Permaculture News, Information, Forums, Courses and Worldwide Reports

How to Green the Desert: Europe’s Heatwave and some Holistic Suggestions

September 18, 2018 by Charlotte Ashwanden (nee Haworth) & filed under Animal Forage, Biodiversity, Design, Food Forests, Food Plants - Perennial, General, Global Warming/Climate Change, Land, Plant Systems, Structure, Trees, Why Permaculture?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the balance of light is turning ever more towards darkness as we approach the Autumn Equinox. This is following a summer which in many places was unusually hot and dry(1, 2). This is perhaps not unexpected; climate change scientists have been predicting extreme temperature spikes for a number of years(3). However, it seems that a lot of farmers were nevertheless unprepared and many crops have been lost(2). […]

A Deeper Look Into Phytodepuration

September 13, 2018 by Giuseppe Tallarico & filed under Biological Cleaning, General, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water, Water, Water Conservation, Water Contaminaton & Loss

This summer Algae Bloom has been a buzz word on the news and all of our Facebook newsfeed. How can we fight the algae blooms and the dead zones in our water bodies? DEAD ZONES The Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Lake Superior, rivers, and ponds that surround us are all getting invaded with red tides, blue-green algae, and cyanobacteria. They are all harmful toxic algae blooms! Why are algae […]

WHAT MIGHT BUILDINGS, SETTLEMENTS AND EVEN REGIONS LOOK LIKE THROUGH THE LENS OF PERMACULTURE DESIGN? PART 2

September 10, 2018 by Paul Jennings & filed under Bio-regional Organisations, Building, Design, Eco-Villages, Energy Systems, People Systems, Village Development

This is part 2 of 2 of a transcript of a talk given by Paul Jennings to the recent SBUK Big Straw Bale Gathering. Paul has built his straw-bale family home on a ‘One-Planet Development’ smallholding in Wales (costing £12,000). You can read part 1 in this link. Permaculture principles and buildings: Site design improves building function. Working from patterns of landscape design and land use, we work to details, like […]

The Reflective Art of Garbage Collection and Deflection

September 5, 2018 by Jonathon Engels & filed under Consumerism, General, How to, Waste Systems & Recycling

The way we handle trash nowadays allows us to put it on the curb or in the dumpster and forget about it. We pile up however much rubbish we produce then someone comes to take it away. If we start taking responsibility, composting and reusing and recycling, that will help. The biggest help would be reducing the amount of waste we create, particularly plastics and chemicals, which don’t so readily […]

What might buildings, settlements and even regions look like through the lens of Permaculture design? Part 1

September 1, 2018 by Paul Jennings & filed under Building, Development & Property Trusts, Eco-Villages, Retrofitting, Village Development

This is part 1 of 2 of a transcript of a talk given by Paul Jennings to the recent SBUK Big Straw Bale Gathering. Paul has built his straw-bale family home on a ‘One-Planet Development’ smallholding in Wales (costing £12,000). Introduction My partner and I built our first straw bale house in 2000, a very low spec Nebraska-style cabin on shipping pallets, with reclaimed windows, vigas cut on the site for […]

The Link Between Minimalism & Permaculture

August 29, 2018 by Lettie Stratton & filed under General, People Systems, Society

There is an inherent link between permaculture and minimalism, so it’s no wonder why people are finding ways to combine the two ways of living into one super-philosophy. Both minimalism and permaculture hinge on utilizing highly efficient systems to make room for the important things in life: interconnectedness, abundance, and sustainability. Let’s take a closer look at the link between the two ideas: People Care Permaculture puts great importance on […]

Chores by Design

August 26, 2018 by Jonathon Engels & filed under General, How to, Recipes, Waste Water

When the concept of sustainability moves past buying things labeled “green” into personal action, the cold hard truth is that our lifestyles need to change as much as the products we buy. Part of living sustainably is adjusting how we do things so that we are less consumptive and reliant on unsustainable systems. Performing everyday tasks — cleaning the floor, washing the dishes, drying clothes, opening a can, making coffee […]

What do lizards, procrastination, and Permaculture principles have to do with your brain? Part 5

August 23, 2018 by Kate Martignier & filed under General, How to

This is Part 5 in a series about using Permaculture principles to train your “lizard-brain.”[i] In Parts 1 and 2 we met the lizard in your brain, found out what drives it, and learned how it influences your behavior. In Parts 3 and 4 we explored some ways to re-cast the lizard brains role in your life from foe to friend, using Permaculture principles. In this, the 5thand final part, […]

The Most Ethical Renewable Energy Systems

August 21, 2018 by pri02 & filed under 15min-30min, Aid Projects, Energy Systems, General, How to, Peak Oil, Videos

The main thing in renewable energy systems is the embodied energy: the energy over the lifetime of the product versus the energy of manufacturing it. Lithium batteries are used a lot because they are lightweight, but they don’t last. Lead-acid batteries, like car batteries, are also short-lived. An old technology, the nickel-iron battery, lasts a long time. Lithium batteries are great when there might be a space or weight issue, […]

What do lizards, procrastination, and Permaculture principles have to do with your brain? Part 4

August 16, 2018 by Kate Martignier & filed under General, People Systems

This is Part 4 in a Series about using Permaculture design principles to train your “lizard-brain” – a name I’ve used to refer to the oldest regions of your brain whose function is to keep you safe and comfortable. In Parts 1 and 2 of this Series we met the lizard in your brain, found out how it’s responsible for behaviors like procrastination and avoidance, and began to explore the […]

Water Harvesting Earthworks “Design To Reality” . Part 2

August 13, 2018 by David Spicer & filed under General

How to determine a starting point for surveying: Dams For me the starting point to survey is often a dam for high water storage. Dams are a major investment and it’s a must to have specific characteristics to construct the dam particular to that site. What I look for is the shortest dam wall possible to hold the most amount of water while staying as high as possible. These major […]

What do lizards, procrastination, and Permaculture principles have to do with your brain? Part 3

August 7, 2018 by Kate Martignier & filed under General

This is Part 3 in a Series about using permaculture design principles to train your “lizard-brain” – a name I’ve used to refer to the regions of your brain that are responsible for keeping you safe and comfortable.[i] In Parts 1 and 2 of this Series we met the lizard in your brain, found out how it’s responsible for behaviors like procrastination and avoidance, and began to explore the idea […]