Interns are invited to dedicate up to
15% of their internship time to green technology field research, documentation
and research writing. HELP will provide hands-on and peer training in the same.
Some of the areas most strategic to
HELP at this time are:
Forestry Research
Background Statement: HELP
International is well on its way to producing the two-penny tree. HELP
calculates that one billion trees per year are required for Africa alone if
five seedlings are planted for every mature tree harvested in Africa. No tax
base or aid system can support the provision of this number of trees at current
tree seedling production and field installation costs. HELP has therefore
embarked on aggressive research to create the two-penny tree which will be 1%
of the current cost of producing/planting tree seedlings.
1. Low Cost Tree Proliferation Research
o Floating Tree Nursery
Continue to refine HELP’s highly successful low-cost, low-maintenance outdoor
floating 100,000 tree nursery.
Research will test the capacity to use open water bodies and water troughs for
creating floating portable tree nurseries that are 100% maintenance free. A
related part of this experiment will measure the efficacy of using living mulch
grass varieties in the tree container roots in the nursery to eliminate the
need for weeding in the nursery. The same tree container roots with installed
living mulch will be field tested to see if the living mulch in the container
root resulted in lower maintenance/higher survival rates for forest
installations in the field. Extend the floating tree nursery model to farm
dugouts with wildlife surround.
o In-ground Styrofoam Block Tree Nursery
Assess the performance of drought-resistant tree seedlings nurtured in
in-ground Styrofoam blocks.
o Container Tree Bunching System
Continue to refine HELP’s innovation of keeping container root tree seedlings
out of ground, healthy, growing and ready for planting during all growing
months of the year. Develop improvements to the water control system.
o Pine Tree Bunching
Optimizing conditions for the Pine bunching nursery (heeling in bunches).
o Tree Mulch Research
Assess, document and research tree planting experiments using a wide range of
mulching techniques and waste materials as mulch.
o Natural Tree Proliferation Using Fence Line
Techniques
Create straight tree row installations without actually planting any trees or
seeds.
o Direct Tree seeding Experiments
This involves a system of placing tree nursery containers with premixed soil
under trees that are dropping seeds. Past trials resulted in over 2,000
spontaneously produced elm seedlings ready for field planting.
o Harvesting Seedlings from Forest Beds and Backyard
Spontaneous Nurseries
This research involves identifying forest floors and community backyards that
happen to be natural nurseries for thousands of tree seedlings per year. The
practice involves plucking the seedlings out of forest floors, lawns and
gardens where they would normally die of drought, lack of light or be
cultivated under, and placing them into nursery containers until they are field
ready. This practice bypasses the need to harvest or buy tree seeds and
bypasses the manual seeding process.
o Protecting Spontaneous Growth Tree Seedlings
This research involves protecting thousands of trees that seed into grassed
semi-arid areas but which normally quickly die of dehydration. Research will
build on past trials that placed plastic mulch of various sizes around select
spontaneous growth seedlings allowing them to survive and become mature trees
bypassing the need for tree nurseries all together.
o Cultivation and other Disturbance Research to
Promote Natural Proliferation
Experiments create conditions in the wilds such as a depression/moisture furrow
using a simple rock tooth or one-way plow thereby breaking the permanent cover
and creating a moisture trap where seeds can be direct planted/broadcast OR
create similar conditions under old growth trees for self-seeding to occur.
o Larger field trial on private land using cultivated
strips to promote spontaneous tree proliferation.
o Cracks Technology to Create Spontaneous Tree
Proliferation
Research aimed at replicating natural proliferation seen in ‘unplanned’ areas
next to restaurants and on street curbs.
o Efficient Tree Seed Collection Research
HELP is researching simple techniques to collect millions of seeds per minute
using existing adapted technology and techniques. Basic seed bank of
cottonwood, maple and elm tree seeds has been established at HELP by this
purpose.
2. Phytoremediation Research
o Effluent Irrigation Research
Test the most suitable application rates of black water, grey water, urine
diluted water, and regular river water on poplar tree and acute willow
saplings.
o Bioremediation of Hydrocarbon Saturated Soils
Test the capacity, rate and toxicity limits of varieties of trees in
metabolizing spill residues of crude, used oil or other hydrocarbons.
o Salinity Contaminated Soils Remediation
Measure and document soil salinity reversal using trees indirectly as hydraulic
control agents using equipment that measures changes in
resistivity/electro-conductivity over time.
3. Water Absorption Research
o Research how tree buffers along rivers create
sustained flow by testing the limits of water absorption on similar land areas
in heavily treed land, zero-tree grassland and in soil beneath mature dead
trees.
Horticulture
Research
HELP is researching super high yield
and drought resistant vegetable production by developing simple root training
techniques that could be applied by anyone. Research that began in 2009 with 60
tomato plants expanded to field trials with 1,000 tomato plants as well as
cabbage plants. A number of community partners are also participate in the
research in their own gardens with plant stock provided by HELP.
Further research will:
1. Continue trials growing vegetables directly into
non-cultivated permanent cover with the aid of mulch.
2. Create a floating vegetable garden based on the
principles of HELP's innovative floating tree nursery.
Recycling Research
-Technology, Product and Market Development
1. Recycled Styrofoam Market Development
o Create HELP web site marketing page to promote
sales of Styrofoam beads in specific oil industry applications.
o Develop styrofoam bead bags for gymnasium and home
use.
o Innovate new uses for Styrofoam beads.
o Industrial production trials of safety products
created from recycled Styrofoam.
2. Grain Bag Recycling and Process Development
o Innovate less labour intensive methods of precision
cleaning, cutting and re-rolling recycled grain bags by identifying or
modifying existing technology or by working alone for with HELP partner Stewart
Steel to create new simple technology for the same.
o Industrial production trials of new products
manufactured from used 10 mil grain bag plastic.
3. Toilet Waste Neutralizing and Nutrient Recovery
o Solar dehydration/urine diversion toilet for safe
neutralizing of toilet wastes.
o Adapt cabin micro-flush and outdoor toilets to
evacuate into hygienic toilet-fed outdoor terrariums.
o Build methane accumulator to produce a low to
zero-cost methane cooking fuel for infomal settlements. This would save forests
cut to produce charcoal for cooking and greatly improve environmental
sanitation when toilet wastes thus become valued for methane production.
4. Paper Recycling Technology and product development
o Refine applications and processes in the use of
HELP’s newly invented paper mill.
o Develop paper pulp, handmade paper and other
products from the paper pulp.
o Experiment with incorporation of other waste
materials such as straw, grass and cereal husks with paper pulp to create value
added products.
o Research markets for above mentioned products.
Appropriate
Technology Construction Research
1. Fiberboard Research
o Improve HELP’s simple fibre board manufacturing
system to create 4 x 8 sheets of fibreboard by creating forms and simple press
as well as utilizing augmented solar drying of the panels
o Research incorporation of a variety of waste fibres
to test the relative strength of paper pulp fiberboard with different fibres.
2. Brick Press Research
o Test the incorporation of a variety of waste
materials and fibres in a bid to lower the amount of cement and related costs
necessary to create a commercial construction standard brick with HELP’s three
tonne stabilized soil brick press.
o Carry out accurate compression and shock tests on
the above.
o HELP is utilizing the above mentioned brick press
and compressing paper pulp to create 100% paper bricks as well as paper pulp
with cement to make papercrete for testing for construction applications.
3. Plastic Moulding Devices and processes for
manufacture of bricks, posts and plank
Research methods to overcome the need for excessive energy consumption for
low-cost plastic extrusion and develop methods that do not require extrusion.
4. Cardboard Mulch Pads for Trees
Create mass production of simple bio-degradable cardboard tree mulch pads.
5. Solar Heating Technology and Techniques Development
Install and test the economic benefits of a homemade solar heating panel
in-line with an electric water heating system for camp showers.
6. Upgrading Traditional Construction
Carry out a project to retro-fit the interior of an existing traditional mud
and thatch structure at HELP to be sanitary, comfortable, and climate proof
(meeting modern comfort expectations and aesthetics).
Soil Amendment
Production Research and Development
1. Vermiculture Research
o Using indoor and outdoor covered vats, past
research at HELP has proven, that the red wriggly earthworm can inhabit and
survive Saskatchewan winters in outdoor below-ground pits in climates that have
reached minus 40 degrees Celsius.
o Additonal research would test and compare the
efficacy of common local earthworms in waste food digestion compared to the red
wriggly earthworm.
o Test the efficacy of earthworms to bio-remediate
toilet solids or toilet solids mixed with other food residues.
o Design and operationalize community-size low-cost
food waste processing using vermiculture.
2. Composting Research and Development
o Construct zero maintenance industrial scale
composting area.
o Research composting rates at HELP’s current zero
maintenance composting areas for horse manure, and compost areas for leaves and
grass clippings including ‘soaked’ area and outdoor ‘pile’ composting. Design
has been widely discussed between HELP and urban municipalities. Adaptation of
rural manure composting design is contemplated.
3. Root Development Research Using Various Soil
Amendments
o HELP requires additional research to be carried out
to scientifically compare root development with granulated styrofoam compared
to perolyte, vermiculite, sand, peat moss and other inert materials.
4. Experimentation with Alternatives to Peat Moss
o In the interests of promoting zero waste and
permaculture, HELP wishes experimentation to find local alternatives to the use
of peat moss as a soil amendment agent. HELP has specific alternatives in mind
which it wishes to test.
o Refine the process for handling, milling,
outdoor/indoor soil mixing, packaging and marketing of waste Styrofoam and
soil/Styrofoam potting mixes.
5. Soil Milling or Screening Research
o HELP wishes research to develop more efficient
methods of screening and mixing several tonnes of soil per year than the
current method.
Electricity
Production Research
Research methods of small scale
electrical power generation focusing simple or borrowed/adapted technology on
renewable or from-waste energy sources.
Water Works
Research
1. Create a filtration, water storage and pumping system
for recycling brown water from laundry washing machines for recycling for use
in toilet flushing.
2. Create a low cost natural filtration system to
filter river water for use for laundry, bathing, and dish washing.
Sand/clay filtration is contemplated.
3. Rain Water Harvesting
HELP is wishing to carry out Research and Development to:
o collect roof top rainfall.
o re-construct large concrete culverts into above and
below ground cisterns.
o use simple receptacles to collect, filter and
dispense rain water for domestic and irrigation use.
Permaculture Grass
Cover Development
Research is required to convert long
grass human use areas requiring high maintenance to resilient low maintenance
grasses.
Documentation of
HELP’s leading edge innovations in agro forestry in Kenya
Research is required to identify and
document through research of HELP archives, proposals, reports, and through
interview of HELP staff, major innovations in agro forestry achieved in HELP’s
nationwide agro forestry program in Kenya.
Marketing
Research and implementation is
required to market new products created from recycled materials.
Patenting
Research in patent application and follow through
of HELP inventions, technologies and processes.