EDIBLE FLOWERS - SLOW FASHION NATURAL BUILDING MATERIALS - ROCKET STOVES - CROP SUCCESSION PLANNING Beekeeping Naturally ‘It’S Not Just About the Honey’

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TINY HOUSE LIVING - WILD HARVEST - EDIBLE FLOWERS - SLOW FASHION NATURAL BUILDING MATERIALS - ROCKET STOVES - CROP SUCCESSION PLANNING Beekeeping Naturally ‘It’s not just about the honey’

Natural, organic Beekeeping Courses with Kenyan Top Bar Hives

Spring and Summer courses 1 Bermagui NSW | Melbourne | Canberra www.beekeepingnaturally.com.au CONTENTS 6. PERMACULTURE AROUND THE WORLD by Morag Gamble 8. PIP PICKS 10. NOTICEBOARD 12. PERMACULTURE PLANT: PUMPKIN by Beck Lowe 13. RARE BREEDS: AUSTRALIAN GAME FOWLS by Tabitha Bilaniwskyj-Zarins 14. EAT YOUR WEEDS: WILD RADISH by Patrick Jones 15. SAVE YOUR SEEDS: MUSTARD GREENS by Steve and Kerryn Martin 86. KIDS PAGES 16 89. COURSE PROVIDERS DIRECTORY 96. CD & BOOK REVIEWS

FEATURE: 20 16. MELLIODORA: THE ART OF PERMACULTURE LIVING by Kirsten Bradley 20. YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO NATURAL BUILDING MATERIALS by Adam Hickman 26. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY: THE WAY FORWARD by Joel Meadows 31. LIVING TINY by Sian Richards and Adam Hickman 36. RESILIENCE AFTER EARTHQUAKES IN NEPAL by Christine Carroll and Chris Evans

GROW: 38. CROP SUCCESSION PLANNING: PLANTING FOR ABUNDANCE by Michael Hewins 38 43. PROFILE: JULIE FIRTH: DRYLANDS PERMACULTURE FARM by Ross Mars 2 44. GROWING FRUIT AND NUT TREES FROM SEED by Beck Lowe BUILD: 46. PERMACULTURE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT by Maude Farrugia 49: ROCKET STOVES by Joel Meadows and Dan Palmer 52 52: PROFILE: PHIL GALL, ARCHITECT by Ben Buggy EAT: 54. WILD HARVEST by Robyn Rosenfeldt 54 60. EDIBLE FLOWERS by Sarah Price

THRIVE: 62. SLOW FASHION by Maude Farrugia 66. EASY-PEASY $4 SINGLET DRESS by Annie Werner 68. HOW TO MAKE A BOOMERANG BAG by Boomerang Bags 74 78

70 NURTURE: 70. INSPIRING TEENS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY by Dean and Annette Turner 74. GARDENER’S HANDSCRUB DESIGN: by Tabitha Emma 78. DESIGNING AN URBAN OASIS 76. THE ART OF FRUGAL HEDONISM by Megan Norgate by Annie Raser-Rowland 3 84. DESIGNING CHICKENS INTO THE VEGIE GARDEN by Robyn Rosenfeldt CONTRIBUTORS

Publisher / Editor / Art Director: Robyn Rosenfeldt Design and Illustration: Grace West, North South Grace West JOEL MEADOWS Sub Editor: Bernadette O’Leary Joel draws on a deep well of experi- Editorial Assistant: Bethany Patch ence (as an energy auditor, sustain- Proofreader: Peter Ascot Social Media, Marketing and Events Manager: Maude Farrugia able transport consultant and environ- Advertising: Grant Webster and Aliza Levy mental educator among other things) Editorial Advisor: John Champagne which he combines with a rare knack Cover Art: Bronwyn Seedeen, Pattern Pie for explaining technical issues in a clear Shop Manager and Admin: Felicie Vachon and engaging way that cuts straight to Editorial enquiries email: [email protected] the heart of matters. Joel has just fin- Advertising enquiries: [email protected] ished owner-building his permaculture-designed property and (02) 6100 4606 or download our media kit at strawbale house which features impressive passive cooling, pipmagazine.com.au/advertise heating, lighting and water strategies, rocket stoves for heating Directory listings and classifieds enquiries: [email protected] and cooking, and a beautiful curved roofline that follows the Submissions: We would love to hear from you if you have ideas path of the winter sun. When he’s not doing these things, Joel for articles. Contact us with the pitch before you write it. makes sculptures of steel and wood, runs cider workshops, [email protected] is a cooker of food, an avid gardener, radio DJ and musician. Stockists enquiries: If you would like to stock Pip contact [email protected] (02) 6100 4606 Contributors: ANNIE RASER ROWLAND Boomerang Bags, Ben Buggy, Kirsten Bradley, Christine Carroll, Amy Dowling, Tabitha Emma, Chris Evans, Maude Farrugia, Morag Annie Raser-Rowland is a horticul- Gamble, Michael Hewins, Adam Hickman, Patrick Jones, Jade turalist working at CERES nursery in Kavanagh, Tabitha Bilaniwskyj-Zarins, Beck Lowe, Ross Mars, Steve Melbourne, and a ponderer and inves- Martin, Kerryn Martin, Joel Meadows, Megan Norgate, Dan Palmer, Bethany Patch, Sarah Price, Annie Raser-Rowland, Robyn Rosen- tigator of matters ecological, cultural, feldt, Sian Richards, Dean Turner, Annette Turner, Annie Werner and culinary. She has made visual art for much of her life, but in recent Photographers and illustrators: Rohan Anderson, Laurie Benson, Kirsten Bradley, Emma Byrnes, years has found herself distracted by Keren Dobia, Amy Dowling, Tabitha Emma, Chris Evans, Maude a pressing urge to write. A swag of Farrugia, Morag Gamble, Patrick Jones, Frances Howe, Jade Kavanagh, Jodie Lane, Knitionary Recipes, Ian Lillington, Beck scribblings about consumption, our relationships to landscape Lowe, Ross Mars, Steve Martin, Kerryn Martin, Joel Meadows, Dan and making meaning and ecstasy in a modern first world soci- Palmer, Sarah Price, Olive Rose, Robyn Rosenfeldt, Dean Turner, ety have resulted, including two co-authored books: The Weed Annette Turner, Hiromi Yuasa Forager’s Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Pip Magazine is printed in Australia, by Printgraphics on FSC Australia (Hyland House Publishing 2012) and The Art of Fru- and recycled paper and printed with vegetable inks. gal Hedonism: a Guide to spending Less While Enjoying Every- thing More (Melliodora Publishing 2016).

Pip Magazine is a published independently by Robyn Rosenfeldt. ADAM HICKMAN PO Box 172 Pambula, NSW, 2549. Adam’s been a builder for ten years, ABN: 14 513061 540 starting in the UK. Since moving to Australia three years ago he has been Copyright: Pip Magazine is subject to copyright in its entirety. The content may not be reproduced in any form without the permission helping to run Agari Farm and teaching of the publisher and authors. Views expressed by the authors are workshops all over Australia including: not necessarily those of the publisher. To the extent permitted by law, the publisher disclaims any liability whatsoever in relation to earthship, strawbale, mud brick, light advice, representation, statement, conclusion or opinion expressed earth, super adobe, cob and tiny in Pip Magazine. 4 houses. He has also trained with some of the best natural builders around the world. Now specialising in roundwood timber framing and tiny houses, Adam provides a friendly, ethical and holistic outlook for designing and building a home. EDITORIAL

I was asked recently what of a whole range of topics. For example, after putting togeth- brought me to the place er the article on SLOW FASHION (page 62) I am even more I am in today: the editor of aware of the clothes I buy, or don’t buy, and the ripple effect a permaculture magazine, those choices create. living in the country on a We are all on different parts of this journey, with different property with an evolv- levels of awareness, and different priorities and life situations ing permaculture design, that affect how close to our ideal we can live. I still struggle teaching permaculture, with making the right choices all the time; and with three growing food, eating well kids, and a whole range of external demands, I don’t always. and trying to bring up my However, I am empowered to make informed decisions, to do kids to understand and re- my bit to create the world I do want. spect the planet. It’s good to aim high, to aspire to live in the best way pos- It made me stop and sible. We can look up to people like David Holmgren and Su think: haven’t I always Dennett, and how they live their life at Melliodora (MELLIO- been this way inclined? DORA: THE ART OF PERMACULTURE LIVING, page 16). We I’ve always felt a connec- can inform ourselves as best we can, so that we know what tion to nature, but I defi- effect our actions have; and we can always think about – and nitely wasn’t brought up as question – the choices we make in our daily lives. the daughter of activists or living on a commune: I grew up in I hope each issue of Pip Magazine gives you information middle class, suburban Melbourne. and inspiration to help you make informed choices in your So what caused me to choose the life I have right now? life. When did I start to have this affinity with the earth, and wanting to do the best for her? Was it annual camping trips im- Happy reading. mersed in nature? Was it watching my dad garden when I was a child, and growing my first carrots? Was it getting ar- Robyn rested for protesting against uranium mining? Was it the feeling of belonging I had among others who felt the same way? Was it setting up my own garden and growing my own food? Was it completing my permaculture design course? Well, it was all of those things. It has been a slow evolution, COVER ARTIST: a gradual opening up and a growing awareness of what effect my actions and choices have, not only on the planet but on BRONWYN SEEDEEN other humans and society in general. www.patternpie.com I’ve been learning constantly since I started Pip Magazine; with each issue I gain a greater awareness and understanding

5 PERMACULTURE AROUND THE WORLD Words by Morag Gamble Photos courtesy of projects [email protected] www.our-permaculture-life.blogspot.org NEVER ENDING FOOD, MALAWI, AFRICA Never Ending Food is a permaculture demonstration and education organisation working to help address malnutrition holistically, improve children’s access to healthy food and promote food sovereign- ty. It’s led by Stacia Nordin (a dietician) and Kristof Nordin (a social worker) who have been in Malawi since 1997. The Nordins moved to Malawi to help with HIV prevention through the US Peace Corps. They learned quickly that to address malnutrition they would need to improve the quality and diversity of food, and to do that they needed to improve soil fertility. That’s when they came across permaculture. They now help to teach permaculture across Malawi, supporting communities and schools to set up abundant and sustainable food systems. Their own house is a demonstration plot, where people can visit to learn about their approach. The Nordins believe that permaculture has great potential to benefit nutrition and health, increase income potential and make a significant difference to living conditions. Given Malawi’s year-round growing season, access to water and large genetic base of local food crops, the local people have seen how permaculture can help to create abundant gardens with a diversity of food. And how permaculture farmers have, on average, better food security, a more diverse diet and higher crop yield than conventional farmers. By making simple and affordable improvements to family farms, Malawian families can increase their overall household food security significantly. For more information see www.neverendingfood.org See: www.ekukhanyeni.org SUNSEED DESERT TECHNOLOGY, ANDALUSIA, SPAIN

Sunseed is a pioneering permaculture centre and community in the drylands of southern Spain. Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary in October 2016, Sunseed continues to be a hands-on centre for learning about arid permaculture, green energy, eco-construction and low-impact living. Places such as Sunseed are crucial in such environments. They offer young people in particular a chance to experience what it means to live and work in community, to become hands-on with appropriate technologies and natural building, and to learn dryland management and how to grow food successfully. This intentional community is focused on sustainability education and practical research. A transient population of volunteers, interns and researchers regularly join the core members in the off-grid ecovillage of Los Molinos del Río Aguas. Together they work and learn to explore, demonstrate, develop and share ways to live more sustainably. Around the village there are many working examples of appropriate technology, 6 natural building and permaculture gardening. Throughout the area are gardens with herbs, flowers, vegetables, tree fruits and nuts. These are fed by Sunseed’s own compost systems and ancient Moorish irrigation channels. Volunteers and visitors are welcome. For more information see www.sunseed. org.uk. A SCHOOL IN A PERMACULTURE FARM, GREEN SCHOOL, BALI, INDONESIA The Green School, with its towering wall-less bamboo class- rooms surrounded by permaculture gardens, is cultivating a new generation of eco-leaders. The school began in 2008 with ninety students. Eight years later it has over 380 children attending, including many local students, and offers a natural, holistic and student-centred education from pre-kindergarten to Year 12. The school continues to receive international acclaim for the education revolution it is inspiring. The beautiful and impressive bamboo structures provide a free-flowing, natural learning environment. The campus is filled with a diversity of food in its many permaculture gardens, nursery, medicinal gardens and food forests. In addition, the Kul Kul Farm, within walking distance, also grows food for the school and offers training. The school is an inspirational place to visit. Imagine how amazing it would be to go to school there, with visitors such as Vandana Shiva and Jane Goodall. Green School Australia anyone? Volunteers and visitors are welcome. For more information see www.greenschool.org.

SACK GARDENING IN SLUMS, KIBERA, KENYA, AFRICA Sack gardening is changing the lives of many people in the slums of Kibera, just five kilometres from Nairobi’s city centre. With a population of around 170 000, Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and one of the largest in the world. Sixty per cent of Nairobi’s population are slum dwellers, living on just six per cent of the land. There is little space, limited electricity, scarce fresh water, poor toilet facilities and HIV is rampant. Urban agriculture had less effect on food security here, because of the lack of land and the cost of food; around half the residents have no work, while others exist on less than one dollar a day. Most children eat only one proper meal each day. However, since the introduction of sack gardening in 2008, by French NGO and humanitarian organisation Solidarités Internationalis, things have improved. The initiative began as a way to support jobless youth after a spasm of post-election violence in 2008, and provided them with healthy food at the same time. Solidarités Internationalis provides free seedlings, advice and as- sistance to people who want to take advantage of the public space in slums. The sacks contain soil and animal manure, and use small rocks for drainage. Both the tops and sides of the sacks are used for growing, and there are now thousands spread throughout the slums. Kibera farmers grow a range of vegetables and leafy greens, including kale, spinach, onions, tomatoes and arrowroot. Sack gardening is now supporting 22 109 households, directly ben- efitting over 110 000 people. By 2020 it is estimated that thirty-five to 7 forty million urban Africans will depend on urban agriculture for their food, and strategies such as this will help people to feed themselves. Visitors and volunteers are welcome in Kibera. For more information see www.solidarites.org/en. PIP PICKS AUSTRALIAN MADE AUSSIE HO MI, ASIAN HANDHELD HOE Unlike western gardening tools, the Aussie Ho Mi is an ergonomic hand-held hoe which uses a more comfortable and natural action and is based on a traditional Korean design. This tool is lightweight and perfectly balanced. It rotates easily in the hand from the sharp pointed working edge, to the equally sharp wide edge. Dig, weed, cultivate, ridge, plant, scalp–this tool will do everything. Once you start to use it, you will find yourself hooked! Handcrafted in Australia by artisan tool makers F.D Ryan, the Aussie Ho Mi is made from high carbon steel, heat-treated for maximum strength and sharpened to a knife edge. With care, your Ho Mi will last a lifetime. Available on the Pip website. www.pipmagazine.com.au $30

IBARK IPHONE COVERS Based in Byron Bay, eco-friendly design company iBark have developed the world’s first sustainably produced iPhone case. Each case (available for iPhone 6/6S) is made from Australian hardwood and a non-GMO corn starch resin, making it 100 per cent non-toxic and 99 per cent biodegradable. The cases are lightweight, ergonomic and water-resistant. The phone covers are priced between $44.95 and $49.95 and are available online at www.ibark.com.au/, with free shipping within Australia. SKIN OF THE EARTH SKINCARE RANGE Skin of the Earth is a skincare range that offers products that are 100 per cent organic and Australian. They are made from locally grown and wild harvested medicinal herbs and contain no harmful chemicals. All Skin of the Earth products are non-toxic, natural and perfect for sensitive skin. Healing balm ($20): is a fantastic multipurpose skin healing balm for all skin types, particularly great for psoriasis. It contains herbs with antibacterial, anti inflammatory, anti-fungal and wound-healing properties. Peppermint Tooth powder ($12): is a traditional clay-based alternative to toothpaste. It contains magnesium and calcium, is anti-fungal and re- 8 moves any heavy metal residue in the mouth from eating processed foods. Coconut Deodorant ($8): is a balm alternative to roll-on deodorant. It is gentle on sensitive skin, antibacterial and deodorising. For orders contact: [email protected] SELJAK BLANKETS Seljak Brand, based in Tasmania, makes recycled wool blankets using offcuts from the fac- tory floor – seventy per cent recycled merino wool, a thirty per cent blend of recycled alpaca and mohair, and polyester for strength. The Seljak Original Fringe blanket is a luxurious 2017 KITCHEN GARDEN utility blanket; durable for outside use, yet soft enough for the home. CALENDAR Seljak Brand diverts waste from landfill and restores value to this beautiful Australian resource for your cosiness. What’s more, for every ten blankets sold, Seljak Brand donates one to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Victoria. The Seljak Original Fringe blankets are available from www.seljakbrand.com.au and at a small selection of retailers in Australia and New Zealand $179. Twelve months of seasonal produce and recipes 2017 PIP MAGAZINE KITCHEN GARDEN CALENDAR Twelve months of seasonal produce and recipes from some of Australia’s finest producers and food creators; including Grown and Gathered, Milkwood, Good Life Per- maculture and many more. With stunning photography and a recipe for each month this calendar will take pride of place on your kitchen wall. www.pipmagazine.com.au/ shop $14.95.

GOOD LIFE PERMACULTURE SAUERKRAUT TEA TOWELS One of Good Life Permaculture’s education tea towels, this ‘delicious and nutritious sauerkraut’ variety is not only educational (it shows you how to make your own sauerkraut from scratch!), but also beautiful and useful. The guys at Good Life Permaculture love creating art that is educational and inspiring, but even better when it serves a practical purpose. Each printed image is designed and drawn by the team at Good Life Permaculture in Hobart, Tasmania, and is printed with water-based ink on an oatmeal-coloured fabric. All Good Life Permaculture tea towels are made from one hundred per cent organic cotton and manufactured in India. 9 The delicious and nutritious sauerkraut tea towel is available from the Pip website: www. pipmagazine.com.au/shop $20 plus postage. NOTICEBOARD

To place your event here, email [email protected]

SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2016 Some of Australia’s most environmentally progressive STUDY PERMACULTURE IN 2017 homes will be on show at Sustainable House Day on Sun- day 11 September 2016. AT CQUNIVERSITY This is a great opportunity for thousands of people to visit some of Australia’s leading green homes. Sustain- Australia’s Graduate Certificate in Permaculture able House Day gives visitors a chance to inspect first- Design at CQUniversity provides practical respons- hand houses that have been designed, built or renovated es to the growing global need to adapt sustainably with sustainability in mind as well as the opportunity to to social and environmental changes. talk to owners and receive unbiased advice. To register The first of its kind in the world, the graduate your home or find homes in your area go to www.sus- certificate provides benefits such as the flexibili- tainablehouseday.com ty to study by distance education with residential schools hosted by industry partners offering practical learning experiences. Applications are open in August for commence- ment in Term 1, 2017. Visit www.cqu.edu.au to enrol. For more information, contact Dr Keri Chiveralls, at k.chiveralls@ cqu.edu.au. ‘DYNAMIC GROUPS, DYNAMIC LEARNING’ TEACHER TRAINING, CREATIVE FACILITATION & GROUP LEADERSHIP COURSE with Robin Clayfield 20–26 August 2016 Crystal Waters Permaculture Eco-Village Celebrating over 23 years of training permaculture teachers globally MAKING PERMACULTURE STRONGER Fully catered, six-day residential course. Only one in Aus- Making Permaculture Stronger is a new project tralia this year making waves in the global permaculture commu- Many leading permaculture teachers have trained with nity. Starting with the idea that, like anything, per- Robin and incorporate ‘Dynamic Groups’ skills into their maculture has room for improvement, this project courses is opening a space for high-calibre collaborative Contact: [email protected] inquiry into areas of permaculture that have the po- www.dynamicgroups.com.au tential to be made even better. The initial focus has been a series of posts looking at the way perma- culturalists define and understand design process. 10 Initiated by Dan Palmer (founder of permablitz.net and VeryEdibleGardens.com), you can check it out and get involved here: www.MakingPermacultureStronger.net APC13 (AUSTRALIAN PERMACULTURE CONVERGENCE) AND EXPO, PERTH, WA 2–5 OCTOBER 2016 2 Oct Expo. Open to the public. There will be a number of talks, presentations and workshops highlighting different aspects of permaculture. 3-5 Oct. Convergence. Concurrent sessions on various themes. Keynote Speakers Anni Macbeth and Rob Hopkins. PDC required. Permaculture Tours–Thursday and Friday 6–7 Oct. Two one-day and two two-day tours. Courses running before and after. Food Facilitators Training Course with Robina McCurdy. Future Scenarios Workshop with David Holmgren. Advanced Principles Course with David Holmgren. Urban Permaculture Facilitators Training with Robina Mc- Curdy. Advanced Teaching Course with Rosemary Morrow and Robin Clayfield. Advanced Design Course with Graham Bell and Ross Mars. Guest David Holmgren. www.apc13.org

IPC INDIA 2017. 26 NOV–2 DEC 2017 Hosted at Hyderabad, Telangana State, India by Aranya Ag- ricultural Alternatives. The theme of the IPCIndia2017 is ‘Towards Healthy Societies’ with special emphasis on women as agents of change in building sustainable communities. The hosts have over 1000 permaculture gardens and hundreds of farms to demonstrate good permaculture projects in India. Vandana Shiva will be invited to be a keynote speaker at this conference and Robyn Francis has promised to help teach the PDC leading up to the Conference. PDC hold- ers and teachers with expertise and specialised knowledge who can guide and supervise interns and volunteers will undertake the responsibility of a viable project with the help of students on the farm in areas such as: chicken tractor, keyhole vegetable beds, biochar, dry toilets, banana circles, wind breaks, water harvesting, greywater and blackwater management and/or any other areas of their choice. Visit 11 www.ipcindia2017.org for more info. PERMACULTURE PLANT PUMPKIN Words and photo by Beck Lowe

BOTANICAL NAME: Cucurbita spp., for example C. maxima, or mulched heavily. Watering is best done direct to the soil C. pepo and C. moschata as wet leaves can make plants vulnerable to fungal diseases. COMMON NAMES: pumpkin, winter squash (USA) There is a quite bewildering array of cultivars available: differ- ORIGIN: Central America and Southern USA ent shapes, sizes and colours, as well as big variations in fla- DESCRIPTION: a fast-growing annual vine producing abun- vour, sweetness and texture. Tougher skinned cultivars tend dant leaf-mass and large edible fruits. to keep better, but will be harder to cut. Very large-fruited cultivars can be fun to grow, but the fruit quality will be low. PERMACULTURE USES For those with less room, there are bush cultivars available, • A particularly useful food plant. Can be cooked in sweet such as Golden Nugget, which fit more neatly into the vegie or savoury dishes – roast pumpkin and pumpkin soup are garden. Pumpkin vines can also be grown onto shed roofs, classics. The seeds are edible, containing good amounts or up fences or established trees to save space. They can be of zinc among other nutrients; some cultivars have hull- used to create a shady summer area when grown on a trellis. less seeds, making them easy to eat. Flowers are edible, shoots and young leaves can be added to stir-fries or PROPAGATION steamed; and the whole vine can be chopped and slow- Pumpkins will grow in almost any climate and can be planted cooked in soups and stews. year round in warmer, frost-free areas. Dry months are better • Seeds are also used medicinally. for growing in tropical areas as hot, wet weather can lead to • Many cultivars can be stored for months. fungal problems. In cool or frosty areas seeds can be started • Cut into chunks, pumpkins make a great stockfeed for in spring in a greenhouse and transplanted out – a large pot goats, cows and even chickens. should be used, as they will outgrow it rapidly! In other areas • Lush growth and spreading habit make the plant an ex- seed can be planted straight into the ground. cellent living mulch, shading the ground and supressing Seed is easy to save: scoop it out, wash it (soaking for a competing plants; it is particularly useful under establish- day helps) and ensure it is dry before storing. Pumpkins will ing fruit trees. cross-pollinate with other cultivars of the same species, so to keep a strain pure grow one cultivar of each species per year, DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS or hand pollinate flowers and seal them against other pollen Pumpkins need plenty of water and have a high nutrient re- entering. quirement. Otherwise they are very low maintenance and easy to grow. They can be planted into a pocket of compost,

12 RARE BREEDS AUSTRALIAN GAME Words and photos by Tabitha Bilaniwskyj-Zarins

If you want very hardy, impressive chickens for your system Like their softer counterparts, hard feather chickens come or backyard, then the Australian Game or Australian Pit Game in standard and bantam sizes. The Australian Game and breeds are definitely worth considering. Australian Pit Game are the only two Australian hard feather chickens. CHARACTERISTICS Both the Australian Game and Australian Pit Game fowls are: ORIGIN • hardy, compact and robust Both breeds have been developed from a mix of Old English • easy to maintain and Asian birds. The Australian Game was originally known • very good layers, particularly the Pit Game hens as Colonial Game. Both were bred for cockfighting by officers (as good as Australian Langshans) of the early settlements. When this was banned, farmers in • good table birds (see weights below) the Windsor, Hawkesbury and Hunter Regions of NSW contin- • available in a variety of beautiful colours, including ued to develop the breeds for hardiness and table properties, black/red, creel (speckled), pile (white) and duckwing and for exhibition. (silver and gold) Even though the breeds’ origins were similar, they have • easily quietened and usually very gentle, although very different physical characteristics. Australian Game birds females can be feisty (take care when introducing new are tall, long legged and thickset. Australian Pit Game birds stock). are short, solid and muscular. Both are hardy birds in the Relative weights: Australian Game males over 5.45 kg, fe- orchard or in any permaculture system, providing both good males over 4.75 kg, and bantam males 1.5 kg, females 1.2 kg; table and egg-laying properties. Australian Pit Game males 2.7 kg and females 2.0 kg. MAINTENANCE AND HOUSING WHAT IS GAME POULTRY? Feed wheat to keep the feathers tight. Daily free ranging will Game poultry is also known as ‘hard feather’. The most fa- supplement the diet and increase egg production. Exercise is miliar chickens are ‘soft feather’ types, with flouncy soft, also important. fluffy feathers, such as ISA Brown and Australorps. Hard Housing need not be too complicated: an indoor/outdoor feather chickens are characterised by: feathers held close to section with roosting perches that is secure is sufficient. A the body: a solid and muscular feel when held; and eagle-like surplus of male birds is easily housed in individual box pens; heads. these are good for quietening the birds, and also for pairing with hens to breed.

13 EAT YOUR WEEDS WILD RADISH Words and photo by Patrick Jones

Wild radish Raphanus raphanistrum is a valuable winter and sicas: they vary in colour, including white, yellow, pink, cream spring vegetable, in the brassica family. Whether the plant is and lilac; and they form in clusters at the ends of the stem native to the Mediterranean area or Asia is disputed, but it is branches. The tap roots are generally small. now a globalised wild food that is loved by foragers far and wide. The plant has various common names around the world, including cadlock, jointed charlock, and runch. The botanical name for wild radish derives from Greek, meaning to appear quickly: its germination is rapid, although the plant recedes if the soil remains undisturbed. Being a pioneer species, it likes disturbed soil. Where it springs up may indicate acidity, although it will grow in most soil types. It is a frost-hardy, tenacious plant. In a climate-changed future we may be eating a lot more plants like this. USES Wild radish grows in all Australian states – it suits tem- We eat a lot of weeds when our produce garden enters a pe- perate and subalpine climates, and has also been found in riod of lower productivity over the winter months, and we al- subtropical areas; it hasn’t naturalised in the Northern Terri- ways use wild radish when making hearty stews, bone broths tory. While it can be a great food source, around four million and curries. We cook the leaves and stems well to soften and hectares of it are sprayed each year in Australia with about reduce fibres, and harvest only the very young leaves for eat- $40 million worth of herbicide according to the Herbiguide ing raw in salads, open sandwiches or juices. website www.herbiguide.com.au. While it’s usually broadacre The tubers, although quite insignificant in size, taste just like cropping farms that spray the plants, always be careful where cultivated radish tubers, and are useful to include in winter you forage it – your gut flora doesn’t need any more residual soups, stews and salads. The flowers are also excellent in pesticides. salads. The roots can be used to make anti-fungal extract. The plant contains useful glucosinolates that help make min- DESCRIPTION erals and nutrients more bioavailable. The plant is also an Wild radish is sometimes a biannual but mostly an annual awesome green manure over the winter months, and bees plant, with a much branched rosette habit. The leaves are love the flowers. rough, grow quite large and are generally toothed. The stalks If you have a question about weeds for Patrick you can can grow to one metre. The flowers are very typical of bras- email him at [email protected]

14 SAVE YOUR SEEDS MUSTARD GREENS Words and photos by Steve and Kerryn Martin from the Lost Seed

Mustard greens Brassica juncea are a little-known leafy vege- the dried plant material in a tub and tread on the pods. Discard table, typically grown over winter as they are quite frost-tol- any stems and pods, then screen and winnow the remaining erant. They tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, and seed. Use a piece of felt to remove any of the finer, unwanted are easy to grow. Both leaves and flowers may be used raw material: simply stretch it over a large, flat board, place that in salads or cooked like spinach (which removes the hot fla- on an incline and roll the seed over it – any chaff will adhere vour). With the onset of warmer weather these attractive to the board, leaving the seed at the bottom to be collected. plants will quickly set seed, and produce hundreds of tiny seeds per plant. TIP: Use isolation cages if you want to save seeds of more than LIFE CYCLE AND POLLINATION: one variety, or if you are worried about cross-pollination from An annual – will produce seed in the first year. Both self– neighbours and can’t achieve the distance required to keep and cross–pollinating: although self-fertile, plants will produce seed pure. Poly-pipe hoops set over metal star pickets and more seeds if regularly visited by insects. Will cross with Chi- then covered with insect barrier mesh will give the required nese mustard and other mustards. To ensure purity, grow va- height for the flowering stalks, and also keep out any unwant- rieties at least 400 m apart. ed insects. To ensure good seed set, introduce insects into the cage at flowering time. Blowfly pupae (maggots – yes, HOW TO SAVE SEED: that’s right!) are the best option, as they don’t carry unwanted Select from only the strongest plants: remove those that show pollen with them – either collect your own using rotten meat, signs of disease, or which bolt early. Plants produce flowering or ask for ‘ready to hatch blowfly pupae’ at your local fishing stalks to 1.2 m high, so they are best staked. Pods will mature bait store. progressively on the one plant. As branches turn brown, cut them, place them in a large paper bag and leave to dry in a cool, SEED STORAGE AND VIABILITY: dry, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight. Alternatively, Store dried seed in a cool, dry place away from direct sun- when the majority of seed pods on the bush are brown and light. The seed may remain viable for up to four years. dry, and the seeds rattle inside, harvest the whole bush, then place it in a hessian bag and leave to dry. Seeds will be ready Find them at thelostseed.com.au after one to five days, or when seeds become too hard to dent with a fingernail. Dry seed pods are easily shattered and will readily release their seed; otherwise rub pods between your hands, causing them to break open. For larger quantities, place

15 This page clockwise from top: Melliodora kitchen; Su milking the goats; cheesemaking with goats milk; Su and David; the kitchen garden in summer; kid goat. Following page clockwise from top left: harvesting honey; the greenhouse in summer; the kitchen garden in summer. Robyn Rosenfeldt

16 USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE

RESOURCES AND SERVICES FEATURE MELLIODORA: THE ART OF PERMACULTURE LIVING

Words and photos by Kirsten Bradley

If you’ve studied, read or participated in any perma- sible water catchment looked good; and the site couldn’t be culture-related activities in Australia (or far beyond), shaded out by neighbouring properties’ plantings. then you’ll be aware of Melliodora, the outstanding Thirty years later Melliodora has made the most of the site’s domestic-scale permaculture demonstration site sit- advantages, allayed the disadvantages as much as possible, uated in the village of Hepburn, Victoria. and continues to evolve as a living permaculture system. Melliodora is perhaps one of the best known sites in the world which demonstrates permaculture design on a house- SELF-RELIANT AND CONNECTED hold scale. But it just feels like a happy and healthy place, with: David and Su developed Melliodora with self-reliance in mind, a garden full of nut, fruit and forage trees, berries, vegetables, but they also wanted to be connected to their community. geese and goats; mudbrick homes; and lives worth living. ‘The principles of self-reliance and personal responsibili- Founded by David Holmgren (co-originator of permacul- ty have been central to everything we’ve done, from being ture) and Su Dennett and their family in 1985, this site has owner-builders and growing our own food, to homebirth and progressed from a blackberry-covered hillside to a one hect- homeschooling’, David explains. ‘This is not driven by a desire are settlement of self-reliance and low-energy living at its to separate ourselves from society, but a strong belief that it’s best. through citizens taking more, not less, responsibility for their There’s so much to take in: mudbrick passive-solar hous- own needs that the necessary social revolution to a sustain- es; forest gardens; energy-efficient approaches to all aspects able society can be best initiated.’ of living; water-in-landscape design; and animal systems. It’s With this goal in mind, they have developed many integrated hard to imagine the site before, as a scramble of brambles on systems at Melliodora. Organic waste from the house cycles a bare hill. through chickens and compost systems, and back into garden David and Su chose the site, on the edge of Hepburn village soil. The goats graze on brambles, pasture, public land and rather than a more rural location, for a few reasons – as David woody trimmings from the orchard systems, turning cellulose explains, ‘I didn’t want to become a chauffeur service, spend- into protein rich milk. The water that falls on the property ing most of my time driving to and from town for soccer prac- is caught and stored in various ways, for drinking, irrigation, tice, school, music and grabbing bits and pieces’. So finding potential energy and thermal mass. The orchards, nut groves, land where most of life’s immediate needs were accessible by main crops and kitchen gardens all provide seasonal food sup- foot or the local bus was a priority for this family. ply for the residents. An integrated Community Supported Ag- In addition, the parcel of land that Melliodora sits on was riculture and wholefood co-op pickup point, run from the main cheap. With a slightly west facing slope covered in brambles, garage, provides social glue and resilience. a small seasonal creek running through it, and its location on the edge of town, it was neither urban nor rural, and it need- HOUSE DESIGN ed lots of work to make it pretty. In the 1980s the site didn’t As with any homestead, the ‘big house’ is the beating heart. A impress most potential buyers. However, from David and Su’s smaller mudbrick/timbercrete cottage is further down the hill, 17 perspective there were many advantages: it bordered a public between the two dams; built for David’s mother Venie, it now creek (later to become the Spring Creek Community Forest); houses another family. There is also a tiny wooden ’tea house’ they liked the community in the area and the climate; the pos- above the top dam. As an owner-builder project, the big house took David, Su derneath the earth floor, then channels it up through the cup- and friends two years to complete, and is as unique as its board (and past the cooled food) and out through a flue above. inhabitants. This is not set-and-forget living – although the This is a completely passive, food-cooling unit, powered by house is well designed and built, it evolves as they live in it: the tendency of air to rise as it warms. many small changes and improvements have been, and will Wire baskets in the cool cupboard contain everything from continue to be, made as needed. homemade ferments of all kinds, vegetables, condiments, left- over meals and homemade goat’s cheese. Thanks to tight-fit- PASSIVE SOLAR ting doors, the cool cupboard’s internal temperature is kept In the central Victorian climate getting passive heating and separate from the ambient kitchen temperature; its contents cooling right makes a big difference to the energy inputs, and sit happily at an average temperature of 10 °C in winter, and year-round comfort of a home. The big house faces north, a maximum of 17 °C in summer. A small bar fridge in the to catch the low winter sun and draw it inside. Solar ener- kitchen keeps the fresh goats milk – from daily milking – at gy warms the internal thermal mass of the house created by 4 °C; everything else is kept cool, but not cold. This is an ex- mudbrick walls and floor. cellent compromise for an energy-efficient home-based food In summer, with the higher sun angle, the line of the roof system. shades the internal walls to prevent unwanted summer heat The house also boasts a cellar, full of preserves, storage entering the house. The western side of the house has a large crops, food preparation gear and other things that need, or pergola, covered in summer by extensive kiwi fruit and grape benefit from, being kept cool, but are not required daily in the arbours to make a large, cool shady space which functions kitchen. as an outdoor work, harvesting and living area. In winter, the The kitchen garden, although not often thought of as a food leaves fall and allow sun and light in to the western side of preservation unit, is actually one of the best. If managed well, the house. you can have fresh salad greens and other vegetables stored in the ground or on the plant, and only harvest as you need GREENHOUSE them! About ninety per cent of the vegetables needed for the The big house also features a passive solar greenhouse, at- household at Melliodora are produced right outside the door. tached to the north side, outside the kitchen. The greenhouse is a multi-purpose space that brings considerable happiness WATER and yields, in all four seasons. It is used as a heat collector, Melliodora’s water design represents a pragmatic approach to growing space and mudroom. available resources. When designing the house, David wanted In winter the greenhouse lets the low sun in and catches to make the most of the town-water connection as a backup that solar energy to warm the internal garden beds, the mud- system for resilience, especially in the fire season because of brick house wall and the kitchen. The garden beds are full of its excellent head pressure. out-of-season greens and herbs, protected from frost by the A small rainwater tank behind the big house collects rainfall clear roof and the slow heat bank provided by the mudbrick off a small section of the roof, and provides drinking water for wall. This makes it easy to nip out for a few salad leaves or the house, through a separate tap in the kitchen. herbs on a rainy winter day. The majority of the rain that falls on the house roof, and the The end of the greenhouse, next to the kitchen door, func- roof of the second studio building on the property, collects tions as a mudroom – providing a warm, dry place to get water in two large ferro-cement tanks that were built on site. muddy boots on and off, store coats out of the weather, and This water is pumped by a solar pump to a header-tank uphill transition from the outside to the inside of the house without from the house, and is used for washing dishes and people. bringing half the garden soil in with you. Melliodora’s two dams spill from one into the other, via a In summer the greenhouse is deep in large green leaves: series of silt traps and small ponds. Dam water is pumped cucurbits, tomatoes and other vegetables, rising high to shade by a solar pump up to a second header-tank, and used for the greenhouse roof and the house wall beside it. irrigating vegetables, fruit and nut trees across the property. Overhead misters keep the greenhouse pleasantly humid The top dam’s catchment includes hard surfaces from the on dry summer days, and also provide a valuable moist buf- surrounding township, and fills quickly in a short downpour. fer-zone for the house as part of Melliodora’s fire plan. The second dam fills from the property itself, and from the overflow of the dam above. In turn, when the system is full, ENERGY EFFICIENCY the excess water spills passively down to Spring Creek, next Apart from these design features, Melliodora has many other to the property. examples of low-tech, energy-efficient living, including power generation, water harvesting, food preservation and storage, HOME ECONOMY 18 not to mention the home office that allows integrated low-en- Every aspect of Melliodora is set up with the household econ- ergy livelihoods. omy in mind, rather than the monetary economy. Self-reliance One of the simplest low energy solutions is the cool-cup- is key, and the house and its integrated and surrounding sys- board in the kitchen. This draws cool air from the cavity un- tems are designed accordingly. FEATURE

The food needed is grown, raised, collected or milked, as David talks about his aspiration of ‘living in place’ – of a life best as can be managed. Some foods are plentiful, some are spent learning the local country, the signs and systems, the not, most are highly seasonal, and no foodstuff is assumed. climate, the ground. Of not always going far away, to other The menu changes daily, and markedly, throughout the year. things. Of giving thanks for what is, and adapting to what is Ideas gaining popularity now, such as no-waste living, have not. And designing; always designing. It’s a style of living, and been a given in this house for decades. There’s no rubbish a possible future, for all of us to consider. bin in the kitchen: paper is used again, or stored, or compost- Thanks to David and Su for their insights and help. There ed; all jars and tins are re-purposed; all organic scraps are are many great resources available that break down, in detail eaten by something on site. Meals are made at home, and and step-by-step, the design, construction, and establishment taken along when adventures await beyond. Everything that’s of this special place. If you’re interested, start with ’Melliodora’ needed and can be sourced second hand or from junkyards, Hepburn Permaculture Gardens: a Case Study in Cool Climate is. There’s no left-over packaging in this house. Permaculture 1985–2005 (Holmgren Design Services 2005), The small amount of plastic that does make it into the house a fabulous and detailed overview, available in hard copy and is usually re-purposed to wrap and package wholefoods to be ebook form. Head to holmgren.com.au for this and other resold at the weekly co-op. It all goes around. sources, both digital and print, on Melliodora, permaculture Heating energy is sourced from the sun, and from sticks design, designing for bushfire and much more. collected on the property or at neighbouring places. Things that break, are fixed, if they can be. Things that break easily, Kirsten Bradley runs Milkwood, an Australian permacul- or cannot be fixed, are generally not brought into the system. ture skills enterprise that has just taken up residence in It’s in these ways, plus many other small and large habits the studio at Melliodora.. She pickles whatever she can 19 and behaviours and systems, that the home economy at Mel- get her hands on, and writes hopefully useful things at liodora functions. Very little money is needed for daily life. www.milkwood.net Much living, doing and making, gets done instead. Rammed Earth Australia Robyn Rosenfeldt Jess Ahlemeier

Clockwise from above left: Rammed earth walls; Mudbrick interior; Strawbale interior; Light Earth wall; Cob house. Viva Living Homes Viva Living Homes

20 USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE

RESOURCES AND SERVICES FEATURE YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO NATURAL BUILDING MATERIALS

Words by Adam Hickman

Whether you’re thinking of becoming an owner-build- in building any home are usually labour and fixtures, such er or retrofitting your home, you might be wonder- as kitchen, bathroom and internal fit-outs. For example, a ing which building materials will ensure an effective, straw bale house built by a natural builder can cost anywhere beautiful and natural home. Some important factors to between $1800–2000 m2, with the bales only accounting for consider are: which resources are available to you lo- fifteen to twenty per cent of the cost. However, you can re- cally (both on your property and in your area); cost of duce costs by downsizing, sourcing your materials locally or materials; thermal properties sought – passive solar from your property, using recycled materials, and inviting the design, thermal mass and insulation – and how these community or volunteers to take part in building workshops interact with each other; embodied energy involved; at your place. and the ease of material construction. With an introduction to these factors, you will be better equipped THERMAL PROPERTIES to begin choosing the materials that best suit your When assessing thermal properties, passive solar design, climate and house design. thermal mass and insulation are major considerations. In an Australian climate, holding and storing heat and cold effec- LOCALLY SOURCED MATERIALS tively, by using insulating materials on the external walls and Research your local resources – keep an eye out for timber thermal mass internally, can create an ideal environment for mills (for free/cheap offcuts), dense forest, high-clay soil, self-regulated temperature control. quarries for stone, salvage yards, building-grade strawbale Passive solar design is one way to harness the sun’s en- manufacturers, and any excess subsoil from building sites. ergy for the heating and cooling of living spaces. This design Practise sustainable building methods. practice aims to create a self-regulated temperature within If you’re planning to use earthen materials, test the clay the home, instead of installing non-renewable systems such content in your own subsoil first. If you have a clay content as gas heating and air conditioning. This involves consider- of around twenty-five per cent, techniques such as cob, light ation of the orientation and internal layout of the house and, earth (straw clay), rammed earth and mudbrick would be per- most importantly, the choice of building materials and their fect options in your design. strategic placement. By constructing a passive solar design Another great local resource is trees. Many native Aus- you are investing in lower energy bills and using the naturally tralian hardwoods are suitable for building; ironbark, tallow- occurring thermal properties of your materials. With an un- wood, Victorian ash, blue gum and spotted gum are some. derstanding of passive solar design you can begin to choose Once you’ve identified the species and its properties (such building materials. as strength and durability), the timber can be used for post Thermal mass stores, and releases or absorbs, heat. When and beam construction, or milled for weatherboards, cladding, a mass stores heat from a source (such as a fire or the sun), floor joists and furniture. it slowly releases that energy back into the room once the ambient temperature drops below the mass temperature – 21 COST sometimes delaying the heat flow through the home by up to For many people, cost is the deciding factor in the choice of twelve hours (lag). Materials that have a high thermal mass building materials. Some people assume that natural build- include brick, stone, cob, mud bricks, concrete and water. You ing is cheap, but this isn’t necessarily true. The major costs can use these materials for internal structure and to build Keren Dobia Jess Ahlemeier Hempcrete Australia

Clockwise from below: Mudbrick home; Hempcrete; Timber framing by Evergeen Homes; Cob walls. Robyn Rosenfeldt

partition walls, which work well in winter, especially when EMBODIED ENERGY positioned near a fire. Embodied energy is the total energy consumed by the pro- Insulation stops or slows down the transfer of heat and cesses of extracting, processing, manufacturing and deliv- cold. As a general rule, materials that are fibrous and contain ering building materials to your site. In natural building the air pockets are good insulators. In Australia, building materi- embodied energy and carbon footprint (i.e. related carbon als are given an R-value rating, based on the thermal conduc- dioxide emissions) of materials will depend on your location tivity or resistance of the material. However, efficient design and what is locally available to you. is about more than R-value, for example material used in the The ideal building material for low embodied energy would walls may have a high R-value but the walls are just one el- involve little or no processing of the raw material, and all the ement of the design – only fifteen to twenty-five per cent of energy inputs would be ‘borrowed’ from the earth. Cement, 22 heat is lost through walls. A strawbale wall has an incredi- the key ingredient in concrete, is extremely high in embodied ble R-value of R10.0. Other good insulators (with an R-val- energy; however, it’s now one of the most common materi- ue around R3.0) include sheep’s wool (expensive at around als used in conventional building. The main use of cement $25 m2) and hempcrete. in buildings is in the foundations and floor. While it can be difficult to avoid using cement when trying to adhere to per- the material into sections, usually a load-bearing timber frame. mits and engineering specifications, there are ways to reduce the use of cement, for example by using: urbanite (reused) Rammed earth concrete; added natural materials such as crushed limestone Rammed earth is a mixture of gravel, clay, sand, cement and (e.g. LimeCrete); rubble trenches; concrete strip footings with sometimes lime or waterproofing additives. It is most easily an internal earthen floor; or by constructing timber posts and machine-compacted into removable formwork, resulting in a frame on top of brick piers. water-resistant, load-bearing, long-lasting wall.

EASE OF CONSTRUCTION Timber FEATURE The diverse range of natural building materials makes for an Sustainable timber is a renewable material that absorbs car- equally diverse range of construction methods. The key con- bon from the atmosphere while growing, and stores it for the siderations to balance are: your ability to use unskilled labour; life of the building. Australia has many native hardwoods that speed of construction; and weight of the materials. For ex- are great for building. Timber can be used sawn or left in the ample, you could employ a carpenter to erect the structural round. frame, which means your chosen infill for the walls doesn’t need to be structural, allowing for additional unskilled labour HOW TO GET STARTED (such as friends or family) to assist in the building process. It can be easy to set your heart on a specific style, so it’s im- Strawbale wall installation would be a quick process with un- portant to remember that natural building techniques can be skilled labour, while mudbricks – which are heavy for their adapted to different shapes and design parameters and, once size – will take longer to install. rendered with lime and/or earth, can maintain a very similar aesthetic. The important first step is to begin to look at your MATERIALS [see further details in the table] own needs in a home. How do you spend time in a space? Cob How can your home benefit your needs and lifestyle? Cob is made from subsoil (sand and clay), water and a fibrous Research which materials are readily available in your area, organic material, typically straw. For a strong cob mixture you from the natural world and recycled, as well as via websites need around fifteen to twenty-five per cent clay, seventy-five such as Gumtree and Freecycle. Stay in tune with what your to eighty-five per cent sand and one part straw. Always test budget allows, and think outside the box when considering samples and different ratios for strength before building, as fixtures, fittings and labour alternatives. natural materials are different from place to place. If you Most importantly, enjoy this empowering building process can’t use subsoil from your property, try calling local land- as much as the goal. You can build a solid, beautiful and scapers and building sites or look on community websites for breathable home with earthen, carbon-neutral materials. It’s free subsoil. Cob is also extremely fire-resistant. about realising your needs, observing your resources, and ac- knowledging local skills and community. Mudbrick Mudbricks are made by mixing subsoil and water, and sculpt- For further information and details of relevant ing the mix into brick-shaped forms which are left to dry nat- courses go to: urally. Sometimes straw and other fibres are added to reduce • Your Home: Australia’s guide to environmentally the shrinkage in the drying process. Mud bricks are extremely sustainable homes at www.yourhome.gov.au fire-resistant. • The Australian Timber Database at www.timber.net.au Strawbale • Viva Living Homes at www.vivahomes.com.au Oat, rye, wheat and rice straw are commonly used materials • Huff ‘n’ Puff Strawbale Constructions at for making strawbales, but not hay (which can germinate and www.glassford.com.au break down in the walls). Use previously compressed bales • Agari Permaculture Farm at www.agarifarm.org (building grade) rather than regular strawbales. • Earth Building Solutions at www.earthbuildingsolutions.com.au Light earth • Milkwood at www.milkwood.net Light earth (also known as light straw clay or insulating straw • Rammed Earth Australia at clay) is not structural but used as infill, and is best for retrofit- www.rammedearthaustralia.com.au ting walls or cavities due to its great balance of insulating and • Evergreen Homes at www.evergreenhomes.com.au thermal mass properties. It is made from loose straw, lightly • Hempcrete Australia at www.hempcrete.com.au coated in a clay slip/slurry, which is tamped into formwork between a post and beam structure. Once dry (two to four Adam Hickman owns and runs Evergreen Homes and months), the walls are rendered with an earth or lime render. has been teaching natural building courses all over Australia. He has two upcoming courses: a three Hempcrete week strawbale round house with reciprocal roof in Ad- 23 Hempcrete is made by combining water, hemp fibre and a elaide and a one week home in Mornington Peninsula. lime-based binder. It is both fire- and pest-resistant. Similar For more info visit agarifarm.org to light earth, it’s an infill material: you use formwork to pack or contact [email protected] EMBODIED THERMAL EASE OF COST ENERGY PROPERTIES CONSTRUCTION COB Cheap if sourcing clay/sand Depends on source Low insulation value (R0.5), Applied while wet. from your property. Otherwise: of materials; minimal but high thermal mass Labour-intensive to mix clay is around $16–20 kg; sand if from property, and and apply (build up to around $70 m3 with local straw 300 mm/day), so best as a community process. You can mix it with a tractor, or on a tarp in large quantities. Free-form style of material allows for architectural flexibility. MUDBRICK

Free when using your own Minimal if locally sourced Low insulation value (R0.4), Can be load-bearing but soil and building your own materials but great thermal mass; usually used as infill. brick moulds from recycled more effective to use Labour-intensive due to timber or metal; pre-made mudbricks for thermal and weight – usually about have a 5 % cement additive, acoustic performance on 18 kg/brick. and cost around $3.30 /brick internal walls ($66 m2 laid flat STRAWBALE

Around $9/bale ($20 m2) A completely renewable A rendered wall provides Can be load-bearing or used material – its primary energy excellent insulation (R10.0) as infill. Both techniques are input is the sun extremely quick, as each bale is usually 900 mm x 450 mm x 350 mm, weighs only 16–20 kg and is easy to ma- noeuvre between two people.

LIGHT EARTH Cheap if sourcing clay from Non-toxic, bio-renewable The less dense the wall, the Technique is easy, lightweight your property. You can use and low-cost materials; by lighter the weight and the and fast, especially if built in reclaimed plywood for form- incorporating organic higher the insulation value, the warmer months. Using work, but you’ll need to buy aggregates wall construction but with a lower thermal two sets of boards (about straw. You can use wood chip can be carbon negative mass: walls at 250 mm 300 mm are practical); you instead of straw (chip ‘n’ slip) width with a lower density of can leapfrog your way up a so ask at your local saw mill) 500 kg/m3 are around R1.8 wall creating full height walls in one session. HEMPCRETE If employing an experienced Carbon-negative – more A 300 mm thick wall is Have an experienced builder builder the price is similar carbon is taken out of the around R4.2 present as the mixture consis- to conventional building, but atmosphere by growing the tency is quite specific. Layer you can invite workshops or hemp plant than is emitted as no more than 100–150 mm at volunteers to lower the costs a result of its production and a time, and then pat it down use on site; transport to site firmly. The lime is highly is an additional carbon alkaline, so gloves and safety emission, so research local glasses are necessary. It is produces and suppliers light work but very labour- intensive. RAMMED EARTH Costs $250–300 / vertical Minimal if using subsoil from Insulation similar to Very labour-intensive, m2 if hiring a builder; reduce your property, especially if mudbrick (around R0.4) requiring a small excavator costs by using earth from you choose not to add cement or cement mixer to combine your property; one option (only recommended for materials. The mix is applied 24 is stabilising it with 5–10 % non-load-bearing walls) within formwork and tamped. cement Mechanical and wooden tam- pers are available, although the latter will take longer. The magazine for those who want to build their own home

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Back issues www.theownerbuilder.com.au • www.facebook.com/TheOwnerBuilder USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY: THE WAY FORWARD

Words by Joel Meadows

Western societies have been enthralled by technology the 1820s, but when the ‘safety bicycle’ (diamond frame, two since the beginning of the industrial revolution. From matching-sized wheels, chain drive) emerged in the 1880s a mechanised looms to 3D printers, technology has lift- sweet spot was hit. The design worked: it matched the human ed people out of poverty, increased life expectancy, body with a technology that produced an efficiency – energy freed us from menial work, reduced pain and suffer- expended to distance travelled – that is still unmatched by ing, and helped us to see the world in new and illu- any other form of transport. Bicycles might look like they’ve minating ways. However, technology is a two-edged changed in the last 130 years (they have got faster), but the sword, for it has also brought pollution, extinctions, core of the safety bicycle design is still there, and little im- an exploding human population, unemployment and, provement in overall efficiency has been achieved. of course, the warming of our planet. This is not to say that there is only one ‘appropriate’ technology that must be rolled out globally. Permaculture princi- SLOW TECHNOLOGY ples call us to ‘observe and interact’ with our place and our A permaculture approach to technology is more like the ‘slow conditions, so technology must be locally adapted and locally food’ movement than the high-tech, cutting edge of modern appropriate. Although the basic bicycle design might remain, industry. It is technology that works for us, not enslaving us an ‘appropriate bike’ for us and our place should be: made to it. It is technology that connects us to our place and com- from locally sourced materials, geared to suit the local typog- munity. It is beautiful and enhances our lives. It is more like a raphy, fitted with tyres suited to the local terrain, lubricated long, slow lunch with friends than a drive-through takeaway. with locally sourced oils and greases, and fitted with attach- EF Schumacher is credited with first using the term ‘ap- ments suited to the load being carried or work being done. propriate technology’, in his influential book Small Is Beau- tiful: a Study of Economics as if People Mattered (Blond and HOW TO MEASURE ‘APPROPRIATE’ Briggs 1973), though he leaned toward the term ‘intermediate So, how do we divine the appropriate from the inappropriate technology’. I prefer ‘appropriate’ as it suggests there is a in selecting and using technology? How do we go about find- right size, a right scale, a right cost for technology. Appropri- ing sweet spots? Here are some criteria by which we might ate technologies are those that hit a sweet spot where these assess a prospective technology. things are aligned. Renewable SWEET SPOTS We should check that any technology we are considering is We are often presented with a picture of technology being a based on a renewable resource base, and a renewable source great unfolding: from simple and primitive, through to high- of energy. ‘Use and value renewable resources and services’ tech and complex; ever growing and ever improving. But this and ‘catch and store energy’ aren’t just useful sayings; they is not always the case: most types of technology have sweet underpin thinking that will move technology from destructive 26 spots – points in their development that just seem to work and unsustainable to life-affirming and stable. well – and any attempts to improve them have little overall Appropriate technology will make good use of those renew- impact. A classic example is the bicycle. able resources and energies that are locally available. It will Two-wheeled human conveyances have been around since use resources or energy from outside the local area sparingly. FEATURE Frances Howe Frances

27 Nature Loo Nature Dan Palmer Warning: be careful with the term ‘renewable’, as much that is energy in the thermal mass of the house. In summer, eaves, labelled as such by the ‘renewable energy industry’ doesn’t tick all pergolas or blinds can exclude the higher angle of the sun, – or any – of the boxes on the appropriate technology checklist. and keep the mass cool, assisted by evening ventilation. Good For example, adding lots of photovoltaic panels to a house to run design adds little or no extra to building costs, and allows a a big spa bath doesn’t make it appropriate. house to run with virtually no additional heating or cooling. Using local and natural building materials, and local skills Human scale and labour, keeps the non-renewable energy inputs of Schumacher says ‘small is beautiful’, and David Holmgren the building down, and also helps to build local skills and says ‘use small and slow solutions’, yet both acknowledge economy. that the real answer is not ‘small for small’s sake’, but the right scale for the people and place. Scale is critical in defin- Rocket stoves ing appropriate technology, yet there are no absolute numbers Rocket stoves use a few simple physical principles to get for defining size or scale. The best measure we have is our close to full combustion of wood for clean, efficient heat pro- bodies. duction. Rocket stoves can be used: to cook food, heat water Before the advent of lifts, buildings generally weren’t built and warm houses; and in almost any application where heat over three stories high, not because people lacked the en- is needed. gineering skills to go higher, but because buildings became Rocket stoves allow small pieces of wood, usually not re- un-livable when occupants had to climb more than two flights garded as acceptable firewood, to be the main fuel source, of stairs to get from street level to home or work. This was reducing the energy used in harvesting, stacking and chop- human scale defining and limiting technology. ping wood. When coupled with solar building design, solar hot When we let our bodies define what works well, the human water and solar cooking, firewood requirements can be very scale becomes a potent tool in designing and choosing appro- small and manageable. priate technology. Rocket stoves are not complicated to make, and simple units made from reclaimed bricks with cob are often made in just Locally repairable, locally manufactured a few hours. Higher-end units, made from steel or firebricks, Appropriate technology should be at least locally repairable, are not hard to manufacture in a moderately equipped shed, and preferably made within the bioregion it’s used in. Much and provide a great local enterprise opportunity. modern technology is disposable, with only a few older technologies being repairable. However, repairable technologies Solar hot water form an essential part of a stable, local economy; providing a The sun’s energy can be converted into hot water with pretty range of jobs at different skill levels within communities. basic technology. The flatbed solar hot water collector has been around for over 100 years and is still a fantastic way to Freeing and empowering heat water. Though slightly less efficient that the more high- Good technology frees us from being mindless consumers, tech evacuated tube, flatbed panels can be manufactured trapped in a capitalist feedlot where products come in, and easily in small-scale workshops, and are easy to repair and (often pointless) work and money go out. maintain over a very long lifespan. When we grow and capture energy and resources that are Coupled with gravity tanks (another renewable energy locally available we become not only more self-reliant and resource) and wood-boosting, a solar hot water system can silient, but the products are more valuable to our community; meet year-round hot water needs, while having no moving less subject to price fluctuations, supply chains or interna- parts and being entirely powered by renewable resources. tionally traded commodities. This is truly empowering technology, but it’s not always Biogas easy. It’s often time- and labour-intensive, and requires us to Any biological material, but particularly high-nitrogen content understand the system and technology being used. material such as leafy plant matter or manure, can be decom- posed in water anaerobically to generate methane. This can WHAT DOES APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY be done in a simple barrel, a converted septic system or a LOOK LIKE? purpose built digester. Often the biogas is scrubbed of its im- Some of the best examples of appropriate technology are very purities (hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide) until it’s close simple and common; others are innovative and newly emerg- to pure methane, which can then be stored uncompressed in ing. Let’s have a look at a few of these technologies in more a gasometer (gas storage tank or bladder), or compressed into detail. bottles. It’s very similar in heating character to natural gas. 28 Methane can be used for a range of household needs: Good design and building cooking, water and space heating; running an internal com- In temperate regions, passive solar design for houses can al- bustion engine to generate electricity, or directly in a vehicle low winter sun through north facing windows, and store that or machine. FEATURE magazine Home Power ©2016 Isaac Marquez and ©2016 Isaac Marquez

Although it is easy to produce biogas (ever made compost Above: Biogas digester. tea?), it’s a good deal more complicated to scrub it, store it Page 27, clockwise from top: Solar oven and dryer at and use it at about the rate you make it. However, biogas is Bethel Business and Community Development Centre, an appropriate way to begin green gas generation, and has a Lesotho; Nature Loo Classic–Palisade Option–Outloo; Joel long and proven track record in Indian and Chinese villages. Meadows with his rocket water heater.

Solar cooking and dehydrating The sun’s energy can also be converted into heat for cook- EARTH TECHNOLOGY ing or dehydrating food. This can be as simple as using a When technology is sourced from our place, powered by local box or tray out in the sun, through to concentrator lenses or energy, scaled and refined to fit our needs, and frees us from dishes that focus the sun’s energy to boil water or even fry costly or destructive consumption, it is much better suited to food. Solar cookers can be relatively simple to make from support us to live well on this planet. local and salvaged materials, or can get pretty complicated: yet another great local enterprise opportunity. Don’t forget For more information go to – www.AlternativeTechnol- your sunglasses! ogy.com.au. This website empowers others to transform miscellaneous bits of junk into kick-ass appropriate Composting toilets and compost heating technology solutions. Our next workshop is Toilet technology is not often considered important by people our five-day Alt-Tech Intensive where you learn alter- living in sewered areas. However, learning to manage and native solutions to all basic technology needs and then make best use of human waste is critical away from large use them as part of the course and venue. Whether infrastructure, and if we are serious about avoiding waste it’s compost-power showers, rocket oven bake offs or and cycling nutrients. windmill-powered water supplies, we will be living and ‘Humanure’ style hot-composting systems reduce the risk breathing the systems from a user as well as a builder’s of human pathogen contamination, while turning human perspective. 19–23 October 2016, Yandoit Farm, Victoria: waste into a valuable resource for gardens. Humanure sys- www.alternativetechnology.com.au/workshops/ tems are simple, and important if we are to retain nutrients in our systems. The heat generated by a hot compost pile can also be a 29 source of energy; for example, using a coil of pipe through the pile to heat water for washing or space heating, or direct heating for greenhouse growing beds. The natural alternative reusable food storage Perfect for wrapping fruit and veg, cheeses and snacks on the go! www.honeybeewrap.com.au Handmade in Byron Bay using organic cotton and natural beeswax

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Words by Sian Richards and Adam Hickman Photos by Keren Dobia

31 We were inspired to build a tiny house out of necessi- ty, to have our own space. We’d left the city in search of a more sustainable lifestyle, and for about a year we lived between a tent, the back of our car and in a borrowed caravan: it was time to build something of our own! We started to investigate what could be possible for us at Agari Permaculture Farm (Victoria) the intentional community we were living at. We spoke to the council and the land- owner about what could meet our needs. We wanted to build a home quickly, where: we didn’t need a mortgage, could have privacy, be warm, store our things, cook in and be able to move with our changing circumstances. Adam was working with Rob Scott, from Hollyburton Park (Macedon Ranges, Vic), building house-trucks at the time, so that seemed like the obvious solution.

SIZE MATTERS The floor size is around twenty square metres: the mezza- nine bedroom, above the truck cab, is four; the living space, comprised of a lounge room, kitchenette, fire and storage space, is fourteen; and the cantilevered porch, with a shower, is two.

… AND SO DOES COST We’ve spent around $16 500 so far on the truck, the materials, the solar system and the amenities, including the fridge, shower, hot-water system and fireplace. Luckily Adam is a carpenter/builder, and had the skills to both design the house and then facilitate the building process. Labour is usually the biggest cost in building, and we were blessed to have so many beautiful friends to volunteer their time and expertise.

MATERIALS Around eighty-five per cent of the materials used were re- 32 cycled, free or sourced locally. The truck is a 1969 Bedford, bought from Gumtree from an old, Italian furniture removalist. On the exterior is rusty corrugated iron, reclaimed weatherboards and fence palings. All the windows and doors were FEATURE

secondhand, also from Gumtree. The back porch is made Front page: Sian and Adam with their tiny house on from locally felled blue gum and fence palings, and its floor wheels. is the timber from the ramp that came with the truck. In the Opposite page: Everything you need in one compact interior: the rafters and some finishings are reclaimed Ore- space. The kitchen with recycled doors and windows. gon pine; the slate on the fireplace is from a salvage yard; the Adam and Sian enjoying their new home. kitchen corner-cabinet is from eBay; the shelving uses old This Page: Outdoor area, and solar panels. Dual purpose wine boxes (from Gumtree); the floor is made from hardwood drawer stairs. offcuts from a local timber yard; and the cypress stair/kitchen tops were milled locally. Half the wall lining and all the trimmings and architraves are from old fence palings too. The solar panels and batteries were also second-hand. Around fifteen per cent of the materials were brand new, including: the pine stud wall, the corrugated iron roof (we aim to harvest rainwater), the Earthwool insulation batts (eighty per cent recycled glass bottles), pine ceiling and half of the wall lining. All the pine is fast growing, sustainably-sourced plantation timber. We also used some plywood to build the cabinets.

THE BUILDING PROCESS We lived in the back of the truck for six months while doing a design, saving money and collecting materials. The building process took about ten weeks, with varying amounts of labour. After removing the existing shell of the truck, we built stud walls and fixed them to the tray: the skeleton was complete. We then propped the front wall of the bedroom off the chassis using steel members, and raised the roof. On the porch, the roundwood mortise and tenon joinery – which I learnt from Ben Law and Simon Dale – was time-consuming, but really stands out as a beautiful feature. We then moved on to the 33 exterior lining, roof cladding, and interior and ‘final’ fitout; we recently fitted our wood stove for winter. Note that reclaimed materials usually take longer to work with, as they are not uniform and require effort such as sort- Left to right: The outdoor shower on the back. Plenty of ing and planing. What you save in the material cost is low room for cooking. compared to this labour cost; however, reclaimed materials were part of our vision and ethics for a low impact home. We had super-generous, skilled volunteer labour from SKILL LEVEL NEEDED friends, who helped make time-consuming processes much Anyone can build a tiny house. It’s not a simple task, so we quicker and things like solar installation possible. would advise either buying a design from someone with experience, and/or attending a workshop where you can learn ENERGY EFFICIENCY the skills and techniques to build your own. A workshop will The truck has been designed using passive solar principles. also connect you with like-minded people, to learn and share Adam tries to design tiny houses with a chosen orientation, with. You could pay someone to design and build a tiny house which helps with the flow of the internal layout, and incor- for you if you don’t have the time or experience, but have the porating solar gain. Our house on wheels allows us to adjust budget to pay. its position to work with the sun. Most of the windows and doors are on one side, so in winter we can face this to the OTHER USEFUL ADVICE north to bring in optimum light and warmth. In the summer Spend a lot of time on Gumtree and eBay, looking for cheap we can turn the truck so this side faces the south, to limit deals on materials, as beauties pop up all the time! Scour the direct heating. internet too, for photos and inspiration for your design. Con- The walls, floor and ceiling of the house are fully insulated, nect with others who have built and/or lived in tiny houses, requiring less input to control temperature. The small space to help answer your questions. And look at ways to minimise means that it doesn’t take long to warm up with the fire, only your possessions, as you’ll need to keep to necessities when used for a few months of the year, or to cool down, with living in a tiny house. crossventilating windows and doors. Being involved in the process of designing or/and building Our solar system is made up of four 180 W panels, a 1500 W your home to suit your specific lifestyle needs is priceless. inverter and six 100 amphour batteries. This is adequate for us to run three LED downlights, charge our phones and computers, run a twelve volt fridge, play a stereo system/projector and, on Adam Hickman runs Evergreen Homes Australia. sunny days, use more demanding appliances like a slow-cooker. If you’re interested in attending a tiny house workshop, or having a tiny house designed/built for you, THE BENEFITS OF A TINY HOUSE ON WHEELS please contact him at [email protected] 34 Having a home space that can move with you and your changing circumstances is very empowering. As it’s on wheels, you don’t need to get council permission; planning permits take time and cost money. Tiny houses are also great investments, as they can be used as rental accommodation on your land. 35 CREATIVELY USE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE RESILIENCE AFTER EARTHQUAKES IN NEPAL

Words by Christine Carroll and Chris Evans Photos by Chris Evans

On 25 April 2015 a massive earthquake struck Ne- embargo on Nepal by India, which ran from September 2015 pal, affecting the country and its people deeply. There until January 2016. was a series of earthquakes over several days, with Commodities became unavailable or, at best, prohibitively the most devastating one reaching 7.8 on the Richter expensive as fuel became rare. While the city lacked cook- scale. As well as numerous small tremors, a further ing gas, forests around the valley began to be stripped. The large earthquake of 7.3 magnitude hit on 12 May. Shresthas were able to cook on the Farm’s ageing biogas unit, These earthquakes caused serious damage to many parts fuelled by recycled manure plus biomass supplemented by of the capital, Kathmandu; however, the worst of the damage firewood from their agroforestry. was seen in the rural villages in fourteen districts surrounding The delay was used for planning and research into the best the city. Over 9000 people were killed, and nearly a million methods of rebuilding. Work started in December 2015, with homes were destroyed. Infrastructure, farms and businesses deconstruction of damaged areas of the house and barn, and were also destroyed, and years of small growth and develop- recycling of the materials. ment wiped out. The house rebuild involved jacking up existing concrete Sunrise Farm in Rani Patati village, near Kathmandu, is a beams, and strengthening them with new and stronger beams community farm owned and managed by Mr Shyam Shrestha infilled with traditional brickwork, using both recycled bricks and his family. It is a working farm, established in 1995, offer- from the demolished walls and stabilised compressed earth ing demonstration, training, and seed and seedling distribution bricks (SCEBs). The SCEBs were manufactured using a hy- facilities. It also runs a program committed to demonstration of, draulic ram made in Nepal, with an earth and six per cent and training about, sustainable agriculture and community de- cement mix; they weren’t fired. The house has been com- velopment techniques and approaches. A diversity of foods and pletely restored, except for plastering and painting, which will resources is grown, including: roots; grain; leaf, fruit and flower be done in autumn 2016, following a planned training course crops from trees, shrubs, grasses and herbs; firewood; animal in lime plastering. fodder; and mulch. Crops are protected by integrated pest man- Work on the barn used a combination of SCEBs, stone and agement strategies, encouraged by created microclimates. mud mortar, bamboo (both as structural beams and woven as Immediately after the earthquakes, hundreds of people de- wall fabric), with a corrugated tin and perspex roof for extra scended on the farm’s land, to get away from large buildings light. The barn is also complete, except for detailing and painting. that were collapsing all around. The farmhouse was struc- Sunrise Farm was fortunate to strike up a partnership with turally damaged and became unsafe, and the barn was totally International Disaster Volunteers (IDV), which provided an archi- destroyed. tect and a stream of volunteer helpers. The family is now con- Many people sheltered under hastily constructed plastic structing a new training hall, also with IDV help, and aims to have tarps, including the Shrestha family. They cooked for dozens it complete, or at least covered, before the monsoon sets in. of displaced people for four days, until emergency services, Sunrise Farm has already begun to host training and water and electricity reached the area. The family continued demonstration projects, thanks to the help of crowd-funding catering for their community for some weeks, using the farm’s and donations. Permaculture diploma induction events, and 36 abundant vegetables and grains grown in organic no-till beds. farmers’ field trip visits, will be included. Following a crowd-funding appeal, donations and a mi- To help rebuild Sunrise Farm, go to their crowd-funding cro-grant from Permafund, work to rebuild Sunrise Farm website at www.gofundme.com/wr2cn5y4. started in November 2015. However, it was affected by the FEATURE

PERMAFUND... IT’S ABOUT FAIR SHARE

Permafund exists to receive funds and distribute them to permaculture projects around the world that desperately need them. Money is donated by permaculture businesses, groups and individuals, raising $10 000 which was distributed in Permafund’s 2015 micro-grant round to the following organisations.

GrassRoots Economics, Kenya $2000 OTEPIC, The Organic Technology Extension and Promotion of Initiative Centre, Kenya $2000 CENDEP Centre for Nursery Development and Eru Propagation Cameroon $1500 THREAD, Team for Human Resource Education and Action for Development, India $1500 Sekolahkan, Java $1000 Epic Inc. Sherbrooke Forest, Victoria $1000 Permatil $500 Above top: Sunrise Farm became a refuge for displaced Sunrise Farm, Nepal $500 locals who camped under tarpaulins after their houses were destroyed or rendered unsafe. The farm catered for To support future grant rounds donate to Permafund them with vegetables, especially potatoes, cooked using (Permaculture International Public Fund). Donations biogas and firewood, all produced on the farm. of $2.00 or more are tax deductible. To learn more 37 Above: Volunteers help to rebuild. see http://permacultureaustralia.org.au/permafund Kirsten Bradley Robyn Rosenfeldt Kirsten Bradley

Clockwise from above right: Sprouting seeds early in the warmth of a green house; Successively planted lettuce, as one lot are ready, the next lot are coming on; Carrots at Milkwood farm, no more shop bought carrots; Michael Hewins obtaining a yield. Kirsten Bradley

38 OBTAIN A YIELD CROP SUCCESSION PLANNING:

PLANTING FOR ABUNDANCE GROW

Words by Michael Hewins

There comes a moment in every season when you re- want to grow into a workable schedule of sowing, planting alise you just can’t eat any more radishes … or cucum- and harvesting that meets the needs of our week-to-week bers … or pumpkins … When your friends just won’t eating habits. accept any more boxes of zucchinis, silently left on Crop planning brings structure to the relationship we have their doorstep. We’ve all been there – it’s the inevi- with our gardens. It allows us to plan what will happen, and table glut of seasonal gardening, and what a glorious when, so that we get the results that we’re looking for, and and overwhelming moment of abundance it is. learn how to cultivate our space better to get more from each Then, finally, the flood of vegetables ends and you’re left season. with the remains of broken-down mulch and plants running to When we start crop planning and, more specifically, plan- seed, and not a vegie in sight. In this moment you might ask ning for yield, our gardening practice changes. We begin to yourself: ‘Hey! What happened?’ understand plant cycles in a deeper and more defined way. This situation is common for many gardens, and is generally It also allows us to plan seasonal harvest events, such as the result of a lack of planning. Unless environmental con- bottling tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, fermenting cabbages, ditions have been catastrophically unfavourable, the sudden drying and curing the garlic and onions. absence of vegies is a human problem, and something that Crop planning also influences the health and productivity of can be easily avoided. our soil. When we plan the crop cycle we also work towards The turn of a season – perhaps spring – may prompt a keeping soil healthy and active – soil devoid of plants and ac- surge of enthusiasm to get into the garden. We prepare our tive root systems at different stages of growth is a recipe for soil all at once, filling beds to the borders with loads of plants, an unbalanced soil profile, both chemically and biologically. usually whatever seedlings we can get at short notice. This creates an awesome sight and feels great, but all too often TOWARDS A CROP PLAN we fail to allow enough time or space for follow-up: a succes- A well-structured, annual crop plan for the backyard garden is sion of plantings, to ensure a consistent supply throughout the prepared in three stages. coming season. The first – a crop succession plan – defines what you are going to plant, and each crop’s relative timings and succes- THE SOLUTION: PLANNING sions. It will include information such as: when to sow your Crop planning allows us to transcend the glut problem, and to crop; how long the crop will grow for; when the crop will yield; balance out the highs and lows of produce from our garden. how long you can expect a yield for; and when the yield is It is possibly the least understood, and most often neglect- likely to finish. Most importantly, the crop succession plan will ed, practice of vegetable gardening. Many gardeners, new show clearly the transition between successions of plantings, and seasoned, don’t understand the full process of creating a with the aim to create a seamless supply of harvest. structured crop plan, and fair enough! It can be overwhelm- The second – a bed plan – puts the crop succession plan 39 ing to consider the many variables that are involved. How- into a physical space. This defines where the vegetables will ever, it’s only through the act of planning that we become go in the garden, and how much of each crop you are going accountable for our food supply: putting the vegetables we to plant. The third – a crop rotation plan – defines where your crops time of yield. A good seed supplier should provide you with will rotate to in their successions, through the garden over this information. subsequent seasons. We’ll begin by dissecting and understanding the needs of a LENGTH OF HARVEST well-designed crop succession plan. In the next issue of Pip The final piece of information you need to know is, roughly, we’ll look at the bed plan and the crop rotation plan. what the length of harvest will be. Is it a one-time picking, or is it multiple pickings? How long will the plant hold its maturi- THE CROP SUCCESSION PLAN ty before the yield diminishes, or it jumps to seed? The succession plan is not difficult, and should only take For example, cos lettuce is often treated as a one-time har- you a few hours to complete. It’s good to plan for six to twelve vest crop, generally the full head of lettuce is harvested in one months. Some of the tools we would use to build our succes- go. Most varieties of cos will hold their maturity between two sion plan include: to four weeks before running to seed, depending on wheth- • a ’sowing when’ or seasonality calendar – this should er the lettuce is growing into a cooling or warming period. indicate optimum sowing times for your growing biore- Therefore, the harvest period for this crop would be two to gion four weeks. You can plant a batch of cos lettuce and harvest • a garden diary that includes information from last sea- them slowly over their maturity period; for example, one suc- son – to track major events, successes and failures cession of so many plants to be harvested over a four week • a computer, whiteboard or chalkboard that is easy to period. use to record information on • a good vegetable encyclopedia, to provide lots of juicy PUT IT IN THE CALENDAR information about how to grow each crop. With your crop’s lifecycle defined, put the information into a As with any design process, the most important starting garden calendar. For each crop you intend to grow, log its point is your context. Start by being clear about what it is you first sowing event and when that sowing will be ready for want to grow. It may help to do a simple audit of your weekly harvest. Also log when you will expect your first sowing to eating needs, and to make a list of what vegetables you would finish its harvest. Set the information out so that it’s repre- like to eat in the season you’re planning for. sented clearly in days or weeks, depending on how detailed you want your plan to be. Some gardeners like to reverse We begin to understand engineer this process, by working backwards from your pre- ferred harvest time, which is essentially the above process plant cycles in a deeper and in reverse. You might do this is if you were planning for a more deﬁned way. ‘hungry gap’, or need to produce for a specific event in the season. You will need to understand or find out what plants grow in what seasons, for your area. Over the seasons you will build You can take away your own sowing guide for your garden, to refine your plan. the guesswork from WHEN TO SOW gardening. With the list of plants you intend to grow in front of you, the next step is to define when the first and last sowing of each With the first sowing of your crop clearly defined, you now crop will be for the season. For example, for growing toma- need to include on your calendar when the next succession toes in Sydney many growers will start their plants (often will begin, to ensure a seamless supply – this is where it can indoors and on heat pads) in late July to early August, for get a little tricky. transplanting into warming soil in September. The final sow- A succession sowing period is the time, in weeks, between ing of the season is generally in mid- to late February – you each sowing, to ensure that when the first sowing finishes aren’t dealing with frost pressure. The sowing timeframe its peak yield – and is either no longer setting flowers to pro- there would be from August to February. duce fruit or producing leaf and is about to run to seed – the next succession is just coming into its first stages of yield. As THE FIRST HARVEST an example, the diagram opposite illustrates planning for a You will also want to know the crop’s ‘weeks to maturity’, cherry tomato crop. how long the plant needs to grow before it becomes mature A general pattern you will notice, and a good rule of thumb, and produces its first harvest. This information is often over- is that the time between sowings is often fifty to seventy per 40 looked but really is critical for planning your yield. Also known cent of the total yield time. For example, if a variety of tomato as ‘time to yield’, this is generally variety-specific, and can yields for eight weeks, the time between sowings will be four fluctuate with variable weather conditions, but it’s important to six weeks. Note that your sowing period will be affected by to have this information on hand for planning your expected environmental conditions, particularly temperature; you will Robyn Rosenfeldt GROW Kirsten Bradley Kirsten Bradley

Clockwise from above: Great example of successive plantings of tomatoes at Soul Patch market garden; Moruya. Milkwood Organic Market Garden; Seedlings raised in the warmth of a hot house, preparing to go in the garden.

41 need to adjust the time between sowings in season to account those that are going to give you the most return in the season: for this in your local area. keep it simple, and build up from there. To put this all together, slowly work through your list of By understanding this process, and the information required crops, and put the information into your calendar. It is a good to account for crop yields, you can take away the guesswork idea to use a calendar medium that is flexible, so that you from gardening. It’s true that the general rule of thumb ‘plant can move and jiggle the timings and successions around to something every two weeks’ can result in a good stream of account for yielding times, and times when you anticipate produce coming out of our gardens. However, a bit of time warming or cooling weather. At the end of the planning pro- spent defining and noting crop lifecycles can help to build a cess you should have in front of you an easy-to-read plan that clearer plan, to help us get more consistent and predictable shows each crop, and its relative timings and successions for results from our garden spaces. the season you’re planning. Make sure that you keep good records of how your succes- Keep this plan available so that you can refer to it through- sions unfold throughout the season, so that you can look back out the season; it will become invaluable for making sure you on them to inform better decisions for the future. are keeping up, and are ready for major steps such as sowing Have fun and happy gardening! crops in the nursery, or preparing ground for transplanting. If you want more detail, you can add in other activities or events Michael Hewins teaches organic market gardening such as pruning, ground preparation, fertilising, or even that classes through Milkwood. www.milkwood.net annual beetroot borsch bonanza festival for that time of year when you have more beetroots than you can handle.

GIVE IT A GO I know what you’re thinking–‘This seems like a lot of work’. Like most good things, this planning will take extra time and energy the first time you do it, but after you’ve put together your first plan it becomes much easier and quicker the next time. If you are having difficulties, I suggest you start by choosing just four or five of the most important staple crops, PROFILE GROW

CREATIVELY USE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE JULIE FIRTH: DRYLANDS PERMACULTURE FARM

Words and photos by Ross Mars

Julie Firth has created a permaculture oasis near Ger- winds. Outlying plants are less dependent on water, and this aldton, Western Australia. Although not a true desert, is where you will find jujube, pomegranate, cactus (mainly the area clearly has a dryland climate, with annual Cereus spp.), marula, kei apple, Natal plums, lebbeck (Albizia rainfall as low as 200 mm during drought years, sum- lebbeck), and some thorny African plants that are well-known mer temperatures reaching well over 40 °C and re- survivors in drier areas. Climbing succulents such as drag- lentless wind gusts of up to thirty kilometres per hour. on fruit are found on trellis structures around the property. It has taken careful design and thoughtful placement There are lots of chickens, ducks and geese, and a few emus of features to allow things to grow there. in pens along the southern boundary. Julie is originally from New Zealand, and was working in With water in such high demand, the 200 kL rainwater tank the mining industry in WA when she bought her three hectare is reserved mainly for the nursery – for plant propagation and property of degraded land about ten kilometres north of Ger- seed raising. More tanks are proposed, but with decreasing aldton. Not long after buying the land she undertook her PDC rainfall it may be difficult to harvest more water off roofs. with Bill Mollison and Jude Fanton in New South Wales, and Despite the harsh environment, Julie makes a living from immediately started to transform her property with renewed her property, from plant and seed sales, farm tours, con- vision. So began her inspired development of the Drylands sultancies and occasional seed collecting. She has also es- Permaculture Farm, and its associated Yilgarn Seeds and the tablished a charity called the ‘Drylands Foundation’, with a Drylands Permacuture Nursery. mission ‘to inspire and empower local communities with the The property is designed in zones: intensive gardens close practical knowledge to implement ecologically sustainable de- to the house, through to revegetation projects, and with dry- velopment principles’ in dryland environments. She plans to land plants towards the outer boundaries. Shade is crucial, continue developing the farm: in 2017 she will add a large and there are sheltered walkways in all directions. Various common room with an ablution block and three B & B cabins. structures or plants are used to delineate one zone from an- The Drylands Permaculture Farm is an inspiring property other, including archways, lippia herb lawns, strawbale seats, to visit. It will feature as one of the highlights of the northern sculptures and fences. Other innovative structures used in- tour during the 13th Australian Permaculture Convergence clude: clay floors, sandbag garden edging, bottles and cans to (APC13) in Perth in October this year. fill gaps in walls, and recycled building materials. 43 Most of the site is densely planted so that the understorey For more information see: www.drylands.org.au and and internal plants – such as guavas, citrus, tropical almonds, www.apc13.org figs, medlars and mulberries – are protected from strong GROWING FRUIT AND NUT TREES FROM SEED Words by Beck Lowe Robyn Rosenfeldt The vast majority of gardening books, and nurseries, will tell you to buy grafted fruit and nut trees. Although grafted trees play an important role in permaculture systems, in many cases seedling trees may be a better option. Fruit and nut trees grown from seed are tough, need minimal water and are resistant to many diseases. And they’re free.

HOW TO GROW FROM SEED The standard propagation method for such trees is asexual reproduction: a piece of the parent plant is either grafted onto rootstock, usually a cultivar; or the tree is grown from a cutting. The new tree will produce fruit exactly the same as the parent tree. Producing new trees from a seed is sexual reproduction: the seedling has two parents and a unique mix of genetic characteristics. This is part of the fun with growing from seed – you can produce unique fruit. However, some of these new trees may be low yielding, or have boring or inedible fruit.

BENEFITS Seedling trees tend to be larger and more vigorous than grafted trees. They are able to cope with harsher conditions so are good in poor soils, non-irrigated areas and low-input food forest systems, especially where there is a lot of space available.

WHICH FRUIT TREES? Peaches and nectarines are excellent trees to grow from seed. Because they are self-fertile, the seeds tend to be true- to-type: if you eat a really good peach and plant the seed, your tree should produce a similar, really good peach. They produce fruit early and in dry conditions, and are resistant to diseases such as leaf curl. In contrast, most apples grown from seedlings will take 44 many years to fruit, and will not be the same as the parent. However, it’s often possible to guess the parents of a seedling apple – the fruit will have characteristics of both. Seedling apples are useful on large properties where trees with less-interesting fruit can be cut for stock fodder – the branches are COMBINED APPROACH especially popular with goats. You can combine the best of both systems, by grafting onto seedling trees. This gives you a good root system with a vig- WHICH NUT TREES? orous plant, and your choice of cultivar. This is a good use for Many nuts – including walnuts, pecans, pistachios, chestnuts seedling trees that don’t produce interesting fruit – the tree and pine nuts – have a deep taproot, making them great can- does not need to go to waste! didates for growing from seed in situ. It is almost impossible to transplant a taproot, so getting any of these nut trees from a nursery means that the plant will never reach its full potential or be as hardy. GRAFT OR SEEDLING? Seedling fruit trees are useful when: PLANTING - you want a self-maintaining, low-input food growing Planting fruit from seeds is easy: eat the fruit and, if you enjoy system it, plant the seed. There is no need to dry or otherwise treat - developing large areas with space for experimenting GROW the seed first. With nuts, plant the nut whole, do not shell it. - conditions require a hardy tree, for example sites Seedlings do best when planted where they are going to with poor soil, frequent winds or limited water grow. Suppress grass and other plants around them, and they - growing peaches and nectarines may need some extra water in the first year or so. Planting - growing trees with a large taproot, such as walnuts, them into pots can make care in the first year easier, but this chestnuts and carobs. will restrict the roots, negating some of the advantages of seedlings. Grafted fruit trees are useful when: Most fruit tree seeds need a period of cold before they ger- - preserving heritage varieties, and in other situations minate, so grow them outside, exposed to the winter weath- where the cultivar matters er. Most species will sprout the following spring. In warmer - developing small spaces, where smaller trees are areas, or to germinate seeds faster or out of season, keep more suitable them in the fridge for a couple of months to encourage them - a specific rootstock is needed for purposes such as to sprout. disease resistance or dwarfing.

DISADVANTAGES A combination – grafting onto seedlings – is useful Consider carefully what is best for your situation. For exam- when: ple, planting a grown cutting or grafted tree is the only way to - there is a medium or large space available preserve a heritage cultivar. - conditions are particularly tough, you want a hardy Grafted trees also tend to fruit earlier. Fruiting times for tree and the cultivar is important. seedlings vary a lot – I’ve had many seedling peaches fruit within the first three years, and some seedling pears that still haven’t fruited after fifteen. Left: White Sapote seedling from fallen fruit. If you have limited space stick to grafted trees, as there is Below: Seedling pears and other fruit sprouting in spring. less room to experiment and you can use dwarf rootstocks. And the vigour of a seedling fruit tree maybe too much for a small space!

45 ek Lowe Beck 46 OBTAIN A YIELD PERMACULTURE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT Words by Maude Farrugia Photos by Ian Lillington BUILD

In 1988 Bill Mollison stood on top of a swale at Crys- made sure that all the topsoil from the house and path areas tal Waters Eco Village and declared: ‘Permacultur- was concentrated into the remaining 300 m2 of garden beds, ists want to be property developers’. While the job so that maximum food production was possible, and the new description for a property developer might conjure up owner received ready-made herb and vegetable gardens, and images of housing market bubbles, and terribly-de- six fruit trees as part of the package.’ signed boxes squeezed onto ever-diminishing parcels Ian and Marita always leave a garden for food, and some- of urban land, in many ways Bill was on the mon- times as much as one fifth of a hectare (half an acre) for ey. The desire for a patch of one’s own has led many production. ‘We will not cram in too many houses, and in our a permie down the garden path of property owner- current development we could have made twelve 600 m2 ship. But what if there was a way to create a living blocks (according to planning law), but instead we have made out of ethically and sustainably developing land for the three blocks of around 3000 m2, to leave room for the gar- future. dens, chooks, orchards and windbreaks.’

WHY BECOME A PROPERTY DEVELOPER? BELLS AND WHISTLES The need for more environmentally-sensitive housing is a As well as prioritising garden size over house size, permacul- no-brainer. But is that argument enough to make you put your ture developments usually forgo the bells and whistles that a energy into becoming a property developer? Permaculture conventional new development might offer (such as double teacher and property developer Ian Lillington certainly thinks car garage and energy guzzling aircon), in exchange for a set so. He and his partner Marita went into the business to create of bells and whistles of their own: solar panels, water tanks, sensible, sensitive subdivisions, and to help people move out of composting toilets and topnotch insulation are expected stan- big metropolitan areas and set up a good life in a smaller town. dards. As is northern orientation, which as Ian explains, can be an extra cost. ‘This [good orientation] can mean spending HOW IS PERMACULTURE DEVELOPMENT more on creating roads and services, instead of a simpler ap- DIFFERENT? proach that would leave a small block where a designer would Ian says there are many differences between his work and have to face a building to the east or west.’ that of local estate developers, but the main one is setting limits: ‘We accept a smaller income from our business than some COMMUNITY would, as we are willing to spend more on infrastructure to Community is a vital factor in permaculture property develop- ensure houses have passive solar orientation, insulation, ments, and one of the most overlooked factors in the soulless space for gardens and solar systems’. These are eco-features developments that surround our major cities. For this reason that most developers would simply overlook. Ian and Marita work in towns with an existing community of Limiting the number of houses on a site is another factor. like-minded folk, with jobs and transport close by. Ian and Marita’s most recent development – a single house on However, there are eco-developments that do almost the 47 500 m2 in Hepburn Springs (Victoria) – is a good example. exact opposite. Setting up a community from scratch is cer- ‘A mainstream developer would probably have built two units tainly not an undertaking for the faint-hearted, but this is ex- here, with no useful garden, and made more money. But we actly what some permaculture developers try to do. Crystal Waters Eco Village in Queensland (where Bill Mollison made ment, Ian adds: ‘Accountants are one of the most underesti- his famous speech) was developed on a site far from any mated parts of good sustainable development!’ existing community infrastructure, but is now home to 200 residents, with many small permaculture based businesses to LOCATION, LOCATION ... AND ZONING boot. Witchcliffe Eco Village, a planned ecovillage near Mar- For the budding property developer, Ian suggests finding land garet River in Western Australia, has also made communi- that is zoned residential, in towns rather than major cities, for ty a central focus of the development, with a village green, two reasons. Firstly, town-zoning avoids the need to re-zone community centre, retirement and affordable housing all part land, as commercial or farm zones can prove problematic. of the mix, to encourage the establishment of a diverse and Secondly, country towns and cities have much more avail- active community. able (not to mention, affordable) land. In Victoria, where Ian Ian and Marita’s developments achieve this more subtly: be- and Marita live and work, land in new estates is usually sold ing located in growing towns of like-minded permie people; by in blocks of between 300–600 m2. As the mythical ‘quarter developing two, three or even more properties on the same acre’ is just over 1000 m2, , it’s possible to buy a house on site, so that new residents know they’re guaranteed to have a typical older house block, divide it into two and still end up excellent neighbours. with a block the same size as you’d get in your average new suburb. FINANCES AND FAIR SHARES Creating a development in a desirable location, with good There’s an old adage that you can’t make money without public transport access to major cities, and in areas where spending money, and that is certainly true of property devel- local work is readily available, is also an important part of opment. But is property development only for those with the adding to the sustainability of the lives of those who will live privilege of a healthy bank balance? Ian and Marita say it’s not there. Another tip from Ian is to limit your work to two or so: ‘We financed our projects by saving a small deposit and maybe three Council areas, so that you’re working close to then borrowing the rest of the money from the Bendigo Bank. home and with soils, climate and people you know well. We then bought the cheapest house in the street and worked hard on adding value.’ After their first project the couple made IS PERMACULTURE PROPERTY a surplus and were able to use this on their next project, and DEVELOPMENT FOR YOU? so on. They’re chipping away at their loan with each proj- Inspired to create a permaculture property empire of your ect, and aim to be debt free eight years from their start date. own? If you’re passionate about beating developers at their While they acknowledge that others may see debt as risky, own game, creating inspirational and sustainable places for they know that without it the projects they are working on people to live, and you’re not scared of a bit of bit of hard simply wouldn’t happen. work and financial risk, then property development might be Another way they mitigate their risks is by keeping their the permaculture niche for you! projects small-scale. ‘After being involved in several large- scale eco-developments, with long lead times and large up- For more info contact Ian at ian.lillington@internode. 48 front investments, we decided to focus on smaller-scale de- on.net velopments’, Ian explains. Good planning and an accountant are ‘must-haves’ when taking on the risk of property develop USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES ROCKET STOVES Words and images by Joel Meadows and Dan Palmer BUILD

Most of our household energy requirements come ly than most wood stoves, with far less set-up cost. If you in the form of space heating, water heating or cook- are good at scavenging bits they can cost virtually nothing to ing, with these making up a large percentage of our build, and when you prune your fruit trees you can get the monthly bill. Rocket stoves are an example of appro- fuel you need to cook dinner, heat your home, and enjoy a priate technology which can cover all of those needs, nice hot shower. cost you next to nothing to build, and just a few sticks to run. HOW ROCKET COMBUSTION DIFFERS FROM Rocket stove combustion systems deserve attention for a NORMAL COMBUSTION few reasons: The main difference between a normal fireplace or woodstove 1. they offer close to complete combustion of the wood, and a rocket stove is that rocket combustion is close to com- meaning they are hyper-efficient and burn super-clean plete. When wood is burned it releases volatile compounds 2. they can reach very high temperatures, and can be that we recognise as smoke or soot or creosote. In a rocket hooked up to almost anything we want to use that heat stove these compounds are sucked into the insulated and very for hot ‘burn tunnel’ of the unit where they combust, releasing 3. they can use wood typically considered too small to even more heat energy to drive the rocket process, unlike a call firewood normal fire where they are blown out the chimney. 49 4. they are easily built from common materials. This distinctive sucking of the flames down into the burn That’s right – you can build these systems in a day or two, tunnel, and the resultant ‘roar’ is what gives rocket stoves and then watch them turn twigs into heat far more efficient- their name. This is also a part of their magic. Rocket stoves Previous page: Baking bread. This page, clockwise from above: A rocket conversion on a conventional oven; Small offcuts of wood are all that’s needed to get the heat cranking; The drum style rocket stove is not only functional, it’s beautiful. Opposite page, above to below: Bike-size camping rocket stove; Stove sketch.

50 are open where the wood is fed in, allowing lots of oxygen and lots of smoke and creosote. In rocket stoves when com- to be drawn into the unit. As the fire starts, and the burn bustion is complete, what comes out the chimney is pretty tunnel heats up, the rising hot air races up the heat riser, much only carbon dioxide, meaning no smoke: smoke means drawing lots of air behind it. This incoming air flows into the incomplete combustion, unburned fuel, or wasted energy. We feed tube and across the burning wood – creating the same are culturally trained to associate smoke with fire; but with rock- effect as pointing a big air-blower at your fire. It gets really et stoves, sometimes when there is no smoke, there is still fire! hot, the wood burns beautifully, and you hear the air roaring Having ensured complete combustion, and hence maximum as it charges through the system. heat generation, only then do we think about using the resultant In conventional wood stoves the air intake is small, and heat. Conventional wood stoves are sucking heat away from the adjustable to even smaller. This lack of oxygen chokes the combustion chamber for cooking, space heating or with ‘wet combustion, leading to cool burns, incomplete combustion back’ water heaters, meaning the unit just can’t get hot enough for combustion to be complete, resulting in smoke. The combustion chamber of the rocket stove is heavily insulated to prevent premature heat loss, and an enormous amount of heat is generated by the efficient combustion process.

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THAT HEAT When combustion is complete, we can extract heat from the stove at the top of the heat riser. And here is where your imag-

ination and inner inventor can run wild: anything you can think BUILD to do with very hot air can be done from this point. Here are a few things that can be powered with a rocket stove. Oven – either a converted conventional oven with the rocket under it, or a purpose built barrel oven from old ‘44 gallon’ (around 200 litre) drums. Cooktop or BBQ – old cast iron BBQ plates can work well, or heavy copper radiator plates to put pots and pans on, or just cook over the stream of hot air. Hot-water systems –we’ve made various systems, from ones that heat a big-vented tank of water with a copper coil running through it, to heat exchanger thermosiphon units boosting solar hot water. Space heaters – often seen with an inverted ‘44 gallon’ drum being the main radiator, with the flue running through heavy earth or stone elements (rocket mass-heaters). Take care! A well-built rocket stove can work so well it can be dangerous. Dan’s rocket oven once got to 180 °C in six minutes, 230 °C in seven minutes, and 325 °C in thirteen minutes! As for Joel’s latest rocket oven, on his first test run the whole inner skin of the feed tube was glowing red, as was the bottom of the inside of the oven: the thermometer read 350 °C, and the roast vegies were pretty charred (he has since tamed it down to 200 °C). While quite popular in some parts of the world, rocket stoves are a relatively rare sight in Australian permaculture systems. They are an excellent example of an appropriate technology alternative to conventional means of heating food, water or space; and they are well worth finding out more about.

A complete guide to making your own rocket stove by Tim Barker (with illustrations by Joel Meadows) is now available as an ebook. Available at www.pipmagazine.com.au. Free for current Pip Magazine 51 subscribers, email [email protected] to order your free copy. 52 PROFILE

CREATIVELY USE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE PHIL GALL, ARCHITECT Words by Ben Buggy Photo by Robyn Rosenfeldt

It was a younger Phil Gall, writing for Source in 1971, who itself. He sensed that there was more. In 1971, years before set out into Victoria’s East Gippsland to report on a mon- permaculture came about, he worked for an alternative news-

umental natural farming conference. He came back with paper titled Source. ‘We started this newspaper to publish BUILD a prophetic glimpse into holistic agriculture that in- good news, inspired by similar publications in the USA,’ ex- forms his design work today. plains Phil. ‘My brief was design, ecology and farming, which Phil is a youthful seventy-five, living and working in Berma- I was very passionate about.’ gui on the far south coast of NSW. As an architect, landscape So it was in 1971 that Phil set out for Paynesville, 300 km designer and specialist in water management, he sees himself east of Melbourne in East Gippsland, to a natural farming con- as a problem solver. ference hosted by local farmers. It was there that he met PA Phil is renting an old holiday shack, brought down and reas- Yeomans, Alex Podelinski and Peter Bennett – experts in their sembled from the Snowy Mountains, looking out over Wallaga fields of keyline water management, biodynamics and organic Lake. ‘The place is cold in winter and hot in summer,’ he says, gardening respectively. but it is surrounded by the beauty of the landscape, and he is ‘They were able to answer the farmers’ questions, and ex- enjoying a sweet and simple life there. plain the science of why organics works in simple language’, Phil grew up on the west coast of Tasmania in the says Phil. ‘I’d already started thinking about architecture eco- 1940s–50s. ‘My father knew how to get by in the bush with- logically, and the landscape being ecological, so they were out much – scouting and camping in an extreme climate of adding to it the farming and the gardening thing. Everything rain and cold. I learned how little you need, in terms of shelter, fitted into place – I just wanted to add it all together.’ in order to be comfortable. Mum used to say, “Before you buy Some years later, in 1977, Phil recalls a phone call out of anything, see if you can make it”.’ These values still inform the blue – from a man calling himself Mollison. ’Bill came to his work today. visit and ended up staying on the couch, and I took him about Phil’s first love was architecture, and when his father to see what I’d been doing in the landscape, with companion moved the family to Victoria for work Phil studied architec- planting, mixing vegetables with landscape, using drip irriga- ture in Melbourne. What we now call sustainable architecture tion systems and putting food plants in and making them dec- was Phil’s natural inclination, following the influence of his orative in gardens.’ parents. But it was some time before he found others who Permaculture had arrived, and Phil was able to bring all of shared this interest. his experience together and began teaching. Phil introduced “In the 70s we were inspired and hopeful with unbound- Bill Mollison to PA Yeomans at a course he was holding called ed energy. We were involved in everything together. We had ‘Land, Plant and Water’. hope and a belief that we only needed a few people to change Phil later met David Holmgren and they became fast friends. the world. We pulled down fences between our backyards and ‘I was older, and I was a misfit, but I was young at heart. I shared our fruit trees and produce,” explains Phil. consider David a mentor’, Phil says. A great collaborator, Phil was involved in setting up some Phil is someone who will never stop learning. When asked of Melbourne’s most enduring alternative institutions–CERES, what simple wisdom he can offer to the younger generation Collingwood Children’s Farm and Friends of the Earth. He coming behind him, Phil replies, ‘We can become more sen- also designed the first Steiner kindergarten in Melbourne, in sitive – to appreciate that we only exist because of nature.’ Warranwood. 53 Phil’s natural inclination was to design buildings and land- Phil Gall runs Design Evolution – architecture, landscape scapes with recycled materials and an understanding of the design and water management solutions. Contact him at seasons – what we now call sustainable architecture. [email protected] But architecture, Phil’s primary trade, was not enough by USE EDGES AND WILD HARVEST VALUE THE MARGINAL FIVE MODERN-DAY HUNTER-GATHERERS SHARE THEIR PASSION FOR EATING FROM THE WILD

Words by

Robyn Rosenfeldt

54 Lentil Purbrick/Grown & Gathered Lentil Purbrick/Grown Maude Farrugia

ELKA MOSESHVILI EAT Eka is an urban forager. She wants to show people how they What differences have you noticed between foraged can maintain a normal lifestyle with a nine-to-five job and still produce compared with other sources? lead a secret life as a forager. Once you taste real food it’s hard to go back to commercially grown produce. Most of the time it tastes so much better, Can you describe the foods you harvest from the although sometimes it is an acquired taste. Sometimes you ‘wild’ and how you do it? can accidentally discover a hidden or forgotten treasure – a I am lucky to live in Melbourne’s northern suburbs (aka the rare specimen that is not commercially grown and difficult to European fruit forest), and I mainly forage for fruit as it’s an find in the nurseries. You can step into a completely different easy and ubiquitous target. I follow the ‘if it’s facing the foot- world of gastronomy. path it’s yours’ rule: as a tree grower myself, I expect anything facing the street to be picked. In summer/autumn most of my What positive impacts would there be if more people fruit was supplied by the neighbourhood: figs, prickly pears, started to forage? mulberries, grapes, apples, pears and lemons. Another good People could understand ingredients better if they could rec- rule is to ask the grower. Usually people are happy to share. ognise the tree that the produce has come from.

What inspired you to start harvesting your food in What advice would you give to someone who wanted this way? to start foraging? I grew up in Europe, where I spent summers at my grandpar- Be observant and experimental: talk to people. If you’re not ents’ place climbing my favourite mulberry tree, or waiting sure what something is, just take a photo or collect a sam- for the first perfect fig to ripen. There were also many mush- ple and ask around. To find the best foraging routes: take the room/berry picking trips, regular ‘foraging’ for raspberries roads less travelled, the front yards in the back streets; old from neighbours, and helping my grandparents with the har- laneways full of forgotten treasures; and go to the hidden cor- vest in autumn. Your childhood experiences shape your life, ners of the parks. and it’s up to you to choose how. I chose to be a forager. If you have abundance, ferment it or make a jam. And please never be greedy – don’t take something that you don’t like just What do you love most about foraging? because it’s free! The birds will have it eventually (further The creativity and learning opportunities. I spent the whole spreading the seeds). 55 summer trying out different recipes and smoothie combina- tions. I also got into fermenting, which I feel is a natural exten- For more information see Feral Fruit Trees Melbourne sion of foraging and oversupply. My next steps are to learn the at www.feralfruitmelbourne.wordpress.com arts of pruning and grafting, to preserve my favourite trees and to get into local communities for swaps and harvests. Patrick Jones

MEG ULMAN

Meg is one-fifth of the collective Artist as Family. She lives on of optimism. He is learning about his place within his local an around 1000 m2 (‘quarter-acre’) permaculture plot near biosphere, and he will always know how to feed himself. We Daylesford, central Victoria. About eighty percent of what she forage because it makes sense to us to eat free food that consumes comes from Victoria, with the rest from New South doesn’t require sowing, watering, tending, refrigerating, pack- Wales and South Australia. She buys only a few things from aging or transporting. overseas: tea, spices, miso and tamari. What differences have you noticed between Can you describe which foods you forage and how wild-harvested produce compared with other sources? you do it? When we eat produce that is self-sown and tenacious, we em- My family and I regularly eat about thirty autonomously grow- body the essence of what we consume and the environment ing plants from our garden and neighbourhood. We walk and which has provided it. We avoid eating sick animals, soggy cycle everywhere, and so are in constant contact with what greens, or fruit that’s over-ripe, as they don’t feel vital. If we we call our ‘foraging commons’. I always carry a bag and eat freshly picked, organic lettuce, it is more nutrient-dense pocketknife with me. We eat foraged plants raw, cooked, fer- than lettuce grown in a monoculture, that is sprayed, pack- mented (for preservation, and to increase the bioavailability aged in plastic, transported and refrigerated in a supermarket of their minerals), dried for tea, and blended in tinctures and for several days. salves. We also snare rabbits, eat roadkill, catch fish and kill our own poultry. What positive impacts would there be if more people started to forage? What inspired you to start foraging your food this When I started foraging I began to understand my place within way? the local environment more intimately, and the importance of I grew up in suburban Melbourne with fruit trees and a mod- living a low-impact life. If more people started foraging, I’m est vegie patch, and my favourite after-school snack was certain that they would feel a deeper sense of connection to sourgrass Oxalis stricta. When I discovered permaculture the natural world around them. I attended an edible-weed walk. I had already been eating dandelion, sorrel, wild rocket and fennel, but I had to do the What advice would you give to someone who wanted walk twice to differentiate between what I was seeing. Could to start foraging? you really eat all these plants? Go with a foraging friend, or take a guided weed walk, so you 56 can learn the ins and outs of foraging. There are many good What do you love most about foraging for food like books out there too: make sure you know what you’re eating. this? When I see my three-year-old picking flowers and leaves to To find out more see eat, and identifying various mushrooms, I feel a strong sense Robyn Rosenfeldt

ADRIAN IODICE

Adrian came from an Italian family and grew up in Melbourne. animal is overwhelming. You just don’t get that from a plastic He was introduced to harvesting and hunting wild food at a wrapped piece of meat. EAT very young age. He now lives with his wife and three kids, in a semi self-sustainable lifestyle on a shared property in the Bega Valley of southern New South Wales.

Can you describe which foods you harvest from the wild and how you do it? For many years I hunted rabbits, feral goats and feral pigs What positive impacts would there be if more people with firearms, but for the past ten years or so I have mainly started to hunt? harvested feral deer with a bow and arrow. All animals I hunt are species that were introduced into the Australian environment. If more people got out there and What inspired you to start harvesting your food this hunted for meat it would help manage the feral animal pop- way? ulations in this country significantly, and avoid the suffering The first time I went hunting was with my best friend, his of animals taking poison baits. All this food could feed com- father and his grandfather. We harvested rabbits that day and munities! I was hooked. What advice would you give to someone who wanted What do you love most about hunting? to start hunting? Shooting with a firearm is just that, ‘shooting’; but put a bow If you are considering hunting for meat and you don’t know in my hands and all my senses spring to life. While I’m in where to start, join a hunting club; most of them have field the forest all my senses are completely focused: my hearing, days where they teach you how to dress an animal, track deer smell, eyesight and even my touch. I slow right down, almost and all sorts of important things. Or if you know someone into a meditation. I feel a connection to the earth, the forest who hunts, ask them to take you along with them. and to the animal. Hunting is a regulated activity in most of Australia, and the licence or permission you require depends on a range of What differences have you noticed between produce things such as the jurisdiction, weapon, type of animal (e.g. you’ve hunted and other sources? feral), land tenure (e.g. private or public) and purpose. I know game is fresh and healthy, with no drenching or an- To be successful when hunting, you have to really know the 57 tibiotics, just juicy lean meat. And there is an unbeatable animal you hunt. Read about their habits, what they eat, the satisfaction when I feed my family with something that I’ve type of country they prefer to live in, and get out there and harvested. The gratitude I have for the animal I’m eating is study them. humbling, and the life force and sustenance we get from that Laurie Benson JORDAN GOETZE Jordan is a marine ecologist at Curtin University in Perth, What differences have you noticed between wild Western Australia. He likes to catch and eat the things he seafood compared with other sources? studies, so he’s been trying to come up with ways to limit the Consuming wildcaught seafood – while it’s fresh rather than impact he has when fishing wild-caught seafood. frozen – is definitely the best way to go if you want to get the most flavour. Seventy-two per cent of the seafood consumed Can you describe which foods you harvest from the in Australia is imported. Yet Australian commercial fishers wild and how you do it? are throwing back perfectly good wildcaught seafood, which I love catching and eating all types of seafood, from cockles doesn’t have a market because people aren’t familiar with the foraged from the seashore to deep sea fish. I use a wide range species or don’t know how to cook them properly. of techniques and tools, from a standard fishing rod to spe- cially designed cockle sieves, catching crabs by hand, Swan What positive impacts would there be if more people River prawns with butterfly net and lobster with ‘cray loop’, started to fish from the wild? and spearfishing. If we start to consume a broader range of species, and use the waste products from the seafood we are already catching, What inspired you to start harvesting your food from it will take pressure off the more vulnerable species that are the wild? fished heavily. My dad has always been a mad keen fisher, and he’s been diving and spearing along the south coast of WA for most of What advice would you give to someone who wanted his life; and I seem to have followed in his footsteps. Dad also to start sustainable fishing? inspired me to pursue a career in marine science. I believe Go to the Department of Fisheries website and follow guide- that there is a compromise achievable between fishing and lines on bag limits and size limits when fishing, and be ad- conservation, that can ensure kids of the future can go out venturous. Don’t throw something back just because a fishing and catch a nice feed of seafood. guide gives it one or two stars. Try a few different things and prepare them in different ways. Finally, try to use all parts of What do you love most about fishing? the fish and cook things whole where possible. I love cooking and experimenting with the wide range of seafood available along the WA coastline. In Australia we are extremely fussy, and limit ourselves to consuming a few species that are often the most vulnerable to overfishing. Because of 58 this, I’ve started to work with my friend Paul Iskov of Fervor [Australian pop-up dining, see www.fervor.com.au] to come up with recipes that use a broader range of seafood, and make better use of the waste products that are just as delicious if cooked the right way. Rohan Anderson

ROHAN ANDERSON Rohan eats fresh produce, avoids processed foods, grows his What positive impacts would there be if more people own food, hunts for wild meat and lives within his means. In started to forage from the wild? his early thirties, his diet of processed food and no fresh pro- It doesn’t make sense for people in urban areas to drive long EAT duce was causing major health problems. He knew he had to distances to forage in the wild. There are wild foods in urban change. Now his body has repaired, mentally he feels better areas and backyards that are currently going to waste. Hunt- and he’s broken out of the system that controlled him. ing for wild tucker helps you to develop a better understanding of how nature works, and the effects of water, climate Can you describe which foods you harvest from the and pollution; this can influence more positive decisions in wild and how you do it? your life. When the summer ends and rain arrives, the kids and I get excited about visiting the forests; about campfire cooking and long adventurous hikes carrying baskets of mushrooms. In autumn, we pick wild pears from secret trees, and vibrant fruit from the prickly pear. By winter, the larder is well stocked to get us through the lean times. As the warmer weather arrives, with it comes fragrant elderflower, and by springtime there is barely a need to forage when there is so much food growing in the garden. In summer, we pick weeds and from wild fruit trees. At the height of summer, we pluck yabbies from What do you think of the current food system? damns and blackberries from tawny bushes. Nearing the end Once you discover how much environmental degradation of summer, wild figs provide a sweet treat, and so the cycle comes from the way big companies produce, package and continues. transport food, you realise the whole system makes no sense. We are seeing the decline of health as a result of heavily pro- What inspired you to start harvesting your food from cessed foods; but instead of limiting these foods we are med- the wild? icating the symptoms. I was introduced to wild food as a child growing up on a farm in the bush. As an adult I forgot about my childhood ways, What do you think needs to be done to improve it? but the more unhappy I became with my city life, the more I I don’t have all the answers, but I do share my story in the longed for the simplicity of country living. I started off simply, hope that it might get people thinking about food and its im- learning a few new mushroom species. As the years passed, pacts. In an ideal world, I’d like to see people embracing a 59 new items would arrive on the picking list. My relationship seasonal menu for home cooking that has nutritional value with nature nudged me to return to my old ways, and has and is lighter on our natural resources. improved my view of my new world. USE AND VALUE DIVERSITY EDIBLE FLOWERS Words and photos by Sarah Price

Anyone interested in edible gardening tends to grow 5. CHIVES vegetables, but have you ever considered growing ed- Onion, garlic or plain chive flowers pack a lot of flavour. ible flowers? Garlic chives produce a delicate purple bloom, and onion When you start looking into which flowers are edible, it is chives grow a larger, paler flower. As well as these Allium surprising to find that most gardeners have at least one va- species, the related society garlic Tulbaghia violacea is also riety of edible flower growing in their garden. The wonderful useful in savoury cooking. thing about growing flowers for food is that it gives you a good reason to take up growing space with them. Ideally our gar- USING FRESH FLOWERS dens are filled not only with vegetables and greens, but also If you’re trying to avoid using refined ingredients in the kitch- flowers for us and the bees. en, having beautiful edible flowers to decorate cakes is a won- There are many varieties of edible flowers, but these top derful alternative to using coloured icing: they look stunning, five are easy to grow, and perform well. Flowers can stay fresh for hours after picking – but avoid the heat of the day, and place the stems in water until you use them.

1. PANSY These are delicious in salads, and the best way to use them is with mint leaves on top of a butter or chocolate cake. The flowers are high in vitamin C and the young leaves, also edible, are high in vitamin A. The flowers have a delicate mild flavour, and the heirloom variety Arkwright Ruby has a stronger, almost vanilla flavour.

2. NASTURTIUM This is one edible bloom we all know about: children love to bite the end off and suck the nectar. The flower is peppery, and best suited to savoury use. Whip up a herb dip and stuff it into the nasturtium flowers, or add them to fresh garden salads.

3. CALENDULA These flowers look gorgeous adorning a cake. Or add the petals to rice as a saffron substitute.

4. ROSE 60 These look special atop a cake. I like using an old variety of a climbing tea rose: they’re small and can either be eaten with the cake or pulled off afterwards. either used whole or with different sized and coloured petals scattered for a confetti effect. Pick them first thing in the morning, wash them, pop them into an airtight container and freeze them for use later that day. They stay fresh and bright, even during the warmer months. When adding flowers to salads, pick them at the same time as the salad greens, and use them straight away. You can also preserve edible flowers, either by drying or sugar coating. Tip: Only use flowers grown organically in your own garden. If buying plants from a nursery, don’t use any flowers that may be open or forming on the plant at the time, as they may have been treated with chemicals. Wash flowers before use, trimming the stem and removing the stamen. RECIPES STUFFED NASTURTIUM FLOWERS This isn’t an exact recipe – taste frequently, and use your instincts. EAT Ingredients 1½ cups sour cream (or softened cream or cottage cheese) a large handful of a mixture of your favourite herbs and greens from the garden (e.g. nasturtium leaves, basil, parsley, com knitionaryrecipes.blogspot. dill, chives, sorrel), finely chopped or snipped ½ cup of cashews or walnuts, finely chopped ¼ cup of pickled capers, drained and finely chopped 2 dessertspoons whole egg mayonnaise (homemade is best) fresh lemon juice 20 freshly picked nasturtium flowers, to serve. Method Mix together the dip ingredients and season to taste. Add more herbs, capers or mayonnaise as desired, or a squeeze of lemon juice. The dip can be made ahead of time, and kept in the fridge until needed. To serve, use a teaspoon to fill the flowers, and serve immediately.

DECORATIVE ICE CUBES Ingredients Use small flowers such as pansies or winter tarragon. If using larger flowers, simply use the petals whole or snip them up. Method To ensure that the flowers are in the middle of the ice cubes, half fill an ice cube tray with water and add the flowers or petals. Put into the freezer for at least four hours or over- 61 night. When completely frozen, top up the ice cubes with more water and freeze. Place the cubes into iced tea, cordial or your favourite cool drink. This page, clockwise from above left: Material collection; Nan power; Every colour of the rainbow; Op shop fashion. Page 65 above: Double denim knee patches in action. below: Stitch in time.

62 USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES SLOW FASHION

Words by Maude Farrugia Photos by Hiromi Yuasa

The slow movements’ gradual transformation of every world. The ‘slow fashion’ movement is a reaction to this mod- facet of our lives has (unhurriedly) extended itself to ern throwaway textile culture. the rabid international fast-fashion industry. While the Indeed the very nature of the word ’fashion’ stands at odds idea of ‘fashion’ might seem frivolous to those of us with everything the slow movement represents; but take note, who walk the path of permaculture, the way we clad clothes cannot be in slow fashion, they are slow fashion. It ourselves can have a very alarming environmental im- represents conscious dressing, the cultivation of a classic and pact, and one which we often overlook while we’re permanent personal style, and a stronger connection to the busy in the garden, smelling the rosemary. origins (and destination) of your clothes. And the good news If you own clothes, then you are almost certainly a partici- is: permaculture principles can help us on this journey. pant in the fast-fashion industry. Open your wardrobe. Have a really good look. Who made your clothes, socks and undies? DESIGN FROM PATTERNS TO DETAILS / What are they made of? Where did you get them? How long

OBSERVE & INTERACT / USE SMALL AND THRIVE have you owned them? When will you replace them? And SLOW SOLUTIONS where will they go when you’re done with them? Get yourself a notebook (or a spreadsheet if you’re that way Fashion – though the word might make you cringe – is inclined), and write down what you wear every single day for something we all participate in, one way or another, on a daily a month, a season, a year. The results will give you an insight basis. Clothes are our wrappers: they tell the world who we into what types of clothing you actually value and use. are, and carry their very own cultural and personal identity After my month of sartorial field notes, I was able to halve baggage. They can tell us much about class, status, occupa- my already somewhat lean wardrobe. I found that I didn’t wear tion, wellbeing and culture, so it’s no wonder we’ve been co- some of my ’favourite’ items of clothing, even once. Others erced, collectively, into the trillion dollar fast-fashion industry, that I was barely aware I owned I wore more than ten times. ever striving to perfect the image of ourselves we wish to Black and blue featured heavily in my list of notes, a useful project to the world. pointer for future shopping expeditions. As well as making me Conscious eating is so much a part of living permaculture, aware of my self-imposed uniform, this exercise gave me a but conscious dressing – when we think long and hard about strong understanding of the difference between the clothes earth care and people care in relation to our threads – has I like to wear, and the clothes I like to think I wear (my own only really come to the fore since disasters such as at the personal identity baggage). Rana Plaza in Bangladesh (where over 1100 people died and Considering this information against what you do each day 2500 people were injured), and crises in the cotton fields of will further expand your understanding of your own clothing India ringing bells to warn us that there is trouble in our ward- patterns and needs. For example, I spend two days a week in robes. the garden, another two working from home and the rest of Only a few generations ago the story was very different. my time chasing a toddler around the neighbourhood. For me, Locally manufactured clothes and fibres were more the norm. an extensive pyjama wardrobe, sturdy shoes, a comfy jumper 63 Now it’s extremely difficult to source locally grown and made collection and dedicated gardening clothes are a must. And clothing. Fast fashion – dominated by billion dollar global yet my wardrobe contained a beautiful collection of dresses companies peddling low-cost, low-quality clothing – is the I love (but hardly ever wear), and hardly any sturdy garden overwhelming source of clothing for consumers around the clothes. I tend to wear whatever while getting grubby in the garden, which is a very good way to race through several convoluted route to the bin. Gifting unwanted clothes can shift pairs of perfectly good jeans, but not really an ideal way to the burden of your less awesome choices on to other individ- practise slow fashion. uals and organisations; so before you chuck it think of your Lesson learned! potential donation as a gift. Would anyone actually value this item? Love it? Wear it to death, so that it can be repaired and USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES worn to death again? Don’t beat yourself up about clothes in AND SERVICES your life that don’t measure up to these testing questions, but Many outdoor-wear fibres are made from non-renewable pet- try to think of ways you could use them first before gifting rochemicals, known to break down as they are worn and to them: as fabric remnants for future garment repairs, by re- leave a trail of microplastics that fill our oceans and water- purposing or repairing them into something new and amaz- ways: hello nylon, polyester and polar fleece. Natural fibres ing, or as cleaning or kitchen rags. are a lot better, though they do produce methane (and in the Get choosy. How many clothes do you actually need in case of wool, ammonia) when they break down in landfill, your wardrobe? Having fewer clothes makes it simpler to where they very often end up. Cotton – the world’s most pop- get dressed in the morning and face the world, and lessens ular natural fibre – may well be renewable, but the energy your chances of a daily existential style crisis. Making great used to farm, process, fashion it into garments and then de- clothing choices – choosing items you truly need for quality, liver them to your doorstep is likely not. durability and timelessness – will also help you to produce Sourcing local fibres is ideal, but limited: in Australia we no waste, as you simply won’t be able to part with them until do grow and process wool pretty well, and that’s about it. they are rags. According to Cotton Australia we are ‘a relatively minor pro- ducer on the world scale but ... the world’s second-largest VALUE THE MARGINAL exporter’. Which basically means that we grow our cotton, My nan is a master-mender (ex-tailor, migrant and garment ship it overseas to be processed and fashioned into garments worker), and half the time you wouldn’t even notice that that are then shipped back home to be sold to consumers. she’s repaired an item. Feel free to go to town upcycling your Short of becoming naturists, what are we to do? Avoiding clothes with whimsical applique owl patches, if this suits your synthetic clothes is a great start. Truly valuing the cost of our personal style. But for me, repairing clothes close to their clothes is another: buy quality items; care for them so that original status is my way of valuing a past-its-prime item. they live a long life (mending and careful washing here we Darning and mending well can take some skill and under- come!); and, when their time is up, choose the most sensible standing of textile construction, but it’s something you could path for their retirement – as a rag, tomato tie or compost pick up in a (cr)afternoon. It also requires a good stash of carbon, the choice is yours. fabric remnants, and bits and bobs. Creating your own stash When buying new clothes, it’s important to be mindful of can be a rewarding exercise in valuing the marginal, and will whom you are buying them from. Is your purchase propping help use up some of your unneeded clothes. My nan, with her up the fast-fashion oligarchy, or are you supporting a local Maltese pedigree, has a stash to rival any: she’s repaired the craftsperson who is working to create a better clothing indus- bung elastic in a pair of PJs with tape saved from a dead elec- try alternative? We have a growing number of local designers tric blanket; makes the world’s softest hankies out of old flan- and makers here in Australia and New Zealand, committing nelette sheets, and aprons out of stained tablecloths; and is to using sustainable textiles, zero-waste patterns, fair man- generally an expert in valuing even the tiniest things she has ufacturing practices and non-toxic dyes. It’s an exciting time in her life, and finding beautiful and creative ways to thwart to get dressed! their path to landfill. She wears an apron when she cooks, Often these clothes cost more than their big brand equiv- overalls in the garden and cares deeply about everything she alents, but they will last and be supporting a better fashion owns: in short, she values it. Can you learn a thing or two future. And their price tag reinforces the true value of cloth- from this? I know I can. ing: the cost should reflect the effort it took to grow the fibre, In my few months of conscious dressing I’ve noted that ex- design the garment and sweat over its manufacture. cusing yourself from the global fast-fashion industry is a long Another useful resource, which is often overlooked, is our term project that requires time, thoughtfulness, the gaining of grannies! No one knows how to darn better than your nonna, skills and observation. My advice: take it slow. naniji, yiayia or abuela, so take time to pick a mending master- mind’s brain, and inhale as many tricks and techniques while you can. If you don’t have your own personal darning diva to hand, hook yourself up with your local neighbourhood house’s mending circle, or find someone you can trade your skills for in exchange for their mending talent.

64 PRODUCE NO WASTE Sometimes one person’s trash is indeed another’s treasure, but very often goods donated to op shops end up as landfill. Donating unwanted clothes to op shops does not necessarily mean you are producing no waste, if they’re just taking a more DOUBLE DENIM KNEE PATCHES This is Nan’s tried-and-true technique for the most-sturdy knee patches for jeans this side of the Mediterranean. You will need: • jeans with busted knees • scraps of sturdy denim for the patches, and a soft sturdy fabric to reinforce the inside • a sewing machine • pins and thread. Unpick the outer seam of each leg, from about four centimetres above the top of the tear in the knees to about the same below. Cut a patch of reinforcement fabric that will fit over the tear, with two centimetres extra on each side. Cut a square of denim that will fit over the tear, with three centimetres extra on the top and bottom, and one centimetre overlap on each of the sides. Turn the jeans inside out, and place the reinforcement fabric flat over the area to be repaired, with the tear in the centre. Pin it in place. Using the unpicked seam of your jeans as an opening for your sewing machine to fit through, sew this fabric patch securely in place. Turn the jeans right side out. Pin the denim patch over the front of the tear, with a one centimetre hem tucked under around each edge. Again, using the unpicked seam of your jeans as an opening for your sewing machine to fit through, sew the denim securely in place. You can run a few decorative lines horizontally across the patch if that floats your boat. Turn the jeans inside out again, stitch the unpicked seam back together with a line of straight stitching, and finish the THRIVE edges with zigzag stitch for security. Turn the jeans right side out, and enjoy wearing them again.

65 EASY-PEASY $4 SINGLET DRESS

Words by Annie Werner Photo by Olive Rose

This is a pretty easy project that would suit a beginner, though it will be easier if you already have some sewing experience. This is a pretty easy project that would suit a beginner, though it will be easier if you already have some sewing experience.

YOU WILL NEED • A singlet. [I got mine from my local op shop for $2, but any stretchy singlet will do] • A rectangular piece of fabric. A lightweight fabric works well, as it doesn’t get too bulky when it’s gathered. The short edge of the rectangle should be the length you want the skirt of your dress to be, and the long edge should be around one and a half to two metres, depending on how gathered you want the skirt to be. [I also got the skirt fabric from the op shop for $2] • Scissors, pins and thread. • A sewing machine – you could do this project by hand, but it would be a BIG job. • Trim, such as ricrac braid, but that’s optional.

HOW TO MAKE IT 1. Try on the singlet, and mark where you want the waist of the skirt to sit. This could be on your actual waist (the narrowest part), or you could make it higher or lower, depending on taste. Mark this with a pin on both of the side seams. 2. Take the singlet off and fold it in half. Cut straight across, one centimetre lower than your pin marks. Make this as straight as possible! 3. Make your skirt fabric into a tube by sewing the two short edges together, with the right sides together. 4. Run a gathering stitch around the top of your skirt – this can be done by hand, or by setting your machine to the longest stitch length – and then gather it until it’s a little bigger than your waist right sides together, match up the pins and sew with a zigzag measurement, and big enough to slip over your head. stitch, one centimetre from the edge, stretching the singlet as 5. Now comes the trickiest part of the whole shebang: you need you move along so that the pins match up. to attach the singlet to the gathered edge of your skirt, and to 6. Your singlet dress is now finished, and you can embellish it 66 stretch the singlet as you’re sewing. To do this evenly, fold your as you like. I add a pocket, and some ricrac braid on the neck singlet in half and mark the quarters with pins (one on each side of the singlet. seam, one in the centre front and one in centre back). Do the same with your skirt, and mark the quarters with pins. With the @autumnfarmpastured Fermentation Cultures

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67 PRODUCE NO WASTE HOW TO MAKE A BOOMERANG BAG Words by Boomerang Bags Photos by Robyn Rosenfeldt

The aim of Boomerang Bags is to minimise the use of plastic by sewing reusable bags from local, recycled materials. Making Boomerang Bags with your community is a great way to participate in a national initiative on a local level. It’s an easy, free and environmentally friendly way to engage your local community and encourage others to reduce their use of plastic bags. The idea is to get a group of people together, sort through some old fabrics (linen cupboards or op shops are a great place to start), and meet up, with a couple of sewing machines, to make some great, recycled, reusable Boomerang Bags.

HOW DO YOU MAKE A BOOMERANG BAG? What you will need: • three pieces of fabric (something durable, colour- ful and washable, matching or contrasting) • two handles (adjust the length to the size you prefer) • one bag shape • one calico pocket • an iron • thread and sewing pins • a sewing machine, and ideally an overlocker.

Step one: sew the handles Fold each of the handle pieces in half lengthways, and iron them flat. Open the folded piece and fold each side to the middle crease. Iron closed and make sure that the edges are together evenly. Sew the open edges of the handle together, and then sew along the closed edge of the handle so that each side of the handle is sewn.

Step two: make the calico pocket Fold three sides of the calico over by one centimetre. Fold the 68 fourth side over twice, and then iron each of the sides flat. With the right side facing down, and the wrong side facing up, sew across the top of the pocket (where you made two folds). Step three: pin the pocket on With the right side up, pin the pocket onto the bag shape. Make sure it is centred vertically, but is slightly lower than the hori- zontal centre, so that you leave space for the top of the bag to be folded over when you sew the handles on.

Step four: sew the calico pocket Sew the three sides of the calico pocket onto the bag before you begin your bag side seams (or overlocking), being careful to reinforce each side of the pocket near the top.

Step five: sew the sides and base of the bag Take the bag material, fold it in half with the two short edges coming together to create the bag shape. Pin the material down the sides, leaving the top open: make sure your edges match up. Turn the bag inside out and edge sew (or overlock) along each of the two sides. If overlocking, make sure you reinforce each side with a straight stitch that runs next to the overlocked edge. With the bag still inside out, fold it so that you see the corners as triangles with the edge stitching (or overlocking) running through the middle. Using a small cardboard triangle as your template (so that both corner bases are the same size, sew across eight centimetres), pin the triangles into the corners and then sew and reinforce each of them. This will form the base of your bag. THRIVE Step six: sew the handles on Turn the bag the right side out, mark nine centimetres from the seam each side, and pin the handles on the inside of marks. En- sure there is no twist in in the handles. Oversew (or overlock) the top of the bag, attaching the handles and making sure the handles are set square to the bag.

Step seven: finish the bag Turn the top of the bag down three centimetres, and sew twice around the top of the bag. Trim the threads and give it a once over. Your bag should now be looking great!

Step eight: share Now share the bags around in the community, lend them to friends, give them away as gifts, share them with people in your street, or offer them as alternatives at your local grocery shop.

You can find information about joining an existing Boomerang Bag ‘community’ or making Boomerang Bags yourself, or request the ‘How-to guide’ on starting Opposite page, above: Place pocket on front and mark 9 a Boomerang Bag community of your own by heading cm from edge for handle. Opposite page, below: sew the 69 to www.boomerangbags.org/about corners. This page, clockwise from top right: sew the handles; folding the handles; Boomerang bags; pin the handles in place. 70 APPLY SELF REGULATION & ACCEPT FEEDBACK INSPIRING TEENS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY

Words and photos by Dean and Annette Turner

What can we do to help our teens become the sus- dients for making experiences richer. If teens can see how tainable innovators and guides that the planet needs? what they do is part of something bigger, they will be much More so than ever before, young people need positive more willing and inspired to contribute. Explaining the whole opportunities to escape and explore, to move from picture of why we’re going to do something, and how it fits talking and watching to doing. into the bigger picture, will create more engaged participation. For the past eighteen years we’ve run the Crossing Land Positive actions can be hard for young people to identify Education Trust, where we have camps for young people. We by themselves. The feeling of being powerless can be over- create opportunities for young people to learn and become whelming. Contributing to the ongoing design, and thus the inspired, for example through teamwork, environmental res- story of a sustainable home, property, camp or school is a toration and monitoring, sustainable design, tool use, outdoor great motivator – it shows how they can provide for their own activities and organic gardening. We believe that teens need needs, and those of future teens. to be given the following experiences, to: contribute with Working towards sustainability is a practical and active way purpose; improvise and make mistakes; and explore natural to do something positive to mitigate and cope with climate places. Well-designed school camps, with excellent leaders, change, rather than be depressed or frightened by it; growing are great for this; but as parents and guides to teens, we can food and using renewable energy are obvious examples of create such opportunities in a variety of ways. appropriate actions. When you think back to yourself as a teen, and the peo- Protecting and enhancing the surrounding natural environ- ple you looked up to, there was probably at least one cool ment is an example of caring for the earth, another purpose uncle or aunty, an older brother, sister or cousin, a teacher that teens can relate to and find empowering. This can be or camp leader who was influential. Whether by accident or done through camps and school group activities, such as design, they were the ones who supported you to launch off landcare projects; or at home in developing and maintaining on some early adventure. Pushing the boundaries of activity gardens for food or wildlife. NURTURE and adventure was okay by your parents, as long as you had that acceptable guide nearby. It’s good to surround teens with SUPPORTING IMPROVISATION AND positive and inspiring role models they can relate to. MISTAKES Camping can be a great way for teens to get switched on to This may sound odd, but it takes many mistakes to come up the environment. School camps with a focus on sustainability with an innovation. There are great opportunities for impro- in their design are ideal. visation and ‘mistake learning’ with young people, especially where a leader is available to support the problem-solving CONTRIBUTING WITH PURPOSE process. The ability to make a difference is important to all of us, both Mistakes also help us to understand the importance of di- physically and mentally. Everyone responds and engages versity, which provides many viewpoints and the strength of more fully if they have a strong sense of purpose. A positive cooperation to solve big problems. This also applies in nature, and active approach to sustainability is purpose-built for teens. where biodiversity provides many strategies to meet a range Teens have an acute sense for hypocrisy and inconsistency. of conditions. They know the difference between busywork and real work. The more we understand the important role that mistakes They start to tune out as soon as they get the feeling that play, the more we can recognise the importance of diversity, 71 they are not part of something or, worse still, if they’re part of so that we look at problems with tolerance and get in closer, something that’s not connected to anything else. together, to find solutions. Solutions generated in this way will We all love connection and integration; they’re major ingre- be more likely to succeed. Solving problems gives us all a sense of accomplishment Or take time to wander through the landscape rather than and success. Involving teens in seeking sustainable design – just head to a destination. For example: have a few options for for example improvising for energy and water efficiency, us- campsites; on a short journey, include a suitable area in the ing second-hand and repurposed materials to create a solu- middle to divert attention into for a few hours and still achieve tion – is very rewarding. Or encourage teens’ efforts to fix, the same overall direction over the course of the day – a improve or make things – suggest something they value, such few enticing gullies, a rolling area of hills where you can zig as clothing or transport. They become part of the solution; and zag a few times, lakes and creeks to stop at and wander caring for others, the earth and the future. Hands-on building around. Knowing the country well provides a leader or guide projects give teens the opportunity to learn by doing, including with the confidence to plan such opportunities to enthuse to make mistakes. At The Crossing, a group of teens made a teens. Being permitted to choose and explore the bush, with chook shed from an old bunk bed frame, part of an old tank leader support, can be very empowering for young people. and rendered earth walls – it was a great learning experience. Over the last twenty-five years as outdoor and environmental educators we’ve found that around five to fifteen per cent A positive and active of teens thrive on challenging journeys, while the majority thrive on wandering and immersion. We’ve also found that approach to sustainability the worst weather usually generates the highest return rates is purpose-built for teens. for teens doing outdoor programs, especially for first timers. We thought this might be about challenge and adversity; how- Look for ways to create experiences that provide young ever, it’s much more about the leaders – the young people people with opportunities to make a range of mistakes, in: concerned couldn’t believe how much fun they had, and were navigation – to get never truly lost, just temporarily geograph- inspired to return to see those leaders again. Over subse- ically embarrassed; building, fencing or landscaping – requir- quent visits the reasons for returning changed as they discov- ing adjustments and new strategies; cooking – to seek more ered for themselves what was really motivating and inspiring appropriate garden ingredients. those leaders. Some schools and camp managers try to manage risk to We used to think we were changing the world with every avoid mistakes. Good risk management, in the case of teens program we ran, but now we understand the importance of and the outdoors, rules out big mistakes but provides potential ripples: they have their own life and travel in many directions; for smaller ones, as part of the process of learning by doing. some become large waves. Really good staff teams can design mistake opportunities into projects, so that engagement and team learning is maximised. Dean and Annette have spent the last eighteen years cre- EXPLORING NATURAL PLACES ating a not-for-profit, sustainable camp for young people We find that nature slows down time itself. Being away from called The Crossing Land Education Trust near Bermagui schedules and the internet allows time for closer personal on the Wilderness Coast of NSW. You can find them at connections, and to connect with other facets of life: time just www.thecrossing.thebegavalley.org.au or on Instagram, to be. Twitter or Facebook @thecrossingland. Any teen can join Make time for exploring an area. Structured habitat or wild- in the programs, by direct application or with a school life surveys are ways to achieve this, provide a sense of pur- group. The camp is a place for inspiring stories and in- 72 pose, and get teens up close and personal with nature. Anoth- spiring people. It takes a maximum of one school class. er way is through nature art, working with colour and shapes and using nature’s patterns for inspiration. This can immerse teens in nature’s designs for sustainability. Page 70: The joy of contributing towards a positive future. Opposite page: Wandering journey’s allow time for exploration. Clockwise from top: Contributing to a bigger purpose - re-vegetating the river banks you canoe along; Teen planting enthusiasm; Time around the fire to be and reflect on any ‘mistake learning’ of the day; Adventures in inspiring natural places; Play- ing with patterns in nature; The Crossing. NURTURE

73 74 USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES GARDENER’S HANDSCRUB Words and photo by Tabitha Emma

The perfect scrub for gardeners, crafters and anyone whose hands get rough treatment and need a good scrubbing.

MAKES: 1 x 250 g jar APPROXIMATE SHELF LIFE: three months

INGREDIENTS METHOD 1 cup of caster sugar, or 1. Put sugar (or salt) into a bowl. salt for a coarser scrub 2. Add the lemon zest and juice, olive oil and rosemary. zest of 1 lemon 3. Stir all together until combined, then scoop the paste juice of ½ lemon into the jar. 2 tablespoons olive oil 4. Store the jar in a cool dark place. 2 sprigs of rosemary, chopped finely Equipment DIRECTIONS FOR USE bowl Rub the paste into your hands well, and then rinse it off fine grater with warm water. lemon juicer 250 g jar

Extract from Nourish and Nurture; The Healthy Natural Skincare Guide E-book NURTURE by Tabitha Emma available in the Pip shop www.pipmagazine.com.au/shop/nourish-nurture-ebook $16

75 76 USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES THE ART OF FRUGAL HEDONISM

Words by Annie Raser-Rowland

Several years ago I coined the term ‘frugal hedonism’, You may have a culinary miss now and again, but you’ll also partly railing against the assumption – of more main- concoct many scrumptious triumphs, save money on special stream friends – that a life of gleaning, gardening, ingredients and learn a lot along the way. hitchhiking and op shopping was part of a grey and dismal martyrdom endured for the planet’s sake. But I BE MATERIALISTIC knew my days were rich with sensory indulgence and ‘But what?! Surely anti-materialism is the cornerstone of diverse pleasures. buying less?’ you splutter. Upping the esteem in which you As time crept by, many of these friends plunged into debt, hold consumables may sound an odd path to frugality, but if overwork, middle-aged spread and a general sense of entrap- you’d like to avoid the constant consumption involved in re- ment. It became clear that curtailed-consumption keeps us placing things, you need to recognise their value and maintain self-reliant and free enough to be truly alive to pleasure, and them; buy well-made things in the first place, those that will I realised how protective it can be against many of the ‘ills of last and are fixable. Be dazzled that you have all this stuff with modern life’. its stupefying lineage of effort and resources. Be reverential, Anyone reading Pip is likely already pretty cluey about the then look after it. ecological reasons for reining in our rabid consumer habits. However, reshaping our priorities and habits is challenging, GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INNER especially in the face of a larger culture that suggests spend- HUNTER-GATHERER ing as the starting point for all pleasure. We don’t want to miss The hunt for wild greens is such a fine and fun skill that I out on pleasure! We are only human. wrote a book about it with Adam Grubb (The Weed Forager’s The Art of Frugal Hedonism: a Guide to Spending Less While Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia, Enjoying Everything More (Melliodora Publishing, to be pub- Hyland House 2012). Make supplementing your diet in this lished in 2016) aims to help readers finesse their frugality. way a habit, and you might find that you begin to feed the The guide is a basket of life hacks and psychological strategies fundamental Homo sapiens instinct to roam-and-pluck. While NURTURE that make it not just easy but luscious to live on less than a connecting with your ancestral cave-self, by harvesting free quarter of the average Australian income – as I do, merrily. superfoods, you may find that you also connect more inti- Here are my top five: mately with your neighbourhood. The pursuit of wild foods not only heightens your awareness of the seasons, but has HAVE A LOT OF THINGS YOU WANT TO DO a delightful way of leading you into corners of your gar- WITH YOUR FREEDOM den or suburb that you wouldn’t have visited otherwise. There is no better incentive for being frugal than having pas- sions you want to chase. Don’t do it because you’re noble, do NOTICE WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH it because you’re greedy for a life of liberty. By consuming It can be very liberating to notice that your life has been fine less, you have more money to spend on doing what you really so far, maybe even pretty damn good, with what you already want to do. have. Or that if it hasn’t, it’s probably not because of a deficit of wireless speakers. So, the question you might want to ask HAVE AN OPEN RELATIONSHIP WITH RECIPES yourself, next time you’re about to buy something, is not ‘Will Develop some cooking instincts, and then base your meals on this make my life better?’ but ‘Has my life so far been bad whatever happens to be in season, cheap, or in the cupboard without this in it?’ 77 right now. Go totally freestyle or, if you do like to use recipes, The prescription is simple: spend less, consume less, work learn to substitute. No breadcrumbs to help bind your meat- less, experience more, feel pleasure more. And if you happen balls: grind some oats in a blender. No apple cider vinegar: to help save the world while you’re at it, all the better. lemon juice, plus a pinch of sugar, will probably be just fine. 78 DESIGN FROM PATTERNS TO DETAILS DESIGNING AN URBAN OASIS

Words by Megan Norgate Photos by Emma Byrnes

Eight years ago we bought a dilapidated 1940s Cali- PATTERNS OF USE fornian bungalow in Melbourne’s inner northern sub- By reconfiguring the layout of the existing home, and extend- urbs. It was in a semi-derelict state, had a heritage ing it, we resolved the spatial design around patterns of use. overlay and flood level restrictions, and was on a long, This design solution creates healthy and resourceful living so narrow block. However, the site was extremely spe- that the home functions with the ‘path of least resistance’. cial, and backed onto the Merri Creek wildlife corridor. Our common utility areas are butted up against the social ar- The real value for us was not in the bricks and mortar, but eas, so that no one feels like they’re in purgatory while doing in the proximity of the majestic gum trees, running water washing in the laundry. When it’s raining, we can walk bare- and the deep buffer of native vegetation on either side of the foot from the house under a clear roof off the deck to hang creek, creating a nature sanctuary in an urban environment. washing outside. Living in the new home, our daily tasks and We began thinking about our home as part of a permaculture rituals are now performed in an ergonomic, logical and enjoy- system that would integrate the built, interior and biological able fashion. The best ‘storage vessel’ for the heat and energy environments. I wanted to create an urban existence for my of the sun is the human body. Ideally, we can wake up to the family that allowed us to connect with nature and our local sun, eat breakfast with it streaming through the window, and community on a daily basis. then relax at the end of the day while watching it set.

OBSERVATION RESOURCEFULNESS As we designed the renovation, it was important to observe During the construction process we sought to produce the the building over the seasons of a full year: to spend time on minimum amount of waste possible, by first looking at what the site, noticing the patterns of the elements – sun, water we had around us, and then making the most of existing and and wind – in order to harness them for use in our home. discarded materials. Demolished materials, such as cabinetry and architectural features, were gathered and stored for re- CAPTURING ENERGY use, resold, or collected for further recycling. DESIGN All buildings have some potential for passive function. To We repaired or partially replaced what we could, salvaged make the weatherboard home thermally efficient, we took undamaged weatherboards, collected the old hardwood skirt- the whole building apart, piece by piece, back to its structural ings and architraves, and sourced additional salvaged tim- frames. We then wrapped it in insulation and put it all back bers, doors and fixtures. We consistently placed value on together again, sealing every little gap as we went. The exten- the marginal – the little details and elements of a design that sion was built on a suspended concrete slab which allowed bring character and resourcefulness to our family home. Ev- us to introduce thermal mass. We located new windows to ery cupboard handle, window winder and surface material is open up the home to the winter sun, while remaining shaded where you have the opportunity for the greatest change. 79 in summer and capturing cooling breezes. We reoriented the room layout so that all living areas faced north, flooding the TIME spaces with natural light and allowing the winter sun to reach The design process requires great consideration, testing and its long fingers inside. evolution over time. For every week we spent in design consideration, the project continued to improve. This also allowed so that desks and beds can fit underneath. These design out- for a nuanced design solution in direct response to our com- comes maximise the use of our precious vertical space. munity relationships and collaborations. Clear and honest communication within the whole renovation team was so im- LIVING ON THE EDGE portant, to ensure that we shared our vision and considered Edges in nature typically contain the densest diversity and everyone’s concerns. This slow and evolving approach to activity, and this includes human-inhabited spaces. We paid design reprioritises the experience and connection between special attention to articulating the spaces on the edge, from people over the goal of a rushed completion date. outside in, from public to private, from down to up. These Our home has been allowed to ‘cure’ beautifully over time, transition spaces are where people interact the most with one retaining the potential for future adaptations. When using ma- another; and blurring these boundaries can create opportuni- terials with natural patinas their effect is only fully realised ties for dynamic relationships and communication. over time; and it’s then that our home starts to come alive. We removed any high fences from the front yard, so that I try to choose special pieces that are worth keeping, as we we could talk to our neighbours and passers-by on the street appreciate the skill and materiality of highly crafted objects while working in the garden. We created a small door in the that ultimately become heirlooms. back-garden fence so that the younger children next door could come and go without needing to be walked along the BREVITY street. Our delight never ceases when our littlest and most I had to curb my enthusiasm for collecting things that take up curious neighbours pop up into our garden and kitchen. more space. Our cupboards were intentionally designed not We created a pergola to reach the boundary, to: provide to be deep to avoid things disappearing into the out-of-reach summer shade to the north-facing windows; and to house a dark zone. We created one large central space that opened up vertical, recycled-hardwood screen, creating some privacy to the same amount of outdoor decking. Our home has be- and a vertical surface on which to grow grapes, berries and come a place where we can welcome our extended communi- honeysuckles. We took down the tall paling fence between the ty, a shared resource. This has allowed us to host community backyard and the creek, and replaced it with a low, open-wire groups and events. We also welcome help-exchangers and fence. This allows us to observe the creek beds, native vege- the neighbourhood children at all hours of the day. tation and wildlife. Another two houses in the area have since followed suit, and now our chickens forage periodically on the creek side, saving us from cutting back grasses and weeds, We removed any high and providing them (and us) with an abundant source of food. fences from the front yard, so that we could talk to STACKING FUNCTION We sought to integrate diverse design problems into one solu- our neighbours. tion, maximising the use of available space. We created play- nooks under the loft and in the fireplace alcoves; these will Our bedrooms and utility rooms are modestly sized and later become study-nooks and bookshelves when the kids get shaped for their intended use. Bathroom and laundries are older. We use the laundry as an indoor drying room as well as long and thin to maximise wall space and access to light, and a bulk-goods store. We have located our solar hot-water tank to minimise unnecessary circulation space. High loft beds in inside, in an otherwise useless space at the top of the stairs, the kids’ bedrooms create more floor space for them to play. so that we can dry wet boots, make yoghurt and maybe even The hallway was made just wide enough to run a desk along hatch eggs in the warm cupboard. 80 its length, and to create an office area without dedicating a room to that purpose. The roof space has been lined and fitted INTEGRATION with pull-down ladders to store seasonal gear. We also have I sought out ‘responsive’ materials, finishes and furnishings, cupboards that run to the ceilings, above normal head height, by selecting items with a tangible context, that relate to the Front page, above to below: Living to north facing deck with recycled ironbark vertical screens; View of extension from the bottom of the garden. This page, clockwise from top left: Window seat made from left over floorboards. Front garden from street, recycled brick path and timber fence; Kitchen with recycled timbers, light fittings and appliances; Disappearing through the kiddie trap door. DESIGN

81 region or that have a historical or emotional relationship to us. tours I’ve run. Our home design has fundamentally changed This enabled me to explore an authentic regional and personal the way we all live and contribute to the community. design vernacular. Our home is lovingly filled with hand-me- We are thankful that we live, work and go to school within downs from our family, and objects that we have collected, walking distance. We are very privileged to live here, and to made, salvaged and found over the years. This means that our have access to abundant nature within the cultural amenities home doesn’t have a particular look, but is more a collection of the urban life. We get to experience a diversity of wildlife of personally significant things, gently curated into a pleasing every day; we’re visited by kookaburras, blue-tongue lizards, combination of usefulness and decoration. tawny frogmouths and the odd tiger snake. This home has reiterated the importance of urban wildlife YIELD corridors and shared productive space. We have an oppor- Our home has produced outcomes far beyond aesthetic tunity to redesign our suburbs in a context of neighbour- and economic results. We have fresh, healthy food, happi- hood-scale resilience and autonomy, creating homes and er children and meaningful friendships and connection with landscapes that contribute to this end. our community. Everyone who worked on the house spoke warmly of their experience, despite having to carry everything Megan Norgate is a permaculturalist, sustainable design down steep, muddy paths. We would sometimes stop work to consultant and interior designer who runs the cross- gently relocate wildlife that kept moving into the building site, discipline design studio Brave New Eco in Melbourne. such as the little ringtail possum found asleep in the middle of Megan is a passionate advocate for applying permacul- a cloud of bulky insulation one morning. ture thinking to designing our built environment. The peripheral yields have been through the learning re- For more information see www.braveneweco.com.au ceived from and between everyone involved in the project, the guests we have hosted in our home, and the open days and ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FEATURES OF HOUSE Passive Solar design Windows Building extension oriented along northern Double-glazing with two layers 4 mm clear glass (toughened where axis; Minimal southern glazing used and required) and 12 mm argon filled gap; Windows designed to be fixed northern glazing to 80% rooms; Utilities on securely open and to direct cooling SE breezes through building; south side living areas to north; Eaves and Butinol spacers, for reduced heat transference; Solatube day- pergolas on north facing windows designed lighting systems in darker rooms. Windows designed allowing for to prevent summer sun from hitting the curtain mounting and stack-backs. windows. Insulation and sealing Double timber frame staggered stud wall framing system to exten- Thermal mass sion for increased bulky insulation capacity and to reduce thermal 30% fly-ash suspended concrete slab for bridges by providing a continuous thermal blanket; Minimum 85% extension to introduce thermal mass for recycled content polyester thermal batts; two layers to walls and passive heating and cooling capacity. ceiling; Reflective foil under plasterboard behind hydronic heating panels; Vapour-permeable building paper used on whole house, all Renewable energy systems joins taped; Underfloor insulation installed under floorboards and 2.5 kw photovoltaic array installed, providing concrete slab base and edges; Weatherboards removed and reused 3x household power use. or replaced in original house in order to retrofit insulation to entire existing building; Original Baltic pine floor removed and recycled. Rainwater harvesting Particleboard-flooring substrate laid beneath recycled black butt 2x 6500 L bladder rainwater storage floorboards to reduce drafts and gaps; Bathtub recess filled with plumbed to toilets, laundry and garden; bulky insulation; Ceiling manholes insulated; Original fireplaces Enclosed guttering to reduce blockages and sealed and lined with insulation; Edges of window frames carefully maintenance; insulated; Wall vents filled in and covered; House sealed and draught- Cold water reticulators on interior taps – proofed. diverting water to tanks; Evacuated tube solar hot water; Gravity fed greywater diver- Ventilation, cooling and heating sion from bathrooms to garden. Thermostatically controlled vents to ceiling spaces; Rain sensor fitted to high hopper window for overnight venting of hot air; Building de- Lighting and power-saving features signed to maximise crossflow and passive stack ventilation opportu- 82 Power monitoring device; LED light strips nities; Ceiling fans installed throughout; Hydronic heating condensing in bathroom and kitchen; Recycled timber boiler installed with individually controlled thermostats to each wall custom light shelves; Vintage pendant light panel; Floor vent installed beneath fridge to allow cool air to pass the fittings used. back of the fridge. Reimagine Retroﬁt Renovate

Holistic, Resourceful & Sustainable Residential BRAVE & Workplace Design braveneweco.com.au NEW ECO

Tasmania, Summer GROWING THE LOCAL FOOD ECONOMY Permaculture & You! Southern Harvest Education series

Permaculture Design Course

Jan 21 - Feb 3 2017 Join us for courses in: Southern Tasmania Cool climate vegetable production ~ Raising Animals Organically Introduction to Permaculture ~ Permaculture Design Preserving the Harvest ~ Raising Chooks in the City and more...

join us for 2 weeks of life affirming, mind blowing, deep design learning. 83 also on offer are *free* post course farm stays so you can learn Canberra Region courses throughout 2016. hands-on skills from folks living the good life. Practical, on-farm experience. Full course list online. Bookings essential Book in at: Goodlifepermaculture.com.au / 0418 307 294 www.southernharvest.net.au INTEGRATE RATHER THAN SEGREGATE DESIGNING CHICKENS INTO THE VEGIE GARDEN Words and images by Robyn Rosenfeldt

Having chickens in your vegie garden can be a disaster. Most chicken owners would have experienced the heartbreaking disappointment of chickens getting into freshly planted garden beds, full of next season’s seedlings, and destroying the lot in a matter of hours. However, managed the right way chickens can work with you in the vegie garden: to eliminate pests and weeds, fer- tilise, turn the soil and prepare it for your next planting. As Bill Mollison famously stated, ‘You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency’, and the same goes for chickens with pests and weeds. When designing chickens into your vegie garden, think about what a chicken’s needs and outputs are. They need shelter, food, water and company. They provide eggs, fertiliser, meat (if you are so inclined) and manure. They are great at eliminating pests, eating grass and other unwanted weeds, clearing areas ready for planting, and eating fallen fruit and spent plants. So when designing chickens into your vegie garden, think about how they can do all these things for you, and how you can give them what they need with minimal effort.

PLACEMENT Having the chicken house reasonably close to your house makes it easy to collect their eggs, and to give them your food scraps each morning. It also means you can hear when something is wrong. If you have a loud exuberant rooster, don’t place them too close to bedrooms however.

CHOOK TUNNELS Encroaching grass and slugs can be a gardener’s worst night- mare, and trying to keep them at bay is a never ending task. Surrounding your vegie garden with a chook tunnel allows the chickens to do the hard work for you, while keeping your seedlings safe. This way the chickens can forage around the edges of your garden, creating a weed and pest free barrier 84 to your growing beds. A chook tunnel doesn’t have to be high to keep them in: it can be a simple wire tunnel. Make sure you dig it into the ground at the edges, to keep predators out. MOVEABLE RUNS If you want to move the chickens through the garden beds at the end of the growing season, to clean up any unwanted bugs and weeds, and to turn the soil, use moveable chook runs. These can be attached to the permanent run, to allow chickens access to one bed at a time. Moveable runs work best when beds are similar in size, and the run can be moved from one to the other. When you have finished growing in a bed for the season, place the run over it, open the gate for the chooks to get in and they can prepare such as wormwood and mugwort are said to help with lice the bed for the next season. Linda Woodrow, in her book The and ticks. Make sure chickens have shade too. If you have fruit Permaculture Home Garden (Viking/Penguin 1996), suggests trees within their run, make sure the roots are protected, as round chook domes over round beds. prolonged exposure of the roots to chooks will be detrimental to tree health. Plant deciduous climbers to grow over the run, INPUTS AND OUTPUTS to provide shade in summer and let in the light in winter. Keeping in mind the inputs and outputs, make life easy for yourself by having: FREE RANGING DESIGN the hose outlet near the chook house for water or, better Depending on the amount of room you have, it is also good to still, collect water from the chook house roof into a small tank give chickens space to free range. If they are in the same run or barrel for a long period there will be few greens or bugs left for them the household compost bin near the chook house, so that to forage, so it’s important to feed them scraps from the house you can add soiled straw bedding when you add your food and garden, or to let them out into an open area to free range scraps, to help balance the carbon to nitrogen ratio on grass and bugs. Your run can have multiple gates allowing somewhere undercover nearby, to store grains. them access to different parts of the garden. With the right design, chooks can be an essential part of the 85 USEFUL PLANTS backyard vegie garden, doing the hard work for you and sup- Place medicinal plants around the outside of the run to allow plying you with many useful products that can help your sys- chickens to self-medicate when needed; for example, plants tem to thrive. KIDS’ PATCH

Thank you to all the parents that sent in photos of their kids in the garden and with home grown produce. Each month we publish the best photo in our enewsletter and we choose the best to appear here and win a prize. To enter, send photos with name and age of child and address to [email protected]. The winner will receive the book Rockhopping by Trace Balla and an original drawing by the author. WINNER: ANNIE WALTER, AGE 4, WOLLONGONG NSW

WORD FIND

FARM FLOWER GARDEN GINGER HARVEST MULCH PIP PLANT RAIN SEED STRAW WATER CHOOK EGG BOOMERANG

Q. What is worse than ﬁnding a grub in your apricot? 86 A. Finding half a grub! SEEDBALLS: MUDDY HANDS, HAPPY HEARTS, LUSH GARDEN Words and photos by Morag Gamble

Seedballing is a simple and fun thing to do, and an easy way to seed a garden. Seeds are mixed with clay and compost, and then rolled up into little balls. The seedballs (sometimes called ‘seed bombs’) are then dried and tossed out into the garden. They wait there until the rain comes, when they will sprout and grow. This is a bit like how things work in nature – seeds fall, rest on the ground and sprout when the conditions are right. Plants don’t dig their seeds in. Experiment with different seed mixes – flowers, herbs, salad greens, beans, bee attractors, wildflowers … the choice is up to you.

HOW TO MAKE SEEDBALLS

1. Find your clay Dig a few holes to find some clay. You know it’s clay if it’s sticky when it’s wet, and you can roll it into a ball or a long sausage. If you can’t find any, you’ll need to buy some clay powder.

2. Make the seedball mix 5 parts clay soil 1 part compost 1 part seeds. Add a little water to make the right consistency to roll balls. (Note: if using purchased clay which is 100% clay, add equal quantity of compost: clay.)

3. Roll the seedballs Roll the mix into little balls and make sure the seeds are protected inside, not showing.

4. Troubleshooting If the mix is too sticky to make balls, it’s too wet – add more clay. If the mix is too crumbly Our Permaculture Life to make balls, it’s too dry – add more water. 5. Dry the seedballs permaculture • simple Living • nature kids Allow the balls to dry for about a day in the sun, until they’re hard. Courses with Morag Gamble & Evan Raymond 6. Fling the seedballs Find a fun way to spread your seedballs out in the garden – toss them, throw them, fling them, slingshot them… 87 7. Watch them grow our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com For more ideas see Our Permaculture Life at www.our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com ethosfoundation.org 07 5494 4833 SEED BOMB MAKING

SEEDS GROW IN RECYCLED EGG CARTONS BONBEACH PRIMARY SCHOOL GARDEN Words and photos by Jade Kavanagh and Amy Dowling

Bonbeach Primary School is south-east of Melbourne. It’s a magical place where students, their families and the community can connect with nature. It has taken three years for mums, Jade Kavanagh and Amy Dowling, and a small army of students to transform a pile of rubble and a patch of grass into a permaculture-based learning-garden. The garden is filled with an organic fruit orchard, native plantings, chicken coop, worm farm, mini food forest, frog bog, nature play areas and twenty-five vegetable beds – six of which are now community plots. A garden club was quickly established, with eager hands wanting to help transform the garden into a place where chickens roam, plants self-seed and nature provides a place for imaginations to go wild. AMY AND JADE Wildlife now finds its way in, with blue-tongue lizards, ducks, frogs, native birds and many a gecko making the garden their home. Bug and bee hotels, made by students, are scattered around the garden, and natural pest remedies are a fun part of decorating the garden. For more information see Growing Green Thumbs at www.growinggreenthumbs.com.au, and @BPSgreenthumbs on Instagram www.instagram.com/bpsgreenthumbs or Facebook.

WORMS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN OUR SCHOOL GARDEN

88 CATCHING SNAILS WITH PUMPKINS GROWING FROM COMPOST VEGEMITE AND WATER COURSE PROVIDERS DIRECTORY Do you want your course featured here? Send your details to [email protected]: Name, location, courses, web, phone, email.

Kimbriki – Eco House & Garden, Kimbriki, PIP MAGAZINE HQ, Pambula, PDC, Natural PERMACULTURE & Composting, Worm Farming, Beginners & Advanced Beekeeping, Fermenting, Sourdough Breadmaking, PERMACULTURE & Organic Gardening, No-Dig Gardening, Introduction Organic Gardening, www.pipmagazine.com.au, SUSTAINABILITY to Permaculture (Short & Full Workshops), 0408375991, [email protected] SUSTAINABILITY www.kimbriki.com, (02) 9486 3512, [email protected] PURPLE PEAR FARM, Anambah, PDC, Intro ACT to Permaculture, Mandala Gardens, Preserving, CANBERRA PERMACULTURE DESIGN, Canberra, LAGUNA EARTH HOUSE, Laguna, Earth/Straw Sourdough, Cheese & Yoghurt, Compost Making, Intro to Permaculture Principles, Permaculture Building, Preserving, Bread Making, Biodynamics, Propogation, Worm Farms, Grafting, Zones, Waterwise Gardening, Making Wicking Pots www.facebook.com/lagunaearthhouse, www.purplepearfarm.com.au, (02) 4932 0443 & Beds, www.canberrapermaculturedesign.com.au/, (02) 4998 8072, [email protected] 0410 121 272, [email protected] ROSNAY ORGANIC VINEYARD AND ORCHARD, MILKWOOD PERMACULTURE, Sydney, PDC, Canowindra, Intro to Permaculture, 1300 767 629, PERMACULTURE EXCHANGE, Canberra region, Intro to Permaculture, Organic Gardening, Organic www.rosnay.com.au, [email protected] Intro to Permaculture, PDC, Specialist courses eg. Market Gardening, Natural Beekeeping, Aquaponics, Farm establishment, homesteading, forest gardens, Mushroom Cultivation, Fermentation, SAGE PROJECT, Moruya, Market Gardening, Seed www.permacultureexchange.org.au, 0400 165 403, www.milkwood.net, (02) 5300 4473, Saving, Medicinal Gardens, Beekeeping & Hive [email protected] [email protected] Building, Backyard Gardening, Fermenting, Drawing, www.sageproject.org.au, 0439 032 038, NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE (CAMPUS [email protected] NSW OF TAFE NSW RIVERINA INSTITUTE), Thurgoona, A GARDEN FOR LIFE, Helensburgh, Garden Design, Cert IV (Design a Permaculture Property), Organic SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEMS & SERVICES, Sydney, www.agardenforlife.com.au, 0404 123 747, Farming, nec.riverinainstitute.wikispaces.net, Workplaces, Water and Energy Efficiency, Ethical [email protected] (02) 6043 6700, [email protected] Investment, House Design & Construction, www.sustainabilitysystems.com.au, 0414 385 644, ALLYN RIVER PERMACULTURE, Allynbrook, PDC, NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NEW [email protected] Intro to Permaculture, Soils & Composting, Small SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA, Sydney, Seed Saving Animals, Gardening Sustainably, Garden to Market, & Seasonal Planting, www.nature.org.au, SYDNEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Sydney, www allynriverpermaculture.com.au, (02) 4938 (02) 9516 1488, [email protected] Permaculture: An Introduction, Beekeeping for 9748, [email protected] Beginners, www.sydneycommunitycollege.com.au, NORTH SYDNEY COUNCIL, Sydney, Sustainable (02) 8752 7555, [email protected] BROGO PERMACULTURE GARDENS, Bermagui, Investing, Sugarbag Beekeeping, Preserving, PDC, Earthworks, www permaculturedesign.com.au, Edible Gardens, www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/ SYDNEY ORGANIC GARDENS, Jannali, Organic (02) 6492 7306, [email protected] Waste_Environment/Get_Involved_Green_Events/ Gardening, www.sydneyorganicgardens.com.au, Green_Events, (02) 9936 8100, 0416 229 154, [email protected] CAROOLA FARM, Mulloon, Converting to Organic [email protected] Production (SCPA Organic Standards), THE QUIET GARDENER, Sydney, Intro to www caroolafarm.com.au, (02) 4842 1899, PERMACULTURE COLLEGE AUSTRALIA, Nimbin, Permaculture, www.thequietgardener.com.au, [email protected] PDC, APT–Cert IV, Diploma. Advanced Courses 0412 130 221, [email protected] - Creative Community Facilitation, Permaculture CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY, North Wagga Teacher Training & Facilitation, Sustainable Aid for THE VEGGIE LADY, Narellan, Backyard Veges, Wagga, Sustainable Agriculture, Permaculture Development Work, Advanced Design Sensory Gardens, Healing Gardens, Therapeutic www.csu.edu.au/faculty/science/saws, Skills, www.permaculture.com.au, Horticulture, Organic Gardening, Home Grown (02) 6933 2765, [email protected] (02) 6689 1755, [email protected] Vegetables & Herbs, Consultations, 0411 579 778, www.theveggielady.com, [email protected] COFFS REGIONAL COMMUNITY GARDENS, PERMACULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Coffs Harbour, Meal Planning to Reduce Food Waste, AUSTRALIA, The Channon, PDC, Hand Tools, TRUST NATURE, Byron Bay, Permaculture Soils Insect Reservoirs, Plant Propagation, Renewable Energy, Permaculture Teacher Training, & Organic Fertiliser, Living Soils & Composting, www.coffscommunitygardens.org.au, Understanding Earthworks, Permaculture Life Skills, www.trustnature.com.au , 0408 66 2468, [email protected] www.permaculturenews.org, (02) 6688 6578, [email protected] [email protected] ELEMENTAL PERMACULTURE, Warrawong, PDC, YABBA PERMACULTURE, Sydney, Energy, www.elementalpermaculture.wordpress.com/about, PERMACULTURE SYDNEY INSTITUTE, Sydney, Intro to Permaculture, www.yabba.com.au, 0424 241 881, [email protected] Intro to Permaculture, PDC, Cider & Wine Making, 0421 378 939, [email protected] GARDEN TO TABLE PERMACULTURE, Charlotte Biodynamics, Fruit Tree Pruning, Earthworks & Bay, 3 hrs north of Sydney. PDC, Organic Gardening Water, www.permaculturesydneyinstitute.org, (02) QLD 4568 2036, [email protected] & Permaculture Courses, Seasonal Harvest ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION, Nerang MDC, Lunches, Edible Garden Tours, 0413 769 530, www. PERMACULTURE SYDNEY NORTH, Lindfield, Organic Farming, www.acs.edu.au/default.aspx, gardentotable.com.au, [email protected] Monthly meeting, talks, working bee for (07) 5562 1088, [email protected] members, courses/workshops/education: Intro HEALTHY HARVEST KITCHEN GARDENS, CITYFOOD GROWERS, Samford, Biodynamic to Permaculture, permaculture garden tours, Springwood, Organic Gardening, Gardening – Introductory course to biodynamic mushroom foraging, specialist workshops. www healthyharvest.com.au, 0431 383 516, gardening principles, www.cityfoodgrowers.com.au, www.permaculturenorth.org.au, (02) 9858 3074, [email protected] 0401 156 532, [email protected] [email protected] HUMBLE DESIGNS PERMACULTURE, CRYSTAL WATERS, Conondale, PDC, PERMACULTURE SYDNEY SOUTH, Sydney West & Blue Mountains, PDC, www.crystalwaters.org.au, PDC, (07) 5494 4620, Sydney South, Vertical Gardens, Biochar, sites.google.com/site/humbledesignspermaculture, [email protected] (02) 4575 3235, [email protected] www.permaculturesydneysouth.org.au, [email protected] 89 HILL TOP FARM COOKTOWN, Cooktown, working JAMBEROO VALLEY FARM, Jamberoo, Intro to with nature, 4 day ‘Getting to the Heart of Permaculture, Social Permaculture, PDC, Soil, PERMACULTURE SYDNEY WEST (TOONGABBIE), Permaculture Design’ and 2 day ‘Growing healthy www.jamberoovalleyfarm.com.au, (02) 4236 1505, Sydney West, Developing Sustainable Balcony food with less hard yakka’. www.hilltopfarm. [email protected] Gardens, www.permaculturesydneywest.com.au, wix.com/beyondsustainability, (07)40695058. [email protected] [email protected] NORTHEY STREET CITY FARM, Windsor, BULLEEN ART & GARDEN, Bulleen, Ornamental TELOPEA MTN PERMACULTURE AND NURSERY, Intro to Permaculture, PDC, www.nscf.org.au, Edible Garden Design, Preserving, Sowing & Saving Monbulk, Advanced Permaculture Skills, Preserving, (07) 3857 8775, [email protected] Seeds, Vegie Gardening for Absolute Beginners, Cheese Making, Cider Making, www.petethepermie. Balcony & Small Space Gardening, Successful com, 0418 665 880, [email protected] PERMACULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Composting & Worm Farming, www.baag.com.au, SUNSHINE COAST, Kin Kin, PDC, (07) 5485 4664, (03) 8850 3030, [email protected] THE PERMA PIXIE, Dandenong Ranges, PDC, www.permaculturesunshinecoast.org, Herbalism, Rewilding & Soil, www.thepermapixie. [email protected] CASTLEMAINE COMMUNITY HOUSE, Castlemaine, com, 0450 375 528, [email protected] PDC, Cert III in APT, www.cch.org.au , (03) 5472 PERMACULTURE TOOLS, Indooroopilly, 4842, [email protected]; [email protected] THE WALLABY’S ROCK GARDEN, Garvoc, Garden Permaculture earthworks. Hand tool courses, Design, Natural Building, Appropriate Technology, www.permaculturetools.com.au, CENTRE FOR ADULT EDUCATION, Melbourne, A www.wallabygarden.com.au, [email protected] Year in the Garden: Vegetables & Herbs, Backyard [email protected] Beekeeping, How to Build a Traditional Wood-fired ROBIN CLAYFIELD AND FRIENDS, Maleny, Oven, www.cae.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx, TREAD LIGHTLY PERMACULTURE, Dunnstown, Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning, Creative (03) 9652 0611, [email protected] PDC, CERT III, Intro to Permaculture, Glass House Community Governance & Decision-Making, Design, Compost Loo Construction & Design, Permaculture Meets Creative Design, Permaculture, CERES INC, Melbourne, PDC, Gardening, Cooking, Compost, Mulch, Plant Propogation & Seed Saving, Deep Ecology & Earthcare Design, Earth Healing Cheesemaking, Craft, www.ceres.org.au, Beekeeping, www.treadlightlypermaculture.com.au, and Nurturing, www.dynamicgroups.com.au, (03) 9389 0100, [email protected] 0400 261 233, [email protected] (07) 5494 4707, [email protected] CHESTNUT FARM, Ballarat, Forest Garden Design VERY EDIBLE GARDENS, Brunswick, SAVOUR SOIL PERMACULTURE, Laidley, Intro Intensive, PDC, Intro to Permaculture, Grafting PDC, Biointensive Gardening, Edible Weeds, Rocket to Permaculture, Aquaponics, The Art of Balanced internship, Permaculture Principles Master Class, Stoves, www.veryediblegardens.com, Beekeeping, www.savoursoilpermaculture.com.au, Powering up Your Community Group, Practical Skills. (03) 9005 6070, [email protected] (07) 5465 1399, [email protected] Individual grafting tuition available, www.chestnutfarm.net.au, 0409 551 539, SEED INTERNATIONAL, Harper Creek, Hands on (03) 5331 3110, [email protected] WA Permaculture Design, Gardening with Kids, AHAM VRITTI HERBAL, Perth, PDC, Organic www.seedinternational.com.au, (07) 5494 4833, CULTIVATING COMMUNITY, Richmond, Food Waste Gardening, Creative Facilitation, [email protected] Avoidance & Recycling (composting, worm farms www.ahamvrittiherbal.com.au, 0406 449 369, & bokashi) , www.cultivatingcommunity.org.au, [email protected] (03) 9429 3084, [email protected] SA CANDLELIGHT FARM, Perth, PDC, APT, AGARI NATURAL BUILDERS , Adelaide, DELICIOUSLY INSPIRING GARDENS (DIG), www.cfpermaculture.com.au, (08) 92951933, 3 week strawbale round house with recipricol roof Geelong, Organic Gardening & Farming, Livestock, [email protected] Contact Adam: 0434 169 349 agarifarm.org, Chickens, Soil, www.facebook.com/pages/ [email protected] Deliciously-Inspiring-Gardens, 0423 150 448 FAIR HARVEST, Margaret River, Beekeeping, Cheesemaking, Introduction to permaculture, FOOD FOREST, Gawler, PDC, Organic ELTHAM WORMS, Melbourne, Composting PDC, www.fairharvest.com.au/, (08) 9758 8582, Vegetables and Poultry, Preserving, Natural & Worm Farming, www.elthamworms.com.au, [email protected] Building, Fruit & Nut Growing (08) 8522 6450, (04) 1931 0003, [email protected] www.foodforest.com.au, [email protected] MERRI BEE ORGANIC FARMACY, Nannup, EMPOWER, Melbourne, Creating & Maintaining Nourishing Soil… regenerating topsoil for a safe NADJA’S GARDEN, Adelaide, Intro to Permaculture, Small Space Gardens, www.facebook.com/ climate, www.facebook.com/merribeenannup, Composting, Pruning, Organic Gardening, events/1431512460484444, 0401 822 915, 0478 602 545, [email protected] www.nadjasgarden.com.au, 0410 636 857, [email protected] [email protected] PERMASEED, Bunbury, Intro to Permaculture, HOLMGREN DESIGN, Hepburn, PDC at Yoga PDC, Aquaponics, Wicking Beds, Ashram, Permaculture Forestry, Advanced Design www.facebook.com/peppalucisediblelandscapes, TAS Principles, holmgren.com.au, (03) 5348 3636, 0427 456 699, [email protected] GOOD LIFE PERMACULTURE, South Hobart, [email protected] Holistic Management Decision-Making, Small- TERRA PERMA DESIGN, Perth, PDC, Soil, Edible Scale Beekeeping, Real Skills for Growing Food, KINGLAKE RANGES PERMACULTURE, Kinglake, Weeds, Food Forests, Watering & Irrigation, Chooks, Fermentation Fest, Permaculture Design Course Seed Saving, Propagation, Managing a Garden: Nutrient Cycling, www.terraperma.com.au, www.goodlifepermaculture.com.au, 0418 307 294, preparing/storing/trading/marketing the harvest. 0466 633 275 , [email protected] [email protected] Mushrooms, Bees, Livestock, 0430 637 748, [email protected]; [email protected] RESEED, Penguin, Various courses, ONLINE www. permaculturetas.org/main/locations/reseed- LANEWAY LEARNING MELBOURNE, Melbourne, GEOFF LAWTON, PDC, www.geofflawton.com, centre, [email protected] Gardening & Sustainability, (02) 6688 6578 www.melbourne.lanewaylearning.com, PERMACULTURE VISIONS, PDC, URBAN FARMING TASMANIA, Launceston, [email protected] www.permaculturevisions.com, Permaculture Workshops, [email protected] (02) 4228 5774, [email protected], www.urbanfarmingtasmania.org, NORTHERN MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TAFE, Epping, Information on Organic Agriculture, infohub. [email protected] ifoam.bio/en/node, (03) 9269 1042, SPIRAL GARDEN, Hobart, Seedlings Permaculture VIC [email protected] AGARI NATURAL BUILDERS , for Families e-course, spiralgarden.com.au, Mornington Peninsula, VIC. 1 week strawbale PERMACULTURE SOUTH WEST VICTORIA, 0401 438 668, [email protected] wall raising. Contact Adam: 0434 169 349 Warrnambool, Permaculture, Home Skills, agarifarm.org, [email protected] Appropriate Technology, Fruit Tree Pruning & Grafting Workshops, www.facebook.com/ BEEKEEPING BALLARAT PERMACULTURE GUILD, Ballarat, groups/613129832112923, PDC, Intro to Permaculture, Practical skills (keeping [email protected] ACT chickens, grafting, pruning, wicking beds, starting BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION OF THE ACT – CIT, a vegie garden, greenhouse skills, seedsaving, tool REGRARIANS, Bendigo East, Regenerative SCHOOL OF HORTICULTURE, Bruce, Backyard sharpening, cheesemaking, preserving, fermented Agriculture, www.regrarians.org, 0431 444 836 Beekeeping, www.actbeekeepers.asn.au, 90 foods, edible weeds, medicinal herbs), or 0400 840 845, [email protected] (02) 6282 8112, [email protected] www.ballaratpermacultureguild.org, 0488 077 628, NSW [email protected] RMIT UNIVERSITY, Melbourne, Permaculture & BEEKEEPING NATURALLY, Bermagui, Natural Sustainable Living, www.rmit.edu.au, Beekeeping, www.beekeepingnaturally.com.au, 0419 779 886, [email protected] [email protected] MILKWOOD PERMACULTURE, Sydney, AMAZING BEES, The Basin, One-on-one EARTH BUILDING SOLUTIONS, St Georges Natural Beekeeping, www.milkwood.net, Coaching, www.amazingbees.com.au, Basin, Building with Mudbricks, Making Mudbricks, (02) 5300 4473, [email protected] 0414 558 400, [email protected] Wood-fired Earth Pizza/Bread Ovens,www. earthbuildingsolutions.com.au, 0408 425 855, NATURAL BEEKEEPING AUSTRALIA, BEC’S BEE HIVE, Kallista & Flemington, Various [email protected] Sydney & Mudgee, Natural Beekeeping Beekeeping Workshops, Mentoring, Supplies (in conjunction with Milkwood Farm), & Field Days www.becsbeehive.com.au, LAGUNA EARTH HOUSE, Laguna, Earth/Straw www.naturalbeekeeping.com.au, 0409 850 735, [email protected] Building, www.facebook.com/lagunaearthhouse, [email protected] (02) 4998 8072, [email protected] BESWICK BEES, Ringwood East, Beekeeping, STRAWTEC, Jervis Bay, Strawbale Construction, SAGE PROJECT, Moruya, Beekeeping beswickbees.com.au, (04) 3305 3358, www.strawtec.com.au, 0408 415 806, & Hive Building, www.sageproject.org.au, [email protected] 0439 032 038, [email protected] [email protected] CENTRE FOR ADULT EDUCATION, Melbourne, SYDNEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Sydney, A Year in the Garden: Backyard Beekeeping, SA Beekeeping for Beginners, (02) 8752 7555, www.cae.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx, AGARI NATURAL BUILDERS, Adelaide www.sydneycommunitycollege.com.au, (03) 9652 0611, [email protected] 3 week strawbale round house with recipricol roof [email protected] www.agarifarm.org, 0434 169 349 KINGLAKE RANGES PERMACULTURE, Kinglake, THE URBAN BEEKEEPING, Sydney, Beekeeping, [email protected] Bees, 0430 637 748, [email protected], www.theurbanbeehive.com.au, 0411 191 232, [email protected] [email protected] FOOD FOREST, Gawler, PDC, Organic Vegetables and Poultry, Preserving, Natural Building, Fruit & MELBOURNE CITY ROOFTOP HONEY Nut Growing. (08) 8522 6450 Beekeeping, hosting, courses, mentoring & tours QLD www.foodforest.com.au, [email protected] SAVOUR SOIL PERMACULTURE, Laidley, www.rooftophoney.com.au The Art of Balanced Beekeeping, www.savoursoilpermaculture.com.au, THE PERM-APICULTURE BEEKEEPING VIC (07) 5465 1399, [email protected] GROUP, Melbourne, Natural Beekeeping, www. AGARI NATURAL BUILDERS, Mornington naturalbeekeeping.org.au, [email protected] peninsula, 1 week strawbale wall raising SUGARBAG, Brisbane, Sugarbag Beekeeping, www.agarifarm.org, 0434 169 349 Stingless Bees, www.sugarbag.net, TREAD LIGHTLY PERMACULTURE, [email protected] 04 3441 6053, [email protected] Dunnstown, Beekeeping, 0400 261 233, www.treadlightlypermaculture.com.au, THE Strawbale HOUSES, Axedale, TAS [email protected] How to Build a Strawbale House, www.straw-bale-houses.com, GOOD LIFE PERMACULTURE, South 0428 246 868, [email protected] Hobart, Small-scale Beekeeping, www. WA goodlifepermaculture.com.au, 0418 307 294, FAIR HARVEST, Margaret River, Beekeeping, THE WALLABY’S ROCK GARDEN, Garvoc, [email protected] www.fairharvest.com.au, (08) 9758 8582, Natural Building, Appropriate Technology, [email protected] www.wallabygarden.com.au, [email protected] VIC PHARMCO PTY LTD, Perth, Intro to Beekeeping, VICHONEY, Upper Beaconsfield, Beekeeping, http:// 0412 136 945, [email protected] organichoney.melbourne, [email protected] AUSTRALIA WIDE MUDMOB, Natural Building, Cob Building THE PRACTICAL BEEKEEPER, Thornbury, History of Beekeeping, Getting Started with a New Hive, NATURAL BUILDING for Animal Shelters, www.mudmob.net, Extracting Honey, 0418 863 884, [email protected] NSW www.thepracticalbeekeeper.com.au, AREC, Bombira, Sustainable Building, [email protected] arec.com.au, (02) 6372 3899, [email protected]

J BEEKEEPING SCHOOL, Diggers Rest, Beekeeping, www.jbeekeeping.org.au, [email protected]

Permaculture Australia membership brings you… B a subscription to Pip magazine Join us at … B website promotion for your permaculture business or organisation and for your Permaculture courses, workshops and events B public representation for Australia permaculture

y — big flowers, big ideas. ©Russ Graysony — big flowers, pacific-edge.info big ideas. ©Russ B an opportunity to share your knowledge and know-how. Photo: EmilyPhoto: Gra

Support permaculture’s community development Acquire know-how through Learn and inspire by donating to Permafund Accredited Permaculture Training™ through our website and social network permacultureaustralia.org.au/permafund/ permacultureaustralia.org.au/apt/ permacultureaustralia.org.au COURSE PROVIDERS

Beekeeping • Beginner Workshops • Bee related products • Field Days • Bee friendly advice • Mentoring Programs • Hive fresh Honey • Beekeeping Supplies • And more… A variety of workshops are held around Melbourne throughout the year. Check www.becsbeehive.com.au for updates and further information. Beekeeping gear is available to order online and delivered Nationally.

Get qualified to do

what you love! Accredited Permaculture Training • Certificate III in Permaculture (30868QLD) P e r m a c u l t u r e D e s i g n C o u r s e • Certificate IV in Permaculture (30869QLD) - Austudy approved Bermagui, NSW - NSW Government funded places available lead teacher John Champagne - Limited places - call to see if you are eligible April 14th to 26th 2017- Book Now 13-Day residential course with engaging team teaching, two full days of site for more info call 02 6684 3374 visits and practical hands on activities to support the theoretical content www.byroncollege.org.au www.permaculturedesign.com.au ( 02) 64927306

Fair Harvest Permaculture in Margaret River, offers a two week live-in Permaculture Design Certificate with some of WA’s foremost permaculture trainers

We also offer a range of short courses including; - Beginners Beekeeping 3 Sept - Feta Cheese Making 4 Sept - Intro to Permaculture 17 & 18 Sept - Social Permaculture with Robin Clayfield 16 October - Permaculture Design Certificate 8 – 22 January

We specialise in promoting local knowledge and experience. For more information on other courses and events, go to our website.

fairharvest.com.au | [email protected] | Ph. 08 9758 8582

PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE, NOV 2016 & APRIL 2017, SA. Join David Holmgren (co-originator of Permaculture), Annemarie and Graham Brookman and guest presenters at The Food Forest, Gawler, SA for this intensive, life-changing internationally recognised course. – Gain practical skills in assessing land 92 – Design sustainable homes, gardens, farms, businesses and communities – Reduce your environmental footprint – Visit brilliant examples of sustainably designed properties and businesses – Form professional networks with course participants and tutors – Undertake a major design project to test and sharpen your design skills Ph: 08 8522 6450 | [email protected] | foodforest.com.au

COURSE PROVIDERS

Earth homes sit beautifully within permaculture gardens and philosophy. We can help you achieve your dream of building a safe, healthy, comfortable, desirable and affordable home in any climate using a range of earth building techniques and integrating other appropriate, renewable and sustainable technologies. Our services include building, training and consultancy in earth building technologies. Peter has 33 years experience to share. Practical hands-on workshops to give you skills and confidence. Ph: Peter 0408425855 | [email protected] earthbuildingsolutions.com.au

Sydney’s premier 5-star permaculture centre providing a full range of permaculture, rural skills and sustainable living courses and services – Sydney and St Albans, Teacher Training, Creative Facilitation & Group Leadership Course PSI’s highly acclaimed permaculture courses include: ‘DYNAMIC GROUPS, DYNAMIC LEARNING’ – Introduction to Permaculture; WITH ROBIN CLAYFIELD – Introduction to Permaculture Design 21 – 26 August 2016 at Crystal Waters Permaculture Eco-Village. – Internationally-certified Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC) – Complete range of sustainable living and rural skills workshops. Celebrating over 23 years of Training Permaculture Teachers Globally Provided for TAFE; local Government and local community organisations. Fully catered, 6 day residential. Last one in Australia this year. By highly qualified, long-term experienced practising permaculture. Many leading Permaculture Teachers have trained with Robin and Practitioners on the land, in business and their community. incorporate ‘Dynamic Groups’ skills into their courses. permaculturesydneyinstitute.org Ph: Penny Pyett 02 4568 2036 | [email protected] [email protected] | www.dynamicgroups.com.au

EDUCATE DESIGN CONSULT 93

‘Aspects of Permaculture’ workshop series

www.savoursoilpermaculture.com.au • A copy of Polyfaces – a world of many choices DVD A Film by SUBSCRIBE YOURSELF Regrarians® www.polyfaces.com • The book Home Cheese Making in Australia by Valerie Pearson, OR A FRIEND AND GO INTO Green Living Australia. www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au • $100 gift voucher from Thunderpants; certified organic cotton THE DRAW TO WIN THESE women’s, men’s and kid’s clothing made in New Zealand. www.thunderpants.co.nz GREAT PRIZES: • A bag of soapnuts from Sindhiya SoapNuts Australia: Natural Organic Chemical Free Washing, the only 100% natural cleaner that grow on trees. www.soapnuts.net.au • An Opinel Garden Knife from the Pip shop. www.pipmagazine.com.au/shop/ THE PIP SHOP www.pipmagazine.com.au/shop Whole Larder Love Goodlife Permaculture Rohan Anderson Educational Tea Towels $20 $29.99 Down to Earth Rhonda Hetzel $45

Earth User’s Permaculture: Guide to Principles & Permaculture Pathways Rosemary David Morrow Holmgren $38 $38

Formidable Vegetable Sound System Grow Do It $25

The Permaculture Home Garden Linda Woodrow $39.95

Opinel Mushroom Knife $27 Pip Greeting Card Set Aussie $9.95 Ho Mi $30 HoneyBee Wraps: Kitchen collection 95 pack: $45 Kitchen starter pack $35 CD & BOOK REVIEWS GROWN & GATHERED: TRADITIONAL THE NEW WILD: WHY INVASIVE SPECIES WILL LIVING MADE MODERN BE NATURE’S SALVATION by Matt and Lentil Purbrick (Pan Macmillan 2016). by Fred Pearce (Beacon Press 2015). Review by Robyn Rosenfeldt Review by Ian Lillington This book is a visual feast of grow- Fred Pearce has been writing for ing, gathering, nurturing, trading and New Scientist magazine since 1992, eating. Lentil and Matt Purbrick take and uses his skills as an investigative you on a journey through the sea- journalist to ‘cut through the crap’ sons, sharing their experience of around invasive species. He says returning to nature and the lessons what many permaculturists have they have learned. known for years: that nature does not The ‘Grow’ chapter shows you go backwards, and that the obsession how to grow vegetables and fruit in with ‘indigenous only’ is an expen- whatever space you have, using the sive exercise in creating museums of most earth-friendly practices. ‘Gath- plants and animals that reflect how er’ explains how to forage for things like mushrooms, native some people think an area might have been before an arbi- greens and wild fruits. ‘Nurture’ provides guidance on raising trary date (e.g. 1778 in Australia, or 1491 in North America). your own animals, from chickens and bees to cows. ‘Eat’ fea- Pearce has observed, over twenty-five years, that nature is tures over 100 delicious, nourishing and creative wholefood far stronger than we give her credit for. Much of the best res- recipes, giving you the skills to eat a natural wholefood diet; it toration on the worst damaged land is by introduced plants. covers everything from how to prepare and sprout grains in a Pearce gives examples from dozens of countries, where those traditional way, to making and maintaining a sourdough cul- introduced plants support indigenous species as well as, or ture, and techniques and recipes for preserving and pickling. better, than the originals. The pages are illustrated with stunning photography – you The book could be seen as an apology for big business de- can almost taste the food and smell the earth. This book will stroying the environment. It is, at least, a respected science be the next kitchen-garden bible. writer showing another side to the story. Although disputed by some ecologists, Pearce says that modern ecology shows that there is no one single ideal ‘climax vegetation’. Instead GROW DO IT there are multiple options for complex ecological climax, and by Formidable Vegetable Sound System (2016). nature is always changing. It’s time to get out of the way and Review by Robyn Rosenfeldt let nature take its/her course … The latest CD by Charlie Mgee and the Formidable Vegetable Sound System THE NEW CREATE AN OASIS WITH GREYWATER: is for kids of all ages. It’s beautifully presented, in a hardcover booklet in- INTEGRATED DESIGN FOR WATER CONSERVATION cluding recipes, activities and tips for by Art Ludwig (Oasis Design 2015), revised and expanded reducing plastic, along with the lyrics sixth edition. Review by Robyn Rosenfeldt for all the songs. This book describes how to choose, Although Charlie Mgee claims the basis of his music might build, and use a simple greywater sys- be a bit nerdy – songs about permaculture (in the previous tem – it shows that some can be com- album Permaculture: a Rhymer’s Manual, 2014) and now pleted in an afternoon, for under $50. songs about making kimchi and not using plastic – the music Going deeper, it explains how to inte- is funky, rockin’ and makes you want to groove. grate efficient fixtures, user habits, plant All the musicians who play on this CD are highly acclaimed selection and location, rainwater, grey- in their own right, and when they come together they create a water, and freshwater irrigation for your tight, highly finished sound that will definitely get you bopping. soil and site conditions. There are pages This is an album that the whole family can enjoy, and it com- of in-depth instructions and diagrams, about how to design 96 municates some important messages that you’ll find yourself and create a household greywater system to suit your context. singing about for days to come. This sixth edition features a dozen extra pages, complete information on the laundry to landscape system, extensive revi- sions to every page, and many new photos and figures. STUDY PERMACULTURE AT CQUNIVERSITY AVAILABLE IN 2017

CQUniversity Australia’s new Graduate Certifi cate in Permaculture Design is available to study from Term 1, 2017 – the fi rst of its kind in Australia. Benefi t from the fl exibility to study by distance education with residential schools hosted by industry partners offering practical learning experiences. For more information visit www.cqu.edu.au/permaculture or call 13 27 86.

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