International Permaculture Day was celebrated on the 6th of May. we did what all good permies do who live in this neck of the woods -- travel to Zaytuna Farm, home of Geoff Lawton .... one of the international godfather's of Permaculture to get a farm tour from the man himself.
we got an insiders perspective on the how's and why's and wherefore's for permaculture at Zaytuna. Seeing the progress of food forests .... 10 years old and 10 weeks old. a kitchen garden that had our children (and numerous other kidlets that were there) playing their hearts out. bamboo .... oh my .... again reminded of the uses and benefits! rabbits ... we'll have to get over the cuteness factor because they are a great and prolific source of protein. ducks, chooks, goats .... and dairy and meat cows. and of course the all important aquaponics and soldier fly larvae collecting! it really was great to see it all in action .... knowing it is achievable and do-able if we apply ourselves.
memorable quote of the day, "we're aren't food farmers, we're soil farmers ... it's about getting the soil healthy ... we are here to tend that."
a picture is worth a thousand words .....
... the beginnings of a food forest
an old trailer converted to a mobile chicken coop. solar power is used for the netted fencing so that these birds can be moved around the property and do their bit to help with soil fertility.
the kitchen garden. i was in love .... instantly!
here Geoff is expounding on the value of bamboo .... did you know it is a grass/weed inhibitor?
"the man" sharing about the rabbits over ducks and the chicken enclosure
more discussion on swales, water management and this amazing creation
tomato's as a ground cover and weed inhibitor an accident brought on by chicken tractoring and throwing them tomato scraps ... fabulous!
i never tire of the amazing world of bamboo!
the kids running and playing through the kitchen garden
jj showing off the size of the rabbit tractor. these little guys do an amazing job of fertilizing and mowing! they also love to eat the weeds that are some of the most noxious and hard to get rid of!
deep in it .... a swale that is! retaining water and feeding the soil.
this is a blog posting about a definition of permaculture. it is a term that you are probably aware of .... but may or may not know what it means. and i thot it might be nice to take the time to delve into this world for a bit and look at this thing called permaculture. one of the beauties of permaculture is that it is fluid and flexible, molding itself to the context within which you live. but at the core there are three basic principles.
1. caring for each other
2. caring for the planet
3. learning to set limits on excess
that probably sounds a bit nebulous, huh? remember this if you remember nothing else ... permaculture is NOT about gardening or how you grow your veggies. permaculture is much more than that .... it is about a way of living, of engaging with our world and living your life in a way that integrates rather than separates.
okay, okay ... take a minute to watch this (give it a few seconds ... the first little bit is blank)
i want to say straight up that i see permaculture as a truly biblical thing that at it's core has a Divine Creator who made a world that we could live in and that we need to be wise stewards of. but i don't want to get lost in that conversation right now .... it's a great one, trust me! but right now, let's focus on what permaculture is, as a definition.
a lot of the outwardly facing aspects of permaculture focus on the earth and how we exist in relationship to it and a basic word called sustainability. so let's talk about that a little. Geoff Lawton, Bill Mollison are well known Australians who basically started the global acceptance of this this called permaculture (PERMA = permanent and CULTURE = people living .... so a permanent sustainable way of living. this is of course in opposition to the non-sustainable, wasteful way that our world is going.
if you look at the world through the "permie" coloured glasses, you ask how we can re-use rather than throw away (no matter how simple throwing away seems to be)? you try your best to live a life that closes the loop on our waste and recycles as much as possible in a way that is productive in your own lives. and yes, you grow your own veggies and have chooks. but you companion plant your veggies and look into things like vertical gardening and aquaponics (in contrast to hydroponics). you live by the seasons. and your chooks .... well, they take top billing as they not only give us yummy eggs, but they eat the scraps and waste from our kitchen and make amazing poo that fertilizes our gardens and helps make great soil to grow our food in (closing the loop on waste!). and lets not forget about solar power and water tanks!
now, if you are like me .... when i first got into sustainability and permaculture the cool stuff seemed to be the gardening (hey, permaculture developed the NO DIG garden <g>) ... and i love the way everything relates and interacts and supports each other .... so this is the guy who really motivated me ... and inspires me to continue on the path of the true blue "permie" ..... enjoy!
