Thursday 6 August 2015

Managing Drought In The Ancient Times: Find Out Here How Our Forefathers Survived It

Life on earth exists because the earth has the very storehouse of water required for lives to exist. Around 75% of the earth’s surface is filled with water, although all of this percentage cannot be utilized. Everyone on this planet does not get this premier elixir in abundance in spite of it being not too costly. In fact water is often considered as a paradox because the most precious liquid is dirt cheap in most places. People who are located in regions of the continents where rivers flow, oceans are nearby, are often luckier than those who reside on the banks of sand dunes where water itself plays and becomes an illusion to trick the thirsty souls. Well, fortune takes a hand at times and ensures that people who are enriched with an abundant source of water comes face to face with dry spells.

A prolonged period of time without the blissful showers from heaven can make the life of people miserable. Drought has been a cunning guest of Mother Nature since eternity. Sometimes it lasted for a week or so and at times years or even decades. In ancient times droughts were common and people often considered it to be a curse or punishment from the messengers of heaven. They faced drought as if it was an ordinance to follow. Perhaps they kept their head low as they did not have much appendage to help their situation. The absence of precipitation for a considerable amount of time affects the ecosystem as well as the atmosphere. The droughts would eventually occur as a by-product of their indigenous practices like slash and burn cultivation, deforestation for shelter, food, etc. They were not equipped to outlast the effect of drought. The only form of living was agriculture and that occupation experienced a great setback during droughts. People who could sustain the drought survived while the rest died due to the sun-baked atmosphere without the seasoning of rain spatters. A few would consider removing themselves from the ‘cursed’ area and enter a new world by migrating.

The world remembers the severe and the consecutive effect of drought in the 1930s in the United States of America when people from the several counties of Rolla, Kansas moved to the west in search of occupation. Agriculture was the most affected sector contributing to the Great Depression when banks failed, unemployment soared and life became lifeless. Some tried to resist the drought with the hope of a miracle to happen, rain to usher, while others migrated to different areas. This showcases how people faced the severe consequences of drought without having the power to overcome them. They were forced to act as mere puppets in the hands of Nature. If they had anything that could make their agriculture go on at that time, it could have saved thousands of lives.

Today, we can create a difference. We, the successors of those worthy souls who had to die due to lack of their livelihood, can make a divergence. A miracle has born. A boon to overcome the effects of drought is here. The answer is coco peat. Nowadays, coco peat is endowed with brilliant soil conditioning properties. It acts like a sponge having water retention capabilities. It can hold moisture up to 7 times its volume. Not only that, it does help in strengthening the roots of the plants. It also maintains the pH level required to cultivate. Coconut husks can be shredded to huge chunks which can act as a splendid growing medium during dry spells. Growers of Kenya, Wisconsin, and Minnesota etc. hugely depend on this organic media for economizing even when chances to cultivate are insufficient. Coco Peat has been a pioneer in the agronomic industry in the last few decades, especially in drought prone and arid areas. We have reached the moon; we can no longer afford to bow down to natural calamities.

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