#infrawar

Alternative farming on the rise in besieged Gaza

Organic Rooftop Farming

Abu Nasser, 53, has grown 3,500 kilogrammes of organic produce without any soil, transforming his rooftop and concrete lot in Gaza City into an organic oasis. He grows a dozen different types of vegetables and herbs for his family, including eight children and eight grandchildren.

Using hydroponic techniques, Abu Nasser can grow twice as many crops than with conventional techniques, and he saves 90 percent more water by recycling nutrient-dense water. His broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce and cauliflower float on polystyrene squares with holes cut into them, while their roots absorb nutrients from the water.

Hydroponics

Iyad al-Attar, from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, also received a UN grant to launch a hydroponic project after his family's rented farmland was bulldozed and annexed as part of Israel's buffer zone.

He spent years cultivating fish for his backyard aquaponic farm. After many costly experiments, he now grows 5,000 lettuce heads a year on water, along with a dozen other crops. To prevent crop diseases, he uses solutions mixed with natural ingredients, such as onions, hot peppers and olives, instead of chemicals.

"The most precious thing is the health of a human being," Attar said. "The situation in Gaza pushed me to pursue this project. There are too many buildings, the land is shrinking and clean water is scarce."

Solar Water Distillation

Last year, Gaza photographer Fayez al-Hindi created his own water distillation and purification system using solar energy. Tap water is poured into a three-metre-long basin, and as it evaporates onto the panels, it purifies and the clean water drops into a separate basin.

On an average sunny day in winter, his invention produces four to six litres of clean drinking water for his family.

"As human beings, we cannot live without water; we depend on water every day," Hindi told Al Jazeera. "But the cost of water filters is expensive and the economic situation is bad, so I was thinking of alternative ways to filter the poisoned water and to share it with people."

...

Unfortunately, Hindi says that he has found little support to expand his project...

“It means living independently, mainly living independently of the utility companies. Providing your own power. It does not mean living in the stone age, it’s not about bush craft. It’s about generating your own power, your own water, dealing with your own waste. Probably as part of a community, not living on your own like a hermit. It’s also about being more self-reliant and being less dependent on the system. Perhaps realizing that the system isn’t really protecting us anymore and we have to look after ourselves.” - George Noory

Florida Makes Off-Grid Living Illegal – Mandates All Homes Must Be Connected To An Electricity Grid // http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/03/09/florida-makes-off-grid-living-illegal-mandates-all-homes-must-be-connected-to-an-electricity-grid/

"A Commercially Successful Human Rights Violation" In Detroit

#DetroitWater shut-offs "structural economic violence" against the poor. 

interviews with people on the ground.

WHO OWNS THE MEANS OF NOT DYING? 

#infrawar #classwar #stacktivism