[Shaved Monkey]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cloud9', 'A')ccording to the guys using the mother earth news woodgas system, sixteen pounds of would equals about a gallon of gasoline. My farmal has a ten horse motor in it. Sixteen pounds of wood chips ought to give a couple of hours machine time. Soccer moms would deforest us running to the shopping malls, but keeping small scale farming operations running appears to be doable.

I’ll let you know how it pans out. I am in the planning stages for a woodgas generator for my shop. Once I get that going, I’ll look into building one to run a truck.

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shaved Monkey', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cloud9', 'A')ccording to the guys using the mother earth news woodgas system, sixteen pounds of would equals about a gallon of gasoline. My farmal has a ten horse motor in it. Sixteen pounds of wood chips ought to give a couple of hours machine time. Soccer moms would deforest us running to the shopping malls, but keeping small scale farming operations running appears to be doable.

I’ll let you know how it pans out. I am in the planning stages for a woodgas generator for my shop. Once I get that going, I’ll look into building one to run a truck.

[pedalling_faster]

i have about 3 acres that i work, but not intensively ... i go around the poison oak

it is a heck of a lot of work. zero power tools, except for a hand-drill. i use a scythe to cut the long grass.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gg3', 'S')lavery is a lazy man's way out of having to think of more efficient modes of production.

[Alan Cain]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MicroHydro', 'D')o not underestimate what can be done without oil. The French island of Guadeloupe (in the Caribbean) exported 24,400 metric tons of sugar in 1762. This was done with organic farming and human labor. The sugar was exported in wooden sailing ships. No fossil fuels were involved.

The catch was that 80% of the population of 50,000 were slaves.

[Shaved Monkey]

Here's a farm that has about 800 people working in it that has required no oil to harvest any acres for the first 1900 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hftgWcD- ... ure=relmfu

[PrestonSturges]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Alan Cain', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MicroHydro', 'D')o not underestimate what can be done without oil. The French island of Guadeloupe (in the Caribbean) exported 24,400 metric tons of sugar in 1762. This was done with organic farming and human labor. The sugar was exported in wooden sailing ships. No fossil fuels were involved.
The catch was that 80% of the population of 50,000 were slaves.

[Pretorian]

You are correct. With that info it comes out that only 5 tonnes of sugar cane were harvested by each slave in a year, which can be done in 5-6 hours.

[peakoilishere]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RdSnt', 'A')ctually, that's a gross under-estimation of the energy required to harvest a crop. What about the energy expended to get mine, process and deliver fertilizer? How about the energy required to maintain the farm machinery?
What about the energy used to deliver the food to market? etc.....

[SeaGypsy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Shaved Monkey', 'H')ere's a farm that has about 800 people working in it that has required no oil to harvest any acres for the first 1900 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hftgWcD- ... ure=relmfu

[Shaved Monkey]

Im pretty handy and think I could build a wood gasifier if I needed one.
Im on just a suburban block with a low maintenance no dig garden, so probably dont personally need one.
As for running a car on it, it would be just for local jaunts, if I needed that to go shopping in the big smoke, the big smoke would probably have empty shelves well before then.
Just dont know if it will be necessary in Australia,pretty sure if it got tight you would imagine the government could nationalise part of the LPG industry and we would all shift to LPG domestically.
There's not many of us and there is lots of LPG and the infrastructure is already there or Coal to liquid
http://www.lincenergy.com/gas_to_liquids.php
LPG should see me out. (I'm nearly 50)
or
I only use $300 of petrol a year I could handle a few hundred percent increase and still survive don't know if the shops would though.

If it all collapses in a WCS we are isolated enough to be relatively Zombie free and we are surrounded by 5 acre hobby farms with nearly everyone aiming at some sort of self sufficiency even if they aren't PO aware.
There aren't many shops in town so we aren't surrounded by people addicted to consumer culture, just hedonist drop outs trying to have a simpler life.
There are so many people here with chooks, pigs, goats,sheep, turkeys, ducks,quails,geese etc as well as tonnes of fruit trees and veggie gardens.
Then we are circled by beef, olive and fruit orchards and dairy properties of a few hundred acres and then by even bigger beef properties.1,000s of acres and market gardens and sugar cane farms.just a bit further south.
I also have a 10 year old food forest and veggie gardens and the community garden and a good network of friends with gardens, animals and fruit trees.
Today was the first share the excess day at the community garden
You bring what you have too much of and go home with what you need.
No money was used, no ledger was kept.
Everything was laid out and you take what you want.
Just a group of like minded people sharing what they had too much off.
Its the best way to not only survive, but massively improve your life style even in a collapse scenario.
It feels real good and seditious getting and giving away free food too.
It doesn't take too many litres of fuel to harvest an organic no dig permaculture garden in the sub tropics or share the excess.