Please Get Behind Our Efforts to Demonstrate Sustainable Development and Relief for Chile Quake/Tsunami Victims
Aid Projects, Building, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Eco-Villages, Education Centers, Energy Systems, Networking Sites, News, People Systems, Rehabilitation, Society, Village Development, Waste Systems & Recycling, Water Harvesting — by Grifen Hope
Editor’s Preamble: Permaculturists famously endeavour to ‘turn the problem into a solution’. At the moment we have a tremendous opportunity to apply this principle in wonderful, productive ways in disaster-hit Chile. The quake-tsunami combo that hit on February 27, 2010 has created a void just begging for sustainable relief and re-development. Grifen Hope, who writes below and who leads out at Ecoescuela El Manzano, a partner organisation to the Permaculture Research Institute, is well positioned to fill that void with all kinds of permaculture goodness – in the form of low-cost environmentally friendly buildings, improved sanitation and nutrient cycling through construction of composting toilets, water harvesting systems and in education in home garden design, etc. Grifen’s already established and successful project and his national contacts make this a particularly significant opportunity, to not only directly help people in great need at this time, but to also offer more holistic and community centred alternatives to local and national government – alternatives with far greater short and long term potential than those offered by the scores of contractors seeking to cash in on misery. PRI Australia feels so strongly about assisting Grifen with his noble ambitions, that we’re putting forward the first AU$1,000 donation. Both PRI Australia and PRI USA are taking donations for this cause (people in the U.S. will want to donate through PRI USA, to take advantage of their tax-exampt non-profit status). In the interests of transparency, PRI USA will take 5 percent of donations to cover administration and the work that had to be done to facilitate the legal aspects of sponsoring this project – but that 5% will help PRI USA develop its own projects). PRI Australia will pass 100% of donations to the project in Chile. Additionally, as we feel this work deserves significant exposure, and as we seek to ensure that valuable permaculture relief work gets noticed at the highest levels, to attract further governmental support for future disasters worldwide, PRI Australia and myself (Craig Mackintosh) will share the costs for myself to go to Chile to cover and report on Grifen’s work via photographs, writing and video. I would like to take this opportunity to ask people to get behind this in whatever way they can. Donations, large or small, will all assist in what is the very best form of aid work. Perhaps ask your employer to match your donation – many will. Additionally, people with contacts in government, aid agencies and other NGOs are invited to share this page with them. Thanks in advance to the worldwide permaculture community for getting behind this work. You never know – in the future you may be the recipient of such assistance.
| Donate via PRI USA (USA residents)* Other non-paypal methods of donating here |
|
| Donate via PRI Australia (rest of world)* Other non-paypal methods of donating here |
|
| *Please be sure to click on the ‘Add special instructions to seller’ link, and then type ‘CHILE’ in the field provided, to ensure these fund are correctly diverted. | |
El Manzano in Transition – Towards Community Resilience, by Design
by Grifen Hope of Ecoescuela El Manzano
Comments (0)Posted on: March 19, 2010
Ho avy: Growing a Future for Madagascar
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Eco-Villages, Education Centers, Energy Systems, Land, Nurseries & Propogation, Trees, Village Development — by Martina Petru
Editor’s Note: This is an update for the Ho avy project.
A gentle slice of moon on the star crowded sky of southwestern Madagascar just set gracefully and yet another day is over; we are now in the second half of January 2010.
And what day is today: Monday, Wednesday or perhaps Sunday? We easily lose track when in the field, especially during our prolonged stays – keeping busy in the nursery, forest and the village of Ranobe with several community participatory projects – keeping the momentum of excitement and action. The dynamics are encouraging and there is wonderful energy flowing. Every day is somewhat special; ups and downs along the journey to the ultimate balance. Capacity building is about trust building and about generosity, patience, humbleness as well as discipline. It’s a wonderful lesson for all of us, for ho avy team and for FIMPAHARA.
Comments (0)Posted on: January 24, 2010
Micro-Hydro for a Slovak Village
Community Projects, Energy Systems, Urban Projects, Village Development, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh
A turbine with a 21 kWh generating capacity is the centrepiece of
a little village in the mountainous north central region of Slovakia
The village of Necpaly sits at 510 metres above sea level, on the eastern edge of the Necpalská Valley, in the Turiec region in the mountainous north of landlocked Slovakia. The area is filled with rolling hills and cascading valleys framed by mountain ranges peppered with deer, wild pig and bear. And, noteworthy for this particular article, the area boasts abundant flows of crystal clear water.
Comments (0)Posted on: January 22, 2010
Letters from Sri Lanka – Sarvodaya’s Home Gardens
Aid Projects, Bio-regional Organizations, Biological Cleaning, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Eco-Villages, Education Centers, Energy Systems, Irrigation, People Systems, Potable Water, Village Development, Waste Systems & Recycling, Water Harvesting — by Craig Mackintosh
Part VI of a series – If you haven’t already, please read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V before continuing. This series is part of my work for the Sustainable (R)evolution book project.
A coconut shell is an excellent, biodegradable planter.
The coir (husk fibre) is extracted and mixed with soil to become a potting mix
with particularly good water retention capacity (the fibre reduces evaporation).
All photographs © Craig Mackintosh
The world’s largest water harvesting earthworks has transformed Sri Lanka, or at least large parts of it, from aridity to lushness. This mainframe design provides biological resources that villagers can use to maximise biodiversity for personal and environmental health. In similar fashion the ‘mainframe design’ of the ‘invisible structures’ of Sarvodaya’s community network provide avenues for the free flow of permaculture information to help achieve this goal. The good news is that many villagers are making use of these resources and this potential, despite constant attempts by Big Agri to lure them, through offers of free product samples and demonstrations, into chemical dependency.
Comments (0)Posted on: January 15, 2010
Free Hot Water from Compost Wheelie Bin
Compost, Energy Systems — by Ecofilms
by Frank Gapinski, from Ecofilms
Here’s a great tip given by a member of the Aquaponics Made Easy Forum on a cheap easy-to-build hot water system using compost.
The original question posted to the forum was "how to heat a fish tank over winter without any extra energy costs?" A hard thing to do. Thermal Mass heating was one answer but a crafty member posted a very interesting solution and swears that it works a treat. We’ve illustrated his simple design. It’s so simple you will think “Ah-ha! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Daryl from Windsor in NSW came up with an innovative solution using two ordinary wheelie bins that are filled with compost and a wound central pipe arrangement to turn cold water hot very quickly. How does it work?
“What I have made is a compost heater, inside a wheelie bin with 20 mm poly pipe coiled around the outside wall of a pipe – about 8 metres in each bin.” he says.
Compost can reach a core temperature of 70 degrees Centigrade. Conventional Hot Water systems are thermostatically set to heat the water to around 65 – 70 degrees centigrade. So at its peak this system will create very hot water for free.
Posted on: January 11, 2010
Solar Towers
Energy Systems — by Craig Mackintosh
 The PS10 Solar Power Tower near Seville, southern Spain |
Having been a bit of a sci-fi/fantasy bookworm as a lad, and looking more like a big-budget prop for a Tolkien fantasy-brought-to-screen than an attempt to close the growing energy gap, the tower at right certainly piqued my interest. Accordingly, I thought it was time we had a quick look at these gigantic obeliscoid desert entities (by the way, the image inset is not Photoshopped!).
First, how do they work?
At present there are two main kinds (with sub-variations) of solar tower being proposed or utilised: the ‘Solar Power Tower’, like the 11MW Seville tower above, and the ‘Solar Updraft Tower’ (or ‘Solar Chimney’). Both designs are quite simple in concept, as we shall see:
Comments (0)Posted on: September 10, 2009
World Geothermal Power Generation Nearing Eruption
Building, Energy Systems, Global Warming/Climate Change, Peak Oil — by Earth Policy Institute
by Jonathan G. Dorn, Earth Policy Institute
With fossil fuel prices escalating and countries searching for ways to reduce oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions, capturing the earth’s heat for power generation is garnering new attention. First begun in Larderello, Italy, in 1904, electricity generation using geothermal energy is now taking place in 24 countries, 5 of which use it to produce 15 percent or more of their total electricity. In the first half of 2008, total world installed geothermal power capacity passed 10,000 megawatts and now produces enough electricity to meet the needs of 60 million people, roughly the population of the United Kingdom. In 2010, capacity could increase to 13,500 megawatts across 46 countries–equivalent to 27 coal-fired power plants.
Posted on: May 25, 2009
Design with Energy in Mind
Building, Energy Systems, Waste Systems & Recycling, Waste Water — by Robyn Francis
Permaculture designer, Robyn Francis (see also) looks at a variety of design strategies for using energy responsibly and sustainably.
The practical ‘down-to-earth’ farmer, gardener and layperson will often find the theories surrounding ecology and energy very heavy going, if not downright confusing. What I would like to do is offer some practical perspectives on how we can use resources responsibly.
Energy, in a holistic sense, involves much more than electricity and the use of fossil fuels, although these are certainly central to the energy issue. In permaculture design, energy and resource management are virtually synonymous and it is often difficult, if not impossible, to separate the two.
Comments (0)Posted on: November 17, 2008
Design for the Human Life Cycle
Building, Eco-Villages, Energy Systems, Land, People Systems — by Robyn Francis
by Permaculture designer, Robyn Francis (see also).
 Photo: Craig Mackintosh |
It seems to be a common failing in a society that is so peer-oriented, that people rarely seem to design and plan for the changing needs of the full human life cycle. It is easy to relate to the here and now, and the needs of our immediate, short-term future. As permaculture designers we need to consciously develop our awareness of the needs of the full human life cycle so we can plan systems that will be socially as well as environmentally sustainable.
Comments (0)Posted on: November 9, 2008
What is ‘Zone Zero’?
Building, Energy Systems, General, Land — by PIJ
Zone planning in permaculture design means placing elements according to how often we need to visit them. Areas that need to be visited every day (e.g. the glasshouse, chicken pen, herb garden) are located nearby, while places visited less frequently (grazing area, orchard, woodlot) are located further away.
In Bill Mollison’s book ‘Introduction to Permaculture’, zone zero is defined as being the centre of activity in a design. This may be the house, or in the case of a large scale design may be a village centre.
However some permaculturists have used the term ‘zone zero’ to describe the human element in permaculture design, claiming that the most important part of a design, the people, often receive little attention during the design process.
So how do we define zone zero in permaculture design?
Four experienced designers gave their opinion…
Comments (0)Posted on: November 8, 2008
Inventory of Traditional Knowledge
Building, Energy Systems, Land, Livestock, People Systems, Swales, Terraces, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh
It’s raining outside and you’ve an afternoon to kill? Why not check out this amazing collection of articles, pictures and historical facts – full of information on the ingenious methods people have developed over millennia to live prosperously and sustainably. It’s titled the ‘Inventory of Traditional Knowledge’.
Comments (0)
Posted on: September 21, 2008
Efficient Glasshouse Design
Building, Energy Systems, Nurseries & Propogation — by Les Anwyl
A well designed glasshouse can serve many functions and be an extremely productive element in a permaculture system. It creates a self-contained environment in which the designer can modify conditions of heat, light, water and air for a variety of benefits. High value crops can be grown out of their normal climatic range or produced out of season, growing seasons can be extended by starting seedlings of annual plants early, and plants can be propagated and grown in an ideal environment free of many pests, predators and adverse weather conditions.
As part of or attached to another structure, such as a dwelling, workplace or animal housing, a glasshouse can provide a temperature buffer and insulation between indoors and outdoors as well as provide heating and induce airflow to assist cooling. A glasshouse is also a warm, sunny, peaceful and beautiful environment to sit in, observe and enjoy.
Comments (0)
