From seed to humus

Reduction of waste in recycling centres

Béran — 2026-04-10T11:18:22Z

Reduction of waste in recycling centres

Document

reduction_of_waste_in_recycling_centres.pdf

A5 collatable format

Source

Reduction of waste in recycling centres

Additional attachments

Réduction des déchets en déchetterie.

Réduction des déchets en déchetterie. Pièces additionnelles.

Notes

Use of the font “Tuffy”
Add highlighting of replicable initiatives on the web. Interviews with professionals (obstacles and levers used).
Review the layout with a standard free font as the default. Fix the navigation glitch.

Low-tech et technology

Béran — 2026-03-27T07:16:10Z

There are numerous techniques with a lot of miscellaneous impacts. Linking them between themselves isn't an easy task. Indeed, it's difficult to correlate a wooden pen with a nuclear powerplant…

For environment-related techniques, it might be possible to categorise them. For example, we could have something like this:

The products with a low impact (local, hand-crafted, organic…) ;
The consumptions with a low impact (in bulk, local, ethical…) ;
Restorative or nature-protective actions (ecological restoration) ;
Passive structures (building insulation, light shaft…) ;
Apps for energy-hungry technologies (heat pumps, double-flow Controlled Mechanical Ventilation systems…) ;
…

Providing a view of the plurality of the techniques helps not to take any easy shortcuts, but it is spurious.

It should be specified that, for each practice, we can have outcomes that are more or less favorable for the environment. Yet again, “to think global” proves useful. The impacts and the steps seen in the Life Cycle Analysis give us an idea of the themes underlying the production of an object or the use of a service.

Definitions

Let's start with technology(ies). Like many other words, this is a polysemous one [1].

Etymology

The word technology comes from the Greek “technología” (τεχνολογία) ie. téchnē (τέχνη), “art”, “hability” or “craftmanship”, and “-logía” (-λογία), the study of one branch of knowledge, of one disciplin.

So technology is the study of the arts, craftmanship, trades, applied sciences of a branch of knowledge at the various historical periods, in terms of tools and skills. In its original meaning, technology is descriptive [2] and non-descriptive [3].

If we stop at this definition, the first known technique to this day comes from the Palaeolithic era, some 2.6 millions years ago with the discovery of the oldest carved stone tools in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya) [4]..

Technologies pierre

Stone carving is a genuine revolution in the history of mankind. In time, stones have had more and more specific functions. [5]
1-Converted pebbles from Oldowayen. The oldest Oldowagen tools discovered to this day date from 2.55 million years ago. There were discovered at Kada Gona in Ethopia.
Image by José-Manuel Benito Álvarez aka Locutus Borg (Licence CC BY SA).
2-Two-sided stones from the Acheulean site. The first Acheulean tools emerged very early on, 1.76 million years ago. The oldest tools are known both in the Turkana area in Kenya and in the south of Africa.
Image by José-Manuel Benito Álvarez (Public domain)
3-Levallois and Moustérien Method. This function appeared quite early on in Africa, between 500 000 and 400 000 ans ago.
Image by José-Manuel Benito Álvarez (CC BY SA licence).
4-Blades and the Aurignacian way. This method corresponds to the Upper Palaeolithic (45 000 years before present time).
Image pb

Common sense

In our daily lives, we use the word technoology in a more common sense. The edges are more blurred, but we can often see clear characteristics.

Approach through production

As regards to the object itself, we will talk of technology for industrial productions or unique productions using advanced techniques (generally electric or electronic techniques, but not exclusively…).
This approach of the word “technology” is also reflected in Jacob Bigelow's work. This Harvard professor seems to be the one who, for the first time, formalised the systematic use of the word “technology” in English in his work “Elements of technology” (1829).

Technologies bigalow

Boards from the book “Elements of technology” (1829) by Jacob Bigelow. (Public domain))

Bigelow proposed the merging of the arts and sciences on the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. He incited towards a heightened division into sectors of the scientific knowledge and a scientific allocation of tasks in the work sphere. The first uses of the word “technology” in the sense given by Bigelow thus preceded the technical, environmental and social upheavals of the 19th century, and its use spread during the Industrial Revolution. [6]

Bigelow was influenced by engineer John A. Etzler, who had a religious dimension of the technique and would spread out his ideal four years later in a book which would be quickly and widely acknowledged: “The Paradise within the Reach of all Men without Labor, by Powers of Nature and Machinery: An Address to all intelligent men”. [7]

This school of thoughts could be called the technological fix. According to this concept, all problems could be fixed by “better and new” technologies [8].

Bigelow and Etzler are millennialists, a resurgent current of that era. They thought the Messiah would come (back) to Earth. It was, thus, a question of preparing paradise. In their minds, machinery and nature helped abolish work, subsequently helping the most disadvantaged social classes. There was a preparation of the last judgment, with a terrestrial messiah who would chase away the antechrist. “In helping the most deprived, you will receive in return during the resurrection of the righteous” [9].

Production-driven and capitalistic considerations on the Industrial Revolution, the heightened division into sectors of scientific knowledge and task allocation [10] will bring their share of problems. We can quote, among others:

the loss of autonomy by not knowing all the stages of the processes;
the ignorance of productions (their uses, their sources, their social impacts…);
the creation of various types of pollution;
the decrease of ressources (their time limit had not been considered at the beginning);
work conditions which do not improve with increasing productions;
the large transformation of landscapes by increasing exploitation;
the disappearance or increasing scarcity of handcraft trades;
a growing consumption;
a growing dependency on productions;
…
Approach through the product surroundings

Nowadays, we also think of the technologies surrounding us and of their impacts on our daily lives, on our ways of life These technologies are mirroring how one sees the world, thus creating dependency.
A wooden pen or a ballpoint pen are rarely considered as technologies in the common sense. Yet, when we focus on learning how they are made, they prove to be advanced or even well-advanced fabrication techniques.
Nonetheless, we more often use a pen to take notes, scribble, draw… [11] We keep a certain control on the use and on the production undertaken. For simple uses, we just take any pen we come across, of any brand or fabrication technique, as long as there is enough ink or the lead has been sharpened. We absorb the tool and do whatever we wish of it, it barely requires anything from us…
With technologies such as the internet, we have less control on how we use it. Algorhythms are like inciting forceful tools of informative bubbles, forecasts of our expectations, access to information that change our vision of the world, counterfeiting information through mass sharing… The tool becomes less insignificant…

Critical reflections on technologies

Critical reflections on technologies are not new [12].

There are many forms of criticism on the productions and conditions thereof.

We can name multiple aspects, such as appropriation or reappropriation questions [13], mentioned by Karl Marx as early as 1844.

There's also DIY [14] with magazines such as “Popular Mechanics”(founded in 1902), though this was a niche issue at the time [15].

DIY will be seen later on in various movements criticizing mass comsumption, such as hippy or punk movements.

We can also find connections between the ecological and technocritical movements in the 1970s.
As it is often the case, a movement isn't born out of nothing but is instilled by its environment and movements that preceded it.

Technocritical reflection

In modern approaches following the Industrial Revolution, we can quote Karl Marx, who will write in “The Capital”:
“Technology unveils man's active connection to nature, the immediate involvement of the production of his life, and thus of his social conditions of living and the spiritual representations thereof.”

The technocritical reflection started at the beginning of the 19th^e century in Great-Britain (the first industrial nation at the time) with the Luddist Rebellion [16]. This reflection has, then, been evolving gradually along with the flourishing industry and adaptable human beings. In France, criticism was more discreet during the French Glorious Thirty, a period when consumerism was in full boom. The technocritical reflection appeared to be on the rise again at the beginning of the 1970s when the ecological crisis became obvious. It then teamed up with ecological yet still remaining critical of it [17].

The word “technocritical” was founded in 1975 by French engineer and philosopher Jean-Pierre Dupuy.

The technocritical neologism defines a school of thought based on the criticism of the “technical progess” concept, thought to be an ideology born in the 18th^e century during the Industrial Revolution and which has, since the Second World War, been rooted in consciousness mainly through the outcomes of automation (mechanisation or machinism) and computerisation [18].

Techno-discernment

The word techno-discernment emerged recently. In French, it can be rooted from a 2009 tweet by Amélia Matar. This would be the only mention of this word on the web that year.

We speak of “techno-discernment” to require technologies when we really need them.

We can have an attitude or a way of life with a low consumption, and not necessarily cast out sophisticated devices that are necessary for our health, for example.
The “definitions” that are provided here remain outlines, as multiple and personal approaches can, of course, broaden how they are interpreted. Indeed, beyond the core technical reflection, the environment (ecological and social) implied by the technique is a milestone in the foundations of the technocritical school of thought.

Low-Tech

Low-tech (or low-techs) is not a technophobe approach, but a technocritical one. In other words, although it is against the obsession over high-tech, it follows the principle of techno-discernment, and low-tech can complement useful high-tech [19].

The concept of low-tech dates back from the 1970s, when it emerged under the pen of Ernst Friedrich Schumacher [20].

The word “low-tech” is a vision of the world. It can take into account various elements such as:

the finiteness of ressources;
various environmental problematics;
the work conditions and other social aspects;
the reappropriation of work tools and techniques;
simplicity (of production, repair, future waste treatment…);
the use of local ressources;
zero-waste;
the place of the citizens, of the human-beings or of the living more generally;
sharing;
…
It should also be noted that numerous low-tech productions are available in free licences, as opposed to intellectual propriety which puts a stop to sharing.

The drawing on the following page shows a plural approach of low-techs.

Affiche low-tech

Authors: [Arthur Keller and Émilien Bournigal, CC BY SA- licence >https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Innovation_low-tech.jpg].

Future of low-techs

We wish low-techs a bright future! But here's the thing...
Some great initiatives have been taken by the systems they were fighting against.
We can mention free culture, which aims at sharing the code and intellectual proprieties in a general way. It has been increasingly spreading into companies, as open source or open data, as a mere production tool, because it is free, and can legally be modified by everone for their own requirements. We can see the appearance of some criticism ici or là. According to Richard Stallman, the fundamental difference beween the concepts of free and open source lay in their respective philosophies: “Open source is a methodology of development; free softwares are a social movement”.

Here is another example. Organic cooperative stores are less and less co-ops of associated consumers and stakeholders to procure organic products. Many still keep the “cooperative stores” designation while being a co-op made of owners from various stores… These reasoning threads generate social anger.

One last example concerns food: organic food or products with protected designation of origin, are initiatives stemming from genuine roots. Increasingly stronger lobbying practices make them highly problematic…

Tomatoes organic and grown under greenhouses in winter authorised again in France, AOC/AOP designations [21] with production methods for the profit of industrialists and not for the small local producers…

Concepts for the well-being, whether they are social or environmental, have been denatured at the time of their appropriation, by companies which took the ethical dimension away. Are we facing the same situation with low-techs and companies which would keep the eco-design aspects at best, but would take away the social aspects (free licence, workshops on sharing, cross-cutting decisions…), but also some environmental aspects (sobriety, sustainability…)?

Organisations such as Veolia are already appropriating the word “low-tech” which is often seen in numerous communication videos [22]…

Thank you to Brigitte, Jeanne and François DUMAS for their proofreading.

[1] which has several meanings

[2] it studies

[3] which requires action

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_historic_inventions#Paleolithic

[5] sources of the pictures and text https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_taillée

[6] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technologie

[7] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Bigelow

[8] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technosolutionnisme

[9] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill%C3%A9narisme

[10] which is reflected in Fordism or Taylorism

[11] We will not take into consideration artistic, communicative or any other advanced productions of this type here.

[12] As early as the 17th century, the first sales and advertisement techniques are falling into place. Asceticism-advocating religious movements are trying to go against what they see as emancipation attempts of the middle class, “for whom the market would be the first choice as a political investment area”. (“Committed consumption” by Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier, ISBN ‎978-2724622157)

[13] Appropriation or reappropriation (Aneignung, Wiederaneignung), is a Marxist concept which designates the emergence of the state of alienation. According to the Manuscripts of 1844, alienation results from the disconnection between human activity and its objective conditions (product resulting from work, end-use, work conditions), leading to self dispossession. Marx then suggested a project of self-reappropriation, of one's own work strength and the conditions required for self-fulfilment, thus defining communism as the surpassing of all forms of alienation. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appropriation_(Marx)

[14] ie Do it yourself in English

[15] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_it_yourself

[16] which opposes craftmen, mowers and knitters against employers and manufacturers who favoured the use of machines to work on wool and cotton. (For further reading on the topic: « The Luddists: Machinery breakdown, political economy and history» by Vincent Bourdeau, François Jarrige and Julien Vincent. ISBN‏ :‎ 978-2915453119)

[17] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocritique

[18] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technocritique

[19] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-tech

[20] Small is beautiful. A study of Economics as if people mattered (1979)

[21] Controlled Designation of Origin / Protected Designation of Origin

[22] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INtNX-I0kTc

Insect hotels, good idea?

Béran — 2026-03-12T08:54:14Z

The point of insect hotels

We won't keep up the suspense, insect hotels only exist for the sake of education!

They teach us about the types of habitats which generally host golden-eyed lacewings, wild bees, hunting wasps, miscellaneous diptera, earwigs, ground beetles, ladybirds, butterflies, xylophagous insects…

As you can imagine, no one enjoys having, for a long time, a neighbour who lays his eggs in your body or eats your offspring… In fact, several of these insects are insectivore or parasitic, so, having an insect hotel is not the brightest idea despite its educational point.

Let's put it into practice

Learning about the types of habitats is admittedly a good thing, but why is it not a welcoming haven in practice?

The vision of the insect hotel is merely a human one, where nature is harmonious and all the bugs live next to each other.

Yet, let's not forget two or three principles about how nature works. Habitat is one thing but not the only one. Its location is very important (height, positioning, proximity with other elements…), including all the other components such as the availability of food, the capacity to reproduce, the protection against predators or the protection against natural elements…

Usually... but the human being's point of view can help us understand the miscellaneous elements. If we think about our primary needs (food, water, safety, shelters, reproduction, competition within the same species or with other species…) animals very often have the same ones.

So, what do we do about nature?

We diversify landscapes,

we keep a section of my high grass,
we can create ecological corridors,
we put stones / branches / pierced wood / straw (…) in strategic places,
we compost,
we diversify the garden as much as possible,
and many, many other things…

Where does one insect live? How does it live? What does it eat? When do we have to help nature? When is it best not to do anything? These are usually some good ways forward.

You can lean on the insect hotels to start learning about the insects and their way of living [1]!

Don't buy any habitats in stores promising you “loads of insects” or “the end of phytosanitary products” if you use a insect hotel. We rather recommand that you read “Bichonne ta planète” or “Le petit traité du jardin punk” ;)

Resources
Positioning game

We use small neodymium magnets that we stick behind the bugs to be cut out and on the insect hotel. We define the adequate places for the various bugs. We show how diverse and easy to reproduce the habitats are (straw, wood, leaves...)

Hôtel à insectes et bestioles

Fichier image (Hôtel à insectes)

Fichier pdf (Détails des insectes)

Fichier pdf (Détails des insectes)

Sources

Fichier SVG (Hôtel à insectes)

Fichier SVG (Hôtel à insectes et bestioles)

Fichier texte (Détails des insectes)

Memory aid

A4 two-sided paper data sheets to be cut into A5.

Fichier pdf (Compost et végétal)

Fichier pdf (Compost et végétal)

Fichier pdf (hérissons, chauve-souris)

Fichier pdf (hérissons, chauve-souris)

Sources

Fichier texte (Compost et végétal)

Fichier texte (hérissons, chauve-souris)

Wikimedia Commons Links

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_%C3%A0_insectes_(1_sur_3).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_%C3%A0_insectes_(2_sur_3).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_%C3%A0_insectes_(3_sur_3).pdf

Credits

Photo of the article: Martinvl, licence CC-BY-SA.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BuginghamPalace.jpg

[1] (or meet with the LPB - League for the Protection of Birds - or other associations, or read on the subject or yet again check: https://habitat.graineahumus.org…)

3 Rs, 5 Rs, 7 Rs, who can do better?

Béran — 2026-03-09T16:23:27Z

The 3 RS

It is a waste management strategy. The 3 Rs correspond to Reduce, Reuse et Recycle.

Originally, it was created following the implementation of the “Earth Day” in 1970 [1].

This word has only been in used in France since the beginning of the 2000s (by pioneers in the professional and university communities) [2]) and somewhat earlier for the Canadians (around 1990).

The Earth Day come from the USA, so we were lucky that, in French, the words came out with 3 Rs as well. That's a relief!

Later on, we'll be indulged with an one-upmanship of the number of Rs.

The 4 Rs

The 4 Rs correspond to Reduce, Reuse Recycle and Repair
The prevention theme is then more developed.

The 5 Rs

Down the road, in the “zero waste” communities, there are the 5 Rs. It is considered that the best waste is the one that does not produce anything. Thus, on top of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, come Refuse and Compost (Sorry, Regrounded or rather the English Rot, ie decay, which is not quite the same principle as compost, but there was no better fit beginning with R...)

This principle has been popularised by blogger Béa Johnson [3].

The 7 Rs

Still in the “zero waste” communities, we now [4] talk of the 7 Rs [5].
The 7 Rs add on militant and eco-design aspects.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Refuse are still present, and Repair, Reinvent andReclaim (closed in meaning to Claim which does not start with a R) are added [6].

Of course, one could argue that compost has vanished from the 7 Rs. Or that perhaps it is considered as recycling (however, technically, this is not the case).

In the same way, Reutilisation and Reuse are 2 different considerations (we talk of reutilisation is the object isn't waste, and of reuse if it is waste. It is different from processing permits, salvage, terms of reclaiming process...)

One absentee, Reconditioning, is a set of things allowing for Restoration.

Another process (when everything has been considered and under certain conditions) is energetic Revalorisation (=Upgrading).

Refashioning (the exact term is Makeover but does not start with an R) doesn't count, as this would only be a form of Reutilisation or Reuse. Same goes for raw material Revalorisation (not to say Misusing, or even Recycling, Reutilisation or Reuse).

And what about Resilience in all of this?

To cut short, we can easily go up to 10, 11, 12 Rs if we dig deeper.

However, the big problem with the Rs seems to lie in the fact that we focus a lot on waste management and consumers. This is justified, as the first version of the 3 Rs is based on the consumer's control of the waste he produces, while the most recent version is looking at a “zero waste” vision also centred on consumption.
Both approaches are a step forward on the waste issue, but the aspect of eco-design and environmental footprint of the production is, thus, not very present.

A mnemonic trick?

The X Rs are, above all, a mnemonic trick.

However, if it helps remember great principles, it also puts aside topics such as maintenance/cleaning, updates, misusing, composting, eco-design, direct distribution systems, [7], organic [8], the consumptions considered as immaterial per say [9], etc., and everything that does not start with an R, but does weigh in the creation of waste.

Anyway, if it is a mnemonic trick, it would be wise not to make a simplistic essentialisation approach out of a global issue.

It's also important to take into consideration the pestilential financing practices, the lack of ethical practice fundings, the ecosystemic approach, the social issues, the environmental laws that are scorned and lack financial & technical means, the ultra-wealthy people who take advantage of tax optimisation and putrefy the earth, the pro-consumption lobbyists…

Moreover, pools of knowledge, training, blogs, books of good practices, etc, whether as part of exchange workshops, or by using open licences, are tools to increase awareness on the goods practices.

Viision for a producer

Ranking processes for the producer would add on other considerations:

Redesign (change practice, rethink of redesignate) ;
Reduce (raw materials, waste, materials, incoming and outcoming flows generally…);
Internally reuse raw materials, waste, materials, loss of flow (water, heat...), or sourced elsewhere if not available on-site;
Recycle
Compost;
Salvage materials through third parties (importance of reusing the company's outcoming flows so as not to generate waste);
Residue process (organic process through phytoremediation or stabilisation process);
Valorisation, including energetic upgrading as last resort and depending on the environmental and social impacts.

We could also think about this type of thematics for transport or sales fields.

More comprehensive proposal

Here is the most comprehensive proposal of the steps for waste reduction. Everything is under open licence. We can supplement if there is anything missing!

Posters

Priorités environnementales et consommations 1

Priorités environnementales et consommations 2

Priorités environnementales et consommations 3

Priorités environnementales et consommations 4

Other ways to see it

The previous posters are just one way to apprehend things. Others are valid. Here below are other examples.

The Cycle of Life Analysis prism

Presentation with 5 videos, voiced and unvoiced.

Priorities

Prioritise the considerations we can have on consumption.

Les 10 commandements de Mère Nature

Prism of nature

Since the main reason is to see how we can reduce its impact as much as possible, is it possible to reverse the trend by helping nature?

Restaurations environnementales

Prioritise our considerations in terms of prevention of waste.

Prévention des déchets

Remarks

We think it's important not to feel too guilty about the practices of other people. Nobody is perfect, and to do better in all kindness is already a step forward. Each to his own rhythm. Blaming rarely achieves progress.
The word “sustainability”, literally 'the capacity to sustain“(in the meaning of hold, carry), is global. Things hold until they reach their rupture point. This is the”weight" of the globality that we are considering, not an individual action.

And when we talk of “producer”, even a “consumer” is a “producer” to his own level (unless he is fully autonomous...). And conversely, a “producer” is very often also a “consumer” of other productions.

Source material

Les 10 commandements de mère nature (Fichier SVG)

Prévention déchets (Fichier SVG)

Priorités des fabrications environnementales (Fichier SVG)

Restauration environnementale (Fichier SVG)

Original texts

Priorités des fabrications environnementales (Fichier texte)

Prévention déchets (Fichier texte)

Liens Wikimedia Commons

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Prevention_dechets_%28svg%29.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Restaurations_environnementales_%28svg%29.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/10_commandements_de_m%C3%A8re_nature_%28svg%29.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Priorit%C3%A9s_fabrication_environnement1.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Priorit%C3%A9s_fabrication_environnement2.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Priorit%C3%A9s_fabrication_environnement3.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Priorit%C3%A9s_fabrication_environnement4.svg

[1] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trois_R

[2] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=3+R+R%C3%A9duire%2C+R%C3%A9utiliser%2C+Recycler+d%C3%A9chets&hl=fr&lr=lang_fr&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=1990&as_yhi=2005

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bea_Johnson

[4] in 2023

[5] Well, we're not short of Rs

[6] https://alternativi.fr/les-bases-du-zero-dechet-la-regle-des-7-r/872

[7] which require less petrol, vehicles...All of it generating waste

[8] which requires less fertilisers imported from afar and transformed most of the time

[9] like the internet which is however very materialistic but far from the eye

Is humanity pestilential?

Béran — 2026-03-05T09:27:29Z

Introduction

“Carbon footprint” or “environmental footprint”, there are calculators on the web.

When I was younger and as I was apprehending these tools, I wanted to tackle the subject.
I was then persuaded I got out of it pretty well. I was a vegetarian, had a low, second-hand consumption, had no fridge or washing machine, no car for years, lived in small accommodations, and so on..., thus I told myself it would be a mere formality to pass this test.

And yet... My score showed me how much everything was doomed! Even with a lot of efforts on my part, nothing made the difference. The basic tool is certainly questionable, some parameters are clearly absent, or we can be attributed indirect indexes that are of government services, of management or production services with a lot of potential paths of improvement and that do not depend on our own actions...

But anyway, even if we try to find the most convincing combinations, these online tools do show us that nothing makes any difference, we are screwed, yes...screwed!!!

But are there any other angles to these tools? Everything which can be hold against us is counted, but does it take into account what is in our favour?

Negative, neutral and positive impact
Negative impact

The human being's negative impact can be calculated in various ways. The more holistic the vision is, the best for us it iswe have seen it previously.

Most of the time, tools such as the life cycle analysis (we discussed it in the series of 5 videos hereunder), only allow us to limit the damage on the environment.

The purpose of the life cycle analysis very rarely is to achieve, in practice, a resilience, an environmental pressure which is “bearable”, even a neutral or positive impact of the environment.

Neutral impact

I'm not talking of carbon neutrality... Even compensations (carbon or other) very often only do limit the negative impact. Indeed, if we plant trees to make up for the material extracted from the soil, they are are none the less more present in the soil, and the ecosystem surrounding the extraction remains degraded.

Yet, there can be a neutral impact, as we have seen in 3 R, 5 R, 7 R, who can do better?

Indeed, the refusal to consume certain things makes a neutral impact out of them.

On a local scale, a neutral impact is worth considering (for a garden's production without any intrants and reusing seeds for example. Or with local wooden furniture or with the use of passive energies...). In this case, a global thinking of our activity is necessary to reach a neutrality.

For neutrality, we could also talk of certain tribes who live harmoniously with their environments, without any external intervention. But they become scarce...

Positive impact

So, can we have a positive impact on the environment?
Of course it's possible! Well, finally some good news! We need to figure out how...

We will only quote specific actions, here. Admittedly, the impact depends on the scope of the study, but if we start by just seeing actions, this is the beginning of something!

Here are some potential actions:

We have previously seen the restorative management of a place,
welcoming wildlife, where it disappears,
Compost, which, if well managed, can generate humus to help regenerate the soils,
The depollution of the environment (air, land and water), more specifically with natural means: bacteria, micro-organisms, insects, plants (phytoremedy), mushrooms, (mycoremedy), seaweed (phycoremedy),...
the use of waste as raw materials, repairing an object which would have been thrown away, reconditioning an any other form which prevent the extraction of material.
A passive building, which includes its environment to manage its waste as ressources and which manages other resources in a sustainable way,
De-concentration of an organic pollutant which becomes a resource,
...

So, sure, we should not put the systemic thinking aside. Coherence must be total! But the good news is that, the human being having a positive impact, possible it is!

Parallels of the living

Béran — 2026-03-05T09:22:07Z

Each field has its specificity, its language, its concepts… It isn't always easy to be able to establish fair correlations.
Understanding a certain number of phenomena on which human beings have an influence allows them to better apprehend a viable and habitable world, as much for themselves than for their environment.

The TRIZ approach

Let's try a heuristic approach [1], with the TRIZ method, a Russian acronym for the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving [2].
In 1946, Soviet engineer Genrich Altshuller [3] created a procedure to be applied when exploring generic solutions. With his team, he analysed a great deal of patents and brought three key ideas to light:

Solutions and problems are identical in all industrial and scientific areas;
The patterns of technical evolution are also repeated in all industrial and scientific areas;
Innovations use scientific effects outside the domain in which they have been developed.
Closed or open systems

If we apply this method to themes like the body, habitat, nutrition and environment, what can we draw out of it?
But above all, why choose these themes specifically? The answer is an environmental one or, in a more restricted manner, an ecological one. The ecology studies environments where living creatures live, as well as their relation with these environments. A living creature has a body, feeds itself, inhabits a place and interacts with its environment. This is why those themes have been chosen, though one could have a broader reflection on that.
In the field of habitat, there are some conventional systems which propose a closed solution, justified by inspection (of the temperature, of the air, of pressure levels, of environmental constraints...). We, then, have a closed premise with a few “compulsory” interactions with the outside environment (light through the windows or yet air renewal). With conventional farming, the interactions with the living are minimised by the use of pesticides, fungicides, controlled seeds, which then impoverish biological diversity.
These closed systems are set against open systems, of which the names vary according to the scopes. In the field of habitat, we are talking of ecological houses. Mind, we will not speak of the HQE certification, which doesn't comply with several points mentioned hereafter. The ecological house's aim is to be in osmosis with its environment: walls are breathing and perspiring [4]. It minimises its impact and looks for local solutions while using passive physics [5], biology and ethics [6]. In short, far from being sectioned off, these visions show many biophysicochemical relations, but also human ones.
In the field of organic nutrition [7], although the use of inputs is sourced organically, we are not either in a completely open system. Even if its name echoes biology and interactions of this field, we prevent the arrival of “plagues” by using methods not so harmful. The organic farmers are free to use or not to use hedges to let the living creatures go through, to help develop “threads for ecological continuity” [8], to use insects, bats or birds as biocontrol devices [9].
Agroecology and agroforestry [10] go further with an ecosystemic approach, ie an inclusion of the relations between the living creatures and the environment they live in. We thus think in terms of 'ecosystemic functions“ [11] and of”ecosystemic services" [12]. This vision is presenting a much more open system.

Other examples

We have defined a notion of closed or open system, but here are other possible parallels.
Medicine has made a lot of progress since its stammering debuts. Toxicology can come across obvious parallels with ecotoxicology. This is how we do not treat our environment in the same way we would our body.
Another well-known example through the advertising prevention slogan “Antibiotics are not automatic”. Indeed, the bacteria exposed to antibiotics evolve and develop mechanisms of resistance, a phenomenon called “antibioresistance”. If we focus on the word “antibiotic”, we can find biotic (related to living), so an antibiotic fights against a living body deemed as harmful. In farming, pesticides, fungicides, etc., are biocides which can be integrated as antibiotics [13]. Besides, the “plagues” can develop some kind of resistance. Under an open approach, they are sometimes of use, such as the function of mushrooms in the argile humic acid complex [14], the role of pollinating insects or yet the role of worms…
Another parallel, a living forest is host to a “balanced” diversity, well adapted to its environment with strong interactions. The same holds true for nutrition, which we aim to be diversified, balanced, well adapted with interactions such as our microbiot on the inside, and social interactions on the outside (local, organic, seasonal products…).
And you? Based on the TRIZ way of thinking, or open and closed systems, do you see other examples?

Credits

Photo of the article: hayley green CC-BY-SA
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Straw_Bale_House,_CAT_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1521510.jpg

[1] the art of inventing, of making discoveries

[2] Teorija Reshenija Izobretateliskih Zadatch, or Теория Решения Изобретательских Задач – ТРИЗ

[3] source: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ

[4] sweating while controlling humidity

[5] which doesn't consume any human generated energy

[6] phytopurification, local solutions, elements such as insulation, walls, structure, foundation, which go back to nature at the end of their cycle while having a minimum, even zero impact...

[7] the English “organic” meaning particular to life, but also to movement, to the organisation of life

[8] To understand these words better: https://geoconfluences.ens-lyon.fr/glossaire/trames-et-continuite-ecologique

[9] To understand this word better: https://agriculture.gouv.fr/quest-ce-que-le-biocontrole

[10] To understand this word better: https://www.mnhn.fr/fr/qu-est-ce-que-l-agroecologie

[11] role of a biotic element (living body)or an abiotic phenomenon (non living but having an effect on the living, such as the wind, the rain…) in the function of an ecosystem. A home-made definition ;)

[12] goods and services which can be generated by man from ecosystems, directly or indirectly, to guarantee his well-being(MEA: Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005)

[13] the “phytosanitary product” designation is a bit far from this parallel which is technically equivalent

[14] roughly, a nutrient and living soil

Cherish your planet! (to your level)

La graine — 2025-08-20T15:11:27Z

VESS

The association “from seed to humus” helped to make the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) open source by contacting its creators.

Document

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS)

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). pdf version.

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS)

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). pdf version.

Source

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS).

Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). svg version.

SubVESS
Document

Subsoil Visual Evaluation of Structure, SubVESS.

Subsoil Visual Evaluation of Structure, SubVESS. pdf version.

Subsoil Visual Evaluation of Structure, SubVESS.

Subsoil Visual Evaluation of Structure, SubVESS. pdf version.

Source

Subsoil Visual Evaluation of Structure, SubVESS

Subsoil Visual Evaluation of Structure, SubVESS. svg version.

Notes
Use of the font “Tuffy”
Wikimedia Commons links

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_01.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_02.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_03.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_04.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_05.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_06.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_07.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_08.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_09.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_10.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_11.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Topologie_et_gestion_de_l%27eau_12.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Couche_chaude_(paille).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Couche_chaude_(mini_serre).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greffe.svg
!!! (to translate) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mulch_et_transfert_en_apport.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marcotage.svg
!!! (to translate) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diversit%C3%A9_v%C3%A9g%C3%A9tale.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bouture_d%27herbac%C3%A9e.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bouture_%C3%A0_l%E2%80%99%C3%A9touff%C3%A9e.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?lang=en&title=File%3ABouture_de_feuille.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bouture_de_semi-ligneux.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Test_du_bocal.svg
!!! (to translate) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cycle_eau.svg
!!! (to translate) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horizons_du_sol.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phytoremediation_EN_(svg)_01.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tas_de_rondins_pour_abri_h%C3%A9risson.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_nichoir_boite_a_lettre_(svg).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_nichoir_chauve_souris_(svg).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_nichoir_semi-ouvert_(svg).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triangle_texture_soil.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triangle_soil_texture_Jamagne_1977_and_available_water_content_(AWC).svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_water_distribution_ppm_chart.svg

Our interventions

La graine — 2025-06-21T13:13:40Z

Environmental and Social Resources

We offer workshops, posters, booklets, infographics, videos, and more, all available on this website. All our resources are released under open licenses to ensure reproducibility.
The documentation varies in length, sometimes being quite comprehensive, sometime less. Feel free to contact us with any questions or if you would like to contribute.

Sale of Refurbished Laptops with Linux

1-year warranty, extended to 2 years for social economy organizations. The warranty includes a “satisfaction guaranteed or your money back” policy. Payment can be made in installments with deferred cashing.
See the models here.

Workshops

We propose workshops in the area of Chalonnes-sur-Loire and its surroundings.
Among our favorite themes are composting, soil, ecosystems, but also social projects such as media education or free culture, which is a social movement around sharing.

40€/h for structures requesting intervention. Additional costs may be added in the event of travel or additional designs to the existing one.
Linux Workshops

The “from seed to humus” association offers workshops to support switching your computer to Linux.
Take the lead accompanied by an experienced person.

A new lease of life for somewhat old equipment?
Learn how to repair your computer?
A desire to discover Linux and free software?

The workshops are on the first monday of the month in Chalonnes-sur-Loire from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Contribution at free price.
Please contact us to make an appointment!

Websites

We sometimes create websites, like the one you are on, or even one page sites.

Composter blueprints

La graine — 2025-03-20T13:33:06Z

Summary

Blueprints
Paints and wood protection
Screw
> Screw type and length
> Driving recess
> Do not split the wood
> Screw flush
Wood recovery
Tips

Blueprints

It is possible to purchase a ready-made composting pavilion, although this can be quite expensive.

It is also possible to manufacture it yourself or in partnership with craft schools, which makes a nice concrete and rewarding project for people formed there.

Attached are blueprints for a composter for approximately 30, 45 and 60 households.

Blueprint file

composter_blueprints.pdf

Sources

Here are the editable sources.

For people who master vector drawings (svg made on Inkscape with a layer system).

SVG file

The word processing version (made on Libre Office).

Text file

Paints and wood protection
Paints

Avoid using paints, because of the potential toxicity. Even natural products are not always healthy and were not designed to be near living beings->https://compost.graineahumus.org/Life-in-the-compost].

All things are poison, and nothing is without poison, the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison. (Paracel)

Wood protection

If you want to protect the wood (which is not necessarily useful), avoid saturators and stains. As for commercial oils for wood, they are often not natural.

A classic oil protection is linseed oil / turpentine. Here are the recommended dosages:

first layer: 50% linseed oil and 50% turpentine
second coat: 70% linseed oil and 30% turpentine
third and last layer: 100% linseed oil

One liter of mixture can treat an area of approximately 10 m².

Screw
Screw type and length

Use wood screws. This is usually indicated on the boxes (Often they are golden or silver, the black ones are for drywalls).

Screw characteristics

Caption: 1-Screw head | 2-Thread | 3-Point

For the length, we use screws of approximately 2 times the thickness that we drill.

Screw profile detail

Sectional view of the junction of two boards

Driving recess

The driving recess of the screw is the shape on the screw head : flat, cruciform, torx (starred)...

There are several types for each shape. For example, cruciform is not enough. We will look among the different cruciform mouthpieces that we have, which fits perfectly into the driving recess. The risk, otherwise, is to damage the tip and the driving recess, which makes it complicated to remove afterwards.

Do not split the wood

The wood has a tendency to split when the holes are close to the edge. Here are the classic tips to avoid this.

Drilling

You can drill with a drill fitted with a wood drill bit that is slightly smaller than the screw at its thread part.

Screw and drill bit detail

Drill bit and equivalent screw thread

Wood drill bits have a small point at the end.

Bit tip

Screwdriver bit Tip

Anti-split screw

To avoid drilling, it is possible to use anti-split screws, recognizable by the notch at their points.

Screw notch detail

Anti-split screw

Screw flush

To screw flush with the wood, there are several possibilities.

1-Sometimes pushing at the end of screwing is enough for softer wood. Unscrewing and screwing again at the end can also help if you are almost there.

2-If this is not the case, you can use a countersink, which drills a shape in which the screw head will fit. The countersink is placed at the end of a drill / screwdriver.

Chamfering cutter

Countersink

3-Another way, without a countersink, is to make a pre-hole a little smaller than the head of the screw, a few millimeters deep.

Chamfering cutter or pre-hole

At the bottom, a hole with the countersink (cleaner result), at the top with a bit the size of the screw head.

Wood recovery
Construction / renovation timber

It is possible to recover wood. This must be at least class 3 (made for outdoors), but not chemically treated.

Untreated wood offcuts from environmentally friendly construction/renovation companies are perfect for this, but often the offcuts are small.

Pallet wood

If we recover wood from pallets, we will look for the HT logo on it (wood heated to eliminate pathogens, the only non-polluting phytosanitary treatment authorized in Europe).

Pallets without indication or with another indication are therefore avoided.

Removing the slats from the pallets can be a bit long and requires equipment (crowbar, grinder with disc for the metal of the screws, etc.)

Example of HT pallet

Detail mention HT on pallet screw profile

Oaktree b (Art libre)

Tips
Join two pieces with no space between

When joining two pieces of wood, there may be a gap between the two of them.

Two wooden pieces screwed together

Space between two screwed boards

You can partially unscrew the screw to separate the two pieces. Then screw again by pressing well when the screw begins to pierce the second piece.

Vidéo

The map of possibilities

La graine — 2025-03-06T16:28:23Z

Results

The result is: https://possibles.graineahumus.org

Goals

The goal is the collection and visualization of geolocatable actions (here environmental and social actions).
The data may also have other possible uses, thanks to the means used:

Export and integration on another site (All of it or partial integration, lots of export options available). On a blog, the town hall website (for newcomers)...
Short link for communication on social network
Use to make a booklet
Use to make a sheet for aid to the precarious / for the environment / ...
Resource highlighting / event highlighting (not kept in this version, but we could refer to an external link with calendar, resources...)
Export for Geographic Information System, for Open Data, for an application, in filterable spreadsheet, direct mail, etc.

It is a tool that can be used in oneself (to communicate, for oneself, for others via possible collaboration) but is also usable for something else (by oneself or others).

Means

Data collection is collaborative and simple using UMAP, a free and open online map system.
This project has many advantages:

The free aspect allows exports.
Thus, free software allows you to change solutions one day if necessary.
The UMAP project is mature and very flexible.
The data can be used in multiple ways (stated before)
You can enter information that is not visible (but usable for a booklet or something else...)
Permanent link integration possible (with lots of choices, only what you want appears).
Secured access.
You can use versioning and go back to previous version.
You can save the entire project very simply.
Implementation
Step 1

You must choose categories (which will be used for sorting), fields (Name, address, etc.).
To do this, we based ourselves on other previous projects to facilitate research.
Then we made technical choices (what appears? How do we moderate? What limits do we give ourselves?)
Choice to use a map that allows you to propose and have another map of approved locations to allow data validation.

Meeting documents

atelier1.pdf

Editable version

Text file

Step 2

Creation of the map. There are very good tutorials for this: https://wiki.cartocite.fr/doku.php?id=umap:tutoriel_umap
The system has quite a bit of built-in help (in the form of “question marks”).
Trying all the options by clicking and manipulating works well too ;)
Use in our case of free license icons: https://fontawesome.com/

Step 3

Creation of usage tutorials (in video above) and reproduction (this document).

Step 4

Adding data. Here are existing data sources, to easily find the first data to put if you lack inspiration.
https://www.artisanat.fr/annuaire-repar-acteurs
https://ourecycler.fr/
https://www.chalonnes-sur-loire.fr/sports-loisirs/associations/
https://www.kevinsimon.fr/la-carte-des-ecolieux-et-de-la-permaculture/
https://www.infolocale.fr/evenements/maine-et-loire/chalonnes-sur-loire-49063
https://www.makery.info/map-labs/
https://www.chalonnes-sur-loire.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/chalonnessurloire_abc_floresyrphes_cpiela.pdf
https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/search?q=Chalonnes-sur-Loire
https://www.colibris-lemouvement.org/nos-actions-quotidien/campagnes-precedentes/2014-projet-oasis/carte-oasis
https://ecovillageglobal.fr/
https://archipelduvivant.org/ressources/annuaires/ecovillages-ecolieux/
https://www.bioalaune.com/fr/carte/magasin/10217/saveurs