Courses at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms
Courses/Workshops, Developments — by Tony Coote
Editor’s Note: PRI is pleased to announce we are partnering with Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, so we can, in addition to our course lineup at Zaytuna Farm, also run courses at their location – based a little east of Canberra, easily accessed by road and air from Sydney and elsewhere. Tony Coote tells us more:
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At Mulloon Creek Natural Farms (MCNF) we are bringing together various forms of natural agriculture, believing that each has its own significant advantages for how we manage our land. To date these are Organics, Biodynamics, Natural Sequence Farming, Holistic Management and Permaculture.
This year we are happy to be able to host 8 courses in conjunction with Geoff Lawton, Managing Director of The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia.
For those not familiar with Permaculture, it was developed in Australia by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren and is now practiced in 130 countries. It is possibly the most effective and efficient design system for not only small area farming, for which it is generally known, but also in broad acre situations on larger properties.
For those who are interested in learning more we are starting the year with a 2 day introductory course on the weekend of February 21st and 22nd.
The Earthworks course (Friday 28th February – Sunday 1st March) is designed with the purpose of permanently and sustainably hydrating any sloping area through the construction of swales, which are uncompacted banks on the exact contour which temporarily hold water from runoff, allowing it to slowly soak into the soil and hydrate areas below the surface, far beyond the swale itself. These can be constructed by any farmer or contractor very simply, so there will be very real “take home value” from this course. You will learn from Geoff Lawton how to plan and execute the construction on site in a physical demonstration. At MCNF we constructed last September a swale running 2 km along the hills and saw results after the first rainfall – you will see this and be involved in creating another.
Personally, I have been greatly inspired by what can be accomplished through this simple design concept. I hope that by offering these courses, MCNF can help others not only survive but thrive in their agricultural endeavors well into the future.
You will find full course outlines and registration forms on our website. You can also visit the PRI Website for more information about Geoff Lawton and his many projects.
Hope to see you here.
Regards,
Tony Coote
Here’s a full list of this years Permaculture dates at MCNF:
February:
Sat 28th – Sun 1st Introduction to Permaculture
April:
Mon 20th – Sun 3rd May 10 day Permaculture Design Certificate Course
May:
Sat 30th – Sun 31st Introduction to Permaculture
July:
Sat 4th – Sun 5th Introduction to Permaculture
August:
Sat 1st – Sun 2nd Introduction to Permaculture
November:
Sun 15th – Sat 28th 10 day Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Mon 30th Earthworks Course
There might be a few changes later in the year, but we will keep you updated … and keep an eye on the website from time to time ….
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