A small team of permaculture practitioners are developing culturally appropriate permaculture resources, with a focus on teaching in displacement settings & crowded urban areas.
Led by international permaculture pioneer & Permafund Patron Rosemary Morrow, four days were spent in the Blue Mountains recently to progress the teaching resources.
“My years have shown that there are few materials available in translated languages to the participants we teach. This workshop will ensure accurate & appropriate training materials, which at the time of COVID-19 is even more essential to support distance/online training and community reach even more camp and urban settlement settings”, Rowe Morrow
Highlights of the workshop also included sessions with Permaculture for Refugees members BASD in Bangladesh, Sarah from Green ReLeaf in the Philippines, Blue Ribbon in Malaysia, Kat Lavers, and Morag Gamble sharing information on Permayouth.
Professional development sessions on teaching online, developing videos, cartoons, written and visual training materials were completed to assist with the resource development.
A new booklet ‘Teaching Permaculture in Refugee Camps‘ by Rowe Morrow and Ruth Harvey was also launched at the workshop.
P4R SEA member Sarah Queblatin from Green ReLeaf in the Philippines briefs the Blue Mountains participants via Zoom.
Permaculture Australia, including Permafund, are well representated with members Kym Blechynden, Jed Walker, Greta Carroll, Morag Gamble and Sarah Boulle all involved in the project.
“PA staff and members are thrilled to be involved withthe Permaculture for Refugees SEA activities. By partnering together we’ve been able to produce appropriate teaching resources for local NGO’s working in refugee camps and informal settlements – improving access to information by communities across the globe who often need it the most“, Kym Blechynden, PA.
These teaching resources will be translated and made available for use by communities in early 2021. The key to making these resources accessible to refugees are their translation into multiple languages. Funds are required towards covering the cost of translations, so all donations are welcome and gratefully received. Please contact hello@permcaultureaustralia.org.au for more information
PA’s Permafund members Greta Carroll, Rowe Morrow (Patron), Jed Walker & Kym Blechynden at the Blue Mountains workshop.
A huge thank you to the Blue Mountains Food Coop, Quakers Service Victoria and Permaculture Australia Permafund for their financial support to the workshop, all of the facilitators and participants for volunteering their time and travel costs, and to lead organisers Rowe Morrow and Jed Walker.
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For more information:
This article relates to the three permaculture ethics (Earth care, People Care & Fair Care), Use and Value Diversity, and Use Edges & Value the Marginal. More information on the permaculture ethics and principles can be found here.
Permaculture 4 Refugees South East Asia is a network of permaculture aid workers in Australia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Philippines, including members of Permaculture Australia and PA’s Permafund. We work in partnership with local NGO’s to support permaculture training and resource development in displacement and crowded urban settings. Donations are required and gratefully received to assist with the translation of resources into multiple languages, contact hello@permacultureaustralia.org.au to find out how to donate.
PA’s Permafund provides small grants to community permaculture groups across Australia and internationally. Since 2012 we have provided 38 grants in 14 countries, with another 12 projects being announced on the 1st November 2020. Donations over $2 are tax deductible in Australia. Find out more including how to donate here.
Rosemary (Rowe) Morrow is a permaculture pioneer, Permafund patron, author and teacher. For almost 40 years Rowe has worked extensively with farmers and villagers in Africa, Central and South East Asia and Eastern Europe and to communities experiencing the serious effects of climate change. When not working overseas, Rowe is based in Katoomba, NSW and is an active member of Permaculture for Refugees.
“The ethics earth care, people care and fair share form the foundation for permaculture design and are also found in most traditional societies. Ethics are culturally evolved mechanisms that regulate self-interest, giving us a better understanding of good and bad outcomes”, Permaculture Principles
Permaculture ethics: Fair Share
The Permaculture ethic of ‘Fair Share‘ is related to setting limits and redistributing surplus in times of abundance. The icon of the pie and a slice of it represents the taking of what we need and sharing what we don’t, whilst recognising that there are limits to how much we can give and how much we can take.
There are many ways we can enact the ‘Fair Share’ ethic – including donating surplus income to your organisation of choice including PA’s Permafund.
Fair Share: supporting Permafund
Permafund provides small grants to permaculture community projects in Australia and internationally. Dozens of project have been funded supporting seed banks, water harvesting, permaculture training, food security projects and composting toilets to name a few.
We are thrilled to acknowledge a small number of our Permafund 2020 donors here (noting there are many more!) while showing the different ways Permafund support can be provided.
Note, this is not a definititive list, and we extend a huge thank you to all of our Permafund donors for their generous support.
1. One off donations
PA member Beck Lowe, 2020 Permafund donor.
Donations can be made any time of the year, including in the lead up to the ‘end of financial year’, for an amount you choose. A huge thank you to PA members including (but not limited to) Beck Lowe, Claude and Helene Marmoux, Permacoach and Milkwood Permaculture who provided donations this EOFY.
“The permaculture ethics are intrinsic to what I do. Although I earn well under the average Australian wage, I’m conscious that I’m very wealthy by global standards. Once I made a decision to donate, Permafund was pretty much a no-brainer – it is a charity that aligns with my ethics and outlook on life and is run by volunteers with the maximum amount of money going directly tograssroots projects,” Beck Lowe
PA members Milkwood Permaculture, Permafund 2020 donors.
“We love that Permafund is an effective way to distribute fair share – it’s great to be able to donate to an organisation that we know gets the funds straight to communities and projects that need it,” Milkwood Permaculture
2. Regular or tithe donations
Set up regular payments to Permafund – for which you choose the donation amount and frequency. A huge thank you to PA Patron & Formidable Vegetable frontman Charlie Mgee, Koren Helbig and several other members (who wish to remain anonymous) for donating using this method. Fast, easy and a set amount each week tithed automatically to Permafund.
Charlie Mgee, Permafund Patron & frontman of Formidable Vegetable
“When I started making a small surplus from my music, it seemed like the obvious thing to do was to tithe some of my income to Permafund, so that the music could also directly benefit people practicing permaculture on-the-ground… Permafund was a great way that I could give back to the community and adhere a bit more to the ethics of Earth Care and Fair Share”, Charlie Mgee, Formidable Vegetable.
Koren Helbig with Gertie the Bantum chicken
“I choose to donate monthly to Permafund as it’s a super simple way to contribute to meaningful impact in Australia and further afield. Permaculture has been such an inspiring force for good in my life over recent years and I’m keen to pay this forward. I love the idea that my small contribution helps fund all sorts of fabulous permaculture projects, and hope these can become a catalyst for positive change for other people and our mighty planet,” Koren Helbig
“It has been important for me to ‘walk the walk’, so the entire design process, production and sale reflects the ethics and principles that [the calendar] displays. We have always encouraged community participation in the contributions for the calendar, so I felt the need to give back to the permaculture community. Permafund was set up for this purpose. I hope that our model can inspire others to ‘return the surplus’ and demonstrate our ethics,” Richard Telford, Permaculture Principles.
4. Event fundraiser using social media or other methods
Facebook has an online Fundraiser tool that has been used by Permafund supporters including the tiny house concert launch of the ‘Climate Movement‘ collaboration with Brenna Quinlan, Charlie McGee and Spoonbill.
PA Life member Robyn Francis also used the Facebook donation option recently for her birthday – resulting in the donation aim being met and exceeded well in advance – thanks Robyn and friends!
Says Robyn “For my birthday this year, I’m asking for donations to Permafund. I’ve chosen this charity because their mission means a lot to me, and I hope that you’ll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with me. All donations to this fund are given out as micro-grants to grassroots community projects making a big difference, in Australia and overseas. Every little bit will help me reach my goal – making the world a better place with Earthcare, Peoplecare and Fairshare”.
5. Donation in lieu of presenter fee(s)
PA members Brett and Nici Cooper at Limestone Permaculture completed *lots* of online workshops & events during Covid-19 restrictions – and requested participants to donate to Permafund in lieu of presenter fees – yeah! A huge thank you for their generous support and to Permaculture Toowoomba, among others, who made a donation in their name too.
“Permafund offers those making a living from permaculture to share the abundance on another level, not unlike sharing produce and knowledge within your community. We may not always have the opportunities or capabilities to assist with projects outside of our region but donating through Permafund, which is part of our Fair Share Ethic, is a way we can help to support those that can. This support assists projects to ‘Care for the Earth’ & ‘Care for People’ & life in general,” Limestone Permaculture
6. Bequests
PA has been fortunate to receive a numbef of bequests which have been gratefully received. To assist you with leaving a gift in your will to PA, including Permafund, we have compiled suggested wording and information here. Please contact hello@permacultureaustralia.org.au for further information.
Want to know more?
Donations to Permafund over $2 are tax deductible in Australia with donations received supporting projects in Australia and internationally. More information about Permafund can be found here. We are incredibly grateful to all of the generous donors to Permafund throughout the year for their support – thank you.
The Permaculture Principles website has great examples and information about each of the permaculture ethics and principles, including Fair Share. You can also listen below to Not The End by Formidable Vegetable, which represents the ethic Fair Share and is available on the album Grow Do It.
PA professional members Brett, Nici, Trae & Bronte from Limestone Permaculture Farm, are based in the picturesque Stroud Road Village on the mid-north coast of NSW. The property kicked off in 2010 initially as a project to move rural, design & create a productive small acre permaculture farm. Ten years on, the farm demonstrates that a thoughtful design process, based on permaculture ethics & principles, is essential to achieve a balanced, healthy & bountiful farm, homestead & garden. PA’s Kym chats with Brett and Nici about permaculture living, the importance of community networks & the determination to continue to build resilience, skills and sharing
Tell us about the journey of Limestone Permaculture.
Our awakening began around 2003 when Nici became increasingly unwell with an immune-related illness whilst we were residing in Newcastle. This fuelled our need to provide a more organic life for our family & re-ignited Brett’s childhood gardening upbringing. So it started with growing, eating & living organically and grew ‘in abundance’ to encompass sharing, community gardening, researching and not long after… permaculture! In 2020 we are enjoying working as a family on our beautiful farm providing permaculture principled education & demonstration, homesteading skills & farmgate Co-op fresh produce. We also implement permaculture principled projects within our community, schools & wider region. For us at Limestone Farm, permaculture means embracing a ‘Whole of Life’ living system with an essential ‘Evolving Design Process’ at its core, fundamentally striving for a naturally sustainable & resilient life, guided by Permaculture Ethics & Principles. In addition, permaculture organically & mutually integrates human needs with climate, landscapes, plants, animals, structures & community.”
There are many examples of permaculture principles at your property – what are your favourites?
Some of our favourite principled design elements include: Catch & Store energy: our outdoor woodfired oven that gives us at least 3 days cooking from one initial burn. Design from Patterns to Detail: the orchard on water harvesting contour swales, provides a range of fruit year-round and is an evolving habitat for our farm’s wildlife. Use Small & Slow Solutions: the duck pond doubling as a silt trap that overflows into a series of smaller swale silt traps for slowing water movement, collecting nutrient dense silt/soil for re-use in surrounding gardens. Use Edges & Value the Marginal: the Hybrid Shade House for tender sub-tropical production that doubles as the Quail Amazon. Integrate Rather than Segregate: the main poultry run that integrates duck layers, duck breeders, chicken layers, exclusion grow tunnels, firewood storage and micro food forest.and not to forget Produce no Waste: the ‘Gentleman’s Pissatorium’ that inoculates hay bales in readiness for hot composting.
Your website talks about building a positive future for yourselves as well as the community. How important are community networks and what activities are you involved in?
Permaculture micro farm, Gloucester High school. Photo credit: supplied by Limestone Permaculture
Our regional network groups are the anchor to build community resilience & a skilled & sharing community! We have many hard-working groups including other permaculture educators, Permaculture Hunter,Young Farmers Connect, Hunter Organic Growers, Slow Food Hunter Valley, local Landcare groups… just to name a few. These groups along with Limestone Permaculture & our local town groups underpin our community engagement, inclusive planning, local skill development & volunteer strengthening. Our latest community initiative is the design, planning & implementation of a Permaculture Micro-Farm at Gloucester High School (NSW) with stage one earth works nearing completion.
It’s been a rocky 2020 so far for many. How has this impacted on your property – and did you make any changes in your property design?
Aerial photo of Limestone Permaculture. Photo credit: Limestone Permaculture
There is no doubt that the last twelve months has many reassessing their current way of life and future goals. Debilitating drought, devastating bushfires & pandemic isolation has proven to be an important time for observation, analysis & interaction. The pandemic reinforced our determination as a family unit to continue to upskill & educate ourselves, make & create, grow, produce, preserve and share all that we do. It also further emboldened our passion for resilience, yet reaffirmed the importance to be part of a supportive & regenerative regional network. During the drought & bushfires, the overall design held true and it made for a great opportunity to take note of the farms various systems & elements, what survived, what thrived and what failed.
Some of the changes we made and are still making include:
Additional north to west facing deciduous trees to eliminate afternoon summer sun
Additional bio-fertiliser barrel spreaders & overflow water storage to enhance water security & soil life
Overhead Animal Arbours to promote shade in summer and expand growing areas
Additional exclusion tunnels to assist shading annual crops as part of the function.
You’ve been doing Zoom presentions for community groups during the pandemic and in lieu of payment, asked for groups to donate to Permafund instead – thank you! Why did you choose to donate to Permafund?
Apart from charitable groups & individuals, Permafund offers those making a living from their Permaculture Ethical & Principled Businesse to share the abundance on another level, not unlike sharing produce and knowledge within your community. We may not always have the opportunities or capabilities to assist with projects outside of our region but donating through Permafund, which is part of our Fair Share Ethic, is a way we can help to support those that can. This support assists projects to ‘Care for the Earth’ & ‘Care for People’ & life in general.
What is coming up for the rest of 2020 – and any final messages?
With only one PDC to complete this year due to restrictions & our shortened time frame, we are undertaking various on-farm projects & expanding upon our food production. We are constantly upgrading the farm to also enhance the experience for future students & visitors alike. Our usual busy schedule of farming, homesteading, educating, consultation, regional projects and community support continues as does our passion for knowledge & experience! We see 2020 as an opportunity for reflection and positive change for many. Daily life is no longer as dependable. We all feel the need for safety & degrees of self-reliance. From healthy soils to a healthy gut (and everything in between), we are making it our business to pass on as much of our knowledge & skills as possible to hopefully enable others to live healthier & happier lives.
Additional information
Limestone Permaculture are a professional member of Permaculture Australia, the national permaculture member based organisation. Not a member? Sign up and join us here today.
PA’s Permafund has provided dozens of small grants to permaculture community projects in Australia and internationally. Donations over $2 are tax deductible in Australia and can be set up as recurring or one off donations. Find out more including how to donate here
Limestone Permaculture provide property tours, design consultancy, permaculture courses (PDC and intro courses), school farm tours and a farm gate stall. For more details check out their website, Facebook and Instagram page(s). Watch and listen to more about Limestone Permaculture via the Happen Films podcast and short film below.
Permaculture Australia is registered as a charity with the ACNC operating as Permaculture International Public Fund (Permafund). Since 2012, Permafund has funded 38 community permaculture projects in 14 countries including Kenya, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Cambodia.
Permafund has received double the usual number of applications in this year’s micro grant round. The 37 projects applying for funding of up tp $2000 are mostly concerned with food growing. Countries like India have seen city workers pouring back to their villages and putting pressure on local food supplies. Other proposals include fish farming, women’s livelihoods and saving endangered turtles by using riparian permaculture techniques.
Permafund has received double the usual number of applications in this year’s micro grant round. The 37 projects applying for funding of up tp $2000 are mostly concerned with food growing. Countries like India have seen city workers pouring back to their villages and putting pressure on local food supplies. Other proposals include fish farming, women’s livelihoods and saving endangered turtles by using riparian permaculture techniques.
The Permafund team scrutinises and assesses all the proposals, often contacting applicants for clarification about their plans and the techniques employed. Priority is given to those with the greatest need, with a good concept and implementation plan, in line with permaculture principles and with conservation value.
Beekkeeping, a biogas plant, gardens in refugee camps and revival of traditional foods such as the madhumba tuber are examples of the range of projects to consider.
While the team will have the difficult task of rejecting some applications, an increase in donations this year will mean that more communities than before will be successful.
When asked why Permafund was so successful, our volunteer Grants Coordinator Jed replied:
“Permafund is able to scrutinise on-the-ground projects to ensure they produce a good yield and distribute it fairly to those most in need. By funding projects directly and ensuring permaculture techniques are properly used we know that all funds raised result in healthy landscapes. Increasingly we see groups who have the knowledge and skills but lack the resources to progress their food-growing plans…. Permafund makes their designs a reality which is very satisfying”
A huge thank you to all of our donors, including a recent donation from our supporters at Pip Media and Pip Magazine.
“At Pip Media we follow the permaculture ethics of earth care, people care and fair share – by donating to Permafund we share some of the profits that come through the work we do… We know the donation will go to projects that have been carefully selected by the great team behind PA’s Permafund – Permaculture International Public Fund whom share similar values to Pip.” Robyn, Editor Pip Magazine.
Thanks Robyn and team Pip!
The Permafund team is currently hard at work assessing the applications and can’t wait to announce the successful grants on 30th October 2020. In the meantime, you can find out more about Permafund and the projects we support, including how to donate here
Jed Walker is a PA member and volunteer with PA’s Permafund, coordinating the small grants program that supports permaculture projects across the globe. In this guest post, Jed shares the success of local fundraising for Permafund in the Blue Mountains, bringing together community over food and shared ideas.
“From Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, local permies Jed Walker and Rebecca Norton offer this simple idea that has so far raised nearly $1000 from low-key community evenings.
Through word-of-mouth, acquaintances were invited to a private home for a dinner and movie night. Pre movie entertainment included a short talk and Q&A from Permafund Patron Rowe Morrow on evening one, and a talk from Jed about Permafund projects, including a clip from John Champagne, Permafund Convenor (below)
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Then two courses – curry and cake with chai – were served, the lights were dimmed, and the movie rolled. A home stereo and projected image made the experience pretty similar to being at the real movies. The first movie night had an ecological theme, the second movie night was more about social justice.
Attendance was free, and people were asked to make a donation, if they wished. People loved the opportunity to have an intimate yet socially distanced gathering. They donated what they thought was what they spend on a movie and dinner which averaged about $30 each.
They not only want to come to more dinner and movie nights, but also want an evening devoted to more talk and tales from Rowe Morrow.
This scale of event is very easy to set up and prepare – no insurance, hall hire or publicity required. It really is as simple as having a few mates around for dinner and a movie, with the costs being so low they can be absorbed by the host. The local Blue Mountains Food Co-op will make a monthly donation of food for future fundraising evenings.
If you are based in Katoomba or wish to find out more about the events or run one yourself to fundraise for Permafund, please contact Jed via permafund@permacultureaustralia.org.au. The next scheduled movie night will be held on Saturday 12th September 2020.
More information:
Permafund (as part of Permaculture Australia) provides small grants to community permaculture projects across the world. Since 2012, 38 projects have been funded in 14 countries – with more projects soon to be announced in the 2020 grant round. We are volunteer run and funded entirely by donations, read more about the different ways to donate here. Donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Rosemary (Rowe) Morrow is a permaculture pioneer. Permafund patron, author and teacher. For almost 40 years Rosemary has worked extensively with farmers and villagers in Africa, Central and South East Asia and Eastern Europe. Rosemary has especially dedicated much of her efforts to refugees the people of war-torn nations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Kurdistan and East Timor, and to communities experiencing the serious effects of climate change like the Solomon Islands. When not working overseas, Rowe is based in Katoomba, NSW.
The Blue Mountains Food Co-op is a member-owned not for profit organisation that values community, respects the environment and promotes equality and social responsibility.
Permaculture ethics: Fair Share
“It has been important for me to ‘walk the walk’, so the entire design process, production and sale reflects the ethics and principles that [the calendar] displays. We have always encouraged community participation in the contributions for the calendar, so I felt the need to give back to the permaculture community. Permafund was set up for this purpose. I hope that our model can inspire others to ‘return the surplus’ and demonstrate our ethics,” Richard Telford, Permaculture Principles.
PA Life member 
PA members Brett and Nici Cooper at 
PA professional members Brett, Nici, Trae & Bronte from 
Our awakening began around 2003 when Nici became increasingly unwell with an immune-related illness whilst we were residing in Newcastle. This fuelled our need to provide a more organic life for our family & re-ignited Brett’s childhood gardening upbringing. So it started with growing, eating & living organically and grew ‘in abundance’ to encompass sharing, community gardening, researching and not long after… permaculture! In 2020 we are enjoying working as a family on our beautiful farm providing permaculture principled education & demonstration, homesteading skills & farmgate Co-op fresh produce. We also implement permaculture principled projects within our community, schools & wider region. For us at Limestone Farm, permaculture means embracing a ‘Whole of Life’ living system with an essential ‘Evolving Design Process’ at its core, fundamentally striving for a naturally sustainable & resilient life, guided by Permaculture Ethics & Principles. In addition, permaculture organically & mutually integrates human needs with climate, landscapes, plants, animals, structures & community.”
Some of our favourite principled design elements include: Catch & Store energy: our outdoor woodfired oven that gives us at least 3 days cooking from one initial burn. Design from Patterns to Detail: the orchard on water harvesting contour swales, provides a range of fruit year-round and is an evolving habitat for our farm’s wildlife. Use Small & Slow Solutions: the duck pond doubling as a silt trap that overflows into a series of smaller swale silt traps for slowing water movement, collecting nutrient dense silt/soil for re-use in surrounding gardens. Use Edges & Value the Marginal: the Hybrid Shade House for tender sub-tropical production that doubles as the Quail Amazon. Integrate Rather than Segregate: the main poultry run that integrates duck layers, duck breeders, chicken layers, exclusion grow tunnels, firewood storage and micro food forest.and not to forget Produce no Waste: the ‘Gentleman’s Pissatorium’ that inoculates hay bales in readiness for hot composting.
Apart from charitable groups & individuals, Permafund offers those making a living from their Permaculture Ethical & Principled Businesse to share the abundance on another level, not unlike sharing produce and knowledge within your community. We may not always have the opportunities or capabilities to assist with projects outside of our region but donating through Permafund, which is part of our Fair Share Ethic, is a way we can help to support those that can. This support assists projects to ‘Care for the Earth’ & ‘Care for People’ & life in general.
Jed Walker
