Did you know…. Your skin is your largest organ, it respires (breathes), regulates body temperature and absorbs both beneficial and harmful substances into the blood stream, nervous and lymph systems – that includes all the personal soaps, wash gels, shampoos, conditioners and plethora of skin creams, tonics, cleansers, moisturisers, anti-wrinkle, anti-pimple, aftershaves and everything we …
Robyn Francis reports from Cuba and the reciprocal visit of the Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange.
The call to become an effective agent of change There is a rising tide of awareness of an urgent need to change, which has been accelerating rapidly over the past 12 months. Most people now accept the reality of climate change, and it’s connection to increasing droughts, water crises and extreme weather events, and accept …
What is permaculture…? What is the difference between permaculture and organic gardening…? These are questions frequently asked but not always adequately answered – and the answers can vary wildly depending upon who you ask.
I can’t imagine a better way to be lost on the Amazon than in the company of 35 international permaculture delegates on a boat with a week’s supply of food on board. Yes, the pilot got us lost several times during the journey from Manaus to the permaculture project near Boa Vista, so what should …
Robyn Francis Reflects on two decades of Permaculture – how it has changed my world view A Radio Essay commissioned by ABC Radio Eye, 1996
Efficient, labour saving, low maintenance, user-friendly are catch-cries we hear all the time, yet how much unnecessary work do we create for ourselves, often without even being aware of it? Eliminating unnecessary work is intrinsic to good permaculture design.
A community treading lightly on the earth I enjoy wandering up the path weaving through my tropical food jungle, over the invisible boundary line and straight onto a Jarlanbah track. No fences obstruct my way, nor the freedom of the wallabies and other wildlife we share the land with. This is how it should be …
Some thoughts on the issues of teaching in other cultures Cultures are dynamic and human memory short – I have been alarmed at the rapidity of change, at the loss and erosion of sustainable traditional practices as ‘Green Revolution’ techniques and concepts introduced only a few decades ago have been accepted and applied unquestioningly in …
Flowers play an important role in an edible landscape and in any food producing permaculture. The benefits of integrating flowering plants into a vegetable garden are numerous: they attract bees and other insects to pollinate and predate on common pests, fragrant flowers and flowering herbs help confuse and repel some harmful insect pests, and an …