Create Change
Feeling trapped? Feeling bored? Now is a good time to build some life skills, save resources, get healthy and creatively play with nature. Here are some beginner tips to fire your imagination.
Put Down Your Roots
Permaculture is not about a return to peasantry labour or self-sufficiency. It celebrates reconnection with the land.
Through the conscious act of design we focus on self-reliance and rebuild community. You don’t have to own land to be actively growing food. In fact, most farmers don’t own their land, they are renting, or paying a mortgage or paid as farm managers.
Anyone Can Do It
Few people realise that most of the world’s food is grown by women in tiny spaces. Mothers and grandmothers grow food with little money and lots of love. Then they go and help their friends.
Women farmers are the most efficient because they accept ugly produce and make supper out of what is season and content to grow.
Many foods are quick to grow and don’t need much soil. Some will grow in water! Get creative and start by saving your compostable and reusable waste. Build soil, save seed and grow food in reused containers.
Plan Before You Dig
To design a healthy lifestyle for yourself and your community focus on how you can strengthen your connections between people, waste resources, and their food.
Small Input = Great Joy
The beginner who grows their favourite foods is more motivated. The rewards include connecting with nature, exercise, nutrient-dense food and something to share with others.
If you love little tomatoes, watercress, spinach, lemongrass, Thai basil, spring onions, and sweet potato then you are very lucky because these foods are super easy to grow. You can even grow them indoors!
Permaculture is only half about where and what we do. The social side of Permaculture seems invisible but just as important. When we build skills to enjoy interdependence we lighten our load on other people and the environment. Here is our list of best plants for beginners. A good place to start is to build a small garden of food and herbs.
Wicking Pots are great beginner project. Wicking pots come in different versions. Here April demonstrates her favourite 4 types of wicking pots: 1. A good old fashioned SAUCER 2. BASIN inside base of a pot 3. SNUG Fitting pot over a bucket and then, the winning type for us: 4. a pot inside a bucket with an over-flow HOLE drilled in the side of the bucket just below the level of the base of the pot.
What a Design Course offers a Beginner
Through mentorship, the beginner builds skills and awareness. A Permaculture Design Course, guides the learning journey. A structured yet adaptable offers a range of homework choices and a good all-round basis of how nature works and how you can work with her.