Hi Detlef,

permaculture is an often used term  and seems to solve all problems in the world.   To me the translation is: pick up the local conditions with a high focus an water.
So permaculture will not feed the world in a big scale (mainly due to high input of labour) nor will it solve the problem of wastewater in the mega cities. But it is a fine approach to local ecology. 
But the more people turn to permaculture, agroecology, agroforestry, dynamic agroforestry, roof top farming and so on, the sooner we get a consciousness on what is important to get a sustainable society.
And when I look at your hp.... you do work on the tools as well....

Cheers, Heiner

Dear Heiner and dear ALL,

Is Permaculture the "Medicine" to this?  'making nutrients (and water) available to soils and plants'...

Oregon State University Ecampus: Learn Introduction Permaculture Design Online for Free
 
open.oregonstate.education/permaculture/open/download?type=pdf

I found Andrew Millison is a talented teacher giving you the "keys" so you could run by yourself.

 
open.oregonstate.edu/courses/permaculture/

Attached an example by Christopher Kellner, TZ, Arusha.


Best Regards,
Detlef

I very much agree with both of you! I shared lots of online meetings during the last weeks (mainly about my field, agriculture) and see it as proven: it is very hard, for me too, to leave a point of view and start a real transformation in your mind ,let alone in your doing.  But a few young start-ups are doing well and I hope very much they will succeed.

Heiner

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
Albert Einstein

... the 'same kind of thinking' comprises what Dean says: ...  treatment with "nutrient removal" to a level suitable for discharge to water bodies...

... a new thinking should aim at 'making nutrients (and water) available to soils and plants'...  (like all animals do)...

Hi katharinecross,
Many thanks for the link. Follows is a critical review:

Although this book "serves as a compilation of technical references, case examples and guidance for applying nature-based solutions for treatment of domestic wastewater", it was with disappointment that I could not find a single reference made to vermifiltration. Vermifiltration, as a key nature based solution for treatment of domestic wastewater, is perhaps the single most "highly efficient contemporary treatment technology" available.  
Unfortunately, in my experience most sanitation practitioners and research providers haven't yet caught up with the play and "conventional wisdom" remains caught up in traditional technologies such as horizontal and vertical flow wetlands fed by Imhoff or septic tanks. These technologies have been around for some time and innovation tends to have mostly run its course, while the world yearns for something better. 

This book seems to mostly follow the traditional sanitation paradigm of settling sludge from wastewater followed by municipal (in this case land-based) treatment with "nutrient removal" to a level suitable for discharge to water bodies. My favourite quote: "Paradigms fall slowly, from the weight of repeated failure."

cheers
Dean

The recent “ Nature-BasedSolutions for Wastewater Treatment ” published by IWA Publishing provides a starting point to identify and compare NBS options that can be incorporated into domestic and municipal wastewater treatment processes, with an emphasis on the potential co-benefits. Building on the existing evidence base, peer-reviewed factsheets and case studies detail a selection of NBS as part of the process of treating domestic wastewater, while also providing ecological and social co-benefits. Case studies illustrate how these nature-based wastewater treatment approaches have been applied in practice and provide insights into the variety of potentially applicable solutions. The aim is for a wide variety of stakeholders to gain an initial understanding of the design parameters, removal efficiencies, costs, co-benefits for both people and nature and trade-offs for consideration in their local context.