Story by Emma Chan, Permafund team
Permaculture Australia’s Permafund has the pleasure of receiving updates from many permaculture projects around Australia & the world who have received small grants from Permafund. All have their own unique combination of flora and fauna, resources and climatic and cultural factors which drive locals to apply permaculture principles to projects in unique and innovative ways.
This often includes using organic solutions to keep local wildlife from decimating gardens while supporting biodiversity and ecological balance. Sometimes that involves small creatures – such as companion planting to attract beneficial insects, or hand-picking caterpillars off vegetables, or introducing lady bugs to manage aphids. Thinking a little bigger, here in Australia we may need to net fruit trees to exclude cockatoos in order to obtain a yield, or tree guards to ward off wallabies.
But when it comes to managing large animals, Friends of Wildlife in Myanmar really “takes the cake” – with a need to keep Asian elephants from trampling their permaculture plot! They are using strategies including planting bio-fencing with elephant-unpalatable seedlings.
Friends of Wildlife (FOW), with support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Myanmar, works to conserve Asian elephants and to mitigate human–elephant conflict in nine villages of Taik-kyi Township in southern Bago Yoma, Myanmar (Burma). To reduce human–elephant conflict, FOW has established eight Elephant Emergency Response Teams (EERTs), an Electric Fence Management Group, and a village-level network.
FOW’s current project involves developing one of the villages, Shwe-Myine (Ywar-thit) Village, as a model for community-based conservation. This village consists of 63 households. While the village faces multiple challenges, including Myanmar’s political situation and some men having to leave due to conscription, women have actively taken leadership roles. Activities include awareness, training, home gardening, permaculture, fish farming, and community forestry – while strengthening inclusive governance and empowering the community-based organisation or sustainable resource management.
This project is supported by funding from both Community Conservation Inc (US $ 10,000) and Permaculture Australia’s Permafund (AU $2,800). FOW is using this funding strategically to cover 15 activities in order to meet their three main objectives and is an example of donated dollars stretching further when converted to another currency.
Activities 1-3 of FOW’s project involve meetings to address Objective 1: Increasing Awareness and Behaviour Change.
Activities 4-10 involve training activities in the following areas to meet Objective 2: Capacity Building.
- Community forestry management
- Fish biology / nursing the fingerlings
- Home gardening
- Bio-fertilizer
- Ethics and Principles of Permaculture
- Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO): Organizational development and financial management
- Conservation ethics
- Organic home gardening and greening
- Permaculture Practice
- Community forestry
- Elephant Emergency Response Team
Activity 13, Permaculture Practise, involves a permaculture plot which is 100 feet long and 80 feet wide. It is located beside a road that is sometimes used by wild elephants.
During a one-year reporting period, wild elephants entered the village on four occasions. The Elephant Emergency Response Teams (EERT) responded successfully to three incidents, and no damage occurred. On another occasion, two wild elephants entered the village at around 2 a.m. The response was delayed, and some fences were damaged. Friends of Wildlife support the EERT with essential equipment, including batteries, torchlights, and streetlights. In addition, they are establishing bio-fencing by planting 420 elephant-unpalatable seedlings. The planting was carried out in September 2025, and survival monitoring in December 2025 showed a 97% survival rate.
Between December 2025 and January 2026, several permaculture activities were completed. This included soil preparation, development of the permaculture zoning design, and selection of suitable plant and crop species. In addition, 4,300 seedling bags were prepared in the home nursery to support village greening activities, home gardening, and the permaculture plot.
FOW plans to implement the permaculture design with an aim to create a low-maintenance and climate-resilient system. It also provides clear learning zones for villagers and integrates food production, soil health, water management, and biodiversity.
Zone 1 will serve as a learning and management hub. It includes the existing hut, mango and cashew trees, a rainwater harvesting tank, tool storage, a notice board on permaculture principles, and a seating area for training.
Zone 2 is the intensive demonstration area located near the hut and water source. It will include raised keyhole garden beds, vertical gardening, and a nursery and seed bank. Crops will include leafy greens, vegetables, herbs, and mulch-rich beds.
Zone 3 is a semi-intensive food forest. It will feature fruit trees, nitrogen-fixing plants, and an understory of medicinal and multipurpose crops.
Zone 4 will focus on staple crops for household food security, such as cassava, sweet potato, maize, and legumes grown through intercropping.
Zone 5 is a buffer and biodiversity area on the northern side of the plot. It will include bamboo, native shrubs, and bee-friendly flowers to provide protection and wildlife habitat.
The design also includes water management measures and clear pathways connecting all zones. Simple signboards will explain key concepts such as mulching, nitrogen-fixing plants, and food forest layers.
Throughout project implementation, FOW has coordinated with CCC to provide rotating support to villagers. For education and demonstration purposes, FOW plans to conduct monthly village trainings/talks, school visits, and farmer-to-farmer learning sessions. Practical demonstrations will cover composting, mulching, intercropping, and natural pest control.
We congratulate FOW on the progress they are making in improving environmental sustainability in diverse ways despite the unique and significant challenges faced in Myanmar, and look forward to hearing more updates in future.
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