PDC Interview, Part 5: Jarrod, Liz and James
Courses/Workshops, Podcasts, Society — by Harry Schnur August 3, 2010

Zaytuna Farm
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
Harry Schnur from Taipei, Taiwan, recently completed his PDC with Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm.
He has two shows on the only English community radio station in the region and did a series of interviews for one of his shows during his time at the farm.
Below is part 5, an interview with PDC students, Jarrod, Liz and James. Click play to listen!
PDC Interview, Part 5 - Jarrod, Liz and JamesComments (0)
PDC Interview, Part 4: Lindsay Dailey
Courses/Workshops, Podcasts — by Harry Schnur July 30, 2010

Lindsay Dailey (right), at Zaytuna Farm
Harry Schnur from Taipei, Taiwan, recently completed his PDC with Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm.
He has two shows on the only English community radio station in the region and did a series of interviews for one of his shows during his time at the farm.
Below is part 4, an interview with Lindsay Dailey, permaculture designer and PRI student, at PRI’s Zaytuna Farm. Click play to listen!
PDC Interview, Part 4 - Lindsay DaileyComments (2)
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 10: Peppi in Malta
Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied July 29, 2010

Aerial view of Bahrija valley and surrounding cliffs
![]() Peppi Gauci |
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
This week I’m speaking with Peppi in Malta about his project, Bahrija Oasis, which he setup eight years ago in Rabat, Malta.
Click play to hear all about it!:
Episode 10: Peppi in Malta Comments (0)Terry McCosker Joins the Dots on the Challenges and Solutions of Food Production, Landscape Health and Human Health
Conferences, Conservation, Food Shortages, Plant Systems, Podcasts, Population, Rehabilitation, Society, Soil Biology, Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh July 20, 2010
I’d never heard of Terry McCosker of Resource Consulting Services before, but here he is giving an excellent talk to ABC Rural’s Bush Telegraph Radio on the need to go ‘back to the future’ in our agricultural systems as our populations balloon in combination with disturbing land resource declines. Terry talks about how cheap fossil fuels have been used for soil mining, and that current and upcoming energy/soil/water constraints will force us back to where we need to go to solve our food production challenges, with the effect that this can also solve our environmental and human health problems. Terry also refers to David Montgomery’s excellent Dirt – the Erosion of Civilizations book, talks about peak phosphorus, compost, compost teas, the need to ‘fire up the biology’ in our soils to harness the inherent energy found in natural systems – thus replacing the artificial ‘propping up’ of those systems with fossil fuel energy, and in doing so increasing plant health to further reduce/remove the need for chemical inputs.
The podcast is well worth a listen. Click play below:
Terry McCosker Joins the Dots on the Challenges and Solutions of Food Production, Landscape Health and Human HealthI love to see people joining the dots like this!
Should you be in the area, Terry and others will be speaking at a three-day conference in Brisbane, titled ‘Farmers – Heroes of our Future‘ from July 20-22. You can view the conference program here. Given it’s July 20th as I type, it may be too late to register and go along, but if you’re in the Brisbane area I’ll leave you to make your own enquiries if you’re interested. Sounds like it’d be a great event to attend.
Comments (1)PDC Interview, Part 2: Rob Avis
Courses/Workshops, Podcasts — by Harry Schnur July 17, 2010
Harry Schnur from Taipei, Taiwan, recently completed his PDC with Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm.
He has two shows on the only English community radio station in the region and did a series of interviews for one of his shows during his time at the farm.
Below is part 2, an interview with Rob Avis from Verge Permaculture. Click play to listen!
PDC Interview, Part 2 - Rob Avis Comments (1)Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 9: Andy in Morocco
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Networking Sites, People Systems, Podcasts, Village Development, Water Harvesting — by Patrick Blampied July 14, 2010
Comments (0)PDC Interview, Part 1 – Geoff Lawton
Podcasts — by Harry Schnur July 6, 2010
Harry Schnur from Taipei, Taiwan, recently completed his PDC with Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm.
He has two shows on the only English community radio station in the region and did a series of interviews for one of his shows during his time at the farm.
Below is part 1, an interview with Geoff Lawton. Click play to listen!
Harry Schnur Interview, Part I: Geoff Lawton Comments (1)Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 8 – David Spicer in Jordan
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied July 1, 2010
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.

In Episode 8 I’m speaking to David Spicer during the second part of his aid work trip, a stop over in Jordan to work on a shower/toilet block for PRI Jordan. This was recorded just before he headed to Palestine to co-teach a PDC there.
Click play to hear the interview:
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 8 - David Spicer in Jordan
Subscribe to Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker.
Further Reading/Watching:
- Jawaseri School Garden
- Greening the Desert II
- Letters from Jordan – Jordan Welcomes the 2011 International Permaculture Conference & Convergence
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 7 – Ringo in Afghanistan Part III
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Podcasts, Project Positions — by Patrick Blampied June 25, 2010
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
In Episode 7 I’m speaking to Paul ‘Ringo’ Kean who has been working on an aid project in Afghanistan.
Click play to hear the interview – and photo-commentary below:
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 7 - Ringo in Afghanistan Part III
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Comments (4)
Preparing to make compost using Paul Taylor’s method.
45% Carbon, 35% Nitrogen, 20% Manure.
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 6 – David Spicer in Morocco
Aid Projects, Commercial Farm Projects, Education Centres, Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied June 17, 2010
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
In Episode 6 I’m speaking to David Spicer who has been working on in Morocco, teaching a course as well as consulting for a farm there.
Click play to hear the talk:
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 6 - David Spicer, Morocco
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Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 5 – Paul David Stockhausen from Hayes Valley Farm, San Francisco
Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied June 12, 2010
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
In Episode 5 I’m speaking to Paul David Stockhausen from Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco which is a very interesting urban Permaculture project.
If you’re in the area and have done a PDC you might be interested in Hayes Valley Farm’s PDC Teacher Training Course.
Click play to listen:
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 5: Paul David Stockhausen Comments (1)PRI Permaculture News Update – 7 June 2010
News, Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied June 7, 2010
The PRI Permaculture News Update is a weekly radio style news bulletin that gets you up to date with the world of Permaculture in just 5 minutes.
Subscribe to the feed on your i-Something/MP3 player and even if you can’t always make it to permaculture.org.au you’ll never miss what’s been happening and always know where to find the nitty gritty details of a story.
Each week we cover the posts from the last 7 days plus a selection of stories from other Permaculture projects worldwide.
You might even know someone that is kind of into Permaculture but not sure what the go is – this podcast might be for them. Subscribe and pass it on!
Also if you have a Permaculture story you think might be suitable for the update, let us know at media (at) permaculture.org.au. We can only report on it if we know about it.
Click play to hear the update:
PRI Permaculture News Update, 7 June 2010 Comments (0)Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 4: Heading to Vietnam
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Podcasts, Village Development — by Patrick Blampied June 4, 2010

Indigenous minority Vietnamese worship the sacred, big old trees of the forest
Photograph © copyright Craig Mackintosh
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
In Episode 4 I’m speaking to Dave and Johnny who are preparing for a trip to Vietnam. It’s the first time they’ve attempted aid work but as discussed they’re feeling good about the trip.
Click play to listen:
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 4: Heading to VietnamFurther Reading:
- Letters from Vietnam – Arriving to HEPA
- Letters from Vietnam series – reporting from indigenous minority villages:
– The Road to Na Sai
– Ke Village
– The Hmong People – Claiming Back Lost Skills - Hooray for the Water Buffalo!
PRI Permaculture News Update
Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied May 31, 2010
The PRI Permaculture News Update is a weekly radio style news bulletin that gets you up to date with the world of Permaculture in just 5 minutes.
Subscribe to the feed on your i-Something/MP3 player and even if you can’t always make it to permaculture.org.au you’ll never miss what’s been happening and always know where to find the nitty gritty details of a story.
Each week we cover the posts from the last 7 days plus a selection of stories from other Permaculture projects worldwide.
You might even know someone that is kind of into Permaculture but not sure what the go is – this podcast might be for them. Subscribe and pass it on!
Also if you have a Permaculture story you think might be suitable for the update, let us know at media (at) permaculture.org.au. We can only report on it if we know about it.
Click play to hear the update:
Permaculture World News Update, 31 May 2010 Comments (6)Great Soil Biology – The Silver Bullet
Compost, Courses/Workshops, Food Shortages, Fungi, Podcasts, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Soil Composition, Soil Conservation, Structure — by Patrick Blampied May 27, 2010
Talking with Soil Biology Wizard, Paul Taylor
When you put the Permaculture lens on and look at where our food comes from there are hundreds of dead canaries trying to warn us it’s time to wake up and make a change to something better.
As I look closer I realise the industrial food system is a planet destroying system that deprives people of health and well-being, putting more value on short-term profits and perfect looks than nutrient content and building resilient communities that have sustainable access to food. Not only that but it appears to be edging towards collapse as failing unproductive farms are propped up by more and more chemicals and machines that run on not-so-cheap-anymore oil.
So just as it was all looking a little bleak I was lucky enough to speak with Paul Taylor from Trust Nature. He is a true genius when it comes to understanding soil biology and restoring land back to fertility.
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