Harvesting Water DVD released
DVDs/Books, Dams, Land, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Administrator April 11, 2008
Harvesting Water the Permaculture Way
Geoff Lawton’s new permaculture DVD Harvesting Water is selling well after a few weeks delay in January because of the foreign language subtitles that producer Frank Gapinski was waiting to incorporate into the DVD.
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A Swale Plume clip in action from Geoff Lawton’s DVD “Harvesting Water – The Permaculture Way”
Conservation, DVDs/Books, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Administrator January 10, 2008
Comments (0)School gardens
General — by Administrator December 15, 2007
Leonie Shanahan has been teaching Sunshine Coast school children how to grow their own food at school and then enjoying yummy vegetables harvested fresh from their own Permaculture gardens.The innovative program, introduced into seven schools across the Coast, provides the children with the opportunity of learning how food is grown using Permaculture principles and the results have been very encouraging.
In partnership with local schools over a period of 12-18 months Leonie teaches the students about Permaculture and assist the students to design their own Permaculture vegetable garden.
Comments (0)Cooroy climate change movie
Global Warming/Climate Change — by Administrator August 16, 2007
This movie was created by Frank Gapinski. Special thanks to ABC Regional Production Fund for permission to repost it here!
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/telegraph/specials/cooroyclimatechange/
Comments (0)“A Call for Sustainable Practices in America”
Uncategorized — by Administrator August 3, 2006
Statement of Intention – A Call for Sustainable Practices in America
We contend that many of the current laws in relation to land use, building development, health, and fire protection, while likely having the original purpose of protecting public health and safety, have not responded to critical social and environmental circumstances that now change the very definition of health and safety for today’s communities and for generations to come.
We believe that many aspects of the current system functions by taking from our grandchildren to feed our children. Unfortunately, these laws do not allow for a person or community to live simply, sustainably, and within a broader definition of health and well being. We believe that it is not only the right of each human and community to be able to live in health and safety within a sustainable system, but an obligation to our children for generations to come. In view of social and environmental imperatives, we believe we are obligated to practice simple and sustainable living and to make these practices accessible, useable and desirable for all people – today, not tomorrow.
Comments (1)First big rain at SouthWoods
Dams, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Administrator July 24, 2006
Following up on Testing the Dam in SouthWoods in Minnesota, here’s a series of pics showing how the new swales handled a decent storm.
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Kaoki Mange! Project: “Rubbish is a resource!” (Annual Report 2005)
Uncategorized — by Administrator July 11, 2006
The aims of the project were numerous:
- Create a Container Deposit Based Recycling System. Outcome: Aluminium cans and PET bottles pay 5c each at import, Lead-acid Batteries pay $5 Deposit / Refund, Cans and bottles refunded at 20c for five, One cent handling fee ensures system sustainability
- A Fully Operational Materials Recovery Facility. Outcome: $260,000 paid out in refunds; 4.7 million aluminium cans recycled; 800,000 PET bottles recycled; Over 8,000 lead-acid batteries collected. Over 100,000 items per week on average; over 500 cubic metres of crushed waste exported; Equivalent to at least 3,000 cubic metres of landfill.
- Car & Scrap Metal Recycling. Outcome: Over fifty cars and buses have been completely processed, and can now be cut up for scrap. About 500 tons of scrap vehicles and heavy machinery have been collected. The car dismantling area has also been used for training mechanics from the Tarawa Technical Institute mechanics course. The scrap recycling operation has now been turned over to a local business.
- Pre-Paid Geenbags for Landfill Wastes. Outcome: Organic waste in the Landfill at a residual 1-2%.
Outlook for 2006: The Project is completing its work in early 2006, with the recycling system now run by private sector operators under contract with the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development (MELAD).
For complete info, grab the PDF: http://www.permaculture.org.au/files/KM_Annual_Rep_05.pdf
Comments (0)Testing the dam
Dams, Water Harvesting — by Administrator June 27, 2006
Following on from yesterday’s post on dams and swales in Minnesota, here are some pics of the system in action with the addition of the most important element: water.
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Dams and swales in Minnesota
Dams, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Administrator June 26, 2006
Hi folks! — we have been busy digging up Minnesota with dams and swales. This is just the beginning of the “Permaculture Research Institute for Cold Climates”. We’re now on route to California, hopefully to do some more serious digging. 
Here’s how we started:
Click thru for the entire photo series!
Comments (0)IDEP Yogyakarta Earthquake Response Update No 2
Aid Projects — by Administrator June 2, 2006
About the situation on the ground around Yogya at this time
The latest reports put the death toll from the Java quake at over 5,800 and sources estimate that some 647,000 people have been displaced and are in need of basic food and shelter.
As night falls over Java, international news services and eyewitness reports from our partners in the field inform us that while more aid appears to be arriving at the now open airport in Yogyakarta. Yet many people whose homes have been destroyed are facing their fifth night without food, shelter, water or even basic medical aid. Assessments from our partners in the field suggest than many thousands more people will spend further nights with out their basic needs met.
Our partners are coordinating with local organizations to identify places where many of the larger NGOs have yet to arrive and are focusing their efforts of delivering emergency aid to areas.
About IDEP’s Emergency Response Activities happening now
Drawing on relationships established during the Aceh disaster, IDEP started working immediately with partners on the ground in Yogya. When the banks opened on Monday, IDEP emptied out its emergency reserve funds (US$10,000) and started wiring money to the partner groups.
Rp 30,000,000 (US$ 3,200) was sent to Kelompok Peduli Bencana / KAPPALA for purchasing emergency supplies of food, shelter and basic medical supplies. This group is running a 24 hour mobile clinic program which is reaching the most remote areas that have little or no other aid whatsoever.
This excellent initiative is in desperate need for vehicles and medical supplies to be able to expand their mobile clinics outreach. Any kind of vehicle that is rugged and can be modified into a mobile clinic such as Kijangs or Panthers would be wonderful. Ideally 4 wheel drives so that the team can continue to access hard to reach isolated places. The team says they are able to increase their current fleet of 2 vehicles up to a maximum of 8 vehicles, should support be available. If you are able to help with this
PLEASE CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY if you are able to donate funds to purchase medicines and other supplies please go to our website: www.idepfoundation.org/idep_donate.php
Comments (0)Presentation: “The Oil Crisis. What can we do about it?”
peak oil — by Administrator May 11, 2006
With the depletion of the world’s reserves of oil we are set to experience enormous repercussions world-wide in the not too distant future.
Peak Oil means that we have reached the point of demand outstripping the supply of conventional petroleum and other fossil fuels. Already the price of fuel is skyrocketing. Our economy relies heavily on petroleum-based products with many of our food supplies dependant on fossil fuelled transport. It is not hard to see that this scenario signals difficult times ahead for millions of people around the globe. Meeting basic food needs could soon become difficult for people with limited incomes.
Geoff Lawton, of the Permaculture Research Institute, an international permaculture teacher and consultant, will present permaculture solutions for suburban populations of this region and the world to help people avoid the consequence of Peak Oil and the Energy Descent. Questions will be answered with positive solutions, encouraging self-reliance.
A screening of the newly released documentary, ‘The Power of Community- How Cuba survived Peak Oil’ will show Cuba as an example to the industrialised world, successfully dealing with the crisis of the reduction and loss of finite fossil fuel resources.
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Fungi help some trees weather acid rain, but not all
Fungi — by Administrator May 3, 2006
A discovery reported in the latest edition of the journal Nature (June 13, 2002) — that fungi on the roots of some trees in the Northeastern United States help supply much-needed calcium in forest soils battered by acid rain — would seem to ease worries about the worrisome form of pollution.
But don’t stop worrying just yet, warns Timothy J. Fahey, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Natural Resources at Cornell University and a co-author of the report, “Mycorrhizal weathering of apatite as an important calcium source in base-poor forest ecosystems.”
“Not all tree species are fortunate enough to be associated with the types of root fungi that supply calcium,” he says, pointing to sugar maples, which in some areas have suffered serious declines in recent years.
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Simacai, North Vietnam
Aid Projects — by Administrator April 23, 2006
Just a quick one. Here’s our project site in North Vietnam at Simacai near the Chinese border working with Mong people!
Comments (4)
Compost miracles
Compost — by Administrator April 22, 2006
Compost microorganisms not only convert organic material into humus, but they also degrade toxic chemicals into simpler, benign, organic molecules. These chemicals include gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, oil, grease, wood preservatives, PCBs, coal gasification wastes, refinery wastes, insecticides, herbicides, TNT, and other explosives. (59)
In one experiment in which compost piles were laced with insecticides and herbicides, the insecticide (carbofuran) was completely degraded, and the herbicide (triazine) was 98.6% degraded after 50 days of composting. Soil contaminated with diesel fuel and gasoline was composted, and after 70 days in the compost pile, the total petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced approximately 93%.60 Soil contaminated with Dicamba herbicide at a level of 3,000 parts per million showed no detectable levels of the toxic contaminant after only 50 days of composting. In the absence of composting, this biodegradation process normally takes years.
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More on the PRI: Vietnam
News — by Administrator April 20, 2006
The Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) – Australia and The Centre for Human Ecology Studies of Highlands (CHESH), Vietnam agree to set up a Memoradum of Understanding as follows…
Responsibilities of The Permaculture Research Institute
- Provide qualified teachers to organise education, demonstration and research sites based on permaculture design principles
- Select, promote and support local permaculture teachers
- Organise and arrange in conjunction with CHESH the exchange and internship of Australian and international students to Vietnam and other countries involved in the permaculture network with the aim of allowing students to gain experience in the following areas:
- On the ground – implementation, establishment and maintenance of project
- Administration – office procedure, media and communication
- Education – curriculum and course teaching
- Organise and arrange in conjunction with CHESH the exchange and internship of Vietnamese students to Australia and other countries involved in the permaculture network with the aim of allowing students to gain experience in the areas described above
- Ensure all students are holders of the accredited permaculture design certificate as recognised by Bill Mollison’s Permaculture Institute of Australia
- Ensure all teachers are accredited with Bill Mollison’s Permaculture Institute of Australia
- Facilitate the exchange of relevant research information to and from both institutes
- Facilitate translation of relevant permaculture text and curricula
