Alpaca Farming: Top Dos and Don’ts
Alpacas hale from South America and resemble llamas in appearance but since they have been bread primarily for their fiber and not as beasts of burden, they are much smaller than llamas. Their renown wool is light weight or heavy weight, depending on how it is spun. It is soft, durable, luxurious and silky. While...
Survival Gardening for Hard Times
It seems that many families that have never been interested in a home or kitchen garden are now becoming avid gardeners; many of these new aficionados attribute their interest in gardening to the rising prices of food and other commodities and the poor economic conditions of the global economy. Others are transitioning into modern homesteading...
The Cork Tree
The cork tree, or the correct classification name, Quercus suber, is an oak tree that is evergreen and is commonly found in numerous countries including Spain, Algeria, France, Tunisia, Morocco and Portugal. You probably are best familiar with it from the cork used to seal a bottle of wine. It is also a popular...
What is the Difference Between Annuals and Perennials?
What is the difference between annual plants and perennial plants? It’s quite simple. Annual plants are plants that complete their life cycle in one year or less, while perennial plants are plants that can take anywhere from two to 20 years to complete their lifecycle. Many people like to use more perennials in their...
Heritage Livestock and Heirloom Produce: Let’s Keep Our Diversity, Shall We?
Heritage livestock is of the uptmost importance and one organisation that has these interests at heart is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC). Agriculture is today very dominated by genetic engineering and so are our farm animals. To maximise size as well as immunity, genetics come into play. As a result, a hybrid animal is...
Subsistence Agriculture – Reclaim This Step Towards Sustainability
Subsistence agriculture is simply put the cultivation of land and rearing of crop and animals to feed your own family, and share or trade the rest. However he word “subsistence” thwarts the meaning of the action of local farming and raising of food for one’s self and family. The word, subsistence implies a lack, and...
The 100 Mile Diet – Take on this Eco Challenge
The 100 mile diet “is a term used in American food activism to describe a diet which consists entirely of foods grown and raised within 100 miles of the dinner table”. People who follow this kind of diet usually cal themselves locavores and it all started with a book called The 100-Mile Diet: A...
Heifer International – Ending Hunger, Caring For The Earth
Heifer International, established in 1944, is a non-profit organization that operates on a global scale. It is a proven method of fighting poverty and hunger using sustainable measures. Heifer’s mission is to work within communities in order to fight hunger and poverty while caring for the earth and natural environments at the same time....
The Un-Green Revolution: History and Effects of the Green Revolution
The Green Revolution is something that you might have heard of, but it is a concept that must be understood before it can be appreciated or criticized. First used by the former director of the United States Agency of International Development (USAID) in 1968, it refers to the developments in the agricultural field between...
Angora Rabbits – Furry and Useful Critters
Angoras, of all the rabbits, have the look of a giant Easter Bunny that hides chocolate eggs beneath it’s massive, cotton candy like hair. Angora rabbits are both commercially raised, as well as on very sustainable small scale- all because their furry bodies make great wool! Angora fur is used to produce soft and...
Organic Farmers Stand Up and Sue Corporate Giant, Monsanto
Over 270 000 organic farmers have stood up and sued Monsanto, a corporate agricultural giant. This was done with the help of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association. The paperwork was submitted on the March 30th, 2011. Monsanto is a huge multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, founded in 1901 by John Francis Queeny. This corporation...
Starting a Farm
Wanting to farm is a commendable desire. Farms give us food. From mass-produced cereal grains to the most well-tended, ultra-local crops, meats and dairy goods, a farmer had to have the know-how and put in hard work to bring them to you. There are many things you should consider when looking to start a farm....