Excellent idea for a Challenge @Ecoknowme!
So, it is very difficult to chose just 1 solution to Global Challenges, however since I have had this thought on my mind for a while I will briefly explain to you what three solutions I think can have an immediate and large impact on the planet. So here it goes!
Earthships
Hemp
Black Soldier flies
- Earthships - I highly recommend watching the Garbage Warrior documentary on youtube. It is amazing to see one man's work since 1974. He aimed to build fully sustainable homes and building with materials readily available around him. So he uses cob, tires, glass bottles, tin cans and wood to make these buildings that look like they are from another plantet.
Bottom line: He builds houses that have food, water and electricity within for as little as 10 000 USD!
- Hemp - Hemp has 1000 s of uses! There is a very good reason why hemp has been illegal all over the world in the past 50 years, however right now I will not be getting into that. In terms of food and housing, hemp is a super food and also a super-construction material! Can it get better than that? Yes it can! It is an excellent detoxifier for your soils. Therefore if you are buying or renting out a piece of land that has too many chemical fertilizers in it from before, hemp can help you! In construction, if you replace the hay that you use in your cob mix with hemp, it will last longer as hemp is more flexible, it is a stronger material, it has anti-mold properties and is also less affected by bugs trying to eat it within the cob. Not to even mention it's medicinal capabilities.
Bottom line: If there was one crop that could have 1000 uses for a farmer (and anyone else) is hemp.
- Black Soldier fly (BSF)- This is a secret hidden weapon the world has not learned about yet. As many of you can relate to, I am sure many of us have been dealing with vermicomposts, usually worms. As we have all learned, worms do not like citrus, oils, fats, bones, meat and some other stuff. Thankfully, the BSF LOVES an unhealthy American diet! Perfect! This means that you can scrap off the left overs from your plates into the BSF bin and be care free! Their colony can increase to a size where they eat your scraps in under a day!
Other benefits:
- They transform food into approx 40% protein and 40% fat! So if you give them 1kg of bread, it will remain as 200g of fat and protein mainly
- They are self-harvesting! This is a HUGE benefit. When they finish eating food in the compost and the larvae would like to become flies, they try to exist the compost bin to look for soil. This is where you guide them into a bucket, or straight into your chicken coup via a small tube attached to the compost bin.
- They can be dehydrated, no need for freezers.
- They live for 4-10 days as flies and do not have a mouth - they are not so annoying to humans as fly's or mosquitoes.
So there you go! I hope you like some of the ideas here and i look forward to your comments!
Take it easy and have a nice day.