:: Permaculture Pathways ::

Moving house & unpacking

2012-02-08T07:10:00.004+10:00

No, we're not moving house - well not anytime soon.

But we have moved our washing machine inside (yay!). Before it was outside under the house and it was right royal pain in the bum to do the washing.

We moved here six years ago. Now, we had previously moved house every two years, so being here six years is a big deal for us.

Unfortunately, it also means we have gathered a lot of crap - hence the recent decluttering blitz.

But I often think about the day when you first move into a new house and unpack - and how all your permaculture design skills seem to go out the window.

You unpack in those early days and fill the empty cupboards, shelves and spaces with your stuff.

By the end you're exhausted and all you want is some food (probably take away), a shower, some clean clothes, a clean towel and to make the bed so you can fall into it

So after that initial unpack, there it all stays - right where you put it on the day you moved in - and this time round for us it has stayed there for six years.

You've also put things in place before you know how you are going to work, move and live in the space.

I also find (and being a bit of an expert on this since we've moved house so often) that I tend to just put things where they were when we looked at the house during the open inspections.

The coffee cups go there because that's where they were before, the kettle goes there and the plates go there. That's how the previous owners had it, so it must be right. And I can't think, I'm too tired and stressed from moving.

Now while that might have worked for the previous owners, it may not a) work for you or b) be the best place for them.

It's time to get in the Zone the Permaculture Zone - just like the permaculture courses and text books tell us, its time to work out where your zones are, find the interconnectedness of things and ensure they relate to each other.

Back to the washing machine. The damn front loader we bought finally died. Its never been very good, takes forever to wash a load, normally freezes on a particular part of the cycle and just makes things difficult.

The longest its held our clothes hostage was five days - and of course by the time the machine gave them back to us, they (ironically) needed to be washed again because they'd been sitting wet in the machine for five days - (it locks the door and won't give our clothes back).

The other problem was that it was under the house (where the previous owners did their washing) which is our Zone 6. I never knew if it had finished and the trek outside and round under the house to find out was frustrating to say the least. And yucky and slippery in the rain. Even before the machine went bad, I'd often forget I had put a load on - because it was in Zone 6, not Zone 1.

But John got onto Gumtree and bought a new secondhand machine that fits perfectly upstairs in the house.

So - its a whole new world for us now.

The machine is in our Zone 1 - so its incredibly easy to use. I can put a load of washing on when I come home from a full day at uni and I can hear it finish (it even beeps and tell me so) and I can then hang it out on the deck to dry. So simple, so quick, so easy.

And it has a quick wash option too - I can't tell you how heavenly this is - from five days to half an hour - bloody luxury.

So the message today is that you can always re-design an area - including your kitchen or your laundry - using permaculture principles.

It will make things more efficient and more enjoyable.

Do what works best for you.

Cheers,
Sonya

Leave of absence!

2012-02-07T05:36:00.002+10:00

Crikey, I've fallen off the blogosphere haven't I?

Well, I haven't been idle.

Been busy making and selling soaps (and working out how I'm going to keep that going with full-time study), doing pre-semester courses to get up to date with things such as; biology, chemistry and maths (yay!) and getting all the other bits of uni sorted (eg preparing all I need to be able to do clinical placements next semester - first aid courses, police checks, blue cards, making sure I'm enrolled in the right classes, hunting down secondhand text books etc).

But tonight my focus will be firmly set on permaculture as we have the first Permaculture Eudlo meeting for 2012 happening from 7pm.

We took January off, as the first Tuesday would have been to close to New Years and all the busy-ness post Christmas and its often just way too hot here too.

So we've agreed (via emails over the break) to kick 2012 off with a meeting to plan our future.

We'll look at things such as weekend activities we want to do over the year, which guest speakers we'd like to hear from and anything else the group would like to achieve over the next 12 months.

I'll let you know how it goes,
Sonya

Think big

2012-01-27T08:04:00.004+10:00

Some inspirational weekend reading for you...

You know I go on about how permaculture is not limited to backyard food forests, here you can ready about "How farms are using permaculture design to survive and prosper" - from the UK based Permaculture Magazine (which is available in Australia).

THINK BIG with your permaculture design... Transition Towns are another application of permaculture design within communities and the systems that support those communities (health, education, transport, building, planning, water, energy, food...).

Start in your backyard (at your back door, under your nose) and learn your lessons there, then take it beyond and see how far you can go with it.

Knowledge and application of permaculture design builds resilience, which is a powerful skill to have now and to pass onto future generations.

Have a great weekend and try to stay dry if you're in South East Queensland or Northern NSW!

Cheers,
Sonya

Setting up & running a permaculture group...

2012-01-26T13:06:00.003+10:00

... or any community group, be it relocalisation, Transition Towns, organic gardening, reskilling...

thought I'd do an infrequent series of posts on how I've gone about setting up and running some local community groups here; permaculture, seed saving, Transition Towns.

As things change in the world, and particularly as the economy creaks and groans and contracts more people will be looking for alternatives and wanting to connect with others in their community.

First it will be the early adopters, who are doing it pro-actively by choice, then it will be those having to do it by necessity.

So I'm kind of imagining that there will be an increase in interest about how to make community connections.

Now you don't need to be an expert in it to make it happen, you don't need a degree or any other qualifications - we've lost so much of our personal power to believing that you need an expert when we have the skills within our ourselves and within our own communities - that 'collective creative genius' that Transition Town folk go on about.

All you need to be is 1) concerned about the future, 2) wanting to do something positive about it and 3) be living in a community.

I've just sent an email to a whole load of people who are part of Permaculture Eudlo - a group I started in April last year. I also posted on our blog and on our facebook page too.

I sent out a reminder about our first meeting for 2012 in February - a reminder of the date, the time, the location and what will be happening.

We'd already decided as a collective group to use the time of our first meeting for the year to map out the rest of the year - to plan which guest speakers we want to hear from, which weekend activities we want to take part in (garden tours, permablitzes, social outings) and what skills we'd like to learn this year.

The email included a kick off list of ideas to get people thinking - and now its over to them to come up with what they want to do - to add to that list, to drive what they want their local Permaculture group to be.

Then to take responsibility to make that happen, sharing the load so a few don't get burnt out planning for the masses.

Here are some of the ideas I sent out - I got a lot of them from the Portland Maine Permaculture Group site;

• Soils and soil-building
• Plant and seed swaps
• Seed saving workshop
• Plant propagation
• Movie nights
• Growing & using mulches
• Making & using BioChar
• Medicinal plants
• Growing mushrooms
• Sprouts & sprouting
• Permablitzes – how to get the most out of them
• Transition Towns – what they are and how they work
• Home composting & worm farms
• Solar hot water & solar energy options
• Intro to Permaculture
• Permaculture principles
• Rainwater collection & storage
• Seasonal gardening
• No-dig gardens
• Permaculture networks & education
• Permaculture & backyard beekeeping
• Setting up & running co-operatives
• Green home construction
• Green home retrofit
• Health & wellbeing for Permaculturists
• A regional diet
• Resilient food systems
• Subtropical food gardening in a changing climate
• Intentional Communities & Eco-Villages
• Wild food foraging
• Local bush foods
• Plant & tree ID
• Dowsing
• Backyard chooks for eggs and/or meat
• Fermentation as a food preservation method
• Preserving food – eg jam-making
• A pattern language
• Cob ovens
• Solar ovens
• Herbal first aid
• Rocket stoves
• Traditional diets for the Subtropics
• ‘Invasive’ plants ID and eradication
• Knife and tool sharpening & care
• Basic building skills
• Building a ‘humanure’ toilet
• Biodynamics
• Pest management
• Permaculture projects for/with Children
• Basic bicycle maintenance & repair
• Zone 00: Personal resilience building
• Zone 00: Compassionate communication
• Zone 00: Living mindfully & in the present
• Green cleaning
• Options for non-electric refrigeration
• Natural disaster planning
• Basics of mending and sewing
• Designing and building with green "living" roofs

Excursions
• Visit local sites – Veggie Village, Yandina Community Gardens
• Visit Northey Street City Farm Organic Farmers Market on a Sunday morning
• Visits to Crystal Water Permaculture Village's monthly markets

Regularly activities
Eudlo Growers Group – Harvest Swap
Permablitzes (practical projects)
Member’s garden tours
Design brainstorms at people’s homes (ideas & advice)
Friday Morning Vegie Group

At our first meeting we'll get the butchers' paper out and the textas and start writing down what we want to see happen then people can vote to find the most popular ones and we'll start from there.

So don't be put off from starting a group if that is something you've been thinking about - make it clear from the start what your personal commitment will be and delegate and ask for help. Having one other person who you can pass the baton to helps immensely too.

Hope you found this helpful and if you're interested I'll keep posting about how to get started and how to keep a group going,

cheers,
Sonya

Everything is linked…

2012-01-23T12:12:00.000+10:00

Since announcing to the world that I’ll be studying nursing full-time I’ve encountered some unusual responses from people.

Some were shocked (disappointed?), some said what a great idea (I like those supportive people), some questioned why I was walking away from permaculture… and I feel I have to justify myself and my decision to them??

But it isn’t separate, everything is linked, but not everyone can see that.

Imagine how useful I could be with nursing qualifications and permaculture design qualifications?

Imagine helping people achieve health through growing their own food?

Imagine being able to travel and work in places delivering community nursing care and permaculture skills?

I know a woman who teaches really useful sustainable living skills – and she is a doctor.

Not many people know she is a doctor - she doesn’t tell many people, but she is on call 24/7 to respond to humanitarian crises as a medical doctor anywhere in the world – and as part of that she is also able to teach survival and resilience skills – how good is that?

There are a group of student nurses travelling to Tanzania later this year… imagine how useful it would be to leave a little permaculture magic in the villages you volunteered in.

Health is part of permaculture and permaculture is part of health.

Its not separate – everything is linked…

cheers,
Sonya

Are you keen on Quinoa?

2012-01-12T11:53:00.006+10:00

Do you use Quinoa? (Pronounced keen-wa or kwi-no-a) according to a book I read on ancient Incan grains.

Being diagnosed gluten-intolerant a few years ago, I've explored a lot of options and found a lot of great new foods that have become mainstays in our pantry, fridge and on the dining table.

Quinoa is one of them. Its a great grain to have on hand and great in salads.

Although I will admit my use of it is (very) limited.

I make just one salad with it, but to be honest that salad is soooo good I don't need to do anything else with it.

You can cook Quinoa just as you would rice using the absorption method. I add one cup of well-washed Quinoa to two cups of water, bring it to the boil, turn it right down to low, cover with a secure lid and check on it after about 12 minutes.

It does that 'crab-hole' thing that rice does when its all cooked and all the water is absorbed.

This is what it looks like cooked BELOW - little glistening pearls of goodness. In fact Quinoa is ridiculously good for you (including being high in protein) and you can read more about it online.

My recipe comes via a (healthy) friend of ours.

Take your Quinoa (I do one cup) and cook it up and allow to cool. Meanwhile I chop sweet potato up into small pieces and cook that in the oven until its lovely and caramelised BELOW.

I then mix the sweet potato into the Quinoa, then add pepper, oil (whatever type you like - I add olive oil, sometimes macadamia oil - depends what's in the pantry), red wine vinegar (I've also used balsamic when I've been out of red wine vinegar and it tasted just as good) to season it.

I then add diced up fetta cheese and finely chopped rocket.

Mix it all together and enjoy. Its great this time of year to have with barbeques or to take to work for lunches. Its also great if you have a lot of people coming over for lunch, a big bowl of this and a big bowl of rice salad will fill them up.

Do you have any great Quinoa recipes you'd like to share?

Cheers,
Sonya

2012 - home improvements continue

2012-01-10T07:29:00.005+10:00

Since we moved here in 2005 we've been slowly making improvements to the house. Its a small western red cedar cabin, perfect for two with the occasional guest, but it did need some work.

Using permaculture principles we've been slowly but surely (and depending on finances) making the necessary changes to make our home more comfortable and functional.

So far we've replaced interior grade doors that were being used externally with solid timber doors, added solar panels to the roof plus a solar hot water system (which has made a huge difference to our electricity bills), and double our water storage capacity.

And in the photo above you can also see that we've closed in a carport to make it a functional workshop.

To kick off 2012, we've been working on the window and air flow problems. The photo ABOVE shows what we've had - polycarbonate hopper windows, sans flyscreens.

These really haven't worked - the polycarbonate has deteriorated and looks dirty, they can only be open a small amount (great design for cold climes, but not here) and without flyscreens they just can't be used. Not only are mozzies and midgees a problem, but so are snakes and spiders.

A basic passive solar design principle is cross-ventilation - having windows on opposing sides of a room or house so air can move through freely creating a breeze. We haven't had this for years and with the weather warming up here (35 degrees today), its a very hot little house.

The northern side of our house is fine - lovely louvres and functional flyscreens - the southern side though, not so good, no air flow happening, so I'm glad to see the back of those damn hopper windows.

First step was to remove them, here ABOVE you can see where it was and the old ones on the right.

And BELOW - a whole new outlook on life!

We installed these ourselves saving money and now we're making the flyscreens from scratch to go round them too.

The local glass company we used have been exceptional too - delivered ahead of time and a great price.

There are still plenty of jobs to do around the house to make it better and more comfortable, but these new windows will make a huge difference.

Cheers,
Sonya

2012 - the year of the Chook?

2012-01-08T06:17:00.003+10:00

So many people were at my backyard chook talk yesterday at the Blue House in the Yandina Community Gardens that I had to use a microphone so the people crowded in the doorways and on the decks outside could hear.

The feedback from people was so heartening too.

Its just amazing how much interest there is - warms the cockles of my heart I tell ya.

Seems the tide is changing... so just what will 2012 bring I wonder? Its certainly off to a good start for the Yandina gardens, that's for sure.

I'll be there on March 3 (TBC) for a worm farming talk too - which will include a practical session.

Cheers,
Sonya

Talkin' Chooks this Saturday to kick off 2012

2012-01-02T07:32:00.004+10:00

After an exceptionally busy week at Woodford Folk Festival and catching up with family and friends, its back into permaculture this week and setting the tone for 2012.

Aside from making LOADS of soap (have a regular market stall will keep me busy this year methinks) I'll be doing a presentation on keeping chooks the permaculture way at Yandina Community Gardens this Saturday morning from 9.30am.

The workshop is free to attend and you don't need to book, just turn up at the Blue House (part of the community gardens) on the corner of Farrell and North Streets at Yandina just before 9.30 and grab a seat.

I'll also be focusing on what types of herbs and greens are best for chooks, so work to be done there getting that presentation together.

Its that time of year too when thoughts turn to what the year will hold and where you'll be this time next year...

Aside from running my soap business and delivering permaculture talks and workshops whenever I can and being part of Permaculture Eudlo, Transition Town Eudlo and Eudlo Seed Savers' I'll also be starting university in February - studying full time.

So this will be a year of looking after myself, staying healthy, eating well and getting PLENTY of sleep so I can keep up with everything.

What about you? Do you set New Years resolutions? Do you set goals for the year?

Looking forward to a wonderful 2012,
Sonya

NYE @ Woodford Folk Festival

2012-01-01T08:17:00.007+10:00

Final installment of Woodford Folk Festival images.

The New Years Eve lantern parade

Perfect night for it, cool and dry - what a wonderful place to be

Cheers,
Sonya

Woodford Folk Festival (and I'm exhausted!)

2011-12-30T09:19:00.005+10:00

What a Woodford this year!

The weather has been perfect - and it hasn't rained (yay) and the nights have been cool making it very comfortable and enjoyable.

We've spent the past couple of nights at Woodford - whole different experience / mood takes over at night.

Here are some photos... ABOVE The Dingo Cafe lit up

Beautiful lanterns ready for the New Years Eve parade

And some great street performers - this is Roo'd giant kangaroos leaping sky high through the crowd - fantastic.

Big rest today - I've got markets on tomorrow morning and I've got soaps to sell.

Hope you have a great New Years Eve and are up bright and early on January 1 for a brand new year,

Cheers,
Sonya

Woodford Folk Festival (sigh*)

2011-12-28T06:03:00.009+10:00

For the past few years, the space between Christmas and New Years has been taken up with the Woodford Folk Festival at our house. And over the years its also become a great place to catch up with friends, it's beginning to feel like a home away from home.

This year I was booked to present on the first day in the GREENhouse, so yesterday we headed out to the site and I was on at 11am.

I spoke about Transition Towns and the work they are doing on establishing local food links within communities all round the world.

Then we were free to wander the streets of Woodford, relax and just enjoy ourselves.

Woodford Folk Festival is such a lovely place. Every year the organisers and the visitors create a unique community that exists for only a few days - the Peoples' Republic of Woodford - as its known.

Yesterday I noticed that the Festival actually has a pulse. Everywhere you walk you can hear it - beating away - its more than the beat of a drum or a base, the space has become a living breathing entity and that's its pulse you can feel.

Its such a great place. Everyone is smiling and everyone is happy.

The site is packed with people, tents, marquees and market stalls. Its surrounded with camping spaces and an intricate roads system. You can buy all your fire twirling, puppetry and hula hooping needs there.

There is a mini Woodford (little) Folk Festival especially for children and a Land of Nod space where tired children can take a nap too.

There are street acts and big names - we had a 'Woodford moment' walking back to the car yesterday - stopping to hear Colin Hays (from Men at Work) sing Overkill.

So now I'm no longer a presenter there, we're just a couple of people in the masses watching the acts they've come to see, enjoying the food (huge range available) and the atmosphere.

I particularly love the outfits people wear to Woodford. People really dress up in their finest outfits and costumes for the Festival. Sometimes you think they are performers, but no, just visitors dressed up for the occasion.

No break for me on the soapmaking front though - I'm busy making batches to re-stock after Christmas in between visits to Woodford and catching up with family, friends and visitors.

Hope you're enjoying your break (if you have one!),
Sonya

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T06:53:00.005+10:00

Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas on this Summer Solstice Day.

We're all organised for the big day - our 20+ year old Christmas tree is out and looking fabulous like it always does and setting the scene for the season.

Presents have been bought or made and the food is all ordered. Local seafood, local fresh produce, and meat from the organic butcher - it will be a great day.

Friends and family will be caught up with and time spent eating, drinking, enjoying each others company and just relaxing.

I'll be off to the Woodford Folk Festival just after Christmas so I've been pouring over the program working out which acts I'd like to see and which ones are must see - and this year it includes The Dreaming - the Indigenous Australian festival too, so I'm looking forward to seeing that.

So I hope you are well prepared for a beautiful Christmas and gentle transition into yet another New Year.

I'm looking forward to 2012 with new studies on the horizon, new workshops to be delivered and new directions for my soapmaking business.

Have a wonderful Christmas and please take the time to enjoy the season.

And Thank You for your patronage throughout the year - I really do appreciate it,

Sonya XX

Permablitz - making it really easy for you

2011-12-19T14:34:00.003+10:00

Now the good people at Permablitz Melbourne have been busy I guess responding to all the requests they must get about Permablitzing.

To make it really easy for everyone to get into this new groovy social movement, they've produced a guide.

And its free.

Just download it and get started.

Lots of tips and ideas on how to run a happy, healthy, safe, fun, revolutionary Permablitz day.

Get into it,
Sonya

Gypsy Wagon update

2011-12-15T17:05:00.003+10:00

Gosh the gypsy wagon posts are popular aren't they?

Well here's another shot to keep you happy - the wagon on its wheels...

Is it the romance of the idea?

Is it the craftmanship and care that's been taken in building it?

Is it the link to an old way of life?

Or is it something else...

Soap & Beeswax polish for Christmas

2011-12-14T12:36:00.004+10:00

I'm back selling my soaps and beeswax polish and they are proving popular for Christmas presents. Had a great day at the local markets on the weekend and I'm all re-inspired.

The plan is to study full-time from next year and sell soaps part-time to help cover costs and keep the wolf from the door.

I've gone with a new size for my soaps too - they are now 100g (used to be 150g) and $5 each (with discounts starting from 5 bars or more).

The feedback from customers has been that my soaps are very long lasting, which is excellent news - I want them to be value for money and for people to be able to afford to buy them and enjoy the many benefits of handmade, all-natural soaps.

Any handmade soap will last longer if you let it dry out between uses, use a well-draining soap dish and they will also last longer if you use a flannel in the shower.

We are just starting to get repeat customers looking for more of our handmade beeswax polish too. We make a very traditional polish using beeswax, carnauba wax, gum turpentine (from living trees as opposed to mineral turpentine) and linseed oil.

We have that in unscented, Lavender and Lemon Eucalyptus (all essential oils). The 100g tin is $12.50 or two for $23.

If you'd like to order anything, let me know - an overnight postage pack within Australia is an extra $12.

cheers,
Sonya

Gypsy Wagon on the move

2011-12-11T12:36:00.008+10:00

I posted about a gypsy wagon that a friend is building for a client a while ago - you can read the post here.

Well, the other day we got a call from our friends to ask if we could lend a hand to move the wagon out ready to be fitted to its wheels and its next stage of work.

I took some photos to show you the progress. ABOVE - some of the intricate painting on the wheel spokes, all hand painted.

BELOW - the back wheels (on the left) are huge and the front wheels have a turntable on the top for steerage. You'll need a staircase to get in and out of the wagon. In all it will be almost 4 metres tall when finished.

Here's the wagon BELOW - nearing completion and getting ready to be handed over to the artist for painting.

Note the gorgeous sash windows and the letter box in the front door. Such attention to detail and craftmanship - its a beauty to behold.

Here's another shot of the wheels - the back wheels are in the foreground.

To see what it will look like finished, take a look at my previous post on the wagon.

Its so much work, so intricate and so many man hours to build it, but it will be stunning when its finished.

Cheers,
Sonya

Community Gardens or Community Gardening?

2011-12-09T07:04:00.003+10:00

How’s this for an idea?

There are a lot of community gardens popping up around the place. As I travel round talking about permaculture and delivering workshops a lot of people are in the audience because they want to start a community garden in their local area.

Great idea and power to them I say.

Community gardens are fantastic and there are numerous examples of how well they work in a wide range of areas; teaching people new skills, sharing community knowledge and know how, acting as a catalyst for community development, improving health and mostly for their ability to bring people together.

I strongly support community gardens and love them dearly and I’ll fight to the bitter end for my right to have a community garden.

But they aren’t for everyone. We have two very robust, busy, abundant (fast growing) acres here and the last thing I want to do is go and work in a community garden. I’ve got a huge one right here.

When our Transition Town first started sprouting ideas a community garden came up – as it often does when people first start getting together to discuss resilience and localisation.

But we quickly realised it wasn’t for us.

We did think about supporting the local school in setting up a garden and then perhaps people who didn’t have much land in town or were renting could garden there on weekends treating it as a community garden, but that never eventuated.

A community orchard was more our style, less work, something different, but that too is on hold.

After a discussion I had on Tuesday morning at one of my talks I got to thinking about ‘community gardening’ as an alternative or add-on to ‘community gardens’.

There are lots of ways to get gardening in your community. Permablitz is one fab example.

Chris from Slow Living Essentials has a great Friday Veggie Group – a group of women who get together every Friday to garden, chat and eat yummy food. They rotate through each others’ gardens so you get help at your place and get to visit other gardens and lend a hand.

I think this type of community gardening is great. It gets food happening in backyards, which is vital. Some community gardens do this too with outreach programs and I think its one of the most important services a community garden can provide – making changes out in the community.

So aside from Permablitzes and Friday Veggie Groups, what other community gardening ideas have you heard about or are part of?

Disclaimer: I’m talking about local food at the Woodford Folk Festival this year and it would be great to include some other actual examples of community innovation happening out there.

Cheers,
Sonya

All About Chooks - part III

2011-12-08T07:30:00.005+10:00

Okay, time for part three of the 'chook' series.

You can read part one here and part two here... this has come about because I've been doing talks around the place on chooks, and because of the renewed interest in chook keeping generally.

If you live on the Sunshine Coast, I'll be doing a talk on backyard chooks on Saturday January 7 at Yandina Community Gardens from 9.30am. Its a free talk, just turn up and you'll find me in the Blue House.

This is part III of my chook series and I'll cover; chook social behaviour, bringing chooks home for the first time, a typical daily / monthly / quarterly routine if you're new to chooks, and free ranging your chooks in your permaculture garden.

Chook Social Behaviour - chooks are sociable creatures so its best not to keep just one. A few chooks will be much happier together. They'll develop 'friendships' and will find their own pecking order. The best way to learn about chook behaviour is to observe them. You'll see who the dominant chooks are - the ones who eat first, find goodies in the garden, lead the way and explore further than the others. Chooks are quite sweet little creatures and you'll get hours of enjoyment just watching them do their thing and be chooks.

Bringing chooks home for the first time - chooks can easily be transported in a cardboard box with some straw or shredded paper on the bottom to absorb any droppings during the trip. Cut plenty of holes in the box so its well ventilated and be aware that you need to keep the chooks cool - which is important here in the subtropics. Chooks run at a high temperature naturally, so keeping them cool is vital.

Having everything ready before you get your chooks is the way to go. Have the food hanging up for them, their water ready, bedding on the floor and the house all prepared for them. Put your new chooks in their new home and shut them in for a few days. If you let them out, they'll find their own places to roost - if you lock them in their house for a few days to get used to it and they'll come home every night and roost there, which makes it easy for you.

Introducing new chooks into an existing flock - this can be a little tricky. If you just bring new chooks home and put them in with your chooks, they'll fight and can be pretty brutal too. Instead, keep your new chooks in their cardboard box (in a cool, well ventilated spot) until dark and your 'old' chooks are all settled in for the night. Then take the new chooks and put them among your old chooks on the roost. Chooks are dozy at night and this will be easy to do.

First thing in the morning I put out grain on the ground in their yard to distract them. Let them all eat and keep them locked in their yard for a day or two so the new chooks get used to the place.

There may be some fighting but that's normal, they need to sort out their pecking order, but using this method you'll keep the damage to a minimum.

Routines - a typical daily routine for keeping chooks is; in the morning, open up the chookhouse, rake the floor over or change the floor bedding if needed, clean off perches (use an old paint scraper for that), check water and clean / refresh as needed, fill feeder up, feed them some greens... let them out into their yard or to free range for the day, then at the other end of the day; collect eggs (or if you're home during the day, do this earlier to keep goanna problems to a minimum), at dusk the chooks should be back home and on their perches and you just need to put their food container away in a metal rubbish bin for the night to help keep vermin to a minimum. Check the house over, do a head count and lock them in their lovely predator proof house for the night.

No matter how vigilant you are with your chooks, they is a good chance that at sometime you'll come home late, accidentally leave a door open, or just plain forget to put them away for the night and you may lose some or all of them (if its a fox) - its sad, but its part of owning livestock. And it seems more and more that foxes are hunting during the day so you need to weigh up them free ranging versus the chance of losing them...

Back to routines, on a monthly basis you can add garlic to their water as a worming treatment - here's a link to a post on natural chook care and how to do the garlic treatment.

And quarterly, chooks will benefit from a treatment of something like a nasturtium seed each (for treating parasites) or I use a herbal treatment from Greenpet in their water which might be easier for you. Greenpet are good for a whole range of naturopathic and homeopathic treatments for animals - both livestock and pets.

Free-ranging your chooks - every permaculture book talks about free-ranging chooks and the role they play in a healthy permaculture garden. But chooks don't belong in the vegie patch. You either need to fence the vegies or the chooks. Chooks do very well in an organic orchard and in the Food Forest. Take responsibility for your chooks too and don't let them wander over into neighbours' properties (we'll had that problem here). It might suit you better to just let your chooks free range in the afternoon rather than all day too. Its up to you.

What other tips do you have for healthy chooks?

Cheers,
Sonya

Soaps & fitting in part-time work

2011-11-30T09:56:00.005+10:00

I haven't posted any soap pics lately so I thought I'd show you what I've been up to.

ABOVE is a honey soap I make using honey from our beehives. Its delicious on the skin, very moisturising and very nourishing. This is one of our most popular soaps and its always in our shower soap dish.

BELOW is SubLime - with lime and ginger pure essential oils it smells just like summer, I've coloured this one with organic wheatgrass for the green and Australian white clay for the topping.

I'm busy soaping this week to get stock up for Christmas markets and also for starting (or re-starting should I say) a weekly market stall as of January 2012.

As you may recall, I'm heading back to full time uni study next year which is exciting, but also a little concerning re the whole money/cashflow situation.

So I'm setting weekends aside for work - a Saturday morning soap stall at the local farmers' market and for permaculture jobs - I'll be keeping my hand in the teaching side of things and I'm open to offers from community and school gardens, and community groups who'd like to learn more about permaculture design, organic vegie growing, composting, worm farming, chooks, Transition Towns...

Once I've got my timetable for the semester, I'll have an idea of the weekday time I'll have available, but I'm hoping for some work to come in for Saturdays and Sundays next year, just to keep some groceries in the cupboards and the wolf from the door.

Cheers,
Sonya

Native Bee Workshop this weekend

2011-11-29T06:36:00.001+10:00

I'm not running this workshop, but it sounds like a good one so I thought I'd share...

Native Bee workshop with Bob Rabbi

Sat 3rd Dec

At Fairhill Nursery (Ninderry / North Arm way)

0930 until about 3pm

Cost $20

morning tea and lunch incl.

Bookings at Fairhill ph:5446 7088

Bob will have a couple of different varieties of bees with him, he will be splitting the hives for people to see,and imparting all his knowledge about Bees.

Woodford Folk Festival

2011-11-23T06:52:00.003+10:00

The Woodford Folk Festival is on soon and I've been invited back to speak for another year in the GREENhouse - I'll be there on the very first day (Tuesday December 27) at 11am.

Woodford is a great experience and I've been going now for a few years and seen groups form and people connect, so its very exciting to be asked back again.

I'll be talking about local food and the work being done by Transition Towns around the world to build local food networks, systems and cultures. I'll also feature what's happening right here in my home town with local food.

My aim is to inspire people in the audience to get out there and do something positive.

So if you're planning on going to Woodford this year drop by and say hello.

Making the Transition to local food
Celebrating Transition Towns around the world who are getting out there, seeding, creating and building resilient, localised food systems in all their shapes and forms.

Cheers,
Sonya

3 Christmas present ideas

2011-11-19T11:05:00.008+10:00

Here's three good ideas for homemade Christmas presents this year.

First up (ABOVE) gorgeous cleansing grains from Kathy at Bliss Beyond Naptime.

These are really beautiful and I always have a jar in the shower - you can use it on your face, hands, neck... it smooths and nourishes dry skin and gives you a radiant glow.

Specially good as a summer feet treat this time of year, simply use it as a pedicure scrub.

A jar of these extra-special grains with a note explaining how to use them would make a lovely Christmas present - you could include the recipe so the giftee could make their own too.

Idea number 2.

How about giving someone a pick 'n' pluck mini-garden?

Just take a polysterene box and either fill it a la no-dig style (BELOW)...

Or if you've been a good girl or boy this year, fill it with your beautiful home made compost, simply mulch over the top and plant it out.

Get the mini-garden ready now and it will be blooming by Christmas. Make it special for your friend - if they're a foodie, fill it with summer herbs for tasty summer salads - like parsley and chives, if they love herbal tea fill it with lemon balm or mint, or just pack it full of non-heartening lettuces so they can pick a salad day after day....

The box below has; cos lettuce, spring onions, chives, mushroom plant and brazilian spinach

Idea number 3.

Some homemade creams - I swear by this comfrey recipe from Christine at Slow Living Essentials for comfrey ointment. Cures achy joints, bumps 'n' bruises, we always have some on hand.

But you can take this recipe and replace the comfrey with whatever herbs you'd like - try calendula petals for example. Steep the herbs in the olive oil as directed, add some beeswax to harden it up and voila - homemade goodies for the bathroom cabinet.

Cheers,
Sonya

All about chooks - part II

2011-11-15T09:02:00.005+10:00

So let's look at what to feed your chooks and some useful herbal treatments to keep them healthy and active.

If you have your own chooks you'll probably want to feed them organic food - it makes sense to do that - you buy certified organic eggs from the shops, so if you have your own chooks you want the same quality.

The best organic food I've found is Country Heritage. Its grown in Queensland, certified organic and our chooks love it.

But it is expensive so supplement with greens from the garden. Part of permaculture design is planning food sources for all the living creatures on the land - whether domesticated or wild (native trees etc) and this includes your chooks.

So extra greens (kale, spinach etc) planted out specifically to feed the chooks will help keep the food bill low. Feed your chooks plenty of homegrown greens and watch the yolks turn a beautiful orange.

I've had people think we add colourants to our eggs they were so orange!

Kitchen scraps are another source of food - chooks should get the premium stuff from the kitchen, the next level of quality should go to the worms and the rest in the compost.

Keep their grain feed in a metal bin - you must keep it safe from vermin. You don't want mice and rats eating that expensive grain and you don't want to encourage them as they will in turn attract snakes.

I put the food out in the morning and put the whole feeder in a metal bin at the end of the day when I go to lock the chooks up for the night.

Don't overfeed or you'll get spilt grain and that too will attract mice.

Use a hanging feeder - that will also keep feed off the floor and keep the house clean.

Calcigrit is available in many feed barns and a sprinkle of that over the feed every now and then will help keep the chooks healthy too - but many feeds already contain these types of additives, so read the contents list first. Calcigrit helps egg shell production.

Protein is important for chooks and you can get this from; their food (Country Heritage contains the correct amount of protein for healthy chooks), grubs in the garden (pest management in all its beauty chooks turn grubs into delicious eggs for you), or you can place a piece of timber in their yard, let grubs and beetles build up under it, then turn it over for them to feast on.

Herbs - I can't recommend Isabell Shipard's Herb Book highly enough - great source of info for people and animals.

I add garlic to the chooks water once a month - simply crush up one clove per chook, put it in a jug, pour over water and let sit for a few hours. Strain off the garlic (I add that to the dog's food), you'll be left with really garlicy water - add this to the chooks' water and leave that for them for a couple of days as their only water source.

This clears them of worms and other parasites and generally boost their health. If you notice your chooks have 'dirty pants' from diarrhea give them some garlic it will clear it up quickly.

When I've had sick chooks in the flock, I've added an extra garlic dose in between the monthly doses and it has helped many, many times. A useful tool to have up your sleeve.

Herbs play several roles in chook health care; either taken internally, or used to keep the chookhouse clean and repel pests.

Good herbs to grow and use to strew around the chookhouse (not for chooks to eat) - Mugwort is handy to have near the chook house - pick leaves and throw over the bedding to help keep mites and fleas at bay. Tansy is also another great strewing herb and have Southernwood and Wormwood growing along the fence for chooks to brush up against to self-medicate - they'll know what to do.

Back to edible herbs for chooks; Comfrey is excellent feed for chooks, pick a few leaves and add to their greens, Ginger crushed up and added to their water regularly will also help keep them healthy.

Other great herbs; Fat Hen, Gotu Kola, Nasturtium and Nettle.

Another great tip; if your chooks are moulting you can make a tonic of 1 cup of linseed in 1 litre of water gently simmered for 20 minutes (initial soaking for 4 hours helps) until it becomes a jelly, add to their feed - but ensure the linseed doesn't make up more than 5% of their diet or it will become a laxative, just use it to treat annually for moulting.

If you want to read up more on herbs and chooks, I recommend Alanna Moore's book - Backyard Poultry - Naturally. The recipe above is from there.

What chook herb / feed tips do you have?

Cheers,
Sonya

Compost workshop + great ideas

2011-11-14T05:59:00.010+10:00

I ran a composting workshop at the Yandina Community Gardens on Saturday morning.

More than 40 people turned up! Amazing!

It was a packed house and great to see so many people taking advantage of their local community gardens. I presented a powerpoint for starters inside the 'blue house', then we headed out into the garden and made a compost from scratch using a lot of plants from the garden (arrowroot, galangal, cardamon etc).

Before the workshop started I had a chance to have a look around the gardens and take some photos - its a funny time of year here - the summer rains haven't started so everything is looking hot and a little sad, particularly in the middle of the day. But aside from that the garden is thriving and booming with production.

Community gardens are also jam pack full of great ideas for you to use in your own garden.

For example (below) you can see a lush aquaponics system in full flight. Abundant greens growing in the hydroponic side of things filtering the water the fish live in...

And fish living happily in the 'aquaculture' side of things (below) here pet goldfish enjoy the clean water, while in another system fish bred for the dinner plate are growing to size. This system below is a smaller version using a couple of bath tubs - the gardens have a large system on display too.

Here a fruit fly trap sits in a citrus tree... community gardens in your local area are great places to learn how to deal with local problems, local pests and local diseases. If you've just moved to a new area and a new climate zone, visit your local community garden and see what grows well in the area and many gardens also sell plant stock and seeds.

Good bug attracting plants in flower below... note the classic small white flowers so common in good bug plants.

And how's this! A native bee hotel/motel. In Australia we have a lot of solitary native bees. This timber / bamboo feature provides hidey holes for bees of varying sizes and an attractive addition to the garden.

Looking forward to doing a worm farm workshop at the Yandina gardens in the new year and seeing what's new in the garden.

Are you involved in a community garden in your local area?

Cheers,
Sonya

All about chooks - part 1

2011-11-13T10:38:00.007+10:00

I'm running a workshop on keeping chooks on Wednesday at Maleny, so I've been busy putting the presentation together which involves a lot of chook-related research.

So I thought I'd kick off part 1 here on the blog with housing your chooks and then post later about feeding them and using herbs to keep them healthy and later I'll write a post on useful tips, chook social behaviour, bringing chooks home for the first time, a typical daily / monthly / quarterly routine if you're new to chooks, and free ranging your chooks in your permaculture garden.

So here's some thoughts on chooks.

Chooks contribute a lot to a permaculture garden. They provide eggs and meat of course, but they also provide fertiliser and pest management duties.

They are also great pets if you have children (and select the right breed).

But chooks have their needs too;

A well-built, predator safe house in the right location is a great start.

Predator proof it to ensure snakes, foxes, wild dogs, quolls and predatory birds (or whatever other predators are in your area) don't get your chooks.

Keeping them safe at night is easy in a well-built, strong house, but during the day it can be a lot harder to keep them safe.

Here in the subtropics, our established galangal, cardamon and other low growing, bushy plants near the chookhouse have saved more than one chook during an overhead predator attack by a Goshawk during the day when they have been out free ranging.

Also consider making their house goanna proof too. They'll get in and steal eggs and take a small chicken if they get the chance. They hunt during the day so bear that in mind.

Other features that make a good chook house include passive solar design which will keep it cool in summer and warm (and draft-proof) in winter.

The right location? Well that's somewhere on the edge of zone 1 and 2. Close enough to the house so its easy to visit them everyday, easy access to free water etc, yet far enough away that their chook chatter at dawn doesn't wake you up if you want to sleep in (or you're a shift worker who needs to sleep during the day).

Plan perches at the right height for your chooks (the larger the breed, the lower the perch) and plenty of space for your chooks to fly off their perches in the morning too.

A floor that can be swept, scrubbed and washed out is good - either concrete or paving. This will also prevent vermin digging up into the house from under the floor to get to the feed.

Remove food at night and place it in a metal rubbish bin with a well fitting lid - this will deter vermin which will in turn deter snakes. Don't overfill the feeder or you'll have spilt grain on the floor - a waste of money and a vermin attractant. If you've given them some fresh greens and they haven't clean them up during the day, put them in the compost to again keep the chook house clean.

Your chook house could be made out of tin, timber, bricks, strawbale or mudbricks. Keep in mind there will be times when you'll need to wash down the walls and also keep in mind the comfort inside - a tin chook house in full sun is not fun. Stand in there yourself and see what its like.

Chooks have a high body temperature, so its more important to keep them cool than warm (unless you live in a really cold area), and wherever they live, chooks don't like drafts. Buying local chooks that are suited to your climate is a good idea.

Chook tractors are popular and add a whole new dimension to permaculture gardening. They are also a way to control where your chooks go and keeps them contained while allowing you to put them over new ground daily. Great for cleaning up old vegie beds while new vegie grow nearby (but out of reach of your contained chooks).

Putting chooks on old vegie beds to clean them up is very practical on many levels. Chooks will clean up pests, eat larvae, scratch the ground up, manure on it and help break pest and disease cycles.

Your chook house is another structure within your permaculture garden so consider its water catchment potential (could you add a small barrel to collect rain water for the chooks?) and its vertical growing space potential (a shady summer vine growing up and over a chookhouse will aid in keeping the house cool too, particularly planted on the western side).

I'm a big believer in heritage breeds, just like heritage seeds, we need to keep that genetic diversity and we need to have diversity in characteristics, qualities and behaviours. So please, only buy pure bred chooks! And buy ones that suit your climate.

Next time I'll talk about what to feed your chooks and some useful herbs for keeping your chooks healthy & happy.

PS - that chook in the photo is what is known as a BAD chook - getting into the feed bucket like that!

cheers,
Sonya

Workshops this week...

2011-11-06T12:06:00.003+10:00

If you live on the Sunshine Coast you might be interested in coming along to some workshops I've got coming up.

Dates & locations are;
Tuesday Nov 8 - Worm Farming - at the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
Saturday Nov 12 - Composting made easy - Yandina Community Gardens
Wed Nov 16 - Backyard Chooks - Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
Saturday Nov 26 - Backyard Chooks - Maleny Neighbourhood Centre

Bookings are essential for the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre workshops cost is $5 each. Please phone 5499 9345 to make a booking.

Thought for Food

2011-11-06T12:01:00.001+10:00

What are your top study tips?

2011-11-03T08:47:00.005+10:00

Thanks for your comments on my recent post about returning to study.

Seems many of you have taken the plunge and not regretted it, which warms the cockles of my heart I must say! I've also spoken to some nurses who have encouraged me to do it and they were shining examples of people enjoying their work, which is what I'm looking for.

But it got me thinking, there's obviously a lot of expertise out there in blogland and a lot of tips on how best to study - how to make the most of it and how to retain the information.

It also got me thinking about all types of study you might be doing.

Whether its a permaculture design course, some type of advanced permaculture course, some other type of sustainable living course or a uni course.

What's your best tips on handling the study and making the most of that precious time?

My past experience has been with assignment based assessments, which I'm comfortable with, but with the nursing degree I'll be having to study for exams. A little bit scarey I must admit.

I know being well prepared is the best plan of approach. I'm also thinking study groups and mock exam questions to get up to speed.

What tips do you have? What study do you have planned for the next year?

Planning on doing a PDC perhaps? Maybe some self-directed learning mapped out?

Let me know, I'd love to hear

Cheers,
Sonya

Getting involved in the community

2011-11-02T06:26:00.003+10:00

We had our monthly Permaculture Eudlo meeting last night and it got me thinking about community and groups.

The Permaculture Eudlo group seems to have found its groove and is cruising along nicely.

This Sunday we have our monthly Transition Town / Seed Savers Group get together at the local cafe. This group has been meeting since 2007 and seems to have stood the test of time to some degree.

I believe that finding the right niche when starting a new group is the key.

You might have an idea of what you think needs to happen or what people want, but for a group to be really successfully (and sustainable) its important to stand back and let the community decide what they want.

I see the key role as providing a platform for discussion to begin - then letting it evolve and shape itself.

Its about letting go of ego, letting the community lead the way and providing the right environment for healthy inclusive discussion, exchanges of ideas and the space for a vision to form.

Its great to see people coming together regularly, making new friends, feeling part of their community and sharing information.

I've also heard that belonging to a group can extend your life. People who are part of a group that meets regularly live longer.

Permaculture Eudlo members have decided they want regular guest speakers, visits to members gardens and Permablitzes - we can also add in some social 'excursions' like car pooling and heading to the Crystal Waters Markets or maybe a group visit to Northey Street City Farm.

Starting a community group can be hard work and many of them do fail - its interesting to find successful groups and see how they have managed to find balance between what people want and what can be achieved, and also how they avoid burn out and share the load.

Community groups are a great place to learn people skills too. The technical side of gardening, how to plant, what to plant, when to plant etc is easy to learn - its the interaction between people that will lead to success in the future. If we can't work together it doesn't matter how many community gardens the council want. It doesn't matter how much information is out there about what to do - its how to do it that's important - How can we work together?

Do you have any tips for successful groups?

Cheers,
Sonya

How do you handle the gloom n doom stuff?

2011-10-25T10:33:00.002+10:00

How do you cope with the gloom and doom scenarios of the future?

Every time there's a hiccup / contraction in the economy things fire up on forums around the place that this is IT - this is the end of things as we know them.

Sure I understand that we cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet and that the economy is built on unstable foundations that will at some point collapse - but when and how?

At times over the years I've found the negativity overwhelming and literally crawled under the covers and stayed there for a while. Its been too much to take in and the feeling on unpreparedness and vulnerability and worry were too much. It wasn't healthy.

dixiebelle at eat at dixiebelles writes at times very honestly about how she feels about things and her followers really appreciate that honesty.

But what do you do?

I'm finding I'm really switching off at the moment - I don't want to hear about it or read about it.

Instead I want to focus on my home and family.

I also wonder if this blitz of decluttering and clearing out that seems to be happening around the blogging world is a response to this, of preparing for the future?

Are we naturally turning to home and hearth as things get tougher?

Permaculture has always provided a solution to these problems and that why I love it so much, but sometimes its not enough and I find I need to surround myself with beauty and peace and step out of it for a while - how about you?

cheers,
Sonya

Rethinking the future

2011-10-21T14:17:00.003+10:00

As some of you might know, I've been dealt a bit of blow recently in that a major project I'd been working on (and relying on to earn an income after six years of volunteering) fell over.

Its really made me reassess things.

At first I was really depressed - hit for a six and at a loss of what to do.

But then slowly I started heading up out of that hole and now things look a lot better.

Its been a real learning curve and a super big wake up call for me. Its made me question everything I've been doing for the past few years and what I'm going to do in the next phase of my life.

I've been applying for jobs but its bloody hard out there and really the skills I do have aren't valued in the job market.

After a lot of thought and discussion with loved ones, I've decided its time to take responsibility for things and not be reliant on others for my future direction / happiness / employment.

So I've decided to go back to university full-time next year and re-skill myself in something that will offer me as stable as possible employment into the next phase of my life.

This is going to be a huge change for me and the household, but I'm really happy with the decision I've made. It feels right and comfortable. I feel happy when I think about it. That must be a good sign.

And I'm blessed to be able to go back to full-time study. Not a lot of people have that opportunity so I'm going to make the most of it.

I'll still keep dropping by here and I'll still be 'permaculturing' at home - I still firmly believe its a great way to save money and live well, but I won't be as out and about in the community volunteering has I have been. Its time to focus inward now...

Have a great weekend doing what you love with the people you love,
Sonya

The $5 table

2011-10-19T05:20:00.004+10:00

Ta da! This is our new dining table - cost $5.

As part of our declutter/rearranging craze at the moment, we decided we needed a small two person dining table - with the option to add another one or two people if needed.

So we headed out looking at furniture.

Shop after shop looking at tables - and nothing interested us. As usual (you'd think we'd learn) we just kept saying we could build something better.

This is really all about skills, not money.

I'm so glad the person I feel in love with all those years ago spent his childhood learning how to build things (and has a natural talent too).

When we came home from our fruitless shopping expedition, John headed out to the shed. He'd remembered building a table top years ago that we'd been carrying round with us.

And wouldn't you know it? It was the perfect size!

It was built years ago using materials from the tip - back in the day when tip shops were real bargain places. Seems a lot of people have cottoned onto them now and prices have gone up as council found them to be profitable little money makers.

John would come home from the tip with trailer loads of old timber - it looked like firewood to me at best, but he could see something else. A trailer full would be $5 or so.

From those tip trips we have; a full size dining table, an eight seater outdoor table, one large and two small coffee tables and a tv cabinet. All made from scrap timber.

And this table is our newest addition. The turquoise paint is from two houses ago and the only expenses were $5 for the metal corners (which John cut, welded and painted) and we did splurge $30 on the decorative nails to go on top.

Its sort of medieval goth meets shabby chic with more work to do on the legs to make them look a little more aged.

The green dining chairs were bought about 15 years ago for $10 each and we've been carting them around too - they are next on the list to be made over - new paint job (I'm thinking a cream or alabaster colour), new padding and new upholstery.

It really does pay to get some skills under your belt (or marry someone who does) - you save so much money and you end up with something the perfect size for your space and a unique piece of furniture.

(And check out that lovely sheen from our homemade beeswax polish too!)

cheers,
Sonya

Permaculture, boats and banquettes

2011-10-16T16:59:00.005+10:00

Following on from (and inspired by) the kitchen makeover I've been exploring how to make the most of our small space.

It's been fun completely throwing the 'rules' in the air and coming up with what we want and what we need.

Our house is very small. This is a good thing - particularly when you consider our energy use, time spent cleaning, money you need to spend furnishing it etc etc.

But it also raises challenges. How do you create something beautiful and functional.

Perhaps a lot of permaculture in the past hasn't focused on the beautiful - but I see aesthetics as a function - I have to live there and I need beautiful things around me or something starts to slowly die inside.

We also spend time living comfortably on our yacht - its 26 foot long - smaller than our house both in length and width and people have sailed these around the world carrying all their food, water, fuel, spares (spares and more spares if you know any sailors you'll know what I'm talking about), clothes, sails, dinghies - you name it.

Yachts are great places to learn about how to use space.

See that photo above - under each of those cushions are deep lockers - lockers packed with tinned goods, rice, pasta and wine. The floor boards lift up and in the bilge we store parts, spares, oil, repair materials.

Each cupboard is packed to the brim. No wasted space, no free loaders, no one-use wonders.

So how can I incorporate this wonderful example of permaculture - multiple function, relative location, zoning etc into our house.

We have a problem spot. A dining area that consists of a long table in a skinny space. No room for chairs to be pulled in and out, and we have a shortage of storage.

I think (no I know) we need a banquette. My Dad built one of these in the house I grew up in. It had lockers under, but I don't really know what was in there - I think it was tools??

It was made of red vinyl and in summer in Adelaide you could hear your skin peeling off as you got up. You had to be made of tough stuff back in the 70's.

But maybe there's a place in our home for a banquette?

A stylish set of hidden lockers under a comfy, cushioned, upholstered cover with colourful throw cushion behind to support your lower back.

I saw this on this blog and this is what I'm talking about.

Multiple function, solves a problem, adds value and with John's skills could be made for next to nix. We could even do the upholstery ourselves...

mmmm, now there's a project for next weekend.

Cheers,
Sonya

Kitchen makeover

2011-10-13T08:11:00.012+10:00

I've written recently about the current decluttering movement happening on blogs around the world.

I thought I'd post some photos of our recent decluttering - it all started in the kitchen following the sage advice of Cecilia on streamlining your cooking time. Just the sink, that was all...

But with that done and looking so sweet, I was inspired, so I turned a cupboard that was once full of 'negative' energy (read junk) into a party cupboard - this one is now the special place for our entertaining glasses and the 'good' china tea cups. Its now a happy place, not a negative place.

Bench space cleared and we now have a lovely breakfast bar.

Pans were hung on the wall.

Shelves were added - all homemade from recycled materials, and they add character and interest to the home and they are totally unique.

Just look at all that space! Hellooooooo!

Dog spikes recycled from the local railway station dumping ground - now used to stop my favourite cook books falling off the end of the shelf.

Old anchor chain off our boat upcycled. And there is now a space to display my teapot collection.

And suddenly you have moment of beauty - as seen in this kitchen still life.

Decluttering rules;
declutter - toss out, recycle, be ruthless
clean - scrub everything and make it shine
style - take what you have and look at it through new eyes and become your very own stylist. Group colours and shapes to create interest.

Google images for inspiration - there are a lot of blogs and sites out there dedicated to home styling on a budget.

And of course I also incorporated permaculture principles - zoning, relative location, multiple functions... you know the deal.

Cheers,
Sonya

Goodbye Farmama - I'll miss you

2011-10-12T08:45:00.003+10:00

One of my favourite bloggers - Sara from Farmama has made the decision to cease blogging.

I can fully understand her decision and the need to walk away from the computer (or TV or whatever is draining your time and energy).

If you haven't visited Farmama, take the time to have a look over there. Lots and lots of great inspiration to be had.

Big loss to the blogging community, but big gain for her family and local community.

Goodbye Farmama,
Thanks for your blog,

cheers,
Sonya

Permaculture Eudlo

2011-10-05T13:29:00.003+10:00

We had our regular 'first Tuesday of the month' Permaculture Eudlo meeting last night.

About 30 people turned up, which was most excellent, and we planned out the next few meetings and discussed what direction the group would like to take.

Being part of a group is an interesting process. I've seen so many fail for various reasons and its hard sometimes to work out why.

I think a lot get caught up in the whole incorporation process; secretaries, treasurers and the like and it becomes burdened with bureaucracy and slowly stagnates. Plus at times the wrong people end up in positions just to fill them because the annual general meeting has come round. Its an old-fashioned system designed for the convenience of bureaucrats rather than the people using the system, that needs to get out of the way to accommodate today's fast moving, fast thinking community action - IMHO anyway.

I prefer to think of a group like I do a garden - each one is created uniquely and develops to fit its own environment. Some things thrive, others fail, but if overall the garden is growing, that's a good sign. A group also goes through a process not unlike starting a new garden.

There is the soil to work, clay to be broken up, pioneer and support plants to go in, mulch to be applied - even before any food is planted. Same with a group - that foundation work needs to happen to create a sustainable dynamic within the group.

So last night we talked about what we wanted to get out of OUR permaculture group. A few people talked about us first creating a social connection and bonds, getting out and about, shoulder to shoulder in the garden to learn about each other as much as the new skills we're learning.

After some discussion and ideas-sharing the plan goes something like this;

Permablitzes - people were keen to learn new skills and get hands on. Permablitzes are the perfect model to make that happen. So we'll plan our first Permablitz and have them on an irregular/regular basis. We've had Permablitzes in Eudlo before and they've worked a treat, so we'll re-vitalise them and make it happen. I posted about Permablitzes just the other day (be careful what you wish for... ha ha!)

Guest speakers - people had particularly interests which will need experts to come in to lead the way. Ideas include; a talk on keeping native bees, and perhaps a honey bee workshop in the future and from the knowledge base within the group - talks on successful seed raising and homeopathy. I'm organising the November native bee talk.

Garden visits - the second best thing gardeners like to do is have a nosy round someone else's garden - so we're going to organise some garden tours of members' backyards. The first garden visit is at West Woombye on Sunday October 23 9am - bring a plate and a chair.

A Men's Shed - there seems to be a lot of interest and activity in the alternative energy area mainly with the blokes in the groups, but of courses there are women interested in energy too, so we seem to have a self-forming Men's Shed happening.

Social visits - we also talked about visiting places as a group - for example us carpooling up to the Crystal Waters Markets one Saturday morning for a visit, a look round and perhaps lunch at the cafe.

So there you have it, the future direction of Permaculture Eudlo.

We also had a lovely market table with; dogsbane, Lebanese cress and nasturtium seeds to give away, white peach tree for sale and 2 litre bottles of free worm juice to take home.

cheers,
Sonya

Biofertile Farms - a workshop

2011-10-04T12:39:00.006+10:00

Thought I'd let you all know that RegenAG are running another workshop here on the Sunshine Coast.

The last workshop they hosted here was Joel Salatin and I know a few of you attended that event so I thought you might be interested in this one - it sounds great.

The workshop runs from October 30 to November 1 - here's a copy of what's on their website....

Join Eugenio Gras for a three-day workshop on how biofertilisers can drastically increase your on-farm fertility and save you tens of thousands of dollars a year on inputs.

Representing the pioneering work of COAS in Mexico, Eugenio will lead you through the why and how of making your own organic fertilisers out of easily available ingredients.

This workshop focuses on practical techniques of defining what your soil needs and enhancing it by applying biofertilisers for small, medium and larger-scale farming, grazing and forestry operations.

Over the last 20 years, pioneering scientists in Latin America have developed a range of ‘farm-made’ BioFertilisers to replace energy-intensive and expensive artificial fertilisers. These techniques have enabled farmers across Latin America access to the tools and knowledge needed to get themselves ‘off the drip’ of increasingly unaffordable artificial fertilisers.

And now we're bring this open-source knowledge to the world.

This very popular hands-on workshop will re-define the role that bio-fertilisers and organic inputs can play on your property.

One tonne of healthy topsoil will typically harbor as much as 25% of its weight in living microorganisms. Encouraging more microbiology (of the right kind) to your soil strengthens its structure, makes nutrients available to the plants above, builds humus and leads to resilient, productive soils, naturally.

Biofertilisers using everyday organic materials that are already present on the average farm. This workshop will introduce multiple techniques for making a range of biofertilisers, using a range of fermentation and brewing processes that are easily within the scope of the average landowner. Full curriculum available upon request.

Cheers,
Sonya

Speaking of Christmas pressies...

2011-09-30T05:56:00.006+10:00

Okay, time for a plug for the good people who produce the Permaculture Diary and Calendar.

They work hard to produce it every year and don't make money from it, so if you'd like to support them with skills or some help, they'd sure appreciate it.

You can also buy one (or a carton) of their beautiful products. If you have a community permaculture-orientated group you can bulk buy from them and sell them as a fundraiser too.

I love my permaculture diary - its useful and you'll learn something new.

And you'll be inspired by the stories of people around the world doing amazing things with permaculture.

So do some Christmas shopping this weekend and don't forget to buy one for yourself too - you're worth it!

And I thought you might like this too - its doing the rounds on facebook at the moment.

Have a great weekend,
Sonya

Savin’ a bit of money

2011-09-29T07:15:00.003+10:00

Now this needs a disclaimer – I’m not a financial expert. I’m not even a financial novice.

I have no qualifications in finance at all (although we did have enough financial nous to see the 2008 stock market crash looming and pulled all our money out of the market – against our financial planners’ advice – he really, really advised against it, and we took that as a good sign to get the hell out, glad we did).

But anyway, here are just a few simple tips we’ve found have helped us keep bills and spending to a minimum over the years - and left us in a pretty good position now.

Get rid of the credit card

We lost the use of ours when we had our credit card identity stolen (hope whoever stole it enjoyed their holiday in Paris! - at least they had good taste). We used the post office bought gift credit cards for quite awhile to make online purchases – provided they are below $200). Now we have a debit card. When we want to buy something, we transfer money over to it, use it and the rest of the time it sits there with not much in it. It works very well.

Start a Christmas account

Remember when you used to save for Christmas? Ah, the good old days. You can’t get a Christmas Club account anymore (the banks want you to use your credit card and rack up debt – refer to the first point (Above). Instead, we get money put aside every pay that goes into a separate account. So every Christmas we have $100’s of dollars just to spend on presents and food – it works out well.

Use lay-by

I still use lay-by to purchase things. Again it works well, its affordable and manageable.

If you have a windfall…

If for whatever reason you get a lump sum of money, use it to pay off debt. I know it’s boring but it does pay off in the long run. Anytime we’d had a windfall, its gone into paying off the mortgage. Sure take a bit for a splurge, but the rest should go on paying something big off.

Mortgage payments

We've always made our mortgage payments fortnightly rather than monthly. I don't know if you can make them weekly? Does anyone get paid weekly anymore? But paying more frequently also cuts down the interest and you get into paying off the capital, so you're mortgage gets paid off earlier.

Set a budget

On payday, go to the bank, withdraw or transfer what you need until the next pay period, and put it into separate accounts or into labelled plastic bags for each expense – home loan, rent, food, petrol, clothes, entertainment, utilities, regos, school expenses etc – what ever your costs are. This really does give you a finite understanding of your money. When that little plastic bag is empty – that’s it until next pay day. I found it really useful to budget.

Buy what you can afford

We made a really big decision a few years ago. We sold a big house and decided to downsize – not normally the done thing. Its much more mainstream to go bigger, get a bigger mortgage, move to a better suburb etc. But we choose to get things under control and downsized. We went with something we could truly afford. Same goes for cars, clothes, furniture…

Work together as a family

This is a tough one for many people, but if you can work as a team on this, things will be so much better. Share common goals and work toward them.

Grow some of your own food

Again, this really does help. You don’t need to be self-sufficient (and I’ve posted about self-sufficiency before), you just need to grow some. Then you need to harvest it and use it in your kitchen. If you can do this, it means you’ll need to go to the shops less. That means less impulse buys. We all need to shop, but the more visits per week you make to the shop, the more you’ll buy things you don’t need or things you could do without. I know even if I take a list to the shops, I'll always bring home something extra. A vegie patch with some fresh food in it and a well-stocked pantry really saves you money – honest - give it a try.

And Rhonda from Down to Earth will be writing regularly for the Women's Weekly magazine on living frugally - which is great to hear!

What are you doing to save money around the place?

cheers,

Sonya

Permablitz

2011-09-28T06:33:00.003+10:00

Have you heard of Permablitz?

It’s an idea that kicked off in Victoria when Dan Palmer and Adam Grubb got together with others to create a revolution to get Melbourne backyards converted into mini food farms. (That’s mini-farms, not farms that grow tiny vegetables).

And it’s a concept that’s taken off around the world.

I’ve been involved in a few here in Eudlo, but I wish I could be involved in a lot more… I’d love to be part of a backyard revolution like that.

The idea is simple;

A group of keen volunteers, some with experience, some complete newbies – rock up at your place and make over your garden.

No pebbles or agaves here, they plant only useful, yummy, food plants.

You end up with vegie beds, chook runs, compost heaps, fruit trees, green manure crops, worm farms, mandala gardens… whatever it is you want.

Everyone brings along a plate of food and you all stop for lunch – and get to enjoy a shared meal with your new bunch of best friends.

You then all stand back and admire just how much you’ve achieved and how great it looks.

Permablitzes have also been known to also involve a lot of music and dancing afterward too – to really celebrate the garden well into the afternoon.

Permablitzes come from permaculture – as you’ve probably already worked out – and the process goes something like this;

You go to three Permablitzes as a volunteer

You get to learn new skills and meet new people

After going to three, you’re eligible to have one at your place

You put your name on the list and wait patiently for the phone to ring

It rings and you organise a time for one of the Permablitz organisers (who will also be a qualified permaculture designer) to come round your place and do a mini-permablitz design for your back (or front) yard.

You get a list of all the materials you’ll need to gather to make it all happen and a date is set.

The Permablitz people promote it through their networks and magically people turn up with their gardening gloves, hats, sturdy boots and a plate of food.

They get to work under the supervision of the Permablitz organisers ensuring all the jobs are getting done and being done safely.

Lots of photos are taken of the progress and then its lunch time.

Permablitzes also create mini-workshops within the blitz – someone might take on creating an edible water plant garden and others might like to learn how to do that, so a mini-workshop is created.

People might also get to meet other people who live really close to them and are interested in the same things they are.

And people also get to have a taste of permaculture too. You can keep going to other Permablitzes building your knowledge and skills too.

I think Permablitzes are a fantastic idea – they create really positive, supportive learning experiences, opportunities for people to try new things and learn new skills, they connect communities, they create a great sense of place in a community and you get to have a sticky beak into other people’s gardens – which if you’re anything like me, you love doing.

So let’s get some more Permablitzes happening!

Visit the Permablitz site here.

Now go forth and blitz,

Sonya

Our electricity bill – yippee!

2011-09-27T05:24:00.000+10:00

We received our quarterly electricity bill yesterday. Yippee!

We’re down to 4.8kWh per day – still a way to go and it’s a challenge to get it lower… at the same time last year our use was 5.8kWh.

To be fair, last year the sun didn’t come out at all on the Sunshine Coast. It rained every day and we had to use the booster switch for our solar hot water system on most days just to have a warm shower.

But to put our 4.8 in perspective I’ve heard the Australian ‘average’ household daily use is anything from 16-25kWh per day.

We have a 1.4kW photovoltaic system on our roof (installed in 2009).

We feed back into the grid so don’t have a stand alone battery system. This means we get to enjoy blackouts when they happen and we sell our energy to our electricity company (we’re with Origin) at one price and buy it back from them for another.

We had a 2.8kW inverter installed too so we could double the number of panels we have in the future. We currently have six 175watt panels.

A ‘1.4kW’ system means it should be making 1.4kW of energy per optimum sunlight hours per day – here on the Sunshine Coast the optimum sunlight hours per day is six. So we should be making (optimally) 8.4kW per day.

We’re not, we’re only making around 2.1kW per day. This is due to too many trees and palms shading our panels and probably because they need a good scrub again, we did it a few months ago, but it is something we should do regularly.

Visit the Greening of Gavin to read his post on the percentage of increase he got from his system just by cleaning it.

Anyhow, back to this quarters’ bill.

It does pay to get to know your electricity bill – learn how to read it, understand it and use it as a measure of how you’re going.

Before I get into the break down, electricity companies buy your ‘green’ energy at a set price. Origin pays us .50cents per KWh.

We buy it back from Origin at a set price – at the moment its .20.69 cents (its just gone up form .19.41cents).

So we get a difference of 29.31 cents per kWh from what we sell to what we buy.

How long it stays like this – who knows. The price we pay to buy it back is on the rise and I predict it will rise a lot more in coming years. Perhaps the electricity companies set the price at .50cents because they know something???

But back to the bill…

We made $95.50 worth of energy. (191kWh paid at .50cents per kWh)

We used $88.69 worth of energy. (431kWh billed at .20.69cents per kWh – less than half the price we sell it for) PS that 431kWh was over 90 days, so 431 divided by 90 = 4.78 – our daily usage.

If it was as simple as that we would have got a cheque back for $6.81.

But there are other fees;

On top of the $88.69 worth of energy we bought, we also paid $21.55 to ensure that energy was green – in this case wind power.

By doing this we’re ‘offsetting’ our energy use. A simple permaculture way to reduce costs (sort of a mantra if you like) is;

Reduce consumption in the first place – the biggest thing you can do!

Use alternative sources (in our case solar)

Offset the difference (buying wind energy)

The energy we do buy from the grid is not sourced from fossil fuel, instead its sourced from wind energy companies.

This means our home has zero carbon emissions. No fossil fuel energy usage here.

So the other fees added onto our bill are;

Energy use; $88.69

Green offset; $21.55

Service fees; $23.45 (visiting the property, invoice processing)

Community Ambulance Cover; this is a cost Queenslanders have been charged, but aren’t as of July 1, 2011. So we only had a $2.39 fee to cover from June 22 to July 1. We won’t be billed at all from now on.

Total charges; $136.08

Less what we made; $95.50

New total; $40.58

Plus; (goods and services tax)

GST; $13.38

Total for the invoice; $53.96 for the quarter.

Hope that makes sense. I found the bills hard to get my head round at first, but they make sense now.

We know our summer bills are going to be higher because we use the ceiling fans, but with some clever modification to the design of our home – as part of our eco-retrofit – we’ll fix that problem.

Plus having a solar hot water system makes a BIG difference. Unless of course the sun doesn’t come out for a year and you have to use the booster switch every day.

Now the challenge is out – to get it below 4.8kWh per day for this time next year.

Electricity bills are fun!

Cheers,

Sonya

Permaculture beyond food and soil

2011-09-26T09:23:00.005+10:00

Over the weekend, Rose from Greening the Rose asked it if I'd post about books and websites that talk about permaculture beyond food* and soil.

Sonya, would you mind addressing books and web sites some time?

I followed your link to Cecilia's the other day and was very surprised to see that permaculture can be about things other than food and soil and that seems to fit with my approach to things.

What should I be reading? I'd like to get a good basic grounding in permaculture. I tried a Google search but got overwhelmed,

I was so pleased that Rose had visited Cecilia (Macaulay)'s blog and discovered her approach to permaculture.

Often permaculture is about what I call blokes and bulldozers. Large scale earthworks, big dam systems, big swale systems... and fair enough.

Permaculture is all about reshaping the landscape now (while we have the resources available) to see us into the future.

But lets not overlook the more subtle, more detailed, more expanded views of permaculture.

This is a permaculture passion close to my heart.

To be honest, when I completed my Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC), my first response was; "well that's Bill Mollison's approach to permaculture in the landscape, now I'd like to spend 12 days (PDC equivalent) exploring David Holmgren's approach to permaculture and how that could be applied sociologically and regionally."

I know, I know - most people would just say "yippee, I've got my PDC" but not me.

To cut a long story short, that's how I ended up founding Australia's first Transition Initiative and co-creating the first Energy Descent Action Plan.

I saw permaculture as a tool with infinite applications - you learn your lessons in the garden, but you can take that experience anywhere. Perhaps you don't even need a garden to learn permaculture?

That's why I love hearing of people who use their permaculture education to; start ethical financial companies, to become a permaculture barrister (as a friend of mine is doing), or permaculture accountants...

But back to Cecilia's approach - it's very gentle, very beautiful, very delicate, very intimate (she even has a blog called intimate permaculture) I love her work, her art and the way she thinks. I also love the work of Robin Clayfield of Earthcare Education & Dynamic Group, Dynamic Learning.

So here are some books first up, I'll go on a hunt for some websites, but these books look at permaculture from a different angle and hopefully you'll be able to find them in your local library.

Smart Permaculture Design by Jenny Allen - this is the first coffee table type book on permaculture I found. Most permaculture books are text books - packed with words and if you're lucky some line drawings. Jenny's book is a little whimsical and very beautiful. She takes you through a simple design process* that starts with dreaming up your perfect garden using a mind map - nice. Jenny also lives up in the range just behind where I live, so its very relevant to anyone in the subtropics.

*Keep in mind that simple design process can be used to design any system, not only a garden.

The Holistic Life by Ian Lillington - Ian lives in Victoria and he created this book from David Holmgren's permaculture principles. I quite like it, its easy to read and follow and would be perfect as a school text book. He explores transport, economics, technology, villages etc

City Permaculture (an Earth Garden Publication) - this is a great little book available in newsagents. It focuses urban permaculture and creative community projects.

Permaculture Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren - David wrote this book in 2002 and it features the 'Permaculture Flower' - and that's certainly worth having a look at. David's book is VERY text heavy and deep. But even if you just start with the permaculture flower (not a name I particularly like) that will give you some idea of the scope of permaculture.

It features;
The built environment
Tools & technology
Culture & education (arts, heritage)
Health & spiritual wellbeing
Finance & economics
Land tenure & community governance
Land & nature stewardship.

We used this text and these topics as the basis for the 'Time for an Oil Change' we (myself and Janet Millington) co-wrote. The course was focused on energy descent action planning and the result was the Sunshine Coast Energy Descent Action Plan.

As the course developed we added more;
Food production & supply
Energy, water & waste
Reskilling
Transport & mobility
Communication
Emergency preparedness

To me this is the heart of permaculture - those important principles you learn about have applications far beyond gardening and food production. Its a beautiful thing and can expand out beyond your wildest dreams.

Permaculture is as much about art, writing, relationships, employment and how you communicate as it is about soil, plants and swales.

And its still a young concept, its boundaries are still being shaped, molded, stretched and expanded. And we ALL have the opportunity to contribute to its development.

Enjoy!
Sonya

*PS - it was never really about food and soil anyway its always been about social change ;-) as Bill Mollison once famously said;

"I teach self-reliance, the world's most subversive practice. I teach people how to grow their own food, which is shockingly subversive. So, yes, it’s seditious. But it’s peaceful sedition."

Adding elements to your permaculture design

2011-09-25T08:15:00.007+10:00

I'm busy preparing upcoming workshops on; composting, worm farming, kitchen gardens and chooks and its got me thinking...

A big part of permaculture design is the way each element is integrated into the overall system.

This creates an wholistic design, one that is functional and healthy, with the overall aim being dynamic stability (everything working to support something else).

Now an 'element' could be; animals (should we get some goats?), a structure (thinking of a rainwater tank or propagation house?), new plants or trees, a new appliance for the home (a solar cooker perhaps) or even new people (should we take the plunge and open our home to wwoofers?).

One permaculture principle is designing in multiple elements - this means planning to have more than one water supply, more than one energy supply, more than one way to heat water or cook food, aka - not putting all your eggs in one basket! So you'll see the term element pop up a lot in permaculture literature.

The 'system' could be your garden, acreage, or farm, your house or your workplace... you could even narrow it down further to one area, such as your kitchen.

On a bigger scale a system could be a transport system, a regional food system, an education system. This is where permaculture design comes into its own in Energy Descent Action Planning through Transition Towns.

Before you rush out and start changing things or bringing new animals home, spend time planning - it will pay off big time in the long run.

(PS - This is the bit where you get to lie in your hammock and plan your permaculture design). It's a legitimate part of the process and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Do some active research on what it is you're introducing into your design too.

This research could be through books, online, talking to people, attending a workshop, joining a group, finding a mentor or asking for help.

Find out what this new 'element' will need - if its an animal, what type of food will they need, do they need any extra health supplements (minerals for example), what type and size shelter will they need (don't forget about local regulations on keeping animals), what daily activities / exercise will they need to stay healthy (eg chooks being able to free range or goats being able to forage).

And just how much time and energy will you really need to put into caring for them?

Then look at whether your system can supply all or part of these needs.

Can you use what is already there, or could you introduce some new support systems to meet the needs of these new additions - could you plan and plant out a chook herb garden for example?

The next step is to look at what these new additions will be putting back into the system - there are no free rides in permaculture!

You can further define this by thinking in terms of; products and services.

With chooks products will be; eggs, meat, chicks (which you could sell) feathers (high in nitrogen), soiled bedding (which goes into compost), manure and body heat.

Chooks provide lots of heat (their body temperature is around 47 degrees) so in cooler climates you might plan a chookhouse that backs directly onto a hothouse and use their heat to keep seedlings warm in winter.

Services chooks provide include; scratching, creating deep litter systems (by setting up compost systems in their yards), pest management, foraging, entertainment and company.

Once you're clear on what the inputs and outputs are, you can start to do more in-depth research on characteristics to find the right chooks for you (or any other animal or plant you're thinking of getting).

Within the chook world, there are different breeds (and I'm talking purebred chooks here - just like heritage seeds, we need to keep our heritage breeds) and each of these breeds have particular characteristics.

Just like dogs, each breed of chook has a different personality.

Some are flighty, some are docile, some are Houdini-esque escape artists, some are home bodies, some love human company, some are totally indifferent as to whether you live or die.

Select the right one and you'll be happy, get the wrong one and you'll regret it.

This is another benefit of having pure, heritage breeds - the offspring will be true to form just like with purebred seeds.

So to recap

1) plan what this new element will need and whether the system can supply all or part of that.

2) plan how the products and services of this new element can best contribute to the overall design.

3) then decide which breed / style / type will best fit your design.

cheers,
Sonya

Spring scrub - aka getting started making Christmas pressies

2011-09-23T08:23:00.008+10:00

AKA the value of investing in good quality stuff.

Our kitchen has had a major overhaul as part of my 'decluttering' craze. Every cupboard has been emptied and scrubbed to within an inch of its life. I've taken spring cleaning to a whole new level.

And I've had fun finding creative ways to restyle the house using only things we have - not buying anything new, just grouping common items, using colour better and trying to look at things through fresh eyes.

Its funny when you move into a new house and how you tend to unpack and that's it - everything pretty much stays where you first put it. Or is that just me?

But sometimes that's not the best place for it and you need to do a bit of creative permaculture design - grouping things that are inter-related, finding multiple functions for things, creating efficiencies through zoning, you know the deal.

Anyhow, I digress.

Here are some photos of one of the great things I love in our kitchen - its a HUGE, HEAVY mortar and pestle made of granite (I think) from the Spirit House at Yandina where I did some lovely, delicious cooking classes a few years ago.

I forget how much it was, I thought it was relatively cheap considering the size of it, but it still cost a bit.

Today I've been using it to make some more cleansing grains.

I posted about these a while ago and have been using them regularly in the shower and - by the way - they are brilliant as a pedicure / exfoliant too. My feet tend to spend most days in socks and Blunstone boots, so when summer rolls around and there's the remote possibility I might have to slip into some sandals... well it's time to do something about it - and these grains feel fantastic and do a great job of rescuing your skin from the lizard tribes.

I use the mortar and pestle to grind up the oats and it does a great job and quiet too.

I'm making some more grains because I'm powering through my first batch and because a friend has a birthday coming up so I'm making a pack of these grains together with some of my soap and maybe some lip balm too - depends whether I get round to making any between now and then. I wonder how the grains would go with sugar in them as a scrub?

But then it got me thinking about how NOW would be a really good time to start making some handmade Christmas presents and putting them away - how organised would that be?

And if you have few extra things in the cupboard you can either a) give them as gifts if you get caught out by a 'surprise' present from someone you weren't expecting was going to give you a present (and I'm sure that's happened to you) or b) you have a stock of goodies for yourself to head into 2012.

Have a wonderful weekend whatever you're doing,

Cheers,
Sonya

So let’s catch up

2011-09-21T06:33:00.002+10:00

Hi, I’m back, good to see you again.

Now what’s been happening while I’ve been gone?

Well for me quite a few things have happened – nothing overtly obvious, much more subtle, deeper shifts.

While I originally took some time out just to have a break – and enjoy having our boat in the Great Sandy Straits – I mean really what was I thinking?!

We had a beautiful ‘waterfront’ holiday house (and it doesn’t get more water front that ‘on’ the water) in one of the most beautiful places in the world, surrounded by dolphins, turtles, leaping fish, beautiful birds, tree covered islands and calm, clear water – and I wasn’t making the most of it.

Now the Queensland winter sailing season is coming to an end and our boat is now back in its home port – still not too shabby, we’ll be making the most of it with day sails out from Mooloolaba on a regular basis – and its now time to focus on the next stage of life.

I also wanted to take a break because I had something HUGE in the pipeline. Something that was going to take up a lot of my time (which I was very, very happy and excited about) and I wanted a break in proceedings before that started up. Once it was in motion I didn’t know when I’d be likely to have an opportunity to step out of the jetstream and take a break again.

But sadly – and it did knock me for a six I can tell you – the project I’d been working on for more than a year fell through. A year. And it fell through. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

It left me reeling I can tell you. I didn’t follow my own advice and I’d put all my eggs in one basket and the basket got squashed. Scrambled year old eggs.

My plan was about creating a wonderful job for myself and others, I was already planning what I’d do around the place with an income! First time there would have been a regular income since 2006. Which is very exciting.

We don’t have a lot of $$ here – we are well below what is lovingly referred to as the ‘poverty line’ and things are tight. But that’s ok, or so I thought, help is on its way in the form of a new career direction.

So there I was – a year’s worth of work down the drain – and no plan B. Grims-ville.

At first I just wanted to crawl under a rock, which I think is pretty normal.

But I decided to do something positive with the negative and start doing something I could have some control over.

I started decluttering the house – and holey moley – you should see it now!

It was such a wonderful feeling – at the end of each day – I could sit back and see what I’d achieved. That feeling of pleasure and satisfaction inspired me to do it all again the next day.

This wasn’t simply about cleaning – it was about clearing. Making space for something good to come in.

Slowly, day by day, things became clearer and calmer.

I’d been reading Cecilia’s blog about decluttering and where to put beauty in your home – she has a wonderful take on permaculture which I love. (Its all about systems and processes you see!)

And I started small, but it grew and grew.

I now sit at a beautiful cleared desk, neat folders surround me, things are in order, clear space all around.

And that clear space has an affect on you – clear space = clear thinking perhaps?

So where am I now?

I’m busy planning eight workshops for a local community Kitchen Garden project (yay!) and another workshop for a local community garden (yay!).

Thank you to those people who have offered me these jobs to do. I really appreciate that you value my experience and time and I love, love, love doing workshops and teaching others about growing food. Seeing them discover the confidence within themselves to go home and do it themselves – sigh *happiness*

I’m also applying for other jobs around the place – and there are some beauties on offer at the moment so fingers crossed something good will happen, but if not, I’ll just keeping onward and upward.

Maybe my houseclearing and by default, lifeclearing will bring some positive energy into the equation.

So what’s been happening with you lately? Any great revelations?

Keep growing,

Lots of love,

Sonya - regular permaculture transmissions will now be resumed.

Visiting dolphins

2011-09-14T12:29:00.002+10:00

Thought I'd just pop by so you know I'm still around - here's Mystique - the alpha male of the Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin pod who call Tin Can Bay home.

I'll be back to some permaculture posts soon...

Take care,
Sonya

Upping anchor & leaving port (just for a while - I will be back)

2011-07-28T09:46:00.006+10:00

I've just spent a few glorious days at a secluded anchorage in the Great Sandy Straits off the coast of Queensland in our little timber sailing boat.

And I almost fell overboard when my partner casually pointed out that the last time we had a holiday together was 1998! I couldn't believe it, but he was right.

That got me thinking seriously about things, and I made a few decisions while sitting there in the sun watching turtles and dolphins pass by.

Firstly, I'm going to focus more on enjoying life and getting out and about. We've got plans we want to focus on together and waiting round by the phone or computer for jobs to come in just doesn't cut it anymore.

So I'm taking a break from proceedings here at Permaculture Pathways - I still have a couple of commitments to follow up on and its not all over - but 13 years between a break - that seriously deserves some of my attention and rectification!

I'll put my energy into my soapmaking business as I've invested a lot of time and money into it and growing that plus just spending more time doing things we love to do together.

I have another project on the backburner that I hope comes to fruition soon, but I've also promised to stop stressing about that and if it happens, it happens, but you never know, I might already be out sailing when my ship comes in ;-)

So its ta ta with lots of love for now, but really there is a lot of stuff here on this blog to look through to keep you busy... I'll still drop by occasionally to call in and see how things are going and I'll still keep on eye on all those lovely blogs we're linked to here,

But for now it's cheers,
Sonya

Honey - from cuts to cuttings...

2011-07-20T08:07:00.005+10:00

I wrote the other day about using honey as a make remover / skin cleanser (see previous post).

It got me thinking about all the other ways to use honey.

We have a four hive apiary here so naturally we have a lot of raw, unheated honey and with such a small apiary its easy to hand harvest and we take our time to keep the process as natural and simple as possible.

But trying to find recipes that use a lot of honey is difficult, so I thought I’d write about some other uses for honey.

So, to skin care;
Honey is a humectant – it attracts and retains water hence its powers as a skin cleanser.

Honey can be used on your face – just add a little water to a small amount of honey in the palm of your hand and gently rub into your skin.

Be careful not to get water in the honey jar / container as water and honey don’t go well together (the honey will ferment).

If you have particularly dry skin anywhere else you could also use honey to clean without drying your skin further.

In handcreams
Honey can be added to home made hand cream mixes to add extra moisturising goodness. We’re planning on giving this a go soon, I’ll keep you posted.

As a hand cleaner
I’m interested to see how a mix of honey and those cleansing grains will go the next time one of us has hands that are really dirty from grease.

In soap
One of our most popular soaps is our honey soap. Just a basic soap mixture with honey added for colour, scent and again, its moisturising qualities. Incredibly gentle on your skin, safe to use on your face and it smells like honey on warm toast – delicious.

In the first aid box
Honey is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and a natural anti-biotic. Its renowned for its medicinal uses and has been for centuries.

We keep a jar of honey in the bathroom medicine cabinet to treat a range of minor injuries.

For cuts – just apply a small dab of honey and cover with a bandaid – honey will help heal the wound faster and relieve the pain too.

Use it to treat small burns – again cool water first, then a dab of honey – it quickly relieves pain and speeds up the healing process.

Honey is being used with great success in hospitals to treat persistent, long-term and painful ulcerations in patients. Here's an article about the benefits of honey.

Honey has also been proven as an internal treatment for chronic indigestion, bleeding ulcers and duodenal ulcers.

And nothing beats a warm cup of honey, lemon and ginger to sooth a sore throat.

Or better still the adult version of honey, lemon and whisky – a delicious hot toddy on a cold day!

In the kitchen
Honey on toast, honey in your tea (with a little lemon too – yum), honey in your chai, honey in biscuit slices, honey on your porridge… so many good ways to use honey. Its also a great alternative to sugar. And if you cut yourself in the kitchen, honey to the rescue again.

In the garden
I keep a small jar of honey in the propagation house. Its great to dip cuttings into before planting them into pots to take root. Honey acts to keep the cut clean and healthy.

Now with all these uses, I’m talking about raw, unheated honey. Not the stuff you buy in the supermarket.

Find a local beekeeper and get your honey direct from them, or seek out small scale operators at farmers markets who are able to keep the process simple, unheated and bee friendly.

Most of honey’s goodness is destroyed with heating – commercial, large scale beekeepers heat the honey to make it easier to pour into jars and get on the supermarket shelves. The heating also stops it going candied.

Raw honey will also contain higher levels of bee pollen and propolis – which again increases its health benefits whether taken internally or externally.

Do you have any other uses for honey?

cheers,
Sonya

Saving money - this time in the bathroom

2011-07-17T06:36:00.008+10:00

As many of you know, I make all-natural soaps and sell them at markets. (ABOVE) is my Green Ginger soap - inspired by the bountiful ginger growing in our garden and popping up out of the soil. This smells so good with a blend of ginger tea, ground ginger and ginger essential oil... yum!

In my quest to ensure my soaps are truly natural I've ended up with a lot of wonderful raw materials here at home that have led me to exploring other ways to not only save money on beauty / body products but also use the plainest, simplest ingredients I can on my skin.

So here are some goodies I've been experimenting with lately.

First up, coconut oil as a moisturiser... I'd heard that coconut oil is a prized moisturiser, so I've been using it for the past week or so and it works an absolute treat.

Because its winter the oil is solidified (BELOW), but this will be liquid in summer.

I just apply it to my skin after cleansing. I also use it on my hair as a leave in moisturiser. I'd recommend starting with small amounts and building it up slowly - or else you could end up with a rather greasy look! You could apply a fair bit of it before you wash your hair as a pre-wash conditioner too.

Another wonderful thing I've been using is our own home grown raw honey.

Honey makes a wonderful make up remover. I read this on someone's blog - if its yours please leave a note and I'll credit you...

Just a very small amount in the palm of your hand (about 1/4 of a teaspoon) mix in a little water and rub it on. Gentle, safe removal of make up - done!

And some homemade cleansing grains - I love, love, love these.

Recipe from the lovely Kathy at While Tangerine Dreams these grains are beautiful to use and so easy and cheap to make.

A small amount in the palm of your hand, a little water and voila! a gentle scrub to exfoliate and revitalise tired skin.

And finally another wonderful beauty product, this time direct from the garden.

The amazing Luffa! These grow like zucchinis on a vine, you then let them mature, age and dry out - you peel them and remove the seeds and you have your very own home grown scrub pad.

Use it in the shower and in the kitchen (for scrubbing pots) and when its lost its scrubbing power, just pop it in the compost bin to be recycled back into the soil.

Here is a box of luffas ready for processing....

And here is one all ready for use. Luffas are great - each one holds loads of seeds so you'll always have a bountiful supply of truly eco-friendly scrubs for the bathroom or kitchen.

Cheers,
Sonya

Book launches, real food and garden inspiration

2011-07-15T06:26:00.010+10:00

We headed up the range to Maleny yesterday for a book launch.

Maleny is a great place - it's the type of town where you see signs like the one ABOVE on the street.

Don't know about you, but I'm seeing more cafes and restaurants starting to promote 'local' a lot nowadays.

Another new cafe in Maleny BELOW specialising in raw and vegan food.

And they have the wonderful Green Kitchen Cafe up there too. Lucky devils!

But back to the book launch - it was for the new book from Matthew Evans. Matthew came to our attention following his TV series - Gourmet Farmer on SBS.

The launch was co-organised by a friend of mine Julie Shelton. Julie is a very active local food person who runs the Slow Food group here, a couple of small businesses all based around food and in her spare time (ha ha!) she is organising the Real Food Festival in September at Maleny.

Matthew's first book was called The Real Food Companion. You see, he's very much into real food too. Food that's local, seasonal and ethically produced. Yay!

Matthew's new book is called Winter on the Farm BELOW.

Matthew moved from Sydney to Cygnet in Tasmania. Tasmania is a beautiful state. I want to move there - one day. My work here on the Sunshine Coast isn't done yet, but one day... Tassie's siren song beckons us.

His new book is gorgeous. I love books with great photography. I need to see the final dish to want to make it.

I love the photography in Maggie Beer's and Stephanie Alexander's books too. Rustic, hearty, home cooked.

Matthew's book captures that too. Classic dishes such as corned beef.

And simple, yet yummy desserts like vanilla ice cream with coffee grounds and whisky.

So now for some gardening inspiration. I read today's post on Northwest Edible Life and its great. Wise advice for novice and not so novice gardeners. Erica is a great writer.

Have a wonderful weekend, and thank you for all the wonderful comments you leave here, much appreciated,

Sonya

Social upheaval, job losses and other big changes

2011-07-14T08:40:00.002+10:00

Today, a story about the loss of handcrafted skills, economic refugees and the changes brought about by social upheaval, cheap energy and the industrialised era.

Thomas and Sarah Wells were local craftspeople. They, along with many others in their combined families, handmade lace items in Nottingham England.

They were part of a group known as the Nottingham Lacemakers.

When Thomas was 33 and Sarah 19, they found themselves in France.

They had moved there (along with many other Nottingham Lacemakers) to teach French factory workers how to use the new mechanised lace making machines.

While in France Sarah gave birth to a daughter – Rebecca - on the 25^th of November 1832.

Soon the French were adept at using the new lacemaking machines and the services of the Nottingham Lacemakers were no longer needed.

But during their time in France the English lacemaking industry had also become mechanised.

There was nothing left to go home to.

Stranded in France with no work prospects, they faced returning to England and being listed as destitute and enduring a life of poverty.

They were trapped between the poor houses of England and the French Revolution.

The families, and it is believed there were about 50 families, pleaded with the authorities for another chance.

They wanted to go to Australia – the new colony – and start afresh there.

And so Rebecca Wells arrived with her parents Thomas and Sarah in South Australia on the 6^th of September 1848 following a voyage on the ship Harpley.

Rebecca was 16 years old and she was sent out to work for Marian Bradshaw of Adelaide. The Bradshaw family had arrived in South Australia on the ship Katherine Stewart Forbes on the 17^th of October 1837.

The Bradshaws were well to do and owned substantial amounts of land within central Adelaide.

Marian Bradshaw and her husband William had a son – William Burrows Bradshaw.

William was 23 years old and had been crossed in love when he declared ‘he would marry the first female who came through the door’

It happened to be Rebecca Wells. They married at Morphett Vale when Rebecca was just 17 years old and soon moved to Ballarat to follow the gold rush.

Records show that Rebecca gave birth to at least 15 children, several of whom died very young, before she died aged 45 of ‘exhaustion’.

She is buried Wentworth Cemetery in NSW.

William then went on to marry Emma Heritage who cared for his surviving children until her death in 1909.

William died in Ballarat in 1915.

Rebecca’s story really sticks with me. How hard her life must have been.

To think you had a future handmaking lace only to lose that to the industrialised era. The upheaval of moving to a new country, the uncertainty, the poverty.

And here we are at the other end of that era, with cheap oil in decline and so many changes happening.

Talk of massive job losses, family break ups, economic turbulence, towns shutting down.

Rebecca Wells was my great great grandmother.

Sonya

So WTF is going on?

2011-07-13T06:47:00.002+10:00

Rant alert for this post!

What’s going on in the world at the moment?

A woman in the US is facing a possible jail term for growing vegies. You can read the story here if you haven't heard about it.

The term Urban Homestead has been trademarked and a family that has promoted sustainability for so many years has turned on its audience like a cornered dog and is shutting down small scale backyard growers and educators with legal bullying.

Backyard chooks are banned in some places.

Climate change scientists are being bullied with death threats.

Seed DNA is being stitched up by multi-nationals with patents.

Genetically modified food is being introduced into our diets without our permission, knowledge or much research into what that means for the future or our health.

Just a few of the weird things happening in the world at the moment.

Some of these stories make it through the mainstream media, but its facebook, blogs and privately run websites that are really keeping us informed.

And of course those communication sources are ridiculed by mainstream media experts as a way to discredit the public’s voice – as if the mainstream media is perfect – two words for you – phone hacking! Shame Rupert, shame!

So WTF’s going on?

Is it a backlash? Are individuals and groups and communities starting to push some serious buttons?

Is that why that poor woman in the US is being made an example of for growing vegies?

There is a saying about ‘truth’. That is goes through three stages – firstly its ridiculed and we’ve seen that. Then its vehemently denied (seems this is also now manifesting itself as death threats to scientists who dare to speak out) and then its accepted as truth.

I wrote the other day about the big two supermarkets here in Australia and how they are battling each other to drop prices lower and lower and how that is further screwing our food systems and food producers over.

Now one of them has introduced free tastings – I wouldn’t have thought that was a good idea because their food doesn’t taste of anything anyway – but whatever.

They are targeting kids – I saw a ‘fresh kids’ marquee out the front of one of the supermarkets – giving away sausages in white bread and cans of coke! Yay for fresh food! Do they really think we’re that dumb?

I wish I’d taken a photo of it – priceless!

Now that same supermarket has a new marketing line. I find this really interesting. Having worked in marketing for a long time I know they wouldn’t have gone ahead with the $$ investment unless they were sure their key target audience wanted to hear that message.

That message is; “that’s my [INSERT NAME OF SUPERMARKET HERE].” Said lovingly by a whole range of people – from drag queens to tap dancing kiddies. All looking lovingly at the logo, big smile and sending warm fuzzy love to supermarket that looks after them so kindly…

That tells me that their market research has shown that their customers want to feel a connection.

Mmm, interesting.

Sounds to me like a few steps away from wanting to feel a connection to the food they eat.

Sound like being a few steps away from people wanting to feel a connection to the people who grow their food.

What do you think?

They are responding to public demand and consumer $$ - so what does their latest marketing campaign tell us?

I’m looking forward to Joel Salatin’s visit here on Friday August 5th. A full day workshop on his beyond organic approach to food production and how family owned, appropriate scale farms can integrate themselves deeply within their communities and you’ve just gotta love a person who writes a book called, “Why is everything I want to do illegal?”

There’s a lot of buzz about at the moment about things changing. I hear it a lot in the circles I mix in, and also through a whole lot of other circles I drop into from time to time.

I think things are changing – we’re about to go into a dip I imagine – one where things might get a little nasty (don’t worry I’m not doing a Pauline Hanson “If you’re reading this it means I’ve been murdered” type scenario) but there will be a backlash and attempts to discredit wherever possible.

It’s a good sign. It means we’re making a difference.

Focus on creating the world you want, rather than fighting against what you don’t want and support those people who are in the firing line, being made an example of and taking a hit for all of us.

Throw your support behind individuals and small groups being bullied.

We keep being told we’re a minority, that we’re battlers and the small changes we make can never amount to much – that’s BS.

Cheers,
Sonya

Garden Expo & some serious Care of People

2011-07-12T08:30:00.011+10:00

Well the Qld Home Garden Expo is over for another year and what a year it was!

Costa (pictured ABOVE) from Costa's Garden Odyssey was the special guest this year and he made an impact (more about that later).

I took some photos of Giant Kitchen Garden display, but I took them very early in the morning before the crowds arrived, so they may look deserted, but trust me - we were packed shoulder to shoulder at some points in the show.

Our display gardens included native bee hives and our local native bee expert had a stall there too.

We showed off beautiful edible gardens in raised beds and permaculture food forests too. There was so much interest in growing your own food - very heartening indeed.

Here's the lecture area - again before the gates opened - with our edible balcony garden in the foreground.

We had our usual frost with the poor bird baths frozen over - see it does get cold here on the Sunshine Coast!

The permaculture information tent was a hub of questions and queries and free hand outs (and free tastings of yacon, arrowroot chips, roast yams and much more).

And finally, Barb Ford had the chance to really show off how well her solar cookers work. Fine days = dampers, stewed apples, pikelets with jam and endless cups of tea. All cooked by the sun.

And then of course there was Costa. I got to spend some time with him and I was really impressed at how he just lived and breathed 'care of people'.

I wrote about just this topic recently here. About how there are people who drain us and people who nourish us. Costa is a wonderful example of someone who nourishes and validates others.

Every person he met got his full attention. He stopped by almost every stall and spoke to the stall holders about their products. He was genuinely interested in what was going on, their passion for what they were doing and new products on the market.

He didn't take a break for two whole days, and everyone he met felt better when he left - a sign of someone very special.

And the kids! He was a magnet for kids. He spoke to them all, joked around with them, played with them, even jumped in one of their pushers! and each child got a personalised message and signed photo of him.

One young lad was disappointed his best mate wasn't there (he is a great Costa fan) so Costa got his mobile phone out, got the lad to call his mate and Costa chatted to him on the phone!

Not only did Costa nourish those he met, he also challenged them with his talks.

The buzz at the expo was that it was time we talked about what's really happening with our food supply and that we got angry about what's happening to our food. Costa did just that and made the news.

So it was a particularly wonderful expo this year thanks to the weather and the people and many people thought it was the best ever.

I'm still tidying up after it and re-charging my batteries after some full on days and looking forward to next year's expo.

Cheers,
Sonya

Cheap food - its just an illusion

2011-07-06T07:08:00.009+10:00

I’m cheating with this post (taking a good idea from Farmama), but since I’m going to be off teaching permaculture, composting and worm farming face to face with lots of people for three solid days, I thought I’d leave you with some food for thought – or thought for food if you like.

There's a lot of media attention on the two big supermarkets here in Australia at the moment – Woolies and Coles – as they battle it out for the consumer dollar.

They are cutting, chopping and slashing prices – which sounds great, but of course we know what they really means – farmers and other producers are getting screwed over and so are we with continue to serve up crap food and call it ‘fresh’.

I wonder about the supermarkets’ current strategies – its almost like the death-throws of some giant – last ditch attempts to win the game, throwing all their cards on the table… things must be dire for them indeed.

Maybe, just maybe the tide is turning (there was a very, interesting, in-depth, positive discussion about all this at our last Transition Town meeting on Sunday – lots of food for thought there!)

And I know a LOT of people are frustrated and dissatisfied with the quality and price of fresh food and the lack of options for local, in season, ethically grown food.

So I’m leaving you with some links courtesy of the wonderful Sara at Farmama – visit her blog if you’re craving some inspiration and hope for the future of food and family farms!

http://stonefreefarm.com/organic-farm/the-real-value-of-food/

http://www.grist.org/food-safety/2011-03-09-why-world-food-prices-may-keep-climbing

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41311106/ns/business-retail/

I’ve also got a couple of new books I’m planning on reviewing here soon...

Local Food – how to make it happen in your community (from the Transition Network)

And Sharing the Harvest – a citizen’s guide to community supported agriculture

See you after the expo,
Sonya

Calm before the storm?

2011-07-05T08:11:00.003+10:00

Well maybe that’s a little over-dramatic, but I have been bunkering down and getting ready for three very full on days - this Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

This is probably the sixth year (I think) I’ve been a presenter at the Giant Kitchen Garden site at the Queensland Home Garden Expo and this year I’m organised!

Because when the show starts it starts – early starts, late finishes and no stopping in between.

You don’t even get a chance to sit down for a minute – but its great fun and while really tiring, its also that lovely energising type of tiring (exhaustion?), meeting new people and getting to talk to them about local food, growing organically and of course permaculture.

Its also a great public reskilling event with a big emphasis on show and tell demonstrations and lots of time for questions to be answered and problems solved for people.

The weather has been really helpful in getting ready too – those glorious subtropical winter days when if you get the washing on early enough, its dry by the afternoon and you have to get it in early before the cool evening air makes it damp again.

So lots of washing and drying going on, quilts basking in the sun draped over the deck railings and also getting three days worth of clothes organised, washed and ironed and ready for me to look presentable.

But it was here I hit a problem - I realised when I went to my (rather limited) wardrobe that the last thing I remember buying was a t-shirt from the Woodford Folk Festival just after Christmas and with the bulk of my clothes probably around the 10 year mark it just might be time to buy a few new things! Yikes I look like a bag lady.

Although I did buy these Doc Martens boots online recently... new shoes yes, new clothes no.

A lot of people take a challenge to buy no new clothes, but for me its well and truly the norm (keeping your clothes out of the harsh summer sun and letting them dry in the shade also greatly prolongs their life too) so there isn’t much need for new ones… and then there is always the bargains at the op shops.

I have things that are at least 20 years old in the wardrobe. I love them, but it just might be time to add in a couple of new pieces…

cheers,
Sonya

Saving money – starting in the kitchen

2011-07-04T05:06:00.000+10:00

Let’s look at ways to save money and let’s start in the kitchen.

By the way, I welcome your input into this one… there are so many solutions out there and creative ideas people are coming up with on how to save money.

The household food bill is a biggie – so steps taken to reduce the money spent there will help overall financially.

So how do you save money on food?

First up – shop in season

Rather than buying what you need to make particular recipes for the week, or just buying what you normally do – turn the tables on that way of thinking and instead look at what’s in season and on special and come up with recipes to make use of those foods instead.

Make dishes that suit the food you have available, not the other way round.

This is a big change of thinking for a lot of people in charge of the household menu.

But it does work.

Just like when you start growing your own food, you have to change the way you do things to use up what’s coming out of the vegie patch and the speed (hopefully!) that its coming out of the garden and into your kitchen.

Rather than stopping at the shop with a list of what you need (which may not be in season or necessarily on sale) you need to make something yummy and nutritious with what you have. A well-organised larder of staples helps IMMENSELY when doing this!

Food that is in season will be better priced and better for you – eating with the seasons is part of healthy eating, particularly if you eat local.

Eat less meat

Meat is one of the most expensive items on the shopping list and we know we eat too much of it. So try introducing perhaps one vegetarian meal a week or a fortnight and see how that goes. A lot of bloggers are picking up the idea of frugal Fridays and posting great recipes for simple, wholesome meals often without meat.

Buy in bulk

Take advantage of bulk prices and even wholesale prices. Many people around the place are getting together with other locals and forming food co-ops – either structures ones or informal ones. These co-ops buy food in bulk – often organic / biodynamic / chemical free / unprocessed foods and repackaging them into smaller quantities. That way everyone gets what they want and you all get less packaging and more savings.

This can be set up so the person doing the work (phone calls, ordering, picking up, money sorting) can get their food free or at least cheaper to cover the work they are doing. Any community or street-based group can do this – even things like buying seedlings in bulk can work out too.

It’s a great way of getting other initiatives started in your local community too – lot’s of people will want to be part of something that saves them money and they get good quality products.

Cook in bulk

Having a big cook up and storing meals in the freezer is a great way to save money. You’ll be a lot less tempted to buy take away on the way home when you know you have a prepared meal in the freezer or perhaps you’ve even been organised enough to get it out to defrost during the day. Slow cookers are also great for this. Cook in bulk and celebrate the beauty of the left overs!

Use a steamer

Simple, but a stacked steamer of vegetables only uses one burner on your cooker – and there is an energy saving there.

Extend recipes – add cheaper ingredients to bulk the meal out

You can do a lot with crated carrots and zucchinis. A lot of our meals include these two (buying up big when they are on sale and in season) and you can certainly stretch a mince or sauce based meal a whole lot further just be adding in some grated vegetables.

Like I’ve written about recently here, there is no one big solution to the challenges we’re all facing at the moment. It is going to be a whole raft of small solutions and changes that make the big difference.

It’s true – every little bit helps!

Cheers,

Sonya

Permaculture Balcony Gardening

2011-07-03T12:41:00.005+10:00

Its almost two years since we lost dear Yukari, and yet her passion, knowledge and teaching lives on thanks to films such as this.

Invaluable information for people wanting to start a balcony garden or who are renting and needing to grow food in transportable pots or poly boxes and people just wanting to start out small and manageable...

Enjoy,
Sonya

Blessed Unrest

2011-07-01T08:16:00.004+10:00

As longer-term followers know I’m a very keen reader.

Among the books I’m reading at the moment is Blessed Unrest (a New York Times bestseller by Paul Hawken the author of the Ecology of Commerce)

It’s cover describes it as being about; “How the largest social movement in history is restoring grace, justice and beauty to the world.”

As a bit of background; Paul Hawken found that as he travelled the world speaking to people via nearly one thousand talks about the environment, he was being handed business card after business card from people in the audience who were all working on their own issues and he started to see a pattern and connections.

“These people were typically working on the most salient issues of our day: climate change, poverty, deforestation, peace, water, hunger, conservation, human rights.

They came from the nonprofit and the nongovernmental world, also known as civil society; they looked after rivers and bays, educated consumers about sustainable agriculture, retrofitted houses with solar panels, lobbied state legislatures about pollution, fought against corporate-weighted trade policies, worked to green inner cities and taught children about the environment.

Quite simply, they had dedicated themselves to trying to safeguard nature and ensure justice.

They were students, grandmothers, teachers, tribe members, businesspeople, architects, teenagers, retired professors, and worried mothers and fathers.

Because I was itinerant, and the organisations they represented were rooted in their communities, over the years I began to grasp the diversity of these groups and their cumulative number.”

It’s a big concept so a little difficult to explain succinctly, but here is just one sentence that stood out for me.

“The movement’s key contribution is the rejection of one big idea in order to offer in its place thousands of practical and useful ones.”

I really like this approach – although this is very much a permaculture blog, I’m open to a lot of other ideas and I certainly don’t think permaculture is THE answer, but I definitely think it’s PART of the answer.

Just like we need diversity in our gardens and communities, we need diversity in our solutions and permaculture won’t suit everyone.

So whatever you call it, get on with it and recognise and honour it in others too.

“The Blessed Unrest movement has three basic roots; environmental activism, social justice initiatives and indigenous cultures’ resistance to globalisation, all of which have become intertwined.”

Blessed Unrest seeks to connect all the groups from all over the world that are all working toward similar goals, all in their own way and all from their own unique beginnings. It shows how these 'minority' groups are not so minor when you put all their actions together.

"Though these groups share no unifying ideology or charismatic leader and are mostly unrecognised by politicians and the media, they are bringing about a profound transformation to human society."

It’s a positive response to the institutions in our world – the financial and the political – and its about justice across all sectors too – social, economic and environmental.

Its about protecting indigenous cultures and human rights.

Its academics, farmers, mothers, environmentalists, writers, community leaders and craftspeople taking a stand and speaking up.

It aims to show just how much positive change is afoot at the moment in the world and its all its many beautiful shapes and forms and voices and faces.

As one review describes it; "Hawken presents an unprecedented map to this new 'social landscape'."

I’m only part way through the book, but if this quick introduction has sparked some interest, I do recommend it.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Sonya

Care of people – finding happiness

2011-06-30T08:25:00.002+10:00

I’ve been thinking lately about permaculture's second ethic - care of people.

Particularly in the context of the people you encounter and what you ‘get’ from them.

I’m thinking like this because normally I’m lucky enough (well I planned it that way) to be surrounded by positive, forward thinking people who I ‘get’ inspiration and joy from being around.

But through circumstances beyond my control, I’ve recently had a couple of encounters with negative people and it’s a real affront to your senses when you’re not used to it. I must have gone soft!

And it got me thinking about what others bring to our lives and how their behaviour and my behaviour has a much wider impact.

I guess having HH the Dalia Lama visit our little town recently also brought the idea of happiness to my attention too.

I don’t know about you, but I can have 99 people say something nice to me, but I stew over that one hundredth remark, that one snide aside, that’s the one that sticks and by thinking about it I’m just giving the whole thing far more attention and energy than it deserves – it’s a habit I’m really trying to break, and I know it’s a problem a lot of people have.

Those negative people, whether their thing is cyberbullying (and that doesn’t just happen to school children), gossiping or trying to create factions or wedges somewhere remind me very much of the dementers in the Harry Potter books – they feed on positivity, they can’t bear to see others happy, they have to suck that happiness out and make you as miserable as they are, dragging you into their vortex of sadness.

And I do feel sad for them – their lives must be miserable, but its not up to me to fix them or try to make things right.

Now those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that I love seeing how permaculture can be applied to solve a lot of problems – its not just about gardening, hence this focus on care of people.

And care of people begins with self. You.

Look after yourself first and foremost. Its not a selfish thing, its saying that you need to take care of yourself to be able to keep doing what it is you do for as long as possible.

Taking care of yourself is part of self-reliance and also part of taking responsibility. I don’t want to become a burden on anyone else, so I need to look after myself so I can remain independent.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t just mean physically, it also means mentally.

That means I don’t want to be around people who drag me down, I don’t want to spend my precious time or energy with people who are negative.

So I make a conscious choice to be around people who I get something positive from – and hopefully they get something positive from me.

I seek out people who inspire me – to do better, to be better, to try harder, to give it a go.

People who nourish me; whether through learning or their wisdom or their happiness. I want to be around people who say ‘yes’ more than ‘no’.

People who when I leave, have made me feel better about myself, the human race and the world in general.

Care of people means surrounding myself with good people who are doing good things and taking good care of yourself – being your own best friend.

Create your happiness,
Sonya

Look for more than one solution

2011-06-29T07:24:00.005+10:00

There is a lot of change happening in the world at the moment. Economic contractions that have been forecast for a long time are starting to happen and are leading most news bulletins.

Pressures on soil, food, water, energy and money are affecting governments and households.

But a lot of time is spent looking for just one solution to the problem.

For example the carbon tax debate here in Australia has taken a complex problem and dumbed it down to just one solution - should we have a carbon tax or not?

All the discussion about the many different things you can do have fallen by the wayside in the media. You don't see stories about streets of households getting together to work on saving money, or stories about what individuals or businesses can do to cut their emissions anymore. Its just all put over to the one solution - to tax or not.

And you'll never hear anyone talking about reducing consumption - that just doesn't even come into it.

We have rural areas and city suburbs alike being bullied by gas companies to give their land over to coal seam gas operations (watch Gaslands if you haven't already seen it). Yes even inner city suburbs in Sydney are under threat of coal seam gas. Read the story here.

On Sunday Landline on the ABC ran an interesting story on the future of food in Australia.

But again the arguments came down to finding just one solution.

I was pleased to see Michael Mobbs there talking about his project of planting food in the streets of inner Sydney where he and his group have planted around 2000 fruit and nut trees, vegetables and herbs.

Michael said that they have the capacity to feed up to 4% of the city just by planting out the verges with food.

Now of course this isn't a lot - but how do you measure the skills learnt and the number of backyard or balcony gardens this project will spark? How do you measure the community connections made by squatting shoulder to shoulder with your neighbours planting vegetables? How do you measure the conversations it sparks?

The story then went to Julian Cribb the author of the book 'The Coming Famine' - he all but disregarded the whole idea of planting out on city verges because "... they'll never supply more than a small percentage of their food." Which is exactly what Michael said in the first place.

The answer to these big problems won't come from one big solution.

Permaculture provides a way forward and if permaculture principles are applied you'd end up with a food system that is multi-layered, multi-functional, inter-related, dynamic, diverse, resilient and therefore more stable.

Planting out in the city footpaths is as important as food policy changes at Federal Government level and so is everything in between.

We need diversity in all systems - these complex problems need complex solutions (as opposed to complicated solutions).

Nature is complex, subtle in its structure and strong in its sophistication. That's what we need to replicate - so plant out your footpaths, your roofs, your balconies, start a community or school garden, join a community supported agriculture scheme, shop at local farmers' markets or start a local food swap.

Its all part of the solution.

Cheers,
Sonya

Milestones

2011-06-24T07:30:00.002+10:00

I noticed the other day that my followers had reached 300 - I didn't want to say anything for fear of scaring a couple off and it looking strange when I didn't have 300.

Numbers do fluctuate quite a bit, two up, one down, that type of thing. But then they stablise and now I feel confident enough to mention it.

So this is a big, big thank you to all of you who do follow this blog and to those who have signed up to receive my posts direct into your inbox (another 100+) and to those of you who leave such wonderful comments here.

If you have a blog, you know how exciting it is to see a comment there - and how much it means that someone has taken the time to respond to your post.

This blog has (hopefully) evolved to become an online source of information and inspiration as we document what we're doing in and around the realms of permaculture, Transition Towns and local food.

It's been going since 2008 now and its become part of my daily ritual - even if I don't post everyday I still check in to see if anyone has commented and also to look for updates on my favourite blogs.

So again thanks for your support and encouragement,

Have a wonderful weekend,
Sonya

Why Buy Local?

2011-06-23T06:33:00.002+10:00

I’m sure you’ve all heard the mantra ‘buy local’.

I know it can be hard. Its not necessarily made easy for us to buy local so its easier to give into convenience at times.

But just what does buying local REALLY mean to a community?

Let’s try a little exercise

Imagine for a moment if you will, a cleared block of land ready and awaiting some good permaculture designing.

See the slope, the expanse, the soil, the rocks, the plants, the blue sky…

Now imagine it when it rains – all that water running off the block, taking topsoil with it, nutrients, minerals and much more. Gone and lost forever.

Now imagine it with a damn fine permaculture water design – linked swales (full of compostable materials) and healthy dams, diversion drains and all supported with plenty of anti-erosion plantings.

See it develop over time – all those nutrients that were once lost are now held in the landscape, and over time the soil has improved dramatically, its greener, lusher and much more abundant.

Its able to support animals and larger trees, maybe a forest. Its even able to supply the needs of your household with building materials, fuel, mulch and food.

Now the same thing happens every week in your community.

But instead of water, its money running off and being lost.

To give you some idea of the amount of money that is being lost to local communities each week here's a sobering figure for you.

One of the two major supermarkets based in just one inner-city suburb in Brisbane bleeds $800,000 from the community each week.

That’s $800,000 going in from the community and then going… well I don’t know where, but certainly not back into that community.

And that’s just one of the two major supermarkets – no doubt the other one is there somewhere too, doing the same thing.

Imagine for a moment if that $800,000 was instead spent at local shops.

Your $50 spent on meat goes to the local butcher, the butcher then uses that same $50 to buy new workboots from the local shoe shop, a staff member at the local shoe shop buys their lunch at the local café, staff from the local café spend their pay at the local arts and crafts market and so it goes.

Round and round your money goes feeding into the community, being used over and over again, circulating through many hands.

Can you imagine the money slowly cascading through the community, going from one spot to another, soaking in and benefiting the ‘soil’? Making it more abundant and healthy.

Imagine what a difference $800,000 a week could do for a community?

Of course, not everything can be local and ever since people have traveled by sea exotic spices and other goodies from lands far away have been traded and will no doubt continue to do so regardless of what type of future we’re heading into.

But I’m talking about the majority of what you buy being local, not all of it – we still need trade and your local area can’t grow everything. Local areas can still export their unique goods out and buy in other areas' unique goods.

Its all about cycling nutrients through a system. Holding them in the system for as long as possible to get maximum yield out of them before they leave the system.

Whether its money, or soil, or water, it’s the same. A closed system is more resilient, more diverse and more dynamically stable.

Instead of a linear system of money going in one end and going out the other, close the cycle and let the benefits build up instead.

A change in the supply of local produce, goods and services will come about partly due to customer demand.

Start asking where things are grown, follow the seasons, support those farmers who are doing the right thing and farming ethically. Support CSAs, farmer’s markets and local food systems that are operating ethically both for people and the planet.

Cheap imports from overseas are vulnerable anyway. When there is an economic shock, those countries may very well close their export links or it may just become too expensive to send their goods far and wide due to fuel prices.

You can make a big difference. What you eat and what you buy every day has an impact.

Turn the tide back to local.

Cheers,
Sonya

Choosing organic - its child's play

2011-06-22T06:35:00.007+10:00

A child's experiment into sprouting leaves on a sweet potato leads them down a completely different path... which sweet potato would you rather eat?

cheers,
Sonya

Happy Winter Solstice

2011-06-21T08:06:00.011+10:00

Happy Winter Solstice!

We've reached the point in the year where the sun is at its lowest in the northern sky and the day is the shortest of the year. I've included some wintery photos here...

An important day, time to observe what's happening in the garden - where are the shade and sun patterns? Where are the warm spots and the cool shaded spots that just don't see sun this time of year. Get out there and take notes and photos.

What about in your home - where is the sun shining through? Where can you take advantage of some solar harvesting to keep your home warm into the evening?

Handy hint - if you have a cat or dog, just watch where they lay to soak up the winter warmth.

Barney doesn't get up until about 8.30 these mornings and then spends plenty of time in his PJs and with his blankey on (in the kitchen of course!)

I love winter - especially here in the subtropics and I'm particularly enjoying this year.

This time last year it was raining, overcast and dull.

Our solar panels struggled and didn't make much energy for us and we kept having to use the solar hot water booster which made our power bills skyrocket - no problems this year though - steaming hot water and the panels are soaking up that sun and sending it back into the grid and saving us money.

This year we're really enjoying that beautiful soft winter light, the clear sunny days and cold crisp nights.

Just delicious!

I'm a little sad we're already heading back into summer - can't we have some more winter please?

Cheers,
Sonya

Self-sufficiency?

2011-06-20T06:26:00.006+10:00

Self-sufficiency and permaculture are often linked together. A lot of people talk to me about wanting to be self-sufficient.

But self-sufficiency isn't the aim of permaculture. The aim instead is self-reliance.

Sure self-sufficiency can work and is talked about in the permaculture context for villages where many households and plots of land are contributing, but not backyards.

Self-sufficiency isn't what you should be aiming for. Firstly where does it stop? Are you planning on growing your own fibres for clothes, your own leather for shoes?

Instead, aim to grow as much as you can on your land and make it as productive, lush and healthy as possible, but don't put the pressure of self-sufficiency on either yourself or your land.

Here's some reasons why self-sufficiency isn't recommended.

1. it's really hard work - unless you're home all the time and working in the garden. The pressure of providing three balanced meals a day for your family, 365 days a year, across all the seasons would be really hard work.

2. eating food from just your land isn't healthy - Australian soils are already depleted, to put the pressure on them to provide all the nutrients, minerals, enzymes and other things you and your family need to stay physically healthy isn't possible. No patch of land is perfectly balanced - things will be missing or perhaps in dangerous excess in your soil - and this could lead to ill health. Eating food from a range of (nearby) places is much, much better for you.

3. it's isolating - you'll be so busy in the garden you may feel isolated. You'll be spending too much time in the garden when you could be connecting with your family, friends and community. It's isn't balanced.

4. it's not following the permaculture principle of multiple elements, which is about having a plan B, a plan C and a plan D.

5. it's leaving you very vulnerable - you've put all your eggs in one basket. Over time there is a really good chance you'll miss a season of growing due to; weather events - floods, fire, drought, hail (this has already happened to us), personal illness, or because family circumstances change - new jobs or having to care for a family member for an extended period of time - or you may injure yourself and just not be able to get out in the garden - what will you do then?

6. and finally there aren't many pieces of land that would be suited to growing everything you need - sun and shade, microclimates, slope and aspect, soil types, water levels - chances are there are going to be things you would like to eat that simply won't grow at your place - you shouldn't deprive yourself of those things.

So instead what might self-reliance look like?

Perhaps its you growing as much as you can in your garden so that you still enjoy it, and maybe you've started up a local food swap or a bulk buying group to exchange food and to bring things into your family's diet that you can't grow at home.

Self-reliance is taking responsibility for what you consume and what you produce - its having multiple things in place to get what you need.

A good self-reliance plan will include supporting farmers' markets, CSAs, local growers and local producers - doing what you can, but also supporting others who are doing the right thing too and ensuring they are there when you need them.

Cheers,
Sonya

June - Permaculture Pest Management Part 4

2011-06-16T08:20:00.004+10:00

Now on with the pest management series of posts... I'm currently touring our local libraries talking to people about permaculture pest management and because its such a popular topic, I thought I'd post about it here too - for those of you who can't make it and for those of you who came along to the talks, just as a refresher.

So far (in parts 1, 2 & 3), we've looked at how we can change our attitude toward pests to make the job easier. We've also looked at the importance of knowing what role particular insects play in the garden and about not assuming that something that looks nasty is a pest.

Today I'm writing about good design and how that can help toward pest management right from the very beginning while your dream permaculture garden is still just on paper - this also applies to a retrofit if you have an existing garden.

Permaculture design covers so many things - the home, out buildings, hard surfaces (driveways, roads), water, slope, shade, sun, aspect and wind directions to name a few.

Good permaculture design also considered pest and disease management of plants, animals and people.

So what makes a good design?

First up - good air flow. Here in the southern hemisphere, cool, gentle north easterly breezes can bring in the good insects and help dry off your garden after rain - thereby reducing the chances of fungal diseases getting hold.

Good drainage and a big emphasis on building healthy soil will help immensely too. Your plants can't ever be healthier than the soil they are growing in.

Put your energy into caring for the soil safely and without using chemicals or artificial fertilisers, instead build it up with organic matter, use biological resources to care for it (plants and animals), rotating crops, plant green manures to rest and revive the soil, compost, worm farm and mulch it (good permaculture design also incorporates growing your own mulches on site - another way of saving $ and also recycling nutrients through your land).

These systems should be part of your overall permaculture design - support plants, legumes and using plants as nutrients traps all help build health and fertility in the garden - which in turn means your plants are stronger, healthier and more resistant to pests.

Good design also offers protection for your plants from harsh winds and strong sun. Whether its fast growing support plants that end up as mulch around your fruit trees, or a manmade structure of shadecloth to protect delicate vegetables closer to the house - reducing the stress on your plants also reduces the chances of pest attack.

Another strategy that you can implement at the design stage is to plant the right plants in the right place. Work with nature and the characteristics of the plants and put them in the optimum spot in your system - think about relative location and beneficial relationships.

And finally, good design factors in places of habitat, food, water and shelter for beneficial insects and pollinators.

Creating these places will be the focus of Part 5 of this series.

Cheers,
Sonya

Having the right land

2011-06-15T08:26:00.004+10:00

People turn to permaculture for many reasons - as an aside, its interesting just how many people on a PDC are at a turning point in their lives. Just lost a job, just sold a house... but back to the land...

A lot of people do a PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) just before they buy land or they want to convert what they have into food production.

But if you already have land and you didn't buy with food production in mind you may be facing an up hill battle.

(Or you may have lucked it and have the right conditions for food - in which case, just go for it!)

But not every property regardless of whether its large acreage or suburban, is suitable for food production. Here on the Sunshine Coast there are many properties on steep slopes, or have large rocks on them, or suffer from lots of erosion or are shaded out by trees - may be on your land or may be your neighbours.

Trying to convert a property with these characteristics is either going to cost a lot of money or take a huge amount of effort.

Its one of the most common questions I'm asked - how to turn a property with steep slope, embedded rock, all day shade and other issues into a permaculture food garden.

Sure you can work with some of that, but permaculture can't fix all those problems, and it can't do it all cheaply either. Steep slope is going to be difficult to work without spending money terracing it or shoring it up (with plants or structures) somehow to stop erosion.

Shade is hard to work with if you want to grow typical European vegetables (broccoli, cabbages etc which need sunlight) and especially if you don't want to cut down trees - or you're not allowed to - or they are on your neighbours property.

So what are your choices?

Firstly you can move to a place that you have selected because of its food production advantages - good sunlight - preferably 6 hours a day and in the morning not late afternoon, minimal slope - some slope is good for drainage, but a lot of slope needs earthworks and structures to keep it in place.

Soil quality isn't a huge problem because soil can always be amended and improved - and improving your soil will be an ongoing task regardless of what you start with, you'll always need to be replenishing organic matter, minerals and nitrogen into the soil and caring for it.

And if you are looking at moving, don't think you need to go west and buy big acreage to do permaculture. Don't rule out a suburban block that's perfect for food - we need to retrofit our suburbs with food and you can be part of that revolution.

But what if you can't move? What can you do then?

Don't despair. So your place isn't perfect for food production, you're not going to fulfill that dream of self-sufficiency* where you are.

*Now just on self-sufficiency for a moment. If you read up on Bill Mollison, you'll see that he doesn't actually advocate self-sufficiency. He suggest instead working with others, neighbours, growers in your local area, creating networks and sharing the load - rather than trying to do it all yourself. Also its a lot of pressure to put on your patch of land to supply all the nutrients you and your family need. Its much, much healthier to get food from a variety of places - you'll get diversity into your diet. Also, what happens if you put all your eggs in the one basket (getting everything from your land) and it gets flooded, a bushfire comes through or you're injured and can't work?

Instead think about what you can do - you could probably still grow sprouts - very nutritious and beneficial, and you'll probably have a spot somewhere to grow some goodies in a pot or polysterene box.

But look outside your property - maybe your community could do with a bulk buying group (save money, save on packaging and get to meet other like-minded people in your area), maybe a fresh food group, or maybe you can get involved in local farmers' markets, or start up a food swap, or start pr join a community garden and get your very own vegie garden there? If you have children, what about joining or starting a school garden? What about landshare? What about starting a local gardening blitz group - you work in someone else's garden and get fresh produce (and community connections) in return?

We need all these systems in place to really start to provide food security in our local communities.

So don't despair if your place isn't suited to your permaculture dream - think about all the opportunities that exist and the local food gaps that need to be filled in your community and put your energy there instead.

Cheers,
Sonya

June - Permaculture Pest Management Part 3

2011-06-14T06:31:00.009+10:00

Dates for the June library series of talks on permaculture pest management that I'm doing;

Today Tuesday June 14 - Cooroy library 10am
Today - Noosa library 2pm
Monday June 20 - Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
Thursday June 23 - Kawana library
Saturday June 25 - Maroochydore library

You can book your place through council's website here.

Now onto the next steps in permaculture pest management - getting to know the bugs and grubs that live in your garden.

Identifying things first is important. If you just assume something is a pest and kill it you could be working against nature and killing off good guys.

For example - that photo ABOVE - if you saw that under the leaf of a broccoli that was being eaten by green grubs you'd probably assume they are the eggs of the green grub (white cabbage butterfly).

But actually those eggs are the pupation stage of a parasitic wasp that lays its eggs inside the green grubs and whose larvae eat those green grubs - as you can see BELOW.

So if you had killed those eggs you'd have knocked out an important natural pest management asset.

Now if you saw these creatures on your plants BELOW - those black beetle looking things crawling all over it and the eggs they had emerged from - what would you think?

Good guys or bad? They certainly look bad.

But in fact those black creatures are the first stage of life of a ladybird.

And ladybirds are beneficial in the garden (except the 28-spot ladybird which is orange and has more spots and eats vegetation) other good ladybirds eat meat - namely aphids.

So again, it you'd rushed out to spray them without knowing the role they play in the garden, you'd be putting your garden at a big disadvantage.

Get to know the bugs and insects in your garden and the role they play - and remember you have thousands of creatures out there that can help you keep pests under control and they all work 24-hours a day, 365 days a week. All you have to do is not spray or kill them, provide water, food and shelter for them.

And just let them get to work,

Cheers,
Sonya

Great news - Joel Salatin workshop confirmed

2011-06-10T07:55:00.007+10:00

You heard it here first. Very exciting news.

US farmer, author and local food activist Joel Salatin is coming to town. Joel has been called America's most influential farmer.

He'll run a one day workshop at Beerwah on Friday August 5. You can find all the details and how to book on ReGenAg's website. The workshop is open to farmers and the general public.

Joel came to prominence through the book the Omnivore's Dilemma and the movie Food Inc. He also has several books of his own (below).

He made a big impact here in Australia when he toured late last year. He's back again and this time we have him right here on the Coast - if you'll like to go, get in quick. I don't think seats will last long. Food Connect are doing the catering too, keeping the focus on local food.

See you there,

Cheers,
Sonya

Visit to a local biodynamic farm

2011-06-09T11:48:00.007+10:00

Bit late posting today, but I have a very good excuse. Its because I was out visiting a local Biodynamic farm this morning. Its 20 acres and set in a beautiful spot with an excellent aspect, great water and surrounded by bush.

It was cold and overcast and weather wasn't cooperating (apologies for the dark photos), but the farm was still very inspiring and vibrant.

It only started last October and already there are productive beds and composting systems in place and plenty of great food being harvested from it... its so exciting to see new local farms starting up, particularly ones based on biological farming methods.

Forty market garden beds in total with plans for lots more. Leafy greens, broccoli, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, kohl rabi, beans, peas...

And great to see a bed dedicated to Green Harvest's Good Bug Mix used as part of their Integrated Pest Management strategy too.

Why was I there? Well I'll tell you soon, exciting news, but just need to get a few more things in place first...

But in the meantime - let's hear three cheers for local farms!

Cheers,
Sonya

Dogs and herbs

2011-06-08T07:26:00.008+10:00

As regular readers know, we've have a much-loved dog - Barney, well he celebrated his 12th birthday last Friday.

I thought I'd post about how we're caring for him as he ages and in particular, the remarkable success we've had with herbs and his health.

When he was 18months old he was unable to walk due to arthritis in his shoulder. The vet couldn't help him, only offering pain relief to 'keep him comfortable'.

Luckily I read an article in a health magazine about arthritis in dogs and it featured Greenpet - who happen to be based here on the Coast (they have an online shop too).

We changed his diet (to organic chicken minced frames and a fermented grain mixture) as recommended by Julie at Greenpet and we treated him with their homeopathic preparations.

Within a couple of weeks he was back to normal and running around like an 18month old staffie should be. The result was nothing short of amazing and I was convinced of the benefits of natural therapies - there's no placebo effect with a dog!

We also started adding a Green Lip Mussel capsule to his food every day too. That solved the problem and continues to do so today.

During his life he's had cancer (twice) both times operated on to remove the growth. He's also have a benign tumour on his heart which caused blood to fill in the sack around his heart so he had an operation to remove his pericardium. This was only ever seen as a palliative measure, not a cure - he was given 12 months.

That was three years ago.

Immediately after his surgery I contacted Isabell Shipard and sought advice from her on what herbs to give him. Our focus was purely on quality of life, pain free living and him enjoying himself. I also contacted Greenpet and got some homeopathic treatments to use short term to help him recover after such major surgery.

Isabell recommended Herb Robert (Above and Below)

Sheep Sorrel Below

Gotu Kola and Nettle.

We give these to Barney every day.

Now he's 12 and he wants to go for a walk every day. He's still up for a car ride, a trip to the beach for a swim and pretty much anything else we care to include him in.

And quality of life?

He plays with his toys throwing them in the air and chasing them, he runs around the house like a nut barking, talking to himself and carrying on (as staffies do), he loves his food - we have him on a no fat organic diet now, he's lost 3kgs and is absolutely full of energy. He's bright and active and pain free - you really can't ask for more.

We also support him by having him sleep inside, keeping him warm, adding an extra level of high-density foam under his bed and ensuring he also has quiet time and plenty of sleep and sunshine - he is 12!

Another story I'd like to share - a year ago (when David Holmgren was here doing his Advanced Permaculture course) my friend's (who was hosting David, Su and the course participants) dog Missy took ill, collapsing and shaking uncontrollably, vomiting etc. They took her to the vet and soon the vet called saying they needed to put her down - it was advanced cancer or something similar and there was nothing they could do for her.

My friend was distraught and in no condition to make that decision. Su and I supported her and suggested that she bring her much-loved dog home with some pain relief to die naturally at home in familiar surroundings and I immediately got on the phone to Isabell.

My friend's son went and picked up the herbs straight away and got Missy started on them.

One year later Missy has lost weight, her coat is shiny and healthy (and a life-long skin problem has cleared up), she's active and happy - the only side effect from the whole ordeal is that she is deaf - but she's also 13 years old.

And just recently another woman I know called to say her beloved labrador Milly had taken ill, collapsing with paralysis, unable to wag her tail, having trouble breathing, no interest in food or life in general and she was very worried she was dying. She'd taken her to the vet who had quoted $3000 just to do tests - she couldn't afford it.

She called me because she knew of the success we've had with Barney.

I suggested she call Isabell immediately, which she did and went to visit her Herb Farm at Nambour.

I saw the two of them at the local cafe last weekend, Milly (the large hungry labrador) was straining on the end of her leash trying desperately to get to the bacon and eggs on the next table, her tail wagging furiously, she was happy to see me.

Another herb success story.

Cheers,
Sonya

June - Permaculture Pest Management Part 2

2011-06-07T07:44:00.004+10:00

Part of our permaculture pest management series. This aligns with the talks I'm doing this month at all our local libraries (nine in total).

This post we'll look at observation, research and understanding.

So often people reach for a spray to solve the problem. Now whether its organic or not, sprays are indiscriminate and they don't belong in water ways or the air.

Sprays need to be the last resort in your pest management plan.

We've already looked at making peace with the pests in your garden. They have a place there and its only when they get out of control that you need to intervene.

So if you begin with observation - spend time in the garden and watch what is happening. Focus on the small insects and what they are up to. Go looking for them. If you have a macro camera take photos of them, bring them inside, download them and read up on that particular insect or bug.

You might be surprised to find its working for you, not against you in the garden.

Keep a good range of reference books on your shelf on local insects, reptiles and birds. Buy a book on garden pests and diseases and use that to identify what you have.

Here are some good sites to follow up on;
www.brisbaneinsects.com
www.greenharvest.com.au
www.aussieslivingsimply.com.au

Tomorrow I'll post some photos of good and bad bugs for you to take a look at. These are ones I've found in my own backyard and other local gardens, so they may not be relevant to your area, but hopefully they will show just how hard it can be to work out who's who and why we shouldn't just kill indiscriminately.

Cheers,
Sonya

Creating resilient communities

2011-06-06T06:31:00.003+10:00

Lessons learnt from a career in crisis management

(Ramble alert!)

I used to spend my days (and most nights!) talking to journalists while managing the flow of information to the media for some (at times) pretty major emergencies.

Whether it was a multiple casualty scene following the evacuation of an inner-city office building due to a gas leak, fatal road accidents, shootings, or a tourist bus roll over on a remote island off the Queensland coast, I’d liaise between the emergency staff at the scene and the media, making decisions on what goes out publicly and what doesn't and ensuring information is correct. Naturally the media would find people at the scene to interview too and that would add to the story.

I’d then see that night on the TV news and in the paper the next day how it was reported.

There is a very common thread with all major emergencies of; initial factual reporting (numbers, times, locations), then comes finding the 'hero' / human face of the story (personalising the tragedy), then comes the blame game, including complaints about delays in or poor response, then the backlash - usually on government, then the inquiry. Sure as eggs they all follow the same pattern.

I became interested in how things unfolded, how they were managed and how they were then perceived by the media, which in turn shapes how we the public perceive things.

An example is how a business responds to an incident.

Now regardless of how careful and well managed a business is, things still happen – that’s why they are called emergencies. Things out of our hands happen – someone might take to contaminating your products for extortion purposes for example.

But its how you respond that matters. I’ve seen incidents that could have gone very bad actually build the image and brand of a business – all because of the way they responded to it.

This aligns very closely with the training you get as part of emergency services. You get so much training that when something happens you automatically know what you have to do, and you also know what those around you (in other services) are going to be doing too.

It all comes down to practice and preparation.

The middle of an emergency is not the time to be deciding what you’re going to do. You should be doing it and you should have a good idea of what happening around you too and your part in that overall picture.

It was this particular part of my job that intrigued me. I even started a Masters degree in it (but decided my time, money and energy would be much better spent learning about permaculture!).

You see businesses that had a plan, that had practiced each role in that plan, that had talked about how they would respond, and those that had an open cooperative approach to their response did the best.

CEOs who tried to avoid the media just come off looking shonky and became a target for the media.

CEOs who took control, who answered the questions, who got back to journalists with information, who held regular press conferences and who stood side by side with police, ambulance and fire commissioners looked like they knew what they were doing, and they were seen to be taking responsibility.

Aside from the public perception, they actually were taking responsibility. They didn’t ignore the risks and they didn’t run away when the s**t hit the fan.

Their preparation, understanding, communication and cooperation created resilience - in this case for the image and reputation of their business.

Resilience that meant they could take a knock (negative event) and still bounce back.

It worked because they had practiced what they would do – scenario training is a big thing in emergency services it gets drummed into you – and we can all take a leaf out of that book.

This is what I see Transition Towns and other similar community groups doing. They have an important role in this area.

Rather than waiting for things to happen, we’re already starting to work together. We’re getting to know the people who we would have to stand next too if things got tough.

We’re meeting them in the good times, getting to know them, working with them, and finding our place. We build community gardens together or set up a food coop - we work together, learn how to solve problems, learn how to work with different personalities and capacities, learn how to move past difficulties and progress the project.

So when things hit the fan, we know who has what skills, who has what resources, who is willing to work with others, who we can rely on, and who might need some help.

This is what creates resilience.

Get to know people in the good times, don’t wait for the fire / cyclone / flood / food crisis to hit to find out who your neighbours are.

Thanks for reading, ramble alert now over.

Cheers,
Sonya

June permaculture presentation dates

2011-06-05T12:33:00.002+10:00

Here are the dates and locations for the permaculture pest management talk tour I'm doing during June here on the Sunshine Coast...

Friday June 3 - Coolum library
Saturday June 4 - Caloundra library
Tuesday June 7 - Nambour library
Wednesday June 8 - Beerwah library
Tuesday June 14 - Cooroy library
Tuesday June 14 - Noosa library
Monday June 20 - Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
Thursday June 23 - Kawana library
Saturday June 25 - Maroochydore library

Cheers,
Sonya

When wonderful things just happen...

2011-06-04T05:02:00.003+10:00

A wonderful thing happened yesterday.

At my very first talk on permaculture pest management at one of our local libraries a lovely lady arrived early and we started chatting.

She mentioned that she'd been to my composting workshop in the very same library a year ago.

She then went on to say how it had really changed things for her. That she'd gone home and got her (inactive) compost bins working using the methods I showed and talked about and that had completely changed her garden.

Those three compost bins had now given her the soil she needed to start growing her own vegies and she was off and running with it all by the sounds of it.

And all thanks to that one workshop.

It's amazing to hear feedback like that. To think that someone in the audience took notes and went home and tried it and (thankfully!) it worked!

And now they have the confidence to keep going with it.

And the best thing is now that one person will now be able to share her experience and knowledge with others and inspire them to do the same.

And so it goes...

I'm off to deliver another library talk this morning and then home to cook a slow food feast of roast pumpkin soup, slow cooked lamb shanks and rhubarb crumble for friends who are coming over for dinner tonight.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend doing what you love with the people you love,
Enjoy,
Sonya

This week's honey harvest

2011-06-03T07:41:00.002+10:00

In total I harvested 30kgs of honey from our four hives this week. This is the first major harvest from our hives this year and that's due to the weather. It just hasn't been fine enough so far, but the weather is clearing now and days are settling into the usual winter pattern of sunny clear days and cool nights, with little or no rain.

I don't completely strip the hives of honey, in fact we only ever take about 50% of it. Honey is the bees' food and having healthy hives is more important than having honey.

A lot of commercial beekeepers' take all the honey from their hives and this means they sometimes need to add artificial food to keep the bees alive particularly if the bees are in more alpine areas where it snows over in winter and bee food just isn't available in nature - and this artificial feeding has been linked with a lot of hive health problems, particularly in places where the food is replaced with corn products which have been traced back to genetically modified crops.

We also don't migrate our hives. Most commercial beekeepers do chase the blossoms moving their hives around so they can have specific honey available for customers eg Ironwood honey.

Our hives stay in the same place all year round and hopefully this is adding to their health too. Decreasing the stress of moving them and instead focusing on having forage plants available for them all year round right here. This is much easier to do of course living in the subtropics where we have the possibility of a year round parade of flowers for the bees.

So while we occasionally get honey that is predominantly from one type of blossom, our honey is as diverse as our permaculture garden with honey from vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, nut trees, ornamentals, natives, rainforest and the surrounding bushland.

One day, I'd love to see a local honey festival where you can taste all the different types just like a wine festival, match honeys with different recipes, see cooking demonstrations using local honey and celebrate the diversity of honey we have here in Australia.

Enjoy your weekend,
Sonya

June - Permaculture Pest Management Part 1

2011-06-02T06:44:00.004+10:00

Yesterday I finished up the local library round of talks on green manure cropping. I really enjoy getting out and talking to people about permaculture and local food production. There is so much interest in it (about 200 people came to all the green manure talks) and doing these talks helps me as there are always plenty of questions and challenges from the audience to keep me on my toes!

Now its time to start the June series of Integrated Pest Management - permaculture style.

I'll be at all nine libraries around the coast throughout June, some are already booked out, there are still places available - there are already about 300 people booked in. If you want to come along, just book through council's website.

But I thought since its proving so popular, that I'd post the information here too.

So in Part 1 of this IPM series I'll get started... first up a disclaimer - there is no magic bullet for pest management. If there was, there wouldn't be a pest problem and some people would be very rich.

Pests are part of nature and they will always be there. As permaculturists, we need to replicate nature to ensure our steward eco-systems (natural and cultivated) are strong and resilient and we do that by following nature's example.

Nature's response to pests and disease is multi-faceted and complex, wholistic and layered.

So to, we need to replicate this in our home vegie gardens.

First up, understand that pests have a role in the garden - they provide food to keep predators in your garden.

Our aim is to keep it manageable, not to wipe them out.

Making peace with the pests in your garden is the first step. Don't try to fight nature, you won't win. Your garden's systems are there 24-hours a day, every day of the year. You can't be, so don't rely on sprays and poisons as you'll never get them out in time or as often as you need to.

Instead work on an wholistic approach to pest management. Put your time and energy into attracting the good guys, not killing off the bad guys.

Over the next few posts I'll build on this approach covering;
Observation, understanding and research
Good permaculture design / incorporating habitat
Healthy soil
Selecting the right plants and seeds
Use of biological resources (plants, insects and animals)
Using traps and physical barriers
Organic sprays - but only as a last line of defence

So stay tuned for more info on pest management strategies. Would love to hear your particular tips on managing pests too.

Happy gardening,
Sonya

Honey Run

2011-06-01T10:34:00.008+10:00

Guess what I've been up to?

Finally the planet's aligned with sunny mornings and spare time, so it was time to gear up and head out to the hives to harvest some golden honey.

From just two hives I harvested 15kgs of gorgeous golden goodness.

ABOVE - full frames in the box ready to be capped and spun - we find putting the frames in a plastic box with a lid keeps robber bees out of them and ensures that when we get the frames inside the house they are bee-free, so no chance of a sting.

Here's the great spinner I found at the tip shop for $50. Works a treat.

And here is the honey run - through the sieve and into a clean bucket for storage.

Spring is the busiest time for beekeepers, although here in the subtropics the bees can forage all year round (they don't need artificial food over winter) and we know now to get ready for particular trees that flower in spring so we'll clean out the hives and have them all ready to collect just that honey.

We have maintainance jobs to do in the meantime, supers to be built and painted, nuc boxes to be built and painted, little bits and pieces to be handmade to ensure our honey harvesting runs smoothly (things like a bracket to hold the capping knife in between capping each frame) and such like. Most beekeepers are very handy - I think the two go hand in hand. You always seem to need some little tool in particular and it won't be something you can just buy off the shelf.

I really enjoy keeping bees - the work is so enjoyable and its so satisfying to see those jars of honey lined up at the end. It also puts you in touch directly with where our food comes from and that's ALWAYS a good thing.

Cheers,
Sonya

Really easy, really yummy, really cheap pumpkin soup recipe

2011-05-31T14:47:00.007+10:00

This is a really great recipe that I've been making for YEARS and people honestly still love it and keep asking for me to make it...

So with pumpkins being easy so grow and cheap to buy I thought I'd share it with you.

I use kent pumpkins for this - chop the pumpkin up into small pieces, add to an oiled pan, season and toss through a good handful of homegrown chopped rosemary. Cook in a hot oven until its all caramelised and yummy.

While that's roasting, gently fry off chopped onions and leeks in a pot, add lots of stock (vegetable or chicken) and potatoes and boil the heck out of it.

When the pumpkin is roasted, add to the onions, potatoes and leak mix, add more water if needed, bring back to the boil and then puree using a stick blender.

Voila - a delicious, quick, easy, tasty pumpkin soup that will impress guests and fill the family up on a winter's night.

Enjoy,
Sonya

Creative ways to save money

2011-05-30T11:50:00.004+10:00

Many people are really starting to feel the effects of climate, resource and economic uncertainty.

Just as predicted by many authors and speakers over time, things are getting a lot tougher.

Driven by economic contractions, climate events (which drain government money from other areas as they struggle to rebuild), loss of employment opportunities and confidence, its tough for many families.

For those who have been planning for just this scenario over the past few years, the impacts are less but definately still there.

So what do you do about it?

The first reaction of many people is to look for an increase in income coming into the house - a second job, more overtime, a part-time job.

This is tough as jobs are getting harder to find. Particularly somewhere like here on the Sunshine Coast where we've always been vulnerable in the job stakes. Employment figures looked good thanks to tourism, retail and building - but those are also the some of the first things to be cut by households and we're seeing that happening right now.

So how can we be more creative about the way we live?

Its time to put your thinking caps on and get busy thinking of new ways of doing things.

Rather than thinking about your home and family in isolation and trying to cope in that bubble, think about how you might link with others (who will no doubt be in a similar position to you and also wondering what they can do) to work together cooperatively to improve everyone's lot in life.

Here's some ideas;
Start some type of bulk buying group. Now it could be food, mulch, energy... whatever is most needed see if there is a way for families to get together and take advantage of savings and storage of bulk buying.

Dried goods could be bought in bulk at regular intervals and divided up between families. Saving on costs, travel, and packaging. Its also important to acknowledge that the less you visit the supermarket the less you'll spend. Impulse buys will be avoided because you just won't be there as often.

Another creative way people are saving money, creating community, meeting neighbours and accessing great food is through local food swaps.

If you're growing your own food, you'll no doubt have gluts - here its bananas - several kilograms of them all ripe at once - perfect for local food swaps.

There are already lots of models for you to start from - you don't need to reinvent the wheel with these things, just take a good idea from another community that suits yours and get started.

Here's a local food swap from CERES in Victoria
Here's another one from the Yarra Neighbourhood
Here's one from Cultivating Communities

There is also a great article about local food swaps in the City Permaculture magazine.

Other ways to save money;

Start a seed saving group. There is a lot of support for communities who want to start seed saving - visit the national network and you'll see how easy it is. You don't need to know how to do it, just get started, the teachers will come.

Start a group of some kind - whether its a Transition Town group, a permaculture group or a sustainability group. Starting a community group needn't be a hassle, you can organise it so its simple to do and just a way of getting people together and getting those ideas and connections flowing.

Through these types of groups you'll also find out what's available, where to get things and start to build those important links we're going to need to take us into a more abundant future.

If you have any creative ways to save money, please leave a comment below to share with others.

Cheers,
Sonya

Recommended books

2011-05-27T08:53:00.005+10:00

Winter warmers or summer sizzlers depending on your hemisphere - good books are always a great investment.

The change of season brings with it thoughts of gardening and the potential of what could be...

So here is a link to an extensive booklist I've put together over on the Permaculture Eudlo blogspot.

Since the focus of that group is on permaculture education, there's a lot of interest in recommended books, so I've put this together for people to use as they need.

Whether its getting your own home library up and running or ordering books through your local library, its a guide to the best of the best.

But remember nothing beats local - if you have local authors and books on local climates and growing conditions, go for those. By mindful of where books are written and the author's perspective as it may not suit your situation at all.

A great resource I found recently is this City Permaculture book. Its from the Earth Garden magazine group and its got some great ideas in it. Even if you live on acreage there is always room in your design to incorporate some pots and small-scale plantings at the back door and this is full of great ideas. Also lots of good ideas on community and urban permaculture projects too, which never go astray. You'll find this at newsagents around the place.

Enjoy,
Sonya

How many community gardens...

2011-05-22T09:30:00.003+10:00

… can the Sunshine Coast sustain?

That question has been on my mind a lot lately.

First up - I’m all for community gardens – they are the BEST places – and we need more of them – no question. They’re unique, creative, educational, inclusive, interesting, inspiring and yummy places to spend time in.

They work so well in cities (in the guise of city farms) and in the ‘burbs.

The Sunshine Coast has been lacking community gardens that’s for sure, we definitely need more and I know council have plans for many, many more gardens.

But… my question is – How many gardens can the coast population truly sustain?

How many people are willing to put the hours in to make the garden a success over an extended period of time?

How many gardens can we have before we start seeing dwindling numbers, lack of interest / energy / money to keep them going?

How many before we’ve diluted the current resource pool (of interested / experienced people) to run them?

How many gardens before we’ve diluted the funding pool to keep the gates open?

I know of new gardens happening at Nambour, Kawana and now Cooroy.

We have established gardens at Yandina, Peregian Beach and Cotton Tree (and no doubt there are others around I haven’t even heard of).

Community gardens need to be constantly maintained like any garden. They need to be well set up with facilities, tools, education tools, governance, policies, funding, insurance… all of it can be done of course, but who is going to do it?

How are bills going to be paid (water, rates, electricity, garden / building materials, presenters, promotional materials?), and are some people going to be paid for their work or will it all be reliant on volunteering?

I suspect it will all be reliant on volunteers to carry it.

Sadly, not many places can run sustainably solely on volunteer workers. People get burnt out and when they leave, things often fold.

So I hope that we’re not heading down that road – I hope council have identified and measured the community and financial capacity needed to successfully carry these gardens well into the future. I hope they are generational gardens that will still be there in decades to come.

I hope all these gardens bloom with workshops fully booked out, gardens bustling with visitors, buzzing with interest and growing with lots of input from the community.

I think the region would benefit greatly from having a couple of paid positions set up to ensure these gardens are a success – they are way too important to not give them that level of support and commitment.

cheers,

Sonya

Loving my work

2011-05-20T08:39:00.004+10:00

Despite a pesky head cold that refuses to budge (grrr!) I'm thoroughly enjoying my permaculture talking tour through the nine libraries here on the Sunshine Coast.

Each and every time I've met wonderful people who are really keen to grown their own food, do the right thing by the planet and who want to learn more about permaculture.

I keep reiterating that learning these skills is a life-long journey and that learning will come through many channels - some formal, some informal, but it'll never stop.

It pays to link in with some type of group - either a permaculture group, an organic gardening group or a community garden.

You'll always have questions and problems to be solved, so being part of a network will really pay off. In that network you can ask questions, find answers and soon you'll be helping new gardeners yourself.

But the enthusiasm for permaculture out there is very heartening indeed. I'm so glad I got Permaculture Eudlo off the ground - seems to be just what people need right now.

I have another talk tomorrow, so I'm resting up today and trying to shake this darn cold, but looking forward to a booked out session and many more to come.

Enjoy your weekend,
Sonya

Plan ahead - for the 2012 Permaculture diary

2011-05-18T15:09:00.003+10:00

I know, I know, January 2012 seems so very far away, but just think for a moment what would happen if it arrives and you don't have your 2012 Permaculture Diary and Calendar? How bad would that be? You won't know where you're supposed to be or even what day it is!

This is purely a selfish post - I love my diary and calendar and I want them to keep being produced them year after year and to do that they need to sell - so...

Start thinking now how you could get your hands on a stack of them and sell them. The world needs these.

I'm going to be ordering some to sell through Permaculture Eudlo and Transition Town Eudlo, and through my weekly market stall at the local farmers market. If you have a local permaculture group you can talk to the people who produce them about how you might be able to sell them as a fundraiser too!

And if you live overseas, they are usually printed in plenty of time to get them sent to you for you to sell too. Imagine that, your own special piece of Australian permaculture goodness 365 days of the year! The perfect gift for Christmas too.

They really are lovely products and so very inspirational. They are easy to use, lots of great quotes and stories in them and the calendars are equally beautiful.

So have a think now about where you might be able to move a few - is there a shop near you that would suit? An organic or natural food store? What about a local independent book store?

If you can think of somewhere that might be able to sell them, let the producers know through this link.

Cheers,
Sonya

Food Connect - woo hoo!!

2011-05-17T11:38:00.003+10:00

Had to share this link to this fab story in today's Courier Mail - I love Food Connect, such a great idea, such great people.

Upcoming workshops with Dynamic Groups

2011-05-17T07:36:00.007+10:00

The wonderful Robin Clayfield is offering a couple of courses in coming months and I thought perhaps you might be interested.

They are held at Crystal Waters Eco-Village at Conondale here on the Sunshine Coast, which is a lovely experience in itself, and there is a great education centre there too.

Robin offers these through her business Earthcare Education (Dynamic Groups) and her approach to permaculture is very special indeed.

The first workshop is 'Permaculture meets Creative Design', July 22-24 starting 5pm on the Friday night (so its a residential course and you get to stay on site at Crystal Waters!)

Robin is running this course with her partner Mark Healy and they promise a weekend full of learning, creativity, inspiration, community connection, tours and site visits, fun, local food and connection with nature - how good does that sound?

It also includes; gardens of shapes and symbols and labyrinth design, layout and making. The packed weekend also covers social design within the garden and society.

(The photos here are from a Transition Town workshop Robin ran in 2009 that I was at)

Another workshop on offer is 'Creative Community Governance & Decision Making'. This is a one day workshop on Monday August 8, and again held at Crystal Waters.

It's for anyone involved in community groups, teams, boards, businesses, association, communities and co-operatives.

If you're interested in either workshop (and there are others on offer), visit Robin's website and have a look - you can also contact her through there.

Enjoy,

Sonya

The Home Economy

2011-05-16T07:14:00.007+10:00

I woke up this morning thinking about the home economy. Bit unusual, but life's like that sometimes.

With all the focus on how families are coping with rising costs, electricity bills, food bills, mortgages, petrol prices and the current debate about whether a family income of $150,000 is considered 'rich' or not (a lot depends on the family's circumstances), I've been thinking about what David Holmgren talked about last year when he visited here. David ran an Advanced Permaculture Principles course, but he also had a couple of public speaking engagements and this is where he talked about the 'home economy'.

Now a lot of people I know (who aren't involved in permaculture and all that stuff), their first reaction when prices go up is to work overtime, take on a second job or find some other way to bring in more money to the home.

Sure there will be some cuts to spending, some luxuries are gone without, cars aren't updated, new appliances or renovations are put off, but overall, not real big long term impacts to spending.

The home economy - as David talks about it - offers a real alternative to that.

Its recognising the real savings that are made when focus is put on the home, how it's run, what comes in and goes out and how the whole 'system' of how your home functions.

Its recognising the cost savings of having someone at home, full or part time, to prepare nutritious low cost meals, to shop for bargains, to grow fresh food, to set up barter or trade systems, to make and bake things, to keep the house ticking over and running smoothly and making some real and long term savings.

It compares the costs of going out to work, taking into account money spent on lunches, coffees, travel, clothes, shoes, make up, social events, and then most likely buying pre-prepared meals because you're time poor compared to being at home, and saving on all those things.

Its something that has really stuck with me - I think its a brilliant way to demonstrating the benefits of someone being at home a lot and working on cutting costs. Its a message that should be shout from the rooftops and I think people would love to hear about it.

I've found in the work I do, particularly when I talk about setting up community connections such as Transition Towns, is that people just don't feel empowered enough to do something.

People ask me "can I do that?" - they often can't believe how simple it is to put your hand up and say that you'd like to save money on food - who would like to start a bulk buying group?

You don't need to know how to do it, just do it.

Get started, there's plenty of information on the internet to look up and I bet you'll soon have a group together and doing something positive.

Another great resource is books - I especially recommend "Radical Homemakers" - its excellent and a case study of a whole lot of families who have done just that and how its gone for them.

Taking that step is big - and its not going to be all wine and roses, there will be tough times, but overall they wouldn't change it for anything and they have not only saved money, but also discovered a whole new way of family life.

So have a think about how you might be able to incorporate some 'radical homemaking' into your home. How you can work things so that you're home more and setting up systems that through the use of permaculture principles could bring some real savings and increase in the quality of your home life.

Meanwhile my green manure talks continue with three this week - the one on Saturday is booked out - which is truly excellent!

Cheers,

Sonya

Green Manures & Cold Snaps

2011-05-12T05:40:00.008+10:00

Well the permaculture talking tour round our regional libraries is going swimmingly. Busy week this week with five talks on (last one today) and I've been battling a head cold, so I've been going to bed very early to keep up with it all.

But I do love doing these talks - they seem to attract some really nice people who are genuinely interested in what I'm talking about (which honestly always surprises me). Even though I'm tired I'm still energised by the interest and the feedback I'm getting - thank you!

And I figure if you're the type of person who hangs around your local library you can't be that bad!

This time round I've got some talks scheduled for Saturdays which seem to be popular - mostly with people who work during the week as you'd expect. They do clash with my Saturday morning market stalls - which I wasn't doing when I signed up for the talks - but next time round (and hopefully there will be a next time) I'll schedule the Saturday talks for the afternoon.

Lots of people wanting to learn a bit about green manure cropping and its place in the whole crop rotation thing.

Next month I'm doing the same tour, but talking permaculture pest management - a couple of them are already booked out.

If you want more of these talks locally, get onto the libraries and let them know! I've put forward some ideas of other talks I'd like to do, and they do seem very receptive to what people want and they are getting the grant funding to make it happen.

Its turned cold here (finally) and seems the rain has stopped for a bit - don't know just how long for though - and the days are warm and bright and full of sun just like Queensland is supposed to be - which is keeping our solar panels and our solar hot water system (and me) much, much happier.

The nights and early mornings (like now) are crisp and cold with the cloud cover gone all the heat from the day quickly leaves and the cold rolls in.

Very excited though as we've had the fabulous, famous fire on at night this week (yay!).

Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while know how much I love my little Nectre fire. Nothing warms you like a wood fire and this one is particularly special with its little oven for pizzas, baked potatoes and roasts and its cooktop to warm our soups and stews... aah its still got it.

Its starting to feel a lot more 'normal' here with the weather settling into a more predictable pattern - I'm looking at the garden and thinking "gosh that needs some work!" but now with these warm days and drier conditions I'm tempted to get out there and get some plants planted!

I'm thinking kale, spinach, broccoli, kohl rabi, parsley... and I'm thinking vegetable soups.

I've also been spending time on Permaculture Eudlo, seems that little group has got the interest and energy to fly, so that's very, very exciting thinking about the birth of a new permaculture group and the connections being made in the community - well worth the effort.

How's your garden going?

cheers,
Sonya

Mooloolah Sustainable Living Group

2011-05-08T11:10:00.003+10:00

Thought I'd pass on this information to local followers - people in Mooloolah have kicked off a new group - here's an invitation to a film night this Thursday.

"The newly formed Mooloolah Sustainable Living Group invites you to the movie screening of; The Power of Community: how Cuba survived peak oil at the Mooloolah Public Hall, 33 Bray Road.

Thursday May 12, 6.30pm for a 7.30 start
$5 per person, $10 per family
Tea and coffee provided
Plus community discussion, displays and information

No bookings required, enquiries to Natasha on 5492 9860"

cheers,
Sonya

Permaculture Talk Tour - May

2011-05-05T09:17:00.004+10:00

I'm be roaming the region throughout May presenting a series of talks on the permaculture approach to crop rotation and green manure cropping.

The talks are all free, but you do need to book in - you can book your place through the Council library website here.

Dates, times and locations are as follows:

Saturday May 7 - Caloundra Library 10-11.30am
Tuesday May 10 - Nambour Library 10-11.30am
Tuesday May 10 - Maroochydore Library 2-3.30pm
Wednesday May 11 - Coolum Library 2.30-4pm
Thursday May 12 - Noosa Library 2-3.30pm
Monday May 16 - Maleny Neighbourhood Centre 10-11.30am
Thursday May 19 - Kawana Library 10-11.30am
Saturday May 21 - Cooroy Library 10-11.30am
Wednesday June 1 - Beerwah Library 2-3.30pm

Just book your spot with council and come along, in June I'll be visiting all the libraries again for a talk on the permaculture approach to pest management.

Cheers,

Sonya