Fe~ruary/March 1976 RAIN Page 19 PRAG TILTH - ECOTOPE GROUP Forgetting those people and activities fo which one is closest is a normal human failing. Since RAIN tries to keep you informed about networks of all sorts, being reminded we've never really "covered" those with whom we work most frequentiy is very embarrassing..So here goes: ' The Public Research Assistance Group-(David Baylon, Davis Straub), Tilth (Woody & Becky Deryckx, Mark Musick, O.J. Lougheed) and Ecotope Group (Ken Smith, Evan Brown, Rollin Francisco and Lee Johnson) have combined skills and resources at the PRAG organic farm, run by the Deryckx's and Straub. While vegetable row crops are raised for Seattle's food co-ops, a small pole barn has been built and an Ecotope Group solar/wood water heating system installed on the farmhouse. ' A new project now being cooperatively pursued by the three non-profit organizations is the design and construction of two solar greenhouses with funds ($5475) provided by the Hunger Action Council of Olympia, Washington. The end products of research and building will be a small greenhouse for tpe indivjdual family and a large one for small communities. Both designs include an integrated aquacufrure-agriculture system for herbivorous fishes, which are low on the food chain. The community model will use a parabolic reflector on the interior of its north wall to provide additional solar radiation and warmth to the fish tanks. The project is based on the recognition of the need to translate the experiences of other researcher-builders to the unique bio-climatic characteristics of the Pacific Northwest coastal valleys. In that regard, it builds on the work of Pliny Fisk (Max-Pot), Steve Baer (Zomeworks), Jim DeKorne (Walden.Foundation), Bill Yanda (Solar Sustenance Project), John Todd, Richard Merri~l, Rafael Men- •doza (New Alchemy Institute), and Tom Lawand (Bra'ce Research Jnstitute). Single copies of the proposal are available from Hunger Action Center, Olympia, WA 98505, 206-8666695. Send a self-addressed, 24¢ stamped 1lx14 envelope. Ecotope Group has completed construction of the methane and fertilizer plant at the Monroe State Prison Honor Farm. Fu·nding to cpmplete a necessary supervised "break-in" period, during which the $120,000 system will be tuned-up with various engineering modifications, and the product~on of an o"perator's training manual is now being sought from the ERDA Bioconversion Division. This 100,·ooo gallon capacity plant, using·the manure of 350 dairy cows·, is the largest working bio- _.gas plant since WWII Germany. Building it has put the ,nation • Monroe, Washington, Methane Plant, now completed and operating. Shown while under construction in summer 1975. . l 5 years ahead of the ERDA Naticrnal'Plan, which does not plan for such.a working system until 1982. • ERDA's current bio-conversion funding consists of grants to universities for academic ."paper-studies" whose usefulness in demonstrating the potential of large farm bio-gas is highly debatable, especially when such a large plant now exists! Ecotope Group would appreciate your help in getting ERDA to pay attention to its successful Pacific Northwest energy projec;t. Please write your Congressman asking that 'ERDA consider funding the Monroe Project for on·e year and to its realis- , tic conclusion. • Articles on the Monroe Project are in the J an.-Feb. 1976 Cow;post Science and in the Jan. 1976 Organic ·Gardening & . Farming magazine, both by Ray Wolf. Copies of the feasibility report, "The Anaerobic Digestion of Dairy Cow Man_ure at the Monroe State Reformatory Honor Farm," are available for $8 from Ecotope Group, P.·o. Box 618, Snohomish, WA 98290. We'll try not to forget our friends in the future. Away With All Pests, J.S. I-Jorn, Monthly Review Press, 1969, $2.45 67 West 14th New York, NY 10011 This is a down-to-earth account of many of the social and medical programs that China has been tackling successfully, written by an English physician who •. emigrated to China with his family in . the mid-fifties. The barefoot doctor program, the efforts to get professionals and bureaucrats to spend more time in rural areas, the incredibly successful drives to eliminate VD and schistosomiasis (a debilitating worm disease), and the struggle to appropriately blend traditional and modern medical practices are all covered. It is the best bo0k I've seen for giving a feeling for Maoist thought in action. Horn deals honestly with many of the fears and scepticisms he has had as he learned bit by bit to shed old values and prejudices and ~o truly work "for the people.",And since he is writing from a Western perspective, many of the feelings he describes are_ one-s we can all relate to. There are a lot of good, practical examples of people working together to combat the social stigma of VD, for instance, or the ~xclusive tendencies of the medical profession. There is a lot we can all learn from their experiences. Health, Manpower and Medical A uxiH- • arie.s Intermediate Technology Development_Group 9 King Street Lo.ndon, England $3.50 ($5.10 airmail) An excellent overview and introduction to appropriate health care programs. Contains essays on intermediate technology in medicine, appropriate health care technology, a very useful section on ideas and examples for use of medical auxiliaries, and a well-annotated bibliography on health planning, economics and manpower. , , • Continued on page 23
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