ECHO Technical Notes

Treadle Grindstone - 01-01-2010

This treadle grindstone can spin a 6” abrasive wheel (of the type used on electric tool grinders) at up to 3000 rpm by means of a single treadle operated by the person using the grinder. Although rotational speed is similar to electric grinders, power is lower therefore short or light grinding passes must be taken. This tool may be a good addition to a shop where electricity is not available. 

What’s Inside:

• Operating the Grinder
• Maintenance
• Disassembly
• Drive Rope
• Direction of Rotation
• Improving the Grindstone
• Grinding Wheel Speed
• Dimensioned Drawings

PVC Water Pumps - 01-01-2010

The purpose of this document is to show several water pump designs constructed from PVC pipe, explain how to manufacture them, and discuss pump performance and how to improve on these designs. 

What’s Inside:

• Pump Design
• Manufacturing Process
• Pump Performance
• Appendix

TN #60 The Farmer Managed Agro-forestry Farming System (FMAFS) - 01-01-2010

Farming communities in the semi-arid tropical regions of Africa are becoming particularly vulnerable and face enormous challenges for their survival. Climate change, diminishing and unreliable rainfall, traditional mono culture cropping farming practices, high population growth, frequent famines and high de-forestation rates have led to severe environmental degradation and impoverished soils. This has resulted in poor crop yields, high malnutrition rates and extreme poverty.

In this article, I would like to present an integrated farming system developed in the Maradi region of Niger, which has a semi-arid environment with 450 mm annual rainfall and a growing season from June to September. This farming system is showing promise for overcoming the main limitations to farming in the semi-arid tropics, and has potential for replication in other semi-arid regions of the World.

Cite this article as:

Cunningham, P. 2010. Farmer Managed Agro-forestry Farming System (FMAFS). ECHO Technical Note no. 60.

Vegetables for SW Florida in the Summer Months - 01-01-2009

Within a couple days after Bonnie and I arrived in Florida in June 1981 to assume my new role as founding CEO of ECHO, I began digging a garden. For an avid gardener used to the long winters “up north” this was an exciting adventure.  I was going to grow flowers and vegetables year-round in the Garden of Eden itself - at least something very close to it. Or so I thought...

SW Florida’s hot, humid summers have a lot in common with rainforest conditions, minus the shade of tall trees and of course with less total rainfall and not quite as high humidity.  So it is not surprising that some of the standard vegetables in ECHO’s summer gardens originated in tropical rainforests and hot, humid lowlands.  Other important vegetables have originated in countries where there are perhaps six months without rain and six months that are like our summers. I have chosen vegetables for this document that I believe have a reasonably good chance of producing in the summer, but sometimes they still disappoint you.

What’s Inside:

Introduction 

A Look at Perennial Vegetables

ECHO’s Guide to Summer Garden Vegetables

Edible Leaves and Shoots

Fruiting Vegetables

Tubers and Corms

Beans
 

Tropical Rabbit Production: A Guide to Raising Rabbits with Few Resources - 01-03-2009

Rabbits are animals for folks that like to eat meat and want to raise it quickly. Rabbits reproduce quickly; up to eight bunnies every three months. A young rabbit can weigh four pounds in three months -- bigger than a broiler chicken. Rabbits are easy to raise, both in urban and rural areas. They don’t take up much space. Rabbits are a popular meat in Europe, China, and the Americas. Anyone who raises rabbits will never lack for meat for their table and will realize other benefits. Have you considered raising rabbits?

What’s Inside:

Why Raise Rabbits?

Not Everyone Can Raise Rabbits

Feeding Rabbits

Rabbit Cages

Breeding Rabbits

Rabbit Diseases

Dressing Rabbits

Rabbit Management

An Introduction To Soil Fertility - 20-01-2009

All plants need certain mineral elements for proper growth, development, and maintenance. The basic structure of all organisms is built of carbon (C), oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). Plants obtain these elements from water (H₂O) in the soil and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the air, so no input is required beyond being sure the plant has an adequate water supply to meet its needs. Turning the H₂O and CO₂ into organic building blocks, however, is a complex process that requires the assistance of at least 13 other elements.

Three elements, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), are required in relatively large quantities and are referred to as primary or macronutrients. N is an important component of all protein, so is integral to the plant structure. P is a minor component of protein, but is integral to the molecules that control energy flow within the plant and is a component of genetic material. The role of K seems to be in maintaining the correct salt concentration in the plant sap. N, P, and K, in varying ratios, are the primary constituents of all chemical fertilizers. Depending on the fertilizer origin, their amounts present may be expressed as N, P₂O₅, and K₂O.

What's inside:

• Introduction
• How do I tell whether the soil contains what a plant needs?
• What deficiency symptoms should I be looking for?
• How do I assure that nutrient supplies in soil are maintained?
• Relationship of cropping systems and soil fertility
• Bibliography

Lagos Spinach - 01-01-2007

In a world where hunger and poverty are issues with a large percentage of the population, technology and education are wanting, and agricultural resources are often scarce, a farmer is thankful for low-maintenance crops that will grow with a minimal input of effort and resources. Lagos spinach (Celosia argentea) is such a crop. A little-known, underexploited leafy vegetable, C. argentea is a crop that is easy to plant, grows in most climates and soils, withstands drought and heat, has few problems with pests and disease, is easy to prepare, highly nutritious and tastes good, and produces large quantities of seed. One might wonder why such a plant is so little known!

A-Frame Level - 01-01-2006

The A-Frame Level is a simple, yet accurate tool used for constructing contours on a hillside or slope. It is useful in the basic construction of hillside farming systems, such as the SALT systems, as well as for establishing level contours and drainage ditches. Level contours on a slope reduce erosion, increase water infiltration, protect slopes and facilitate reclamation of degraded hillsides. The A-Frame Level can also be used to determine the percent slope of a hillside. This document provides the basic instructions for constructing and using an A-Frame Level.

What’s Inside:

• Materials for Construction
• Assembly of A-Frame
• Calibration of A-Frame
• Marking Contour Lines
• Measuring a Slope
• Useful Resources 

Preparing for Agricultural Missions - 01-04-2006

There are two parts to this document; part 1 provides a brief description of the things a college student should consider as he/she chooses opportunities for learning and part 2 lists organizations that provide some practical training. The second section will be most useful for individuals applying to or who have been accepted by a mission and are preparing for service, and for missionaries that have limited knowledge of agriculture, health care, and appropriate technology yet realize their ministry has some level of involvement in one or more of these areas.

Chaya - 01-01-2006

Dr. Martin Price, co-founder of ECHO and former head of ECHO’s Agricultural Resources Department, has said, “I would consider chaya to be one of the five most important underutilized food plants ECHO distributes. I give it this rank because of its ability to thrive in both arid and rainy regions, its little need for care or extra fertility, its lack of insect or disease pests, its high production per square foot, and the exceptional nutritional value of its cooked leaves.”

Frank Martin, Ruth Ruberté, and Laura Meitzner agreed; in their book Edible Leaves of the Tropics, they wrote, “As a year-round source of high-quality food in a wide range of conditions, it is one of the most important edible-leaved plants for the tropics.”

And in an article in Economic Botany 56(4), “The Ethnobotany of Chaya,” Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Alvaro Molina-Cruz concluded, “Its high nutritive value, ease of propagation, productivity, tolerance of poor growth conditions, and resistance to pests and disease all make chaya a valuable potential crop that could benefit peoples of many different regions.”