"Coppice Agroforestry"

You can help this happen.

We humans must develop land management systems that provide diverse products to meet our needs while regenerating healthy ecosystems. Coppice agroforestry systems can do exactly this.

Many woody plants resprout from the stump or root suckers when cut to the ground--we call the regrowth "coppice", and the management system "coppicing". Many ancient cultures understood this plant behavior and managed coppice to produce their fuel, craft and building materials, livestock fodder, fencing, and much more. In North America, coppicing was a casualty of European emigration from a culture of resource conservation (by necessity) to one of widespread overexploitation and industrialization. We now must re-engage with these practices and develop them to a high art for our times and for our future.

Mark Krawczyk (www.keylinevermont.com and www.rivenwoodcrafts.com) and Dave Jacke (www.edibleforestgardens.com) have therefore decided to write "Coppice Agroforestry: Perennial Silviculture for the 21st Century." Coppice Agroforestry will serve as a detailed manual for foresters, farmers, craftspeople, and land managers describing the history, ecology, economics, design, and management of agroforestry systems based on the repeated harvest of small diameter wood products from resprouting tree stumps. Bridging ancient coppice traditions and cutting-edge agroecosystem design, Coppice Agroforestry will articulate a practical vision of forest management that integrates ecosystem health, economic viability, multi-generational tree crops, and diverse non-timber forest products. Our book will fill several critical gaps that so far have been unfilled in the literature on coppice woodlands - namely:

- How to apply this strategy to North American ecosystems and species;
- Effective design processes for multifunctional, productive landscapes;
- Details on coppice system establishment;
- Consolidated research from a scattered literature;
- Data on projected system yields;
- An in-depth discussion of coppice products and market potential.

As we strive for solutions to stabilize our communities, economies and ecologies, it’s vital that we come prepared with a diverse and well-stocked toolbox. Coppice woodland management can and will provide complementary solutions for a post-petroleum world. We feel eager to contribute to this expanding toolbox with Coppice Agroforestry.

While we have found publishers interested in this book, we have chosen to self-finance the manuscript production phase, and need help to do so. We have already begun work, with literature research, searches for case studies, and first drafts underway. We need money to support us while we work this winter and next spring. We need money to cover the costs of research (many of the resources we need to access are overseas and therefore expensive to acquire). We also need to travel to visit case study sites, interview practitioners and see their systems first-hand, and take photographs, measurements, and so on. While we seek $5,000 to get us going, we will gladly accept much more in support of this work. We'll focus first on using the money for travels to visit case study sites. We expect we will need about $18,000 to fully fund the writing of this book.

We look forward to hearing from you all, to developing this resource in support of our planet and people, and to sharing the results of our work with you in the future! Thanks very much!

Edible Forest Gardens with Dave Jacke in K'zoo Mich.

Edible Forest Gardens with Dave Jacke
New Food Plants, Wild Edibles, Perennial Vegetables, Native Nuts and Fruits, Design Ideas, Applied Ecology-Horticulture
Saturday, September 13 - 14, 2008.

Workshop One

ECOSYSTEM FOUNDATIONS:
Architecture and Social Structure.
How are forest ecosytems put together, and how can we use that information to design our gardens? We'll dive into those aspects of designed ecologies making visible the hidden connections between species. Dave will show us how harness the synergy naturally found in all living systems. We will use our extensive plantings at our farm for field observation and experiential classes. Taste test many different plants from around the world. From this class you will gain design ideas for your own Edible Forest Garden and new plants you can grow for your own health.
Saturday, September 13, 2008.
9:00-4:00 Lunch Included. Vegetarian Style. Includes 2 pawpaw trees, 2 beach plums, plus 4 organic fertilizer packets for completion of the workshop ($36.00 Value).>Register at our website: www.oikostreecrops.com
Call or email questions or registration: customerservice@oikostreecrops.com Cost: $90.00

Workshop Two
GARDEN LIKE THE FOREST: Self Renewing Fertility and Perennial Polyculture.

This workshop will help you think like a forest. Using the rather starchy knowledge of soil ecosystems, Dave will aid us in ways of creating self renewing fertility, boredom free. Through this whole-system approach practical solutions for site assessment, site preparation, plant selection and planting techniques will be found. "Will this grow at my place?" will be answered in full detail through interactive exercises and discussion. Design techniques that will minimize input and improve yields will be demonstrated. Here we will look at many mature specimens of fruit, nut and forage plants and taste test them along the way. New perennial vegetables will be highlighted as well showing the infinite possibilities of a forest garden. Sunday, September 14, 2008.

9:00-4:00 Lunch Included. Vegetarian Style. Includes 2 Wild Yellow Sweet Cherry trees, 2 Very Wild Asparagus plants, plus 4 organic fertilizer packets for completion of the workshop($36.00 Value).

Register at our website:www.oikostreecrops.com

Call or email questions or registration: customerservice@oikostreecrops.com

Phone 269-624-6233

Cost: $90.00 Register for both $160.00 - a savings of $20!Preregistration is highly encouraged. Late registration the day of the workshop can be done between 8:30-8:45.

Come prepared for a day of learning and fun. No rain dates.

Sorry, No plant sales on the workshop days.

Essentially, edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodland-like patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. You can grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, other useful plants, and animals in a way that mimics natural ecosystems. You can create a beautiful, diverse, high-yield garden that is largely self-maintained.


Edible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations: concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable “plant matrix” that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species.

Taken together, the two volumes of Edible ForestGardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening—one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment.

About the Authors: Dave Jacke is the owner of Dynamics Ecological Design Associates and a longtime permaculture teacher and designer. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire. Eric Toensmeier is a plant researcher, agricultural educator, and permaculturist who lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.