Hi all! My name is Alex E.B. Trapp, and I am a Sustainable Agriculture Professional in Líbano, Tolima, Colombia! Let me share some of my story with you:
I started out studying Economics at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, but after 6 semesters of learning what was really going on in the world, I got discouraged. So much war, hunger, need and poverty made me doubt whether those who are running the world really know what they are doing. So I began my travels! Many years later I finished my BS in Sociology, with a double major in Spanish Language and Literature, so I am technically a literato too.
In my travels I met my wife, an environmental journalist and Colombiana, and together we started an environmental non-profit, focused on making a difference in this world through three major focus; environmental education, sustainable agriculture, and applied and appropriate technology.
We bought a traditional coffee farm at 1810 meters above sea level, and have been experimenting with ecological recovery techniques, including building food forests, or as I like to call them - Agroforestry systems.
The exciting thing about agroforestry systems is that they solve almost every local and global problem that we are facing as a species. The diversity of plants heals soils, manages fresh water flows, and prevents erosion from both wind and rain. Increased foliage increases the amount of solar power absorbed and the amount of carbon sequestered. The trees and bushes provide habitat for native birds and animals, and the varying forest products make local economics much more stable for rural farmers. We continue to experiement with new strategies and techniques!
I also participate with some of my long time friends in an independent film company, King's Tower Productions. I'll share more in the coming days but, if you can't wait, check out our work here: https://spadeheartclub.com
I found steem in my exploration of different cryptos as applied and appropriate technologies. I hope to get to know some of you and continue to share my pictures, techniques and experiences in how to make the world a better place, from the ground up!
Hello New Steemian - a warm welcome to Steemit for you !
First Tip from me to you for the start
I would just start following and talk to the people here first, with the time
you will learn more and more and things are getting better !
Steemit is very complex !
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Awesome the world needs more people like you
Thank you! I hope to motivate others to do what they can to make this world a little bit nicer for all of us!
Alex, you're doing it man! Love it. The terrain is gorgeous. I'm making my way down to S.A., slow and steady (actually in Wisconsin right now). I can't wait to be immersed in the different agroforestry projects along the way. Your farm seems like its right in my route. I wish you and your wife the best going forward.
Thanks, can't wait to see you down here! Have fun heading south, the Americas are beautiful.
Looks amazing fellow green thumb...permaculture is such an amazing system...and Wow that is steep! Looking forward to getting to your wonderful country in the future. Followed! :)
We have to be the most careful on the steep slopes, I know areas that have lost entire acres of top soil to erosion because of deforestation. The trees are fighting all that gravity with their roots!
have you ever heard of swales? a system for growing on slopes permaculture based check it out would help alot it sounds like.
Also hugelkultur sounds like another option.
Yes, I will show more pictures in the coming days, but if the slopes are too steep we have to use terraces instead of swales, I'm actually building my first one now :)
awesome follow me and ill start posting some photos of my garden animals plants etc....actually just posted some pics of bee swarms i caught this summer check it out :)
Whats actually faster to make and just as good, are Vetiver system hedgerows. You can really save labour by growing rather than digging terraces
My understanding of hugelkultur is that it's not terribly appropriate in subtropical/tropical environment, as the soil biology/insect life has the ability to break down woody materials exceedingly fast. Tropics Usually have extremely poor soils as most of the nutrients are in the vegetation.
The tera preta soils of the amazon basin consist primarily of bio-char as it has the ability to soak up nutrients and hold them in a soil-like medium without the excessive rainfall leaching nutrients out of the soil. That might be a more appropriate use of permaculture locally (I'm unsure about your rainfall) and bio-char is equally inappropriate here in temperate climates.
Also, I feel like swales are a little over used and misunderstood. That much slope has got to be challenging.
Hugelkultur actually works very well in tropical climates.
Yes decay is faster but so is growth to replace it.
I'm glad to know that. I was under the impression it was less/marginally effective in the tropics. Thanks for that feedback
Prepper Guide thinks you have got your work cut out for you... You bit off a lot to chew, amigo, do you think your business model will ever turn a profit and be able to compete with more comercialized operations ?
I'm skeptical, but I'll be interested to see the final outcome.
Followed. Up voted. And resteemed.
Thanks! You bring up important issues for rural farmers; in fact what I hear most from campesinos is not, 'How can I save the planet?' but instead, 'How can I make more income to keep my family happy and healthy?'
Agroforestry systems are more productive than monocultures, but they don't produce as much of any one product. We're working on solutions, and I hope to continue to share them here!
Dude! I love this, so interesting! I want to come and visit your farm! Following for updates!
Fantastic! I'll keep posting pictures, let me know when you are in the area ;p
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Welcome :)
Welcome to Steemit Alex!
I like what you're doing, very interesting indeed .
"Agroforestry systems"...mate...that is the perfect term for it, Bill Mollison, the father of permaculture, was a great man, but he had no talent at naming things...lol
I've never heard that but I think you are right! One of permaculture's problems is creating a unified and scientific vocabulary. He left work for us to do!
Exactly, yes, permaculture has been left to the "hippies" far too long. We need people like you to bring it into the here and now , with clear and defined scientific parameters and terminology. That will bring it to the masses, and then, we may all have a chance at fixing the terrible mess the world is in.
Hello and welcome to Steem! :-) Followed. Follow me back 😘
Welcome and Thank You for being with us!! Following your Blog now