Southern Baja – Unique and Universal Water Challenges
Conservation, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News, Water Harvesting — by Andrew Jones
The Baja Peninsula forms an unusual geographic feature – running about 800 miles as the crow flies from the Mexico/California border at Tijuana down to the holiday and fishing port of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip.
Comments (0)Posted on: June 6, 2009
Following up on PRI USA’s First PDC on Molokai
Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Jill Ross
by Jill Ross, Co-host/Lunch Lady
Yes, it’s official! April 11th, on the beautiful island of Molokai, the Permaculture Research Institute USA completed its first Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course. With the enthusiasm of a student himself, instructor Andrew Jones passed out certificates to 13 budding permaculturists.
PDC students, instructor and convenors
Posted on: June 1, 2009
Assistance/Consultations for Establishment of New Permaculture Projects
Aid Projects, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Project Positions, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh
Because of increasing interest and demand for help in setting up new Permaculture projects worldwide, we’ve just added a couple of new documents to the site that will help get your started thinking at a practical level, and that will help us to engage in meaningful conversation with you as you seek to establish your own project.
- Advice and/or Resources: If you’re seeking help for your site, please complete our project questionnaire and email it to info (at) permaculture.org.au in the first instance. This is designed to gather information about potential projects before you make contact so that our initial conversations can be more situation specific.
- Timeline: You are also encouraged to read our timeline for project establishment as it will help focus your thought and energy on a practical, logical progression for establishment.
Although this post will slide down out of view – links to these documents can always be found via our Contact Us page. Also, these documents will likely get fleshed out more over time.
Comments (0)Posted on: April 22, 2009
Obama’s Organic Example Sets Cat Amongst Corporate Pigeons
Biodiversity, Demonstration Sites, Developments, GMOs, News, Soil Erosion & Contamination — by Craig Mackintosh
Recently I shared how Michelle Obama was planning to plant a garden on the White House lawn – thrilling the many people that lobbied for them to do exactly that. Later we learned that, as we dearly hoped, the garden would be organic.
On top of this, the First Lady also named chef Sam Kass to head the White House Food Initiative. Mr Kass happens to have a good understanding of what we and our children should be ingesting. This is all great press for chemical-free agriculture and food.
But…
Comments (0)Posted on: April 17, 2009
Calling for Volunteers for IPC9 and the Permaculture Centre, Malawi, Africa
Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Developments, News, Presentations/Demonstrations, Project Positions, Social Gatherings — by Craig Mackintosh
The ninth International Permaculture Conference (IPC) and Convergence is inching closer. Previous conferences have been held in Australia, USA, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Nepal, Croatia and Brazil. This time it will run from November 2-6 in Malawi, Africa (Kumbali Village, Lilongwe), and will include site tours of Permaculture projects in Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The theme for IPC9 is "Plan Africa – Food & Empowerment".
There are a few volunteer positions for this event that need filling. If you’ll be free during this period and would like to help make the IPC9 a success for the people of Africa and the wider international community by getting constructively involved in this exciting work, please click here (PDF) to read about these interesting posts and to find out how to apply.
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PRI Training Centre Development Plans Approved
Aid Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Craig Mackintosh
 Zaytuna Farm |
Good news people! We’ve just received local council approval on our development plans, which means we can move forward with our intention to improve the facilities and increase the capacity of our Permaculture training facility at PRI headquarters at Zaytuna Farm, close to The Channon village, in Northern NSW, Australia.
Up until now, accommodation for courses has been camping only, and facilities have been somewhat rudimentary. Once this development is complete we’ll have improved facilities for the campsite and five straw bale cabins as well!
I’ll put the design plans below so you can check ‘em out.
Comments (6)Posted on: April 4, 2009
Vote for Change!
DVDs/Books, Developments, News — by Craig Mackintosh
Dear Reader
If you’d like to do something tangible to work against the kind of madness outlined in the preceding post, then please click here to vote for positive change.
If we receive enough votes we’ll secure additional funding to enable a small team of writers and photographers (including myself) and a videographer to do the following:
- Create a book profiling successful Permaculture projects worldwide
- Create a documentary of the same
- Create a website and organisation to promote Permaculture and the above book and documentary
The results of this work can help inspire a whole generation of citizens (and hopefully politicians) with the potential found in harnessing the synergies of biological systems to solve a myriad environmental and social problems.
Note: Feel free to add your comments to the page you’ll arrive to via the ‘click here’ link above – but whatever you do, click on the voting button at far right of the screen. This needs to be done now, as the competition ends today (we only found out about it today, so forgive the short notice). You’ll be asked to sign up, but it literally only takes a few seconds to do so. Thanks in advance for promoting this worthy endeavour.
Sincerely
Craig
Editor/Photojournalist
Posted on: March 19, 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
Letter from the Editor
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Craig Mackintosh
Howdy. Could you guys all take a seat for a minute? I’d like to have a little chat with you all today on a couple of points. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.
Comments (3)Posted on:
Gaia University, One Step West Towards Oceania in April 2009
Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Developments — by Grifen Hope
Ecoescuela El Manzano in the heartland of Biobio, Chile will host Gaia University (GU) International for a series of world shaping events in 2009;
- April 16th – GU Orientation: for new students seeking Bachelors, Masters degrees or Post-Masters Graduate Diplomas in Eco-Social Regeneration
- May 1st – Participatory Processes for Communities in Transition
- May 5th – GU Advanced Workshops for Year Two Students
Both will be facilitated by Liora Adler and Andy Langford, supported by our local team of emerging young leaders, designers, and teachers from Ecoescuela and Instituto de Permacultura Chile.
We want you to be part of this experience; designing and creating a global learning community, a network of living campuses, projects and people applying solutions that work, mobilising communities, leading the way towards a sustainable future.
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Reality Check one two…one two
Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Energy Systems, Ethical Investment, Land, Project Positions, Village Development — by Eric Seider
If you were to get up and walk to the sink and turn on the faucet, there is a pretty damn good chance that water will come out. And if it didn’t you’d be surprised to say the least, more likely pissed off and annoyed at the inconvenience. You’d then wonder who is to blame for this unacceptable turn of events. I mean it is your god given right as a human being to expect water to come out of the tap when you need it….right?
Well…..Salaam Alaykum. Welcome to Jordan.
Beduoin Camp, Dead Sea Valley, Jordan
It doesn’t work like that here.
Comments (5)Posted on: January 26, 2009
Please Help the Palestinian People in a Time of Tragedy
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Village Development — by Nichole Ross
The Jordan Valley Project site is the triangular section in foreground
As Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip escalate, more and more Palestinian civilians are being displaced by damage or destruction to their homes. The need for refugee shelter has become critical. Geoff and Nadia Lawton are currently working on a PRI project in a Palestinian refugee village in Jordan. The project, known as the Jordan Valley Permaculture Project, is an effort to set up a Permaculture demonstration and education center. Due to the increased influx of refugees that will need food and shelter, this project is essential for survival for these people fleeing to the very arid Dead Sea Valley. Geoff, Nadia and others are working at full speed to get this center established as soon as possible so they can train refugees and impoverished locals to set up similar sustainable systems (food, water, shelter).
Comments (6)Posted on: January 12, 2009
PRI Site Info Session at Zaytuna Farm
Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Craig Mackintosh
Geoff and Nadia Lawton have been running highly successful courses at Zaytuna Farm in Northern NSW, Australia, for a few years now. Now, with the pressing need to ramp up the pace of Permaculture education to try to help steer this misguided world onto something resembling a sane path, we’re now working towards improving and enlarging the PRI infrastructure and facilities. Click the image below for a larger view with more info. If you live in the neighbourhood, feel free to drop by on Friday the 16th to get the full scoop on developments.
And, whether you live nearby or not, any contributions to this noble endeavour are greatly appreciated.
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Posted on: January 11, 2009
Courses at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms
Courses/Workshops, Developments — by Tony Coote
Editor’s Note: PRI is pleased to announce we are partnering with Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, so we can, in addition to our course lineup at Zaytuna Farm, also run courses at their location – based a little east of Canberra, easily accessed by road and air from Sydney and elsewhere. Tony Coote tells us more:
Click for larger view
At Mulloon Creek Natural Farms (MCNF) we are bringing together various forms of natural agriculture, believing that each has its own significant advantages for how we manage our land. To date these are Organics, Biodynamics, Natural Sequence Farming, Holistic Management and Permaculture.
This year we are happy to be able to host 8 courses in conjunction with Geoff Lawton, Managing Director of The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia.
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