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The chicken run at the Greening The Desert Project, Jordan is the “engine of fertility”. Every week it pumps out another cubic meter of compost, and that feeds into the ever-diversifying web of soil life teeming beneath the site’s food forest.

This system began by composting any and everything available: kitchen scraps, crop waste, prunings, sheep and goat manure. That was used to feed pioneer plants, which were then composted down to make the soil network more and more complex over time.

The “engine of fertility” continues to run and feed the system. It is shaded with date palms (also composted after they break down). Every week a new pile of compost is introduced at the top of the run, and a completed pile of compost (after 5 weeks of being with the chickens) comes out of the bottom. All the other piles are shifted down the rung. The chickens spend most of their time with the new piles, and the older piles age into maturity.

The soil—once sandy and stony—now has a crumbly texture with plenty of microorganisms enjoying the moist, softened loam. The diversity and abundance expand again and again each year. Geoff says, “Put your trust in life, and you get paid back with living systems.”

Key Takeaways

– The chicken run is the “engine of fertility” in the Greening the Desert Project. It produces a cubic meter of ready-to-use compost every week.
– At the Greening the Desert site, the soil had to be fed in order to build diversity, so they composted all the organic matter they could get their hands on.
– The once sandy, stony, compacted soil is now crumbly and teeming with microorganisms, just the right recipe for growing stuff.
– “Put your trust in life, and you get paid back with living systems.”

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About Geoff:

Geoff is a world-renowned permaculture consultant, designer, and teacher that has established demonstration sites that function as education centers in all the world’s major climates. Geoff has dedicated his life to spreading permaculture design across the globe and inspiring people to take care of the earth, each other, and to return the surplus.

About Permaculture:

Permaculture integrates land, resources, people, and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies – imitating the no waste, closed-loop systems seen in diverse natural systems. Permaculture applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban contexts and at any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics, and community development.

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