Climate change is the ongoing increase in global average temperature and its effects on earth’s climate system. For years, it has been an important topic, a burning platform, as worldwide, people and nature are threatened by the effects of climate change. We see heatwaves and drought, floodings and a rising sea level, melting glaciers, failed harvests and hunger.
While Europe is putting in place more and more legislation and compulsory guidelines for countries and companies, Africa is battling climate change on a whole other level. With less financial means, less widespread knowledge, but maybe a lot more potential.
We believe that one of the solutions lies in community, scalable permaculture projects in Africa. Projects where communities and kids are educated about permaculture and guided to increase permaculture practices in their area. This can create big changes and help to fight climate change in two ways. First, by mitigation, which means reducing greenhouse gasses and secondly by climate adaptation, change the way of working and living to be well equipped for a changing climate.
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture wants to create a self-sustainable and resilient agriculture and society. It observes the interactions between all natural components, and seeks to integrate human activities while respecting natural processes.
3 Pillars; earth care, people care and fair share contribute together to this more sustainable way of agriculture.
How does Permaculture fight climate change?
Permaculture aims to stop deforestation, and plant more trees. Carbon is taken up by the trees (carbon capture) and oxygen is released. By lowering carbon emissions, trees are one of the easiest and most widely known solutions to decrease greenhouse gasses and thus fight climate change. Trees create shade as well, which results in a lower local temperature and less evaporation, creating a good environment for other plants to grow. And additionally, the roots will anchor the ground, preventing erosion, landslides and flooding.
Secondly, composting, to decrease waste and turn it into useful fertilizer, is an important good practice in permaculture. The widely used chemical fertilizers are produced at a high temperature and pressure. Therefore, lots of energy is needed, which causes greenhouse gasses. Moreover, part of the applied chemical fertilizer is transformed into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, contributing to global warming 300 times as much as carbon dioxide. By using compost as a fertilizer, this harmful emissions decrease and a healthy soil is created with lots of potential for plants to grow.
Next, permaculture will focus on water management and soil restoration. For example by using mulch, this means to cover the soil with natural materials to protect the soil against dehydration, extreme temperatures, and weeds. Mulch also enriches the soil and makes it fertile again. Another good practice which can be implemented are banana circles to take up excess water and store it for other plants to use. This way, permaculture helps to adapt to the environment when climate is changing and prevents it against natural disasters such as flooding, landslides, etc.
Also the use of solar or other renewable energy is part of the topics treated in permaculture projects. It is clear that by reducing fossil fuel consumption, emissions will decrease, as well as air pollution, deforestation, etc. By making use of solar cookers, solar dryers, wonderbags,.. for cooking, the carbon footprint will decrease significantly. In Europe, where more and more green electricity is produced, those changes may not have a huge impact. But in Africa, where mostly firewood and charcoal are used for cooking, the advantages and potential are enormous.
Moreover, permaculture strives to integrate different plants into one biodiverse system. It values diversity and stays far away from monocropping. Monocropping is the use of the same crops over and over on the same land. It will cause soil degradation and loss of biodiversity, which makes it harder to fight pests and diseases and is more susceptible to droughts and extreme weather. In permaculture, we learn that the most healthy ecosystems exist of a mixture of plants and insects, working together to fight against climate change.
Why are community permaculture projects the way to go?
By giving workshops and having long term cooperations with for example schools, communities can learn about the benefit permaculture has to offer. They will be more aware of what’s good and bad for the earth and they can, in this way, change their way of living and farming to tackle climate change problems.
Permaculture is about people and sharing, therefore we believe that it makes little sense if it’s just one person changing its way of farming. If a community, all together, can be informed and takes action, the changes will be more significant and ongoing over time. Therefore, it is important to involve children in the projects. The future generations will be even more exposed to the effects of climate change, and the permaculture knowledge helps them combat those challenges and inform their parents and future children to do so as well. Malawi Schools Permaculture Clubs (MSPC), a project set up by Butterfly Space in Nkhata Bay, Malawi, is a good example on how kids and teachers take the lead in permaculture realizations. Read more about it here https://www.malawipermacultureclubs.com/
By having permaculture gardens which serve as an example for the community, knowledge is transferred. Good practices are school permaculture gardens, hospital gardens etc. coordinated by local people with a passion or interest in this particular topic.
Can I contribute?
Worldwide, multiple permaculture initiatives exist. Maybe you can find a project nearby, where you can learn more about it or offer your help. In Malawi, Butterfly Space, a non-profit eco-lodge https://butterflyspacemalawi.com/ , set up the Malawi Schools Permaculture Clubs (MSPC) program, definitely an interesting program with a lot of local people involved, willing to spread the knowledge further. Visiting this beautiful program and lodge helps the project to grow and will be a unique and beautiful experience for everyone.
You can also support financially, this will help a school set up permaculture clubs, teach the teachers, plant trees and organize ‘open days’ for the community to come and learn. Check: https://www.malawipermacultureclubs.com/donate
More ambitious, start your own small permaculture project and create a community around it. Let the permaculture network grow, and let’s fight together against climate change.
