Jen Ringbauer, Rahamim Ecology Centre – Bathurst, a centre that goes about caring for our common home – Earth
The idea sprang from a meeting with our wonderful intern, Juliet – run a Permaculture Design Certificate to teach refugees and asylum seekers about sustainable living in Australia. Incorporating gardening, farming, community building and connection with local community, we approached the funding body, the Mercy Foundation, who jumped at the idea. As well as the practical aspects of permaculture, we were to address issues of Earth’s degradation and social justice. (more…)
Supporting capacity building and the establishment of permaculture food gardens to improve nutrition and a place to demonstrate and learn.
Introduction to permaculture workshop in a demonstration permaculture garden, Kambiri Kenya
Introduction: Thank you to Permafund and all those who contribute to it, for supporting programs that help vulnerable women and children in East Africa with a $1,000 grant.
In December 2018, I was invited to Uganda and Kenya by small community-based organisations to support local permaculture education programs particularly with women and children. I went as a volunteer and took my two eldest children, Maia and Hugh (then 12 and 10). As well as being helpers along the way, they also graduated with their PDCs from the course held at the Sabina Primary School led by young people from Uganda, Kenya and Liberia. The core goal of this course was to teach teachers.
(Note: As volunteers, my children & I paid for all our expenses & received no payment for our work.)
My children meeting the women’s self-help group leaders who are sharing permaculture in the local village and schools
Goal: The overall goal of this project was to enable communities to vision, design, implement and manage permaculture food gardens for education, food security, and sustainable livelihood capacity-building.
The project: The funds donated by Permafund were spent on helping to develop the practical land-based centres for learning about permaculture at two main locations.
A: Sabina School, near Rakai, south west Uganda
The school at Sabina is important for a number of reasons.
It is a place of learning for hundreds of local children
It is a becoming a teaching garden for permaculture teachers
It is becoming a teaching garden for school teachers
The funds were used to buy tools, fruit trees, seeds, building materials for compost systems, animal enclosures and animals, and provide educational materials.
This school was also the site of permaculture design course in December 2018 followed by local farmer training and local school teacher training programs.
The ongoing management of the project is the responsibility of the school, with the permaculture trained teachers and school students who attended training. A local permaculture organisation, BEU Permaculture is regularly checking in with progress.
Children at Sabina School learning permaculture with my children.
B: Women’s Self-help Group, Kambiri Village, Kakamega, Kenya
This region of Kenya is experiencing prolonged drought and the women have come together to find solutions. Permaculture makes good sense to them. Through additional crowdfunding, Ethos Foundation sponsored 5 people from this region to attend permaculture design courses at Sabina School in Uganda.
In December 2018 in Kambiri I offered an introduction to permaculture workshop and undertook an assessment of the area to understand the needs for developing a permaculture education centre. During this introductory workshop we undertook a collaborative process and drafted a design for the demonstration gardens. We also helped start a seed-exchange program.
The demonstration gardens are now being developed and a Permaculture Design Course was held in August 2019. Participants of the PDC were mostly women and they have returned to their communities to share permaculture design ideas and strategies.
Jane Amunga – the initiator of the Women’s Self Help group at Kambiri.
The Women’s Self-Help group leaders, Kambiri Kenya in their permaculture demonstration garden
The Permafund funds were used to purchase a water tank and seeds, set up for the permaculture training, pay a local translator and distribute educational materials.
Ethos sponsored four local leaders to complete their PDC in Sabina School, Uganda – principal, agriculture extension worker, support worker for girls health, disability advocate. These people are now teaching locally and supported the Women’s group PDC in August 2019.
Permaculture and the government: It’s also interesting to note that while in Uganda, we met with the East African Minister for Agriculture and the Ugandan Minister for Education, as well a number of local and regional officials. All of them are very keen to see permaculture developed further in the region. One particularly interesting discussion was around having permaculture taught in university to teachers, and there being a series of schools around Uganda where teachers could go and learn in-situ. It was identified that support was welcomed in helping to develop curriculum and teaching those who can lead such programs in university.
Meeting with the Minister for Education at her home in Uganda.
Permaculture and the refugee council: Also interesting to note is the community resilience work of the Danish Refugee Council, particularly that of Natalie Topa, in her role of Resilience Officer. I spent some time with her in Nairobi and was delighted to hear about how much her work is based on permaculture throughout East Africa and Yemen.
Natalie Topa with Morag Gamble in Nairobi. Natalie Topa works with the Danish Refugee Council and implements permaculture throughout her work.
Ongoing: Ethos Foundation is continuing to provide some additional support for the development of these gardens and is dedicated to sponsoring permaculture education programs that will help people implement and manage more of these types of local permaculture demonstration gardens. The aim is to create a network of permaculture gardens in local communities – places to learn, to demonstrate, to access resources and connect with others wanting positive change.
Impact: Several gardens have been renewed and/or established where people can come to learn about permaculture. Gardens and systems are developing for the seeds and plant materials to be freely exchanged. New networks of local permaculture teachers are being established.
About Ethos Foundation: The Ethos Foundation, a sister organisation to the Permaculture Education Institute, is a small registered permaculture charity dedicated to:
supporting the spread of permaculture education through practical community-based projects led by local people to address local needs in their local communities
mentoring, enabling and supporting local permaculture leaders and educators
providing micro grants to local projects to access the resources needed to implement sustainable food garden initiatives.
A sincere thanks again to Permafund for supporting these communities. I encourage you to continue donating to Permafund. The difference that can be made with a small amount of resourcing is quite phenomenal.
Report by Morag Gamble, Executive Director (volunteer), Ethos Foundation
Permafund is managed by Permaculture Australia and provides small grants to communities in Australia and internationally. Donations over $2 are tax deductible and are accepted as ‘one off’ or recurring donations. Find out more including how to donate here: https://permacultureaustralia.org.au/permafund/donating-to-permafund-is-easy/
My permaculture journey started way back before my consciousness of what permaculture is – began.
At my Nana’s knee in fact. My grandmother was a classic Depression gardener. Everything left over, spare and not needed went into her garden.
As a child, I delighted at the treasure trove of goodies to be found whilst digging in the sandy soil of her seaside garden. Oyster shells, tea leaves, rusty iron bars, paper and newspapers, old toys, bits of brick and lawn clippings … a veritable ocean of lawn clippings!
She would go on evening walks around her suburb snipping a cutting here and there which had made its way over the fence of some unsuspecting neighbour. That time-honoured tradition of what’s hanging over the fence is fair game, still exists today I am sure, but for Nanna it was a fait accompli.
Hers was a large urban block of some 1200 square metres, with garden all around the perimeter and a large soft rolling couch lawn in the middle. A mature date palm edged with a circle of liver-coloured bricks sat just near the Hills hoist, waving its fronds in the sea breeze. A man would come every year and collect seed from that tree and I’m sure half the date palms in Australia are related to that one, such was the abundance of seed it produced.
Certain habits were a ritual, such as tipping the tea leaves from the pot each day over the Christmas bush that sat at the back stairs or procuring manure for the lemon tree down the back with the cover crop of strawberries underneath.
Her habits must have been catching because I can recall family tales of her daughter (my aunt) growing garlic under the roses in the front yard of her home in a very conservative Australian country town. Yes, it was companion planting. It wasn’t quite the scandal, but almost!
Years later I can recall papering my entire front yard with newspapers to suppress weeds and old grass, much to the neighbour’s surprise – before laying a new lawn.
It worked a treat. I had the best lawn in the street bar none!
A few years later I heard a story on the radio about two Australians who had invented a new way of growing food called permaculture. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren inspired me to plant a large vegetable garden and fruit trees.
The ground was hard packed clay and the climate was cold and frosty, so results were mixed. And I had my losses, birds devoured the grapes as soon as they ripened, and the dog got into the rockmelon patch and chewed through every piece of ripe fruit. But the chillies grew amazingly well, as did the cherry tomatoes. I was hooked.
Next, I moved to a windy, salty beach side suburb where everything seemed to struggle. I persevered. And bit by bit success came. I composted, I wrapped young trees in hessian against the wind, I watered constantly from the bore under my backyard – the citrus, passionfruit and a mango did well. Even the bananas fruited under my watchful eye aided by a liberal dose of coffee grounds donated by a local barista. A good crop of tamarillos one year encouraged me to order a few sub-tropicals from Daley’s to try.
They hated the salty winds and one by one they turned up their toes. The vegetables were woeful. Nothing liked the black acid soils. It was very discouraging.
The neighbours were discouraging too. They loved their lawn monocultures, devoid of any trees or shrubs.
Each February when the heat hit, the whole suburb would brown off, except my little patch of green, with its fruit trees, gingers and tiger grasses framing a lawn longer than what was fashionable, with chooks pecking around at the edges.
One day I asked myself… “Am I the weirdo here?” It was then I knew it was time to move. I simply didn’t fit anymore. I wanted to be somewhere where people gave a damn about their environment, where when the topic of soil came up, their eyes didn’t glaze over and where everybody knew what a swale was and what it was for.
At the time I was working as a journalist for a metropolitan newspaper. It was long hours, inside at a computer. I lived for the weekends when I could go to the garden. I am not religious, but that garden was my church. It fed my body and my spirit.
So, when redundancies were offered, I thought long and hard about my life, and then put up my hand.
I decided I was going to study permaculture. But before I left, I left my readers a legacy, a feature story on a local permaculture couple, Mark Brown and Kate Beveridge of Purple Pear Farm.
A visit to study their setup and systems convinced me I was doing the right thing. An intensive deep dive into Geoff Lawton’s amazing videos following that, had me enthralled.
I enrolled in the Diploma of Permaculture with the National Environment Centre at Albury TAFE under head teacher, Sue Brunskill.
From the very first, a new world unfolded. What was to follow was three immersive semesters of project-based study with supportive and knowledgeable teachers. Along the way, I moved again, this time to the Northern Rivers area of NSW where I supplemented my Diploma studies with additional training at the Permaculture College of Australia with permaculture pioneer, Robyn Francis.
Again, I was amazed by how much support and knowledge Robyn gave me, offering me the use of her extensive library at any time with which to complete my diploma studies.
While I was doing my diploma, I completed several courses with Robyn including Advanced Design Skills and Teacher Training.
I met incredible people through my studies and learned so much that I could apply in my own life.
Today a few years on, I am doing permaculture on an old gravel quarry and I work as a country real estate agent in a village where permaculture is as normal as breathing. I even list and sell properties in a dedicated permaculture community.
My gravel quarry is coming along nicely and while it has a long way to go, I would say if permaculture can work on a gravel quarry, or green a desert – it truly can work anywhere!
I have been able to pair my work and my study together beautifully, because now I can read a landscape easily, understand and design water systems effortlessly, assess issues by the weeds that grow there and along the way, sprinkle my clients with a healthy little dose of permaculture!
It’s my way of giving a bit back to the discipline which has given to me so much already.
Western Australia educator Dr Ross Mars has announced that students can now enrol in the online Certificate IV in Permaculture course (AHC42115) through Perth-based Skills Strategies International.
Skills Strategies International is the first Registered Training Organisation (RTO) in Australia to offer Certificate I, II, III, IV and Diploma in Permaculture as well as the 4-unit Permaculture Demonstrator Skills Set.
For those interested in becoming a teacher of accredited permaculture courses the Permaculture Demonstrator Skills Set is also available as an online course.
Certificate I and Certificate II in Permaculture courses are being delivered in several West Australian schools as Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs.
Setting up nursery irrigation
Permaculture qualifications can be obtained through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Email Ross to be sent details about this service.
Ross Mars’ Candlelight Farm near Perth, Western Australia has had a healthy uptake of students for Cert III and Diploma of Permaculture courses. The 12-month Diploma course has 4 enrolled students who meet with their lecturers for one weekend a month.
Recently the students and lecturers spent a weekend away from the classroom and took a 2-day field trip into the south west of Western Australia.
The purpose of the field trip was to examine the rural property in Boyup Brook that the students will be doing a design and report for plus to visit two community gardens in Albany to provide them with design ideas and assistance.
On day one, some of the students and lecturers travelled south from Perth in Ross’s ute while other students from the south west made their way to the first meeting point in Boyup Brook. This is teacher Lisa’s field trip report.
“We arrived around midday after a 3-hour trip and proceeded to stretch our legs with a walk around the large water reservoir on the property.
This was followed by an amazing lunch of chicken wings, cooked on the smoker, with an array of salads prepared by the owners of the rural property.
Following lunch, we walked the rest of the property to get a feel for the land, examining the existing vegetation and rocky outcrops and observed water movement across the property.
Students inspecting the property to observe its features
Seated in camping chairs we did some classroom work, interviewing the owners of the property to learn of their hopes and dreams for the development of the land.
Dinner that night was another amazing meal, a slow cooked casserole with meat and seasonal vegetables. The night finished with star gazing around a campfire whilst discussing all the permaculture possibilities for our hosts’ stunning hillside property.
On day two we traveled in convoy from Boyup Brook inland south to Albany to visit the first of the community gardens, the Rainbow Coast Community Garden, where we met with one of the garden founders and had a tour of the grounds.
Next, we went to the Good Life Community garden in Albany and toured the gardens with one of our group, who was a founder.
The Diploma students will have an opportunity to create designs for the undeveloped parts of this community garden. Their design will include an extended chook run and orchard zone.
We then visited a suburban permaculture garden and were amazed at the diversity of both plant and animal species in this modest-sized backyard. Lunch was harvested from the garden. This time fish plus an array of vegetables and edible flowers and we enjoyed another amazing feast.
Fresh from the garden
After lunch we parted company and began the 4.5-hour drive back to Perth.”
The students will be reflecting on their experiences and incorporating their field trip observations into their Diploma assignments. A fun (and delicious) way to learn!
Story by Lisa Passmore of INSPIRED BY NATURE landscape design
For more information please contact the PA Education team. education@permacultureaustralia.org.au
There is great opportunity for teachers and high schools to adopt new Cert I and Cert II Permaculture courses into Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs for Years 10, 11 and 12. Permaculture is a framework to enable the design of resilient systems and to create sustainable, living, integrated systems based on ecological principles and earth caring practices. Permaculture training is now embedded into the AHC Training Package (Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management) and courses have been initially developed for delivery in WA. However, they are also able to be delivered anywhere in Australia through Registered Training Organisation (RTO) partnerships. Skills Strategies International, based in WA, is able to auspice with schools anywhere in Australia and these courses are also available for purchase by other RTOs.
Cert I is most suitable for Education Support students, or those with learning difficulties, and Cert II for students who have aspirations of working within the agricultural and horticultural sector, but specialising in sustainable living practices.
These hands-on, student-centred courses engage students in the school garden where they learn life skills of growing, propagating and caring for plants, caring for animals, growing soil and undertaking organic practices to minimise their impact in the environment. While they are growing their vegetables, herbs and other plants, they may also be carrying out natural area restoration, recording weather, maintaining structures in the garden, preparing products and working safely when using and maintaining garden tools and equipment.
Teachers, or other school staff, will need to undertake four Cert III units in the Permaculture Demonstrator Skills Set for them to offer the Cert I in Permaculture course or at least a Cert III in Permaculture to deliver Cert II, unless they have already undertaken a Permaculture Design Course (PDC). Permaculture Australia has information on its website that further discusses the requirements of schools and teachers.
Besides the Permaculture Demonstrator Skills Set, Skills Strategies International also offers face-to-face courses in Cert III and Diploma in Permaculture, as well as providing a mechanism to Recognise Prior Learning (RPL) for any of these courses. You may have the skills, abilities and knowledge to obtain a qualification without attending a class, as long as you can provide the evidence supporting your involvement as a permaculture practitioner. Online courses may be developed in the future.
To find out which other RTOs are able to deliver Accredited Permaculture Training at various levels please search training.gov.au.
For more information contact the Permaculture Australia Education team: education@permacultureaustralia.org.au
Article by Dr Ross Mars, Skills Strategies International.
