The big industrial city life has seeding and flourishing life… Imagine yourself in the thick of smog that limits your vision to only three unit blocks standing at 10 stories high away, humidity pressing onto your shoulders and chest, people absolutely everywhere and every opportunity is taken to stack stuff onto small motorbikes, buzzing and …
Bellamar Gardens is one of the exctiting new major permaculture projects in Cuba, located near Matanzas, just a hundred meters from the famous Bellamar Caves. I was invited to consult on the project when I visited Cuba in 2009 when the land had quite recently been secured by FANJ (Foundation for Nature and Humanity), Cuba’s …
The Eco-Social Matrix (ESM) developed by permaculture designer, Robyn Francis, provides a useful tool for bioregional planning, human settlement and ecovillage design, transition initiatives, and for thinking more deeply about the consequences of where we live in terms of accessing our needs and interacting with community
There is a growing need to bring food security into the cities and to urban areas throughout the country. One trend that reflects the permaculture principle of ‘using edges and valuing the marginal’ is the utilisation of small spaces in our urban areas to grow food.
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 …
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.
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.
“Good food is at the heart of bushfood permaculture.” “Local native species conservation takes on a new and more immediate meaning. Some bushfoods are amazingly productive, with the added advantage of being packed with intense, wild flavours. It’s just the beginning of a rediscovery process” – Peter Hardwick