Last January 19, we were invited by Green Releaf to be part of their storytelling event entitled Soil Stories. We're honored to be part of this gathering that featured environmental advocates in the Philippines and special guests John D. Liu of Commonland and Ryland Engelhart of "Kiss the Ground." You can watch their presentations here.
The web show did not have a time limit and we thought that we were given enough time to share our research and talk about permaculturists and their work in the Philippines. And for the first time, we were able to talk about the permaculture map project that we are currently doing. Hopefully this would encourage more people to visit the farms and projects and conduct research of their own. The audience also asked very good questions and we had a great time trying to answer them. We still don't know a lot about permaculture so we encourage you to keep asking questions and continue being critical of the concept.
We've had a fair amount of webinars this year and we're truly grateful to all the people and organizations who have invited us. There is still so much to share and to learn. So now, we will focus on finishing our research project this year so we can share new findings next year in 2021!
You can watch the full episode here.
Documenting Permaculture Farm Landscapes in The Philippines Using a Drone with a Smartphone
October 2020
In book: Methodologies Supportive of Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management: Selected Cases in Southeast Asia
Chapter: 5, pp. 71-86
Publisher: Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)
Download for FREE: https://www.searca.org/pubs/books?pid=472
ABSTRACT
The emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones has led to their widespread use in agriculture by scientists and farmers for the purposes of mapping, monitoring, and landscape management. However, the high cost of drones, together with the risk and difficulty of flying any drone, has marginalized the small-scale farmers from exploring the potential of the UAV technology appropriate to their context. In this report, we aim to introduce a simple documentation methodology to small-scale permaculture farmers using a budget-friendly drone that would promote permaculture design, agroecological farm management, and stimulate environmental awareness. The study developed a 10-step methodology based on experience in the field that maximizes the features of the drone. Originally intended as an entry-level UAV, the Ryze Tello was used as a documentation tool to generate baseline data on farm biodiversity and system component interactions as well as landscape heterogeneity. Using aerial photos from the drone’s built-in camera, the researchers were able to gather valuable data in four (4) small-scale permaculture farms in the Philippines. Collecting such data would enable farmers to observe and interpret both anthropogenic and natural patterns and processes occurring throughout the year. The results of the study suggest the development of more drones like the Tello with improved features in the near future to empower more farmers to make design-based decisions that would ensure both farm productivity and ecosystem health.
Maps made using TerraLab AI plugin in QGIS, GeoNadir, Canva, and Gemini AI Reference Dataset: https://data.geonadir.com/image-collection-...
