PermaGaia
More about the innovators of permaculture...
Bill Mollison was born in 1928 and has been called the 'father of permaculture'. Permaculture is an integrated system of design encompassing not only agriculture, horticulture, architecture and ecology but also money management, land access strategies and legal systems for businesses and communities. The aim is to create systems that provide for their own needs, do not pollute and are sustainable. Conservation of soil, water and energy are central issues to permaculture, as are stability and diversity.
Check out these links and watch a video about permaculture by Bill Mollison on YouTube below...
"Permaculture philosophy is one of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation, rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them; of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolution."
-Bill Mollison 1988David Holmgren is the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of ‘Permaculture One’ in 1978. Since then he has written several more books including the very successful book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. David Holmgrem has developed three properties using permaculture principles, conducted workshops and courses in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and North America and now in Latin America. The very informational website, Permaculture Principles, is his inspiration as well.
View some his videos on YouTube...
NOW SHOWING:
Geoff Lawton - We Are The Weeds
What is Permaculture?
Permaculture can be defined by many experts in the field. Some of the most famous definitions come from Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, co-founders of the word permaculture and the use of its principles across the globe.
Permaculture is a word created from the two words permanent and agriculture. Created in the 1970's the word itself hasn't changed but the utility of its principles have evolved over time. More recently the term permaculture has taken a cultural or social position which was provided in the original text Permaculture One, published in 1978, but not widely practiced as a cultural sustainability. Permaculture principles as related to farming and gardening have received the most notoriety particularly in the areas of resource efficient design strategies and harmonizing human interactions with nature.
PermaCulture
Bill Mollison modifies the word to "Permanent Culture" modeling by design techniques how humans can beneficially coexist with nature, establish balance (not order) AND an over abundance of food wealth for future generations.
"...if you're a scientist, you could liken it [permaculture] to a miraculous wardrobe in which you can hang garments of any science or any art and find they're always harmonious with, and in relation to, that which is already hanging there. It's a framework that never ceases to move, but that will accept information from anywhere." -Bill Mollison
"You can solve all the world's problems in a garden..."
Geoff Lawton is the managing director of The Permaculture Research Institute in Australia. He works today consulting, designing, teaching and implementing permaculture principles in seventeen different countries around the world.
Check out these links to videos by Geoff Lawton about permaculture...
PERMACULTURE VETERAN IN NEVADA CITY, CA
Practical Permaculture Research Institute founder Cathe' Fish offers Introductory courses in Permaculture as well as Permaculture Design Certification courses in and around Nevada City, CA. Cathe' Fish is an experienced drylands Permaculture Design Consultant since 1988. She has designed 40 acre farms to small suburban plots. Cathe' has studied with Australian ecologist, eco designer, and all around character Bill Mollison, who created permaculture as an interdisciplinary approach to land use and community development. In May 2008, she was also able to visit Tagari, Bill Mollison's long term farm in Tyalgum, NSW, Australia (abandoned since 2001) with its amazing still functioning earthworks: 43 bodies of constructed dams, ponds, and water harvesting swales, as well as many lush food forests. In May 2008, she also spent two weeks at Geoff and Nadia Lawton's Zaytuna Farm working with Geoff's amazing swales, dams and ponds, planting food forests and bamboo cuttings and other farm activities.
Cathe' and Neil Bertrando have succesfully taught 2 Permaculture Design
Certificate courses in Nevada City; the first in 2009 and the second just finished
March 2011. Ronan, a 10 year old, is Cathe's youngest PDC student. Ronan
completed his permaculture certification with his father, Gaia Creations
co-owner Brian, in Spring 2011 following in the footsteps of both his parents now.
You can reach Cathe' at:
530-274-2575practicalpermaculture@gmail.comEARTH CARE PEOPLE CARE FAIR SHARE
October 1, 2009
CNN's Michael Holmes tells how Australian Geoff Lawton is working to spread his knowledge about Permaculture, which he says can turn arid land into fertile food-growing territory.
An oasis in the desert: Australian Geoff Lawton has traveled the world explaining his technique that turns desert sand into fertile land.
Gaia Creations offers
4 types of Permaculture services
“Consultation” for your apartment, residential home, urban farm or broad acre pasture farm. They usually consists of either an initial site visit and interview to begin a design process (see below), or a jam packed informational session in which we walk and analyze your site to better help articulate your goals and provide as much insight as possible so YOU can plan the details of the landscape yourself (more like DIY project advice).
“Design” A permaculture design integrates the specific needs of the client as a whole person/family and the needs of the property as a productive ecosystem. The design process usually takes place over a 2 to 24 month time period (depending on property size, budget and project comlexity). During this time we work with the client for multiple sessions in order to refine a detailed, long-term plan or site report. The report includes mapping and documentation to reflect design elements such as water systems, access routes, buildings, earthworks, energy and nutrient cycling/systems, plantings, animals and social infrastructure, as well as budget, a phased installation time-line, and other supporting documents as needed. A management guidbook can also be created which details out polyculture harvests, insectary calendars, rainwater system maintenance and more.
“Education” ranges from information conveyed during consultation or design sessions, to private tutoring in specific permaculture applications (such as forest gardening or rainwater harvesting), to community based workshops teaching permaculture principles and their bio-regional methods of application.
“Project support - Land protect” unique offerings in which we provide any post-design services necessary for the actualization of a project’s vision. We support the project by helping the landowner locate, interview and select contractors, oversee real-time installations, source rare materials or develop specialized management methods and supporting documents. When working with one contractor or many on a construction project we can provide clients with the resources necessary to help protect the land and watershed around the site.
"Perma- WHAT?"
Permaculture design and consulting for:
- Siting of roads and home-sites
- Residential homes and urban farms to broad acre farming systems
- Energy, Water and Nutrient cycling
- Edible and medicinal landscapes
- Water harvesting earthworks and ponds
- Pool to pond conversions (fish and/or swimming ponds)
- Aquaculture and aquaponics
- Forest gardening and staging succession
- Mushroom cultivation
- Small scale beekeeping
- Income generation strategies
- Land restoration
- Wildlife habitat regeneration
- Schoolyards and playscapes
- Site development supervision
- Watershed protection
- Education and training (permaculture and 'whole system' methods)
© Gaia Creations Ecological Landscaping & Permaculture Solutions 2007-2011 * PO Box 3358 Chico, CA 95927 * 530-321-9715
Last updated: February 5, 2012
