A Journey of Transition: Becoming a Professional Permaculture Designer – Part 2
Education Centres, General — by Dan French December 8, 2012
OK, here we go, the second installment of this series regarding my journey to become a professional permaculture designer. In my last article I touched on who I am, what I am doing and why, and discussed some general topics which included defining my services, networking and, on a very general level, the importance of examining price structures for services. As a result, I was contacted by a nice guy by the name of Scott Mann who runs a great podcast series called The Permaculture Podcast. It turned out we had a lot in common. He had also travelled the road of becoming a professional designer, and although he ended in a different stream of permaculture, the process he undertook led him to the path he is now on, that being sharing important permaculture information from various experts to a global audience. A job, I might add, that he’s doing very well! So, regardless of the outcome, the fact he took steps to becoming a designer got him to where he is now. There’s a lesson in that.
Anyhow, during the interview Scott asked me about obstacles I have encountered so far in my professional development and ways in which I have addressed these. It was a good question and I thought this might be a handy topic to concentrate on this time around.
When I reflect on the process so far, although there have been numerous obstacles, the most notable for me have been psychological — specifically those of commitment and confidence. I touched on these two hurdles in my first article but thought they warranted a bit more explanation as for me they have been so significant. My experiences so far are as follows.
Comments (2)David Holmgren Interview
General — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor December 6, 2012
This was a nice find. Here we can hear permaculture co-originator David Holmgren sharing his own story on his involvement with the birth and development of the permaculture design system, as well as talking about the permaculture ethics and how these embody the solutions we need as we move from an era of abundant, non-renewable energy to a world that must work within the constraints of a more limited cyclical supply of energy and resources from real-time sunlight.
Part I
Permaculture and Local Sustainability
General — by John-Erik Omland
Editor’s Note: I put this newspaper piece up just to get all of you permaculture event attendees thinking about easy ways to leverage the impact of the event — i.e. why not do a short write-up on it and see if you can’t get it published in your local rag. Most local newspapers are keen to get free content, and so permaculture can get free advertising, for the benefit of all. Just a thought….
First published in Mt Shasta Herald, California, Nov 7, 2012
Last month, after meeting activists and hearing of amazing projects at the 2012 Northern California Bay Area Permaculture Convergence, I decided to also participate in the week long Advanced Permaculture intensive on Watershed Design, Earthworks and Food Forests. Even though I have attended courses in permaculture, aquaponics, optical surveying, GIS and photo interpretation, and forest ecology over the past 4 years, this week-long immersion with international permaculture designer and teacher Geoff Lawton caused a pronounced deepening in me. I “groked” a whole different way of thinking and seeing landscapes.
Comments (1)Put Your Questions to the Experts, Round 2: Geoff Lawton
General — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor December 5, 2012
This is the second installment in our new Q&A series for our forums. In case you didn’t catch it last time, we added a new sub-forum titled ‘Put Your Questions to the Experts!‘, where our forum members (a very nice bunch of people by the way), put their questions to various experts we’ll approach over the weeks and months ahead. First up to be the target of our combined curiosities and the salve of our perplexities, is the PRI’s own Geoff Lawton. Geoff, currently teaching at the Greening the Desert ‘Sequel’ site in Jordan, spends 90 minutes with us, sharing from his wealth of experience. You’ll find the questions Geoff is responding to here, and you’ll find the answers to the Round 1 questions here.
Please note that this video ends abruptly due to a power outage at Geoff’s end. He was in the middle of answering a particular question at the time, and we still had a couple of questions to go. We’ll attempt to answer those unanswered questions in a subsequent video. Thanks for your patience.
If you have your own questions for Geoff Lawton, we’ve just started Round 3 of the Q&A series, so don’t be bashful — we’re here to help if we can. If you’re not a forum member already, it’s easy to sign up, and when Geoff and other experts aren’t answering your questions, you’ll find many more experts in their own right lurking in the various sub-forums — a friendly bunch who are always ready to lend an attentive ear and share from their experiences.
P.S. Those looking for other video responses in this series can search for ‘put your questions to the experts‘ on this site.
Comments (2)Put Your Questions to the Experts, Round 1: Geoff Lawton
General — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor November 28, 2012
We’ve just started a new Q&A series in our forums, adding a new sub-forum titled ‘Put Your Questions to the Experts!‘, where our forum members (a very nice bunch of people by the way), put their questions to various experts we’ll approach over the weeks and months ahead. First up to be the target of our combined curiosities and the salve of our perplexities, is the PRI’s own Geoff Lawton. Geoff, currently teaching at the Greening the Desert ‘Sequel’ site in Jordan, spends 78 minutes with us, sharing from his wealth of experience. You’ll find the questions Geoff is responding to here.
If you have your own questions for Geoff Lawton, we’ve just started Round 2 of the Q&A series, so don’t be bashful — we’re here to help if we can. If you’re not a forum member already, it’s easy to sign up, and when Geoff and other experts aren’t answering your questions, you’ll find many more experts in their own right lurking in the various sub-forums — a friendly bunch who are always ready to lend an attentive ear and share from their experiences.
P.S. Those looking for other video responses in this series can search for ‘put your questions to the experts‘ on this site.
Comments (4)Tree Solutions for Urban Problems (videos)
General — by Wes Roe November 22, 2012
This fun animation shows how reconnecting trees to our city’s watersheds is one of the fastest ways to create lasting jobs while rebuilding local economies and preparing our communities to thrive and survive increasing threats of severe weather.
Comments (1)And, below, Andy Lipkis, Founder and President of TreePeople, talks about Elmer Avenue — a neighborhood in Los Angeles’ NE San Fernando Valley that was transformed from a flood hazard zone into a model of sustainability.
Changing the Face of Farming: Permaculture Farms in the US
General — by Rafter Ferguson November 16, 2012
After more than 30 years of permaculture, it’s time to see what’s happening on the ground. I’m working with SciFund Challenge to fund my research into permaculture farming. You can find out more about this effort, and get behind it, here.
Comments (3)A Journey of Transition: Becoming a Professional Permaculture Designer
General — by Dan French November 9, 2012
by Dan French
Photo © Craig Mackintosh
Like the title suggests, I’m going to write a few articles about my journey to becoming a professional permaculture designer… if you don’t mind? I’m doing this for a few reasons: to help me articulate and formalize what it is I’m doing; to tell others who might be interested in doing the same about my ups and downs; to gain exposure and fast track my development as a designer; and perhaps, on some sadistic level, to just put a bit more pressure on myself. Let me explain to you why.
Comments (9)What Will It Take to Heal? Prison Abolition and Permaculture
General, People Systems, Society — by Nicole Vosper October 20, 2012
by Nicole Vosper, WildHeartPermaculture
I write this on the train from seeing a close friend of mine, imprisoned in HMP Holloway. A beautiful lifer who I gardened with for the entire 21 months of my own imprisonment in 2009/10. After 5.5 years into her sentence, she is at her lowest point. She has not eaten for 15 days. With the means of suicide taken from her, she says this is the only way she can die. Even with the knowing that she’ll get taken to hospital and administered a drip, she is determined to weaken her body to the point that she will no longer be part of this world. I do not try to talk her out of it, I simply sit in the hall and listen. The minute I tell her what to do, like every other screw in the place, she will close off and the only lifeline of compassion and support she has will be severed. Having listened to suicidal women most of my adult life, including those in prison during my time as a Listener with the Samaritans, I respect self-determination and honour the space to have these conversations about life and death, grief and hope.
Understanding that right doesn’t take away the fact that every piece of my heart feels like it’s breaking. Every cell in my body is filled with the rage at the injustice of her case. But most of what I feel is powerlessness in the face of the prison system. A system that has dominated and caused harm in my life since I was 16 years old. In most other ways I feel a woman of power; a community organiser, grower, permaculture practitioner. I know my sphere of influence and know how to stretch it strategically. There is not much I fear and not much I feel I can’t do if I put my mind to it. But the prison system dwarfs me and it’s time for that to change.
Comments (8)Restoring the Terrestrial Body to Good Health: Thoughts from Spetses, Greece
General — by Rhamis Kent October 1, 2012
by Rhamis Kent
I’m a few months overdue in writing this piece, but better later than never. During the August 2011 PDC I taught in Spetses, Greece alongside Nicolas Netien, Maria Baltazzi and Stamatina Palmou, some interesting insights and reflections came to mind.
The beauty of Spetses has that effect on people – I’m not alone in that regard, I would think. Any opportunities provided to gain ever more useful insights into this work we’re pursuing are always welcome.
The most effective way I’ve found for me to gain a comprehensive understanding of earth repair, ecosystem restoration work has been to draw analogies with the workings of the human body. The parallels are quite stunning.
Comments (1)A Request to Webmasters – Change Links to PermacultureNews.org
General — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor September 1, 2012
You haven’t been seeing so many posts of late, as I’ve been a little distracted, getting under the hood of this website to fix a few things.
Given the very international scope of our work, one of items I’ve checked off the things-to-do list is to switch our domain from permaculture.org.au over to www.permaculturenews.org.
Important: To help search engines recognise and index us properly, I’d be immensely grateful if the webmasters who are linking to us would be so kind as to edit those links, changing the web address to our new one: www.permaculturenews.org
When you do so, please remove mention of ‘Australia’ — i.e. change ‘Permaculture Research Institute of Australia’ to ‘The Permaculture Research Institute’.
And if you’re not linking to our site, why not do so? The more people can find us, the more we can network and support each other, the more knowledge and resources we can share, and the more projects we can see getting established!
Thanks to you all for all you’re doing in the world.
Comments (9)Please Help a Permaculturist in Trouble – Update
General — by Bonnie Freibergs August 21, 2012
Tiny Eglington, who has been hospitalised in the Riverside Medical Centre, in Bacolod, in the Philippines for an infection is his leg, is now conscious and out of the Intensive Care Unit. Three days after Geoff’s post, PRI had raised $2174.01 which was sent to Tiny. This was enough funds for him to buy blood and have a small operation on his leg — and the good news is that they will not have to amputate. Since the 13th of August PRI has raise another $645.31, which will be sent along with any other funds to Tiny on Friday the 24th of August.
Permaculture, Nature & Civilization
General — by Oyvind Holmstad August 10, 2012
Workers of the industrial revolution
Permaculture was first a contraction of the words permanent agriculture, later being widened to include all permanent culture. The problem is, however, that culture is seen as opposed to nature, its contradiction. Ross Wolf writes:
The concept usually opposed to “culture” is “nature,” as structuralist anthropology taught us long ago. Permaculture could thus be seen to signify a state of permanent unnature. – Ross Wolf
I guess you are all a little shocked now. Does permaculture really mean a state of permanent unnature? I don’t think this was the intention of our founding father, Bill Mollison. Do we have to build a new brand?
Comments (7)Please Help a Permaculturist in Trouble
General — by Geoff Lawton
Tiny Eglington, an old friend of mine from a farming background and now long-time permaculture practitioner and teacher, is currently in the Philippines where he had been visiting organic farms there. Tiny has been a big part of pushing organic farming in this region.
Unfortunately Tiny is now in hospital with serious health problems. He got an infection in his leg and with his diabetes and age it affected his kidneys.
Comments (13)The Australian National Food Plan – Have Your Say!
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, GMOs, General, Global Warming/Climate Change, Health & Disease, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss, peak oil — by Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor July 24, 2012
 National Food Plan, Green Paper 3.75mb PDF |
The Australian federal government has issued a green paper on a National Food Plan for public consultation, which will include a series of public meetings in various places over the next several weeks, until September 30, 2012.
This is an excellent opportunity for permaculturists, localvores, agro-ecologists, etc., to get their message across and help ensure that it’s not just the big corporations who shape Australia’s food future (to their own disastrous ends).
Inset, at right, is the full Green Paper, and here is a summary. You’ll see that the focus is on dollars and exports, rather than sustainable peak-oil-generation resilience.
There are several ways you can give input on this topic. Find our more here, and register for a meeting near you here.
Please share this page, and encourage as many lucid souls as you can to get involved and breathe some sanity into Australia’s food future.
Comments (6)
