Steve Marsh Benefit Concert – Stand Up to Monsanto!
GMOs, Social Gatherings — by Bee Winfield March 25, 2011
Photo credit: Marie Nirme
Hello All GM-free people everywhere
Stand up to Monsanto!
A benefit concert for organic farmer Steve Marsh
7pm – midnight, Saturday 16th April
Fly By Night, Fremantle, Western Australia
An exciting event is coming up in Freemantle, Western Australia. It’s an April 16, 2011 Benefit Concert. International and Western Australian performers are rallying to support organic farmer Steve Marsh, who has lost his organic certification due to contamination with genetically modified (GM) canola. The performers will play a fundraising concert to support Steve’s cause at The Fly By Night in Fremantle. Performers at the concert include Emily Barker (UK), Dilip and the Davs (Fremantle), Jacob from Dream State Circus (Fremantle), The Majik Trolz (Nannup), Lydian’sTilt (Bridgetown), Dom Coyote (UK) and Tribalive (South Fremantle). See more details on each below.
Comments (0)Climate Change Training Exercise
Biodiversity, Courses/Workshops, Deforestation, Food Shortages, Global Warming/Climate Change, Land, Social Gatherings, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Village Development, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Elaine Codling March 21, 2011
This is a training exercise that can be done with groups of around 20-25 people of all ages. Feel free to use, expand, or elaborate on it in anyway. Follow the activity with a discussion about climate as it relates to permaculture design.
The roles:
- Poor Farmer
- Sun
- Summer Wind
- Winter Wind
- Rain
- River
- Cyclone
- Shade Tree
- Bamboo [X 3 or more]
- Willows [X 3 or more]
- Food Forest [X 4 or more]
O-Farm Community Gardens, Hong Kong
Community Projects, Food Shortages, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Geoff Lawton March 10, 2011
O-Farm Hong Kong is championed by PDC graduate Yip Tsz Shing. It is a wonderful community garden where very small spaces, just a few metres (8 square metres on average), are rented by Hong Kong residents.
Some may travel up to an hour and a half each way to come and garden fresh organic food and have social interaction with other community gardeners.
Comments (3)Southern CA Permaculture Convergence: April 29 – May 1, 2011
Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Presentations/Demonstrations, Social Gatherings — by Sean Jennings March 6, 2011
Hundreds of Environmentalists are gathering in Malibu. People from all over the southern California will gather to share skills and knowledge to regenerate the Earth.
Southern Californians from San Luis Obispo to the Mexico border are waking up to the need to create an alternative to the collapsing economy and environmental destruction. Gathering this April in Malibu, hundreds of people will be learning and sharing traditional skills as well as modern approaches to healing our soil and our relationships. According to the organizers of the 2nd annual Southern California Permaculture Convergence, this event will spark new leaders and give them concrete tools to revitalize their neighborhoods.
"The times we are facing are challenging. We need a community of people who have the skills to grow food and cultivate healthy relationships if we are to make a smooth transition," says event organizer Sean Jennings. "Gathering together rekindles our spirit of community, it remind’s us that we are not alone." Others seem to agree. Already, scores of people have signed up to be part of this historic event. People from a wide range of backgrounds brought together in the belief that positive change is possible.
Comments (0)National Permaculture Day – Sunday May 1st, 2011
Community Projects, Conferences, Courses/Workshops, Presentations/Demonstrations, Social Gatherings — by Penny Pyett March 5, 2011
Dear Permies
Australia’s National Permaculture Day (NPD) this year will be Sunday May 1st . (Although some events will start on Sat of that weekend.) It is definitely off to a great start as we, Permaculture Sydney North, (PSN) were successful in receiving a grant for $19,715 for the day, from the Commonwealth Govt Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry. The "Community Action Grant" is to promote sustainable agriculture in both urban and rural environments, conserving bio-diversity and the environment. The grant is for promotion and publicity of the event — production of materials, a short you-tube promo video etc, and a small contribution to administration and co-ordination of the big day. This in and of itself was a big achievement.
Comments (5)The Ancient Taberna in a Future World
Biodiversity, Building, Community Projects, Consumerism, Eco-Villages, Economics, Markets & Outlets, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Village Development — by Oyvind Holmstad March 4, 2011
Ladakh, India
All photographs © Craig Mackintosh
A taberna (plural tabernae) was a single room shop covered by a barrel vault within great indoor markets of ancient Rome. Each taberna had a window above it to let light into a wooden attic for storage and had a wide doorway. A famous example is the Markets of Trajan in Rome, Italy built in the early 1st century by Apollodorus of Damascus.
According to the Cambridge Ancient History, a taberna was a “retail unit" within the Roman Empire and furthermore was where many economic activities and many service industries were provided, including the sale of cooked food, wine and bread. – Wikipedia
Some people claim that the Markets of Trajan was the world’s first shopping mall. But there is a difference to today’s malls. Trajan’s Market was beautiful and it offered ingenious personal services and variety, something which is rare today. I’ve yet to see a beautiful shopping mall built in the era of consumerism. Those few nice examples are all reused train stations and so on, from a lost time. No, the Trajan Market was not at all like today’s ’supermarkets’ — it was a superb market!
Comments (2)Help Us Give You What You Want
Aid Projects, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Ethical Investment, Networking Sites, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 3, 2011
Do you really understand what the Worldwide Permaculture Network is all about?
The WPN represents many months of work. Now is your chance to pitch in a little, and directly benefit with improved functionality and more capabilities. |
In a world seemingly gone mad, permaculture is reinvigorating countless individuals worldwide – giving them hope by giving them tools (knowledge) to equip them to live free, secure, healthy and happy. The Worldwide Permaculture Network (WPN) is an outgrowth of this trend. Indeed, the WPN itself becomes a giant toolbox, where all the members’ knowledge can be shared amongst each other!!
Scenario(s): Imagine if you’re living in, say, a residential urban home, and are looking at ways to increase your resiliency and sustainability. Then, imagine if you could search a database of thousands of like-minded souls, filtering the results to constrain them to just people in similar circumstances as your own – i.e. ‘urban’, ‘residential’.
Then, why not drop in a climate zone filter to get even more relevant results?
Comments (1)Sacred is Our Inherent Right to Live Free and Gloriously – Interview with Craig Mackintosh
Aid Projects, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Networking Sites, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Willi Paul February 8, 2011
Interview with Craig Mackintosh by Willi Paul about the new Worldwide Permaculture Network
Willi Paul: Is there a global permaculture revolution rising now?
Craig Mackintosh: Well, there had better be. The other kinds of revolution aren’t pretty. Revolution, I believe, is going to become an increasingly popular word. But often revolutions merely pull things down, without offering meaningful replacements.
Over the last few years the level of interest in permaculture has skyrocketed. People are increasingly realizing the world is running out of options, but many are also realizing that this is exactly what permaculture gives to the world – options.
WP: What are the pros and cons of a world-wide database?
Comments (49)The Live Launch of the Worldwide Permaculture Network (WPN) is Now Underway!!
Aid Projects, Alternatives to Political Systems, Bio-regional Organisations, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Eco-Villages, Education Centres, Networking Sites, News, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor February 3, 2011
Dear People
After months and months of work, we’re now launching a new system — the Worldwide Permaculture Network (WPN) — which will enable permaculturists everywhere to:
- Put themselves on a clickable map, where people (permaculturists and non-permaculturists) can see at a glance the scope of the spread of permaculture worldwide
- Showcase their work as individuals, and the work of any projects they are administrating
- Be searchable according to many variables (climate zone, project type, and more)
- Network with other permaculturists everywhere
- Advertise their consultancy services
- Advertise their courses (for educational projects)
- Share knowledge, experiences, challenges, successes, and inspiration
- Help inspire non-permaculturists with the potential for positive, systemic change that permaculture design systems can bring
- And more…
The Tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10) Website Launched
Courses/Workshops, Social Gatherings — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor January 8, 2011
We’ve just launched the website for the tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10): www.ipcon.org
The 10th International Permaculture Conference and Convergence (IPC 10) will be held in Jordan across September of 2011. Traditionally IPCs are held every two years and switch between continents. Past host sites have been Australia, USA, New Zealand, Nepal, Scandinavia, Croatia and Brazil. The last IPC, IPC9, was held in Malawi, Africa, in 2009.
Jordan is one of the most water-stressed nations on the planet — with low precipitation, ultra-high levels of evaporation, and little vegetation cover — and the people of Jordan are depleting aquifer water faster than it can be replenished. In short, Jordan, and other countries like it, is facing a very challenging future.
The IPC10 in Jordan will bring together some of the world’s most capable permaculture practitioners, teachers, visionaries and activists, enabling them to share their combined wealth of knowledge, experience and inspiration with the people of Jordan, each other, and the world at large. The result is expected to be increased efficiency at bringing permaculture’s strong tendency to get to the heart of water, soil, energy and other global problems — by dealing with their root causes in holistic ways — to the people who need it most. — www.ipcon.org
There are four elements to the event, a pre-IPC Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course, a 1-day Conference, a 4-day Convergence, and subsequent tours of ancient and new water harvesting and permaculture sites.
Both the PDC and the Conference boast some exciting influences, including ‘Father Earth’, Bill Mollison, coming all the way from the comforts of Tasmania to speak in Jordan. Those of you who want to catch Bill while he’s in the northern hemisphere might want to take the opportunity to do so here!
We’ll be adding more features and details to the site in the coming days/weeks. We look forward to your input and presence at this event, where permaculture can gain additional media exposure, and where (at the post-conference convergence) permaculturists worldwide get to spend some quality time, rich in workshops and presentions, building collaborative networks and discussing strategies for a world in trouble.
Comments (0)Worldwide Permaculture Network – Project Type Descriptions
Aid Projects, Bio-regional Organisations, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Development & Property Trusts, Eco-Villages, Education Centres, Ethical Investment, Financial Management, Networking Sites, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor January 4, 2011
Welcome to the new year everyone.
The first live, public launch of the Worldwide Permaculture Network is imminent. There are just a few things to tidy up, and then you can all ‘have at it’.
I could use your feedback on the below. Here you’ll find draft descriptions of the project ‘types’ that can be selected when you upload your various permaculture projects. (Each of these project types has a badge associated with it which will show on respective project profile sidebars.) Please feel free to let me know via comments if you have constructive observations for tweaks/improvements that could be made to the descriptions below. Thank you all in advance:
Comments (15)PRI at The Channon Market
Community Projects, DVDs/Books, Markets & Outlets, Social Gatherings, Village Development — by Bee Nagle December 27, 2010
Recently, on Sunday the 12th of December, following a lengthy absence and despite the un-seasonally heavy rains predicted, the Permaculture Research Institute returned to the local monthly Channon market.
Worldwide Permaculture Network Database Update – Beta Testing!
Aid Projects, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Networking Sites, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor November 18, 2010
I just want to express immense gratitude for the donations towards our upcoming Worldwide Permaculture Network database-slash-social-networking-site. At time of writing, the ChipIn widget on our sidebar is showing 36 contributors giving a combined total of $2,125. There have been a couple of others who’ve donated by other means as well. Our development costs are obviously significantly higher than this, but every bit helps….
Comments (9)Ranch Uses Permaculture to Decrease Domestic Violence
Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Village Development — by Serina Harvey October 20, 2010
By integrating therapy with farm work, Flip Flop Ranch works to lower the rates of domestic violence
Flip Flop Ranch is a 40 acre working ranch and a nonprofit in Lucerne Valley California that provides therapy to victims and even perpetrators of domestic violence (at different times of course). It is also a permaculture-based ranch, which means that the aim is to have all parts of the ranch integrated, intertwined and helping each other in a kind of symbiotic relationship.
When Serina Harvey, the ranch’s co-owner, decided to move from “modern” pesticide and high input methods of farming to permaculture methods, she realized she couldn’t just focus on the interrelationships between plants and animals. Like many permaculture-based farming operations, her chickens eat plants from the garden. Her Muscovy ducks eat flies. Along with what she calls a “chum bucket” (a hanging bucket full of meat that attracts flies and the fly babies drop out through holes in the bottom to feed the chickens), her fly population decreased to almost nothing this year without the use of chemicals. Endangered Nigerian Dwarf Goats wander her property pulling weeds, and rare Cotton Patch geese now mow her backyard instead of using a gas powered weed whacker and lawn mower or an herbicide. The ranch vegetable garden is also built in sunken garden beds to conserve water as the ranch gets an average of 3 inches of rain a year. “It’s not perfect,” says Serina, “but we’re trying to incorporate more and more permaculture principles. The next project is to put a worm bin underneath the chicken roosts to turn the droppings into beautiful dirt, which of course heads to the garden next.”
Comments (2)Gardens of Gratitude – LA’s Westside Permies Roll Out Gardens Across the City
Community Projects, People Systems, Social Gatherings, Society, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Sean Jennings October 16, 2010
by Sean Jennings, Los Angeles
Can you imagine cruising the streets of your neighborhood planting edible gardens with your friends? How about planting edible gardens in yards across your entire local community with hundreds of friends? Neighbors in the streets of Los Angeles have done just that.
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