Home-scale transformation through permaculture

by admin on June 27th, 2009

Culture of Permaculture photojournalist Craig Mackintosh has relocated to Geoff and Nadia Lawton’s Zaytuna Farm in New South Wales, Australia, from where he’ll be travelling near and far documenting the most inspiring permaculture sites in the world. Check out the article below for more on how this 72-year-old woman implemented permaculture systems and transformed her home into an oasis.

This Kiwi elder transformed her home into a permaculture oasis

This Aussie elder transformed her home into a permaculture oasis

Rosina Buckman – Living Smart on the Sunshine Coast
by Craig Mackintosh

Rosina Buckman tells me she’s 72 years old. She looks honest enough, so I’ll take her at her word, but her youthful spirit and energetic stride did give me a moment of pause. And more than that – her urban homestead was overflowing with clear evidence of passionate and fruitful labours that belie her age. I’m not the only one that’s impressed either, as the Sunshine Coast Council have just presented Rosina with one of their 2009 Living Smart awards – she’s their ‘Edible Landscape Winner’.

Rosina, a New Zealander by birth, lives in Tewantin, a small suburb on the fringes of Noosa – a tourist hot-spot on the Sunshine Coast in south-east Queensland. This is a land of ululant lorikeets and cackling kookaburras. The bird life in particular seem intoxicated with life, and nature in general seems jubilant – either optimistic, or just plain carefree, in the face of all we humans are throwing at it.

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What is the culture of permaculture?

It's becoming painfully clear that the culture of consumption created by the global market economy cannot sustain itself on a finite planet. Ecological and social crises are at hand, and loom larger as populations continue to grow and resources shrink. Scientists may disagree about the number of years we have to make this shift before we reach an ecological "point of no return," but it is clear that the current dominant system is leading us down the wrong path. Another way forward is being called for, and that means a fundamental shift in our beliefs and practices— a cultural shift.

Permaculture,a re-evolutionary design system evoking permanent agriculture as well as permanent culture, is about observing nature and working with its flow. It uses ecological principles to design systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development. Over the past quarter century it has grown into an international movement for sustainable land use practices-- a code of ethics based in the wisdom of many traditional and indigenous cultures.

What could the future look like if we make this shift toward sustainability? We believe that the culture of permaculture is pioneering a path toward a positive future, while honoring the wisdom of our ancestors. It is a growing, international group who are "changing the dream" of the dominant culture, in the shamanic sense-- shifting the cultural imagination toward an alternative way of living. They actively choose to live in a way that respects the Earth, recognizing that this change is inevitable in the face of global warming, peaking resources, and growing population.

In a modern world irrevocably shifted by human impact, what does a more sustainable culture actually look like? We decided to take our skills as anthropologist/writer (Juliana) and visual artist/activist (Louis) on the road and document this emerging culture in a book called Sustainable (R)evolution and this blog. Along the way we've connected with permaculture experts, photojournalists and activists who are also contributing to the project. Please contact us at julianapeartree@gmail.com if you'd like to get involved too.
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Support the ‘Sustainable (R)evolution’ Book Project

Have you ever wished, when explaining to someone about sustainable alternatives to our destructive global system, you had a visual, easily accessible book that demonstrated what it is all about, and what the world could look like if permaculture design systems became mainstream thinking?

We’ll – we’re making that book.

The Permaculture Research Institute is getting behind a project that would see the creation of a large format book that profiles, with creative writing and quality photographs, some of the many successful Permaculture projects underway around the world.

The final version is unlikely to look like this, but it gives you an idea….

The purpose of the book is to create a resource tool to help drive Permaculture thinking into the mainstream, by spotlighting in the most aesthetic and readable way the potential of Permaculture to solve all of the world’s current problems, by means of inspirational examples of practical, working solutions. We’re documenting a sustainable revolution that spans every corner of the globe – painting an accessible, exciting picture of the positive future that’s already here.

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Juliana, Louis, Craig and our other journalists will be blogging about inspiring sites that are demonstrating sustainability around the world, and posting them here!

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If you can help with either direct support from an airline, or with frequent flyer miles, please contact Juliana on julianapeartree (at) gmail.com with the details.

Or, if you just want to donate funds directly, please click on the donate button below. All support gratefully received.

Note: All funding for the Sustainable (R)evolution book goes through our PRI USA site, as it is the fiscal sponsor for this project (and has tax deductible status for U.S. residents). Please ensure you put "For Sustainable (R)evolution book project" in Paypal’s "Add special instructions to the seller" field.

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The book will map some of the most noteworthy Permaculture projects worldwide

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