DIRT

Class discussed the basis of how are homes and food are made, from dirt... lots and lots of dirt. Dirt is a living organism which homes many types of bacteria and small organisms, vital to keep dirt full of nutrients from our homes. However, everyday due to industry we are destroying dirt by taking other minerals from dirt that we find more valuable. In the long run we will lose all of the important things that we need from dirt. If we continue on the rate of destruction of dirt that we are on right now, we will eventually lose any value from dirt within this century, ensuring it will be very difficult if not impossible to grow dirt. We must continue to help the Earth by using the organic methods to grow food in the best way, the organic way.

Dirt the Movie

I thought Dirt was a very informative movie for our colloquium class. It shows us where everything that we eat comes from and how we should appreciate the land that we're given. So often, we misuse soil and dirt as a part of our living, breathing atmosphere. I like the fact that the researchers went into different countries to see what other people's opinions were about dirt and all of the different ways they tried to encourage the people to farm for themselves. Composting is also a cool mechanism that uses trash to make soil. I think that that method could be used greatly among Americans since we are so wasteful. Overall great class!

EarthShips

The idea of an "earthship" was thought up in the 1970's as a way to live more in harmony with the environment without sacrificing modern delicacies. It's basically a home that is off the grid and made of materials that would otherwise be burried in a landfill...a.k.a.; trash. The walls of an earthship are made of dirt-packed tires, bottles, and cans. Pretty neat way to recycle, huh? After the walls are set, they are then covered with an outside covering of siding for uniformity, but the internal structure is dirt and trash that will end up regulating it's own temperature, making A.C. and Heating a thing of the past. The rooftop of a 3,000 sq.ft. ceiling will collect 2,000 gallons of water in a one-inch rainfall. This water will be filtered with specialized plants and used for drinking, bathing, washing and eventually toilets until finally being returned back the earth. The earthship also supports its own garden, so grocery shopping wont be as necessary as before. Solar pannals are used to energize all of the household appliances, including lighting, refridgerator, washer, T.V., computers (etc.).
The cost of building an earthship is comparable to a normal home, it just takes a little longer to build and gather the building materials. However, once living in it, the electric, water, and grocery bill are almost eliminated. This is a fascinating idea, and one that I will definitely look into in the future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9jdIm7grCY

ECHO...

Our trip to ECHO this past week was fun-filled and very informative. Educational Concerns For Hunger Organization (ECHO) has a plant here in South West Florida where they store many of their seeds and plants and farm healthy foods. We were fortunate to actually try some of their freshly picked broccoli while on our tour of the farm. (picture below) I was surprised to find out that the stem of the broccoli was very tasty, although the leaves got kind of sickening after about four bites.
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We were shown the different types of stoves and water pumps that ECHO uses to plant in third world countries, according to their culture. The evolution of the stove was fascinating and educational in the sense of learning about thermal dynamics and heat loss.

There were many types of bamboo growing at ECHO, including black bamboo pictured below. Bamboo is very sturdy and fast growing. There are thousands of different varieties in the world and can be used as many different types of building materials.

We saw several different types of fruits and vegetables including the miracle fruit, strawberries, avocado, oranges, pumpkin and many more. There were quite a few animals as well for fertilizer, filtration of the ponds, milk, muscle, meat, and even a source of money. ECHO is a Christian based organization, which I think is awesome. I can see the power of God working through this place to make a difference in the world by feeding His people in need.

ECHO Farm

ECHO Farm was a great place for our class to visit to learn what an organization, such as ECHO, is doing to help people around the world. The video was a good introduction to see what ECHO was doing in other countries to help those in need. Some of the poorest countries, economically wise and land wise were being helped by ECHO with volunteers, educators and seeds to help the people there grow their own food. Some of the materials, such as the oven shown above, are still used in those countries and the farm let us see other ways that people less fortunate than ourselves are doing to live everyone day around the world. The farm also grew a number of types of plants and trees that are grown in different types of enviornments of the world, right here in Ft. Myers, Florida. Some of the plants that are grown here, are grown in a variety of unique ways and are used to feed people that are in poverty. ECHO sends some of the food grown here in Ft. Myers to Colorado for storage, in case of a disaster and food is needed for emergency. What is really remarkable about the food grown at ECHO is the quality of the food. It tastes fresh and nutritious. Also, preserve chemical and pesticides are not used on them, so the food is clean straight from the plant. ECHO also has a number of animals at the farm as well. These animals aren't actually used for food, but their droppings are used to help some of the plants grow better as a fertilizer. ECHO is a great organization that everyone taking Colloquium should visit to know what is being done here in south west Florida to help the rest of the world.