PRI Training Centre Development Plans Approved
Aid Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor April 4, 2009
 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 (7)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 PRI Editor March 30, 2009
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.
Michelle Obama Begins Kitchen Garden on White House Lawn
Alternatives to Political Systems, Consumerism, Demonstration Sites, Economics, Food Shortages, News, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 26, 2009
Here’s a little more on arguably the best news to come out of politics this year:
And, word around the campfire is that the garden will be organic. You can see a garden plan here. It’s not exactly a food forest, but it’s a great start! Congratulations to all who lobbied the Obamas on this issue. Here’s hoping this little garden will bring the intended results – inspiring millions to do the same.
Comments (2)Permaculture Master Plan Now in Spanish
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 17, 2009
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)Jordan PDC Course Announcement
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor March 13, 2009
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)Research From the Field
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Retrofitting, Trees, Urban Projects — by Eric Seider February 20, 2009
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 (11)
An Interview with Jules Dervaes
Consumerism, Demonstration Sites, Economics, Education Centres, Food Shortages, Society, Urban Projects — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor February 14, 2009
Today we are pleased to talk to a very interesting man – a man on a very interesting mission; on what he describes as “the path to freedom”, where he escapes being part of the problem, to become part of the solution. Before we get started, watch the following ABC clip to get an idea of his work, and then we’ll hear from the man himself.
Craig Mackintosh: Thank you Jules. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us about your work. Most of our readers will have watched the YouTube movie above, so will have an inkling of what Path to Freedom is about, but I wonder if you could fill in any pertinent details the short news report may have left out, so as to round out our grasp of what you’re doing today?
Comments (0)Cold, High and Dry: Traditional Agriculture in Ladakh
Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, People Systems, Society, Village Development — by Nick Wilson February 6, 2009
PIJ #49, Dec1993 – Feb 1994
Manjushri, the embodiment of wisdom, hark!
The Gods, the Lhu, and owner spirits of the Mother Earth, hark!
May a hundred plants grow from one seed!
May a thousand grow from two!
May all the grains be twins!
- Ladakhi sowing song
Ladakh lies at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau, tucked north of the Himalaya between Tibet and Kashmir. The people are mostly of Mongol stock, with strong, weather beaten faces that are prone to crease into wide smiles at will. Administratively part of India, Ladakh’s culture is much more Tibetan, particularly in the practice of Mahayana Buddhism that infuses all aspects of life. Religious practices are pure Tibetan, and secular culture, though distinct, is similar.
Pushed skyward by the colossal force of India moving north into Asia, virtually all of Ladakh is above 3000m (the capital, Leh, is at 3500m). The Himalaya blocks nearly all the rains from the south, creating a desert in the rain shadow, with most areas receiving only about 100mm (4 inches) a year.
Comments (2)Developing Permaculture Aid Project Skills
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Project Positions — by Sakina Grome February 5, 2009
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 (2)Spotlight on Ethiopia
Aid Projects, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres — by Alex McCausland February 4, 2009
Ethiopia is a land of fantastic natural wealth and cultural diversity. In few places on earth can you buy locally grown apples and mangos from the very same market stall. But Ethiopia has a huge range of climates, which result from its truly awesome topology, making this a reality.
The great plains of Abyssinia sit atop two massive highland plateaus, cloven, as a coffee bean down the middle, by the Great Rift Valley. From the sweltering dry deserts of Somali Ogaden in the east, Sudan in the west and the Danakil in the North, where Africa crashes into Arabia, the land sweeps up, rising through semi-arid lowlands and pockets of tropical jungle, to montane forests, to alpine pastures on the slopes of the Simien, Bale and Ghugi mountain ranges, all of which top 4000m, and all of which are home to numerous endemic species of flora and fauna.
Comments (0)Greening the Desert Project Outcomes Profiled
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Land, News, Rehabilitation, Soil Biology, Swales, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor January 29, 2009
Most readers will be familiar with the awesome, seemingly miraculous work Geoff and Nadia Lawton accomplished with the ‘Greening the Desert‘ project in Jordan (not to be confused with the new Jordan Valley Permaculture Project, where completely new miracles are under way).
Well, this work has now been well profiled in the ProAct Network’s recent release:
The Role of Environmental Management in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, Annex I, Case Studies (4.69mb PDF). Jump to page #59 in Acrobat Reader, or #98 if you’re scrolling by page numbers.
If you’re looking for more practical details on what happened, and is happening, there on the ground – this document should hit the spot, as it were.
Thanks to Andrew Jones for bringing this to my attention.
Comments (3)Letter from the Editor
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, News — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor
Howdy. Could you guys all take a seat for a minute? I’d like to have a little chat with you all today on a couple of points. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble.
Comments (3)Reality Check one two…one two
Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Energy Systems, Ethical Investment, Land, Project Positions, Village Development — by Eric Seider January 26, 2009
If you were to get up and walk to the sink and turn on the faucet, there is a pretty damn good chance that water will come out. And if it didn’t you’d be surprised to say the least, more likely pissed off and annoyed at the inconvenience. You’d then wonder who is to blame for this unacceptable turn of events. I mean it is your god given right as a human being to expect water to come out of the tap when you need it….right?
Well…..Salaam Alaykum. Welcome to Jordan.
Beduoin Camp, Dead Sea Valley, Jordan
It doesn’t work like that here.
Comments (6)Courses in Sunny Far North Queensland
Aid Projects, Courses/Workshops, Demonstration Sites — by Kym Kruse January 22, 2009
 Rosella Waters |
At FreeRange Permaculture we are focussed on bringing a variety of world-class courses and workshops in a range of sustainable practices, to the Far North.
Our Permaculture demonstration site is Rosella Waters, located near the thriving international tourist city of Cairns. The 2.38Ha property is situated in Walkamin, on the edge of what is locally known as the “jump-up”, the aftermath of an ancient lava flow. At an elevation of close to 600 meters above sea level and with over 1000mm of rainfall per year, it has a unique climate within our wet tropics region. The property is fronted by 194 meters of the Barron River, which flows year round and is the major river in the region.
In November 2008 we held our first 2 week residential Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at Rosella Waters. The course was a great success with 26 people coming from as close as Cairns to as far away as California. A big thank you to both Geoff Lawton and Darren Doherty for sharing their expertise and knowledge and to all the participants for making the event so memorable and rewarding for everyone involved. Needless to say lives were changed, and one young man from Utah booked a plane ticket to Jordan to work on the PRI Jordan project before the course had even finished!
Comments (0)Greenhouse Effect
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Village Development — by Allison Ford January 14, 2009
As The world warms, the dry areas of the globe are growing even drier. in Jordan, some villages are already working on what to do when the rain stops coming. Words by Allison Ford. Photography by Josh Estey/CARE. Originally published in Jo Magazine.
The last time rain fell in Bayoudeh was February 10. The land has only gotten dryer since then. People in and out of Jordan like to talk about how water poor the country really is, but 2008 arrived to prove it with a vengeance.
Um Mubarak increases the yeild of her trees with
mulch, and grows cactuses with gray water.
