Permaculture Volunteer Sought for Uganda Project
Aid Projects, Project Positions — by Clive Mullett
Would you like to volunteer at a Permaculture Food Security Project at a Primary School and Boarding House in rural Uganda?
Comments (0)Posted on: July 2, 2009
Implementing Permaculture Across India by Royal Enfield?
Aid Projects — by Paul Kean
Whilst in Thailand last year I had an insight into what I can do to further my work and continue on my path with teaching Permaculture. I was sitting in an internet booth in Khao San Road, Bangkok when a vision came to me of doing mobile consultancy throughout India on a Royal Enfield motorcycle.
I had come to Thailand after having to leave Japan due to visa issues. Thailand was relatively close to get to to regroup on some ideas to continue learning more of sustainable agriculture. I had been emailing anyone I could find an address for from Permaculture sites around the world to offer my services to help.
Comments (7)Posted on: June 20, 2009
The Peasants Are Revolting
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Economics, Education Centres, Food Shortages, Society — by Craig Mackintosh
What are governments to do when an economic crisis hits, causing an already disproportionate number of poverty-stricken people to massively enlarge their ranks – to the point where they take to the streets to protest over their lack of basic necessities? Well, they repress and kill them of course.
For a brief period yesterday, this article appeared on the main page of the BBC. It’s gone today, replaced with more important articles like ‘What the way you hold a glass says about your personality‘. After you’ve figured out who you are by the way you hold your cocktail, perhaps take a little time to read the former link – where you can read a BBC summary of the latest of Amnesty International’s annual reports (the 424 page document you can download below) on human rights abuses worldwide. It makes for sobering reading. The situation is being described as a ‘powder keg’ and ‘time bomb’ that threatens security worldwide.
Comments (4)Posted on: May 30, 2009
Permaculture Samoa
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Forests, Plant Systems, Trees — by Tamlyn Magee
by Tamlyn Magee (Tamlyn is living and working in Samoa on a Permaculture education and demonstration project with local NGO, METI)
Ualesi and Tavita are satisfied to be using waste as a resource
– building the first earth-tyre construction in Samoa
Coconut trees are possibly the first thing you think of when you hear the words tropical island. Right? Well, there are good reasons for that. The coconut, along with taro, breadfruit, papaya and banana has always played a vital role in shaping the lifestyles and cultures of islanders, dutifully producing incredibly versatile, nutritious and prolific fruit, as well as many other important resources. Coconuts are rich in healthy fats, Vitamin C, iron and lauric acid, which is known for its antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and immune boosting properties. Some species will produce a fruit yield in as little as 3 years from germination. Juice from the young coconut, nui, is one of the highest known sources of electrolytes and is officially reputed, at least by me, to be the most refreshing drink in the world. Samoans process their daily coconut milk at home (and almost every traditional meal contains coconut in some form), and there are local facilities for extracting oil (the healthiest oil you can eat) and making soaps and balms. The husks and shells are burnt for fuel and used for cooking. The shell is decorated in many ways and makes beautiful jewellery, as well as cups and bowls. The trunks of the trees can be used as supports in building, not to mention great trellis supports in the garden, and the fronds are weaved for multiple uses. You can use the sterile juice of the young coconut as an intravenous drip for goodness’ sake! For the tropical designer, the coconut is an invaluable element in any sustainable system.
Comments (12)Posted on: May 24, 2009
You Never Know How You Might Contribute
Aid Projects, Deforestation, Trees — by Jack Heimsoth
Aipipas Elementary School, Papua New Guinea
I took the very first ‘Permaculture Aid Worker’s Training Course’ at the Permaculture Research Institute in November, 2008 with Geoff & Nadia Lawton, and Rosemary Morrow. During the course, I was unsure of my abilities to contribute to an overseas aid project. Even though I had been studying permaculture since 2006, taken two PDCs and interned at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute most of last year, I was afraid that if I went to a developing country to introduce any permaculture concepts, that I would really have little to offer and that I was too inexperienced, and wouldn’t be well received . Geoff and Rosemary assured all of us at the course that we had plenty to offer, and that the world needs us.
I remained somewhat skeptical.
Comments (6)Posted on: May 17, 2009
Volunteer Eco-Builder/Handyman Sought for Ethiopia Permalodge Project
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Project Positions — by Alex McCausland
Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge in the Konso Special Woreda, Southern Ethiopia seeks volunteer sustainable builder/handy-man to assist with maintenance and minor construction tasks as well as some training and supervision of project staff and local workers. Food, accommodation and pocket money provided (and possibly internet access too)!
Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge is a community oriented business operating in rural south Ethiopia in Konso Woreda, an area noted for its unique local culture and indigenous agricultural system, but suffering from repeated food insecurity due to re-occurring droughts in the last 50 years. SFEL promotes community well-being through Permaculture design training and consultancy services delivered to local schools, as well as though developing community based tourism activities to generate alternative income for the community grass-roots. The project combines a lodge, farm, organic restaurant and Permaculture school as well as organising off-site trekking and cultural activities.
Comments (2)Posted on: May 7, 2009
The ‘Sustainable (R)evolution’ Book Project
Aid Projects, Alternatives to Political Systems, Bio-regional Organisations, Commercial Farm Projects, Community Projects, DVDs/Books, Demonstration Sites, Eco-Villages, Education Centres, News, People Systems, Urban Projects, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh
Have you ever wished, when explaining to someone about permaculture, you had a visual, easily accessible book that demonstrated what it is all about, and what the world could look like if permaculture design systems became mainstream thinking?
We’ll – we’re making that book.
The Permaculture Research Institute is getting behind a project that would see the creation of a large format book that profiles, with creative writing and quality photographs, some of the many successful Permaculture projects underway around the world. The purpose of this page is to solicit your help with the same.
The final version is unlikely to look like this, but it gives you an idea….
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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
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
Community-Based Rainforest Restoration Work is Huge Success in Borneo
Aid Projects, Biodiversity, Community Projects, Deforestation, Demonstration Sites, Food Forests, Global Warming/Climate Change, Plant Systems, Regional Water Cycle, Rehabilitation, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Trees, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh
In his twenty minute talk, Willie Smits (a Dutch forestry scientist who emigrated to Indonesia 20 years ago to help the country grow trees) explains how a chance encounter with a dying baby Orangutan changed the direction of his work – culminating not only in his creating the biggest orangutan rehabilitation center in the world, but also in restoring large tracts of rainforest in a community-based endeavour that is bringing work and prosperity to the people too.
The word ‘Permaculture’ is never mentioned in the following TED presentation, but the project that is the subject of this talk certainly contains many elements of Permaculture design. Among the spectacular results of the project is a documented cooling in local climate, increased cloud cover and rainfall, and a rapid increase in biodiversity of flora and fauna.
Comments (3)
Posted on: March 30, 2009
Permaculture Master Plan Now in Spanish
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres — by Craig Mackintosh
Feel free to circulate:
Hacia Centros de Investigación del Permacultura por todo el Mundo
For more info, click here.
Thanks to Grifen Hope for facilitating this translation.
Comments (1)Posted on: March 17, 2009
Jordan PDC Course Announcement
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites — by Craig Mackintosh
Permaculture Research Institute Australia and the newly established Permaculture Research Institute Jordan are please to announce PRI Jordan’s first Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course to be taught in the Dead Sea Valley, Jordan October 10 to the 23rd. This is near the site of the legendary Greening the Desert project.
Your attendance at this course will help subsidise the education of local Jordanians, and also go towards the sending of a local representative body to the International Permaculture Convergence Summit of 2009 held in Southern Africa. Among the goals of this trip will be to lobby for the International Permaculture Convergence of 2011 to be held in Jordan with the theme of conflict resolution through sustainable community solutions.
Comments (1)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
Research From the Field
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Retrofitting, Trees, Urban Projects — by Eric Seider
Field Research Article: Case No. 02192009
Location: Jordan Valley Permaculture Project
Subject: Using Drip Irrigation On Mulched Trees
Observations:
Checking drippers that are buried under mulch on over 100 trees creates feelings in oneself that are not appropriate to express on such an esteemed scientific venue.
Comments (9)
Posted on: February 20, 2009
Developing Permaculture Aid Project Skills
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Project Positions — by Sakina Grome
There are as many people holding different skills as there are species, and this diversity of skills is required to build permaculture projects around the world. As the world heads towards peak oil, peak soil, and peak water, the demand for permaculture education continues to grow, and at the forefront of this demand are people in developing countries who are dependent upon being able to grow their own food and whose livelihood depends on the health of the local soil.
The first Permaculture Project Aid Worker Course conducted by the Permaculture Research Institute was held in November at Zaytuna Farm in NSW, Australia. Geoff Lawton and Rosemary Morrow led the six-day course, which was attended by twenty-three students in total. Lawton established the course as a response to keeping up with the demand for skilled aid workers on overseas projects, as well as a vision to establish a network of permaculture education centres around the world.
Comments (1)
