This means that approximately five times the normal amount of water can now be collected in less time with far less effort.

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1 THE HIPPO WATER ROLLER The Hippo Water Roller was designed to alleviate the suffering caused by a lack of access to water. Millions of people worldwide are forced to walk long distances on a daily basis to collect their water requirements for the day. Traditional methods of collecting water include the use of 20 liter (5 gallon) buckets, which are laboriously carried on the head. Extensive suffering occurs in the process. This method is very time and energy consuming and is also the cause of many serious health problems. This means that approximately five times the normal amount of water can now be collected in less time with far less effort. The Hippo Water Roller is a container designed to transport 90 liters of water. It comprises of a drum with a large screw-on lid and a clip-on steel handle. The drum is manufactured from UV stabilized Polyethylene and has been designed to withstand typical rural conditions such as uneven footpaths, rocks and broken bottles. The large opening (135 mm / 5.3 inches) allows for easy filling and cleaning of the interior. The sealed lid ensures hygienic storage. The steel handle provides firm control over difficult terrain while pushing or pulling the roller. The innovative design allows the water to be placed inside the "wheel" rather than carried above the wheel. The 90kg (200 pounds) weight of water is borne on the 1

2 ground resulting in an effective weight of just 10kg (22 pounds) on level ground. Children and the elderly can easily manage a full roller over most types of terrain. Extensive field tests over many years and various awards have proven the effectiveness of the Hippo Water Roller. This article comes from: The Hippo water roller project ( VILLAGE CHICKEN KEEPING Village chickens are found everywhere in the rural areas, giving families eggs and meat. Chickens may also be kept in back gardens in peri-urban or even urban areas. They may be kept free-range or in a shed. Village chickens can be improved in the following ways without spending a lot of money: Good housing to keep them safe A better diet and clean water Vaccination against common diseases Extra protection for broody hens and young chicks Feeding village chickens You don t have to buy chicken food made by a feed company. You can give your chickens leftovers of mealie meal and other household food, as well as green food like grass, comfrey, lucerne and some weeds such as mboa (pigweed). Housing for village chickens Village and free-range chickens should be provided with a house so that they are safe. There are two kinds of houses: houses where they are kept at night only, and houses where they are kept all the time. 2

3 Village chicken health Newcastle disease is the most common disease which kills backyard chickens. It is easy and cheap to vaccinate chickens against Newcastle disease. In some areas it may be necessary Ensuring the safety of backyard chickens You will lose fewer chickens if you make sure that young chicks and broody hens are kept safe. These small chicks are the ones that animals kill first. Keep these chickens away from others in a more secure cage and give them some commercial feed. This article comes from: The South African chicken book: how to start a small business keeping chickens, by Ed Wethli GROWING PAPAYAS The fruit of the papayas is high in vitamin C. You can also pick the fruit when it is green and cook it like a marrow. Female and male flowers do not grow on the same tree, so you must have male and female trees in the garden. Papayas grow best in hot areas. They can tolerate mild frost if they are protected from the cold winds. They can grow in most kinds of soil, but it must be well drained. The roots can get diseases if the soil stays too wet. Loamy soils are best. Papayas can be planted at any time of the year, but preferably in late summer. Plant papayas 1,5 metres between plants and 3 4 metres between rows. It is easy to grow the ordinary papaya tree from seed: Wash the seeds from a ripe papaya 3

4 Squeeze the seeds from the jelly bag that covers each seed. The seed will only grow if you remove the bag Dry them in a shady place Store in a tightly closed container and keep them until December Plant the seeds in December. Put 5 seeds to a hole. Do not put any compost or manure into the holes. Keep the small plants moist You can only tell which trees are female and which are male when the trees start to flower. Therefore, you should always have more than one tree per hole, because then you can select the female trees. Female flowers are bigger and closer to the branch than the male flowers. Male flowers are very small and there are many flowers which grow on long branches of the stem. Only female trees give fruit but they need male flowers to pollinate them. Leave 1 male tree for 10 female trees. This article comes from a pamphlet compiled by the Directorate Communication, South African Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Institute of Natural Resources and ARC-Institute for Tropical and Subtropical crops ( 4

5 SOME INTERESTING METHODS FROM DAYS GONE BY To tell the age of eggs (September 1901) Make a brine by adding 2 oz of salt to 1 pint of water. Place your doubtful eggs one by one into the solution. If the egg is old, it will float on the surface; if fresh laid, it will sink to the bottom; if one day old, it will sink, but not touch the bottom; if three days old, it will float just below the surface. The reason for this is simple enough. As the egg ages, it loses moisture by evaporation, and, consequently, the older the egg the lighter it becomes. Some uses of honey (February 1917) Honey is an excellent cleanser of the skin, though few are aware of the fact. Rub a little honey on the dry skin; moisten a little, and rub again; use more water, and rub. Wash thoroughly, when it will be found that the hands are as clean as the most powerful soap can make them. These methods come from the book: Old ways on the farm: selected articles from the Queensland Agricultural Journal , compiled by Pat Abbott SOLAR COOKERS Firewood is the traditional energy source for cooking in many countries. Especially in dry zones of the African continent many people suffer from the increasing scarcity of firewood. Anyone who has ever watched a pot of water being boiled "just" by the sun is sure to have been impressed. The principle behind solar cooking is as fascinating as it is simple: sunrays are converted to heat and conducted into the pot. Solar cooking does not require any other fuel such as wood, paraffin, gas or coal. 5

6 High-quality solar cookers reach temperatures over 200 C. This temperature is more than sufficient to cook all your food, to bake bread and also to heat up an iron for ironing clothes. A solar cooker works best in clear, sunny weather, although few clouds will not affect the cooking, especially with box stoves. The best time for using a solar stove is when the sun is high and shines bright. That is usually between 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset. To reduce the heat-up time you can preheat the empty stove by simply directing it towards the sun before you start with cooking. For cooking, place the food into a black pot (as black pots will absorb the heat and light coloured pots will reflect it reducing the temperature). There is actually no need to add water to fresh vegetables and meat. Also there is no need to stir or watch the food since it rarely burns or boils over. This article comes from The solar cooker field test South Africa. ( 6

7 TICK DAMAGE AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES OF CATTLE If you know about the diseases of cattle, you can be aware of how best to prevent and treat them. Many of these diseases can be prevented by good management. Tick damage Ticks can cause severe damage to cattle, particularly around the udder and ears. The wounds will often get infected with bacteria and might be attacked by flies. Some ticks cause greater damage than others, such as the ones which infect cattle with heartwater. Prevention is by tick control. You could either use a pour-on, or a plunge dip or spray dip if you have the facilities, but these are more expensive. You may need to treat for ticks as often as once a week in the wet season and then every second week in the dry season. You may be able to treat less often if you vaccinate the cattle against tick-borne diseases Tick-borne diseases Ticks can also infect cattle with redwater, gallsickness and heartwater. European breeds tend to be at greater risk from these diseases than indigenous and Brahman type breeds. Older animals are more at risk than young animals for redwater and gallsickness. 7

8 Prevention of tick-borne diseases is by tick control, as already mentioned, as well as vaccination. Vaccination is best done in calves under 6 months of age and one dose is sufficient. The heartwater vaccine is given in the vein, and it must be done by a veterinarian. Because these are live vaccines, signs of disease can occur and treatment may be needed following vaccination, especially for the heartwater vaccine. This article comes from a publication compiled by the Directorate Communication, South African Department of Agriculture in cooperation with ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (JA Turton). ( COMFORTABLE COWSTALLS Clean and comfortable cow bedding is a key to keeping your cows clean and producing high-quality milk. Frequently, the "knee test" can be used to test if the resting surface is comfortable enough, and, to a degree, clean enough for the cow to lie, according to the National Mastitis Council of America. The first step of the test is to kneel in the stall, and then rock back and forth on one knee. If your knee feels comfortable, it is probably acceptable for a cow to use as she shifts in the stall. Next, you should drop quickly to your knees from a standing position. If the impact is comfortable, then it will be comfortable for your cows. If it hurts, the cows will be reluctant to use these stalls. 8

9 Finally, you should stand up and look at your knees. If your knees are wet and covered with manure, your stalls need some serious attention, as well as some fresh bedding. This article comes from: The Hoard s Dairyman. (10 May 2002: 352) GROWING GREEN BEANS There are two types of green beans: runner beans and bush types. The runner beans need trellising, where-as the bush types need no trellising. Planting: Prepare the soil for green beans by ripping if necessary, irrigating, ploughing and discing. Plant green beans with a planter or by hand. Leave a space of 5cm (the size of a matchbox) between the plants and 60cm between the rows for bush types with a planting depth of 2-4cm. Double the space for runner beans. Fertilisation: Fertilise by using a planter during the planter procedure. Apply bags of MAP fertiliser per hectare and 2 bags of KCL. Fertilise by topdressing using the tin-and-rope method. Topdress by hand with nitrogen 3 weeks after planting. Use 4 bags of LAN or 2 bags of UREA per hectare. Irrigation: Irrigate before preparing the land and again after emergence of the seeds. Irrigate once a week. Spray the leaves for rust with Dithane M45. Harvesting: The bush types should be ready for harvesting 50 to 60 days after planting and the runner beans 2 to 3 weeks later. Cut the beans in half to find out if they are ready for harvesting. If the bean breaks clean, it is ready for harvesting. This article comes from : Green bean production, published by the Directorate Communication of the South African National Department of Agriculture. 9

10 NATURAL INSECT CONTROL The best way to prevent insect damage in your vegetable garden is not to invite insects into your garden. It takes a little time to pull up the "insect welcome mat", but in the long run you ll save yourself a lot of time and disappointment. The following suggestions are simply good gardening practices that will help to reduce the hostile insect population in your garden: Healthy plants attract fewer pests, and healthy soil grows healthy plants. Make soil building a priority in your garden, and use organic fertilisers to help your plants along while you build your soil. Keep the garden clean and free of debris and weeds. Weeds and debris are hiding and breeding places for insects, and the weeds will compete with your plants for nutrients and water. Don t spread the problems on your hands, feet or tools. If you ve been working with infested plants, clean your tools and wash your hands before going on to the next plant. Clean your tools thoroughly in the fall to avoid introducing last year s problems into next year s garden. This article comes from: GardenGuides: a growing resource for gardeners ( l/pest-noframe.htm) 10

11 Amaranth - a common weed and an ancient crop (Thepe -Tswana, Imbuya-Xhoza, Utyutu-Zulu) Amaranth is a very nutritious leafy vegetable which can be harvested from wild growing or cultivated plants. It is also referred to as morogo (Tswana for vegetables). The plant is adaptable and grows easily under various weather and soil conditions. Various types occur but the green types are less bitter than the reddish ones. Amaranth bears edible, protein rich seeds. Flour ground from these seeds mixes well with cereal flours and increases the protein content. Soil requirements and climate Although the plants can tolerate drier conditions than most other vegetables, leaf production will increase with higher rainfall. The crop can be harvested in 2 ways. The whole plant can be cut off at a young stage or it can be left to grow to maturity and leaves can be harvested at regular intervals. Amaranth can be cultivated on marginal soils but will produce a better crop in deeper soils. Lower temperatures and shorter days will induce flowering with a subsequent reduction in leaf yield. Leaf production can be sustained by the removal of flowers. Growth ceases at temperatures of below 18 C. Planting Planting can commence as soon as the minimum temperature stays above 16 C and can continue during the summer months up to 2 months prior to the onset of frost. There are 3 ways to plant amaranth: Seeds are sown direct into the soil. Loosen the soil as deep as possible and prepare a fine and firm seedbed. The seeds are very small and should be mixed with sand and broadcast in the seedbed to ensure even distribution. After broadcasting, lightly cover the seeds with soil, using a rake. Seeds are sown shallowly in rows. These rows should be 1,5 m apart. Cover lightly using a rake. The seeds must be watered twice daily until the seedlings emerge. Seeds can be planted in seed trays. Transplant them after approximately 4 weeks when the plants should be about 15 cm tall. Transplant into rows 1,5 m apart and with a spacing of 30 cm in the row. 11

12 When transplanting seedlings pour water into the furrow or hole into which the plant is to be planted. Wait a few moments for some of the water to seep into the soil. Plant the small plant with its roots in the mud-water mixture and cover the hole. Never place fertiliser and a plant in the same hole, rather place it approximately 10 cm away from the plant stem in a separate furrow or hole. Fertilising Plants can be fertilised by using cow manure at 6 tons/ha as well as commercial fertilisers with a high nitrogen content. Nitrogen is essential for the regrowth of leaves after harvesting. To promote better regrowth a top dressing of LAN (28) (limestone ammonium nitrate) can be given at monthly intervals. If the plants are treated correctly you should be able to harvest leaves every 2 weeks. Pest control Weeding is essential until the plants are well established. Insects cannot be controlled chemically because the crop is harvested regularly and it could result in people getting poisoned. Diseases have not been recorded yet. Harvesting The plants are harvested only by hand. Young plants can be pulled up or cut 6 to 8 weeks after sowing when they are 200 mm tall. This is done in the case where seeds were broadcasted. When the plants are harvested at regular intervals start picking the leaves 8 weeks after sowing or 4 weeks after transplanting. Small quantities of leaves can be harvested on a daily basis. In the case of large quantities, intervals of 2 weeks are recommended. Leaves can be harvested in 2 ways: Pick them one by one when they are the size of the palm of your hand. Break off the leaves around the terminal growth tips of the stems. This is done by pulling one hand up towards the growth tip and breaking off the leaves with the other hand. Marketing The leaves can be sold on the informal markets. They must be sold and cooked on the same day they were harvested. Preparing a dish of morogo Cook the leaves in boiling water Add tomatoes and onions or potatoes and onions Flavour the dish with salt and pepper. Compiled by the National Department of Agriculture and the North West Agricultural Development Institute. Printed and published in the Republic of South Africa by the Department of Agriculture and obtainable from the Resource Centre, Directorate Communication, Private Bag X144, Pretoria For further information contact the Division Crop Production at the North West Agricultural Development Institute, Potchefstroom Tel: (018)