Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3 i Pip Magazine

BERNADETTE O’LEARY Bernadette is a recycled natural resource management professional, formerly working for governments and NGOs on environmental planning/ programs/projects/processes. She retrained as an editor as a pre-retirement project, got accredited and now subedits Pip articles. After spending most of her adult years in Canberra, she now lives between a tiny town block and forty hectares of bush in the Bega Valley, NSW. Bernadette brings her science training and environmental ethics to her interests in bushland management and gardening, but is only a beginner food grower and seed saver. A PDC has not yet come her way. PAUL GOODSELL Paul is relatively new on the permaculture block. He stumbled upon the concept back in 2010 when he was helping establish a guerrilla community garden on a disused block in the…

CLASSIC HOLMGREN David Holmgren’s book Permaculture: principles & pathways beyond sustainability (2002) is still in demand around the world. With editions now in ten languages, it is reaching more people than ever. The new e-book format allows people to carry it with them anywhere. Another advantage of this format is that the website links (and there are many) have been updated; with a web connected device you can look up the references instantly. And the footnotes are linked throughout the text. This e-book will enable people in countries where postage costs are prohibitive to finally get hold of David’s book at an affordable price. The e-book is available in e-pub format for $19 from www.holmgren.com.au We are also selling printed copies in our shop at www.pipmagazine.com.au WHO GIVES A CRAP?…

FOOD WILL CHANGE Food is poised to change, more profoundly than ever before: what people eat in 2114, how it’s made and consumed, would be as strange to us as the foods our own ancestors grew and ate before the age of cold storage, takeaway and cooking shows. This food revolution will arise out of resource pressures building up in the global food system, coupled with new technologies and emerging trends in farming, health and sustainability. In this article I make some predictions about the future of food, based on trends and constraints. Many foreshadow magnificent new opportunities in the Age of Food. FOOD SECURITY About 170 000 people are born each day. The United Nations estimates that by the late 21st century there may be 10–11 billion humans to…

“PERMAFUND HAS SO FAR ALLOCATED ABOUT $13000 TO ASSIST SIXTEEN PROJECTS, FOUR IN AUSTRALIA AND TWELVE OVERSEAS..” Permafund has provided much-needed funds towards projects in both Australia and overseas such as: assisting with land restoration, erosion control and vetiver grass propagation in Haiti; communitybased training and earthworks in Kenya; food-growing workshops through the Neighbourhood House in Wodonga, Victoria; and training and support for remote herder communities and livestock keepers in Pakistan. Details of two funded projects are included in the boxes. Permafund is administered by a dedicated group of seven committee members who offer their time voluntarily, and answer to the elected board of Permaculture Australia. The committee was formed three years ago in Katoomba (Blue Mountains NSW) at a gathering titled ‘What does good permaculture aid look like?’ Bill…

Low maintenance, low water needs, abundant, resilient: we all want to describe our vegetable gardens like this. I have been preparing no-dig gardens in many different environments for two decades and my no-dig method saves time, replenishes soil and is very productive. It is slightly differently from most, in that rather than laying newspaper on the ground under the compost layer, I place it as the last layer before the mulch. This simple change does many things: • the compost layer - integrates more rapidly with the soil – soil flora and fauna get to work quickly without the barrier - stays moist and at a more stable temperature • the newspaper prevents weeds, including from unwanted seeds in the compost • fewer nutrients are lost from the compost •…

Whether you are a gardener with a passion for compost making, or a child who has felt the warmth of a pile of grass clippings, you will be familiar with the heat created by decomposing material. Our aim is to capture and use this heat to create hot showers. A few years ago we were inspired by Jean Pain’s compost hot-water system and, as we frequently have extra people on the farm (particularly during our twoweek live-in PDCs), we needed another shower with good hot water. So began our compost-powered shower journey. Since our original trial we have made about a dozen compost heaps to power showers, the best of which gave us five months of continuous hot water. It is joy to stand under a warm shower knowing you…

Why not try your hand at homemade cheese. It’s not hard and the good news is you can use milk purchased from the shop to make cheese, as long as you have calcium chloride to re-calcify it. FETA Feta is a Greek cheese, traditionally made out of sheep’sor goat’s milk, but in Australia it’s commonly made from cow’s milk. INGREDIENTS: • 4 litres full-cream milk • 1/8 teaspoon of calcium chloride diluted in ¼ cup of un-chlorinated water • mesophilic hard curd cheese starter culture (see the packet direction for the amount to add) • ¼ rennet tablet or ¼ teaspoon of liquid rennet dissolved in ¼ cup of un-chlorinated water • 1 tablespoon of cheese salt EQUIPMENT: • two large stackable stainless steel pots that fit one inside the…

Symphony Farm, at Tilba on the far south coast of New South Wales, is an integrated beef, pork, chicken and egg farm, run by Mandy and Graham Thompson with their five children, Brohdan, Denham, Huon, Heath and Sarah. “WE WANT OUR SYSTEM TO BE SELF-RELIANT, NOT DEPENDENT ON TRANSPORTING INPUTS FROM FAR AWAY.” Mandy and Graham were raised on farms, and realised early on that conventional farming practices are not what people, animals or the planet need. Mandy’s father was inclined towards natural farming practices on the family’s diverse thirteen acres, and it was here that Mandy learned the benefits of recycling systems, compost and closed loops: ‘everything was balanced and healthy’, she says. Graham was also introduced to the benefits of natural farming practices, for the health of people…

We are becoming increasingly aware of the hazards of eating a chemicalladen diet, and many have taken steps to avoid toxins in their food. But avoiding human-made additives and petrochemical derivatives can be more difficult when it comes to body products. Commercial body products can contain dozens of chemicals, in the form of stabilisers, preservatives and artificial dyes, many of which are harmful to the environment and your body. Here are some pared-back recipes which you can make at home with a few easyto- find ingredients. These recipes are simple, natural and they work! Standard tools required for the recipes include: cooking thermometer, cooking pot, electric mixer, grater, kitchen scales, measuring spoons, mixing bowls, spatula. Additional requirements are noted in the recipes. LATHERING SHAVING SOAP This is great for everything…

“NOW IF WE ARE TO HAVE ANY HOPE OF CREATING RESILIENT, HEALTHY COMMUNITIES AND VIABLE LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS, THEN WE FARMERS NEED TO SELL OUR PRODUCE DIRECT TO CONSUMERS.” WHAT DO YOU DO? I am developing a small farming business, with my partner Kirsti, which grows good food for our community. We aim to do that in an environmentally, socially and financially sustainable way. My personal aim is to regenerate this twenty-six hectare property into a farm that will be multigenerational in its viability. Whether I can achieve that or not remains to be seen, but I’m going to give it a good crack. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LEAVE THE CITY AND GIVE FARMING A GO? Even though we enjoyed a lot of aspects of living in the city, the…

PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE–6 –18 APRIL 2015 The Brogo Permaculture Gardens is our home, our business and has seen 20 years of development. We offer the Permaculture Design Course annually in the Bega Valley as well as specialised workshops on Earthworks, Food Forests and a five day Permaculture Teachers Training course that we deliver in SE Asia. BPG is described by many as one of the best examples of temperate permaculture and its designer and creator, John Champagne conducts guided tours during open days. Details & Registration – www.permaculturedesign.com.au P:0264927306 E:brogopg@bigpond.net.au FOOD FOREST Permaculture Design Certificate, April-May 2015. Join David Holmgren (co-originator of Permaculture), Annemarie and Graham Brookman and guest presenters at The Food Forest, Gawler, SA for this intensive, life-changing internationally-recognised course. • Gain practical skills in assessing land, and…

MY YEAR WITHOUT MATCH ES: ESCAPING THE CITY IN SEARCH OF THE WILD by Claire Dunn (Nero 2014). Review by Greg Foyster Claire Dunn, a burnt-out forest campaigner with an ever-growing to-do list, is in danger of becoming a ‘pale-faced greenocrat’ – all media savvy and no soul. To reconnect with nature, she signs up for a year-long wilderness survival program, where she learns to build a shelter, gather bush tucker, trap animals, tan hides and – hence the book’s title – make fire without matches. However, it’s the psychological aspects of her time in the wild that make this book such a fascinating read. Over the year, Dunn burrows into deep solitude, where she’s shaken by tremors of conflicting emotions: grief then ecstasy, self-flagellation then idle contentedness. The prose…

Issue three, here we are. Pip Magazine is now into its second year of publishing and it is growing strong. What began as a crazy, out-there idea is now well and truly a happening thing. As they say, it takes a community to raise a child, well it takes a community, a permaculture community, to raise a Pip Magazine. Yes, there are few key people that pull it together and make it happen but it is the whole permaculture community that support it and help it grow. If you the reader didn’t buy the magazine we wouldn’t be here. If all the people that gave to our crowdfunding campaign didn’t do their bit, we never would have printed the first issue, if all the newsagents and stockists didn’t have Pip…

AUSTRALASIAN PERMACULTURE CONVERGENCE (APC) 12 March 7–15 2015, Penguin, Tasmania. Our planet is going though the most rapid rate of change in its history, and we face a future of surprises, threats and opportunities. We in the permaculture community have a key role to play in both mending the present and creating our preferable future. To be part of this future we need to take stock of where we are as a design system. That’s why Australia’s permaculture community of practitioners is coming together in March on the shores of Bass Strait in beautiful Penguin, Tasmania, for APC12. Here we will reflect, take stock and re-imagine permaculture’s role in a future that can be different from the usual depressing, business as usual scenario, and energise ourselves for the tasks ahead.…

When it comes to growing anything, it’s all about water. You want to catch every drop of it. Moisture in the soil builds organic matter and fertility, which equals naturally healthy plants. Regardless of what you intend to grow, shaping your landscape to harvest the water is step one. Contrary to modern landscape design, that does its best to get rid of water as quickly as possible, we want to look at our homescape as a mini-watershed where not one drop of water is going to leave. This goes for the overflow from the neighbours too; that problem is about to become a solution. So what does this have to do with creating a planting bed? Everything: you want your beds to water themselves and pump fertility, naturally. Most raised…

A COMPOST PILE CAN BE VIEWED IN A WHOLE NEW WAY, ONCE WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND FUNGI. Over 90% of plant species have mycorrhizal relationships with fungi, via their roots. Such relationships tend to be symbiotic, to sustain the relationship: fungi obtain sugars and shelter, and help the plants to obtain minerals, nutrients and water. The mycelia are very fine and spread well beyond the root zone, sometimes several hundred metres, increasing plant access to available nutrients. A few mycorrhizal relationships are parasitic. Fungi can grow on the inside (endomycorrhizal), or on the outside of roots (ectomycorrhizal). The ‘endos’ are a bit like our gut biome, and can help plants cope with extreme environments; ‘ectos’ are the most familiar, because we can see them without a microscope. Fungi are at…

Q: What happens when an architect and a furniture maker design a house together for their young family? A: The ‘house of cupboards’. When Sunny Wilder (architect) and Nicholas Coyle (furniture designer/maker) moved their thriving timber furniture making business from Melbourne to Pambula, on the far south coast of NSW, they wanted to build a house that combined their skills and included a lot of storage. ‘We have always liked the idea of prefabricated houses, but have seen that they are limited by their size and scale if they are the type that arrive fully finished on the back of a truck. Most prefabricated houses of this type also require easy site access and crane hire, which is not always suitable for tight urban spaces or remote areas. And prefabricated…

“NUTRITION IS DETERMINED BY WHAT WE CONSUME AND ABSORB, SO A HEALTHIER GUT MEANS A HEALTHIER PERSON.” When I first heard about permaculture I was drawn to how it provides tools for living in sync with the planet, as a designed approach with ethics and principles. What I wasn’t prepared for was how it could be applied to so many aspects of life. So, when I was introduced to lactofermentation it was no surprise that it did the same thing, but on a microbial level: we have a gut food web similar to the soil food web, which can be nourished, maintained or killed by the choices we make. Consuming fermented foods and drinks promotes diversity of gut microbes, builds resilience in our immune function and has other benefits. Fermenting…

Assimilating permaculture design as a fluent part of your repertoire takes years of practice. Along the way you inevitably adapt the way you design to suit your style and context of application. These two statements apply equally to Holistic Management, or managing holistically (as founder Allan Savory prefers to phrase it). Managing holistically is a process for making decisions that are ecologically, socially and economically beneficial in the short, medium and long term. As with permaculture design, managing holistically is something you do in a logical sequence of steps or phases. I have found that managing holistically helps permaculture projects more fully and consistently realise their promise. Darren J. Doherty put it well in observing that: ‘Permaculture by nature has not been that strong on decision-making, holistic management hasn’t been…

On a steep and uneven hillside adjacent to Warrawong High School, south of Wollongong in NSW, a social enterprise called Green Connect is running a farm called Urban Grown. Green Connect combines permaculture ethics and design principles, with employment opportunities for resettled refugees and at-risk youth, to create an amazing model for urban sustainability; the farm produces as many social outcomes as chemical-free lettuces. Green Connect and Urban Grown, originally two separate projects of the Port Kembla Community Project, merged in February 2014 when the funding for Urban Grown ceased. Green Connect staff committed to taking on the farm on a volunteer basis to see it through to financial sustainability. Green Connect aims to: grow and distribute chemical-free food in the local area; reduce the amount of waste that goes…

COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY ‘Permablitz the Gong’ began as a conversation between three Wollongong women – Jacqui Besgrove, Sheryl Wiffen and Kristy Newton – in 2011 after Jacqui and Kristy completed their Permaculture Design Course (PDC). The women wanted to do something about food and sustainability at a community level, and got together with Rebecca Mayhew soon after; hosting their first permablitz on International Permaculture Day in May 2012. Ten permablitzes, five frog ponds, six chicken houses, two native zones, five verge gardens, three DIY water tanks, kilos of sheet mulch, a garden tour, a seed bombing workshop and many swales and no dig gardens later, they think they have something worth holding on to. That’s what can happen when permaculture designers get together with willing workers and properties in need of…

Australia Pc Australia (PIL) http://permacultureaustralia.org.au/ hello@ permacultureaustralia.org.au NSW Pc Sydney North http://www.permaculturenorth.org.au/ secretary@permaculturenorth.org.au Rolf Cambridge president@permaculturenorth.org.au Cat Dorey Ryde, Hunters Hill ryde_coord@permaculturenorth.org.au Diana Fletcher Northern Beaches northernbeaches_coord@permaculturenorth. org.au Michelle Sheather Lane cove lg@permaculturenorth.org.au Hornsby hornsby_coord@permaculturenorth.org.au Ku-ring-gai kuringgai_coord@permaculturenorth.org.au Diana Evans North Sydney, Mosman lg@permaculturenorth.org.au Willougby willoughby_coord@permaculturenorth.org.au Wendy Dwyer Pc Sydney South http://www.permaculturesydneysouth.org.au/ webmail on their site Inner West Pc Sydney West http://www.permaculturesydneywest.com.au/ info@permaculturesydneywest.com.au Roberta Fassina Maccarthur macarthur@permaculturesydneywest.com.au Penrith penrith@permaculturesydneywest.com.au Pc Blue Mountains http://permaculturebluemountains.net/ permaculturebluemountains@gmail.com Pc Central Coast http://www.permaculturecc.org.au/ info@permaculturecc.org.au Bob Stubberfield - President Pc Sthn Highlands http://www.permaculturesouthernhighlands.info/ Pc Illawarra Pc North Wollongong http://www.thegardennorthgong.blogspot.com.au/ Pc Shoalhaven shoalhavenpermaculturenetwork@hotmail.com Pc Bega Valley brogopg@bigpond.net.au Pc Bemboka ccfp45@gmail.com David Harvey TransitionNewcastle ( Pc Hunter ) http://www.transitionnewcastle.org.au/ organisation/permaculture-hunter ross@darksidemasks.com Ross Brown QLD Northy St City Farm http://www.nscf.org.au/ info@nscf.org.au Pc Cairns http://permaculturecairns.org.au/ tegan.mcbride@hotmail.com Pc Noosa http://permaculturenoosa.com.au/ web mail…

“THERE’S NO END OF CREATIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH BAMBOO.” I love bamboo: growing, eating, crafting, building, and listening to the sounds of creaking culms and rustling leaves in the wind. It provides me with microclimates, windbreaks, privacy screens, animal fodder, wildlife habitat, an endless supply of mulch, delicious tender eating shoots, lots of materials for the garden and building small structures. My patch also sequesters the amount of CO2 generated by two overseas work flights to Asia each year, or one flight to Europe or the Americas, to teach permaculture. When I acquired Djanbung Gardens near Nimbin, northern NSW, in the early 1990s, bamboo was going to be an important part of the overall design. I gleaned information and practical tips on the most useful varieties from several…

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE GREATEST PROBLEM FACING THE PLANET TODAY? I see the greatest problem as blindness to the life of the planet; therefore, irresponsible destruction of the planet in every seed, whether it be for food or energy. Food is being produced through a system that is devastating the planet. In fact, what is being produced is not food, it’s not worthy of eating. It’s destroying our health and the health of the planet. Look at energy: why are we relying on coal, when we know there are more efficient alternatives that the earth provides, that won’t harm the planet and don’t violate people’s right in the abusive way that coal does. WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP CHALLENGE THIS PROBLEM? In terms of ecological threat, at…

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS? HG Eco-logic Constructions is about building quality and beautiful homes that work for our clients, the people who will live in them. Our focus is on creating a climate – in both house and site – that is comfortable, and is achieved through passive energy and efficient design. We have a team of designers and tradespeople committed to creating quality energy efficient houses that complement the landscape. WHAT IS THE MAIN PHILOSOPHY BEHIND YOUR BUILDING WORK? The main philosophy is to build and integrate a quality home into the environment, with the aim of reducing energy consumption through design, construction and landscaping. WHAT IS YOUR HISTORY WITH PERMACULTURE? My history with permaculture goes back more than thirty years. Over that time I have been involved in the…

Almost fifteen years ago, a young Shanaka Fernando dreamed of a world based on need rather than greed. He wished people would focus less on money and more on each other, and wondered if the act of giving would make a difference. “COULD WE CREATE A CULTURE OF GENEROSITY?” It was a philosophical question, about generosity: ‘If we are as generous as possible, would people value that and reciprocate? Could we create a culture of generosity?’ Although Shanaka was born into comfortable circumstances in Sri Lanka, as a child he’d seen the struggles of those less fortunate than himself. As a student in Australia he wondered what would happen if food was made available to people without them having to worry about money. Not content to wonder, Shanaka took action,…

“WE BELIEVE THAT THE SUBURBS PROVIDE AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPLY THE BULK OF FRESH FOOD FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.” WHO STARTED WAGTAIL URBAN FARM? Steven Hoepfner, Brett Young and I set up Wagtail in 2013. After completing an internship with Allsun Farm (near Gundaroo NSW) in 2011, my partner and I started looking for land in Adelaide to start up a small urban farm. Steven joined an urban farming interest group I’d set up, and mentioned he’d been offered land in Mitchell Park, about ten kilometres from the CBD. Along with Brett, we decided to start Wagtail together. WHAT INSPIRED YOU? The idea of trying to make a livelihood from growing vegetables in the suburbs; to see if we could make it work on a small scale and learn from…

Claudia Echeverria is a teacher and facilitator based in the Blue Mountains, near Sydney. Her work involves various disciplines, groups, partnerships and businesses; heart, hands and nature are the common themes. Claudia is the founder and designer of, and environmental educator at, Wild Wovenforms Eco-design Studio; and the founder and director of, and teacher at, Kundalini Yoga Radiance – yoga, sacred art and sound therapy. Recently she’s been establishing her office based on concepts such as natural architecture, integrated environmental design and regenerative landscapes. Locally Claudia has: been joint coordinator of Permaculture Blue Mountains; volunteered in coastal bushcare, growing food at the Katoomba Organic Community Garden; and organised several monthly sustainability talks, mainly focused on growing food, natural building and eco-literacy. Recently she began ‘Talking country’, a cultural awareness series…