duayee vocational school proposal towards building a model sustainable village | ecosa institute |...

DUAYEE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL PROPOSAL

TOWARDS BUILDING A MODEL SUSTAINABLE VILLAGE

ADVISORS: TONY BROWN, TOM HAHN, CARRIE LARSEN

AUTHORS: DAW NIELLE CASTLEDINE, NANCY CHAN, CHRISTINE CRAHAN, M ONICA LESLIE, DREW MICHELSON, MATTHEW PYATT, SHEENA ZHANG

Duayee Vocational School Proposal

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INDEX

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................3 Building Retrofi t t ing and New Constr uction ....................................................................... 4 Appropr ia te Technolog y .....................................................................................................................5 Ra inwater Har vest ing Systems ......................................................................................................... 6 Working with the land ...........................................................................................................................8 Ear th Works for Ra inwater catchment ........................................................................................8 Food forests and Polycul ture ...........................................................................................................8 Compost ing , Humanure and Methane Har vest ing ..............................................................11 Craft Industr ies .......................................................................................................................................13 Paper Making ..........................................................................................................................................13 Pr int Making and Publ ish ing ..........................................................................................................13 Other poss ib le c lasses ........................................................................................................................14 Lear ning from Duayee ........................................................................................................................15 Reseracher in Res idency Prog ram ................................................................................................15 Other Poss ib le Classes .......................................................................................................................16 Economic Program ................................................................................................................................17 Economic Educat ion ...........................................................................................................................17 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................19 Resources .....................................................................................................................................................20 Appropr ia te Technolog y ...................................................................................................................21 Ra inwater Har vest ing Resources : .................................................................................................21 Roof ing System: ...................................................................................................................................21 Gutter System: ......................................................................................................................................21 Ra in Tanks : .............................................................................................................................................21 Other Water Har vest ing Resources : ..........................................................................................22 Ag r icu l tura l Pract ices Resources : ................................................................................................22 PaperMaking ............................................................................................................................................22 Economics Prog ram ............................................................................................................................23

Towards a Model Sustainable Village

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D UAY E E VO C AT I O N A L S C H O O L P RO P O S A L

TOWARDS BUILDING A MODEL SUSTAINABLE VILLAGE

INTRODUCTION

The village of Duyaee, in Nimba County, Liberia came to ECOSA for assistance in creating a sustainable village model. This proposal is the second iteration of this partnership, the first being a model of the physical building that the vocational school could be housed in. Through working with Peter Gbelia of the Empowerment Society and Rev. Caleb Dormah of the Tufeia Foundation, the students and professors decided that a proposal for a vocational school could be the best way to illustrate, educate about and build a truly sustainable village.

This proposal attempts to address the economic burdens that restrict the village from reaching its full potential. ECOSA is proposing that one can relieve some of the economic pressures of daily life, while providing education and stability, increasing quality of life and village infrastructure, all without compromising the stability and life giving support system of the environment. This vocational school will help to address the Millennium Development Goals for the area, by creating local economic development. Through the vocational school, Duayee will be able to educate its population and create a skilled work force. Duayee will receive building retrofitting which will improve the health and well being of the villagers. Duayee’s food productivity will increase and provide nutritional food for the village as well as surplus. The school will enable multiple businesses and industries to form, as well as provide a stable income for those employed by the school and the businesses that are created. The entire process will facilitate a more complete and stable economy for the village and villagers, as well as

help to move Duayee towards becoming the model sustainable village that it wants to be.

Ideally, for each project, someone with expertise and experience is brought into the village to train the first round of students through the construction of the vocational school, who will be given the option of becoming the teachers of the school, as well as business members of the industries that are started. Other projects that are deemed fit to be a learning model for the students by the village and teachers will be used as training opportunities in the vocational school classes. This form of hands on learning helps significantly with the training process as well as achieves infrastructure improvements for the village. Subsequent students will continue to build and improve the village infrastructure that is required for Duayee to become

Image from Dawnielle Castledine

Image from Dawnielle Castledine


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a model sustainable village. Each class will include elements of storytelling, drawing, and critical thinking, to convey ideas and inspire learning as well as regenerate respect and understanding of these traditions. Funding for the vocational school and following projects will be provided through the hiring of students for outside projects and the business and financial opportunity provided will keep students, employees, teachers and money in the village. One of the keys to the vocational school will be flexibility. The first few years of the school will probably provide a sufficient population of students in the village who know how to start and manage a business. Future students might be from other villages and would pay to go, or the school could evolve and continue to provide classes and support for the existing businesses and their future employees. Decisions like this will depend upon the village consensus, when the time comes.

Image from Dawnielle Castledine and Nancy Chan


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BUILDING RETROFITTIN G AND NEW CONSTRUCTION

The construction and remodeling that take place in the village are used as hands on training projects for vocational classes. Buildings are built and retrofit to provide the occupants and village the required comfort, sanitation and nutrition through

taking into account climactic, environmental, and social factors that affect the site.

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

Appropriate Technology is meant to produce energy, run machines, create marketable products, and skill sets and is designed and manufactured with local knowledge and materials. This technology expands the capabilities and economic base of the locality through the increased infrastructure of the village that allow it to realize the economic opportunities that require this electricity without increasing the localities reliance on foreign investment and the cycle of debt. Examples of this technology are locally built wind and water turbines. Specific examples of this technology in use in other locales can be found in the resources section.

OBJECTIVES:

Through this course students will gain knowledge of electrical and construction systems, will gain experience reusing local materials to create something useful, expand the knowledge of local materials, learn how to design an energy production system to fit a set of guidelines that included needed energy and available materials, will have a chance to learn about how different materials work and don’t work, and finally they will get the opportunity to build and maintain energy production systems that will benefit the community and provide employment for the students.

PROCEDURES:

Basic electric and energy production training. The student will learn about circuits, turbines, wiring, and how energy is produced from the wind, water and sun.

Basic construction training for wood, steel, and masonry. The student will learn how to make a wind turbine out of wood and steel, and how to make a small dam out of masonry and metal.

Analysis of current, local waste material. Taking stock of what potential resources that the surrounding villages and cities are producing. What could possibly be used as turbine blades for wind generators? What could be used to increase the micro hydro that could be produced during the wet season?

Experimentation with different materials, lead by instructor for the student’s individual energy needs, as well as the community projects. The student will take stock of projects that they want to be able to do that need electricity, calculate how much energy is needed for them to do that project, and then design a system to produce that energy. If there is no project that fits these criteria, the student will help to design a system for community needs.

Image from Village Earth


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Implementation and instillation training. The student will then get supervision on the implementation and instillation of their project. There will be an opportunity for community advice upon the completion of the project, analyzing the applicability of the technology.

After the experimentation phase, while moving into implementation and instillation training, a small business could be created that would provide training, building and instillation services to nearby villages and cities. This would allow students to meet the demand for knowledgeable and skilled workers, keep money in the community and the school and allow for more people to receive the economic benefit of this energy production.

Maintenance Training. When maintenance comes up with the technologies, as it will, students will all be trained on how to maintain the equipment so that it continues to provide and meet the energy needs. Having multiple villagers knowledgeable of the technology, helps to ensure its feasibility in the community.

It is extremely economically beneficial for the village to pursue Appropriate Technology to power the improvements that the community wants because of the cost savings of using local materials, and training multiple people in the buildings, installation and maintenance of the energy sources, rather than importing a highly technical solution that is going to have a high initial investment, high cost of parts and labor to maintain it and a high financial risk that is associated with this investment.

RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEM

Retrofits to existing buildings and incorporation of rainwater catchment systems in new buildings are used as training tools to build up the knowledge base needed to start industries around each component of the system, including roofing, gutter systems, and rain tanks. This will provide the residents of the village with educational opportunities, increased resource security and water quality, as well as a more resilient local economy.

OBJECTIVES:

Through this course, students will make existing structures suitable for harvesting rain water by installing gutters made of local bamboo, building catchment tanks from bamboo and ferrocement, and repairing/retrofitting rusty and deteriorated roofs with bamboo. This course will create economic avenues for the residents through light industries including: bottled water from free and clean rain water, bamboo gutter manufacturing and installation, rain tank manufacturing and installation, and roof retrofitting. This course provides educational opportunities while manufacturing and installing the gutters, rain tanks, and roof retrofits. These projects will improve the quality of the drinking water by utilizing harvested rain water.

PROCEDURES:

The roofs that are catching the water are retrofitt to ensure the water is safe for consumption. One possible solution to this is to create bamboo roofing, which would increase the quality of water, increase the knowledge base of the material, and stimulate a local bamboo industry. Detailed information on “corrugated/shingle” bamboo roofing can be found

Image from Bambus.com (resources section)


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under the “roofing system” in the Resources section.

Once a roof is suitable for harvesting potable water, a gutter is attached to the building. Bamboo makes quality gutter systems as well. For detailed information on how to build bamboo gutters, see “gutter system” under the Resources section. Building gutters out of bamboo builds the availability and knowledge base for this material. In order for the bamboo industry to be sustainable, bamboo plantations are grown, and the individuals who are trained in sustainable bamboo production gain an income as well as help to supply the material locally, providing incentives for the industry to remain in the locality.

Next, once the gutter is installed, rain tanks are built. The material that we have identified so far as being the most feasible and sustainable is ferrocement. While ferrocement needs to be imported, the tanks are incredibly durable and long lasting, even in wet climates such as Duayee and a knowledge base for this material already exists. The construction of these tanks would provide another training opportunity that provides future employees, as well as jobs from the demand of these tanks. For detailed information on how to construct rain catchment tanks, see “Rain Tanks” under the Resources section.

Lastly, once the water has been caught it can be bottled and sold. The best material for bottling would be gourds (Lagenaria siceraria is the species native to Africa), which can be hollowed out. Design of these systems is an aspect of the class so that the best method for this area is found. Every aspect of rainwater harvesting has the potential for creating jobs and sustainable industry for the people of Duayee. Bamboo holds the most promise for many of the components of a rain harvesting system and with the abundance of bamboo already growing in the area, it is clear that creating bamboo plantations can be a success.

There could be roofing, gutter, rain tank, and bottled water businesses. The growth, processing and manufacturing of these industries would be local and the revenue generated from these industries would go to maintaining this local ownership, employment and training through the vocational school. . It would keep workers and generated income within the village since the plantations would be located there. The local economy would further be stabilized from the need of rainwater harvesting systems within the village itself, as well as in nearby villages and cities.

The students learn critical skills for improving the drinking water and developing local business and industry. Whenever any of the skills of rainwater harvesting are being taught, it should always be done in a hands-on way where the students and teachers will actually be implementing the infrastructure as it is taught. This will not only provide long term and experiential training, but get much needed infrastructure implemented during the process.

Image from “Primitive Ways”


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WORKING W ITH THE LAND

The land throughout the village can be used as an asset for the community. With small alterations of the topography, working with the natural slope and learning some of the processes of nature, pieces of the land can be made into productive food crops and water needs can be met while maintaining the natural balance and biodiversity of the surrounding ecosystem.

EARTH WORKS FOR RAINWATER CATCHMENT

Rain is one of the largest sources for fresh water that almost any region has available to it. Many times, rainwater is free of contaminates that are in the well and ground water which make people sick regularly. Capturing this free water to use for irrigation is one of the easiest things to do, if using earthworks to achieve this irrigation.

OBJECTIVES:

Through this class students will learn methods of watching the rain to achieve a higher yield through shaping the land and working with where the rainwater will naturally pool up. Students will learn the principals of rainwater harvesting and will implement them through class projects. This class will depend heavily on the resources listed in the resources section that accompanies this section.

PROCEDURES:

Site Analysis to find the top of the watershed, as well as calculate the possible water income and expenditures from the sites.

Shaping the land so that water is spread and used as efficiently and as many times as possible.

Planting the swales and berms to gain an edible yield from the rainwater that the village catches.

This class is highly experiential and students will often be required to stand outside to watch where the rainwater naturally pools up and where it is causing problems like erosion, as well as the digging of the swales and planting appropriate food crops.

FOOD FORESTS AND POLYCULTURE

Slash-and-burn agriculture is the practice of clearing and burning a plot of land, to be cropped and fallowed. While this type of practice may be successful in the short-term, it can often be detrimental long-term by leaving the land less productive and destroying the support system that the sustainability of the

village rests on. Due to increasing demand of crops, more land may be slashed, burned and cultivated next to each other, causing a desertification effect, which is when land is eroded due to the loss of roots in the soil that capture nutrient runoff. Therefore, using slash and burn in the long term can cause the land to be made infertile and incapable of supporting plant life ever again.

Nimba County, which is located in part of the Western Guinean Lowland Forests, holds some of the most biologically diverse vegetation and wildlife in the world. The rainforest here

Image from Simon Wyld


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holds and immense amount of rare resources that are valuable to the world, therefore also an incredible source of economic value for the local community. The devastating effect of slash-and-burn could potentially not only create a loss of agricultural subsistence, economic revenue, and education for the people of Duayee but could be even more catastrophic by wiping out a valuable biodiversity hotspot of the world’s ecosystem.

OBJECTIVES:

Through this class, students will learn to use practices of permaculture as a way of maintaining nutrient-rich land for growing crops. They will learn how to imitate nature’s systems of creating inter-relating, self sustaining, multilayered ecosystems through food forest gardening as well as how trees, shrubs, plants, insects and geography work together to produce food. The benefits of polyculture as opposed to monoculture gardening will be demonstrated and hands on experience in designing, creating and maintaining these systems will be throughout the class.

PROCEDURES:

One of the benefits of food forests, is that it can continue to produce food for years with relatively little ongoing effort, but in order to achieve that, one must put in lots of planning, design, and research before you even break ground.

Here’s a basic breakdown of the steps toward creating a food forest:

Site Analysis: The area for the forest garden is located based on the patterns of circulation, land use intensity, frequency of use and “radial” energies of the land. The Permaculture “Zones of Use” concept is used to create a master-pattern for layout of the landscape. Gardens are patterned and managed according to water availability. Once an area has been selected, students will do an analysis for a potential piece of land in regards to winter and summer sun, wind, slope, soil quality, fire, climate, and rainfall assessment, wildlife corridors, etc. Students will determine what kinds of repair need to be made to the land, i.e. improving soil quality, in order to successfully grow the gardens.

Evaluating resources: The students will consider how much labor this will require and how many people are available to work on it? What are the available animals and equipment and the possible storage capacities? Are there any available seeds and if so what kind? Intimate knowledge of the land is stressed.

Layout Scheme: Depending on the scale of the garden the students wish to produce, they will study the various different techniques involved with creating a successful food garden and determine which ones they’d like to implement. Examples of different techniques are woodland gardens, mature-forest gardens, micro-forest gardens, copses, mini-thickets, lumpy texture, forest edges, etc.

The students will think about possible landforms and circulation in the garden. Questions like “Where are the paths and nodes (access points to people, tools, and

Image from Nancy Chan


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materials)?”, “Where will pathways be, and where can topography be changed to diversify habitats to improve plant growth, and to increase surface area for planting?” will be asked. Thoughts about livestock possibilities will also be analyzed. See resources for more descriptive information

Select Species: An inclusive plant list will be created, analyzing what the native and edible species are. Thought will be given to how to integrate food fungus production into your forest to help with the food production of your garden, such a slogs, stumps, mulch, etc. Students will gain knowledge of the different levels of vegetation. A traditional model of an edible food forest is: A ‘canopy’ layer of mature fruit trees. A ‘low-tree’ layer of smaller nut and fruit trees on dwarfing root stocks. A ‘shrub’ layer of fruit bushes. An ‘herbaceous layer’ of perennial vegetables and herbs. A ‘ground cover’ layer of edible plants. A ‘rhizo-sphere’ or ‘underground’ dimension of plants grown for their roots and tubers. A ‘vertical’ layer of vines and climbers. Incorporation of mulch plants, nitrogen fixers, plants for herbivorous insects, and dynamic accumulators will be taught. Students will learn what individual crop’s needs are regarding shade, soil and water, as well as labor and harvesting requirements.

Design Polycultures: Experimentation with different polyculture systems will illustrate how in certain combination of plantings, one can achieve gardens with limited pest controls that also produce a higher yield of crops. Students will design and experiment with different mixes of high-value fruits and vegetables, annuals and perennials, and tall and short crops grown together. Students will learn about and experiment with different companion plantings to reach the desired results in the locality. Students will incorporate these polyculture patches into their forest gardens, and further testing of “pockets of production” which are monoculture patches of crop production in the midst of diverse plantings to produce crops in large quantities, will be done.

Establish and Manage: Once the entire food forest has been planned and designed, students will begin to start planting the garden if the soil is nutrient-ready. Polyculture designs will be tested and students will then be incouraged to improved upon them with the knowledge gained. A more integrated agricultural system, through advances like food forests, can be an economically competitive way to ensure a continual food source for a community that ultimately saves people time and resources in the long run, as well as providing a source of income. Investing the needed energy and time in the planning stages of these agricultural systems pays off greatly by not having to shift and restart gardens repeatedly while preserving all the other precious land and resources for other economic incentives. Creating a food forest is complex and requires a deep understanding of the site and local ecology.

Once food crops are being produced, value-added goods can be sold in the markets to generate more economic income. People can process and package various types of food such as making honey, jams, sesame oil and/or utilize the garden’s by-products such as wood for crafts, or for building materials to be sold. Creating food forest systems not only serves to protect the precious assets but also serves as a continual investment in ensuring agricultural and economic longevity for the community in the future.

Image from Simon Wyld


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There could be multiple synergies with the development of a food forest, such as integrating with an ecology studies program, where individuals who are studying the natural resources in the rainforest are gathering valuable knowledge that would be beneficial for designing a food system that would be successful in the area. The more knowledge of the area’s resources the more economic gains can be made.

COMPOSTING, HUMANURE AND METHANE HARVESTING

Proper handling of waste is important for the health of a community. Garbage and human waste can be valuable resources when properly collected and processed, but can also be detrimental if left untreated as human waste can be the source of numerous diseases such as hepatitis and e-coli. Proper collection of human waste can be as easy as digging a hole, but with a little planning, this waste can be converted into fertile soil that is clean and beneficial.

OBJECTIVES:

Educating students about composting toilets and the importance of proper containment and treatment of human waste could be done through a two-week workshop that would include the hands on construction of a composting toilet.

‘Humanure’ is a soil made from a process that converts human waste into clean, fertile soil through composting.

PROCEDURES:

Step one: Location

Find a good location for the toilet. The toilet should be downhill and separate from the residence to prevent any possibility of overflow contamination. The toilet should be on a mostly level surface that drains and should be located away from water sources.

Step two: Construction

The first consideration is containment. Digging large holes and placing the toilet over them will work, but barrels or culvert pipe work best for containing the waste and can be covered to prevent insects and rodents from getting in. Barrels or culvert pipes can either be buried or placed above ground. Each hole or containment system should be large enough to hold a full year’s worth of waste from all who will be using the toilet.

Dig at least two containment holes next to each other. Containers can be set on top of the ground, but keep in mind that the toilet will need to be built on top of these containers. Each hole or container should have a tight-fitting lid. If building a very large containment system, be sure to include a way to remove the waste once the compost process is complete.

Once containment is in place, build the floor and toilet over the top, with holes located directly over the top of the containment so that the waste drops in. Allow for plenty of space between the toilet seat and the container. The toilet opening should be made to seal when not in use to prevent flies and rodents from getting in. The toilet should also be vented from the top to allow methane to escape. A vent should carry gas away from people and include an insect screen.

The toilet itself can be built to personal specifications, but comfort and convenience should be taken into consideration. Proper use of a composting system includes the use of sawdust or other types of fine


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and absorbent biomass, so remember to allow for convenient containment of a supply of biomass near the toilet.

Step three: Use

Once you have completed the planning and construction of a composting toilet, proper use is important. After each deposit of waste into toilet, cover waste with sawdust or other dry forms of fine biomass. This will keep waste from smelling and will aid in the decomposition of the waste. Always close the lid to the toilet when not in use keep insects and rodents out. Composting toilets work best when there are about 70% solids to 30% liquids. It is important to try to maintain this ratio. Excessive urine or water in the mix can slow the composting process and may need to be drained.

Once the first container is full of the combination of waste and biomass, reposition the toilet over the empty containment area and begin using the empty container. Place a breathable lid

(straw or grass can be used) over the full container. Over the next year, the full container should occasionally be agitated and additional biomass should be mixed in to help the composting process. After a year, the mix will have been converted to soil and should be free of waste smells.

This process easily lends itself to an economic venture if, after the waste is fully processed into compost, it is bagged and sold at market as a soil additive and fertilizer. This same process can happen with animal and agricultural wastes. The process of turning wastes into compost produces methane which can be harvested in very low tech ways which can provide energy to power lights, cooking and machines.


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CRAFT INDUSTRIES

Some vocations that can be taught don’t necessarily rely on buildings systems but provide needed materials to the village and community through creative means.

PAPER MAKING

The process of using waste plant materials, waste clothing and waste paper then breaking these materials down into fibers with water and force, reforming, pressing and drying them into sheets that can be used to record information and share this information with other people. Adopting the art of making paper will help to provide a needed supply of materials to teach writing, reading and a craft which can be marketed to the surrounding villages and cities.

OBJECTIVES:

Through this class, students will receive knowledge on the local waste stream, as well as ways in which to utilize this resource. Students will learn how to make the necessary tools and how to process the paper to a finished product. Students will have the opportunity to create revenue from this process at the completion of the course, with further training in fair trade requirements and business available.

PROCESS:

Analysis of local and regional waste streams for possible fibrous materials.

Training in the paper making process.

Acquiring materials to use as basins, pulpers, forms, presses and drying areas.

Training in the construction of tools.

Training and experimentation of making paper of different sizes, textures, colors and fibers.

After the product is marketable, creation of a business that markets and distributes paper for schools, post offices, craft suppliers and letter writing could be created, and marketed with fair trade restrictions so that a fare wage is ensured. Money from this business would go to craftspeople (the students), trainers, the costs associated with the business and would help to fund the continuation of the business and training of other villagers.

PRINT MAKING AND PUBLISHING

The students can learn how to catalog their local resources, learn basic bookkeeping skills, and be able to keep logs of what they’ve learned so that the information can be passed on and replicated. This would also be a great way to document business dealings with investors, teachers, and researchers which can be reviewed to ensure that the villagers are getting a fair price for their transactions and that investors aren’t violating international laws. Learning how to catalogue and document their findings will ensure that the villagers are learning the skills not just to impart knowledge to future generations, but also to protect themselves from business misdealing in the event of any misunderstandings that could lead to a potential legal dispute.


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OTHER POSSIBLE CLASSES

Many classes are possible in this category, and the village of Duayee will best know what kinds of craft industries that they can easily form as well as what they want to know and what is the most marketable for their region. Some of the other possibilities that we came up with were “Making fabrics and thread by hand” and “Clay Pottery and Tile Making”. These classes teach crafts that not only produce products that can be useful to the village but also can be used to sell in market to generate revenue.


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LEARNING FROM DUAYEE

Duayee has a wealth of ecological information at its doorstep, along with the information in the community and that gained through the other vocational program. This information is valuable, and people will pay to learn it.

RESERACHER IN RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Duayee is full of natural wonders, some of which the plant and animal function are known to the village. Opening up the village to a few researchers to study the ecology of the region would bring in money to the local economy through their purchase of daily needs, as well as provide a source of information that could be tough to school children or members of the vocational school who are interested in going into the field of science.

OBJECTIVES:

The students taught by this scientist would learn about forest ecology, as well as help to contribute to the growing body of scientific knowledge about this region. The students would learn how to write and

publish scientific papers, as well as the processes of setting up, conducting experiments, data collection, and research presentation skills. The students can trade their knowledge about the forests; i.e. plant species, uses, etc. with teachers and researchers interested in learning about the region, in exchange for rent and providing education. The researchers can be used to help the villagers gain support of the international community in their development efforts to encourage new sources of revenue (i.e. botanicals for pharmaceuticals), provide safe and humane investment, improve the safety and quality of their manufacturing, and provide training for new and sustainable methods for business.

PROCEDURES:

Any researcher who applies to the program would be screened, by the village or a committee that the village sets up, to ensure that the research conducted would be

beneficial to the village. This would also help to ensure that the applicant was willing to teach and learn from the village members, and be a respectful part of the community.

Upon moving into the vocational school or guest housing, the researcher would be introduced to the village and would let everyone know what kind of research he was conducting, so that the process of information sharing would begin.

Villagers who had intimate knowledge of the forest and region would be hired to guide the researcher, and teach any existing knowledge about the plants and animals of the forest.

The researcher would pick out or be introduced to a group of people from the village that want to be involved with the research, and to learn from them.

Original Image from Boomerang Farm, Australia in "Treehouses". Research stations in the rainforest could easily facilitate a residency

program.


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The students of the researcher would be taught scientific methods of conducting and experiment and gathering data, as well as learn how to write scientific papers and conduct research presentations towards the end of the research period.

The research conducted through this program would contribute to the body of knowledge that is being formed in every region in the world, as well as make Duayee’s environmental significance known. This knowledge base would help to oppose large companies coming in and exploiting the people and resource base with no financial or economic compensation. This in turn will help to improve the stability of the region, by allowing for more just economic opportunities to come into the region.

OTHER POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES

The village also has the potential, once initial training has happened, to bring in people from other villages, cities, and counties to attend workshops and participate in a phenomenon called “voluntourism”. Workshops can be structured like short weekend or week long classes that require a fee to attend and participants can learn similar skills taught in the vocational school. Once the school itself is popular to a very wide spread audience, the village can choose to open itself to voluntourism, which allows for people from other states and countries to stay in the village and participate in projects that require manual labor or expertise of some sort. It is a good way to get free help while bringing revenue to the community through purchased food and goods.


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ECONOM IC PROGRAM

All of the classes provided thus far have very high economic incentives. This section is a listing of further possible opportunities for classes, without as much detail about them, which would continue to expand upon the economic

opportunities for the villagers.

By cultivating incremental economic skills, and learning how to grow and evolve as the context changes, the villagers of Duayee can cultivate a sense of resilience that will be vital in the development of infrastructure and the creation of future jobs. The success of the economic program would give the villagers and those associated with this program an improved capacity to build international partnerships and make Duayee a more sustainable village through the expansion of their local village industries.

COMPUTER LITERACY

BASIC BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MARKETING

TRADE REGULATIONS AND FAIR TRADE CERTIFICATION

LOCAL VERSUS GLOBAL ECONOMICS

ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING

BUSINESS ETHICS

LEGAL PROCEEDURES AND CIVIL RIGHTS

Students will be taught how to make more money, how to expand their enterprises, manage workers and produce new/additional products. Teaching these skills can bring in more income and increase the availability of local jobs. The purpose of the incremental economic education that the villagers receive is to impart the importance of each stage of education by giving them an interactive way to experience everything that goes into learning how to shape a business and a future. The education will also keep the villagers grounded in the understanding that in order to be successful they must first understand how the process works.

ECONOMIC EDUCATION

OBJECTIVES:

Provide the skills to create capital from the products made in order to insure the highest income potential. Students will learn basic economic skills through local trade and how to locally source materials. Emphasis will be placed on local economics with expansion to global fair trade markets when businesses expand to a point where that is a feasible endeavor.


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PROCEDURE:

Students will begin by learning about basic business management and economics. Most of this learning will happen through local trade that occurs as businesses expand, but will be reinforced in classes.

Marketing and Trade will be taught to help identify target demographic groups who may want their products and how to create successful partnerships globally and locally.

Basic Macroeconomics & the importance of Vibrant Local Economies will be taught to emphasize the strength that a community gains from sustaining a local economy and how that plays into the model sustainable village.

Business & Interpersonal Ethics are taught to students to increase their awareness of what is “fair” in the fair trade market and how to conduct business ethically.

Historically, lacking this education has made it difficult for the Liberians to recognize when larger vendors or international purchasers are taking advantage of them, as well as the pursuit of short term economic gain from Liberians. By going through this process of developing business expertise from the ground up, the students will have the advantage of understanding the interpersonal skills that are necessary to conduct business intelligently and ethically, as well as gain an ability to better manage their natural resources. This knowledge can be used to set up partnerships with more reputable, fair-trade organizations that can get them better prices for their products overseas.

The creation of village cottage industries could be used initially as capital to finance the immediate need for goods and services and to generate individual and communal revenue. Those funds and services could be used to pay teachers, provide amenities for future educators, researchers and investors or be used as leverage for negotiation in the expansion of new and existing industries. Through this process, those who leave the village will be prepared educationally and economically to demand higher wages abroad so that they can send more money home if needed and a skills base can still be kept within the village and cultivated to serve the village as a whole.


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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, ECOSA has determined that a vocational school, through its building and use of space, could be a vital training opportunity for villagers, as well as the kick start to multiple industries and businesses that could bring the village much needed economic support, as well as provide funding to the school. Taking this model further, and allowing every project in the village to be a learning experience will expand upon the village’s knowledge and skill sets. Through the inclusion of tradition in the classes, inspired learning and creativity will take place, as well as building in the respect that these traditions deserve. When the learning process is integrated with physical projects for the community, whose difference the villagers and students can see, the lessons stay in place and inspire even more solutions, based on local knowledge. The local industries and jobs that are created from this model will be more stable than the international industries that are the main job providers now. These local industries will enable their employees, with knowledge due to the school, to remain locally precisely because of the regenerated opportunity and income that the school provides.

Initiating this project is going to be work, but ECOSA has concluded that the vocational school will start increasing the synergy through use the building of the vocational school as a main lesson for those who will teach at the school. This first round of students will have a respect for the building as well as the opportunity that it is providing them to gain an income and better the village. As long as the goals of bettering the situation of the villagers in a way that is also in peace with the environment for more long term stability remain, the school will be successful. The projects that the school is in charge of should be decided on by the village, with village goals of improvement in mind. This way the entire village not only will have a stake in the school but will also have stronger appreciation and support for the work that the school will do.

Support of this proposal alone is not good enough for the village of Duayee to completely pull itself out of economic stress, but it is a start. The only thing that will be able to achieve that is the realization of the school itself, with the sustained income for the teachers that is provided by the services that the school will foster. An understanding of the schools goals and mission should be attained for anyone that is to work or attend there, so that everyone knows what it is that they are a part of and working towards.


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INSPIRATION PHOTOS


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RESOURCES

A NOTE ON THE RESOURCES:

While the following resources are helpful for conveying the concepts in the classes, people with knowledge of the field need to be brought in to jump start each program.

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World http://www.cartsa.co.za/ http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/IISD/courses/Technology.html http://www.villageearth.org/pages/Appropriate_Technology/ATSourcebook/ http://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia http://www.mayapedal.org/machines.html http://www.vidafine.com/blog/2010/05/bamboo-bikes/ http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-a-Bamboo-Bicycle/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121628758 http://www.ibike.org/library/tech.htm http://www.mayapedal.org/ http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/human-powered/ http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/human-powered/pedal-power/ http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-delight-10-amazing-pedal-powered-machines/ http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/civil/articles/45788.aspx http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/civil/articles/46281.aspx http://www.five-shades-of-green-energy.com/alcohol.html http://bikesnotbombs.org/app_tech http://aidg.org/

RAINWATER HARVESTING RESOURCES:

ROOFING SYSTEM:

http://bambus.rwth-aachen.de/eng/reports/buildingmaterial/buildingmaterial.html http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/earthquakes/Bamboo/Bamboo.htm

GUTTER SYSTEM:

http://www.ewb-karlsruhe.de/_content/projekte/abgeschlossen/pubudugama/Rainwaterharvesting.pdf http://www.lifewater.org/resources/rws1/rws1c4.pdf

RAIN TANKS:

Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers and Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire and Emergency Use by Art Ludwig http://www.ferrocement.com/tankBook/indici.en.2.html http://www.ewb-karlsruhe.de/_content/projekte/abgeschlossen/pubudugama/Rainwaterharvesting.pdf http://www.oasisdesign.net/water/storage/ http://liveearth.org/en/liveearthblog/constructing-low-cost-water-tanks-with-ferrocement


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http://www.wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/sustainable_technologies/technology_notes/2055.asp

OTHER WATER HARVESTING RESOURCES:

http://worldagroforestry.org/projects/searnet/ http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/rural/Traditional3.htm http://www.wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/sustainable_technologies/technology_notes/2055.asp http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/ http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/techpublications/TechPub-8c/ http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/publications/techpublications/techpub-8e/rainwater2.asp http://greenupgrader.com/2138/handspun-recycled-newspaper-yarn/ http://sewgreen.blogspot.com/2009/07/spin-green.html http://www.pieknits.com/blog/spinning/ http://ajol.info/index.php/jfecs/article/viewFile/52840/41441 http://www.japantrends.com/natural-bottled-water-fetches-highest-price/ http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/gardening-how-to/crafts-with-gourds-how-to-make-water-canteens-from-dried-gourds.htm http://www.liv18thc.com/gourdtext.html http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?from_url=true&portfolio_id=388043&individual_id=131526 http://www.greendiary.com/entry/bambottle-waterproof-reusable-biodegradable-bamboo-bottle/ http://www.primitiveways.com/Labiste_gallery1.html

AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES RESOURCES:

How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits: Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavans Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual by Bill Mollison Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway http://permaculture.org.au/store/food_forest_dvd.htm http://www.nofa.org/tnf/sp02/supplement/edible.php http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/at/at0130_full.html http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/network/downloads http://regenerativedesigns.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/fg_pl_sheets.pdf http://regenerativedesigns.wordpress.com/ http://www.nourishlife.org/

COMPOST, METHANE HARVESTING AND HUMANURE

The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins Let it Rot!: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting by Stu Campbell Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain A Worm Composting System Methane Generation From Human, Animal and Agricultural Wastes by National Academy of Sciences http://www.villageearth.org/pages/Appropriate_Technology/ATSourcebook/Energybiogas.php http://tilz.tearfund.org/Publications/Footsteps+41-50/Footsteps+46/Alternative+fuels.htm

PAPERMAKING

http://www.cottontreepress.com/ http://www.ecoafricasocialventures.org/paper-making-recycling/


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http://www.pioneerthinking.com/makingpaper.html http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Paper---An-Illustrated-Step-by-Step-Guide http://www.tutorials.com/06/0697/0697.asp http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Paper/

OTHER CRAFT INDUSTRIES

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Essential-Oils http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:sJGbM711ADgJ:ajol.info/index.php/jfecs/article/view/52840/41441+how+to+make+mud+cloth&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShanbgkUxA_yCTSl7y_2QVMy0LwspAK0vYoUNGhnBmtnBmk9o1jiWpugquw5ZPstCz2UswmllwB-3GOZfTbG7vpqVMRbUGKyuF6a3ll0Q__g447uxlgcvHmXMhT_Ti9pvhcThJc&sig=AHIEtbSMcPEDbi2I2qRTPCyShKDyR0lxjg http://greenupgrader.com/2138/handspun-recycled-newspaper-yarn/ http://sewgreen.blogspot.com/2009/07/spin-green.html http://www.pieknits.com/blog/spinning/

RESEARCHER IN RESIDENCY PROGRAM

School for Field Studies – www.fieldstudies.org http://www.rgp.calpoly.edu/scholars.html http://www.warc-croa.org/wara.htm http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=sf.regional http://www.fordfoundation.org/regions/west-africa/grant-making http://www.indiana.edu/~global/funding/visiting.php http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol17no2/172brain.htm http://www.oxy.edu/x5204.xml http://www.barpcv.org/nonprofit http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/servicelearning/ideas/

ECONOMICS PROGRAM

Deep Economy by Bill McKibben Future Generations – www.future.org http://www.equalexchange.coop/fair-trade-fundraiser-program-educational-tools http://www.equalexchange.coop/our-co-op http://www.neweconomics.org/