Permaculture design course with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, 7th-19th Jan 2008
Courses/Workshops — by Geoff Lawton December 4, 2007
Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton
Combine forces to teach the
PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE COURSE
Monday 7th – Saturday 19th January 2008 • Melbourne University
“This course has already changed a lot of the world –
Come help us finish the job!” ~ Bill Mollison April 27, 2005
BILL MOLLISON, the legendary Permaculture teacher, promoter and designer – who, over 26 years of non-stop travelling, designing, teaching and writing, personally planted the seeds of Permaculture in over 120 countries. Bill is the founding director of The Permaculture Institute, the first and longest running Permaculture Institute in existence.
And
GEOFF LAWTON who is world renowned for field expertise and extensive teaching experience in the ecological “badlands” of Earth, areas of extreme cultural conflicts, as well as more friendly environments. Founding director of the acclaimed Permaculture Research Institute, Geoff is working in more countries and co-ordinating more projects on the ground than any other Permaculture Institute today.
Earth’s ecosystems are in crisis. Permaculture offers practical, sustainable solutions. You can be part of the exciting adventure of positive world change.
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Appropriate solutions to the challenge of Tanzania
Aid Projects — Tags: africa, aid, Tanzania — by Geoff Lawton November 19, 2007
Note: This is Part II of a two-part series. Click here to read Part I.
When we arrived in Tanzania, just as when we arrive in most third world countries to do this kind of work, the most serious issues to deal with initially are firstly sanitation, toilet systems, then drinking water, then fire wood systems or sustainable fuel systems, then diverse interactive food production designs.
Tanzania was the same. We stayed in the same town of Musoma where we taught the course regularly visiting the main proposed project site in a village called Kinesi which is 45 minutes by taxi boat across Lake Victoria. This is where the NGO Global Resource Alliance main work focus is situated.
The PDC course was conducted in Swahili which has a lot of Arabic in it and so I could understand some of the Arabic words that were spoken. 40% of the Tanzanian population is Muslim and having worked in a lot of Muslim countries, understanding the culture was therefore easy for me. This helped me relate to the students and the local people in the area.
Comments (1)The challenge of Tanzania
Aid Projects — Tags: africa, aid, Tanzania — by Geoff Lawton November 9, 2007
Westerners don’t realise how big the problems are in most third world countries. To a large extent they are created by the promise of modernism. Greatest of these problems however in third world countries include
- a need for good diversity of food production of an eco systemic style
- good waste system design for grey water
- appropriate toilets
- garbage disposal methods
- good drinking water systems
- a sustainable fuel system.
To first world countries these things are important not just because of the momentary guilt we feel when we see those pretty little starving children on tv commercials asking us for donations, but because the most important promises of “modernism” can provide solutions that will save millions of lives (mostly chilren) and millions of dollars in aid.
Third world people need to fully understand their own problems and the problems of their own lands, and then how they can deal with it themselves without any outside help.
It comes down to a few basic but important things and when these are understood, Third World Populations can actually design their own solutions to their own problems.
Comments (3)Volunteer Program
Project Positions — by Geoff Lawton July 24, 2007
At Diversity Farm we offer a working experience for anyone who has a permaculture design certificate and is prepared to camp and contribute $50 a week towards food.
We have a basic farm camp ground with compost toilet and solar shower. The work will involve the general running of the farm on a day to day basis as a permaculture demonstration site and education centre with our farm staff. Bookings are essential. No drugs or alcohol are allowed on the property.
Comments (1)Tagari Farm designed and established by Bill Mollison is for sale
For Sale — by Geoff Lawton March 1, 2007
Tagari Farm is a 148 acre property owned by Bill Mollison’s The Permaculture Institute of Australia, situated in the sub tropics of Northern New South Wales in the ancient volcanic crater of Mt Warning which is the first spot on the continent of Australia to receive the sun’s light every morning. The Pacific ocean beaches are just 45 minutes drive away. Close to the outer western rim of the volcanic rim the farm sits just below a striking geographic feature called The Pinnacle. It’s a sharp edged pointed ridge line rising 2000 feet, the lower slopes include a large fertile river flat with a long frontage to South Pumpenbil creek.
The property was originally used for dairy and cattle grazing and has been extensively designed and established by Bill Mollison over 10 years as a permaculture model farm. There are 43 bodies of water — dams, ponds, canals and many miles of water harvest swales throughout the lush landscape. Gravity water is set from large high dams as main grid water cover the majority of the total landscape, part of this system includes 6 fish ponds set up for continuous water exchange flow through capable of holding 20,000 fish, also chinampa canal growing systems with the potential of the highest production of any system ever documented.
Living systems also include very diverse and extensive plantings of forestry including, timber, bee forage, animal forage, 60 species of timber and food bamboo, plus food forest fruit trees with over 300 mangoes.
The building infrastructure includes the original 90 year old farm house, a large 5 bedroom farm house, a straw bale barn used as a classroom, a large classroom/tea room with kitchen and toilets/bathroom, a very large open hay barn/machinery shed and numerous out buildings used for animal housing.
The property is ideally suited to permaculture education, demonstration and diverse sustainable organic production.
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IDEP emergency response to flash floods in Aceh & North Sumatra
Aid Projects, News — by Geoff Lawton January 3, 2007
Dear Friends of IDEP, Two years after the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the province, Aceh is struggling with a new disaster. Torrential rains over the past week have triggered flash floods and landslides which have forced around 300,000 to flee their homes on the island of Sumatra, with Aceh and North Sumatra provinces the worst hit.
As of yesterday reports showed that about 100,000 people were stranded by floods which have claimed at least 110 lives. Water levels, which rose to as high as five meters in some places, have been receding, but today the sky was dark again with clouds. We pray that the rains will not start again.
Officials say a combination of heavy rains and widespread unregulated deforestation are to blame for the flash flooding. By removing dense vegetation the ground is less able to absorb heavy rainfall, creating torrents of water that quickly overwhelm river systems.
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New Jordan Project – Permaculture Jordan
Plant Systems — by Geoff Lawton October 24, 2006
We are presently in Jordan and are establishing a new NGO “Permaculture Jordan” and we have been offered USAID funding for $US53,000 to establish a new project here in the Jordan Valley sharing bio-diversity of productive crops and tree species that have potential but are not yet here. The work is linked with the work of other plant researchers who have already linked to other Arabic countries and successfully grown and monitored the viability of many species.
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Permaculture house & land for the Jordan Valley
Plant Systems — by Geoff Lawton September 23, 2005
At 400 meters below sea level, the Jordan Valley is the lowest piece of land in the world. Its climate is very dry with an average rainfall of 150 millimeters a year, most of which comes in 2 or 3 mid-winter events. Summers are very hot with day time temperatures often reaching 50 centigrade with hot nights often over 25 centigrade. Winters are warm with no frost.
To achieve a healthy population it is unlikely that ordinary people will be able to afford full nutrition if gardens are not plentiful throughout the local settlements.
The house is an integral part of achieving a plentiful and productive garden design. It should be comfortable to live in, make efficient use of energy, and be inexpensive to operate. There are generalizations that can be made, but the essential design features required for a house in the Jordan Valley to perform efficiently in a passive way are quite specific.
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Ground-based action funding
Aid Projects, Potable Water — by Geoff Lawton October 21, 2004
Due to an inspiring collaboration between Rainforest Information Centre and Permaculture Research Institute teaching a permaculture design certificate course in Australia, a surplus profit of $AUS1, 500 we have been able to direct towards permaculture extension in Jordan. The same amount was also directed to a Rainforest Information Centre in Ecuador.
Five women actively involved in permaculture home garden development in Jawfa and Jawasari, poor Palestinian refugee villages in the Dead Sea Valley.
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