Contents
Preface
I. Introduction
II.
Initiation of the Package of Practices
III.
Survey of the Village Resources
IV.
Principles and Practices in Planning
V.
Choice of the Species
VI.
Planning for Plantation
VII.
Planting and Caring
VIII.
Maintenance of Plantation
IX.
Social Management of Plantation
X.
Efficient Use of Fuel Wood
XI. Conclusion
Preface
In almost all the villages in India people are struggling
to get some fuel wood for cooking. Most of them end
up in burning all the crop residues and cow dung which
is an excellent manure. At the same time there are ample
resources in every Indian village to generate enough
fuel wood along with plenty of green leaves for fodder
or for manure and timber for house construction and
furniture making. This booklet describes the simple
method of production of fuel wood from the waste and
uncultivated land in a village. (Dr. K. T. Chandy, Agricultural
& environmental Education)
I. Introduction
Energy is one of the most important items among all the requirements of human beings, Energy is needed for him to be alive, to keep himself warm, to move around and to do some work. Energy is needed to cook food and heat water. Energy is needed to light the house, operate machines, for transportation etc. For a farmer energy is needed to plough, harrow, irrigate, to operate sprayers, to harvest, thresh and to winnow the crop. Energy is needed to do most of the post-harvest operations such as milling, bagging and storing.
The source of all energy for us on earth is the sun. The sun energy is trapped by the plants through the photosynthetic process and convert into woody portion, leaves, flowers, fruits, tubers, seeds, grains, nuts, oil seeds etc. Animals and human beings obtain the same sun energy by consuming these plant products and absorbing them in the form of carbohydrate and fat (sources of immediate energy), protein (primarily for body building and growth but ultimately for energy during scarcity situations), vitamins and Ihinerals (primarily for maintaining body resistance and facilitating body functions but ultimately for energy at the extreme cases) and water (which acts as a medium for all the physico-chemical functions in the body to transport energy and nutrients to different parts of the body and to excrete waste materials from the body. All these are bio- chemical forms of energy. Fossil fuels such as coal, petrol, kerosene and other petroleum products are also extensively used as energy sources. These are also other forms of biochemical energy.
Mechanical, magnetic and electrical energy are the other forms of energy human beings utilize to satisfy their energy needs. No doubt the modern man is consuming more and more energy in the form of electricity especially in the urban and city areas.
However the woody material of the plants have been the primary source of energy ever since man appeared on earth. About 70% of the energy needs in India is still met by fire wood, dried cattle dung and crop residues. For cooking and other household purposes in the rural areas fuel wood, cowdung and crop residues are the main sources of energy. Among these three fuel wood remains the most important source for the rural people and it will be so for many more years to come. Hence we should enquire into the possibilities of sustaining the fuel wood requirements of the rural people..
It is the women who are mostly concerned about the fuel
for cooking. Daily they require minimum three to four
kilograms of fuel wood for cooking. They spent many
hours in search of fire wood which is becoming more
and more scarce these days and the effort needed to
gather it is becoming more and more day by day. This
has a bearing on the health and family life of the women.
It is because there is not enough firewood that the
people in the villages are burning cow dung and crop
residues which are good source of organic manures. By
burning them the soil loses the fertility that could
have been incorporated had they been used as manures.
Thus from various points of view scarcity of fuel wood
is a very grave concern for the rural people. Yet no
one seems to propose any concrete measure to overcome
this problem. This booklet is an attempt to present
a package of practices by which every village can generate
enough and more fuel wood for themselves. This package
of practices also envisages improved biomass production
both for enhancing soil fertility and easy fodder availability.
which is another major concern of the rural women as
they are the ones who look after the domestic animals.
This also envisages timber production, environmental
improvements, greater water holding capacity and better
health and life for the women and their family members
in general. Above all so much of organic matter will
be generated for the improvement of the physical and
chemical properties of the soil. We need to promote
and help the rural people to implement this package
of practices in the rural areas and slowly make the
people to manage the same for themselves. It is hoped
that the social activists would take initiative to promote
this package of practices to solve the problem of fire
wood scarcity.
