This campaign is closed

Archaeology of Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainability out of the past: How Archaeology can Save the Planet:

You may also be interested in

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

Archaeology of Sustainable Agriculture

Archaeology of Sustainable Agriculture

Archaeology of Sustainable Agriculture

Archaeology of Sustainable Agriculture

Archaeology of Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainability out of the past: How Archaeology can Save the Planet:

Sustainability out of the past: How Archaeology can Save the Planet:

Sustainability out of the past: How Archaeology can Save the Planet:

Sustainability out of the past: How Archaeology can Save the Planet:

Erika Guttmann-Bond
Erika Guttmann-Bond
Erika Guttmann-Bond
Erika Guttmann-Bond
1 Campaign |
Cardiff, United Kingdom
$3,376 USD 7 backers
22% of $15,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

Sustainability out of the past: How archaeology can save the planet

I am looking for funds to complete a book on sustainability in the past.

I have been working in Archaeology for 27 years, and I specialise in ancient agriculture. I am halfway through writing my book, entitled, ‘How Archaeology can Save the Planet: Sustainability out of the past’; I have a publisher, but my workload is such that I have no time to finish it. I am looking to raise $15,000, which would enable me to take time out to complete my book and see it through to publication. I would then like to go on to create a television series based on the book, with the help of a filmmaker friend, but that is another project!

You can read papers I have published on the topic here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249007184_Sustainability_out_of_the_past_how_archaeology_can_save_the_planet

and here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272307886_Productive_Landscapes_a_Global_Perspective_on_Sustainable_Agriculture

And you can see me discussing archaeology on the History Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tJnxs8pNtQ

The plan for my book is as follows:

There have been many books written about what we can learn from the failures of the past, but I want to take a more optimistic view, focussing on what we have to learn from past successes. This book will be about sustainable agriculture in the past, and the engineering works that supported it, but it also looks to the future. Ancient technologies are what engineers define as ‘intermediate’, which means that they are simple, low in cost and they depend on local materials. Significantly, they don’t require fossil fuels. There is now broad agreement among many governments, non-government organisations, engineers and agronomists, as well as the United Nations, that intermediate technologies are often the most appropriate way forward in developing countries. The New Green Revolution is looking to traditional knowledge, rather than to technology, to solve problems of decreasing yields and environmental impoverishment.

This subject is controversial and I have been accused of suggesting ‘pie in the sky’ ideas, but the re-introductions I’m suggesting are already being carried out in countries all over the world. Water harvesting and other dryland systems are being re-introduced in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Oman. Other early technologies are being put back to work in Peru, Bolivia, India, Bangladesh, Niger, Burkina Faso and many more. I would like to raise awareness of the fact that we already have the technology to make sweeping changes to the way that we grow food and manage the environment; we could be producing more food per hectare, and we could be doing it more sustainably.

As the climate changes, it is imperative that we come up with new ways of managing our environment. Deserts are spreading, wetlands will increase as the sea level rises, and we need to find ways to cope with an increasing population. There is a lot that we in the West can learn from the past and from developing countries where people still practice traditional agriculture. I am not advocating a wholesale return to past technologies, nor am I suggesting the adoption of early technology in place of modern engineering and agriculture. What I am suggesting is that we combine some aspects of early technology with new systems and inventions, to create a healthier, more sustainable and environmentally richer planet.



Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.

You may also be interested in

Up Caret