Philippine Organic Farming Magazines Dear Rain, Maybe you haye never heard about· the Igorot vegetable farmers along the "Mountain Trail" in Benguet, Philippines. I have been working with them for the past 15 years, and although life can be very hard here at 7,400 ft. - especiaJly during rainy season or when typhoons strike-I-love these hard-working farmers very much, and together we are trying to improve their life here. I have here next to a high school with • 214 boys and girls about 10 barrios or villages under my care. Some of them can be reached by jeep; others are at four to five hours hikiog distance from here. As fertilizers and chemicals are very expensive and not within the reach of many of our poor farmers, composting and organic gardening are what w~ are trying to teach them in theory and practice. Our students are the best propagandists for composting, as we do it on big scale in the school garden. The · copies of Organic Gardening and Farming I got from friends are bound into volumes and are being read by students and farmers. I have, however, many copies·which are not yet bound, for many copies are lacking to complete whole years.'May we therefore ask you if you or your friends have copies of Organic Gardening and Farming, or any other publication about gardening, farming, agriculture, etc., which we could use for starting a modest library in each of our 10 villages. In the name of our Igorot farmers, our sincerest thanks! Rev. J os Waterschoot Sayangan Mission Atok, Benguet 0202 Philippines Alabama Environment Info Dear Rain, The Alabama Environmental Quality Association has three publications which are available for distribution: EnviroNews is a inonthly newsletter •offering coverage on a host of environ- •mental issues. Featured are special -guest articles by state environmentalists, reports of local environmental problems and activities, and accounts of work within the Alabama Environmental Quality Association and the nine Regional Environmental Quality Councils within Alabama. The subscription rate is $5.00 per year for 12 issues. Recycling: Alabama Style is a 52-, page pamphlet outlining a step-by-step procedure through which a community program,of resource recovery can be organized. Listed are 60 companies in Alabama and nearby states that purchase recyclable products. Copies are $2.00 each. -Surface Mining in Alabama: the Environmental Impact examines in layman's terms such topics as current land reclamation in Alabama, principles of good land reclamation, the need for · public awareness of surface mining's environmental impact, and options for the future. Copies are $1.00 each. I would appreciate your publicizing these materials in an upcoming issue of RAIN. Thank you for·your interest. Nancy Callahan • Communications Specialist Alabama Environmental Quality Assn. P.O. Box 11000 Montgomery, AL 36111 205-281-6474 Perennial Farming Dear Rain, The proper agronomy will preserve the land forever, and those who live on the land. Perennials, once well-rooted, if properly chosen, will live for years, protecting the land and feeding'it with their droppings, and protecting and feeding the life _inhabiting the land: Perennials provide many kinds of fpods: cereals, flour, beans, greens, salads, fruits, nuts, sweetenings, spices, medicines, etc. Some produce more abundantly, some produce better flavored or more valuable products. They will grow on high cir low level or steep lands. They are disease and pest resistant. They can survive flood, fire or draught. Trimmings are fuel to warm the home. The soil, interlaced with roots and covered with smaller plaAts, won't be carried away by wind and w;iter. The falling leaves and twigs enrich and build up the soil. Nutrients February/March 1976 RAIN ·page 21 added remain whe;re placed a~d increase your crop. Low perennials such as alliums, herbs, rhubarb, comfrey and higher plants like berries and even grapes will grow beneath the ti:ees. An acre of trees can out-produce an acre of pfow crops. Nuts, including acorns, can be used for cereal or flour or pressed for oils. Homemade machines can be used, or something can be adapted. Heavy-padded locust produces a big crop of a complete stock feed, replacing wheat and hay. Apples can be eat'eri fresh or dried, ground or boiled down for sweetening, squeezed for juice, cider, brandy or vinegar which will preserve your other foods, or they can be made into a spread or a jelly. A perenpial crop, once planted and growing, means no more plowing or hoeing. Perhaps perennials planted on a slope, uncultivated, unirrigated, given a-minimum of attention, won't produce a_s much as hybridized, expensive, chem- , icalized, pampered·plants. on level (and expensive) ground, .but you can always plant two, or even 20, for less cost and effort for the 20 than the one; I have been interested in perennial farming for a long time, and while I am no exp.err, perhaps I can answer questions for you.· • Paul Doerr: 225 E. Utah Fairfield, CA 945 33 Accounting Aid I Society Dear Rain, In your December 1975 issue of your fine periodical, you made reference to the Accounting Aid Society of Metropolitan Detroit. Please be informed that we do, indeed, assist minority businesses,.but are primarily involved with assisting non-profit. groups with: • Incorporation of tax ,exempt applications. • Design, installation and training in a bookkeeping/accounting system. • Public interest research. - Further, our address was not exactly correct. For you_r records please reflect: Accounti1ig'Aid Society of Metropolitan Detroit, 10 Peterboro, Room 612, Detroit, MI 48201. Thank ,you for mentioning our name to potential clients. Sincerely, Robert F. Leduc Executive Director
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