Resiliency Rising

Visit to NEED Burma Farm

Through a few great connections and some effort to get there, I arrived at the NEED- Burma farm. NEED Burma is a non-profit organization that recruits and trains young Burmese refugees in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and other subjects such as global economics and eco-tourism. NEED Burma’s hope is to ease the poverty in Burma through educating the students in sustainable living. In my experience I feel many westerners understand sustainability as a series of technological fixes. Thomas Friedman’s solution for our “Hot, Flat and Crowded” planet is good example. He advocates the smart grid, hybrid cars and large solar farms. However, the farm didn't exhibit the qualities of an “eco-home” that a westerner generally envisions. There were no solar panels or windmills. It was an excellent example of sustainability in the developing world or sustainability on the cheap. Although the current class of students had just graduated from the program one could tell the school was a special institute.

Manager's office made of cob

The buildings were practical and modestly designed. Most were made from bamboo. The manager’s office was made of cob (a mixture of clay and straw) and noticeably cooler than concrete structures due to cob’s natural insulation against the heat. Cob, the natural building bread and butter, traps cool air inside when it is hot outside and vice versa and colder days. It reminds me of my parents basement. The gardens and fish ponds were abundant with fish, pole beans and potatoes. Banana and papaya trees swung in the breeze next to the rice fields.

A shot of water gardening

The students produce and grow more than half of their food needs on the farm, which is a little more than 2 acres. They had a mushroom room (that's beginning to be quite common) and were in the middle of cultivating them.. They also worked extensively with aquaculture, Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture and pond gardening and irrigation. Essentially, that means that they have a fish farm (aquaculture). They have ducks and chickens running around near the pond and their waste helps feed the fish living in it (IMTA). They are also growing a lot of water vegetables such as watercress, water chestnut, wasabi and taro in a different pond, and using that same water to irrigate other garden vegetables nearby. It is difficult to get exact figures as to how much food they harvest in a given season because each month varies. However, the farm is extremely productive. For a graduating class of eighteen students plus five staff members, the farm is able to supplement more than half of NEED-Burma’s food necessities.

Ellen in front of the fish pond

What does renewable energy look like in an impoverished country like Burma? Often times, the wheel does not need to be reinvented. Sustainability does not require one to be wealthy-- just clever. There were a lot of impressive techniques and technology that probably didn't cost more than $1000 USD altogether.

biochar pit

The school had a biochar pit made from cob bricks that is used to heat organic matter and turn it into charcoal. The biochar practice has been used for thousands of years to increase soil fertility and return nitrogen back to the soil. It can also be used to sequester carbon to mitigate climate change.

They had several rocket stoves on hand. Due to the shape and size of the rocket stove, one is able to cook for longer and hotter than a conventional wood fired stove. The name ‘rocket stove’ ostensibly comes from its effective use of little fuel and large heat output.

The most expensive renewable technology I saw on the NEED farm was the biogas digester. A biogas digester or an anaerobic digester collects methane gas from decomposing organic material that is stored in a storage tank. The methane gas can then be used for cooking or converted to electricity through a generator. As far as renewable technology is concerned, this is one of cheapest sources that is available. Hence, it is widely used in South East Asian communities as a renewable cooking gas and energy source. It is yet another example of reintroducing your outputs as resources i.e. trapping methane gas from organic waste to cook with.

NEED-Burma's Biogas digester

The thing I liked most about the NEED-Burma farm was the honest practicality of it. One could tell immediately that there was a much larger focus on sustainable agriculture than other subjects. This is because agriculture still plays a major role for most Burmese people. As Toby Hemenway says “use what it is around you.” The school’s pragmatic approach to improve upon farming in a sustainable way is a much more effective goal to promote than say train students about solar panels. If sustainable self-sufficiency is the goal for these students when they return to Burma, it makes sense to start with the most common facet of lifestyle, farming, and alleviate hardships anyway you can to spread the message of sustainability

The organization is now making plans to move its headquarters to their new model eco-village, Hmawbi, just outside of the Burmese capital, Yangon.

Like any non-profit organization, NEED-Burma does thankless work for little recognition. Donations are welcome! NEED-Burma is raising money through Indiegogo to raise funds for student travel scholarships. Please donate to their Indiegogo campaign page here.

A big thanks goes to Ellen Byrna Smith for answering my emails and showing me around. If anyone would be interested in volunteering for this NEED-Burma, please contact her at ellenbyrna@gmail.com.