Incorporating Disability Access and Therapeutic Spaces in Permaculture Design
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Land, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Elspeth Brock February 9, 2012
Ilma Lever Gardens garden designed for wheelchair access
When working in various gardens for community usage I found we often needed to consider access for gardeners of a range of abilities without compromising the overall function of the design. I want to outline some things I have found useful to make spaces disability-friendly whilst also maintaining the permaculture principles of multiple use values and productive landscapes. Access issues you may need to consider include wheelchair movement, limited bending, blindness, unstable gait from stroke or acquired brain injury.
Many permaculture systems are beneficial as they already aim to reduce the amount of physical labour e.g. no dig, animals doing the work for you, zoning, etc. So here I will focus on more specific elements.
Comments (3)Mulberry Gardens Food Forest
Community Projects, Urban Projects — by Elspeth Brock November 16, 2011
Original asphalt
It began with a large area of asphalt and a dream of expanding our community garden. Mulberry Gardens is in Glenroy, Melbourne, Australia and operates entirely as a communal space. All members share in the upkeep and harvest the produce — which is mostly shared amongst attendees at the Saturday morning communal sessions. The number of fast food and alcohol shops vastly outweighs fresh food outlets in the area so a community garden was established to help give locals access to fresh organic produce and share the skills of growing produce.
Comments (2)Permaculture and Traditional Land Use in Morocco 2010
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Education Centres, People Systems, Village Development — by Elspeth Brock June 16, 2010
Editor’s Note: Elspeth Brock makes a great post-course update on the Tribal Networks Morocco project experience.
Wheat, almonds and wild flowers
I felt in some way instantly at home in Morocco. Ait Attab in the high Atlas has a similar climate to inland south-eastern Australia, orange-purple soil, masses of erosion, the hot burning sun, and a wide blue sky. Running wild are the ancestors of many plants familiar from English cottage gardens – poppies, gladioli, margarite daisies. We were treated to wonderful hospitality, beautiful gnarled olive trees, orange flat-roofed houses, home made bread – called bat-boot for the sound it makes when being made – and donkeys braying (well maybe not all so much like home).
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