2006 January | Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

The last six months of 2005 were very busy for The Permaculture Research Institute, with activities in diverse locations around the world.

Nadia and Geoff Lawton flew to Jordan early in August 2005 for six weeks of work on permaculture projects in the Dead Sea Valley. The demonstration farm and the numerous village home gardens involved in PRI’s on-ground funding scheme were looking strong and secure especially considering the mid-summer high temperatures of 50 centigrade plus.

Flying straight into Melbourne from Jordan to co-teach a Permaculture Design Certificate course with Bill and Lisa Mollison at Melbourne University, Geoff and Nadia were met by course coordinator Tony Watkins. Tony, a long-term permaculture worker and one of Bill’s very early students, organized an exceptional, professional course of the highest standard, with 65 national and international students in attendance.

During the two-week course, Bill taught most morning sessions, which were full of great wisdom and global experience and spiced with great stories and humor. Geoff taught most afternoons and did his best to follow Bill’s great ability. Most evenings, students presented their projects from different locations around the world. On the day off in the middle of the course, many students attended a tour of Ceres City Farm with Bill as one of the guides. Bill recounted the early days of the establishment of the farm, in which he played a founding role.

Were Farm, Barkersvale, Northern New South Wales, Australia will be the host site for a permaculture design certificate aid benefit course, starting 2nd of September 2006. A very special experience of a permaculture farm design in process just 2 years in establishment, completely owner built.

This world-recognized, 72-hour course being held at the Permaculture Research Institute Farm at The Channon, Northern New South Wales, Australia, provides an introduction to permaculture as set forth by movement founder Bill Mollison. Students are invited to bring details of their own sites or potential sites.

This course serves as the foundation for further study and is a prerequisite for a Diploma in Permaculture Design, awarded by the Permaculture Institute and its credit is accepted by a growing number of universities here around the world.

To date, thousands of permaculture designers worldwide have been certified through this course, creating a global network of ecological activists influencing major corporations and creating new business alternatives.

Paul Taylor asked us to post this document “Sustainability. Benefits of the Soil Foodweb™ - Soil Microbiology explained (2005)” for comment:� http://www.permaculture.org.au/files/CompostTeaSpraysBenefitsLivingProof.pdf (right click, choose Save As, or Save Target As, or Save Link As)Please leave any thoughts, replies and comments inside this topic. Thanks!