Vegetation Research

Started by Predict, July 06, 2010, 04:44:01 AM

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Predict

We have now established by a majority vote that the tribe will locate in the tropical region: http://forum.learnnavi.org/official-tribe-matters/climate-choices/

In the interest of further narrowing the viable regions and reducing our workload I suggest we establish what vegetation type we hope to inhabit. At this stage we need to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each type of vegetation before conducting a vote as to which we want.

The main vegetation types found in the tropics are as follows:

  • Tropical Rainforest
  • Savanna/Tropical Grassland
  • Desert

It would also be helpful to establish what vegetation/biome hunter-gatherer tribes in the tropics inhabit. I would assume rainforest but it would be interesting to see what other options are suitable.

Tonbogiri

I wish to provide details of an indigenous tribe of the tropics.

The Matis Tribe live in the amazonian jungle.

Type of settlement: Static (village)

No. of members: 20-25 at any time

Primary food sources: Fish from nearby river; wild monkeys; wild boar; assorted fruits, notably cocoa fruit

Method of hunting: Poisoned blow darts for animals, nets for fishing

Construction materials: Wood from surrounding forest

Issues: Hunting is only possible in what is known as primary forest. This is where the trees are spaced apart, and the canopy is higher up. Deforestation replaces this with either desolation or secondary forest, which makes hunting impossible. Western diseases have also become a problem in recent years.

I shall provide details of more tribes soon.


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Na'viru san LearnNaviyä sìk oel olo'txepit nerekx siveiyi talun
    lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpong...

Tonbogiri

Another tribe, ladies and gents:

The Penan people inhabit the jungles of Borneo.

Type of settlement: Nomadic people (remain in the same place for around a week before moving on).

No. of members: Less than 20 at any one time.

Primary food source: Small animals; WIld boar; Porridge made from Sago palm tree.

Method of hunting: Blowpipes and poison darts

Construction materials: Wood from forest used for construction. NOt naturally occurring parts, such as tarpaulin, are carried with the tribe when it moves.

Issues: The deforestation problem is particularly disastrous for this people. They have actually become fenced in by deforestated areas - and their land is decreasing in size every day. Protests used to be common, but injuries caused to the loggers by the Penan have led to security escorts for the companies. As a result, Penan feel that they cannot stop the destruction of their home.

More to follow...


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Na'viru san LearnNaviyä sìk oel olo'txepit nerekx siveiyi talun
    lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpong...

guest2859

Hm... good finds... +1. But I think the places we have set up shouldn't have too much trouble for deforestation, but the diseases are another problem.

Predict

That's fantastic Tonbogiri, this is exactly the sort of organization we need to make real progress with the location. It is a real help to link it to other aspects of life, like hunting.


Tonbogiri

One more tribe for us to look at:

The Akie people live on the savannah of Tanzania.

Type of settlement: Static (village)

No. of members: 20-25 at any time

Primary food source: Maize porridge;honey; meat (if they can get it).

Method of hunting: Bows and poisoned arrows

Construction material: Small trees; houses made of mud/branches structure.

Issues: Land restraints and hunting companies have meant that the no. of wild game available for the Akie has dropped dramatically. Even the honey is drying up - starvation is their greatest issue. Also, their only source of water is a stagnant pool which other people are known to bathe in. Parasites abound...

So, we should keep our hunting supply up, and make sure we have a good source of drinking water?


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Na'viru san LearnNaviyä sìk oel olo'txepit nerekx siveiyi talun
    lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpong...

Predict

Insufficient land seems to be a consistent problem within these tribes. That sounds like it should be a priority, the last thing we want to do is overload the local environment and run out of food or pollute our water supply.

Tonbogiri

So in the most man-made sense a water pump, or in the most basic sense a river nearby?

i wonder how many hectares of land we would need. Of course, it would also depend on whether or not we decided to grow any kind of crops.


old gallery link?id=2051[/img]

Na'viru san LearnNaviyä sìk oel olo'txepit nerekx siveiyi talun
    lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpong...

Nanaki

We can't be restricted to a small area, that's a fact :)
And yes I think we need a river too :)
'Itan Atxur : Just remember, NO idea is too crazy <3

Then everything changed ... I fell in love. I fell in love with the - with the forest, with the Omaticaya people... with you...
Don't thank! You don't thank for this! This is sad... VERY sad only!

guest2859

I think a river what's going to be 50% of the energy for the Eco-Village, and a good reason for the tribe. Of course, before you settle, you can go upstream and most of the time find a small (hopefully) fresh-water pond/lake. Of course, I think by the time we find the actual place, we'll have seen satellite images of the area.

Predict

Quote from: Eana Ikran on July 09, 2010, 07:55:48 PM
I think by the time we find the actual place, we'll have seen satellite images of the area.
Certainly, and checked it out in person hopefully, unless wherever it is dirt cheap.

One issue we do need to consider more are the needs of the eco-village. Vegetation is probably going to have a large impact on its function, I'm thinking building materials primarily, that could  be a significant benefit for rainforest. Particularly as they would be much sparser in a savanna.

guest2859

The Eco-Village once done won't be too hard to maintain, but I'm still wondering where the building materials will come from. I know it's probably going to require a few trips back for the equipment, but other than that, the Eco-Village just needs to be done and then we keep it running. If it falls and we lose income, then there might be small problems, but I don't see that happening.

Predict

You should be right about maintenance, provided our equipment can survive the conditions the buildings should be the only issue. I assume we intend to use local building materials? In that case rainforest does have a significant benefit, I think that's the only long-term solution.  Importing materials would work at start-up but if we need to import to make repairs to the village the cost would add up quickly.


guest2859

Yes, which is another one of my fears. I don't want to have to rip down a clearing for this, but then again, if the costs add up quickly, there's another thing to reverse that. The EcoVillage is going to have 2 game-making studios, that should be able to distribute to a game company that can send them around the world. If we're only spending on taxes, and internet, we're not using money like you would here, on taxes, internet, TV, electricity, water, gas, etc., so we shouldn't go down as fast, but it should be easier than it would here.

Predict

Still off topic but anyway... As long as our 'exports' are all software that should help a lot. Overheads should really be limited to tax and satellite internet.