Step 4: Continuing the living fence

The boundary of the west side is in the middle of a crick used as ricefield. The barbed wire is really horrible in the middle of the rice and we wish to hide it as soon as possible. But what plant can accept these conditions of life? With Davoy, from Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation, we expect that the Madre de Cacao or Kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) can accept the challenge. If it grows, it will also provide free nitrogen to the rice and food for livestock.

So we deliver long cuttings we reduce to small pieces of 40 cm with a slant cut each side. Then, the bark downside is peeled a few centimeters. It avoids also to plant the cutting upside-down. 

A carabao of the village delivers the 880 cuttings along the ricefield. Everybody is happy to have finished the manual sawing!

A hole is made in the dyke, vermicompost is added and the cutting planted.

Result in a few week!

In fact, this row of Madre de Cacao is not really included in the windbreak and we have to start it from the bank of the ricefield. This place is very sensitive to erosion. A leguminous plant is choosen as usual. This time it is Cajanus cajan or Pidgeon pea or, locally, Kadyos. Use of Kadyos are multiple: food, fodder, apiculture, fuel, fibre, timber, medicine and even host for silkworm. It controls erosion and we need to protect the fragil crick bank. It fixes nitrogen and improves the soil.

Direct seeding is possible but its slow early growth during 2-3

 months can be a problem of competition. That is why we used the germination in plastic tray, transplantation at 25-30 days, vermicompost, protection with banana bracts and mulching. The time life of this plant is 5 years.

The first 100 (on the 250 needed) Kadios planted along the ricefield will fix the the bank with their roots longer than 2m.