Grasses Can’t Graze Themselves: Combating Desertification Using Herd Animals

“Enormous research efforts have been made to understand and reverse desertification, but until recently, and with one remarkable exception, to no avail. That exception, Operation Hope, has transformed 6,500 acres of parched and degraded grasslands in Zimbabwe into lush pastures replete with ponds and flowing streams – even during periods of drought. Surprisingly, this was accomplished through a dramatic increase in the number of herd animals on the land. Behind Operation Hope is an approach called ‘holistic management’, which they apply to rangeland practice. Developed over the past 50 years by Operation Hope founder Allan Savory, a former wildlife biologist, farmer, and politician, it challenges the dominant theory that desertification is caused by overgrazing.”

Read at Seed Magazine (+ links & video + 90 page handbook – pdf)

A Manual for the Transport of Sick and Wounded by Pack Animals

A Manual for the Transport of Sick and Wounded by Pack Animals

A report to the Surgeon General on the transport of sick and wounded by pack animals” (1877).

Horse Powered Ferry Boat

Horse powered ferry boat

“The horse-powered ferryboat, though patented in 1819, can trace its origin of design back to the time of the Romans. The Roman ox boat was an early war vessel propelled by a team of oxen. During the 1700’s, boats propelled by horses could be found on various rivers and canals of Europe. By the early 1800’s, horse powered boats could be found on Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. By the 1820’s, this mode of transportation had spread to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the Great Lakes, and to several other rivers and lakes in the Northeast. This type of vessel was generally utilized for journeys of only a few miles.”

Found at Shipwreckworld. Previously: Trolleyboats.

Ostrich Car

Brussels

Picture taken from: c’était au temps où bruxelles brusselait. More low-tech cars.