just read an article in the german edition of february’s technology review about the work of harmut koehler on the revitec(tm) project. the revitec project tries to stop and reverse desertification by using jute bags (recycled coffee bean bags, bremen is one of the major german coffee importing and processing ports) filled with sand, compost and other organic material. the jute bags are then used as “breeding ground” for weeds, grass, and even tree. the jute bags decompose over time (after two years they apparently have completely disintegrated) and the plants then tend to spread further and further — and stop desertification! a nice project.

reminds me a bit of my attempt to create a pair of grass trousers back in 1985 as a kind of running gag for our high school graduation week — i took a pair of old jeans, a can of spray-on glue, applied the stuff to the pair of jeans, then sprinkled grass seeds all over it and kept the whole appliance wet for a couple of weeks. well, the only thing running was my nose: i had applied the spray-on glue in a closed room and my nose had not taken that assault kindly, causing me to sit through my verbal exams with a case of a badly running nose…the grass pants didn’t really work out as planned. (it would have looked cool though ;-)

lessons learned back then:

• gardening was not my forte
• reading the manual is sometimes a good thing to do