Farming for Survival in Eastern and Southern Africa

Farmers the world over face many common problems in the early part of the 21st century. However there are none so dependant on farming for their very survival than many smallholders in Africa, who often rely entirely on production from their limited land area to provide both staple foodstuffs and an income to purchase the bare necessities of life for themselves and their families. Over the last fifteen years on the initiative of a group of farmers in South West England, an organization has developed from humble beginnings to a main stream body, providing much needed assistance to vulnerable farming families in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The original concept of providing one animal on loan to farmers has been transformed to the provision of a sustainable farming package enabling the recipients of stock to better realize the potential of their limited resources. The history of this assistance and the manner in which it has evolved to enable small farmers 'living on the edge' to transform their lives and become respected members of their communities is described and graphically illustrated in this presentation.Farm Management,

Provision of Livestock as a Catalyst for Improved Income Generation on Small Farms in Western Kenya

Many of the Groups supported had humble origins. Some were originally formed by women who got together because of their desperate situation and started 'merry go rounds' by which they each contributed a small amount of money each month and then supported members in turn either in a crisis situation or for a particular need - eg school fees. As they developed self confidence and improved their well being in a small way, so ngos such as SACHKWR have been able to build on their strengths and support them in the next step towards self sustainability. The challenge now is to ensure that as SACHKWR move on and support other communities that they are able to continue on their own with the minimum of outside support. To this end it is hoped that one of the SACHKWR staff will shortly visit Tanzania where the HEIFER International organization has developed one of the most effective 'exit strategies' within their African programmes. Based on his observations the programme will be adapted to fit the Kenya situation. This is the immediate challenge facing the SACHKWR team.Kenya, smallholders, womens groups, livestock, pass on, micro-credit, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries,

Growth characterization and control of fungi on polyvinyl chloride film

Polyvinyl chloride films are widely used packaging materials. These films are used to package food, pharmaceutical, and medical products. Since the occurrence of microbial growth on a PVC film could result in contamination of the product, this study was conducted to determine if a PVC film could support growth of fungi and to define chemical methods of inhibiting growth. Polyvinyl chloride film was subjected to nine species of fungi in three separate growth studies to determine if the film could serve as a nutrient source. All mold species were found to be capable of utilizing the film for carbon or nitrogen when the other nutrient was supplied. Only two species, Aspergillus fischeri and Paecilomyces sp., were found to be capable of utilizing the film without added nutrient. The film components found to be utilized by the fungi as carbon sources included the epoxidized oil (plasticizer-stabilizer) and the Ca-Zn stearate (heat stabilizer). As a nitrogen source, the stearamide (lubricant) was not found to be an available nutrient source in the component study, but was found to be available in the PVC film. To inhibit growth of the fungi on the PVC film, an initial screening test was conducted in vitro to determine the susceptibility of the fungi to the following antimicrobials: BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), methyl paraben, propyl paraben, and potassium sorbate. The fungi were found to be inhibited by all of the preservatives except potassium sorbate at low concentrations. However, when the preservatives were applied to the film the concentrations which inhibited growth in the in vitro study were not effective in inhibiting fungal growth on the film. Therefore, increased concentrations of the inhibitors were applied to the film. Potassium sorbate at 4000 ug/ml (0.4%) was found to totally inhibit growth of Fusarium sp. while BHA at 2000 ug/ml (0.2%) inhibited growth of Paecilomyces sp. In conclusion, polyvinyl chloride films were found to be susceptible to microbial attack. The composition of the film, the microorganisms present, and the environmental conditions were shown to be determinants in the utilization of the film as a nutrient source. Therefore, it is important to determine if a PVC film can support growth of microorganisms under actual use conditions. If the film is susceptible, then appropriate methods such as controlling environmental conditions, reformulation of the film, or application of an antimicrobial agent can be used to prevent growth

Iowa Confederates in the Civil War

Review of: Iowa Confederates in the Civil War, by David Connon

Uncivil Warriors: The Lawyers’ Civil War

Peter Hoffer, Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia and author of many books on American legal history, has now brought his expertise to the sectional crisis. Uncivil Warriors argues that lawyers exercised an important influence on policy-making during the Civil War. This may seem axiomatic, but the book, particularly in its focus on the role of lawyers in political and military positions in the Union, attempts to show two things. First, the conflict remained, as Hoffer puts it on page 119, a “civil Civil War,” meaning that the war’s prosecution reflected a search for conduct according to various laws of war, rather than devolving into “extremes of brutality,” as he writes on page 3, which have characterized more modern civil wars. Second, the war’s political outcome in the constitutional end of slavery was possible, again, because of lawyers’ prominent role in formulation of early Reconstruction policy in 1865

Archeological Reconnaissance of Selected Trail Corridors, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Presidio and Brewster Counties, Texas 2004 - 2010

Between 2004 and 2010, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) archeologists conducted reconnaissance level archeological investigations of selected trails at Big Bend Ranch State Park, Brewster and Presidio Counties, Texas. The purpose of the investigations was to provide cultural resources information that would be beneficial in developing a multi-use trail system in the park that would avoid both direct and potential secondary impacts to archeological sites, when possible, or provide recommendations for mitigative measures, when necessary. These investigations also provide the baseline data needed for conducting future conditions assessments on these sites. During the course of these investigations, a total of 188 kilometers (117 miles) of trails were surveyed. The majority of these trails followed existing ranch roads, while the remainder followed drainages, existing livestock or game trails, or were newly created. New trail construction was coordinated with the Texas Historical Commission via interim reports. On average, the survey corridors were approximately 100 m (330 ft) wide, resulting in a total of about 7,456 acres being examined for archeological resources during the project. The examined trail routes are scattered across the park, providing a good cross-section of much of the topography in the area and the archeological sites that occur in these settings. Seventy-two previously recorded archeological sites were examined during the investigations, and a total of 159 previously unknown archeological sites, with cultural components ranging in age from the Early Paleoindian period to the mid-twentieth century, were recorded. Among the Native American site types are open habitations, rockshelter habitations, rock imagery sites, quarry sites, lithic scatters, isolated hearths, rock cairns and vision quest sites. Euro-American sites include open campsites, a wide variety of ranching facilities, cinnabar mining sites, candelilla wax processing sites, and historic graffiti. A total of 169 prehistoric and historic isolated finds were also documented during the investigation, consisting primarily of isolated cultural features or individual artifacts. Discussions of the archeological resources in this report include recommendations for the management and protection of sites examined during the present investigations. Site monitoring schedules and recommendations for nomination of significant sites as official State Antiquities Landmarks are often included

The development of an expert system for the diagnosis of diseases in fibre and dairy goats

This thesis details the development of an expert system for the diagnosis of diseases in fibre and dairy goats. Divided into five sections, five appendices, and a bibliography, this thesis centres on the methods used to build the expert system: the decisions taken at the outset of, and during the course of, development; some of the problems encountered, and the solutions to those problems. A detailed appraisal is made of the development process and suggestions are made for future developments over similar domains (for example, the diagnosis of diseases in animals other than goats). Much emphasis is placed on three topics in particular: the selection of the expert system tool(s) to be used (and the rejection of numerous others); the methodology employed for this selection process; and the methodology used for the process of development. Other topics which are routinely found in texts on expert systems (for example, knowledge elicitation techniques, explanatory facilities, expert system evaluation etc) are dealt with only briefly. However, for the reader interested in further information on these topics, references are made in the text to appropriate sources