Brock Dolman has taught over 50 Permaculture Design Courses and is a founding member of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center OAEC), as well as director of the WATER Institute (www.oaecwater.org) and OAEC's Permaculture Design Program. Living up to his specialized generalist nature, and rekindling the dwindling art of the peripatetic natural historian, his experience ranges from the study of wildlife biology, native California botany and watershed ecology, to the practice of habitat restoration, education about regenerative human settlement design, ethno-ecology, and ecological literacy activism towards societal transformation.
Penny Livingston-Stark is internationally recognized as a prominent Permaculture teacher, designer and speaker. She has worked professionally in the land management, regenerative design and Permaculture development field for 25 years and has extensive experience in all phases of ecologically sound design and construction as well as the use of natural non-toxic building materials. She specializes in site planning and the design of resource-rich landscapes integrating rainwater collection, edible and medicinal planting, spring development, pond and water systems, habitat development and watershed restoration for homes, co-housing communities, businesses and diverse yield perennial farms.
Permaculture Links
Permaculture
(text Steve Diver, excerpted with permission from the ATTRA website: -http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/perma.html
Permaculture
is about designing ecological human habitats and food production
systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives
for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual
and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive
communities. The focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather
on the relationships created among them by the way we place them in the
landscape. This synergy is further enhanced by mimicking patterns found
in nature.
A
central theme in Permaculture is the design of ecological landscapes
that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural
practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, and the integration of
animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds.
Permaculture is about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive communities. The focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather on the relationships created among them by the way we place them in the landscape. This synergy is further enhanced by mimicking patterns found in nature.
However,
Permaculture entails much more than just food production.
Energy-efficient buildings, waste water treatment, recycling, and land
stewardship in general are other important components of Permaculture.
More recently, Permaculture has expanded its purview to include
economic and social structures that support the evolution and
development of more permanent communities, such as co-housing projects
and eco-villages. As such, Permaculture design concepts are applicable
to urban as well as rural settings, and are appropriate for single
households as well as whole farms and villages.
"Integrated
farming" and "ecological engineering" are terms sometimes used to
describe perma-culture, with "cultivated ecology" perhaps coming the
closest. Though helpful, these terms alone do not capture the holistic
nature of Permaculture; thus, the following definitions are included
here to provide additional insight.
The Practical Application of Permaculture
Permaculture is not limited to plant and animal agriculture, but also includes community planning and development, use of appropriate technologies (coupled with an adjustment of life-style), and adoption of concepts and philosophies that are both earth-based and people-centered, such as bioregionalism.
Many
of the appropriate technologies advocated by permaculturists are well
known. Among these are solar and wind power, composting toilets, solar
greenhouses, energy efficient housing, and solar food cooking and
drying.
Since Permaculture is not a production system, per se, but rather a land use and community planning philosophy, it is not limited to a specific method of production. Furthermore, as Permaculture principles may be adapted to farms or villages worldwide, it is site specific and therefore amenable to locally adapted techniques of production.
Mark DuPont
has 25 years of experience in Permaculture as a farmer, nurseryman,
instructor, consultant and organic inspector in California and
Latin America. He has grafted over 10,000 fruit trees and milked
several thousand gallons of goat's milk. Together with Blythe Reis
he is a co-founder and steward of Sandy Bar Ranch.
Blythe Reis has had her hands in the dirt for over 18 years, designing, planting and tending the Permaculture homestead at Sandy Bar Ranch. She
has taught yoga and practiced shiatsu massage and bodywork for over 25
years. Together with Mark DuPont she is a co-founder and board member of the Mid Klamath Watershed Council.
For more details on our Permaculture Design Course contact us at mail@sandybar.com