Taking a Quick Peek at Djanbung Gardens
Demonstration Sites, Education Centres — by Craig Mackintosh
A couple of days ago Nadia accepted an invitation to teach a small segment (on arid climates) of a PDC course at Djanbung Gardens, which is just outside the infamous little village of Nimbin – about half an hour from where we are here at Zaytuna Farm. I thought I’d tag along and take a peek.
Comments (1)Posted on: July 4, 2009
Rosina Buckman – Living Smart on the Sunshine Coast
Demonstration Sites, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh
Rosina Buckman tells me she’s 72 years old. She looks honest enough, so I’ll take her at her word, but her youthful spirit and energetic stride did give me a moment of pause. And more than that – her urban homestead was overflowing with clear evidence of passionate and fruitful labours that belie her age. I’m not the only one that’s impressed either, as the Sunshine Coast Council have just presented Rosina with one of their 2009 Living Smart awards – she’s their ‘Edible Landscape Winner’.
Rosina, a New Zealander by birth, lives in Tewantin, a small suburb on the fringes of Noosa – a tourist hot-spot on the Sunshine Coast in south-east Queensland. This is a land of ululant lorikeets and cackling kookaburras. The bird life in particular seem intoxicated with life, and nature in general seems jubilant – either optimistic, or just plain carefree, in the face of all we humans are throwing at it.
And we are throwing a lot at it.
Comments (5)Posted on: June 26, 2009
Life at Zaytuna – Rainy Days
Building, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Regional Water Cycle, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh
 Photos copyright © Craig Mackintosh |
The area around Zaytuna Farm recently experienced the worst floods for many years (since 1974 they say) – then it dried out for a few weeks. And now, over the last five days, it’s been back to raining again….
When the floods were on, people commented to Geoff, asking how he was coping with the power outages. Geoff was blissfully unaware that there had been any (since Zaytuna runs off grid with solar).
The property is buffered in another way as well – the swales are great equalisers when it comes to water. They keep water flowing from the taps and keep the grass green long after a drought has hit and burnt off the neighbours’ fields, and they also ensure that when a flood strikes, the water is slowed down and sunk – thus avoiding rivers of water carrying away soil and more. To a great degree, the earthworks here not only drought-proof the land, but also flood-proof it as well.
Comments (2)Posted on: June 22, 2009
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
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
Permaculture Miracles in the Austrian Mountains
Demonstration Sites, General, Rehabilitation — by Craig Mackintosh
I’d like to introduce you to Sepp Holzer, a man who not only produces food in a very unlikely location, at a high and frigid altitude in Austria, but is also growing very unlikely crops there as well — and all without the use of chemicals, and with minimal input of human labour.
I guess you could call him a European counterpart of people like Bill Mollison and Masanobu Fukuoka — as all three independently discovered ways of working with nature that save money and labour and that don’t degrade the environment, but actually improve it. In Holzer’s case, he was effectively running a permaculture farm for more than two decades before he even realised his unconventional approach could be termed ‘permaculture’.
Comments (0)Posted on: May 21, 2009
Quail Springs – Put to Music
Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Musical Interlude — by Warren Brush
High school students from inner city Los Angeles recently came to experience permaculture through Quail Springs. As a part of the Green Ambassadors’ program, currently based out of Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, CA, the group of 10 students and their fearless leaders spent four days learning about permaculture, natural building, and relationship building with community and each other.
Not only did they learn the value of living symbiotically with their environment, they also thought of creative applications for the knowledge to be used in their school, communities, and homes. Every member of the group expressed their gratitude for the trip, many with a desire to return for Quail Springs’ Sustainable Vocations program this summer.
Alex Gorosh, an artist and filmmaker who accompanied the Green Ambassadors youth to Quail Springs this April, wrote and produced this video that gets to the heart of Quail Springs:
Further Reading:
Comments (1)
Posted on: May 11, 2009
Each Step is the Way – Part II
Bird Life, Breeds, Dams, Demonstration Sites, Fish, Land, Swales, Water Harvesting — by David Perkins
[Editor's Note: If you are involved in a project, anywhere, that is rooted in sustainability (i.e. that is aimed at sustainably meeting the needs of people, place and planet), then we always welcome written pieces, with photos, so you can tell the world about it - and inspire people to follow your lead. David's post below is an example of the same. To contribute or to bounce a post idea off me, you can contact me on editor (at) permaculture.org.au]
Recent developments at Kailash-Akhara, Adi Yoga Retreat Center, Phu Rua, Loei, Thailand.
By David Perkins (Dharmadeva) – Farm Manager and resident permaculture designer and educator at Kailash-Akhara.
Ducks
Our duck population has exploded from 4 to 22. We have been keeping Muscovy ducks (1 male and 3 females) since December, and their reputation for prolific breeding has proven to be true! After we noticed some ducklings were dying shortly after hatching, we found that well-timed human intervention was necessary to reduce suffocation or trampling in the nest. This resulted in 18 survivors, who have been a delight to watch this month. The adults keep laying, so we now need to eat more fresh eggs to keep the size of the flock manageable, while looking forward to some home-grown meat in due course.
Posted on: May 10, 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….
Posted on:
Each Step is the Way – Part I
Biological Cleaning, Compost, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, Land, Rehabilitation, Swales, Trees, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water, Water Harvesting — by David Perkins
Editor’s Note: David Perkins recently sat his PDC with Geoff Lawton and Darren Doherty, and has been very busy since….
Recent developments at Kailash-Akhara, Adi Yoga Retreat Center, Phu Rua, Loei, Thailand.
By David Perkins (Dharmadeva) – Farm Manager and resident permaculture designer and educator at Kailash-Akhara.
This report provides an overview of many aspects of creating a retreat center and living sustainably using the principles of permaculture. Short monthly updates will be given to keep our wider community informed.
Training Hall & Papaya
Posted on: May 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…
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