Intro to Permaculture Course in India

Hi to all,

below is an invite to those wanting training in Permaculture in India being facilitated by a colleague, Rico Zook.Please check the attachment to this post for the course flyer.Contact can be made directly to Ameli and her details are below.

Cheers,

Ringo.

Hello fellow Earth lovers,

I am happy to invite you to a hands on residential permaculture workshop in Mysore October 2-4 and on to Punarvasu (near Udupi) October 5-9th. Those of you not familiar with permaculture philosophy it is a sustainable design system for zero waste organic living.

During the three day course in Mysore you will learn all the basics of permaculture philosophy and get hands on experience with regenerating tropical soil, roof top garden beds, grey water re-use systems, vermi compost box and other fun urban greening projects.

I hope you can join us. After the Mysore workshop the facilitators will continue on to an organic farm, Punarvasu where they have been implementing permaculture design for the last three years. They will be checking their progress and implementing some of the larger permaculture concepts like water management, inter cropping of farm lands, etc.

Interested attendees should register themselves before September 15th. Flyer is attached, please pass the word around to your eco minded friends!

Hope you will join us!

Ameli
9900269756
beejalife@gmail.com

World Environment Day in India

World environment day celebration in Green path

Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!

When translated it means

I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
The Mother!


In the rapid pace of development we have inflicted serious damage to the natural resources and consequently we are now faced with questions as Where is that Sujalam ( clean water) ? Where is that Suphalam ( healthy crop) ? and where is that malayaja shitalam ( refreshing air) ? These questions have given rise to a process of serious thinking to safeguard the environment and the quality of natural resources for sustainability. As a result more and more emphasis is being given towards returning to nature and adoption of organic agriculture.

We celebrate Diwali, Ramzan at our homes, our neighborhoods, our streets, why not celebrating environment day?

Are speeches, presentations are only the way to sensitize ourselves to environmental issues?

The Green path Serviced Apartments, Bangalore tried to celebrate World Environment Day differently.

We have forgotten to touch the mud from where we are come from!

We have stopped watching clouds, stars, plants growing, birds nesting…!

Our minds are to tuned to consume the goods and services without knowing to what extent they are polluting our environment and our health in the process of production and consuming!



Celebrating environment is nothing but questioning our lifestyle and coming out from “Vismruthi” forgetfulness

It was a lovely evening on the day of June 5tht.. Program started under the able guidance of Mr H.R Jayram promoter of an organic farming and an environmentalist.with his magnetic personality and charming persona he encourages people to join hands for the good cause.. The clouds in the sky were playing by drizzling rain now and then.

We the staff of Green Path, Era organic; neighbours, well-wishers and others assembled in front of Green Path. Every body was curious to know what is going to happen. As pot making wheels started turning, Kumbaranna the pot maker taught the children to make their own pots. The children who were denied every time playing in mud enjoyed pot making game. Dr.L.Narayana Reddy, pioneer in teaching and practicing organic farming, inaugurated our Shop on Wheels – Organic food shop on green painted cart. He lighted the lamp and performed Rashi Pooja – worshipping minor millet-food. The other supporters of this great cause were preekh bhai and mr janardan.they also joined hands with all the members present and made the evening a huge success.


Let us stop comodification of music… let us play our own music…Children and adults were given different kinds of drums and even buckets, plates to produce some music. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of the participants particularly children. Ms.Sangeetha and Babu from World Music Center facilitated the drum circle.’. The audience started dancing for the drum beats.

In between children were enjoying their Environment Ride!!! On HORSE TONGA. Everyone enjoyed organic food soon after the music programme.

For us at Green Path and Era Organic it is passion to see a world with harmonious relationship with mother earth and fellow human beings. We always love to meet people, talk to people, work with them in this regard.

the evening celebration was an outstanding success ,created by the involvement of Era Organics and Green Path networking members and the residence of Seenappa Layout.It was the opportunity for all to become children and to create music to mark the special day,which was shown on the faces of all the participants.We look forward to creating opportunities to inform people of issues concerning the environment globally as well as locally.


Thanking you,

Greenpath Team

Preparing for Permaculture in India

Whilst in Thailand last year I had an insight to what I can do to further my work and continue on my path with teaching Permaculture.I was sitting in an internet booth in Khao San Road,Bangkok when a vision came to me of doing mobile consultancy throughout India on a Royal Enfield motorcycle.

I had come to Thailand after having to leave Japan due to visa issues.Thailand was relatively close to get to to regroup on some ideas to continue learning more of sustainable agriculture.I had been emailing anyone I could find an address for from Permaculture sites around the world to offer my services to help in anyway.

I had been getting few results from this so I started to dive further into my vision and create a realistic goal to work toward.I had been offered a position in India when I was in Japan for the following year in April,from a visitor to Fuji Eco Park,but that was still 10 months away.The way I saw things was I had to create my own situation to move ahead.I mapped out the idea I was having to weigh up the pros and cons.The Idea was to find the cheapest way back to Australia and work 6 months in the mining industry which is my normal field and pays well.This work is a means to an end but will get me closer to my goal sooner.

As much as Permaculture was in demand in these developing countries,no-one was in a position to be able to place me on a project where my skills could be utilized.Mind you,I had a good offer and opportunity to work at Strawberry Fields Eco Lodge in Ethiopia, but negotiations broke down due to the amount of financial support they would offer to get me there for a 12 month gig.I was getting broke and it seemed I had to return to Australia to organize a visa for Ethiopia.This ended up being an expense that neither the project nor I could afford at the time.
(http://zionbytheabbay.blogspot.com/2007/08/strawberryfields-eco-lodge.html)

I set my plan in place and started to cross off items as I reached a positive result.
The plan was to purchase a rotating laser level (for surveying) and a projector (for presentations on the road) and some other tools that would assist me on the adventure I was embarking on.I considered having a sidecar on the motorcycle but didn't know the real possibility of this in India.I started researching for these tools for the best price and the most durable products.As the plan was to buy a Royal Enfield Diesel,the tools I would purchase needed to stand up to the horrific road conditions in India.I had seen heaps of docos from India and got a fairly good idea of what I was in for.The other reason behind the Enfield Diesel was to demonstrate making biodeisel to fuel my journey.

On returning to Oz I landed a good position as a Trainer/Assessor,which I hold a Cert 4 in,doing fly-in/fly-out work to mine sites throughout Western Australia.This work involves training site personnel in the safe and productive operation of heavy mining machinery (bulldozers,excavators,graders,haul trucks ect).I have been involved in this type of work most of my life until Permaculture hit me and I saw the ways that I was contributing to global warming and my own health.Like I have said,it is a means to an end and following more on a career in Permaculture I am hoping to balance things out by re-foresting the earth and teaching people to grow their own food where I can.

I bought my ticket to India in November 2008 as soon as I could afford it to secure the plan.Once I purchased it there was not turning back or I would lose the cost of the ticket.I was committed now.Return on a 12 month ticket cost $1064.00 with Quantas/Jet Airways.I found this flight through STA Travel then took the pricing to their competitors and got it even cheaper.It pays to shop around.I ended up getting the ticket for Magic Carpet Travel in Perth,WA,and they are located under the Indian Consulate which made it very easy for me to get them to arrange my visa at the same time.

I continued to work through the months leading up to April and in that time was hearing less and less from the project where I had the job offer where I was asked to supervise and implement water harvesting strategies in Hartola,Uttar Pradesh.Around about the same time I was contacted by Rico Zook,whom I had previously contacted from Thailand months earlier,offering me to project manage the implementation of an eco village in the south near Coorg,Karnataka.After some long distance calls to get info on this project I redirected my energy to this as the long term goals for both the project and myself were win win.The plan changed slightly but was in full swing to materialize.

I was nearing completion on the research for projector and laser level and was ready to finalize a purchase.I opted for a Spectra Precision LL100 laser level.This comes as a kit in a lockable carry case with tri-pod,staff,laser level and receiver all in one.It is very light weight (15kg)and the case is very durable.It is designed to be dragged around building sites to work in all conditions.I purchased it for $1600.00 with remote which was great value.I had to import it from the US as suppliers in Australia weren't bringing this model into the country.
http://www.laser-grade.com/spectraLL100.htm
Check this link for info on this unit.So much can be done with this tool.From large scale dam/swale earthworks set out to building foundations and wall truing.

Secondly I looked at the lightest most powerful ultra portable projector.I found a dealer with a Casio XJ-S35 on clearance sale and picked one up for $1100.00.A great investment and it weighs about the same as my laptop(1.3kg).A review can be found on the link below.
:http://www.projectorcentral.com/casio_xjs35.htm

With all these things sorted and the major expenses covered I contacted Geoff Lawton from the Permaculture Research Institute,Australia(http://www.permaculture.org.au/) to see if they could arrange an extra Permaculture Teacher Training Course to follow the Aid Project Workers Course scheduled in early April.These courses compliment each other but were not being held consecutively and I wanted to attend both before leaving.The P.R.I was very generous in assisting with my request and a 4 day intensive program was added to their calender.Thanks again guys for your help.Covering these courses would give further knowledge for working in other cultures as well as using the template from the Master Plan for Permaculture projects.Even though the project I was going to be working on was not an aid project,I could still use the ideals in the implementation of it and potentially have it running sustainably after 3 years.

With all this arranged and just several weeks of work to go I had to organize vaccinations.I had used malaria drugs before but with terrible side affects.I have opted this time to go with homeopathic remedies for malaria and updated for typhoid and collera.I also purchased MMS as a counter measure against malaria and for balancing pH in the body.This stuff is amazing and it's curing capabilities don't just work on malaria.
http://www.themmsexperience.com.au/

I also was advised by others with past experience in India to travel with a water filter.Great sense and something I hadn't thought of.The type I was told of was the Waterworks II.It is a ceramic filter which will take out all baddies above 2 microns.
http://www.msrgear.com/watertreatment/

Well all the organizing was completed and the courses attended and bags were packed.I had also arranged a train ticket from Bombay to Bangalore for the day after I was to arrive in India.24 hours on the train would give me a good chance to see a bit of the country.All that is needed now is to purchase the motorcycle in country.It has all gone fairly smoothly for me as I planned everything the way I had visioned it to be then used common sense working around timing and other issues.My friends family have all been very supportive and I have made some great contacts for when I hit the ground.

Permaculture Thailand :The Panya Project

Since my last post I have traveled thru Thailand doing some consultancy and mapping near Chang Mai and spent a couple weeks at The Panya Project.Things were quiet at Panya as it was wet season and everyone had dispersed to more suitable climates.The project manager was on-site and we conducted gerneral maintenance on the property to keep the jungle at bay.

The food forest here is doing really well and banana’s were tidied up and their prunings were mulched around nearby trees.Basic chop and drop here to minimize effort and energy.Very hot and sweaty work.A lesson learn’t here is to always look at the branch being cut before cutting.The reason being that green ants make their nest in the banana leaves by folding the edge of the leaf to the stem and creating a weather proof cocoon.If this is not noticed,the ants get mad and attack.To use this to an advantage,we cut these particular branches and then ran them to the cat fish pond where the cat fish gladly took care of them.One great way of using a surplus of one system to support another element in the system.

We also planted out the western boundary of the property with banana’s to act as a fire break.Used in this way the plants don’t burn as they are full of water.Mangoe’s are growing on the lee ward side whichare also fire retardant plants.The banana’s will act as a wind break during the mangoe’s flowering period so as to get maximum flower set.

The boundary is on a farely sloping track with noticable erosion coming down the track.I organized the others to put in mini swales slightly off contour to divert water onto the property rather down the track with very abrassive result.The banana’s were then planted above or below these mini swales to feed from the water being held in them and to also feed from any accumulation of organic matter in them.Again connecting cycles of energy for elements to have many functions in a system.

The Panya Project( http://www.panyaproject.org/)is one of three communities located around a small village in the north of Thailand practicing organic agriculture and Permaculture.The next door communities Pun Pun and You Sabai home are education facilities conducting earth building workshops and P.D.C's as well as cooking classes.There are some amazing structures at Pun Pun in the way of small homes.Mud brick and cobb rendered walls with bamboo roof structure covered with palm thatch.Very cool indoors and shaped with creativity.A very simple way to construct for this climate.

Tokyo Families Visit Fuji Eco

Recently we were visited by three families on a week-end excursion from Tokyo organized by a travel agent that promotes eco tours and farm stays.When we were given the information that we expected guests we brain stormed ideas for activities that might interest our visitors.The info given was that there were 15 people,half were children aged around 10-12.So we came up with a plan to keep everyone busy and learn about sustainable living.Rain was forecast for the day the visit was arranged,so we also had to come up with an indoor strategy should it bucket down.

We greeted our guests,7 adults and 4 kids, and Waka san gave them a tour of the house and explained the passive solar design behind its construction.Waka san was here in the early days and helped build the house,so he was best suited to explain it.The building is cleverly designed and has an exhaust fan in the ceiling that sucks warm air from the ceiling,generated from the fire place,and blows it to below the flooring and is allowed to heat the floor.

Around the farm is a set of notice boards,about 20,with information in the form of an eco quiz.We planned for the children to explore the farm and answer the quiz and the winner would receive an eco prize.We determined that the visit was purely aimed at the children experiencing farm life.Upon finishing the quiz,Toshi got the answer sheet and went about finding the winner.Not to have any of the kids feel left out,they all received a recycled ,from paper, plant pot with a cosmos plant from our nursery.The kids eyes lit up when they all got one.

Next we went to the chicken house with the kids to collect eggs.The parents didn't come with us as the mothers were scared of the chickens.The travel agent helped me with the kids and we all had a ball running around searching for the eggs.A little secret,we kept all the eggs from the previous couple of days without dates on them to make alot more to collect for the kids.All up the found 25.The same amount we put in there for them to find.

After the egg hunt,we headed over to the nursery where I showed the kids how to make potting mix and to seed pumpkin into pots for growing on the farm.The parents had been in already and potted up one tray,so they stood by with smiles on there faces as they watched the kids having such a fun time.One older boy wanted to be best so he seeded really quickly,I even think that during his racing two seeds may have been put into one pot.Not to worry though,they were all having fun.

The rains started coming down heavy so we headed back to the house for mint tea.The mint harvested fro the garden.We had organized for the children to make a drawing of theirdream for the future and color it in.When finished they all took turns presenting their picture to the adults.The kids had dreams of living in the country some day and their drawings were of that.

In all our guest seemed to have a great time.Everyone was laughing and the kids liked to get their hands dirty.We hope it is a start of a good relationship with the travel agent and they bring us more visitors in the future.

Basic Aquaponics

I noticed in the pond the other day a flash of red.The pond is usually fairly murky as it gets run off from a dairy up the catchment.But I was very surprised to say the least.On making an inquiry as to the sighting I was informed that a coy was living there.

This started to get me thinking on how I can use this information.I am a real fan of a guy in Perth,Australia by the name of Joel Malcolm and his Backyard Aquaponics system.Before leaving to come to Japan, Joel gave me a DVD on his system and I have an interest to make a system here.

If there is one fish in the pond,there has to be fish poo.There is actually a heap of tadpoles at the moment due to a good breeding season of the local frogs and some guppies.This all adds up to nutrient being available to grow something.As I am not quite ready to start a full blown system I thought I would give a basic system a try and see what results were produced.

For those not aware of Aquaponics,it is a system combining aquaculture and hydroponics to grow fish and vegetables in the same system.The fish effluent feeds the vegetables and the vegetables clean the water of nitrates before it returns to the fish.Joel's kits work fantastically with some outstanding results.

We have so much lettuce in the nursery at the moment and we are still preparing beds in the garden to put the seedlings so there was an opportunity to use some of these for the experiment.Having attended and aquaponics seminar in Melbourne a couple of years ago ,I learned that lettuce was a good extractor of nitrates from water so it made sense to use them.
I found an old foam box from the grocery store and cut 4 square holes in the base as recesses for the pots I was going to use.I cut down an older pot tray to fit the holes and once fitted they could not fall straight through.I made up a potting mix and filled 4 small pots and placed them in the holders in the box,then added the lettuce.

I am expecting the roots to hang into the water,so the pot holder sits about 2.5cm below the base of the box.The only difference is that the system will not be a flood and drain system as conventional hydroponics would be.I have seen floating raft type setups before and they were working fine.I hope to put in a few more of these little grow beds in the coming weeks as I get the results back.So far things are looking good.There doesn't seem to be any pests yet and if there is the fish might eat them.

Water Harvesting

Water is one of the most important factors when considering any type of growing food system.As the earth is getting warmer due to the effect of Global Warming,we as Permaculturists and citizens of the world have to look at water as a gift not a right and preserve it as much as possible.In Permaculture we harvest water from the landscape and use it as many times as possible before it leaves our properties.We need to design our systems to be drought proof so we have water stored for extended periods when there is low or no rain events.

One way is to store water is in the soil through designing into the the landscape swale systems,which are differently constructed depending on climate and soil type.The other way is to harvest water from catchment areas and store it in containers.Now containers can vary from dams,ponds,lakes,tanks and even as small as sauce pan catching water from a leaking roof.

Whilst driving to a local village recently I noticed 3 X 1000 liter tanks sitting in a farmers field and wondered if it was possible to get hold of some like that to use on the farm.I asked Toshi to inquire to the near by home owners to who owns the tanks and if he could tell us the supplier.He was able to get the phone number of the farmer and upon calling him he said we could have these tanks for free.I promptly jumped into the truck as to not miss this opportunity.

We took a dozen eggs from the farm and a leg of deer someone had just given us (Toshi didn't know how to cook it anyway) and headed off.On closer inspection we found the tanks needed minor repairs but they were easy fixed.The farmer was shocked to receive the eggs and deer and pointed out there was a fourth tank we could also take.He happened to be a strawberry farmer and gave us two tubs of strawberry jam into the deal.In a matter of minutes we had the capacity to store 4000 liters of water.

The farm doesn't have a irrigation system and the guys here have usually used a 500 liter tank to water crops.This is a very time consuming task and this year we are growing more vegetables than before so we have to think seriously about where we can collect and store water so we can use gravity to transport the water to the crops.It does rain alot here but there will definitely be periods when we can't rely on rain to service our crops.

Firstly as we didn't have a hose to reach the crop area,we designed a tank stand out of railway timber easily and transported the 500 liter tank of water to the stand.Getting it off the truck was a mission as now it weighed at least 500kg.

We thought more and redesigned the tank stand to be located under the roof of a small structure that houses worms.We put guttering on the edge of the roof and now catch water off the roof.The tank now stands about 1 meter higher than the cropping area so when we can afford drip irrigation there will be enough head pressure to be functional.

As this garden system is set out on contour we can easily fill each path with water to filter slowly through the soil.I have also installed one of the 1000 liter tanks onto the tank stand and filled it with a comfrey and water solution.Comfrey is a dynamic accumulator of silica,nitrogen,magnesium,potassium,calcium and iron and it grows wild around here so it can be used as a compost tea.I am just letting the comfrey rot down and the use the water on the crops.The minerals will be the returned to the soil more efficiently.The simple observation of plant and season cycles can produce free fertilizer.A bit of research can find this information and a bit of networking and being resourceful can come up with the materials for it to happen.Imagination can move mountains.

I also have a 200 liter barrel on the tank stand with dandelion rotting down for a similar purpose also filled from the roof.All this water and fertilizer located really close to the crops.So much time and effort saved.Clever design.Things need to be redesigned again as funding allows but we can see a clear path to the potential of our ideas.

Patterns in Permaculture

In Permaculture we make observations to try to understand connections between nature and her inhabitants.We look for natural rhythms and cycles between seasons and plant and animal behavior to determine a course of action that will best suit a design.Patterns play a very important role in nature and we see them everywhere we look and most times they reoccur in smaller detail within a bigger pattern.

At Fuji Eco we try to use patterning where possible for the benefit of the design as well as in structures that are pleasing to the eye.A favorite pattern used within Permaculture is the 'Herb Spiral'.Spirals occur in nature in so many different applications.Try looking closely at a fern leaf.The tip of the leaf is curled up in a spiral.Whirlpools are another form of the spiral.A herb spiral can be constructed from many different resources including timber,tires,
soil,rocks,tiles,straw bales just to name a few.Using your imagination can come up with so many more.

There are several herb spirals on the farm and keeping with my philosophy of spending extra energy initially for less energy or maintenance later,gave us the opportunity to rebuild one herb spiral using this philosophy.

The herb spiral is close to the center house and was is bad shape.It had been constructed out of Masa's favorite resource,'roofing tiles'.There is nothing too wrong with roofing tiles as long as they are used effectively.Here they weren't and the garden had to be stood on to harvest herbs which compacted the soil and made the tiles fall over.Another high maintenance activity with the original design was the introduction of lemon balm and mint.They had both taken over the garden and created a nightmare to weed.All the tiles had to be removed just to get to the roots as they had gone everywhere.I set about redesigning the garden to be easier accessed, more esthetically pleasing when viewed from the house,a reflection of Fuji san in the way plants were located and to be of solid construction.

I drew up a quick sketch in my journal of how I saw it looking and we all set out to gather resources.Waka san was going to teach me how to build a stone wall without cement.I had my reservations about this as I wanted to be able to stand on the wall without it collapsing.So the lesson started.

We were going to use rocks again as there were lots left over from the key hole garden and they were very close.I really like using rocks because the gaps between them are homes for creatures and plants and so much edge is created.The original spiral was about 1.5 meter diameter and maybe .5 meter high.Not a lot of dimension to it but things were going to change.Because we were using rock the wall was going to be thicker so we had to compensate and make the whole foot print wider or we would have had no room to plant.I dug the trench in which to place the footing rocks and as a guide and set about removing the grass so it would not grow up into the garden later.We didn't remove the grass sod completely,just turned it upside down so the grass would rot and the roots couldn't penetrate the soil.It is good to do this as it saves a lot of headaches later when weeding.

We assembled the rocks in a way that small ones went first working around to larger ones to give the dimension of spiraling up as well as spiraling flat.We didn't need to use cement here as the rocks were only single height.As the rocks were placed,smaller rocks were wedged in behind to fill gaps and to support larger ones.Then soil was back filled to the edge so the rocks retained it.


As we now had a wider foot print we were going to need more soil.We are slowly running out of soil to use like this on the farm but we are planning to build a composting bay system into a slope ,so we took the soil from there in preparation for that job.More on that later when we do the design.

We had made it right around to the start and it was time to start spiraling up.We had to use medium size rocks here as large ones would have covered too much planting area and were too heavy to carry.Work smart not hard.It was time to test Waka sans no cement concept as we were going to stack rocks two high.Two truck loads of soil were brought in to the garden to get a good and even effect for the dimension.We compacted the area where the rocks would sit and put in the trench for them to rest.Once each rock was in place soil was compacted behind them to secure them into place.A three tier bed system was created and the job was almost complete.

With all the heavy lifting done it was time to dress the spiral up a bit.As it was now much bigger,we needed to put in the paths or stepping blocks as per the design.We used timber blocks 200mm X 300mm as the paths and a little bit spaced apart so that ground covers could fill the spaces.Six access points were put in so as either side of the path could be reached with ease.The entire garden can now be accessed with minimal surface area lost for planting.No soil compaction here and definitely no mint or lemon balm.We took the old mint and lemon balm plants to area where they could run free without maintenance,close to the kitchen for a brew when needed.

So then it was time to plant.We already had herbs in the nursery that Masa had brought.A mix of things like basil,sage,oregano,thyme,nasturtium,chicory,echanasia,artichoke,margarum and borage to name a few.Lettuce,cucumber,beans,peas and rocket were also included.Teepee structures were added for the cucumber and peas to climb which will shade the lettuces from the hot sun during summer.

The plants were laid out in a design that would resemble Fuji san when fully grown.By this I mean that low growing plants at the outer edge of the wall,medium height plants in the middle of the bed and higher plants at the inner base of the second level wall.I am hoping that it will perform this way.Mediterranean type herbs like thyme and oregano are situated at the edge of the rock wall and on the south face to get warmth from the rocks.Yarrow is planted at the base of the entire spiral to act as a ground cover.When it is stood on it will release an odor that may repel unwanted pests.

The complete garden was mulched heavily with straw to suppress weeds and given a good watering for the following couple of days.Looking at the herb spiral is now is very pleasent to the eye as it is uniform in its construction and it really stands out.I took us 1.5 days for 3 guys to build.A bit of effort for a long term low maintenance garden.

Permaculture v Agriculture

Recently we had 140 students from an Agriculture school in Tokyo to the farm for a visit to get an understanding of Permaculture and sustainable living.

The night before the visit,staff and wwoofers as well as Masa and his wife were busy cutting vegetables and other ingredients for the lunch that was going to be served on the day.

We were making curry and rice to a measured quantity prepared by Kayco (Masa's wife).It included mushrooms,potato,carrot,onion,garlic,pork,cabbage,broccoli and Japanese curry stock.We had we very large pots in the kitchen on burners and it resembled a back alley soup kitchen.Kayco had everything very well planned though.Masa bought a plank of pine wood and Waka san and I cut it in half and carved out two paddles to use as stirring paddles for the curry.

Also we prepared apples, milk and rice for the lunch which is fairly typical of the package for a group visit.

The students arrived at the farm and Masa introduced himself and I and set about explaining a bit about sustainability including his pet harvesting solar and wind energy.They were told about worm farming and were able to inspect a couple of worm farms up close to see how soil can be built the natural way.The kids were also shown the composting toilet system and how the cycling of a waste product can be useful in a Permaculture system.

What we grow we eat and what we eat goes back to the soil as compost to grow the food we eat.A closed loop rather than the mainstream system of flushing wastes out to sea.

Throughout the farm is a series of reference boards that pose questions about the environment with a multiple choice answer key.The visitors here wander the grounds reading and answering the questions to get an understanding of our systems and the correct answers read out at the end.The winner receives an eco gift from the farm.

I did a small talk on Permaculture and an explanation on how we use the system to harvest water into the soil and grow with companion plants to help with pest control.I explained to the students that it was important to challenge the system they are learning and asked them to look for alternative and more sustainable ways to look after the soil as modern agriculture is responsible for so much pollution and soil loss.

As Masa is an electrical engineer and builds electric cars,he has been able to get 30 electric scooters donated to the farm for educational purposes.We charged the scooters before the visit and parked them out in the field for the students to ride.There were some pretty close calls as most of the kids have never ridden a scooter before.Toshi had given them a crash course in how to ride but he is blood type 'O' so anything could have happened.

The students had the curry lunch that we prepared and must have liked it as they mostly all went back for seconds.We had so much left over though,we were eating curry and rice for days after.

Permaculture Key Hole Garden

At Fuji Eco Park there are so many systems that need maintenance as any evolving system does.In Permaculture we say,from new something can deteriorate a 1/3 then it needs repair or maintenance to bring it to a manageable condition then down a 1/3.Like the pattern of a saw blade,wwwwww.

I notice things and think of ways to make them maintenance free where possible.

Which brought my attention the this following project.A key hole garden bed that was unlevel,very poor access and a border that needed alot of maintenance.After some discussion with the staff at the farm and a design brain storm we decided to put our rock wall building skill we used on the Glass House Garden to good use again.

We were going to need rocks,so we fired up the old Komatsu and loaded some rocks into our truck.We were looking for rocks that were large enough with a flat face and hopefully a flat bottom.We needed about 3 truck loads most hand picked.We also went to town to get sand and cement.Ending up we needed 10 bags of cement and a meter of sand.Relatively inexpensive,about $3.50 a bag and $40.00 for the sand.All our rocks are free and we have wwoofers for all the hard work,ha ha.

We disassembled the old border of the garden which was made from clay tiles.Not really working that well in this application as they weren't really retaining the soil.The shape was also running down a slope and so too the dirt behind the border making the tiles collapse.

Next we dug a trench for the rocks to sit in so they wouldn't slip from the bottom.As we were going to level the garden,the end of the wall was going to be raised 1 meter to give easy access without bending.The design also will make the paths wider for access and reachable at arms length from anywhere you stand.Very ergonomically friendly and no need to stand on the soil.
I used my string line bubble level to determine the wall height and pegged out the area.Things started to look a lot bigger than we had anticipated but we progressed.In went the largest rocks to marry in with an existing boulder formation and to take up some bulk height.Foundation rocks should be solid as possible to avoid movement of rocks that will be positioned higher.Selection of rocks is critical to get a nice display face and a firm footing.This is one thing I had to explain to Toshi several times.He just put any old rock down and hoped for the best.I explained that if he was going to carry a heavy rock for placement,make it count so he wouldn't have to move it again.Work smart not hard.Toshi is blood type 'O'.The joke here is that people with blood type 'O' forget easy or they don't really care about the end result.I'm working on him.

Lots and lots of small rock were needed to fill gaps behind the foundation rock and to make level platforms for the second,third and so on layers.We mixed cement, 3 sand to 1 cement for our morter a used it to set rocks into position for strength and to fill any gaps.Slowly the wall was taking shape.We had all hands on deck gathering rocks,mixing cement and placing rocks to get the job completed on schedule.It was starting to look really good and worth the effort.A good amount of effort now and a lot less later is the plan.

When we finally completed the wall,the garden bed needed topping up with soil and compost so we scoured the farm for some good soil and put in 2 truck loads.

Next we had to put in areas to walk that we could reach the garden bed center from anywhere in the garden.We have a heap of timber blocks about 30cm X 20cm which were perfect for the design.We dug them in so they are same height as the soil with about 100mm gap between each.Previously the old paths were at ground level,but making them at bed level we gain more surface area for plant.A trick I picked up from a colleague mate Cam Wilson.On ya Cam.Now we can access anywhere in the garden easily,not compact the soil and once everything is grown we can sit in amongst the beautiful herbs.



















Next we mulched heavily with straw and put in 120 vegetables and herbs that will companion each other.The main veg being lettuce,we companioned it with cucumber,dill,basil,beans,oregano and strawberries.There are so many more things in there as well.



The last thing to do was make a set of stepping blocks onto a rocky outcrop and fill the gaps between the blocks with vegetation to stabilize them.
The pond that the garden is near will reflect the suns heat and warm the garden so we will be able to grow warmer climate plans for longer when it get cooler.Mediterranean type herds like thyme,oregano and basil have been planted on the south facing wall to capture the heat from the rocks and tall herbs have been positioned so they will protect the lettuces from the hot summer sun.

A really good job buy all involved and I am happy with the finished result.It suits the rocky outcrop at the pond like it was meant to be there.

Here is a diagram and plant list for a garden.Change the plants to suit your own area.Don't be afraid to experiment.Have fun,live a little.

A. Snap peas, pole-type 'Sugar Snap', 1 seed packet B. Edible flowers (calendulas, pansies, violas) C. Cabbage, 'Ruby Perfection', 6 plants D. Cauliflower, 'Amazing', 9 plants E. Spinach, 'Tyee', 6 plants F. Garlic, 'Chesnok Red' and 'Spanish Roja' G. Broccoli, 'Premium Crop', 8 plants, and Romanesco, 12 plants H. Mustard, 'Giant Red', 6 plants, and 'Green Wave', 3 plants I. Carrots, 'Babette' and 'Bolero', 1 seed packet each J. Onions, 'Walla Walla Sweet' K. Radishes, 'Cherry Belle' and 'Crimson Giant', 1 seed packet each L. Swiss chard, 'Rainbow', 9 plants, and 'Ruby', 2 plants M. Kale, 'Winterbor', 6 plants N. Lettuce, curly endive, 'Dark Lollo Rossa', 'Lollo Rossa', 'Sierra', and 'Tom Thumb', 6 plants each O. Ornamental kale, 26 plants P. Herbs (assorted)