Zai Holes

• Small holes about 12" in diameter dug in less permeable soils filled with compost and organic matter to feed the plant

• Usually used in arid regions to capture runoff, improve soil, boost crop yields, restore degraded land, and fight desertification

Double Digging

A deep soil preparation in order to improve poor or compacted soils and support deep rooted crops

The top soil is removed. The next layer is broken up and amended with organic matter to improve water retention and enrich the soil. The original top soil is restored.

Composting

• The decomposition of organic materials including carbon rich 'browns' (dry leaves, straw, hardwood chips and sawdust, shredded paper and cardboard, etc.) and nitrogen rich 'greens' (food peelings, garden waste, cut grass, etc.) that, when combined with water and air, makes a nutrient rich soil amendment

• Composting reduces landfill waste and improves soil health.

Companion Planting

• The practice of growing specific plants near each other to create mutually beneficial relationships

• Plants support each other by repelling pests, attracting beneficial insects, improving soil nutrients, providing shade, or offering physical support for climbing plants.

Vertical Gardening

• The practice of growing plants upward using structures like trellises, wall planters, or stacked containers, for the purpose of maximizing space in small or urban environments

Sack Gardening 

• A simple, low cost, vertical gardening method where a sturdy sack (often burlap) is filled with soil and compost then planted with small vegetables or herbs

• They save space, are portable, low cost, water efficient, and adaptable.

Rooftop Gardening

• Provides access to fresh food in a limited space or urban environment

• Benefits include reducing the urban heat island effect, providing a natural insulation making buildings more energy efficient, supporting urban pollinators, and cleaner urban air.

Raised-bed Gardening

• A method of growing plants in soil that is elevated above ground level

• This offers improved soil quality, better drainage and aeration, a longer growing season, easier weed and pest control, intensive planting for increased yields, and better accessibility.

Square Foot Gardening

• A technique that emphasizes intensive planting in small areas typically planting different vegetables in one foot squares next to one another

• Benefits include space efficiency, less work weeding/tilling, less water usage, higher yields, accessibility, and pest reduction.

Drip Irrigation

• A watering method that delivers water and nutrients slowly and directly to the plants root zone

• Benefits are water efficiency, reduced evaporation and runoff, and weed control.

• Needed are tubing, drippers, and a water delivery system.

Moringa

• A nutrient rich tree that grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions

• It is valued for its high content of vitamin C, carotene, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, protein, and other essential minerals.

• It has nutritional, medicinal, and industrial uses, making it a highly versatile crop.

Solar Dehydrators

• An easy way for constructing a method to preserve fruits and vegetables by drying using the power of the sun

Canning

Smoking

Rocket Stoves

• Fuel efficient cooking stove that produces very little smoke using small sticks instead of large pieces of wood

Solar Cookers and Ovens

• Method of using simple materials to construct a stove or oven, using the power of the sun as a heat source for cooking food

Briquette Press

• A method of using grass, twigs and paper to make fuel bricks for cooking