitrogen rose by 77.84%, and available nitrogen by 48.90%. The soil fertility index improved by as much as 86.46% compared to monoculture tea plantations. These gains were attributed to increased soil enzyme activities and a more diverse microbial community.

The study highlighted significant improvements in tea quality. Amino acids and soluble sugars, both critical for the flavor and health benefits of tea, increased by up to 9.11% and 54.58%, respectively. The intercropping practice also fostered a richer microbial ecosystem, with higher bacterial and fungal diversity, further enhancing soil health. These findings suggest that intercropping can significantly boost both soil vitality and tea quality, making it a viable, sustainable agricultural strategy. Add in some regenerative agriculture practices like animal husbandry, and you are getting close to a perfect system.

Related: Islamic era agriculture

Xujun Zhu, a lead researcher from Nanjing Agricultural University, stated, “Our study clearly shows that intercropping leguminous plants with tea not only enriches the soil but also enhances tea quality. This practice offers a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, fostering ecological balance and delivering economic benefits to growers.”
The findings of this study hold transformative potential for the tea industry.

By adopting intercropping practices, tea growers can reduce dependency on chemical fertilizers, improve soil health, and enhance tea quality. This sustainable strategy promises to reshape the future of tea plantations, offering long-term benefits for both the environment and the economy. Regenerative agriculture at its best. Woody Harrelson would approve.

The post Tea and beans are the best grow buddies appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Slow Food movement which started in Italy says everything that we love about real food that is sustainable. Slow Food brings people, farmers, and systems-thinking in agriculture, along with the joy of farming and the pleasure of community. Slow Food has been featured on Green Prophet over the years. Check out this article on the best cheese in Europe and how they make it.

“This was supposed to be the Food COP, but the conclusions were not good neither for the future of the food systems nor for limiting the effects of climate change,” said Edward Mukiibi, Slow Food president.

“The expectations around potentially positive efforts such as the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, signed by over 150 States, the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture and Food Security and the FAO Roadmap were failed by the lack of concrete and binding targets, the influence of major emitters in the agriculture sector and the postponement of the discussions to transform the food systems at the next meetings.”

The main outcome of /, namely the Global Stocktake, was largely void, with just one mention of food systems under the Adaptation section but excluded from the Mitigation section.

At last, after long negotiations, the mention of a transition away from fossil fuels has been included for the first time, but the deal is full of loopholes that will allow countries not to move as fast as needed to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

In addition, despite the different historical responsibility for emissions between developed and developing countries it does not properly differentiate their roles in the transition away from fossil fuels.

“Most disappointingly, as expected, agro-ecology was sidelined and did not emerge in policy discussions as a key element, nor was it mentioned as the solution which will allow us to reverse the course and fight against climate change.”

Translated, this means a further worrying delay in addressing the urgent climate challenges the planet is facing, ignoring crucial climate solutions through a meaningful food systems transformation.

Read here about Woody Harrelson and the regenerative farm movement in America.

The post The UN stance on food was a COP-out says Slow Food leaders appeared first on Green Prophet.

In a time where it seems like we need to choose light or dark, fear and hope, building or destruction, some stars and models lend their voices and faces to a solution to what appears to be the world’s biggest challenge right now: climate change. They have played a part in making a movie that explains regenerative agriculture and it’s called Kiss the Ground.

We humans call it climate change, and the problem might not be a problem at all but a clarion call for a bigger reset, the way Covid-19 retested some of our personal goals, family-life orientation, and how we spend our time and with whom. The movie will help us take some steps.

The big catchphrase in the ecosphere –  which to many is a spiritual place for understanding what we want to build on this planet –  is regenerative agriculture. If you plan on hanging out with conservationists or anyone who speaks the language of a future viable planet, this is what they are talking about. Rewilding (by bringing nature back to what it should be) sometimes goes along with that but not exclusively.

Regenerative agriculture is a method of farming (read about this regenerative farm in Saudi Arabia of all places)  which swings way back to the way our great-grandparents would have farmed. This is systems-thinking farming, considering the whole, not the parts, and brings in animals, plants, soil, and people into equal parts, minus heavy machinery, mono-crop thinking and commercial fertilizers (mined from places like the shrinking Dead Sea).

One of the early proponents of this new-old way of farming was a Masanobu Fukuoka. He was born into a wealthy family in Japan, and against what everyone was expected to do at the time, he listened to his inner compass, and became a renowned farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He died in 2008, but before then crossed the planet many times missionizing his approach to farming for body, mind and soul.

Fukuoka (shown below) was likely inspired by the ancient Japanese “Walden” called Hōjōki, translated as The Ten Foot Square Hut – a popular short work of the early Kamakura period in Japan by Kamo no Chōmei. This philosophy of living simply (bare minimum) and with nature in mind, is later expounded by Henry David Thoreau in America in the late 1800s. You know him as Walden and the pond he lived at for a couple of years. He grew his own food, and lived simply as one educated man could at the time.

Consider that traditional farming depletes the soil and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We don’t want that. But it’s not “new” science. Decades ago, an Indian scientist named Rattan Lal, born in 1944, helped start a movement based on the idea that carbon could be put back into the soil — a practice known today as “regenerative agriculture.” And it’s having a moment. 

Building on what was before now, a new film narrated by Woody Harrelson offers a solution to the pickle we are in – or the pickle we think we are in. There is a solution: (it’s not necessary to suffer the foibles of going Into the Wild) but it’s something tangible we can work towards toward healing the world, healing ourselves. We can do it in cities and even from our home offices. 

In a time when farming is absolutely romanticized (some meanly say fetishized) and working the land an antidote to our online addiction, the new film Kiss the Ground explains to the everybody how we can build a blueprint for stabilizing Earth’s climate, restoring lost ecosystems and creating abundant food supplies. The trailer is below.

Al Gore gave us the problem we know we needed to solve. Does Kiss the Ground give us the handbook on making it work? Stars of the film include Harrelson (who narrates), Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bündchen, Jason Mraz, David Arquette. Producers are Rebecca Tickell, Josh Tickell, Bill Benenson, Ryland Engelhart and Darius Fisher.

I heard the expression Kiss the Ground, not from the mouth of a cute Woody Harrelson, but from my friends in Venice, LA who like to learn about how they can be part of the solution. There is an NGO there in Venice with the mission to “awake” the woke with activities that include participation in the story of regenerative agriculture, mostly hard to do if you live in an apartment and spend your waking hours at WeWork.

Kiss the Ground, founded by Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, says they have educated and activated millions through through short films, mini-docs, a podcast, branded collaborations, and other content they produce. They also work locally in Venice, a neighborhood in LA, to start hyper-local, urban farms.

In more central LA (south central) you have Ron Finley, considered a “guerilla gardener. He talks about food deserts and other problems of the disenfranchised, which if we think too hard is none of us or all of us. We are sort of all in this boat together. 😉 I remember my dad dying of cancer in Toronto and I couldn’t find a fresh apple near the hospital. There was coffee, doughnuts, plenty of fast food. Fresh food? I walked 20 minutes in frigid winter to find a grocery store.

If you haven’t already started gardening during the Covid-19 lockdown, don’t worry. You won’t miss the boat. There is still plenty of room to grow: The movie is now available on Netflix. The link is here. 

Before the movie, download our Victory Garden handbook from the 40s. It was a great initiative to get all of America and Europe farming again.

Read more on regenerative and urban agriculture:

We interview Nature’s Path on Regenerative Agriculture

Leigh Ofer and Seed Street

Harlem Grown 

Agritecture

Farm.One

The post Regenerative agriculture the solution, says Woody Harrelson appeared first on Green Prophet.

If we could all go back in a time machine and be better prepared for scary times. I’ve joined a number of forums for off-grid living. Off-grid means not connecting to the local electricity or water supply. It means relying on Mother Nature, luck, your wits and a lot of common sense and technology to get electricity power, water, work, and stuff done.

So since most of us did not see into the future with a consult from our astrology charts or fortune-teller before this corona outbreak, I talked to a pile of homesteaders, people who have been living off the grid for a while now to see how people –– with the time you have now, can be better prepared and less scared for hard times. 

Teach your kids and yourself these skills and you know you will be able to survive. 

1. How to light a fire. Sounds trivial. I was reading a Farley Mowatt book about when he went to visit the people of the deer in 1947, the first white guy to do it. His matches got wet and he didn’t have fire until he met the Inuit up north who showed him how to do it. 
2. How to grow zucchini. Why zucchini? This is a plant that is easy to start with, it’s hard to kill, and when you do it you can get a bonanza of zucchini that let’s say in hunger mode you can turn into bread, flour, stir fry, something stuffed. Best case scenario you leave them on the porch of your mothers-in-law.
3. A toilet paper alternative: Remember that most bathrooms also contain a shower head. If you run out of water, you can easily wash your bottom in the shower. No big deal. Like the Bedouins do with their squat toilets.  Most of the world uses bidets. You can too. 
4. Grow micro-greens on your windowsill. You can order kits from the internet or simply make your own. You just need the seeds. When they sprout they are packed with nutrients.
5. Learn how to bake bread without a machine. Tortillas or flatbread are a good way to start. If you are more ambitious you can go all-natural by following our sourdough recipe. People have relied on wild yeasts to ferment their bread doughs, beer, and wine for thousands of years. By contrast, commercial yeast has only been around for about 100 years. It only became possible to culture-specific strains of yeast after Louis Pasteur discovered how yeast works. While commercial yeast yields safe, predictable beer and wine, mead, sourdough breads, with their delicious tang, still work beautifully in a modern kitchen.

The post Know these 5 skills to survive appeared first on Green Prophet.

Permaculture power couple Nadia and Geoff Lawton, currently based in Jordan, have released a series of great (and free!) Permaculture videos online. The videos are basically a how-to guide of applying Permaculture principles, things to consider before buying a property and how to grow on a budget. They are all well produced and are a great, practical guide to growing using Permaculture principles. All you have to do is sign up (and they promise never to sell, rent, give or divulge your email information to anyone) and then you’ll have access to the videos as well as pdf downloads.

The videos are all well produced, easy to follow and cover :

– Surviving the Coming Crises

– Property Purchase Check List

– 5 Acre Abundance on a Budget

– Urban Permaculture: The Micro Space

Each one also comes with a pdf version if you prefer to read in your own time or to keep a guide to refer back to. According to the website, these are only available for free for a limited time so get to his website quickly to claim your freebies! Geoff Lawton is also offering to answer all your growing-related questions on a weekly basis. So if you’re struggling to grow in cold or hot weather, can’t get enough water or dealing with flat land, he’s on hand to help.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CxP0Thljr4[/youtube]

You can hear Geoff Lawton’s TEDx talk about the importance of Permaculture in the Middle East above. Since 1985, Geoff has designed and implemented permaculture projects in 30 countries for private individuals and groups, communities, governments, aid organizations, & multinational corporations. He has taught the Permaculture Design Certificate course and designed permaculture projects in 30 countries.

For more on Permaculture in the Middle East see:

Permaculture is the Silver-Green Bullet – Nadia Lawton Interview

Organic Farming Boom in Palestine

Permaculture and Sustainability Project Takes Off In Jordan

The post Ask Geoff – How To Grow A Forest Garden & Free Permaculture Videos appeared first on Green Prophet.

The US Drought Monitor reports that 88 percent of this year’s corn crop and 77 percent of the soybean crop are now affected by the most severe drought since 1988. In response the Worldwatch Institute launched a 12 step guide to combatting drought and desertification. These tips can be used by policy makers around the world and in dry climates in the Middle East. Read on for the list.

1. Agroforestry: Planting trees in and around farms reduces soil erosion by providing a natural barrier against strong winds and rainfall. Tree roots also stabilize and nourish soils. The 1990 Farm Bill established the USDA National Agroforestry Center with the expressed aim of encouraging farmers to grow trees as windbreaks or as part of combined forage and livestock production, among other uses. See Green Prophet’s feature on the Nabateans to see how this idea can be applied in the Middle East.

2. Soil management: Alternating crop species allows soil periods of rest, restores nutrients, and also controls pests. Soil amendments, such as biochar, help soils retain moisture near the surface by providing a direct source of water and nutrients to plant roots, even in times of drought.

3. Increasing crop diversity: Mono-cropping often exposes crops to pests and diseases associated with overcrowding, and can increase market dependence on a few varieties: in the United States, almost 90 percent of historic fruit and vegetable varieties have vanished in favor of mono-cultured staples such as Pink Lady apples and Yukon Gold potatoes. Encouraging diversity through agricultural subsidies and informed consumption choices can help reverse this trend and the threat it poses to domestic food security. In the worst case, do what Syria does and seed bank your seeds to preserve biodiversity.

4. Improving food production from existing livestock: Improved animal husbandry practices can increase milk and meat quantities without the need to increase herd sizes or associated environmental degradation. In India, farmers are improving the quality of their feed by using grass, sorghum, stover, and brans to produce more milk from fewer animals. This also reduces pressure on global corn supplies.

5. Diversifying livestock breeds: Most commercial farming operations rely on a narrow range of commercial breeds selected for their high productivity and low input needs. Selective breeding, however, has also made these breeds vulnerable to diseases and changing environments. Lesser-known livestock such as North American Bison are often hardier and produce richer milk.

6. “Meatless Mondays“: Choosing not to eat meat at least one day a week will reduce the environmental impacts associated with livestock as well as increase food availability in domestic and global markets. Current production methods require 7 kilograms of grain and 100,000 liters of water for every 1 kilogram of meat. Livestock production accounts for an estimated 18 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and roughly 23 percent of agricultural water use worldwide. You can just become become more vegaware.

7. Smarter irrigation systems: The Ogallala High Plains Aquifer, which supplies essential groundwater to many Midwestern states, is experiencing record rates of depletion due to extraction for irrigation purposes. Almost 50 percent of commercial and residential irrigation water, however, is wasted due to evaporation, wind, improper design, and overwatering. Installing water sensors or micro-irrigation technology and planning water-efficient gardens or farms using specific crops and locations can significantly reduce water scarcity problems. Israel has great solutions for irrigating crops, as do ancients from Afghanistan.

8. Integrated farming systems: Farming systems, such as permaculture, improve soil fertility and agricultural productivity by using natural resources as sustainably and efficiently as possible. Research and implementation of permaculture techniques, such as recycling wastewater or planting groups of plants that utilize the same resources in related ways, are expanding rapidly across the United States. Permaculture is becoming more widespread in the Middle East too.

9. Agroecological and organic farming: Organic and agroecological farming methods are designed to build soil quality and promote plant and animal health in harmony with local ecosystems. Research shows that they can increase sustainable yield goals by 50 percent or more with relatively few external inputs. In contrast, genetic engineering occasionally increases output by 10 percent, often with unanticipated impacts on crop physiology and resistance.

10. Supporting small-scale farmers: Existing agricultural subsidies in the United States cater disproportionately to large-scale agribusinesses, 80 percent of which produce corn for animal feed and ethanol. This means that small-scale producers are affected more acutely by natural disasters and fluctuating commodity prices, even though they are more likely to be involved in food production. Government extension and support services should be adjusted to alleviate this deficit.

11. Re-evaluating ethanol subsidies: Although ethanol’s share of US gasoline is still relatively small (projected at 15-17 percent by 2030), in 2009 the Congressional Budget Office reported that increased demand for corn ethanol has, at times, contributed to 10-15 percent of the rise in food prices. Encouraging clean energy alternatives to crop-based biofuels will increase the amount of food available for consumption, both at home and abroad.

12. Agricultural Research and Development (R&D): The share of agricultural R&D undertaken by the U.S. public sector fell from 54 percent in 1986 to 28 percent in 2009, and private research has filled the gap. Private companies, however, are often legally bound to maximize economic returns for investors, raising concerns over scientific independence and integrity. Increased government funding and support for agricultural research, development, and training programs can help address issues such as hunger, malnutrition, and poverty without being compromised by corporate objectives.

Image of Arabian oasis from Shutterstock

The post A 12 Step Program to Stopping Drought and Desertification appeared first on Green Prophet.