The difference between hypothesis and theory, and why it matters We live in an increasingly technological society, where our lives literally depend on the technological systems upon which our society is built. Every aspect of our daily lives, from delivery of our basic needs (food, clean water, electricity, housing), to Read more…
Fast-growing nutritious crops for uncertain times The global COVID-19 crisis is highlighting many of the flaws of our current economic and social system. In a matter of weeks, many countries faced shortages of basic needs. This was due to actual production decline and transport restrictions, combined with erratic fear-driven consumer Read more…
Pineapple vinegar The Kadagaya campus is located in an agricultural region and is surrounded by pineapple plantations. There is often a lot of wasted produce as the fruit needs to be harvested quite ripe. If rain or transport problems delay harvesting, many pineapples are discarded on the side of the Read more…
Magnetic gearbox for the hydroelectric plant As energy security for the campus is a major priority at Kadagaya, we have constructed a gravitational vortex hydroelectric plant on our river. In addition to providing electricity, extensive testing of the system has been performed to evaluate it as an appropriate technology. The Read more…
Earthworm farm Earthworms are an important part of a healthy soil ecosystem. They have a positive effect on the fertility and structure of the soil. The earthworms digest organic matter in soil and produce excrement rich in mineral particles, decomposed organic matter, and beneficial microorganisms. In addition, they produce tunnels Read more…
Kadagaya from the air We have performed several surveys of the campus site to assist in applying the infrastructure design to the terrain. In late 2019 drone footage was taken and used to construct a model of the terrain, as shown in the video. The footage clearly shows the high Read more…
The Amazon is burning Beautiful sunsets are the bittersweet result of being surrounded by smoke as our little part of the Amazon burns. This time of year is the dry season and there is always a lot of agricultural burning. With unusually hot weather and the rapid expansion of pineapple Read more…
Controlling leaf cutter ants in the tropics Leaf cutter ants are commonly found in tropical forests and are an important part of the ecosystem. Their large deep nests aerate the subsoil and the ants move large amounts of organic matter below the surface, most of which eventually decomposes and enriches Read more…
Building a permaculture banana circle Banana trees are very hungry plants, requiring lots of nutrients, light, and water. A banana circle provides optimal growing conditions for productive trees and is a beautiful addition to the garden. A deep hole is dug and the removed soil used to form a ring-shaped Read more…
Food forests “Food forests” or “edible forest gardens” are a special type of forest that uses biomimicry to replicate the the biodiversity of a natural forest. Integrating many different layers in the food forest e.g. canopy trees, vines, groundcovers, root crops and fungi, in a strategic way allows the natural symbiotic Read more…