Terra Preta (optional)
- "Terra Preta do indio" is a dark, fertile, man-made soil
- a product of indigenous soil management in the Amazon region
- similar types of dark soil have been discovered on other continents as well
- dark colour because of the charcoal and humus content
- charcoal is very stable and remains in the soil for thousand of years
- the micro-porous structure of charcoal absorbs and releases water and nutrients available for plant roots
- today everybody could produce a black fertile soil substrate inspired by "Terra Preta do indio"
Porous structure of charcoal
Design Process Dragon Dreaming
Dragon Dreaming is a powerful, encouraging, playful and meaningful method to help dreams come true. It offers different tips and tools to improve the effectiveness of an individual or group work. By providing four strategic design stages Dragon Dreaming can be applied in a very creative way. The stages are:
- Dreaming (usually the initial stage): Be aware of your dream and vision. Share it in a creative way. Gather all necessary information.
- Planning: Strategies are created to make the dreams come true. The Karabirdt, a complex planning web, helps to organize the next steps.
- Doing: Make your dreams and plans come true and use the Karabirdt as a guideline.
- Celebrating: Reflect about your implementation phase and learn from it. Appreciate and celebrate the progress and people's work.
During co-facilitating the Terra Preta workshop I used Dragon Dreaming to organize the workshop and to create learning material for myself and the participants.
Dragon Dreaming Cycle
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" Nelson Mandela
Introduction
To spread this knowledge throughout the world is a very important task. Everybody who had the pleasant opportunity to gain this knowledge should spread it further. This knowledge is as simple as complex, as traditional as modern. This knowledge builds soil, the small layer we all live on and from. But the soil is being killed by those who are not aware.
"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself" (David Montgomery - "Dirt")
So let's make people aware of soil and spread the knowledge...
...the knowledge of Terra Preta, a black soil.
In August 2016 a two day Terra Preta Workshop took place, embedded in a lovely permaculture area in Northern Germany. The permaculture area is known for many years of experience in Terra Preta production. The people there actively experimented with different methods of producing and using Terra Preta. As I volunteered in the permaculture area and I am very interested in Terra Preta, I was asked to co-facilitate a Terra Preta workshop. How exciting! It was the first opportunity in my life to actively create a workshop and its program. Finally I got the chance to practice passing on Terra Preta knowledge! I was allowed to organize things ahead of the workshop, communicate with participants and prepare everything that was needed. Declan, a very inspirational man who brought permaculture to Europe, wanted to provide all the content.
My goals for the workshop were:
- to be well organized and prepare everything
- to experience how knowledge is passed on
- to design the program
- to create learning material about Terra Preta (for myself and participants)
Key Outcomes
Personal:
- expanding my capacity to pass on valuable knowledge
- practised organizing and designing a program
- co-facilitated a workshop
- intuitive way of passing on knowledge
Peer:
- cooperation with Declan (group leader) worked very well and was enriching
Key Outcomes
Project:
- used Dragon Dreaming as a design process to organize the workshop→first experiences
- informative Terra Preta material
- gained theoretical and practical knowledge in workshop organization
Learning Insights
- listen to all opinions in the group: different views on a topic are enriching
- two persons are the minimum number of leading a workshop
- do not be a teacher to participants, be a peer!
Key Outcomes
Professional:
- created learning material which could be worked out and used for education
- being in a "leadership" role and have a lot of responsibility
- practised to explain knowledge competently
- learned what a workshop needs to be successful
Political:
- spread knowledge about Terra Preta → the more people have the knowledge the bigger the change, also political!
- Terra Preta to fix carbon in soil → slow climate change
- engage myself in education that could change the world