How to Make a Home Made Chicken Feeder
Bird Life, Breeds, Waste Systems & Recycling — by Jesse Lemieux October 15, 2010
Editor’s Note: There are still some places left on Jesse’s PDC course at PRI’s Zaytuna Farm in NSW, Australia. Book now!
by Jesse Lemieux
Last Thursday afternoon, at approximately 4:00pm Tanya asked me, “What about the chickens?”
“Oops I hadn’t thought about that.”
Recently, we got our hands on three Chantecler pullets. The Chantecler is a true blue Canadian breed developed in Quebec by Brother Wilfred Chantelain. Bred for cold hardiness these birds are a medium to heavy breed. You will notice in the picture of our three beauties almost a complete absence of comb and wattle. The comb and wattle help chickens regulate body temperature, so it stands to reason that a cold hardy bird wouldn’t have them. Their attributes make them a perfect candidate for the chicken tractor here in our cool climate in Canada.
We picked up the Chantecler pullets about three weeks ago and put them to work in a chicken tractor on the post harvest potato bed. They will give it a good scratching and scoop up the weed seeds and any pest larva that thought it a good place to settle down. When they are finished we will give the whole patch a thick mulch of sea weed and seed it up with a legume cover crop, likely winter field peas.
So why were the chickens a concern at 4:00 pm yesterday afternoon?
Comments (3)Introducing the Permaculture Designers’ Manual, Chapter 2: Concepts and Themes in Design
General — by Jesse Lemieux September 22, 2010
This is Part II of a series. Read Part I before proceeding.
Editor’s Note: This article series is by Jesse Lemieux of PRI Canada – who will soon be teaching a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course at PRI’s own Zaytuna Farm. Book now to secure your place on a course taught by a seriously good permaculture enthusiast, practitioner and teacher, as evidenced also by this developing article series!
This is the second in a series of fourteen introductory articles about permaculture — one for each chapter of Bill Mollison’s “Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual.” The series was originally initiated back in March of 2010. I only managed to finish and post the first before the Canadian PDC teaching season swept me away. With the fall slow down I am at the computer again and will get through as many of the remaining chapters as I can between now and November 21st when I start teaching a two week Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) at Zaytuna Farm this coming November. Through this series I will connect theory with practice, and share practical examples of permaculture in action.
As we understand from Chapter 1, permaculture is an ethical system of design that produces a stable and secure place for humans and all other living things. This second installment is about what inspires us and how the functions of natural systems inform the design process.
Completing the Cycle – PRI Graduate Comes ‘Home’ to Teach
Courses/Workshops — by Jesse Lemieux September 4, 2010
Course alert: Jesse Lemieux of PRI Canada will be teaching a two-week Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course, starting November 21 right here at our own Zaytuna Farm (PRI Australia) – and it’s only AU$1200, or AU$1080 if you pay in full at least 30 days before the course starts.
Jesse Lemieux and Bill Mollison
I am inspired by the creative potential of every human being. If our collective society were to effectively access the “real time” creative potential of humanity, we would truly be a society of equity, peace and sustainable culture.
At the moment I am returning home to where I live in Canada after teaching my seventh Permaculture Design Certificate to my 148th student. I sit here in the pre-boarding area of the Saskatoon international airport and find myself contemplating the last five years of my life. I am considering how much my outlook, attitude and most importantly actions have changed. My focus these days is on nothing but the positive. I have truly been able to activate my creative potential. Through my work, permaculture education and design, I am inspiring others to activate there own creative and positive potential as well. Permaculture design gives us the frame work to change the world and together all of us permaculture freaks are changing it, as Geoff Lawton says, “one garden at a time.”
My life before permaculture was angry, guilt ridden, and passive. My life post permaculture has been positive, full of laughs and active. I have never before felt so full of meaning, creativity and positivism. I received my first PDC in October, 2006 under the guidance of Geoff Lawton and the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, and my second under both Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton in January 2007.
Comments (8)Introducing the Permaculture Designers’ Manual, Chapter 1: Introduction to Permaculture
DVDs/Books — by Jesse Lemieux March 24, 2010
This is the first in a series of fourteen introductory articles about permaculture — one for each chapter of Bill Mollison’s “Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual.” Through this series I will connect theory with practice, and share practical examples of permaculture in action.
Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms. It provides a sustainable and secure place for living things on earth. While each component is important, permaculture is less about the things themselves and more about how the things fit together.
Permaculture does not dwell on the negative. While we maintain a healthy awareness of present day problems, we are more focused on the positive, continually asking the question "what do we want?"
Few people would argue that our global and local environments are on the down-hill slide, but it is important that we cut clearly through the mass of misinformation and half-truths that exist. Only by getting to the heart of the matter can we reasonably design a plan to change things.
Comments (12)The Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC)
Courses/Workshops, Education Centres, Society — by Jesse Lemieux February 22, 2010
Jesse Lemieux is a full time permaculture educator and design consultant, operating from Denman Island BC. He teaches a range of different permaculture based workshops and course, drawing on practical experience that spans 10 years and 3 continents. He is always on the look out for the next garden project or chance to share experience. If you would like to contact Jesse please send him a message: jesse (at) pacificpermaculture.ca
What is needed to design a sustainable human society full of abundance and security for all living systems? Information, empowerment and ethics. The Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) teaches students how to use information, resources and ethics to meet local needs on a limited land base. There are no "bad guys" and nothing is inherently evil. It is the designs of the systems we use that are the problem. A large machine can be used to bring down a forest, or it can be used to repair damage and degraded landscapes. In the same way, I can either use a hammer as weapon, or to build a house for a friend. The difference in outcome is one of intention and design.
