EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
GROW BIOINTENSIVE® SUSTAINABLE MINI-FARMING PROGRAM
GROW BIOINTENSIVE can make possible:
- a 200 - 400% increase in caloric production per unit of area,
- a 67 - 88% reduction in water consumption per unit of production,
- a 100% increase in soil fertility while productivity increases and resource use decreases,
- a 50% reduction in the amount of purchased fertilizer required per unit of production,
- a 99% reduction in the amount of energy used per unit of production,
- a 100% increase in income per unit of area.
This program:
- provides "how-to" publications and training for GROW BIOINTENSIVE practitioners and projects throughout the United States, Mexico, Kenya, Russia, India, the Philippines, and in over 100 other countries,
- increases the number of skilled GROW BIOINTENSIVE teachers,
- researches complete economic, nutritional, resource, environmental and soil sustainability,
- increases the number of highly productive, resource-conserving, low-capital-input, cost-effective small farms using diverse cropping patterns.
In addition to collaborating with independent U.S. and international regional centers, Ecology Action has also provided assistance and taught classes at university programs including ones at Stanford University, the University of California-Davis, and the University of Arizona. The GROW BIOINTENSIVE method is being used to develop urban and rural community projects, serving as models for individuals, organizations and communities to establish sustainable GROW BIOINTENSIVE mini-farms.
The program's major emphases are in:
- Improved Teaching Practices,
- Soil Preservation,
- Smallest-Scale Crop-Growing, and
- Seed Preservation.
In addition:
- Research applications and quarterly reports are published.
- Training is made available to farmers, potential farmers, farm advisors and representatives from state and national departments of agriculture, representatives of farm organizations and the public.
The program is administered by Ecology Action, a non-profit organization with over fifty years of experience and over 40 publications in this field, which are used nationally and internationally. Media coverage of this work has included: The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Science '80, The Christian Science Monitor, Horticulture, The California Farmer, and the PBS Television Network.