Making most of rainwater around the home
Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services In this guest post, Tim Sparke teamed up with Richard Telford to write about how we can take advantage of the water that falls from the sky. We list some of the ways in which rainwater can be collected and stored to make use of it […]
The Constant Composter
Nelson Lebo shares a visual journey and some thoughts about composting, what works and what doesn’t. From his families property in Whanganui NZ the process is ongoing, and it’s not always pretty – from possums to bio-plastic… Composting is often an ongoing process on most permaculture properties. At any given time we will have 3 […]
Permafund ambassador – Rowe Morrow
Rosemary Morrow became the first Permafund ambassador at the Intentional Permaculture Convergence in London recently. Her long permaculture career has taken many journeys from education and publication to aid and development work, across the globe. Rosemary’s work in countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Uganda, Bosnia and Afghanistan, highlights why we felt she deserved the recognition […]
Using a drawknife to transform wood
Principle 9: Use Small and Slow Solutions In this guest post, Oliver Holmgren shares the joy and method of using a drawknife. Almost forgotten, this simple and versatile tool has been used for millennia to shape wood. Oliver recently built a fence using traditional methods at Melliodora. Old branches had the sap wood removed to […]
The Sensitive Permaculturist
Alanna Moore has been a long time advocate of tuning into the subtle energies found in nature to enhance her practical permaculture design. She applies her learning from ancient and traditional cultures, with their grounding in caring for the earth and connection to spirit, in ways that challenge the way we see the physical world. […]
Making oil tin drawers
Principle 6: Produce No Waste Do it Yourselfer #17 I tend to hang onto stuff for a while in the hope that I can find a use for it. Most of it is stuff that the majority of people would throw out without a second thought. When the stuff builds up to a point when […]
“Yes, it’s that time of year again”
Long time permaculture practitioner and photojournalist Russ Grayson reflects on the tangible in a world of digital, sharing his experience of receiving a 2016 Permaculture Calendar in the mail IT WAS a plain envelope. White. The type you post A4-size papers in. The address was handwritten. There was red a DO NOT BEND stamp on […]
Taking on Monsanto
The seeds of life are not what they once were Mother Nature and God don’t own them anymore So belts out the veteran singer songwriter Neil Young with Promise of the Real on their title track from his latest album, The Monsanto years. What is the old protest rocker raging about? Monsanto and the war […]
From Natural Resources to Natural Relationships
Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services How do we learn to use and value resources? There are a variety of resources in our lives, many most of us probably take for granted even in our best efforts to be conscious about our use and consumption. It is not only about renewable resources, […]
Adventures in Hitch-hiking
Principle 9: Use Small and Slow Solutions Michael Green often uses his thumb to catch a long distance lift, and carries everything he needs on his back. Waiting near the freeway entrance, with a request for a lift to a nearby city, has proven to be a better technique than waiting on the freeway with […]
Juan Anton and his Edible Forest
SideWays is an innovative open-source project, founded by Benoit Cassegrain and Hélène Legay, that brings attention to social initiatives that you probably haven’t heard of. They include a 5 minute episode and interview that is crowdfunded to showcase positive and original initiatives… like this one. 78 year old Juan Anton Mora runs 40 minutes several […]
An electric car retrofit
Principle 12: Creatively use and respond to change Do it Yourselfer #15 Many people would be surprised to hear that electric cars have been around for a very long time. The first production electric car was designed in London by Thomas Parker and built in 1884. A fleet of electric powered taxis was in operation […]
Cooking & heating cleanly with wood
Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services Do it Yourselfer #14 Typically the biggest consumer of energy in our homes in winter is for heating our living spaces and our hot water supply. We can do this without using high value energy like electricity. Consider this, a heater might use 2000W/h of energy […]
The chemistry of living
Principle 10: Use and value diversity Do it Yourselfer #13 I was never much good at chemistry at school, it was the only subject that I ever failed. I found the periodic table and the combinations of elements overwhelming. Looking back, what I took away from that experience is that when different elements mix together […]
