Salman Ali

This catalogue for a show at Tornabuoni Art in Milan sheds new light and offers previously unpublished material on the close relationship between Alighiero Boetti and his longtime Afghan assistant and friend, Salman Ali. They met in Kabul in 1971, and travelled to Rome two years later. Their initial collaboration rapidly evolved into a far more intense relationship: not simply as assistant, but as a close member of the family. This exhibition features the private collection of works given to Ali by Boetti, and substantial photographic and documentary archives that illuminate their close friendship, working relationship, travels, and everyday life. Included here is a biographical essay by Ali, in addition to texts by Clino Trini Castelli, Bruno Corà and Giorgio Colombo. Text in English and Italian.

Declining soil quality due to continuous use of chemical fertilizers is commonplace throughout Southern Asia. Sustainable approaches are required to reverse this trend to ensure food security for coming generations. One potential solution to halt this decline and increase crop yield on sustainable basis is the implementation of integrated nutrient management whereby inorganic fertilizers are added together with organic fertilizers sources. These organic materials, however, are often quickly broken down in soil and provide only a transitory improvement in soil quality. Biochar, which can potentially persist in soil for centuries, may offer a more permanent solution to this problem. This book elaborates a comprehensive research-based study to be adopted for improving soil quality and maize crop yield on sustainable basis using an integrated nutrients management approach.