Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 6 i Pip Magazine

JOEL MEADOWS Joel draws on a deep well of experience (as an energy auditor, sustainable transport consultant and environmental educator among other things) which he combines with a rare knack for explaining technical issues in a clear and engaging way that cuts straight to the heart of matters. Joel has just finished owner-building his permaculture-designed property and strawbale house which features impressive passive cooling, heating, lighting and water strategies, rocket stoves for heating and cooking, and a beautiful curved roofline that follows the path of the winter sun. When he’s not doing these things, Joel makes sculptures of steel and wood, runs cider workshops, i s a cooker of food, an avid gardener, radio DJ and musician. ANNIE RASER ROWLAND Annie Raser-Rowland is a horticulturalist working at CERES nursery in…

AUSTRALIAN MADE AUSSIE HO MI, ASIAN HANDHELD HOE Unlike western gardening tools, the Aussie Ho Mi is an ergonomic hand-held hoe which uses a more comfortable and natural action and is based on a traditional Korean design. This tool is lightweight and perfectly balanced. It rotates easily in the hand from the sharp pointed working edge, to the equally sharp wide edge. Dig, weed, cultivate, ridge, plant, scalp–this tool will do everything. Once you start to use it, you will find yourself hooked! Handcrafted in Australia by artisan tool makers F.D Ryan, the Aussie Ho Mi is made from high carbon steel, heat-treated for maximum strength and sharpened to a knife edge. With care, your Ho Mi will last a lifetime. Available on the Pip website. www.pipmagazine.com.au $30 SKIN OF…

If you want very hardy, impressive chickens for your system or backyard, then the Australian Game or Australian Pit Game breeds are definitely worth considering. CHARACTERISTICS Both the Australian Game and Australian Pit Game fowls are: • hardy, compact and robust • easy to maintain • very good layers, particularly the Pit Game hens (as good as Australian Langshans) • good table birds (see weights below) • available in a variety of beautiful colours, including black/red, creel (speckled), pile (white) and duckwing (silver and gold) • easily quietened and usually very gentle, although females can be feisty (take care when introducing new stock). Relative weights: Australian Game males over 5.45 kg, females over 4.75 kg, and bantam males 1.5 kg, females 1.2 kg; Australian Pit Game males 2.7 kg and…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES If you’ve studied, read or participated in any permaculture- related activities in Australia (or far beyond), then you’ll be aware of Melliodora, the outstanding domestic-scale permaculture demonstration site situated in the village of Hepburn, Victoria. Melliodora is perhaps one of the best known sites in the world which demonstrates permaculture design on a household scale. But it just feels like a happy and healthy place, with: a garden full of nut, fruit and forage trees, berries, vegetables, geese and goats; mudbrick homes; and lives worth living. Founded by David Holmgren (co-originator of permaculture) and Su Dennett and their family in 1985, this site has progressed from a blackberry-covered hillside to a one hectare settlement of self-reliance and low-energy living at its best. There’s…

USE SMALL & SLOW SOLUTIONS We were inspired to build a tiny house out of necessity, to have our own space. We’d left the city in search of a more sustainable lifestyle, and for about a year we lived between a tent, the back of our car and in a borrowed caravan: it was time to build something of our own! We started to investigate what could be possible for us at Agari Permaculture Farm (Victoria) the intentional community we were living at. We spoke to the council and the landowner about what could meet our needs. We wanted to build a home quickly, where: we didn’t need a mortgage, could have privacy, be warm, store our things, cook in and be able to move with our changing circumstances. Adam…

CREATIVELY USE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE Julie Firth has created a permaculture oasis near Geraldton, Western Australia. Although not a true desert, the area clearly has a dryland climate, with annual rainfall as low as 200 mm during drought years, summer temperatures reaching well over 40 °C and relentless wind gusts of up to thirty kilometres per hour. It has taken careful design and thoughtful placement of features to allow things to grow there. Julie is originally from New Zealand, and was working in the mining industry in WA when she bought her three hectare property of degraded land about ten kilometres north of Geraldton. Not long after buying the land she undertook her PDC with Bill Mollison and Jude Fanton in New South Wales, and immediately started to transform…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES Most of our household energy requirements come in the form of space heating, water heating or cooking, with these making up a large percentage of our monthly bill. Rocket stoves are an example of appropriate technology which can cover all of those needs, cost you next to nothing to build, and just a few sticks to run. Rocket stove combustion systems deserve attention for a few reasons: 1. they offer close to complete combustion of the wood, meaning they are hyper-efficient and burn super-clean 2. they can reach very high temperatures, and can be hooked up to almost anything we want to use that heat for 3. they can use wood typically considered too small to call firewood 4. they are easily built…

USE AND VALUE DIVERSITY Anyone interested in edible gardening tends to grow vegetables, but have you ever considered growing edible flowers? When you start looking into which flowers are edible, it is surprising to find that most gardeners have at least one variety of edible flower growing in their garden. The wonderful thing about growing flowers for food is that it gives you a good reason to take up growing space with them. Ideally our gardens are filled not only with vegetables and greens, but also flowers for us and the bees. There are many varieties of edible flowers, but these top five are easy to grow, and perform well. Flowers can stay fresh for hours after picking – but avoid the heat of the day, and place the stems…

PRODUCE NO WASTE The aim of Boomerang Bags is to minimise the use of plastic by sewing reusable bags from local, recycled materials. Making Boomerang Bags with your community is a great way to participate in a national initiative on a local level. It’s an easy, free and environmentally friendly way to engage your local community and encourage others to reduce their use of plastic bags. The idea is to get a group of people together, sort through some old fabrics (linen cupboards or op shops are a great place to start), and meet up, with a couple of sewing machines, to make some great, recycled, reusable Boomerang Bags. HOW DO YOU MAKE A BOOMERANG BAG? What you will need: • three pieces of fabric (something durable, colourful and washable,…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES Several years ago I coined the term ‘frugal hedonism’, partly railing against the assumption – of more mainstream friends – that a life of gleaning, gardening, hitchhiking and op shopping was part of a grey and dismal martyrdom endured for the planet’s sake. But I knew my days were rich with sensory indulgence and diverse pleasures. As time crept by, many of these friends plunged into debt, overwork, middle-aged spread and a general sense of entrapment. It became clear that curtailed-consumption keeps us self-reliant and free enough to be truly alive to pleasure, and I realised how protective it can be against many of the ‘ills of modern life’. Anyone reading Pip is likely already pretty cluey about the ecological reasons for reining…

INTEGRATE RATHER THAN SEGREGATE Having chickens in your vegie garden can be a disaster. Most chicken owners would have experienced the heartbreaking disappointment of chickens getting into freshly planted garden beds, full of next season’s seedlings, and destroying the lot in a matter of hours. However, managed the right way chickens can work with you in the vegie garden: to eliminate pests and weeds, fertilise, turn the soil and prepare it for your next planting. As Bill Mollison famously stated, ‘You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency’, and the same goes for chickens with pests and weeds. When designing chickens into your vegie garden, think about what a chicken’s needs and outputs are. They need shelter, food, water and company. They provide eggs, fertiliser, meat (if…

Seedballing is a simple and fun thing to do, and an easy way to seed a garden. Seeds are mixed with clay and compost, and then rolled up into little balls. The seedballs (sometimes called ‘seed bombs’) are then dried and tossed out into the garden. They wait there until the rain comes, when they will sprout and grow. This is a bit like how things work in nature – seeds fall, rest on the ground and sprout when the conditions are right. Plants don’t dig their seeds in. Experiment with different seed mixes – flowers, herbs, salad greens, beans, bee attractors, wildflowers … the choice is up to you. HOW TO MAKE SEEDBALLS 1. Find your clay Dig a few holes to find some clay. You know it’s clay…

GROWN & GATHERED: TRADITIONAL LIVING MADE MODERN by Matt and Lentil Purbrick (Pan Macmillan 2016). Review by Robyn Rosenfeldt This book is a visual feast of growing, gathering, nurturing, trading and eating. Lentil and Matt Purbrick take you on a journey through the seasons, sharing their experience of returning to nature and the lessons they have learned. The ‘Grow’ chapter shows you how to grow vegetables and fruit in whatever space you have, using the most earth-friendly practices. ‘Gather’ explains how to forage for things like mushrooms, native greens and wild fruits. ‘Nurture’ provides guidance on raising your own animals, from chickens and bees to cows. ‘Eat’ features over 100 delicious, nourishing and creative wholefood recipes, giving you the skills to eat a natural wholefood diet; it covers everything from…

I was asked recently what brought me to the place I am in today: the editor of a permaculture magazine, living in the country on a property with an evolving permaculture design, teaching permaculture, growing food, eating well and trying to bring up my kids to understand and respect the planet. It made me stop and think: haven’t I always been this way inclined? I’ve always felt a connection to nature, but I definitely wasn’t brought up as the daughter of activists or living on a commune: I grew up in middle class, suburban Melbourne. So what caused me to choose the life I have right now? When did I start to have this affinity with the earth, and wanting to do the best for her? Was it annual camping…

To place your event here, email hello@pipmagazine.com.au STUDY PERMACULTURE IN 2017 AT CQUNIVERSITY Australia’s Graduate Certificate in Permaculture Design at CQUniversity provides practical responses to the growing global need to adapt sustainably to social and environmental changes. The first of its kind in the world, the graduate certificate provides benefits such as the flexibility to study by distance education with residential schools hosted by industry partners offering practical learning experiences. Applications are open in August for commencement in Term 1, 2017. Visit www.cqu.edu.au to enrol. For more information, contact Dr Keri Chiveralls, at k.chiveralls@ cqu.edu.au. MAKING PERMACULTURE STRONGER Making Permaculture Stronger is a new project making waves in the global permaculture community. Starting with the idea that, like anything, permaculture has room for improvement, this project is opening a space…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES Whether you’re thinking of becoming an owner-builder or retrofitting your home, you might be wondering which building materials will ensure an effective, beautiful and natural home. Some important factors to consider are: which resources are available to you locally (both on your property and in your area); cost of materials; thermal properties sought – passive solar design, thermal mass and insulation – and how these interact with each other; embodied energy involved; and the ease of material construction. With an introduction to these factors, you will be better equipped to begin choosing the materials that best suit your climate and house design. LOCALLY SOURCED MATERIALS Research your local resources – keep an eye out for timber mills (for free/cheap offcuts), dense forest, high-clay…

CREATIVELY USE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE On 25 April 2015 a massive earthquake struck Nepal, affecting the country and its people deeply. There was a series of earthquakes over several days, with the most devastating one reaching 7.8 on the Richter scale. As well as numerous small tremors, a further large earthquake of 7.3 magnitude hit on 12 May. These earthquakes caused serious damage to many parts of the capital, Kathmandu; however, the worst of the damage was seen in the rural villages in fourteen districts surrounding the city. Over 9000 people were killed, and nearly a million homes were destroyed. Infrastructure, farms and businesses were also destroyed, and years of small growth and development wiped out. Sunrise Farm in Rani Patati village, near Kathmandu, is a community farm owned…

USE SMALL & SLOW SOLUTIONS The vast majority of gardening books, and nurseries, will tell you to buy grafted fruit and nut trees. Although grafted trees play an important role in permaculture systems, in many cases seedling trees may be a better option. Fruit and nut trees grown from seed are tough, need minimal water and are resistant to many diseases. And they’re free. HOW TO GROW FROM SEED The standard propagation method for such trees is asexual reproduction: a piece of the parent plant is either grafted onto rootstock, usually a cultivar; or the tree is grown from a cutting. The new tree will produce fruit exactly the same as the parent tree. Producing new trees from a seed is sexual reproduction: the seedling has two parents and a…

It was a younger Phil Gall, writing for Source in 1971, who set out into Victoria’s East Gippsland to report on a monumental natural farming conference. He came back with a prophetic glimpse into holistic agriculture that informs his design work today. Phil is a youthful seventy-five, living and working in Bermagui on the far south coast of NSW. As an architect, landscape designer and specialist in water management, he sees himself as a problem solver. Phil is renting an old holiday shack, brought down and reassembled from the Snowy Mountains, looking out over Wallaga Lake. ‘The place is cold in winter and hot in summer,’ he says, but it is surrounded by the beauty of the landscape, and he is enjoying a sweet and simple life there. Phil grew…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES The slow movements’ gradual transformation of every facet of our lives has (unhurriedly) extended itself to the rabid international fast-fashion industry. While the idea of ‘fashion’ might seem frivolous to those of us who walk the path of permaculture, the way we clad ourselves can have a very alarming environmental impact, and one which we often overlook while we’re busy in the garden, smelling the rosemary. If you own clothes, then you are almost certainly a participant in the fast-fashion industry. Open your wardrobe. Have a really good look. Who made your clothes, socks and undies? What are they made of? Where did you get them? How long have you owned them? When will you replace them? And where will they go when…

APPLY SELF REGULATION & ACCEPT FEEDBACK What can we do to help our teens become the sustainable innovators and guides that the planet needs? More so than ever before, young people need positive opportunities to escape and explore, to move from talking and watching to doing. For the past eighteen years we’ve run the Crossing Land Education Trust, where we have camps for young people. We create opportunities for young people to learn and become inspired, for example through teamwork, environmental restoration and monitoring, sustainable design, tool use, outdoor activities and organic gardening. We believe that teens need to be given the following experiences, to: contribute with purpose; improvise and make mistakes; and explore natural places. Well-designed school camps, with excellent leaders, are great for this; but as parents and…

DESIGN FROM PATTERNS TO DETAILS Eight years ago we bought a dilapidated 1940s Californian bungalow in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs. It was in a semi-derelict state, had a heritage overlay and flood level restrictions, and was on a long, narrow block. However, the site was extremely special, and backed onto the Merri Creek wildlife corridor. The real value for us was not in the bricks and mortar, but in the proximity of the majestic gum trees, running water and the deep buffer of native vegetation on either side of the creek, creating a nature sanctuary in an urban environment. We began thinking about our home as part of a permaculture system that would integrate the built, interior and biological environments. I wanted to create an urban existence for my family…

Thank you to all the parents that sent in photos of their kids in the garden and with home grown produce. Each month we publish the best photo in our enewsletter and we choose the best to appear here and win a prize. To enter, send photos with name and age of child and address to maude@pipmagazine.com.au. The winner will receive the book Rockhopping by Trace Balla and an original drawing by the author. Q. What is worse than finding a grub in your apricot? A. Finding half a grub!…

Bonbeach Primary School is south-east of Melbourne. It’s a magical place where students, their families and the community can connect with nature. It has taken three years for mums, Jade Kavanagh and Amy Dowling, and a small army of students to transform a pile of rubble and a patch of grass into a permaculture-based learning- garden. The garden is filled with an organic fruit orchard, native plantings, chicken coop, worm farm, mini food forest, frog bog, nature play areas and twenty-five vegetable beds – six of which are now community plots. A garden club was quickly established, with eager hands wanting to help transform the garden into a place where chickens roam, plants self-seed and nature provides a place for imaginations to go wild. Wildlife now finds its way in,…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES Western societies have been enthralled by technology since the beginning of the industrial revolution. From mechanised looms to 3D printers, technology has lifted people out of poverty, increased life expectancy, freed us from menial work, reduced pain and suffering, and helped us to see the world in new and illuminating ways. However, technology is a two-edged sword, for it has also brought pollution, extinctions, an exploding human population, unemployment and, of course, the warming of our planet. SLOW TECHNOLOGY A permaculture approach to technology is more like the ‘slow food’ movement than the high-tech, cutting edge of modern industry. It is technology that works for us, not enslaving us to it. It is technology that connects us to our place and community. It…

OBTAIN A YIELD There comes a moment in every season when you realise you just can’t eat any more radishes … or cucumbers … or pumpkins … When your friends just won’t accept any more boxes of zucchinis, silently left on their doorstep. We’ve all been there – it’s the inevitable glut of seasonal gardening, and what a glorious and overwhelming moment of abundance it is. Then, finally, the flood of vegetables ends and you’re left with the remains of broken-down mulch and plants running to seed, and not a vegie in sight. In this moment you might ask yourself: ‘Hey! What happened?’ This situation is common for many gardens, and is generally the result of a lack of planning. Unless environmental conditions have been catastrophically unfavourable, the sudden absence…

OBTAIN A YIELD In 1988 Bill Mollison stood on top of a swale at Crystal Waters Eco Village and declared: ‘Permaculturists want to be property developers’. While the job description for a property developer might conjure up images of housing market bubbles, and terribly-designed boxes squeezed onto ever-diminishing parcels of urban land, in many ways Bill was on the money. The desire for a patch of one’s own has led many a permie down the garden path of property ownership. But what if there was a way to create a living out of ethically and sustainably developing land for the future. WHY BECOME A PROPERTY DEVELOPER? The need for more environmentally-sensitive housing is a no-brainer. But is that argument enough to make you put your energy into becoming a property…

USE EDGES AND VALUE THE MARGINAL ELKA MOSESHVILI Eka is an urban forager. She wants to show people how they can maintain a normal lifestyle with a nine-to-five job and still lead a secret life as a forager. Can you describe the foods you harvest from the ‘wild’ and how you do it? I am lucky to live in Melbourne’s northern suburbs (aka the European fruit forest), and I mainly forage for fruit as it’s an easy and ubiquitous target. I follow the ‘if it’s facing the footpath it’s yours’ rule: as a tree grower myself, I expect anything facing the street to be picked. In summer/autumn most of my fruit was supplied by the neighbourhood: figs, prickly pears, mulberries, grapes, apples, pears and lemons. Another good rule is to…

This is a pretty easy project that would suit a beginner, though it will be easier if you already have some sewing experience. This is a pretty easy project that would suit a beginner, though it will be easier if you already have some sewing experience. YOU WILL NEED • A singlet. [I got mine from my local op shop for $2, but any stretchy singlet will do] • A rectangular piece of fabric. A lightweight fabric works well, as it doesn’t get too bulky when it’s gathered. The short edge of the rectangle should be the length you want the skirt of your dress to be, and the long edge should be around one and a half to two metres, depending on how gathered you want the skirt to…

USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES The perfect scrub for gardeners, crafters and anyone whose hands get rough treatment and need a good scrubbing. MAKES: 1 x 250 g jar APPROXIMATE SHELF LIFE: three months INGREDIENTS 1 cup of caster sugar, or salt for a coarser scrub zest of 1 lemon juice of ½ lemon 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 sprigs of rosemary, chopped finely Equipment bowl fine grater lemon juicer 250 g jar METHOD 1. Put sugar (or salt) into a bowl. 2. Add the lemon zest and juice, olive oil and rosemary. 3. Stir all together until combined, then scoop the paste into the jar. 4. Store the jar in a cool dark place. DIRECTIONS FOR USE Rub the paste into your hands well, and then rinse…

Passive Solar design Building extension oriented along northern axis; Minimal southern glazing used and northern glazing to 80% rooms; Utilities on south side living areas to north; Eaves and pergolas on north facing windows designed to prevent summer sun from hitting the windows. Thermal mass 30% fly-ash suspended concrete slab for extension to introduce thermal mass for passive heating and cooling capacity. Renewable energy systems 2.5 kw photovoltaic array installed, providing 3x household power use. Rainwater harvesting 2x 6500 L bladder rainwater storage plumbed to toilets, laundry and garden; Enclosed guttering to reduce blockages and maintenance; Cold water reticulators on interior taps – diverting water to tanks; Evacuated tube solar hot water; Gravity fed greywater diversion from bathrooms to garden. Lighting and power-saving features Power monitoring device; LED light strips…