Refuge, ethics and design

‘The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them; and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions.’

Bill Mollison

Paddy "weeds" before second plowing and planting in July 2009. Pictured here are three kinds of edible aquatic plants and the nitrogen-fixing fern, azolla. (Photo by Jeff Rutherford.)

The natural ecology of a rice paddy is very complex and diverse, well worthy of intensive study. There are intricate nutrient cycles and complex webs of interrelationships between plants, microorganisms, phytoplankton, zooplankton, molluscs, crustaceans, birds and humans. Dragonflies are important predators that spend half their lifecycle in the water and half in the air. Micro bats flit around at night, using sonar to catch insects on the wing and egrets stalk the shallows by day. Include some trees on the edges and some dry land and the rice paddy field is a sustainable and productive ecosystem. Simplify it, overuse pesticides, ploughs and fertilisers and you break the links and limit the number of beneficial relationships that can occur.

Many people think of Permaculture as just a system of garden design, whereas in its original form it encompasses housing, energy systems, economic principles, community relationships, legal systems and more. But its most fundamental principle is to work from an ethical basis. To summarise, Permaculture ethics means care of ecosystems/the earth, care of people, limits to consumption (‘all you need is just enough’) and return of surplus to those ends.

The return of  surplus ethic involves the contribution of surplus resources and activities toward the aim of care of earth and care of people. Once our own needs are met, then our surpluses (resources and activities) can be contributed to provide the resources and influence for others to do the same.

Permaculture acknowledges a basic life ethic, which recognises the intrinsic worth of every living thing. It strives to take a benevolent approach, restoring habitat and allowing all things their place. The creation of refuge is one way to achieve this aim and increase yield at the same time.

Refuge channels in rice paddy. (Photo by Les Anwyl.)

We can demonstrate this principle through one of the recent developments at Fair Earth Farm: the consolidation and enlargement of the rice paddy walls. This process was achieved by digging mud from along the walls and packing it on the top and sides. A side benefit of this was that it created a channel about .5m wide and 30cms deep running along the wall. This means that when the paddies are drained, the channel retains water and becomes a refuge for aquatic organisms. When the paddy is refilled, fish, frogs and all kinds of aquatic organisms are ready to move out from the refuge into the flooded field. Populations grow exponentially under ideal conditions, so beginning with substantial numbers makes the process of colonisation of the field much faster.

Tadpoles are super abundant in the paddy at the moment, with many hundreds per sq m. The water is thick with aquatic insects just visible to the naked eye. In adjoining paddies without refuges, tadpoles are present too, but not in nearly the same numbers and they appear to be all of the same age; the result of spawnings which have occurred since the flooding of the paddy. In addition, mosquito larvae are present in much greater numbers as they are able to hatch and grow quickly in the absence of other competition and predators. I suggest that the result of these aquatic refuges is that the resulting paddy ecology is far more diverse, resilient and stable (with considerably less mosquito larvae). These refuges if enlarged and extended could also permit cultivation of fish in the rice paddies.

This is the duck enclosure before being improved following Les Anwyl's recommendations informed by Permaculture concepts. Since this picture was taken, the enclosure has been expanded into the paddy. It has also been planted along the edges with mulberry, sweet potato, sorghum, pigeon pea and other plants. In addition, aquatic plants like watercress and water chestnut were planted under upturned bamboo baskets. Using a system of integrating rice and ducks, for 8 months of the year the ducks will be released into the rice paddy. They are only enclosed for one month after transplanting and one month before harvesting each season. (Photo by Jeff Rutherford.)

Recently the ducks were moved next to the paddy field to facilitate the management of the duck tractor system. A shelter was constructed and an area of canal was fenced off. Initially this area was thick with vegetation; aquatic water hyacinth and various herbs and grasses on the land. In a few short weeks the dozen or so ducks overgrazed the plants and turned it into a barren muddy area, simply a holding area for the ducks.

One permaculture design goal is to manage a site to get the greatest yield out of the smallest space. The hyacinth and various vegetation is a good food source for the ducks, especially when you consider that the plants are full of little organisms. Fortunately the pen adjoins a canal with abundant water hyacinth. The simplest solution is to regularly replenish the duck pen with hyacinth from the canal. Another of the goals of permaculture design is to create systems which are self regulating, thereby cutting down on work. It becomes a simple question of management: how to have the plants growing where the ducks can access them without destroying them. This way, some of the ducks feeding needs are met automatically.

One solution would be to create little floating raft cages which protect the hyacinth but allow the ducks to feed around the edges as the plants grow out through the sides. Why not take it a step further and improve the ducks diet by growing a variety of favourite duck vegetables, such as kang kong or other aquatic greens? These areas will also become a refuge for aquatic and terrestrial insects, and enhance the ducks diet, quality of life and productivity. We could extend the principle to include some of the fenced land area. Because the fencing needs for ducks are so minimal, they are ideal candidates for double fencing. The space between the fences could be planted with herbs, shrubs, grasses, even trees such as mulberries, a traditional Chinese companion to ponds. Perhaps bamboo would be the ideal fence material, since it is readily available and the techniques for its use are well established.

Another change recently made was the extension of the duck fence to allow them access to a section of rice paddy. This was done originally for the ducks’ benefit, to give them more room and shade.  It quickly became obvious that nutrient-rich silty water from the duck pen was leaching into the surrounding rice field.

Observation is one of the cornerstones of permaculture design. When we sit back and watch for a while and see how systems evolve, we can make connections and realize benefits for which we didn’t originally intend.  I predict that with this steady nutrient flow the rice will flourish, without the need for any other external sources of fertiliser. Having made this observation and speculation, we can then go about modifying and improving the system to maximise these effects.

At the moment, the pen is in a corner of the field, and the nutrients are concentrated in one area. One way to improve on this would be to install a small pump, maybe solar or wind powered to circulate the water to the other corner of the field (this would also help aerate the water). Problem with this is cost and availability and the fact that all machinery requires maintenance and eventually breaks down.

A more sustainable way to improve yield is by layout and earth shaping, where we can apply principles that stack different elements on top of and within each other (annidation) and maximise edge (tessellation). Having proved the success of duck/rice combination, the next step would be to design fields with this in mind. One factor to consider would be to maximise the efficient transfer of nutrients from the duck pen throughout the field. The logical place to put it would seem to be in the centre of the field. If we wanted to get really fancy, the duck shelter could be in the centre of the field, on poles over a section of deep water. This would provide a safe haven from predators (though you’d have to work out a system to conveniently harvest eggs). Duck forage areas, as described before, would surround this but the soil could be shaped into shelves, which were at two different depths. The deeper one would be say 15 cm deep when the paddy was drained and the shallower one 15 cm deep when the paddy was full. This would give the ducks ideal water depth to forage whether the paddy was flooded or drained, and the alternation would give each area a rest and a chance to regenerate. The forage areas would be fenced from the main paddy to regulate the movement of the ducks so that they could be excluded when the rice was small or approaching harvest and allowed to roam freely after harvest and when the rice was mid season. Having done away with the need for ploughs, refuge channels could run not just around the perimeter but anywhere through the fields to increase the potential for fish farming and maximise beneficial edge effects. They could radiate out from the duck hut and facilitate transfer of nutrients as well as ducks, allowing them to use their preferred mode of transport (swimming) to access all parts of the field.

Any number of variations and improvements are possible, combining rice, ducks, fish, forage plants and fruit trees. If we see a system as a machine, with inputs being converted to products, we are limited by how many inputs we can place in the system and still keep it profitable. If we see the system as a designed ecology and provide a place for as many useful things as we can, we are only limited by our imagination.