Biomimicry & The Blue Economy

Came across a poem that I feel expresses the Holo-Fractal Nature so beautifully, I wanted to share it here.

Clouds In Each Paper
Thich Nhat Hanh

If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow: and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are.

If we look into this sheet of paper even more deeply, we can see the sunshine in it. If the sunshine is not there, the forest cannot grow. In fact nothing can grow. Even we cannot grow without sunshine. And so, we know that the sunshine is also in this sheet of paper. The paper and the sunshine inter-are. And if we continue to look we can see the logger who cut the tree and brought it to the mill to be transformed into paper. And we see the wheat. We know that the logger cannot exist without his daily bread, and therefore the wheat that became his bread is also in this sheet of paper. And the logger's father and mother are in it too. When we look in this way we see that without all of these things, this sheet of paper cannot exist.

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

https://vimeo.com/332054736

I came back last night from a nice, short trip out of the city on Salt Spring Island.
On the way back, I was listening to a much-awaited Joe Rogan Podcast with Graham Hancock (!!) for the release of his upcoming book (if not already released) America Before.
Haven't finished listening to it just yet, but so much good content that goes right into THC territory.

One in particular that I found synchronistic was the mention of the Amazon Jungle, and the large, advanced civilizations they had in the recent past down there. Hancock mentioned how he thinks the Jungle was/is actually a man-made garden, and talked about Terra Preta (Black Soil), which Shamangineer mentioned previously on the Peter Allen episode (and video re-posted above). The bio-rich soil also known as Black Gold makes land hyper-fertile and according to Graham, we don't really know how, although I'm sure the answers are out there.

The podcast is highly recommended, as well as the previous ones he did with Randal Carlson (very focused on the evidences). It goes into henges in the Amazon detected by Lidar; ESP; Drug prohibition and so much more juicy stuff, incl. Pireis Rei maps.

I thought I had to share this piece of info here. And I'd love to know more, already got this book from my library so can't wait for that 🙂

More great stuff, EP! Thanks for the share. i read a lot of the blue economy papers you linked to. So interesting to see how many of the projects involved vortices! I will try and listen to the Joe Rogan podcast, but honestly, (the first and) last time I listened to him, he spent the first ten minutes yelling at me about bro-shakes and I just had to switch off. Made me appreciate Greg a whole lot more. : )

rani wrote: I will try and listen to the Joe Rogan podcast, but honestly, (the first and) last time I listened to him, he spent the first ten minutes yelling at me about bro-shakes and I just had to switch off. Made me appreciate Greg a whole lot more. : )

That's hilarious, yet so true 🙂 But no, episodes like this one are why I got into Joe in the first place many years ago. This one might the best in Hancock's series, at least for me. It really hits the zeitgeist.
And thanks for the Reich book recommendations, I shall check them out next.

PS: Some tinkering projects I'm experimenting with:
1) Ollas: A low-tech, DIY way to water plants in the garden. Consists simply in taking an earthen pot, cover the draining hole with putty (I used gaff-tape, but putty works best); putting it in the soil and filling it with water (and cover it). Supposedly, plant roots get their water through the earthenware's walls when they need it. F-king genius.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRiLhrY2CMc

2) DIY Vortexer using some garbage material: Perrier bottle caught my eye for its egg-y shape. Great to use it for vortexing water into my bottle. The kitchen paper cardboard is just an idea to extend the funnel (ideally, to be able to suck down the dirt in the middle and output the clean water from the sides; repeat few times until coffee comes out crystal clear *dreams*:rolleyes:)

3)Dew harvester. This may not work, but still worth a try. It's basically based on the dew/rain water collector pointed out above. I initially was going to use a mycelated coffee-filter, with the benefits being a hydrophobic surface + bio-bacterial filter. But time-consuming and lazy as I am, I opted for a synthetic, commercial, mulch protector (hydrophobic still). A scaled version as you can tell, but just for testing.

4) I sacrificed my best growing Oyster mycelium a month ago, to mix it in the soil of my planter. The result after a rather chilly month: Soil is now myceliated 🙂 But cardboard walls still unaffected.

Lots of trial and error, and learning from the mistakes made. Spending time on an island and how much water is a precious resource really makes me want to figure out a way to collect water and use it wisely. It's one thing to use wells and springs, it's a completely different one to get it from vegetation's transpiration (dew) and air (through condensation). Game changer stuff. Fingers crossed:rolleyes:

PS: Some other similar devices:
https://www.yankodesign.com/2010/07/05/beetle-juice-inspired/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPYzllsumTo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8rQ5aHAnuE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkV2MxofpfU

PPS: I realized my errors now (always learning), realizing that for condensation, the surface needs to be able to be cold (or heat reflexive). Ideally metals (wonder if copper has an advantage) or glass.
I have tried another setup with a small metal funnel on top of container. We'll see how it goes 🙂

PPS: I was able to download the instruction manual from Creating Water Foundation Facebook page. Compiled neatly into one PDF. Might wanna try to duplicate a scaled version of this, though not sure if my balcony can capture that much water. For the material, I'm thinking of using a blue IKEA bag I have.
Come to think of it, the end of the bottom rain pipe (where water is collected) should be fitted with a compartmentalized PVC pipe filled with quartz marble that Shamangineer pointed out previously. That way, output water vortexed leads to better crop yield; vitalized water.
And the containers like-wise should make use of curved shapes :D:rolleyes:

So this has been on my mind for a few weeks now, after being inspired in part by a book I've reading called Design Regenerative Cultures by Daniel Christian Wahl.
Initially, I was going to create a new post called Regenerative Café as a place to share ideas, and discuss what a sustainable and regenerative future would like to us, as well as how to get there. But I figured since this post is already quite similar to the ideas mentioned in the book, might as well make good use of this garden.

First of all, what an incredibly inspiring and powerful book this is. Daniel Wahl makes a great case about how we got to this point, where it seems like everything is falling apart, culturally, economically, ecologically, and even spiritually. At 267-pages, it doesn't seem like a long book, but it's so densely packed with information and resources that it took me a while to get to it (I'll get to this point later).

One of the things I love about Wahl's approach is that throughout the book, he takes you on a quest to see how the dominant worldview based on separation between Us and Nature has taken us to the proverbial cliff, and that to really solve the problems, we need to start questioning our most basic underlying assumptions, and pretty much everything else. So instead of providing answers, he asks questions that invites us to think deeper. For example:

What kind of world do we want to leave for our children and children's children?
How can we meet everyone's basic needs while simulataneously ensuring our common future by protecting biodiversity, stabilizing global climate patterns and creating thriving human cultures that regenerate planetary bioproductivity? (p28)

What this does, is it turns a question (a challenge) into a platform that invites participants to have a conversation around it. As a result, the book is filled with insightful questions that we should ask ourselves before even trying to solve anything.

I'd love to post some of the resources referenced in the book, as I feel they are very helpful to give us some context.

The first one is a concept by Bill Sharpe called: The Three Horizons Approach (see attachments for photos)
It's basically a mapping on a curve that tracks three Horizons:
H1: World in Crisis or Business as Usual ("Sustaining Innovation keeps 'the lights on' and maintain status quo.")
H2: World in Turbulent Transition (The 'Bridge')
H3: A Viable World (The transformative innovations that will get us to a regenerative world)

What is immediately apparent is how the three Hs are weaved in-and-out in synchronous fashion. It actually reminds me of three-phase power, but I digress. The important point about each H is that they are all co-existing, but simply differ in their prevalence.
In other words, H3 already exists out there, whether it be in certain Black Projects within the US Military, or in deep down in the Amazon jungle, it's just not widely known/appreciated it yet.
H2 is the bridge to transition from H1 to H3. For me, this represents things like Permaculture, Blue Economy initiatives, Blockchain technology, Meditation, etc. These fields have been developed by many people over many decades.
The other tempting thing is that we shouldn't do is throwing the baby with the bathwater, meaning H1 despite its flaws still has lots of invaluable things that we require. Also, it's not like we can just crash and burn and rebuild civilization.

A second one that I haven't really taken time to look at is a 'game' that invites us to think in Whole Systems Thinking. Devised by the IFF (International Futures Forum), it's called World Model and it emphasizes how interconnected each field is with everything else, and promotes resilience thinking. It's available for download for free, and it looks really fun (and time consuming) but I'd love to try it out someday.

There are so many other incredible references and tools that we can use to promote awareness and participation, which I'll get to eventually, including stuff like the Peer-to-Peer(P2P)/Sharing economy.
I will stop here for now.

One thing that blew me away in terms of synchronicity, was that I actually purchased this book over two-years ago, after reading Robert David Steele's book-review about it. When it was delivered to me, I put the book away until literally a few weeks ago, when my partner suggested if I still wanted it (we're packing our stuff for moving soon). And in fact, contained within this book are multiple references to the Blue Economy and Gunter Pauli, as well Terra Preta (another recent synchronicity) when I had not known about these when I purchased it.
So it's like a big, full circle 🙂
There are only so many topics, and books I can read with my time, but one thing I've come to realize, is that I have faith in that the Universe will provide me with the appropriate knowledge/tools when I'm ready.

This felt like that sort of hand being extended to me.

Some related readings and links:
- IFF World Game: http://www.internationalfuturesforum.com/world-game
- The Designer’s Role in Facilitating Sustainable Solutions (Wahl & Baxter, 2008) - Article
- Open-Source Manifesto by Robert David Steele (Book)
- Global Ecovillage Network
- Transitions Network

In the spirit of zero-waste and regenerative cultures, lately, many synchronicities have popped up in my daily life.
One of them, previously mentioned is the biochar (terra preta) which I'm reading a book on, and looks incredible the more I learn about it.
The synchronicity was that while I travalled to Salt Spring Island last week, before I left, we found ourselves in one of the many parks there, which had an old terra cotta chimney used to make charcoal a hundred years ago, by the tiny minority of Japanese immigrants who migrated in Canada. I knew then these were sign-posts I had to pay attention to.

Another great find is the video below with Alex Eaton at the Bioneers conference, who made this biodigester for small farmers that allows the 'fermentation' of waste, while producing natural gas and organic fertilizer with which to cook, and grow food. I love that it looks like a very simple, and relatively cheap system.

It dawned on me that, the symbiosis of collecting waste > generating natural gas/fertilizer > burn coals > fertile soil with plants/food > collecting waste.. ad infinitum is a possibility, albeit an idealistic one. Not to mention, in this case, the fecal waste of humans is turned into a precious resource. So anyways, I felt like this needed to be shared 🙂

Happy Labour day everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlUEEnzY9bI

Systema Bio (Bio Digester) on the field:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzwZ_r_bBqI

PS: Case-study in Mexico City with sanitation projects making use of this biodigester.
One work I'm involved in is event production, and outdoors mobile washrooms is generally present wherever I go. I feel like that could potentially be a gold mine if used correctly.
Golden sh!t brew is what it really is!

Here are some (potentially) useful links in the Peer-toPeer (P2P) Economy. Some of them I've used, others hopefully will be inspiring:

- Craigslist.com : Famous, and commonly used in English speaking countries/communities. Used for buying second hand; services; even finding work. Useful in certain situations.

- Kiva.org: Micro-loan platforms to give loans to people all over the world who need it for various reasons. Great way to fund entrepreneurs, and sowing seeds of love. Although it generally takes time to get loans repaid, I've never had issues. This group helps water access 😉

Here are some I recently discovered through the book Design Regenerative Cultures:
- Avaaz.org: Global community for people-powered decision making. Used apparently for signing petitions all over the world.
- Zopa.com: Like Kiva, but this one is meant for anybody: Loans offered to those who need; bypasses banks to fund directly in P2P spirit.
- Erento.com: This one looks like service-sharing platform. Need a car, or tools for an occasion, or other resources? This may be useful, though mainly in Europe.
- ServiceSpace: Community-driven service platform. Looks promising.

In Amsterdam, there's even an app called Olio, that connects users with restaurants so that surplus food is not wasted. Think Food Delivery but at a discount for food that otherwise goes to garbage. Pretty neat service.

P2P Foundation: for more information on resources and network.
Interestingly, I came upon a link thru the foundation, to a blockchain-based UBI system that's entirely self-running, to redistribute currency flow to fund a UBI. Little off-topic, but considering some of the polemics on the forum, I thought it'd be relevant (of course, there are other similar projects marrying UBI & Blockchain).

If you know other platforms, please feel free to share.

This is more of a brief book review, but I figured it fits right in here:
Terra Preta: How the World's Most Fertile Soil Can Help Reverse Climate Change and Reduce World Hunger
by Ute Scheub, Haiko Pieplow, Hans-Peter Schmidt & Kathleen Draper

After countless synchronicities in the past month regarding the topic of Terra Preta, I decided to try and figure out what's it about, and how to DIY it. This book did not disappoint: it's a practical book that's divided into Story (Theory) and Action (DIY methods). So you can in fact skip right into the second half to learn how to make it if you're in a rush.
The first part is a brief overview of current, unsustainable, and destructive methods of farming. It also gives some context regarding the history of Terra Preta, including in the Amazon region, where terra preta is still flourishing and nourishing the soils after hundreds, if not thousands of years. Talk about a lasting legacy!

From my understanding Terra Preta is a mix of various processes:
1) Bio-char: Wood and/or organic waste material (twigs; corn/rice husks; anything that has carbon pretty much) burned in a low-oxygen process (pyrolysis). This can be done in different ways, but the book focuses on one method called the Kon-Tiki Kiln: It's basically a conical drum-can. When making biochar, there isn't any smoke, and it should not turn into ashes. More on that later in the videos.

2) Micro-Organisms: Fascinating insights into how microorganisms such as Lactobacillus responsible for digestion/fermentation process that breaks down organisms. This step is crucial in the proper decomposing of the organic waste and it's basically like growing mycelium (it is mycelium in fact).

3) Organic waste: I love that it not only include traditional compost waste (plants; kitchen waste) but also includes meat (bones), fish (phosphorus). Although this may attract vermines, so you'd better be careful about closing lids properly.

4) Optional, but really fascinating: Animal and Human waste: Urine and feces. This was a fascination for me, for I had never really looked into how nutritious those two could be. I'd heard mixed things about excrements as fertilizers. What I discovered, is that feces can indeed spread pathogens and bacteria, as well foul smell, if improperly treated. For instance, I learned that urine (even water) and feces shouldn't mix. The latter should be kept separated and add a bit of biochar and Micro-Organisms or straw;sawdust to make the smells disappear.
It's essential that waste are fermented properly before being used, otherwise they'll just damage/kill the plants.

The best advice from the book is: Trust your nose. If it smells bad, you made a mistake (either fermentation hasn't really worked. Add biochar and micro-organisms for smell.

I never knew that urine is very rich in Nitrogen, and could be a super rich fertilizer for plants (dilluted in 1:10 water solution).

By all means, the fourth point is optional, and works well without. But it's also the secret original recipe. I would definitely think twice about doing this in the future :Do_O

So anyways, the book is highly recommended if you're interested, and below are some resources from the book.

Realizing how little I knew about soil and symbiosis, it's an awe-inspiring experience. For one thing, I ignored how important Mulching is for soil humidity/nutrient retention as well as protecting organisms from UV. I love the wine-case methods of stacking boxes of plants on top of boxes of terra preta.

And so much more that I haven't addressed: Square-gardening method; Rotational crops; Companion planting. There's an even a section where it's all Q&A, so very helpful overall.
Will be making my terra preta? Probably not right away, but shall experiment soon.

In fact, I had an insight recently, about how Soil ecology may be a mirror reflection of Aether ecology: Full of organisms that we may not perceive with our senses (ie, worms;organisms / plasma beings). Probably just a stoner thought, but who knows right? As above so below 😀

Kon Tiki kiln:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o0QqePtNM4

More info on Biochar Journal (for all things biochar):
https://www.biochar-journal.org/en/ct/39

Urban Gardening experiments with terra preta in Berlin, Germany:
https://prinzessinnengarten.net/about/

German engineering at its finest:
http://www.berger-biotechnik.com/downloads/terranovacompostingtoiletsystem.pdf
Sweden's Stockholm BioChar Project also ahead of the curve: http://www.nordregio.org/sustainable_cities/stockholm-biochar-project/

Also loved the numerous Art works inspired by Terra Preta and Biochar:
Here, Australian artist Georgina Pollard: https://www.biochar-journal.org/en/ct/97-Falling-in-Love-with-Carbon-–-Biochar-Art-Work
Ayumi Matsuzaka (Berlin-based Japanese artist whose work involved terra preta performances): http://www.ayumi-matsuzaka.com/all-my-cycle with even instructions on DIY.

PS: I've already been mixing my pure cannabis joints ashes with my compost, but I wonder if mycelium would get a boost from that as well. Lots of experiments to try out soon:rolleyes:

It has been a while since I checked in, what a trove! Great job Enjoypolo on dropping the 411 for the masses. I thank you on their behalf.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGNZ64KtJO4

shamangineer wrote: It has been a while since I checked in, what a trove! Great job Enjoypolo on dropping the 411 for the masses. I thank you on their behalf.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGNZ64KtJO4

Thanks to you my friend, I had actually ignored the biochar reference at first listening of the Peter Allen episode, but saw a comment of you mentioning Terra Preta and paramagnetism. Then Graham Hancock mentioned it, and many more synchronicities along.

Regarding Micro-Organisms (MO) i'm basically using kombucha I had made (but which was way too sour to drink), which is a fermented tea brew with an alien living inside.:D

Hi Everyone,
I discovered the book sharing platform BookCrossing this morning, and thought I'd share it here. I'll be moving soon, so getting rid of some books is unfortunately a necessity. But instead of selling them, I'd much rather find someone interested in them. BookCrossing allows you to register a book, get a #BCID that you can attach to the book, so that people can not only take the books, but track the book on the site, and write something about it, and pass it on to someone else. It's a cool concept, and very simple to use.

Also, if anyone here is interested in some titles, I'd be happy to send them to you (though shipping costs are a bitch in Canada), so pick-up ideally? Anyways, Oh also this database is great for finding P2P platforms:

https://online-collaboration-tools.zeef.com/robin.good (ZEEF)

PS: More Dew harvester ideas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaD7UwZbqTg

An interesting material made from treated wood could significantly reduce cooling costs and has similar strength to that of steel:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/chemically-treated-wood-could-send-excess-heat-to-space/?amp=1

So it's been some time since I posted here, and quite frankly, since I looked into the blue economy. The past few months have been so animated, that I got a bit side-tracked by current events and social outburts (not that they're un-important), from the things that inspire me most, Nature.

Thankfully, one of my daily morning chores consists of watering and tending my small balcony garden (the Bio-Lab). Although the surroundings are noisy with the rattlings of construction sites and mechanical machines, the small ecology I nurture is like a peace of mind.
I've learned much through trials and tribulations, and the plants always teach me things.
For instance, composting organic waste can be tedious, and I've had to deal with flies and larvaes growing.

At first, it seemed repulsive. But I learnt to observe them, even to appreciate them, for they are power-eaters that thrive on food-waste (especially green leaf veggies). At the same time, I had to recognize it's bad feng-shui to have flies hovering around the house, so once again, it's a delicate balance to keep. But I digress, what makes me happy is that my beets, carrots and beans are growing, and the oyster mycelia that I spread is slowly, but surely, permeating the soil, and connecting the roots to an underground, energetic-internet for nutrient delivery, as well as moisture retention.

I have yet to get my hands on Gunter Pauli's recently re-visited Blue Economy book (Version 3.0; 2019), but through him, I came upon Anders Nyquist, a Swedish architect, and founder of Eco Cycle Design, an organization committed to nature-inspired dwellings and architecture.

I haven't really dug deep into him, yet, but what I've come across so far is impressive, and he's often mentioned by Pauli as one of the pioneers, and achievers in this field. The videos below show some of implemented ideas, one of a school that uses natural air-flows to cool the building without the use of electricity (Natural AC), inspired by termites' mound flows. Others include using plants as bio-filters that can clean-up the chemicals in the air, while feeding plants with CO2.

Somehow, one of the recent THC episodes mentioned how air-flow is important for feng-shui (as well as pathogens), so it reminded me of this.

https://vimeo.com/79498134

https://vimeo.com/77038488

Last one I want to mention is this interview of Anders Nyquist by Alexander Prinsen, whom I have previously come across his Youtube Channel interviewing Curt Hallberg, another Swedish engineer, and founder of WatreCo. this one manufacturing Water Vortexers inspired by Viktor Schaubergers previous work. He's a regular at the Water Conference, and very inspiring. His technology has been licensed to company called RealIce, is actually now in-use in my own neighbourhood, the Rogers Arena (Vancouver's Canuck ice-hockey ring). By using vortexed water, they are able to make tougher, more energy-efficient method of creating ice surface. So it's kinda cool that Schaubergers tech is powering Canada's national sport (though I'm totally disconnected from Sports in general..)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsMPpPVHR7E

Peace;):rolleyes:

PS: In the last video (interview), around the 30min mark, one of the things I was blown away was Nyquist mentioning a case of self-powering buildings, a project that involved a McDonald's, and two other (I can't remember). And they installed a heat-exchanger in the kitchen which was turning the heat produced into heating that was used for the two other buildings.
"Energy from hamburgers" as he says. Incredible. Though the McDs might not be the best food to eat, it's a brilliant example of what is feasible.

The Universe is blasting me with information about biochar, and its versatility of use as explained by this awesome article from the Biochar Journal titled, The Biochar Displacement Strategy by Kathleen Draper. 😮

I previously learned about soil enrichment, but the article makes a case that it can be used in anything from water filtration (think Brita and their water filters), but also their ability to lower radioactivity, make batteries. It seems like the best "sponge" Nature provides, and I'm finally starting to understand why graphene is touted as the big thing.

Best of all, as the article points out, it looks like a perfect fit for a circular economy type project.
Aqueous Solutions is a team of people doing just that in Thailand apparently. :rolleyes:

Also, Living Web Farms looks like one of those gifts from heaven:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svNg5w7WY0k

enjoypolo wrote: The Universe is blasting me with information about biochar

DUDE! SAME! We are so in sync recently it's spooky!

I'm so in love with bio char I have just begun the journey to starting a biochar production company. I made a burner last weekend from scrap material and did my first burn yesterday...probably while you were posting about biochar! >_< The material was a bit wet, so it didn't burn great, but I'm going to keep trying.

When I get going, I'm going to make a kon tiki burner, as a friend is teaching me how to weld. With that, you can produce 5400 kg of char over 10 burns.

Biochar indeed has many many uses. Here are 55 of them!

http://www.ithaka-journal.net/55-anwendungen-von-pflanzenkohle?lang=en

Also noteworthy, in certain burners, the 'waste' natural gas coming off the burner can be used to heat/power other things!

Next step is to DIY a vortex compost tea brewer. Working out which pump I need (and can actually purchase in Australia) is proving to be complicated... It seems to be a shite one for 30 bucks or an overpowered one for 700 bucks and not much in between.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtFqn6NPuMo