Life at Zaytuna – Rainy Days
Building, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Regional Water Cycle, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh
 Photos copyright © Craig Mackintosh |
The area around Zaytuna Farm recently experienced the worst floods for many years (since 1974 they say) – then it dried out for a few weeks. And now, over the last five days, it’s been back to raining again….
When the floods were on, people commented to Geoff, asking how he was coping with the power outages. Geoff was blissfully unaware that there had been any (since Zaytuna runs off grid with solar).
The property is buffered in another way as well – the swales are great equalisers when it comes to water. They keep water flowing from the taps and keep the grass green long after a drought has hit and burnt off the neighbours’ fields, and they also ensure that when a flood strikes, the water is slowed down and sunk – thus avoiding rivers of water carrying away soil and more. To a great degree, the earthworks here not only drought-proof the land, but also flood-proof it as well.
Comments (2)Posted on: June 22, 2009
Greywater Mulch Pits
Biological Cleaning, Compost, Conservation, Soil Conservation, Storm Water, Swales, Waste Water, Water Contaminaton, Water Harvesting — by Campbell Wilson
by Cam Wilson, Forest Edge Permaculture
Greywater mulch-pits provide an excellent solution when re-using greywater on your garden – they are cheap to construct, they improve the quality of water entering your soil and after some time provide you with valuable compost. They’re very easy to construct too. You basically just dig a hole, wack in some 100mm ag-pipe and then fill it up with nice chunky mulch.
Posted on: May 20, 2009
Each Step is the Way – Part II
Bird Life, Breeds, Dams, Demonstration Sites, Fish, Land, Swales, Water Harvesting — by David Perkins
[Editor's Note: If you are involved in a project, anywhere, that is rooted in sustainability (i.e. that is aimed at sustainably meeting the needs of people, place and planet), then we always welcome written pieces, with photos, so you can tell the world about it - and inspire people to follow your lead. David's post below is an example of the same. To contribute or to bounce a post idea off me, you can contact me on editor (at) permaculture.org.au]
Recent developments at Kailash-Akhara, Adi Yoga Retreat Center, Phu Rua, Loei, Thailand.
By David Perkins (Dharmadeva) – Farm Manager and resident permaculture designer and educator at Kailash-Akhara.
Ducks
Our duck population has exploded from 4 to 22. We have been keeping Muscovy ducks (1 male and 3 females) since December, and their reputation for prolific breeding has proven to be true! After we noticed some ducklings were dying shortly after hatching, we found that well-timed human intervention was necessary to reduce suffocation or trampling in the nest. This resulted in 18 survivors, who have been a delight to watch this month. The adults keep laying, so we now need to eat more fresh eggs to keep the size of the flock manageable, while looking forward to some home-grown meat in due course.
Posted on: May 10, 2009
Each Step is the Way – Part I
Biological Cleaning, Compost, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Land, Rehabilitation, Swales, Trees, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water, Water Harvesting — by David Perkins
Editor’s Note: David Perkins recently sat his PDC with Geoff Lawton and Darren Doherty, and has been very busy since….
Recent developments at Kailash-Akhara, Adi Yoga Retreat Center, Phu Rua, Loei, Thailand.
By David Perkins (Dharmadeva) – Farm Manager and resident permaculture designer and educator at Kailash-Akhara.
This report provides an overview of many aspects of creating a retreat center and living sustainably using the principles of permaculture. Short monthly updates will be given to keep our wider community informed.
Training Hall & Papaya
Posted on: May 1, 2009
Keyline Design – Mark IV
Biological Cleaning, Conservation, Dams, Earth Banks, Gabions, Land, Limonia, Rehabilitation, Roads, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Surveying, Swales, Terraces, Water Harvesting — by Darren Doherty
‘Soil, Water & Carbon for Every Farm’ – Building Soils, Harvesting Rainwater, Storing Carbon
by Abe Collins & Darren Doherty
Introduction
Keyline Design was first developed by the great Australian, P.A. Yeomans (1904-1984), in the late 1940s & 50s initially as a practical response to the unpredictable rainfall regime he found on his new property, ‘Nevallan’, to the west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Soil Conservation, as developed by the US Army Corp of Engineers was the predominant practice of the time and for a time Yeomans was influenced by this, though soon found some deficiencies with the pattern of water flow its application expressed. Yeomans went on to devote the rest of his life to the promotion, research and development of Keyline Design and in doing so was labelled by Permaculture co-originator Bill Mollison as "…one of Australia’s greatest patriots… ".
Influenced by the likes of prominent organic agriculture figures in Andre Voison, Friend Sykes, Newman Turner & Louis Bromfield (among many others!) Yeomans has been attributed with being the 1st person to accelerate soil formation through the stacking of methods, overturning the myth that it took 1,000 years to create an inch of topsoil. Yeomans proclaimed that "…the landman’s job is not so much to conserve soil as it is to develop soil, to improve his soil and to make it more fertile than it ever was…".
Comments (0)Posted on: March 16, 2009
Tackling Urban Water Runoff in a Sydney Suburb
Conservation, Food Forests, Land, Storm Water, Swales, Urban Projects, Waste Water, Water Harvesting — by Andrea Pape
Swales aren’t often found in backyards, and water systems are the backbone of a permaculture design, so the Permaculture Sydney North Gardening Team jumped at the opportunity to take on a swale project in a lush Turramurra backyard, just around the corner from the APC9 venue.
Turramurra has the highest rainfall in Sydney with averages of around 1300mm a year, and issues such as flooding and erosion are common in lower areas of the catchments. The traditional approach to urban storm water has been to treat it as a problem, and to our detriment our cities have largely been designed to collect and dispose of rainfall as quickly as possible. City watercourses are being battered by dramatic and damaging flow patterns that would not have existed before hard surfaces and drainage systems were put in place. We are also wasting a hell of a lot of water.
Local government often approaches the problem with end-of-pipe solutions such as preserving riparian vegetation and stabilising channels with weirs, logs or concrete ‘realignments’. Water sensitive urban design is starting to be considered by councils, but this usually focuses on public or industrial areas, and will often prescribe expensive engineering structures that are out of reach of most home owners.
Comments (7)Posted on: March 13, 2009
Report on our Iranian Consultancy Trip of December 2008
Aid Projects, Compost, Conservation, Courses/Workshops, Dams, Developments, Earth Banks, Gabions, Land, News, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Swales, Trees, Water Harvesting — by Geoff Lawton
Editor’s Note: Iran has been making headlines in the media a great deal over the last few years. Here’s a side to the story you don’t normally get to hear, as experienced by our own Geoff Lawton.
We are applying Permaculture techniques to restore the landscape
in the hottest place on the planet
In December 2008 it was our great pleasure and honour to be invited to Iran to work for the Forest Rangeland Watershed Management Organisation, originally formed in 1928 (see Word doc on their work here). We were working with different departments of the organisation, like the Sand Dune Fixation Department that was formed in 1958 for the Bureau of Desert Affairs. All of this falls under the central government’s main organisation of Jihad Agriculture Ministry. We were invited to teach a 10-day Permaculture course focusing mainly on desert rehabilitation.
Comments (7)Posted on: February 24, 2009
Greening the Desert Project Outcomes Profiled
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Land, News, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh
Most readers will be familiar with the awesome, seemingly miraculous work Geoff and Nadia Lawton accomplished with the ‘Greening the Desert‘ project in Jordan (not to be confused with the new Jordan Valley Permaculture Project, where completely new miracles are under way).
Well, this work has now been well profiled in the ProAct Network’s recent release:
The Role of Environmental Management in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, Annex I, Case Studies (4.69mb PDF). Jump to page #59 in Acrobat Reader, or #98 if you’re scrolling by page numbers.
If you’re looking for more practical details on what happened, and is happening, there on the ground – this document should hit the spot, as it were.
Thanks to Andrew Jones for bringing this to my attention.
Comments (2)Posted on: January 29, 2009
The Muffin Tin and the Sponge
Conservation, Potable Water, Regional Water Cycle, Roads, Storm Water, Swales, Waste Water, Water Contaminaton, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh
Two simple ways of illustrating how to plant the rain
Brad Lancaster, author of the award-winning books “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond” and info-packed website www.HarvestingRainwater.com, demonstrates how we can get the most from the rain by planting it in the soil, then accessing it with living pumps of plants. These are simple concepts that help turn scarcity into abundance.
Comments (1)
Posted on: January 10, 2009
Transforming Landscapes, While Transforming Ourselves – Our Story in Jordan
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Land, Project Positions, Swales — by Tanya Lemieux
This is a story of how permaculture transformed the lives of two young Canadians…
At the beginning of November 2006, my partner Jesse left our home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on a three month journey to the homeland of permaculture – Australia. Inspired by the teaching styles of Geoff Lawton and Bill Mollison, Jesse returned home determined to make permaculture our full time occupation.
During the next year we implemented permaculture design and dug up lawns for any friend or neighbor brave enough to set us loose in their yard. Encouraged with the results, we were always on the lookout for possible long-term land access, as feeding ourselves from our own garden became ever more important.
Comments (4)Posted on: October 16, 2008
Inventory of Traditional Knowledge
Building, Energy Systems, Land, Livestock, People Systems, Swales, Terraces, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh
It’s raining outside and you’ve an afternoon to kill? Why not check out this amazing collection of articles, pictures and historical facts – full of information on the ingenious methods people have developed over millennia to live prosperously and sustainably. It’s titled the ‘Inventory of Traditional Knowledge’.
Comments (0)
Posted on: September 21, 2008
Making Contour Maps on the Cheap
Dams, Earth Banks, Surveying, Swales, Terraces — by Darren Doherty
by Darren Doherty of Permaculture.biz
 An example of the results Click for larger view |
I developed a technique last year during the Keyline Design Course at Tuscon, Arizona for making a contour map using cheap available materials. One of our students didn’t have the cash to get a surveyor to do the job on his 40 acres, so I came up with this solution on the whiteboard and have since tested it on the ground quite a few times now.
Comments (3)Posted on: September 11, 2008
Harvesting Water DVD released
DVDs/Books, Dams, Land, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Administrator
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.
Click for more…
Posted on: April 11, 2008
The excavator and the forest
Courses/Workshops, Dams, Land, Surveying, Swales, Water Harvesting — by sink
Last training camp we were fortunate in having an excavator in operation on the farm. Earthworks were a go and water harvesting / tree growing systems were carved out harmonically into the landscape. Three new swale systems and a small dam were introduced, extending the productive edges on the farm. Click for more…
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