Aid ProjectsCommunity ProjectsCourses/WorkshopsDemonstration SitesEducation Centres

The Permaculture Master Plan – Permaculture Centres Worldwide

Imagine a world of peace, health and low-carbon prosperity. Well, we’re going beyond imagination, and are working on full implementation. It’s our aim. Watch (and share) the clip below to get an idea of what we mean.

The answers to the world’s woes – waning energy supplies, depleted and contaminated soils and water, reduced biodiversity, the dismantling of communities, etc. – are all there. We know how to get the job done, we know how to restore natural abundance where before was only desolation. But, we can get the job done a great deal faster with your help!

There are many ways you can contribute:

  1. Donate, knowing your contribution is being put to work using the ‘teach a man to fish’ principle. Rather than endless aid campaigns that ignore root causes, we seek to solve problems at source.
  2. Get involved! Take a Permaculture Design Course, where you’ll discover that you can be a part of the solution to current world problems.
  3. Spread the word. Share this post with your family and friends. Follow our and other permaculture sites. Find out about permaculture groups in your area.
  4. Reduce the environmental impact of your life, improve your economic security and increase the health and vitality of yourself and your family by transforming your back yard.

Permaculture is a rapidly growing movement – a science of sustainable design systems for all human need. Don’t get left behind!

68 Comments

  1. This is very exciting. Your locations are exciting too. I wonder whether you have interest in doing another North American site. There are permaculturists working on an Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota. Though I haven’t been there yet, I want to support them. I would be delighted to help make the connection if this is an option.

  2. Hi Shado Spring, the Permaculture Research Institute USA, the newly formed sister nonprofit to PRI Australia, is interested in MN rez projects. I, am a director, along with Geoff Lawton, for PRI-USA. Please email me at [email protected] asap. I live in Minnesota.

  3. I’m digging the plan and want to help out in North America as well. I’m a designer living in Iowa and wish to get linked up with other people currently working on big projects. I’ve been apart of small workshops and “Introductions to Permaculture” but I feel I need more experience to take my impact the next level. Food prices are waking people up and new ideas of low cost, natural building are catching on as well. Just graduated college and am open to anything, need any help in Minnesota? Also, is there a national headquarters in the USA? Where can an Iowan go during the winter months to learn new skills? All the best, Kyle.

  4. Wonderful development of a global network of practicing permaculture facilities in different bioregions. These regional facilities can serve as clearinghouses for teaching/learning resources pertinent to the bioregions. The permaculture centres worldwide master plan is indeed an exciting and excellent step towards solutions needed now. Bravo!!

    Our Global Environmental Management Education Center (GEM) at U. Wisconsin-Stevens Point has conducted three PDC courses and one keyline design training activity with the help of Geoff and Nadia Lawton and Darren Doherty. GEM staff are planning to offer the PDC again in summer 2009. We are happy to connect and interact with the Minnesota permaculture effort for cold climate applications. Fun and fabulous!

  5. Hello,

    What I can do suggestion #1 – “Donate”. Is this sustainable. Why not make the money to apply to these issues? think outside the square . . . or perhaps in it by preparing a business plan to generate the funds to get the job done.

    I am very concerned about the very idea of “solutions”. After co-teaching the first and PDC courses in the Amazon I published an article (My Bungle in the Jungle – PC Quarterly Magazine). I have now found that involving people in discovering their own solutions is much more sustanable and with much greater outcomes.

    I am on a different tack which has allowed me recently to secure 500 square kilometres of Amazon rainforest to transfer to its resident comunity of 800 and make a profit to carry forward in to the next project.

    No donations. No solutions. Just applying sound business principle to vital issues to generate the restorative economy . . . the biggest opportunity you may never even heard of. You will.

    C’ya,
    Cymon Fjell

  6. Could someone get this post to Geoff Lawton?

    My partner and I want to support the roll out of Permaculture Centres around the world as outlined in GL’s video.

    We want to donate via direct debit on a monthly basis (we are Australian residents). We don’t do credit cards or PayPal.

    We previously donated to charities operating in developing countries but we have become disenchanted with their failure to achieve enduring improvement.

    We have switched our donation focus to micro-finance and social entrepreneur initiatives. The self sustaining nature of the programme GL described fits our criteria.

  7. Hi, Your projects are amazing. I am quite impressed with what I see. What do you have that would help in a High Cold Desert, as in Utah, in the Great Basin. A plant list would be extremely helpful. Also my land is over 600 feet of alluvial granular fill. Water loss through absorption is as bad or worse than loss from evaporation.

  8. Hello to Camelia and partner,

    I am an Australian citizen (was for years a resident) and my project is one of those listed on the worldwide masterplan for permaculture sites. It is called the Tamalalou Guinea Site.
    I am working in a community setting in Guinea, West Africa, and have the land and the will, with an extended Guinean family, to build a housing prototype and training centre for sustainable housing, permaculture and other sustainable health necessities (such as water catchment and composting toilets). We are certainly looking for funding to begin. If you have any interest in a project in Africa, please contact me through Geoff Lawton.
    Thank-you, Mardi

  9. Hello,
    I’m a Permaculture Deisgner and Teacher here in the Pacific NW where we’ve lost over 87% of the Chill Temperate Rainforest. Our organization – Dancing Spirits Permaculture – is actively developing community and homestead sites here as Permaculture Design projects and workshops. We’d like to be one of your official centers in the network you are proposing, though we are
    not seeking need based funding. We are trying to convert “first-world” citizens to a sustainable, permaculture lifestyle while repairing/reforesting our own local rainforest as a food and medicine forest. Anyone interested can contact us through the design-consultancy http://www.panearthdesigns.com
    Blessings & Balance
    Bruce Weiskotten for Dancing Spirits Permaculture

  10. Hello, i’m a journalism student, working on my final paper. Im member of the Permacultural Net on Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil and im interested in knowing witch year the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia began. I’d be glad to recieve your answer as soon as possible, so i dont loose this important fact on my research on Permaculture’s story.
    Thank you in advance,
    Mari

  11. I live North of Los Angeles in Topanga Canyon on 20 acres arid, dry hillside.
    I have been interested in permaculture for a long time, and would like to know if there is a permaculture center nearby ?

  12. I am actively developing a series of outreach tools for my community in the mountains of Northern California. Took the Permaculture Design Course at OAEC in Sept/Oct. ’08, with Brock and Kendall. I missed the field trip to your place nearby.
    I am very interested in finding and linking up with support mechanisms to help me with my efforts: Dunsmuir Community Compost Project (est. 3/08), Permaculture Kitchen Garden series (1/09-5/09 – have had the first with 31 participants who are now very vested in continuing their education); working with local schools (Dunsmuir) to establish school food gardens/forests.
    This is my passion!!!! It took me to find permaculture at age 54 to realize this.
    My dream is to get the 25 acres adjoining my 1.5 acres and turn it into a permaculture oasis, producing food for the community, education and community cohesiveness. Can you help me?

  13. ps: I write a gardening column for the local papers: Weed, Mt. Shasta and Dunsmuir, so my outreach has grown over the 10 years I’ve been writing and is now quite successful.
    I also recently had published a letter to the editor of Organic Gardening, challenging his suggestion that GMO’s and Organic gardening could work together (see Feb/Mar ’09 issue).

  14. Im thrilled to have found your site, i will enjoy and learn form all your information…
    I have recently purchased 20 + acres of land in the Western Desert of Egypt in the Bahariya Oasis, The land there is still pure and the air is fresh and clean,,,I’m getting ready to build a small village and begin my own sustainable project…I’m fortunate our property has electricity, as getting wind power here has proved difficult so far…I can get all the plans and ideas for my project on line….But I’m building in the arid-desert…any one with similar projects are asked to write for networking and advice, I’m all ears! Id like to know of any forums planned in Egypt again?
    Good vibes to ALL those working out there…!
    hebajoan at Gmail

  15. This looks like a very useful initiative. I am located in Suriname and very interested in sustainable economy for my country. Not many people are into this and examples are needed. Are you interested in working with people in Suriname and how do we have to go about it? We had just started a small working group in order to identify the options, when I discovered this site. Ours is a tropical rain climate, we have fertile soil in the coastal area. about 80% of the country is still rainforest but we have started to take it down…

  16. Hi
    Just wanting more info as we are in the process of planning our garden…i live in Tasmania, Australia.
    Kelly Darcy

  17. Hola.
    Lamentablemente no hablo, ni escribo muy bien en ingles, asi que uso mi idioma de nacimiento el español. vivo en la patagonia Argentina en un pueblo llamado el Bolson, donde hace cerca de 5 años venimos trabajando en el desarrollo de la permacultura. tenemos un sueño que es ser participes de la gestacion de muchos centros de pemacultura en patagonia, estamos trabajando para esto hace ya 4 años. hemos logrado sostener un pequeño lugar de demostracion y enseñanza, vemos crecer junto a nosotros una comunidad que busca la sustentabilidad y que sueña y cree que somos parte de un movimiento conciente de cambio, la labor que nos reune es inetensa y muy sacrificada, queremos ser parte de este sueño mundial de permacultura, porque creemos que somos capaces de reverdecer la tierra y los corazones, educando y mostrando, ayudando y siendo consecuentes.
    Necesitamos ayuda, en asesorias, tecnologias y economia. Nuestro gran desafio es mostrar que podemos ser sustentables como centro de permacultura. Desde nuestros inicios venimos ofreciendo Cursos de diseño, Talleres de construccion en tierra, de semillas, alimentacion natural y baños secos. etc.
    Porfavor si lo que he visto y leido en su paguina es real, permitanos ser parte de esto y ayudar para ayudarnos en este sueño que es permacultura patagonica.
    Muchas gracias
    Saludos Fraternos
    Paulina Avila

  18. we have a beautiful piece of land along the snowy river and the funds to create a large permaculture garden
    if anyone would be interested in running such a project please contact me at clive@loveand abundance.org

  19. Hi,

    I’m an australian living in the Netherlands where I am studying for a degree in archtecture and urbanism at Delft Technical University. My dream is to design sustainable cities. At the moment I am working on a design for an urban plan where I am trying to weave permaculture into urban scale and work with density. I am also using what I have learned about social and cultural ecologies and trying to marry this to permaculture zones.

    I would be very grateful if you could suggest any projects which may have had or have a similar ambition. Any ideas or suggestions are also very welcome.

    Thanks and keep up the wonderful work,

    Brigitte

  20. Geoff – The following was written 1/29/09. I mistakenly thought I was talking to Eric Olsen. My exuberance of the earlier writing has not diminished, though I have learned a lot: working with groups, city govt, etc. The pc class is nearly finished, with great success. The compost project is burgeoning. The City where I live (2000 souls) is assisting us with legal issues: insurance, lease, water, signage.
    I still am searching for financial resources to obtain the 25 acres I spoke of. The owners, my neighbors are 94 and have worked the land sustainably for 40 some years. I would like to preserve this legacy and build on it: Sustainable Living Center.
    I admire your work immensely! Hope you might have some links for me to pursue for financial resources.
    1/29/09 writing:
    “I am actively developing a series of outreach tools for my community in the mountains of Northern California. Took the Permaculture Design Course at OAEC in Sept/Oct. ‘08, with Brock and Kendall. I missed the field trip to your place nearby.
    I am very interested in finding and linking up with support mechanisms to help me with my efforts: Dunsmuir Community Compost Project (est. 3/08), Permaculture Kitchen Garden series (1/09-5/09 – have had the first with 31 participants who are now very vested in continuing their education); working with local schools (Dunsmuir) to establish school food gardens/forests.
    This is my passion!!!! It took me to find permaculture at age 54 to realize this.
    My dream is to get the 25 acres adjoining my 1.5 acres and turn it into a permaculture oasis, producing food for the community, education and community cohesiveness. Can you help me?”

  21. Hi, I am living in Namibia (Southern Africa) and am very interested in permaculture. I am the manager of an NGO, the Philadelphia Foundation for Orphans. This is a community program in a rural African setting, focussing on community care of orphans and our aim is sustainability. I only recently came across the term ‘Permaculture”, and am very very interested in this. We work and live in an area along a beautifull river with good soil. In spite of the good soil and abundance of water and sunshine, people are very poor in this area, because they are not able to use resources optimal. I could not yet find a permaculture contact or organisation in Namibia. Does anyone know of any such contact? Or is anyone interested to work with our organisation as a volunteer, developing permaculture at local schools and villages? Thanks! Ellen

  22. Hi,

    I’m an expat Australian also living in the Netherlands. Brigitte, would you like to get in touch with me? How has your research unfolded?

    Look forward to hearing from you.

    HT

  23. I have been aware of Bill Mollison, permaculture, and the “revolution” that it represents, since soon after my studies at the University of California, in The College of Natural Resources; studying conservation studies and Political Economy Of Natural Resources in the late 1980’s. I long ago came to the conclusion that it’s the only realistic hope for a humanistic form of agriculture that benefits human health, community and simultaneously steers mankind clear of the dangerously anthropocentric and “petro-centric” forms of agriculture that have been espoused by “Agriclture INC.” Worldwide. I, still, seriously seek to find permanent employment in permacultural related fields and permacultural projects to espouse. In the U.S., so far, it has been difficult, especially if one was ahead of his time and is already 55. Anything such as this in the U.S. during the Reagan, Bush, and Bush(2) administrations was generally considered psychobable and many thoughtful educated indeviduals have had to lay low, so to speak. Times are changing in our favor, I think, and I only hope that I can spend the remainder of my productive life activelly involved with it’s spread and success. I also whole heartedly invite and encourage the young of this world to do what was not politically correct for me to do. The writing is now “on the wall” re. centrallized, mechanized, and homogenized (i.e. Monocropping) agriculture. The loss of nutrients in foods and it’s consequent effect upon health costs, not to mention the tragic loss of our topsoils is more than tragic: it’s suicide. I have profound hope that we can pull ourselves out of the “nose-dive” that the “powers that be” are taking us into. Curtis Metzgar

  24. Hello all,
    I am an expat Brit, living in China.

    My dream is to see Permaculture food forests all over China, but there is a colossal amount of education to do. Unfortunately, the entire Chinese culture is about making money, so permaculture considerations would come low on the list, even if there was a Chinese word for Permaculture.

    I am hoping to be allowed to use some land somewhere, to build a first house and farm, and then to encourage others to join to create a permaculture village which can become an example for the rest of China.

    If Permaculture could be brought to the attention of the Chinese Government, I am sure they would quickly see the benefit, and then there would soon be a Permablitz, but before that, we need a suitable example, and a suitable school.

    Anyone with suggestions/finance/desires to help this is welcome to contact me.

    Best regards to all

    David

  25. Hoi Geoff!

    A brilliant plan, your Permaculture Masterplan. I’d love to join your network.

    I’ve recently started my own “business” as a permaculture teacher and designer, specializing in urban design. Living in the Netherlands there is lots of urban environment to work with. Even though I’ve barely started my work I’m already in contact with a company that is redeveloping whole neighbourhoods (think 2000+ families). They have asked for the design of temporary urban food gardens to give land a community use between demolition and building, which may take 3-5 years if not more in the current financial climate.

    I’ve also been asked to participate in a big design exhibition, showcasing the longing of urban society to become more sustainable design while rural society is looking for more sophisticated design.

    Finally there is an opportunity to re-develop a historical “bolakker” (a type of field to grow grain etc) on a permanent basis. This field in really in the middle of Eindhoven, the fifth largest city of the Netherlands with about 250,000 residents. Due to its unique layout we have three “green” wedges penetrating the city right into the city centre. It’s an ideal place for Urban Permaculture projects.

    As a member of the Transition Town Eindhoven initiative I find that there is a good energy here amongst the residents, all looking for a way to contribute to a more sustainable life lifestyle. Tomorrow we are doing our first PermaBlitz and already local radio got wind of it and will do an interview.

    We’d love to hear from you about joining the Permaculture Master Plan.

    Best regards,
    Leo Bakx
    (Aardwerk)

  26. We are in need of a general over all design plan for 60 acres of land
    located in a plateau region of NW Arkansas. Construction and orchard
    work are being done and we feel desperate for a plan and would like to
    involve a famed permaculture designer and follow through in a
    way that recieves their commendation. we are allocating funds
    for this purpose.

  27. We would love to be a part of this master plan! We are a small permaculture demonstration site in cold temperate Prince Edward Island, Canada. The two of us on our own are finding it very difficult to run the site and introductory permaculture courses and run the B&B which funds the permaculture activities. It would be wonderful to be part of the Canadian effort towards the Master Plan! If anyone else has any ideas about how we can make our site more sustainable we would be happy to hear from you. Regards, Sandra and Fred.

  28. I am living in Bogota, Colombia and working with several groups and individuals in permaculture design, education and projects. I would like to know how to start the process of developing a center for permaculture education in Colombia. What is required, what are the steps, what kinds of technical and financial assistance is available, etc.? If anyone can tell me how to help get this started, I would be very grateful.

    Thanks,
    Natasha
    on behalf of Colombia en Hechos and Siempre Verde

  29. TO ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND PERMACULTURE,

    GREETINGS OF PEACE, LOVE AND HOPE FOR THE WORLD IN NEED.

    FIRST OF ALL, I AM VERY GLAD TO WATCH VIDEOS ABOUT PERMACULTURE IN WHICH I ONLY DISCOVERED THRU SEARCHING THE INTERNET REGARDING AGRICULTURE AND FARMING, I’M VERY MUCH THANKFUL TO ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND THIS VERY AMAZING IDEA PERHAPS THE BEST I’VE ENCOUNTERED SO FAR. I AM DEXTER MALE OF 34 YEARS FROM THE PHILIPPINES,IN ONE OF ITS ISLANDS CALLED BOHOL LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL PART OF THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU CAN ONLY FIND THE CHOCOLATE HILLS. EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD I ALWAYS LOVE THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURE BUT SINCE OUR SOCIETY IN GENERAL DOESN’T PROMOTE IT PLUS THE COMMON THINKING OF MY GENERATION IS TO FIND EMPLOYMENT HERE OR ABROAD. THESE FACTORS WERE REASON WHY THE YOUTH ARE LIVING BEHIND THE LAND OR FARMS. THE EXODUS OF PEOPLE FROM RURAL AREAS TO THE URBAN JUNGLE FOR WORK MADE OUR AGRICULTURE SECTOR OR FOOD PRODUCTION DOWN TO THE POINT WHERE WE EXPORT RICE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, THE PHILIPPINES WAS ONE OF THE LEADING PRODUCERS OF RICE AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS BACK THEN BUT KNOW WE IMPORT ALMOST EVERYTHING THUS MAKING OUR FOOD PRICES HERE VERY HIGH SO IT IS HURTING THE POOR PEOPLE MORE THAN EVER. I REALLY THINK THAT IF MY GENERATION WILL START TILLING THE LAND AGAIN FOR FOOD PRODUCTION, PLANTING TREES FOR MOTHER EARTH,INSTEAD IN FACEBOOK’S FARMVILLE AND MAKING SELF SUSTAINING ECONOMIES IN THE LOCAL SCENES STARTING IN THE REMOTE VILLAGES,THIS WILL SURELY HELP POOR PEOPLE A LOT AND THE WHOLE NATION ITSELF.
    I AM VERY MUCH WILLING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PERMACULTURE AND SPREAD IT HERE LOCALLY, BUT I DON’T HAVE THE MEANS OF GETTING EDUCATED IN THIS FIELD, PLEASE E MAIL ME AT [email protected] ON WHERE OR WHAT TO DO, I REALLY WANT TO LEARN IT THRU EXPERIENCING THE REAL THING. CHEERS FOR MOTHER EARTH AND OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE.
    THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
    DEXTER ANCLA

  30. I am a PhD student working on biodiversity loss due to conventional agriculture, habitat conservation and the restoration of degraded land. I am looking for model projects that are restoring degraded lands whilst simultaneously providing all the needs of a sustainable community (i.e. permaculture with a focus on ecological restoration). Many of the projects on this site would qualify (and I will to contact the authors), but if anyone is involved in such efforts please contact me as I wish to help bring Permaculture mainstream. I really think this sort of thinking must enter the scientific literature and for that we need more studies on active projects that demonstrate the potential and push it onto the political agenda. Comparisons of organic and conventional agriculture are rife within the literature, but Permaculture is nearly absent. I wish to address this and work with anyone else who is interested. Cheers!

  31. Hi Michael

    There is an enormous wealth of information out there on our successful work with results on the ground, which seems to have leap frogged the need for study as we have demonstrated the results in such a diverse global and practical way.

    The main stream has now caught up with permaculture and is now in the process of positioning around our system as the central design theme needed for not only a sustainable but an abundant, safe and happy civilized future world. At the extreme edges of development with the largest number of aid organization project development requests and increasing, to the largest sustainable for profit development design projects in the history of the world and increasing, we now find ourselves at this point in history being in extreme demand.

    We now can lead by example the imperative theme required of scientific research and the policy of governments and because the vast majority of our work to date has been a self funded movement of people acting mostly as well meaning but also well trained volunteers, this makes our work and results real.

    Permaculture globally now is preparing to position itself as a major education and training system on appropriate demonstration sites, and when the required funding arrives to rapidly expand throughout and lands and peoples of the earth, we are ready.

    This we see as our responsibility at this point in time in the position we are in.

  32. I use homemade charcoal from my saw mill slabs in my potting soil to lighten it up. I almost lost a fig start due to urine but the figs with
    charcoal did fine.
    Seedling magazine -great magazine had a article that put the chill on it at least at the commercial level. I wonder too what others are thinking and doing.

  33. Natasha,

    I would love to learn more about what you are doing in Colombia (I am a Colombian American) – drop me a note at nika dot boyce at gmail dot com and lets network

  34. I am A Sanyasin with the Satyananda Ashram at Mangrove mountain in NSW.We are a Charitable organization who’s main brief is to serve ,love and give.We have some fantastic land at our disposal and would dearly love to do something really special with it that would benefit the whole of society.I have been an advocate for the spread of Permaculture since my days at university in the late eighties.This is my first turn of the wheel and suspect that it will require much hard and sustained effort.Personally i am prepared for that.Would it be possible to have advice of help ,particularly with the design from any and all so that we could have a jewel that all can come and partake off and learn the techniques and practices of permaculture so all can contribute to the saving of the planet.I personally think this would be a fantastic resource close the the Nations Capital.All you comments and advice would be so greatfully accepted.

    Anandamurti

  35. Hi, we are trying to get planning law changed in the UK to allow low impact development based around permaculture and forest gardening to thrive. Access to the land is key and we believe that if land access was opened up a great many people would welcome the opportunity to take on responsible stewardship for the world. Please take a look at the site https://www.growup.org.uk and tell us what you think. There is a petition included to be delivered to the UK government and we will also be purcahsing land in the UK this year to set up a forest garden based eco-village without planning permission to begin the fight from the ground and courts up. Please sign the petition and help us “forward the evolution”. Thanks lee

  36. hello earthsavers,
    please help me find a permaculture designer here in the philippines, i live in bohol in the central part of the philippines, thank you so much and more power.
    dexter

  37. I only recently discovered permaculture living just a short time ago while in Costa Rica. It now consumes my mind- as I have always been one for low impact living and helping others. Now I want to take it a step further. I have 160 acres free and clear in Arizona. The property has a beautiful valley tucked inside the Aquarius Mountain range just outside of Kingman, AZ. It has water flowing year round on one side and water springing up the middle. I want to turn this into a permaculture farm. Anyone who would be interested in making this a reallity, contact me. I will need training and site lay-out for optimal useage-and am willing to take like minded partners. Cheers. [email protected]

  38. Hi perma people
    Am a middle aged kenyan man and presently am a sustainability manager at one local village in kenya where we will host a permaculture Design course in collaboration with Quailspring learning Oasis in December 2010.This probably might be the first PDC in Kenya.Apart from that we have just started a permaculture group to help projects plan sustainably,by us setting permaculture demonstration sites for trainnings as many of our people do not understand the perma concept.we are just a new group a few of us trainedin permaculture and others trained in other fields but we have one common goal of perma.we have drawn alot of plans and yet to be implemented together with other partners,we believe in solving most of our problems through permaculture,(problems of this world can be solved in the Garden)-Geoff Lawton
    Joseph

  39. Hi all,
    My name is Shifu Careaga, I am a chinese medicine practitioner, currently in San Diego… will eventually relocate. Currently I am working on designs for my own open source permaculture work. Talking with a Shaolin gung fu brother about Tsegyalgar and a permaculture class he is about to start, he turned me onto the site. Very happy to know that this network is out there, and I don’t have to create everything from scratch.
    If people are in the San Diego/LA area and want to get involved in this open source work, which includes anything from research/data gathering to 3D designing, please contact me at [email protected]

    I cannot wait to get more info about the permaculture class. I am just completely consumed by the need to have this land come to fruition. Currently the sites we are considering are Montana, Vermont, Kentucky, Virginia, and South America. We have seen the Montana/Idaho area, and know the KY/VA area well already, but still have to go to New England and South America.

    Well, thanks for being a resource and I hope to be in touch with other researchers/designers.
    OH, there is a chat feature on the Project Fangorn page, where people can meet realtime… feel free to use that.


  40. The Myth of Self Reliance

    Toby Hemenway
    posted 1-15-10

    A mass emailing went out a while back from a prominent permaculturist looking for “projects where people are fully self sufficient in providing for their own food, clothing, shelter, energy and community needs. . .” There it was, the myth of “fully self sufficient,” coming from one of the best-known permaculturists in the world. In most US permaculture circles, the idea that anyone could be self sufficient at anything past a very primitive level was abandoned a while ago, and the softer term “self reliant” replaced it. But even self-reliance is barely possible, and, other than as way of expressing a desire to throw off the shackles of corporate consumerism, I don’t think it’s desirable.

    -> https://patternliteracy.com/selfreliancemyth.html

    Has modesty or humility lost itself in your self-appointed sense of urgency to become the appearance of the saviour of the world?
    “Self-evaluated altruism cannot exist (by simple logic)” – has that truth in you forgotten itself in you.
    Real root causes of problems really always start getting solved with first solving the hardest-to-solve parts of the root cause problems, not with the low hanging fruit.

    Accessible introductory references:

    -> https://soilandhealth.org/copyform.aspx?bookcode=010164

    -> https://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/

    -> https://www.aiatsis.gov.au/asp/docs/Contents%20Sample%20Chaps%20Index/pascoe/PascoeSamplechapter.pdf

    -> https://web.archive.org/web/20040724024524/https://godot.unisa.edu.au/wac/pdfs/192.pdf

    -> https://www.aiatsis.gov.au/asp/docs/Contents%20Sample%20Chaps%20Index/weir/WeirSampleChapter.pdf

    -> https://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2009/2699908.htm

    Diamond, Jared (1991) Agriculture’s two-edged sword pages 163-172 in “THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD CHIMPANZEE”

    -> https://tobyspeople.com/anthropik/thirty/index.html

    -> https://books.google.com/books?id=iXx9AJ23zn8C

    -> https://books.google.com/books?id=AVYlwtPz2REC

    -> https://books.google.com/books?id=WbgyLd7OmeEC

    A non i mouse DH!

  41. I am a self reliant individual living well in the interior forests of British Columbia. As Peak oil draws near and the myopic frenzy of disempowered greedy corporations and the blind individual’s who’s lack of vision together perpetuate paternalism and dependance rather that independance and freedom.
    Living simply and joyfully close to the sacred land is possible and it begins first with the heart and an understanding of the place of all things in the wheel. Of course and shutting off the mind control mechanisms of television, cell phones etc.and having the courage to stand apart from forces that wish to keep us dependant.
    WE HAVE FORGOTTEN THE EARTH
    The sacred Earth the mater mother matter that gives form and nourishment to our dreams and visions. We know we are energetic beings and that we are not separate from the earth and universe. Most youth (under 40)I see spouting off the idealistic changes that need to be continue to live in 3000 square foot houses, drive 100 miles in 4×4 SUV’s to go to COSTCO and Walmart and to get their Chiropractic and Spa treatments or to buy the latest toy, or outdoor gak. They live and justify their actions by using the earth as another commodity and their philosophy is a shield that continues to delude.n Philosophy must become actions to be taken and someone has to do the work needed to be done. Maybe even for no pay.
    Young people with high vision come to “live on the land” sensing a call to return and they so often fail because they do not seek advice nor learning from locals who have or are living ‘the life’. They attend classes in Hawaii or the coastal islands but do not see there are teachers in their biosphere.
    To engage the multidimensional abundance of living a life in dedication to the biosphere one must plant deep roots and eat of the land let the energies of the area enter the cells of their existence. Plant seeds in the womb of the Earth upon which they live and engage in sacred marriage into the natural cycles of the bioregion and ask themselves if they have the commitment of this marriage or divorce when the load gets too much and their lazy nature arises.and it will.

    Walking the medicine wheel one realizes the bumps and ruts of problems that arise in the road to the vision are reflections of inner resistance and lessons waiting to be learned.
    As congruency occurs and right thought turns to right action and results in outcomes reflectied in a life well lived. Work and play together and respect for the greater picture. Give your work to be of benefit to the land and your community not only for self indulgence.

  42. Hello everyone!!
    I lived in canada, Italy, US and in Mexico, and from having the dream of “making a difference” i came across some interesting people that led me to some interesting things…
    6 MONTHS AFTER!
    I’m starting a school in Mexico, with the chance to bring shelter, and jobs… By creating a re forestation program that goes hand by hand with productive plans for locals and some help to farmers…

    A true self sustainable core that will be spreading itself…
    How are we going to do this? We can actually start to build this… This is a call for whoever who wants to share this, we don’t have walls, so our doors will be there for you to knock, and they will be answered… JOIN THE CHANGE!!! Do something, get involved, we can go there, you can come here, the world is hour home, is time to take care of what matters…
    acmed1gmail.com

    cheers!

  43. It is interesting to see someone who has lived in many parts of the world, taking interest to change something in Mexico.

    I am a Singaporean ( Singapore) and would like to know more details ofyour plan of your project, your requirements and see where i can help.

    Regards,
    K.Raj

  44. I echo Pam’s views. I have direct responsibility for the Attachab project in Nigeria, and I am doing it purely from the heart with very little practical experience. If there is a way we can synergize with you Acmed, that will be great

  45. At the moment (and increasingly) we are extremely pushed for space in our schedule for getting involved on the ground with various projects, and have been focussing mainly on aid projects. We are however able to offer help with publicity and support interest from others via our website and the Worldwide Permaculture Network (WPN) which will be released very soon. We highly recommend that you write a post for our website telling readers about your project and send it to Craig Mackintosh — editor (at) permaculturenews.org — this will allow you to gather interest, call for logistical support, advertise courses etc.

    A major function of the WPN is to be able to speed up and improve the registration of Master Plan sites, judging by that project’s profile, credibility, documentation and interaction. It will also help people to find these sites, visit them and get involved. This is an open and completely transparent network system that is aimed at improving the communication level of the permaculture community world wide.

    We may be able to help you with finding teachers (also made easier on the WPN) if you would like.

    I hope this helps, sorry that there isn’t more capacity for us to be directly involved at this stage, but I urge you not to underestimate the implications of the WPN when it gets going.

  46. I would like to see permaculture family to become larger and deeper in all human belief and behave because the only this philosophy and action can help our planet smiling again.

    Let action together

  47. we are looking for permaculture activists/locations in Westafrica for networking.
    We had a PDC in Nigeria last year and with the participants we want to create a permaculture center in Lagos State/Nigeria and start networking with West-African partners.

  48. Aloha,

    I am located in Hawaii on the island of oahu. I and my husband have been swimming against the tide for sometime now trying to create a model of sustainability, that will be both classroom and example of what is possible. The costs and other challenges have made it nearly impossible to finish. Yet we stand determined and know there is a way, even though we do not know what it is at the moment.

    What i am up against is a local gov’t who bought into the monsanto vision and they are destroying our islands and using us and our soils for the production of 1/3 of all GM seeds despite the locals disapprovals and attempts to stop the operation. We are also very much influenced by military experiments.

    I have not gone to any of the permaculture classes offered here in Hawaii because the prices are just too steep, however i have tried to follow principals in Permaculture books.

    My property is only a US acre, but i do have access to more family land. How does permaculture incorporate native indigenous peoples agriculture practices? My family has a long history of master gardeners and master farmers that worked for the chiefs and King Kamehameha. The way my family would allow me to have access to these lands is to one show them an economically sustainable example, and two to show them that i am maintaining our indigenous growing practices as our ancestors so successfully did.

    OUr goal now is to work with organic farmers who know what they are doing and continue our projects to make this property a model of economic and environmental sustainability as best as is possible in the modern rural world.

    Are you in touch with people who would be interested in work /living trade arrangement? I am also working with a producer to document our many farm and sustainability endeavors and nearly have all that wrapped up. the will be in charge of show distribution on local and webtv channels.

    I know i don’t have the skills or knowledge, but i do have the desire and land.

    Perhaps you can refer people to us if you know of anyone who’d like to assist us on any level. Our goal is like yours, to create sustainable properties that can teach and be an example of what is possible for humanity now and in the future.

    your assistance and referrals would be much appreciated. Rb

  49. I am representing an organisation which is working on a same project, we are building earthships around the world and using the land for permaculture, my organisation is the green circle allaince, we already have land in south africa and our work began in Sweden, we are hoping we could lso get involved with you and work as n allied organisation, we are also working towards complete sustainability i am representing bangladesh where one of our sites will be , but the problem is we cannot buy big land for the project because we Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world and land costs are really high, so do you think you can help us with our projects specially less land but fertile land if thats the case……

  50. love the site
    I am interested in The Permaculture Master Plan – Permaculture Centres Worldwide.

    I have land in the center of México (Guanajuato, 3 hrs NW from Mexico city) 5.5 has, sem-arid, 1900 m high. Even though there is a very healthy soil, the desertification in the area is high. I want to know more about how this project works because this is also my goal there. It would be great if we can get this idea work there.

    Big hug

  51. We bought last year a small farm in central Switzerland about 4.5 hectares of meadow and 5 hectares of forest.
    We are in the process of setting up a permaculture education site and we consider to become a part of the Permaculture master plan.
    What are the conditions and prerequisit of a Permaculture master plan site?
    How is the procedure to become a member of the Permaculture master plan?

  52. Hi everyone

    I am a Papua New Guinean who is interested in Permaculture to be introduce and establish by my people. All our forest, land, gardens, fish and everything that the mother nature supple for free is gradually vanishing. I am worried that my future generation might not be able to see and feel for themselves how it is like to be. Please anyone who is in the permaculture family willing to help me, here is my email: [email protected]

    Your assistance will be highly appreciated
    RTK

  53. PUTTING OUT THE WORD – Hey folks, please join with me in putting permaculture on stumble-upon. I see that this article had loads of facebook shares, but none in the stumble-upon category. Whilst we may all have a lot of f/b friends, my experience is that we are preaching to the choir.. and that very few of our many friends [I have nearly 2k] actually get the info.

    We must make sure to post these articles on all of the article sites including stumble-upon and digg and reddit.

    I’ve spent most of the morning doing just that.. so if you’re living on the edge, like me, and can’t donate dollars, please donate an hour of your time each week to PUTTING PERMACULTURE EVERYWHERE. I’ve written to stumbleupon and asked them to have a category for it. I’ve also changed my name in facebook to include permaculture ‘SunnyEmbracePermacultureSoleil’. If you truly believe, you have to do everything in your power to EVANGELIZE PERMACULTURE!!!!!!

  54. Its almost here! In Oct of 2012 I will be heading for West Texas to break ground on a sort of ‘greening the desert’ type project in Presidio County (3 hours south of El Paso) which will run trials of arid land animal fodders. The first goal will be to create a new composite ecosystem that will survive on local rainfall which seems to be fast diminishing in this part of the world. The next stage will be to create underground housing which will remain cool in 110f weather and are invisible on the property. This will include housing, classrooms, aquaculture/ponics and horticulture labs. Visitors, supporters, curious guests and Earth-loving spirits are always welcome. Contact me at [email protected] if you desire more information on the project. Thanks!

  55. Hi there, fantastic ideas. My wife and I completed our PDC at Djanbung Gardens with Robyn Francis in 2003 when we were in our early 20’s. We have since just bought a 8 acre property in NE Scotland and hope to teach Permaculture from the farm. It’s a beautiful south facing slope, with good water, ponds and areas of woodland but still heaps of ‘balnk canvas’ to design. We have a large old bothy we hope to bring back into working order which has many possible uses – classroom, workshop/kitchen space. We hope to get workshops and full pdc’s going soon,there’s just so much to do and not enough hours in the day!

  56. Hi am living on the banks of the Okavango river in northern Botswana and have a small farm which my mother and I want to use for permaculture training and inspiring better land use and food security in a (very fast) deteriorating pristine environment. We live 700 meters from the nearest village where people are struggling to make ends meet, therefore we have formed the Pabalelo Trust and have all the equipment and land available to make a permaculture demo site, as well as conservation agriculture (dry land) techniques. We have already done some training workshops (including beekeeping) to get local farmers involved and interested but with limited success, therefore we want to showcase a working, successful site to inspire mindset change. the soil is very marginal, we have occasional frost, we struggle to produce enough to feed us as well as the hippos, porcupines, monkeys, parrots and elephants, a constant battle. As we are both elderly and with limited funding, we are praying for a semi-volunteer to help us set up such a demonstration garden and to help design the courses we could offer. There is potentional funding for training in the pipeline, but the best we could offer for someone to come and help at the moment is free (basic) accommodation and a modest living allowance, use of the pick-up to get around and the boat for fishing! If we could be picked as a Permaculture Demonstration site by the PRI that would be first prize, of course!

  57. The last comment above is two years ago… what area are the most successful start up centres viz if the area is extendable what have been the most popular bite sized chunks at the outset? Are there any at landfill sites, Geoff showed composting and a PC garden somewhere in the vicinity of a landfill, where please?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Back to top button