[GreenYes] ZERI Establishes Presence in U.S.

[Mary Appelhof <mappelho@no.address>]

Dear GreenYesers,

As you know, Gary Liss has been posting notices of several 
opportunities to participate in workshops, seminars or training with 
Gunter Pauli, founder of ZERI. I attended a one-day session in 
February (where I saw Gary for the first time in years!), and 
followed that up by participating in the first ZERI Training. I 
submit this article to give you an idea of some of the concepts and 
principles which provide the foundation for ZERI projects and work. 
This article is the feature in the current issue of my free 
WormEzine which you are welcome to subscribe to by going to my 
website at: http://www.wormwoman.com


                           ZERI Establishes Presence in United States
		                          by Mary Appelhof

	ZERI is an approach, a methodology, a practice. ZERI stands 
for Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives, and the international 
non-governmental organization was founded by Gunter Pauli in 1994. 
Gunter Pauli is truly an international citizen. Author of several 
books, the most recent of which is Upsizing, he has worked in 120 
countries, speaks seven languages, and has influenced millions of 
people through his creative and innovative approaches to solving 
problems of food, poverty, self-esteem, and resource depletion.  On 
December 8, 2002, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Pauli awarded certificates 
to the first 24 ZERI practitioners in the United States. I was among 
them, having completed a 120 hour training program which took place 
over a six-month period. Assembling in Santa Fe for three four-day 
sessions, trainees came from New York, Paris, Colorado, Texas, 
California, and Michigan, in addition to local people from the Santa 
Fe region.

ZERI USES THE FIVE KINGDOMS OF NATURE

Based on a systems approach to evaluating problems and opportunities, 
ZERI projects look at people's needs, for example, for food, shelter, 
and self-esteem. The team then identifies assets often hidden from 
typical evaluation formats. Using the principles of nature that (1) 
no kingdom eats its own waste, and (2) that waste from one kingdom is 
food for another, ZERI projects incorporate the five kingdoms, 
bacteria, fungi, algae, plants, and animals, into their schemes: . An 
example, with successful pilots and an existing commercial venture, 
is a microbrewery which uses fermented grain (plant).The problem is 
that only 8% of the grain becomes beer, 92% is spent grain which is 
often landfilled. Or, perhaps fed to cows (animal). But the unbroken 
down fiber is not the best food source for them, so the bacteria in 
their stomachs produce more methane which gets expelled as a 
greenhouse gas.

	However, by growing shitake mushrooms (fungi)  on the spent 
grain, additional value is added with a new profit center. The 
mushroom enzymes break down the fiber bonds so that the spent 
mushroom substrate then provides better food value for the cows. 
Manure from the cows processed through a biodigester (bacteria) 
produces harvestable methane which can provide sufficient heat energy 
to sterilize the spent grain to use as mushroom substrate. The system 
can be carried further by processing water through oxidation ponds 
supporting algae growth which can provide food for fish. And the 
water--nutrient-rich, but purified from pathogenic bacteria--can be 
used to fertilize gardens and fields to obtain higher quality crops 
without the use of synthetic fertilizers. With the possibility of 
profit centers from algae (for vitamins) and fish, fully integrated 
ZERI systems provide more jobs, more income, more self-esteem, and 
zero wastes. 

ZERI PROJECTS OFTEN INCLUDE EARTHWORMS

Does it surprise you that several ZERI projects utilize earthworms as 
a part of the integrated system?  The spent mushroom substrate is 
protein-rich from the mycelium still present. This can be used to 
feed worms, yielding another high-protein nutrient which can be fed 
to fish or chickens. A unique use of earthworms in some ZERI projects 
is to produce enzymes that are being used for cleaning agents. A hope 
for one of the New Mexico projects is to use earthworms grown on 
slaughterhouse wastes to produce enzymes to separate lanolin from 
wool at lower temperatures than the current washing process requires. 
It's too early to share details yet, but can you imagine my NOT 
wanting to be involved?

EARTHWORMS HAVE LONG HISTORY IN CHINA

Gunter Pauli wrote the article, "Earthworms, Mushrooms and Zero Waste 
in China" which appeared in BioCycle Feb. 1999. In it he says that 
the typical farmer in Wuxi, Hubei Province, has on average of 100 
square meters reserved for earthworm farming. From this small area 
the farmer is able to produce some 500 kg per year (1100 lbs) which 
he sells to a local pharmaceutical company that uses the worms as a 
source of enzymes. Pauli reported that the Wuxi region produces 3000 
tons of earthworms per month and may be one of the largest earthworm 
production centers in the world.

One of the papers presented at the Vermillennium was on the use of 
earthworms as pharmaceuticals in China, given by Dr. Sun Zhensun, 
professor of earthworm science in the College of Resources and 
Environmental Sciences,  China Agricultural University, Beijing. He 
said that earthworms have been used in traditional Chinese medicine 
for 2300 years for numerous and diverse treatments of arthritis, 
itching, burns, carbuncles and inflammation. They have been used as 
anesthetics and to lower fevers. More recently, earthworm enzymes 
have been used to dissolve blood clots, and oral preparations are 
used to prevent cardiovascular disease in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, 
and China. Dr. Zhensun is in the process of founding a new 
organization, the International Institute of Earthworms in China.

We Americans are often perceived as very Americentric. . . we come 
across as thinking we have all the answers. The reality is that the 
ultimate answers to solving our environmental problems, our societal 
problems will come from everyone from all nations and cultures 
pulling together, learning lessons from the past, moving forward in 
ways that make sense for everyone, not just a favored or powerful few.

As we learn about the Five Kingdoms, we begin better to understand 
the consequences of loss of our species diversity. When we learn 
about the replenishment of  oxygen by plants and algae carrying out 
photosynthesis, we impart more meaning to the loss of the forests 
which regenerate the air that we breathe. When we learn that it's the 
bacteria that learned how to free up oxygen first, and they'll 
probably learn how to perform many more healing reactions first, we 
may not be quite so ready to disinfect everything before we touch it. 
Who would have thought that the mycelium of fungi could make wood 
fibers palatable and nutitional for cows? Or that some fungi can 
enhance our immune system?

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

My hope is that the work and vision of Gunter Pauli will draw people 
more fully into lives that have meaning because their basic needs are 
met in ways that harm neither the environment nor their fellow 
beings. Their spirits will be able to soar with joy as they develop 
and share their culture with others who also have their basic needs 
met. They will do this by working with nature in the way nature 
intended--any waste they produce will become food for another 
kingdom. Which is what happens when our food wastes become food for 
bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, which themselves become food for 
worms, which produce nutrients for plants, and food for animals. . . 
the cycle is unending.


To read the archives for WormEzine on the web, visit the following url:
http://www.wormwoman.com


2======================RESOURCES==========================

A. ZERI on the web at: http://www.zeri.org To find the most detailed 
articles about various ZERI projects, select NEWS, then toggle 
through the NEWSLETTERS from 1998 and 1999.

B. BIOCYCLE article, "Earthworms, Mushrooms, and Zero Waste in 
China," by Gunter Pauli. Abstract available online free, article 
downloadable for a fee. http://www.jgpress Go to archives, search on 
earthworms, China

C. VERMILLENNIUM ABSTRACTS available from Flowerfield Enterprises.
The Vermillennium, a major international conference on vermiculture 
and vermicomposting, brought together over 125 scientists and worm 
industry leaders from 19 countries to report on their most recent 
work and projects. The 128 abstracts from 8 scientific sessions 
provide an overview of earthworm projects and relevant research in 
vermiculture species, methods, applications, microbiological 
relationships, greenhouse and field applications, and economics. Find 
out who is doing what and where they can be contacted. Dr. Sun 
Zhenjun has four abstracts, "A Novel Vermiculture Bed Design and its 
Corresponding Vermiculture Management in Batches,"  "Pharmaceutical 
Value and Use of Earthworms," "Nutritional Value of Earthworms and 
Cast in Feeding Trials for Broiler Chickens," and "Influence of 
Earthworms and Casts on the Heavy-Metal Content of Tilapia 
(Oreochromis niloticus)." 
http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/Wormwoman_catalog_Vermillennium_10.html

Sincerely,

Mary Appelhof
--
PS We have a delightful children's color picture book, "Compost, By 
Gosh!" by Michelle Eva Portman. I've had a wonderful time reading it 
to elementary school children. . . and I know that middle school kids 
like it, too! Check our website for details. 
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now.

Mary Appelhof, Author of "Worms Eat My Garbage"
Flowerfield Enterprises,10332 Shaver Road,Kalamazoo, MI 49024 USA
PLEASE NOTE NEW AREA CODE: PH:269-327-0108  FAX 269-327-7009


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