Review of Geoff Lawton’s Food Forest DVD, by Paul Wheaton and Helen Atthowe
Compost, DVDs/Books, Dams, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Fungi, Land, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Seeds, Soil Biology, Soil Composition, Soil Conservation, Structure, Swales, Trees — by Paul Wheaton October 8, 2011
Click play to hear the talk!
Review of Geoff Lawton's Food Forest DVD, by Paul Wheaton and Helen Atthowe
Paul Wheaton and Helen Atthowe (www.veganicpermaculture.com) watch Geoff Lawton‘s Food Forest video and Helen really loved it. It shows a food forest as they start it, at 6 months, a year, 3 years, 10 years.
Paul thinks it is one of the best permaculture videos. Lawton starts by talking about three concepts: the layering of systems (there are 7-10 layers of a forest), succession of systems (how nature repairs itself), and time (working with different events — eg: sun, shade, flood over time). Paul shares Helen’s hesitancy using the word “permaculture.” They also talk about the word “science” and “studies.” Lawton has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd recovery plants. The first are: annuals, nitrogen fixers, ground covers and leguminous shrubs. The second are medium size nitrogen fixing trees (later to be chopped at head height in order to nurture the longer term trees). The third are longer term nitrogen fixing trees.
Comments (1)Rhamis Kent: Permaculture in Somalia (IPC10 Presentation – Video)
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conferences, Developments, Economics, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor October 7, 2011
Rhamis Kent speaking at the Tenth International Permaculture Conference
(IPC10), Amman, Jordan, September 2011
Photograph © Craig Mackintosh
The PRI’s Rhamis Kent talks about the situation in Somalia — including the so-called ‘aid’ work presently underway, with its short-term business oriented methods and the social blackmailing it encourages, and constrasts it with the more holistic Permaculture aid methods we are now seeking to bring to the beleaguered nation. The latest good news I’ve had from Rhamis is that Somalia’s Environment Minister has given a big thumbs up to Permaculture and has offered assistance for us to start to wedge Permaculture concepts into the country.
I can’t help but get excited about the potential for Permaculture goodness bringing peace, health and happiness to Somalia. Imagine one day our being able to bring you reports of smiling faces and peaceful and purposeful collaborative success from Somalia as we did recently with Tanzania?
Watch the video below to see Rhamis’ excellent presentation. If you want to follow along with more visible slides from Rhamis’ Powerpoint presentation, you can download that here (14mb Powerpoint) or here (5mb PDF).
Comments (0)The Benefits of Portable Sawmilling
Courses/Workshops, Trees, Waste Systems & Recycling — by David Spicer
If you want to learn much more about sustainable saw milling, take Dave Spicer’s upcoming (27 November 2011) 1-day course, where you can gain from his extensive expertise in this area.
We all need to be loggers and we all need to be greenies. We all live in timber houses. — Bill Mollison
Low tech and high tech saw milling
In 2006 I brought a portable Lucas sawmill and have been milling timber ever since. I must say it’s a great feeling turning a raw resource into a useable product on site.
“Mill to the log”
I’ve milled timber in town right in the front yard, and on farms with no hauling.
There are many types of portable sawmills, even a chainsaw used to mill timber.
Comments (4)Eugenio Gras – Latin America’s Bio-Fertiliser Pioneer comes to South East Qld
Courses/Workshops, Rehabilitation — by Kym Kruse October 6, 2011
Addressing the escalating prices and environmental consequences associated with conventional inputs is one of the main priorities for landholders now and into the future.
Comments (1)A Look at Hawaiian Aquaculture – and How You Can Learn More About It at the Keawanui Fish Pond, Molokai
Aquaculture, Courses/Workshops, Fish, Land — by Nichole Ross
It was a typical October day on Molokai — 82 degrees, sunny and breezy. I had just arrived at my favorite tiny airport on a nine-passenger Cessna turbo prop-plane from Honolulu. I came from the Big Island to help my Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) USA colleagues facilitate a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) already in progress. The PDC was part of a four-course series we were doing to train a local group made up of key players working to promote sustainability on the Island.
When my ride told me that the class would be starting the day at the Keawanui fish pond, I was both excited and nervous. Much like the time I had gotten an All-Access V.I.P. Guest Pass to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, I would soon be in the presence of celebrities I admired. I was not only about to meet the Rittes, but they were students in our PDC.
Comments (0)Geoff Lawton: The Importance of Establishing Self-Replicating Dryland Permaculture Demonstration Sites (IPC10 Presentation – Video)
Aid Projects, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Conferences, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Networking Sites, People Systems, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor October 4, 2011
Geoff Lawton speaking at the Tenth International Permaculture Conference
(IPC10), Amman, Jordan, September 2011
Photograph © Craig Mackintosh
After an unintentionally extended lunch break during the IPC10 conference day (dragging 130 hungry people away from their stimulating lunchtime conversations is not an easy task!), Geoff kindly cut his post-lunch talk short so as to put subsequent speakers back on schedule. In the short time left for him, Geoff talked about the great need for training an army of permaculture warriors who can help set up self-replicating permaculture demonstration and education sites worldwide, and shared some of our efforts to help facilitate this. Included in the talk was mention of www.permacultureglobal.com (the Worldwide Permaculture Network), which enables permaculturists to literally put themselves on the map, and network and support each other in many ways — including attracting students and consultancies, donations (for aid projects) and which facilitates and encourages knowledge (and even seed!) transfers between people and sites worldwide. It’s a system that effectively levels the playing field, empowering a new generation of permaculture teachers and consultants to come up through the older growth, break through the canopy, and help us drive permaculture concepts deep into the minds of mainstream citizenry.
Click play below to see Geoff’s talk:
Comments (2)Permaculture Site Assessment Practicum – Nick Huggins
Commercial Farm Projects, Courses/Workshops, Land — by Nick Huggins
Wanted – 2 persons (only) with PDC that are keen to learn and assist on a 15 acre farm that is undergoing re-design in Northern NSW, Australia.
Comments (5)Tony Rinaudo: “Against the odds: Reversing desertification in arid and semi arid lands” (IPC Presentation – Video)
Aid Projects, Animal Forage, Biodiversity, Community Projects, Conferences, Deforestation, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Land, Medicinal Plants, Nurseries & Propogation, Plant Systems, Presentations/Demonstrations, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Seeds, Trees — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor October 3, 2011
Tony Rinaudo’s IPC10 conference presentation was one of the highlights of the event for three good reasons — 1) because of the scale of impact his Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) work has achieved (more than 30,000 km² of re-greened, regenerated land to date); 2) the utter simplicity — and thus doability — of this work (it requires no financial investment or out-of-reach technologies, only a little educational guidance and community collaboration), and 3) the speed at which this regeneration can occur and lives can improve.
We’ve brought people’s attention to FMNR before…
… and now I have the great pleasure of being able to share Tony’s IPC10 conference talk in high definition video (at top). Note: If you want to see the slides in higher quality, you can download Tony’s presentation (9mb Powerpoint) and click through it in a different window as Tony talks if you like.
Readers can also download:
Comments (2)You Are Part of the Web of Life – A Conversation With Permaculture Designer and Teacher Warren Brush (Podcast)
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Podcasts — by Sustainable World Radio September 29, 2011
Warren Brush, co-teaching the pre-IPC10 PDC in Amman, Jordan
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
Warren Brush, Permaculture Designer and educator talks with us about his work in Africa, the power of storytelling, and why children need us to be part of the solution. Brush, co-founder of Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm, has mentored youth and educated adults around the world teaching them Permaculture and other practical life skills.
Click play to hear the talk!
Sustainable World Radio Interview - Warren Brush Comments (5)Brad Lancaster: “Urban Water Harvesting Systems” (IPC Presentation – Video)
Biological Cleaning, Conferences, Conservation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Irrigation, Potable Water, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Storm Water, Urban Projects, Waste Water, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 28, 2011
Brad Lancaster presents at the IPC10, Amman, Jordan, Sept. 2011
Photographs © Craig Mackintosh
Brad of harvestingrainwater.com has well-honed presentation skills — urban water harvesting has never been more interesting and compelling than after Brad has laid it all before you, and injected no small measure of fun and humour into it as well. I applaud Brad’s valuable contribution to the permaculture toolkit, as I’m sure will you after watching the video below!
Comments (4)Roberto Perez Rivero: “Permaculture’s Use of Water in Time of Climate Change – the Cuban Experience” (IPC Presentation – Video)
Biodiversity, Community Projects, Conferences, Conservation, Consumerism, Deforestation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Irrigation, Presentations/Demonstrations, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, Water Harvesting, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor
Roberto Perez Rivero gives his presentation at the IPC10, Amman, Jordan
Photographs © Craig Mackintosh
Roberto Perez Rivero gave an excellent presentation at the Tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10). Watch it below. As the projector wasn’t the best, you may also want to make use of the links below to download the slideshow from this talk so you can click through those in a different window as Roberto speaks:
Comments (1)Nambrok Field Day, Victoria – Oct 15, 2011
Courses/Workshops — by Nick Huggins September 27, 2011
To showcase the work Matt Kilby and I have been undertaking on Nambrok in Gippsland, Victoria over the past 18 months, we have been granted the opportunity to swing open the farm gate and invite one and all to share our success and minor failures in this landscape of repair & regeneration.
Comments (0)Letters from Jordan – IPC10 Group Photo
Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Presentations/Demonstrations, Social Gatherings — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 24, 2011
Photo © Craig Mackintosh (Permission given for personal non-commercial use)
Email Resolution (240kb) | Print Resolution (870kb) | Poster Resolution (4mb)
Whew! The post-IPC tours began today, but the conference and convergence themselves have come to an end. What a ride it’s been! I’m personally totally exhausted, but in a good way. I’ll tell you more and share more pictures and video soon — after I’ve had time to make my way home.
In the meantime, you’ll find the group shot of the IPC participants above, taken as the sun was setting on the last evening of the convergence. I’ll provide the image in three resolutions for you. You are welcome to access for your own use — so long as it’s not used commercially.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the events after I’m home, and thanks for your patience. Oh, you can also, in the interim, read some of the commentary given by IPC bloggers — see the ‘Blog’ panel on the left sidebar of www.ipcon.org.
Zzzz…..
Comments (3)Letters from Jordan – IPC10 Conference Day
Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Social Gatherings — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 18, 2011
Roberto Perez Rivero, Cuba, addresses the conference guests
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
It was a full day of varied talks — varied both in terms of the content, and the background and experience of the speakers. I won’t say a lot about the talks, as you are able to watch them yourselves on www.livestream.com/ipc10!
On the morrow we head to the southern end of Jordan, to the famously beautiful desert region of Wadi Rum — where the four-day IPC10 Convergence will ensue. Unlike the conference, we won’t be live-streaming the talks at the convergence, but I will be videoing as much as possible, and will YouTube them as quickly as I can after returning home. Also, because the above-linked conference videos were streamed, they are quite compressed, so not the best quality. I will re-upload those in higher quality when I get home after the events as well. When I do, I’ll post links to the speakers’ respective slide shows, so you can follow along with the talks better.
Stay tuned….
Comments (21)Letters from Jordan – IPC10 and the Permaculture Princess
Community Projects, Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Social Gatherings — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 17, 2011
Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan opens IPC10
Photographs © Craig Mackintosh
The opening of the Tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10) already saw Permaculture getting the attention it deserves. Over 100 people from around the world were seated to ‘break bread’ at the conference’s opening gala dinner on the evening of Friday September 16. Aside from permaculturists from every continent, the event also drew (by our own ’subversive’ design) people of influence from within Jordanian society who we hope will absorb the all-important Permaculture concepts and use their privileged positions to help permeate the kingdom’s populace with them. Not least amongst these was Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan.
Comments (3)
