AOTEAROA PERMACULTURE DIPLOMA
Aim: To focus on the social and natural ecology of a suburban residential area, and the creation of “Permaculture HouseWholes” that link people to the land and together into communities, using whole systems thinking and collaborative action.
What I want to achieve
To learn how I can best assist suburban households in their transition to ecologically sustainable living, through retrofitting and lifestyle changes, based on the principles and design methods of Permaculture.
To motivate and assist households in making this transition, through actions, projects, workshops and discussions, which are empowering and stimulate creative change.
To understand and promote effective ways of making wealth circulate locally in this urban/suburban setting.
To provide simple practical examples that help people take first steps and become motivated to take up the challenges of the transition to a healthy, just and sustainable way of living.
Tools
Participatory design processes with a few clients (individuals, households, community groups);
Permablitz action with project or workshop focus;
Community currency to link people to each other;
Neighbourhood activities, such as gardens, composting, worm farming etc.
Connection to values
Earth care – For example: by turning city lawns and open spaces into ecosystems providing food, services and healthy environments and habitats; minimising the urban ecological footprint through reduced consumption and vehicular transport, more local employment and services etc; keeping resources and nutrients for re-use and recycling, as with compost and worm farms in city.
People care – For example: by empowering people to work and live together as a community, and make the changes we know are essential; assisting others to be more independent of international trade and finance by being more self-reliant, providing for themselves and their neighbours, using less and sharing locally.
Fair share – For example: by building a sharing spirit; promoting local services and exchange; developing local currencies to keep wealth circulating locally and be more equally distributed; living with enough and working with other people to reduce our demands.
Projects and Goals:
Whare Kopae – Creating abundance from home
- Producing seedlings for HouseWhole clients
- Creating a good example of suburban foodgrowing and local connections
Permaculture HouseWholes – Earn a right livelyhood from Permaculture Design
- Transforming at least 3 but up to 10 suburban households using Permaculture principles,
- Working out an interactive design process that suits me and my way of working.
- Going through that process with each client and refining it through the feedback recieved.
- Setting up a business structure that allows me to smoothly move into an income generating consultancy.
Complementary currencies in the Wellington Region
- Redesigning the existing dysfunctional “Wellington Talent Exchange” (from now WITS) with the help of a steering group
- Participating in the board of Living Economies Educational Trust
- Coordinate the creation of functional local currencies for the Wellington region, based on an analysis of needs and resources.
- Assist in the creation of a business-friendlier mutual credit clearing systems
Further learning and teaching
- Participate in the creation and maintenance of EBBFLOWW (Eco Butterfly Beaver Further Learning Worldwide Wellington…) as a meand of interactive learning for permaculturists in the region
- Organise “permablitz” or similar workshops based on my HouseWholes clients’ needs
- Putting together material informing people about urban sustainability issues
- Participate in various online forums, such as Ooooby
- Participate in workshops on suburban sustainability skills to further my own knowledge
Some people I would be working with
Benjamin Brenneur, my partner, who shares the gardening and housekeeping with me.
My present Permaculture HouseWholes clients: Annette Knott, Marie Monmont & Bassim Haddad, plus 1-4 other rented properties (either from the tenants perspective or from the owner’s), and another 1-4 other properties, owned by the people living there.
The loose network of local permaculturists.
Neighbors – possibility of sharegardening.
Cooperating with other individuals interested in setting up a local currency – or several – in the Wellington region.
Cooperating with Transition Towns, Sustainability Trust, Futures Trust, Living Economies, and other organisations involved in sustainability issues.
Helen Dew who is mentoring me about local currencies.
My coach, Gary Williams.
