Unit: 4 L:1 Catch & Store Energy

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Principle 2: Catch & Store Energy

‘Make hay while the sun shines’

Build systems and processes to enable you to catch and store useful resources. Often you have to be timely, making the best of opportunities as the arise. As in ‘make hay while the sun shines’ or we could say ‘catch the water when it is raining’. Here in the temperate north we only have a small window of opportunity to dry our crops. In the tropics long droughts are followed by very heavy rains.

Lectures from the current PDC are posted at the foot of this page.

This module contains

2 slideshows, download in PDF format Theory + Example
4 audio files available in both download or streaming format. Each approx 25 mins.
Links to two essential video clips
Link to one optional extra longer video

This module is divided into 5 sections

Introduction pt 1
Soil pt2
Water pt3
Landscape pt4

Traditional systems in Morocco pt5

Stream audio for Lesson 4: Catch and Store Energy

Stream audio: lesson 4 part 2

Stream audio: lesson 4 part 3

Steam audio: lesson 4 part 4

Stream audio: lesson 4 part 5: slideshow 2, traditinal systems in Morocco

Budumba, Butaleja, Uganda
Building fertile soils, using raised beds, mulches, compost are all ways of catching and storing energy.

Also the more carbon we can build up in the soil the more it will retain moisture and allow rain water to penetrate. In permaculture there are many technigues available to allow us to catch and store energy.

In less than 10 minutes Geoff Lawton brings to life the extraordinary diversity and dynamic behavior of soil biota, (the living part of the soil).

In the water cycle experiment (below) in just 7 minutes we see a powerful critique of modern farming methods as well as real insight into our of best opportunities to ‘catch and store energy’.

Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, Dirt! The Movie takes a humorous and substantial look into the history and current state of the living organic matter that we come from and will later return to. Dirt! The Movie will make you want to get dirty!

PDC day 3: Principle 2

Catch and store energy