Story compiled by Permafund’s Chris Carroll
Permafund grants support community organisations in Australia and around the world to learn about permaculture design and sustainable strategies to apply to their projects to enhance and restore their natural environment.
Project successes have led to better water management and soil enrichment, improved food production and greater biodiversity. Additional benefits have been improved income and food security, the creation of alternative economy initiatives and climate change mitigation.
Below are several thankyous with gratitude from Permafund grant recipients.
| “Thanks so much for greening our community.” Andronico Otieno Mitta, Mkulima Sasa Regenerative Agriculture CBO, Kenya |
| “Dear Permafund Team. Hope this update report meets you well. We have been blessed by some good rain once again and continue to be blessed by the work done using your funding. We continual to be proud of how the Food Forest is coming along and the knowledge it continues to impact in the community. I wish you could see the farm now. From an arid piece of land to this. Thankyou once again for all you have done for us, the women, children and the community.” Nyakio, Founding Director of Agatha Amani House, Kenya |
| “The crops chosen by the community are amaranths, eggplants, peanuts and corn because they are market gardening and food crops that give good yields during the harvest after 2 weeks of sowing. On 9 November 2024, a team of agronomists made a field visit to Runingu to technically support the members of the Fanyatu club in their amaranth and eggplant fields. They worked the land, cut strips and directly sowed amaranth seeds. It was a wonderful learning moment where each member found the opportunity to observe and practice the permaculture technique. The community continues to thank the financial support of Permaculture Australia for the generous gesture it has made through the financing of this agricultural recovery project in the “permaculture sector” of the Ruzizi plain. Today, everyone is mobilizing to practice market gardening with a view to improving their socio-economic living conditions within households. Debaba Sango Bienvenu, Fraternity Kivutian (FK), Democratic Republic of Congo https://fanyatu.org/ |
Permafund also received this heartfelt comment about the impact of this Fraternity Kivutian project for a special family.
| “My name is Shukuru Zuwena, I am a widow of 5 children, my husband died in 2022 following an illness. After his death, I found it difficult to live, but today, I greatly thank the Australian Permaculture Association for its project which consists of cultivating amaranths and eggplants as part of the revival of agricultural products in the plain of the Ruzizi. And the impact of this project is positive, because we feed our children with the products harvested in our fields and others that we sell to buy clothes. My best wishes for the year 2025.” – Shukuru Zuwena |
| “Conclusively the grandmother kitchen gardens was a big success and an eye opener as many people took interest and copied and tried in their homes and requested for more to be extended to them, the little fund was timely and so much appreciated since it enabled us realized our objectives and goal for this project. Much appreciation to the Permafund team for the trust.” By Patrick Paul Kidega, Project Manager Kitgum Permaculture Practitioners Association, Uganda. |
| “On behalf of Chinansungwi Relief Hand Organisation (CHIREHO) of Malawi, I would like to submit our project report for the project implemented with the funding from the Permaculture Australia. The project implemented has helped the community as well as our organization a lot though it met with some challenges outlined in the project. Your assistance is highly appreciated. Thanks very much” Charlie Nzima, Executive Director, Chinansungwi Relief Hand Organisation (CHIREHO) |
The Permafund team are heartened to receive these reports and testimonials of gratitude.
Identifying environment restoration projects that integrate permaculture practices and ethics and represent the best ‘bang for the buck’ helps maximise the impact of every dollar raised for or gifted to Permafund.
It’s easy to donate to Permafund via the Permaculture Australia website. Donations over $2.00 are tax deductible in Australia and can be made here.
The proceeds of fundraisers and donations to Permafund are gratefully received and so far, have supported seed funding grants for 93 community projects in Australia and 16 other countries.
In the spirit of Fairshare, the 2025 Permafund grant round opening shortly will focus on applications from Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
For more information, please contact the Permafund team: