Permaculture Learning event

The Permaculture Roadshow page outlines some of my publications and community contributions

Permaculture awareness

This journey commenced by reading Permaculture 1 by Bill Mollison and the Magic of Findhorn by Paul Hawkin.

Permaculture Design Course (PDC) (UK)

The attendance of the PDC at Findhorn provided an excellent grounding to plan Permaculture projects, both small and large scale.

(Click here for PDC certificate)

Newlands Mashu Permaculture Learning Centre

This project was established as an NGO on a small "urban farm" to provide training courses in sustainable agriculture, extension support

andagricultural development planning

Ndwedwe Organic Vegetable Project

The project entailed the development of some 8 ha of organic vegetable production for two groups of historically disadvantaged f

armers within Ndwedwe Municipality, which included the formalisation of the two groups and the establishment of market linkages

with organic retailers

Business Plan for the Development of Organic Farming in KwaZulu-Natal

The preparation of this business plan for the Department of Economic Development & Tourism outlined a holistic development \process for some 60 Organic Small Grower Groups, that entailed training, site infrastructure, organic certification, marketing, logistics, institutional programme management, and, a pilot organic farm at Dube Trade Port, which is adjacent to the new King Shaka Airport

UK Permaculture Convergence

This event provided an opportunity for a short Permaculture design refresher course as well as attending interesting lectures

Permaculture Teaching & Facilitation Course PTFC) (UK)

This training enhanced teaching skills and also honed design skills.  The course also included some very creative ways to

teach Permaculture. (Click here for PTFC certificate)

Ecovillage Experience Week at Findhorn (UK)

This experience provided deeper insight into sustainable settlements and was used to prepare better holistic plans

for human settlements in my development type projects.

Mom’s Permaculture Garden

This is Mamma Gori’s small Permaculture home garden established to provide vegetables, herbs and some fruits for her family and friends.

Zulu Organics

Zulu Organics is a consortium comprising myself and 3 like minded NGOs that has been formed to provide a holistic one-stop shop development service to small scale emerging farmers

Amaoti Organic Farming Project

This was a planning project within a former Apartheid era buffer strip, but now zoned for agriculture, and encompassed some 60 ha of land averaging 200m in width and stretching along a 2,5km long stream. Some 330 allotments of 400 m2 each were proposed together with a Farmers Support Centre and 1000 homestead gardens within the surrounding communities.

Bhambayi Community Hall Permaculture Gardens

The project entailed the establishment of a Permaculture Garden at the Bhambayi Community Hall. This project is an element within the Bhambayi Organic Farming Project

Bhambayi Organic Farming Project

This was a planning project for a 3,5 ha tract of land, which was previously an Apartheid era buffer strip, but is now zoned for agriculture.

Some 50 allotments of 400 m2 each were proposed together with a Farmers Support Centre and 500 homestead gardens within the surrounding communities.

The Application of Permaculture Design Concepts for Sustainable Housing Environments

This paper was presented at the Sustainable Built Environment Conference (SBE2005) and explained how Permaculture

design principles can enhance the sustainability of human settlements.

Earth Mother Organics

The network with Earth Mother Organics resulted in a reciprocal beneficiation wherein many small scale farmers were brought to visit the Earth Mother homestead in Assagay, Durban, in order to appreciate a flourishing Permaculture garden that provided much food security, whilst in return, I assisted Earth Mother Organics to prepare a business plan for their first shop in Hillcrest.

2005/06 Development of the Organics Industry in KwaZulu-Natal

This work followed through from several workshops jointly hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Department of Economic

Development who at the time were very keen to develop the organics industry in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Development Plan for Organic Small Grower Groups in Ugu District Municipality

The project entailed the preparation of a Development Plan for the establishment of 7 Organic Small Grower Groups

(SGGs) for some 286 small scale farmers covering a total area of some 135 ha.

Sustainable Rainwater Harvesting Designs for Community Based Organic Farming Projects  

This presentation was made at the Sustainable Built Environment Conference (SBE2006) and entailed a collection of rainwater harvesting designs from various projects, as well as a cost comparison

Sustainable Agriculture Workshop (RSA)

This training course given by Nutri-Tech Solutions in South Africa (www.nutri-tech.com.au) provided invaluable insight regarding

"fusion farming", which is a collection of all best practices from Permaculture, keyline designs, biodynamic farming, organic farming,

geomancy, soil mineral health, and, personal health

Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) at Findhorn (UK) 

This learning experience provided further teaching skills to train ecovillage and sustainable development courses. The EDE is a

United Nations endorsed training course that has been developed by GAIA Education (www.gaiaeducation.org).

(Click here for EDE certificate).

Zuvuya Sustainability Outreach Centre 

The planning and design of a Sustainability Outreach Centre based at the Zuvuya Ecovillage wherein aspects of sustainability,

such as, natural building systems, alternative energy systems, ecotourism and organic farming are proposed as a means to

demonstrate and teach to the nearby First and Third World communities the essentials of sustainable development.

Marikana Housing Project 

The planning for a sustainable housing settlement of some 4,500 houses for the labour force of London Mining Platinum Mining Company (LONMIN) at Marikana, Rustenberg

Cuba Cycling experience and relevance to Peak Oil and Climate Change

This presentation was made usually following the showing of the DVD "The Power of Community – How Cuba Survived Peak Oil". The presentation included a slide show of the Cuba cycle experience and the relevance to Climate Change and Peak Oil. Several of these presentations have been made.

Dukuduku On-Site Resettlement Project 

This is a multifaceted project which lends itself to being declared an Integrated Conservation and Development Project (ICDP) whose underlying objectives are to strike a balance between livelihood improvements to some 4,200 households and biodiversity conservation, which project area is adjacent to, and also partly within, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site

Wirikuta Sustainable Lifestyle Centre 

This project is about "practicing the emergence of sustainable living within community" and entails the establishment and demonstration of a sustainable lifestyle on a rural property in Alverstone, Durban

Strategic Framework for Sustainable

This is an ongoing self study and life experience project to keep abreast of cutting edge ideas and trends about human ecology in

order to digest and synthesise these ideas into a coherent strategic framework for sustainability that is easy to understand

Strategic Development Plan for the Department of Agriculture Environment & Rural Development

The Dukuduku project experience was presented as a case study at the Department of Agriculture Environment & Rural Development (DAERD) Strategic Planning Workshop held in mid-July 2009. This presentation resulted in a call up by the DAERD to assist with the preparation of their Strategic Development Plan....

Positive Energy 2 at Findhorn (UK)

This visit to Findhorn debated and workshopped the strategies required to mitigate against Climate Change and Peak Oil and provided a fertile ground to develop further ideas for sustainable development and planetary survival.

Cedara Food Security Unit 

The presentation of the Dukuduku project case study at the Department of Agriculture Environment & Rural Development (DAERD)

Strategic Planning Workshop held in mid-July 2009, also resulted in a call up by the Cedara Agricultural College to assist with the re-establishment of their Food Security Unit. This entailed the presentation of a few lectures and the preparation of a Permaculture design framework for the 1ha food security site.

Design Tutorial No.1 (UK) 

This tutorial with my Permaculture supervisor, Hannah Thorogood, reviewed my Permaculture experience and provided much enthusiasm towards compiling my Permaculture webpage.

Wirikuta New Moon Centre – Itinerary for conversations that matter

Wirikuta is a place that "practices the emergence of sustainable living within community" and has put together an "itinerary for

conversations that matter" as a way of sensitizing friends, neighbours and the greater community about sustainable lifestyle

Design Tutorial No.2 (UK)

This tutorial with my Permaculture supervisor, Hannah Thorogood, reviewed my Permaculture webpage under construction

and provided invaluable advice into how to prepare for my Permaculture presentation for the diploma accreditation.