Permaculture Designer

After 72 hours of coursework over two weeks, I earned my Permaculture Design Certificate from PRI Australia. It was a challenging course, in content as well as context-- 34 students form all walks of life in what amounted to a total immersion type situation. We had 6+ hours of class together, ate all meals and tea breaks together, and most people camped at PRI and shared a shower and toilet. (We were fortunately spared that last bit of togetherness-- after our first 2 weeks camping at PRI, Byron and Tracy invited us to pitch our tent in their yard, just up the road from the farm, during the PDC. So we shared a loo, shower, kitchen and wi fi with only the family.)

The course gave me a much better understanding of the concepts and principles of Permaculture, and also of many of the beliefs that many people in this field hold regarding formal education and the "establishment." For example, there was an 'anti-science' theme that ran through a lot of the teaching. Which surprised me, since often, those sentiments were followed with something sciency. I think there may be a specific 'scientific establishment' that is rebelled against, or maybe it is simply an ambiguation of the definition of science. It seemed odd to me to vilify science/scientists in one sentence, then use what was clearly the Scientific Method in the next.

The Design Project we were assigned was huge, vague and complicated by the fact that we had to work in groups of 5-6 people, randomly assigned. Geoff said repeatedly that it was as much a "people exercise" as a design exercise. Me personally, I would have preferred more of a design assignment-- I have had my whole life to develop (or not) my people skills, and will have many more opportunities to practice them than I will to practice Permaculture Design under a master like Mr. Lawton. With only 2 afternoons to work on it, I was amazed at how nice a presentation could be put together. Thankfully, a couple people on our team were good with Google Earth and graphics. Using Shawn's laptop and tablet proved challenging for me-- funny how much I depended on the way the PCs were set up at the lab in order to do something like "work."

So I am now certified to do Permaculture Design. Fortunately I have a much more experienced mentor in Shawn, if we were to pursue any sort of design or consulting work. (I do have some ideas in mind for a few yards/gardens I know, in case any of you are interested in developing some Food Independence/Security!)

Now that class is finished, we are taking a few more days at Byron and Tracey's to have some fun (Poor Shawn was busting his butt at the farm while I was sitting on mine in class) and plan our next moves. It is looking like some sitting on the beach is in order...

Catching up: Some Photos

 

Staghorn ferns hanging from trees 

Shawn milking Honey the cow.

I have never in my life seen so much greenery.

Beautiful early morning clouds at Byron and Tracey's place, looking over Zaytuna Farm.

Gorgeous beach at Brunswick Heads. We are hoping to camp here for a little while after the PDC is done.

Our second home at PRI...the platforms are nice, shady and dry.

Hippie town, Nimbin.

Byron Bay on a rainy day. Still a beautiful walk on the beach.

Out the car window, between the Channon and Lismore.

Studying.

Beautiful "eco-retreat" where Leslie is staying.


I am crazy busy with the course. But I will hopefully start posting more regularly, and in real time soon. Miss you all!

Catching Up

I have been meaning to fill in the past few weeks, but I think I will just jump in where we are now, with only a few highlights of how we got here.

Also, I will have to fill in the pictures later...)

We have been at Zaytuna Farm, in The Channon, New South Wales, since Shawn's friend Byron came up to Gold Coast and picked us up on Saturday March 24. It's about a 2 hour drive through some beautiful green countryside, and I found the trip to be incredibly relaxing, listening to Shawn and Byron catch up as the scenery blew by.

We arrived at the Permaculture Research Institute as the last week of a ten-week internship was beginning. We set up our tent in the camping area, as all of the platforms were being used by interns. "WWOOFers" don't usually work weekends, so we had Saturday evening and Sunday to spend exploring and hanging out with friends and other Zaytunaites at the Pub in The Channon (conveniently walking distance from the farm.)

Aside, WWOOFing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWOOF;  http://www.wwoof.com.au/

Shawn met Byron and Tim on his internship at Zaytuna in the fall of 2010. They are both charming wonderful people, as are their lovely wives and children. I am so happy to be able to get to know them. 

During our first week we are regular "WWOOFers", working in the gardens with a half dozen or so others from Germany, France, Argentina and the U.S. It is hard work, and I don't always feel like I have a clue. Byron, who is in charge of us, is patient but I don't think he knows what to do with me. The Interns are taking care of many of the daily jobs, including the animals (dairy and beef cows, goats, rabbits, ducks and chickens) until mid week when they take a field trip. Because he is the only one with experience, Shawn and I are in charge of milking the dairy cows for the rest of the week, and the following week. It's hard work, cutting "forage" for breakfast of 4 cows, getting them to the milking area from whatever faraway pasture "cell" they are in, and then hand-milking them. We're getting about 4.5 L of milk from the 3 cows being milked (Layla is about to calve any day), which hardly seems worth it. Not to mention that I just can't seem to get the hang of getting milk out of them! (I am reminded how bad I am at being bad at stuff.)

The Interns left after our first week, so there was even more to do during the second week. By Wednesday I was running on empty and had to retire from WWOOFing. Which meant I could not eat on the farm. I was so spent, I found the whole situation a little overwhelming, and some of the stress of all of the changes was getting to me. Shawn and Byron suggested that I go into Lismore with Byron's wife on Thursday afternoon, to get some groceries and get off the farm for a little while. I wasn't expecting it to help, but I felt much better after spending the afternoon with the lovely Tracy. Friday I spent some time reading and relaxing (while Shawn slaved), then that evening we moved our "new" tent (inherited from a sweet intern couple from the US, Tatiana (originally from Russia) and Juan (Puerto Rico) to Byron and Tracy's place, as the farm was about to get crazy with more than 30 PDC students coming in. Tatiana and Juan are traveling for an extended time as well, and had bought a very nice tent that was too big to take with them. It's very deluxe, with 2 rooms, standable height, and many handy features. They also left us 2 nice camp chairs, a camp cupboard, and a large tarp. 

On Saturday we took a day trip to Nimbin, an original "hippie" town nearby, with Leslie who works with Geoff and Nadia Lawton at PRI. She has lived a while in WI and we had met her in person (Shawn had corresponded via email previously) at Gold Coast. She is a feisty woman who has traveled extensively. SHe has a car and is staying a few kilometers away at an amazing Retreat, http://www.rainbowregion.com.au/havan/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12 I will post some of the pics I took later. After Nimbin, we got a roast chicken and some fruit and had a lovely lunch at Leslie's. We swam in the very cold and deep swimming hole in the river which was quite refreshing. Then, Leslie treated Shawn and I to a yoga session with the proprietor, Briggette. She is an amazing Vietnamese woman in her 60's, who moves like a tiger, and the painter of the incredible art that is all over the place. We do some breathing exercises and a couple Sun Salutations. Her french-accented voice is mesmerizing. It was a lovely, regenerative Saturday.

On Sunday the PDC began. I am spending from 9 am until 5 pm in the classroom with 30+ other students. More on that next time...