The range of different natural building techniques out there are many, and all of them are exciting. But when to use which technique? Here’s a starting guide for choosing what to build your walls from. Though all very different, and used for different reasons, all the natural building methods below have some common aspects. And the…
The future of small scale organic farming belongs to those who are willing to find a way to grow, regardless of where they begin from. Linda Machon is a perfect example of a farmer who has made the most of what, and where, she has found herself. The concept of the multi-enterprise small farm makes…
If you’re wanting home-grown eggs but don’t have quite enough room for chickens, keeping backyard quails are a super option – they’re easy care, lay protein rich eggs, don’t need much space and are great fun to have around. There’s many different breeds of quails, and some are more suitable for backyards than others. Let’s start with…
Seaweeds stand alone as an incredibly nutritious, regenerative resources like no other – and for many Australians, they’re right on our doorstep. Here’s the basics of foraging, drying and eating a few of them. Firstly, the question that I’ve been grappling with of late… what’s with Aussies and their seaweed? Our continent has incredibly diverse algae,…
Here’s four stories from across the planet of growing mushrooms in the city, using waste products and offcuts to make nutrient dense food. Great examples of growing where you live, using what’s around you to nourish your community. These four urban mushroom farms are in very different situations – Exeter UK, Vienna AT, Milwaukee USA, and Perth AU. They’re…
Retrofitting the suburbs – imagine an ordinary Australian suburban street full of houses, whose front and backyards are dripping with food, catching and storing all the water they need, and generating some of their own power. Imagine using your immediately available space to provide for your family’s needs, in a way that creates community, more…
Recently we had the honor to steward a beautiful bunch of people through Permaculture Design Certificate training in the rainforest at Otford. The insights, mushrooms + wallaby tracks were many. As is usually the case with our PDCs, there were folks from all over this planet in attendance. We were especially happy to provide a full scholarship…
Sauerkraut has become a primary cog in the engine of our kitchen. We eat it hot, we eat it cold. On eggs, in soups, and on the side. You can make it with whatever you’ve got. Or nearly. So of course there’s traditional sauerkraut, which is made from just cabbage, i.e. kraut. And it is…
The scarlet runner bean and me. We go way back. I’m sitting here, in the middle of packing up our kitchen. We move out tomorrow, after a year in this riverside cottage where we grew food, worked hard, and swam, and watched the sky. The year’s harvest of scarlet runner beans are sitting before me…
Radical Mycology by Peter McCoy is a book that will get you excited about fungi, whether you like it or not. That’s because, aside from being a competent guide to the technical aspects of mushroom cultivation, it’s a book that is literally sporulating with enthusiasm for the world of fungi, in all its forms. Don’t want to…
Its a strange thing, how simple tools like compost, forking techniques and biointensive plant spacings might just shape our futures. And also, not so strange at all. The killer thing that we love about biointensive growing is it’s attention to ensuring immediate productivity, while ensuring long-term soil health. In permaculture design, this is embodied in the…
In less than a months time we’re hosting a Permaculture Teacher Training course with Hannah Moloney, Rosemary Morrow, Nick Ritar + Brendan Morse. It’s not just for teaching Permaculture, though. It’s for top shelf communication skills, of all kinds, for all situations. Effective communication, as we all know, is key to passing on skills of all kinds. The…
If you listen to just one podcast on permaculture, regenerative agriculture + Australia this year, let it be this one. Last week, Bruce Pascoe, author of Dark Emu, joined David Holmgren at the Dayelsford Town Hall in Victoria for an evening of discussion. The topic was Australian regenerative agriculture, and it’s long pre-white history. Something…
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