Natural Building is rather a broad subject. It takes in everything from strawbale building to cobb, light earth, rammed earth, roundwood construction, earth floors and mud and lime wall renders, just for starters. We figure it’s best to dive straight in, and get hands-on while you get your head around these different construction techniques. Here’s some photos…
The term CSA – Community Supported Agriculture – gets used a fair bit in this country, sometimes referring (incorrectly) to veggie box schemes filled with veg from far and wide. But in reality, we have very few true CSAs in Australia; hence our limited understanding of what one is, and why they can be so valuable…
David Holmgren and Nicole Foss are on the road delivering workshops and lectures (as well as teaching on our upcoming PDC) in the next month, with some seriously important things to say – are you ready to adapt and thrive? “We are approaching many limits to growth over the next several decades, and are consequently…
Protein can be a wee point of contention sometimes. Talk to most about food production and our environment and you are likely to come across the discussion of meat. As you no doubt know, much of the animal protein we eat produced in Australia is responsible for the use of exorbitant amounts of water, and…
More than ever, the world is waking up to the importance of bees in our ecology. More and more folk are exploring beekeeping, whether it’s for the honey harvest, the extra pollination of our food thanks to those bees working busily on all things pollen, or purely for the fascination of these brilliant insects.
For every green smoothie, garland-wearing dog and perfect sunset on Instagram that creates a bizarre parallel universe of sunshiny perfection, there’s also a small farmer or two posting downright useful images. As it turns out, instagram is also a good place to take inspiration from how other peoples crops are doing. And what their truck looks like, when…
On our last Natural Building course, we built a portable reciprocal roundhouse frame. Beauty meets strength meets simplicity. Using sapling logs (though you can use bamboo instead, or framing timber, at a pinch) plus ropes and screws, this structure went up fast and is a great foundation for all sorts of projects.
Have you heard of The Planthunter yet? It’s a new online journal that explores plants, in all their universes. Edgy and interesting writing, lots of different takes and perspectives. Refreshing stuff. Recently, Georgina from The Planthunter had a chat with Nick last week about plants and power and permaculture, and now it’s up online! Read all about it here.
For many people, doing a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) can be a life-changer – whether it’s opening your eyes to a new way of seeing, living or doing, or giving you the confidence to go out and do those things. Quite a few of our lovely PDC students end up heading on different career trajectories…
It takes our favourite kind of people to address the problem of a lack of council-run rubbish collection service with their own bicycle-powered hauling service. Which is what Pedal People of Northampton, Massachusetts in the United States do!
Never has the saying ‘time is money’ been truer than when it comes to this community-based alternative currency idea. Members of a Time Bank exchange goods and services without money; using their own time instead as the currency, on the presumption that my time is just as valuable as your time….
Warrigal Greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides) are also known as Botany Bay Spinach or Sea Spinach, and grow wild along the coast of Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Japan and Argentina. If you’re in these parts, you can find it where the sand meets the soil, or you can cultivate it too – it’s a hardy and delicious addition to any…
Setting up a good little backyard aquaponics system can ensure you’re dripping with herbs and greens on a regular basis, with the addition of an occasional home-grown fish night! But which fish? Not all are suitable, but there’s a few key species that are especially excellent for home aquaponics setups…
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