Feast for Free

by Charlotte Haworth

As the nights begin to exhibit a touch of biting chill and the skies to start dimming greyly, it becomes clear that autumn is approaching fast. The turning of the seasons is traditionally a time of celebrations: of the abundance of nature as we revel in the gifts of the harvest of our crops, and of the fruit and nut trees and hedgerow berries, not to mention myriad edible fungi (1), which are so prolific at this time.

With the growth of the global food system into the vast proliferation of networks which it is today, these traditional celebrations have become less important. Why would the cheery red glint of the apples ripening on the trees have any significance, when an apple being flown thousands of miles across the globe to be picked by you in the fluorescent orchard of your local supermarket has become a routine occurrence? And with more people living in cities, usually with less access to land, than ever before (2), a celebration of harvest time can also seem a little irrelevant.

Modern Abundance

Having lived in both cities, where it can be easy to ignore the seasons, and in rural locations where nature’s rhythm pulses more noticeably, I understand this incongruence. However, I have also noticed that not only are the abundances of harvest-time and of seasonal wild food very much still available to those who live in cities, but that there is an interesting aspect of our industrialised food systems which has produced another kind of abundance as well: one which is becoming increasingly well-publicised in British media (see for example 3 and 4) but which for many remains a relatively unknown phenomena. This is the huge amount of surplus food which is routinely thrown away along the entire supply chain, from farmers to supermarkets and right through to us as consumers.

Surplus food, just a small selection of the ingredients used to prepare the weekend's feast

No one is quite sure how much as figures on these things do not get published. The Institute of Mechanical Engineers published a report last year estimating that globally, 30 – 50% of all commercial agricultural food (1.2 – 2 billion tonnes of food) (5) is wasted before it even reaches the shops, while in the UK, Love Food Hate Waste estimates that 7 million tonnes of food is thrown away every year by households alone (6).

Statistics such as these can induce quite strong emotions, and it is important that we direct these emotions towards creative solutions if we are to help to change the situation to one which is more energy efficient and beneficial. And why not see this amount of food waste in a positive light? It certainly seems as though those throwing away the food could behave differently, but in order for them to do this, the way in which we relate to food must also change (for more on this see for examples 1, 7). While this is happening, we can utilise surplus food not to fill up bins, but as a glorious opportunity.

A new kind of harvest

There are many groups who are intercepting this perfectly good food from being thrown away, and who are keen to highlight the issues around why businesses deem it necessary to bin edible foods. It is with this in mind that the Brighton-based Food Waste Collective organised the Surplus Harvest Feast, a huge extravaganza of surplus food, cooked up and served for free to the public with great ceremony and celebration during last weekend’s community arts festival, the Lantern Fayre.

Fayre Food

The Great Serving Up

The idea of the event was to raise awareness of the large amount of surplus food which exists in Brighton and Hove alone. As the Feast’s co-ordinator, Debbie Hardy, pointed out, with just a handful of volunteers collecting surplus fruit, vegetables, and dry grains and beans we managed to redirect just under half a tonne of ingredients into around 1200 servings of hot, tasty meals (8).

The day was bright and sunny and the word had clearly got around. As volunteers scurried around inside the tent making last-minute cooking preparations, locating aprons and ladling meals into serving-pots, interested festival-goers began crowding in so thickly that the stewards had to intervene to hold them back. The Great Serving Up was scheduled for 2pm, and at 1.45pm the queue was already stretching out far beyond the food tent’s confines; snaking away across the Level park, and taking up half of the space of the festival. Clearly, the attraction of a free meal was one which was too good to miss.

Sharing Stories

One of my favourite aspects of the Feast is the idea of so many people all eating the same food at the same time. The importance of sharing and appreciating food is something which may get somewhat forgotten in our culture; one reason perhaps why people do not mind throwing it away, because they do not place as much significance on it as they could. In her book Agri-Culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature, Jules Pretty suggests that it is this appreciation and gratitude which is needed in order to revive our sense of community and re-think our global food networks towards ones of abundance for everyone (7).

A very simple way to do this is to share a meal with someone; it does not matter who. When we share food we are all connecting to the same primal energy; a fact which we may not consciously notice but which almost invariably affects us both physically and mentally. When we extrapolate this to sharing a meal with hundreds of others, the effects can be quite profound. I certainly felt more of a deep appreciation for the food from the Feast which I ate yesterday knowing how many other happy bellies were being sustained by the exact same fare as mine. The sensation is quite magical.

The effect which the Feast had on each individual who partook of the food served at the Lantern Fayre can probably never be fully known, but it is clear that the reverberations of this action are spreading in many directions. I spoke to a few people briefly about their take on the Feast, with many positive reactions. A large proportion were very keen to get involved with the Food Waste Collective and help with future actions, while some had their own ideas for new creative ways to highlight food surplus and at the same time fulfil the deep human need we have to connect with each other and to the natural world which sustains us. And, perhaps even more importantly, everyone who I spoke to was enjoying the food itself!

People interacting with the information on offer and "some had their own ideas for new creative ways to highlight food surplus."

More Feasting!

It is not only the Food Waste Collective who create such dynamic and interactive events as these. All over the world, groups and individuals are helping to readress the balance of food poverty vs. food waste, not by lamenting the statistics or by condemning producers or consumers, but using much more positive and creative methods. One example is the UK-based organisation This is Rubbish, who create arts installations and plays around the theme of food waste. At the moment they are touring around with their new Scratch Feast play; next showing this weekend in London. For more information, see (9).

If you are keen to read more stories about events such as the Surplus Harvest Feast, you can check out the Abundance Garden blog (10), which features a range of ideas, actions, creations and networks to help us to make positive and holistic changes.

The Surplus Harvest Feast and the Scratch Feast are just two examples of how we can bring to light just how much abundance there is here in the UK, and how, with just a little imagination, we can share this abundance out beautifully and resourcefully. There are many, many other ways in which we can address this. The only limit is our imagination. Ideas, anyone?

References

1. Haworth, Charlotte, 2014. ‘The Importance of Eating Food’. Permaculture News, 26/09/14. http://permaculturenews.org/2014/09/26/importance-eating-food/ - retrieved 06/10/14
2. People and the Planet, 2014. ‘The world comes to town.’ http://www.peopleandtheplanet.com/index.html@lid=26729&section=40&topic=44.html – retrieved 05/10/4
3. Reece, A, 2014. “Supermarkets to publish food waste data”. Resource, 29/01/14. http://resource.co/business/article/supermarkets-publish-food-waste-data – retrieved 23/09/14
4. Sayid, R, 2014. “Seven supermarket chains including Tesco and Asda vow to reveal how much they bin each year”. Daily Mail, 30/01/14. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/supermarket-waste-seven-chains-including-3092194 – retrieved 23/09/14
5. Institute of Mechanical Engineers, 2013. “Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not.” IMECHE: London. Available as a PDF here: http://www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/reports/Global_Food_Report.pdf
6. Love Food Hate Waste, 2014. ‘UK Food Waste Statistics’. http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/node/2472 - retrieved 05/10/4
7. Pretty, Jules, 2002. Agri-Culture: Reconnecting People, Land and Nature. Earthscan: Oxford
8. Interview with Debbie Hardy, 06/10/14.
9. This is Rubbish, 2014. ‘Scratch Feasts this October’. http://www.thisisrubbish.org.uk/theatrical-scratch-feasts-this-october/ - retrieved 06/10/14
10. Abundance Garden, 2014. http://abundancedancegarden.wordpress.com/ - retrieved 07/10/14

Introducing Permaculture People

by Phil Moore

Questioning things isn't always easy. Especially when you're distracted by the routine tasks of daily living. Not wholly satisfied and always busy we knew there was more to see. As the world turned and we went about our busy London bubbles we wanted to bring permaculture into the centre of our lives.

We hunkered down, saved money, and planned our exit from the city. A year later Lauren, my girlfriend, and I, landed in Mexico to begin an incredible two year journey exploring permaculture and sustainable communities through Central and South America. 

We had taken an introduction to permaculture course in 2009 with the Brighton Permaculture Trust and were hooked. We had worked in our own ways within activist communities, most notably Lauren having produced the film 'Just Do It - a tale of modern-day outlaws'. 

"We hunkered down, saved money, and planned our exit from the city."

Disappointment flew on the bitter winds of December 2009 as we watched the COP15 negotiations in a wintry Copenhagen come to nothing and Danish police beat on peaceful demonstrations from civil society and journalists and the pre-emptive arrests of activists. In 2010 a Danish judge deemed the action of the Danish Police as illegal. 

For us permaculture is about creating the world we want to see, more than fighting against the world we don't want. Direct action and activism has its place and is vital. As we got into permaculture, we felt more comfortable however with its emphasis on creation. As Bill Mollison says in A Designer's Manual being responsible for our actions is about taking matters into our own hands which we view as an inherently positive stance -- and one central to the tenets of permaculture. 

Learning a new language, challenging ourselves and seeing new lands broadened our horizons and our mind. With permaculture as the narrative we explored our own feelings and attitudes to how we want to conduct ourselves and our time on this planet. As students of permaculture we learnt many new skills as well as reading key texts as we travelled from Mexico to Argentina overland.

It was on a quiet bench in a little neglected park in Oaxaca City, Mexico (our first country on the road) we put pen to paper and started bringing to life our dream: to build a natural, energy independent homestead that we’d develop into a welcome space where we’ll run courses, produce food, house guests, and so much more. 

In Peru our ideas began to evolve as we thought of home and what home might look like. We want to live as self sufficient a life as possible and share this ideal with those around us and future generations. A large part of this involves redefining how we live, work & play. Moving away from an economy premised on exploitation we must learn to see the whole and make use of every part of it to thrive, and to live peacefully and productively.

Our journey has been a shift in perspective. Our minds cleaved open as we’ve poured ourselves into exploring what permaculture means and how it can look. In kind, good folk have opened their homes and life’s work, giving us the inspiration and material for a new way of being. It is a re-enchantment with the idea of home, or ‘eikos’ which is where we get the word ecology.

Now, back in the UK we've decided to continue our travels into the summer to check out the scene in the UK as we embark on the next stage of our journey: acquiring a piece of land and building our future. 

Lauren and Phil will be presenting a session at this year's Convergence, 'Permaculture Pilgrimage: Two years discovery in Central and South America'.

Lauren and Phil are Permaculture People

They run an (ir)regular blog at www.permaculturepeopleuk.tumblr.com

Tweet them at @permapeople 

Facebook www.facebook.com/permaculturepeople

Just two weeks to book your tickets and enjoy a fantastic weekend of workshops and entertainment!

There's just two weeks to go before the UK Permaculture Convergence - don't miss out! Book your tickets today in order to enjoy a weekend of fantastic workshops such as: 

• Chris Evans: Permaculture in the Himalayas
• Hannah Thorogood: Regenerative Agriculture at the Inkpot
• Graham Burnett: Vegan Permaculture
• Deano Martin: Designing Grain Polycultures for Food, Fertility and Fun
• Wilf Richards & Alan Charlton: Bridging the Gap Between the PDC and Diploma
• Jan Martin: Diploma Accrediation Presentation
• Chris Warburton-Brown: An evening Woodland Bat Walk
• Andy Goldring: Let's Get Enterprising. We are good ecologists, Andy argues we need to be great economists too
• Aranya: Your smartphone as a design tool
• Pippa Chapman: Designing polycultures
• Jo Barker: Foraging - a permaculture way  

Full list and draft programme here...

Why not make a week of it and take advantage of a new course taking place on the same site, Gilwell Park, during the week before the convergence: 

7 Ways To Think Differently - a new course and a new book by Looby Macnamara (author of People and Permaculture)

"The thoughts and actions of people past and present have determined the current state of our planet. If we change our thinking, we can change the health of our own lives, and also the future state of our world."

Join Looby, Peter Cow and Kerry Lane for an imaginative and playful adventure into shifting our own thinking to support a thriving present and future for ourselves and humanity.

8^th – 12 Sept (just before the UK convergence at the same site)

www.designedvisions.com

Please phone 01981 540121 to book onto this course.

Click here for a complete list of workshops on offer during the UK Permaculture Convergence.
Don't miss out - book your tickets today!

New members tell us how permaculture inspires them

by Nicola, Membership Coordinator

This month we got in touch with new members to ask them what it is about permaculture that inspires them, and what they hope to gain from Permaculture Association membership. New members Jenny Goldsmith and Alma Carey-Zuniga sent us their views. Here's Jenny:

What inspires me about permaculture is the inspiration it provides for people thinking up innovative solutions to live sustainably - such as people like me, a typical urban dweller with a very small garden.

New member Jenny Goldsmith

Here's a photo of my garden in full flow this year (8 by 5 metres) where I have applied principles like forest gardening and polyculture to grow all sorts of veg and fruit - I even have a mini orchard of apple trees. Not to mention my compost heap, wood shed for wood burner stove, bike shed, clothes line - its amazing what you can get in a small space. 

Jenny's beautiful urban garden - abundance in a small space!

Since I completed my PDC in June, I keep seeing permaculture opportunities everywhere, and am now contemplating whether I have time to fit in a permaculture diploma.

Thanks very much, keep up the good work spreading the word! - Jenny Goldsmith

Thanks Jenny! We definitely think you should consider the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. Its the next step after the Permaculture Design Course, and with over 350 apprentices and 30 tutors across Britain, its a vibrant network that will help you put your permaculture theory into practice and develop a range of new skills. With a minimum of two years to complete, and no restrictions how long to spend developing your designs, there's no pressure as to how much time it takes you to accredit.


We asked new member Alma Carey-Zuniga what inspired her to join the Association this year:

I am delighted to be welcomed so nicely into the Permaculature Association!

I joined up looking for people who want to share ideas and experiences related to making lifestyle changes within the bounds of existing legal guidelines. Current building (planning) regulations and food production standards are geared toward perpetuating over-processed and long-term unsustainable lifestyle choices -- yet, if there is any hope for change, it must come from within our current constraints -- which is why groups like this one are some of our most vital contemporary cultural resources. Within groups like this, we can learn from experience, theorise without risk of censorship, and experiment in a manner that can be documented, so that when things work well, our findings are not dismissed - Alma Carey-Zuniga

Building a strong evidence base for permaculture and improving permaculture practice are the key aims of the Permaculture Association's Research team.

We encourage members to get involved with research by participating in our research projects and trials, volunteering as a research assistant, sharing their own research or making a donation - find out more here!

Want to let others know what inspires you about permaculture, and what you hope to gain from your Permaculture Association membership? Get in touch; send your quotes and photos to Nicola

Join the Permaculture Association today and join a network of people using permaculture to change their world - www.permaculture.org.uk

Mountains, lightning and wild horses: tales from the European Permaculture Convergence.

Sandra Campe with the Permaculture Council of Europe poster (Hristo Valchev)

Within minutes of arriving at the convergence – an eco-camping site on the shores of Lake Batak (a reservoir really) – I was greeted with “you're in a meeting in 10 minutes”. I quickly realised that this was going to be another busy and intense permaculture convergence experience.

It already had been for more than a week. The European Permaculture Teachers Partnership – a project funded by the European Union's Life Long Learning Programme had completed its final meeting, with fifty or so participants helping to evaluate the project, put finishing touches to the website and final report, and lay plans for the next stages of the work, post funding. It had been a very busy and productive week for those participants and understandably, there was an interest in passing on some of the convergence facilitation to someone else. Hence the meeting with me in 10 minutes...

So after some discussion, I was part of the new convergence facilitator team, alongside Davie Philip, Peter Cow and Ana Huertas. A decision had already been made use an 'Open Space Technology' approach, which I have used a lot, so the main issue was sorting logistics and formulating the central organising question. A wonderful rich discussion ensued with people around the table from countries across Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Germany, France, Ireland and more. Our final question was “How can we design and co-create the permaculture (r)evolution?” Quite a big question then.

To be honest, if we had said “How can European Permaculture get to Mars by 2020?” many of the open space sessions offered would have been the same. But that's fine. What we got was a wonderful programme that was strategic, practical, local and global. There were sessions on song and deep culture, permaculture consultancy, the gift economy and international research, and about another 70 sessions in just the first 2 days.

But before we go into the programme and content of the EUPC, lets just have a quick look round. I almost forgot to do so – I think I left the campsite once during my stay – but lets not make that mistake again. Lake Batak is stunningly beautiful. Its in the Rhodopian mountain range in southern Bulgaria. Early homo sapiens passed through on their way out of Africa, and quite a few hung around making cool stuff out of stones, so in terms of human history, its truly ancient. Alongside the paleolithic and neo-paleolithic people, Thracians, Romans, Greeks, Bulgars, Ottomans and Russians all spent time here, leaving interesting remains, traditions and a rich agricultural heritage, including a lot of grape vines. The woodlands are lush with tall herbs and huge mushrooms. The markets and roadsides are full of local produce (lots of global too), the fruit and vegetables are truly delicious and the alcohol is strong. There is still a thriving smallholder tradition, most people have land, and many live in the city, and they are also recovering from years of authoritarian rule and corruption. Its messy, complicated and beautiful.

Lake Batak (Gregor Scholtyssek)

And then came the rain. Well actually it had been raining for weeks already, which is very unusual, because in Bulgaria it rains five times in the summer at the most. They had had weeks of it, it was even cold. Lake Batak had swelled and some of the campsite was underwater. Unusual weather, a changing climate. The convergence was set up for warm weather and shade from the sun, not torrential rain. It felt like the International Permaculture Convergence in Cuba all over again. I was worried it might descend into disorganised wet chaos. There was no large covered space for everyone/ So, when after possibly one of the longest overnight spells of torrential rain I can ever remember, it stopped, there was a collective sigh of relief. Rumblings of thunder and distant lightning were present for most of the event, but after the first night's rain, it mostly just taunted us from afar. {Note to self: make sure IPC-UK has a very large covered space for 1000 people... Oh we have – good!}

Before the rain was humour. Mihail Kossev co-organised the event with an incredible crew of friends, family, and a Permaculture Design Course group that had been helping for nearly six months. During the event a small german team, with Jillian Hovey steering, managed to do a lot of on-site support. Many people were busy behind the scenes, but front of house was Mihail. Banjo in hand, hat on head, his smooth crooning and god jokes got us a long way, and calls of “Free ice cream” helped boost numbers at the opening circles too. With Todor on reception, Misha on people care and Mihail on banjo, we had everything we needed for an enjoyable and probably safe five day rollercoaster ride.

So after all the games and regional networking, the hanging out at bars drinking fruit smoothies and very strong rakia, the queues for delicious food and washing up, the awkward “so where are you from” moments, swimming in Lake Bakal, and listening to amazing music every night (including the Formidable Vegetable Sound System, and three troupes of traditional Bulgarian singers and dancers), what did nearly 280 people from 25 countries actually do....?

Well, for me the big learnings, achievements and moments were mainly focussed on the organisation and networking side of things, so my report is biased to that. Many of the workshops looked more at the practice of permaculture, and connections to other initiatives. But for me the highlights were:

• Learning about an amazing gift economy experiment in Romania, run from the home of Dan and Adela – Casa de Cultura Permanenta (www.facebook.com/PermanentAcasa or http://permanentacasa.wordpress.com/). Its like 'instant cohousing'. A paradigm shift of sharing that seems to be taking hold in towns across Romania. They are answers to the question: what happens when we really share?
  
  

• ECOLISE was presented – a new european collaboration between Transition, the Global Eco-village Network, organisations tackling climate change, and permaculture. The Permaculture Association is already a member, and it looks like we will now be joined by many other permaculture organisations – a great result.

• The newly formed Serbian Association and the emerging Bulgarian Association got lots of advice and support and got a huge boost of energy, ideas and motivation for their task of supporting permaculture in their countries.

• The European Permaculture Council took a big step forwards, with new people getting involved and an agreement to link each national association to it so that it gets more support and achieves its new mission to: “...actively support the ethical and resilient Europe through nurturing an effective permaculture network with strong connections to wider society and the world.”

• Regional networks formed and made steps forward – a Danube alliance, a South East Europe network / Balkan collaboration, mediterranean clusters.... as well as many regional, project and personal links

• Researchers met and discussed the opportunities in Europe and how they could engage with the newly-formed Permaculture International Research Network. Lots of interest in linking outstanding projects in each country with local universities to build interest and knowledge, and turning our 'significant practical issues' into questions for young researchers.

• We discussed international permaculture's Next Big Step – the project to host an international discussion about how permaculture can develop into a truly effective international network – that will pull together thinking for discussion and design at the International Permaculture Convergence in the UK next September. Two really useful sessions were held and lots of great ideas and proposals emerged that will help to strengthen the project, and ensure it reaches more people.
  
  
  
  

Not everything was perfect. More attention to workshop development by some contributors, a stronger focus on attendees presenting their design work, and a larger space for everyone to meet would have helped, as would the reminder to bring ear plugs for light sleepers!

However, with mountains as backdrop, lighting by lightning, to the sound of thunder and distant wild horses, something wonderful emerged on the shores of Lake Batak. As the closing circle slowly formed and appreciations were invited for place, people, and organisers a growing realisation formed. With every announcement of what had been achieved and each commitment to action described, it dawned on me that the central question posed by open space had been answered - “How can we design and co-create the permaculture (r)evolution?” - in many different ways, each contributing as best they can – its a distributed self-organising effort. And to the question “Can we design and co-create the permaculture (r)evolution?” the answer is simply yes, we are. Permaculture solutions are emerging across Europe, slowly but surely, gaining support, connecting with each other, and out to many different other networks and groups. It has momentum and energy, and we have nature on our side.

Andy Goldring

Closing circle (Hristo Valchev)

Empowering others through Fair Trade

by Kevin Mascarenhas
(this post originally appeared on natural flow)

Joshua in traditional dress

This post is the first in a series from Kevin Mascarenhas. Kevin is a Permaculture Association member, teacher of permaculture, working on an exciting project in Cameroon that focuses on fair shares.

I met Joshua, the director of Better World Cameroon (BWC) at the Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) training at Sieben Linden Ecovillage in Germany back in September 2013. I was so impressed with Joshua, his passion and commitment, I was determined to find a way to support the BWC project. We spent many late nights, swapping stories and sharing our life’s journeys. Through this engagement, we dreamed up a roadmap to support BWC reaching it’s ambition to become the Bafut EcoVillage for 2020.

To make the Ndanifor Permaculture Ecovillage Project (NPE) truly self sustaining, we need to create something beyond an education and training centre for eco literacy. We recognised the wonderful work already done by the BWC team through the summer work camps and wanted to build on this. We understand that a social enterprise could be the economic “engine” at the heart of BWC. We see the potential to harness the creative talent of the youth while alleviating poverty. At the same time, we can address such global concerns as brain drain to the city, food sovereignty, food security and mitigate for unpredictable effects of climate change.

Upon returning to London, I met with Robert Simpson, a long supporter of BWC and CSA UK network director. He recognised the strengths of my strategic plan by introducing me to Ndanifor Garden Trust (NGUKT) board president Malcolm Green, who has fund raised for the purchase of land to create the permaculture demonstration site. Together, we teamed up with Steve Mangan and Jo Sugrue, Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) fund raisers to develop a workable proposition to connect a local farmers cooperative to NPE to supply a high value product into the global fair trade market. We have named the project, EcoVillage Fairtrade Initiative (EVFI), “For the alleviation of poverty within indigenous small farming communities, growing High Value Agricultural Product (HVAP) using permaculture techniques”.

Vision

My view is that all citizens of the globe have a right to a fair income for work done and that this precept should be recognised as the norm and not the exception. I believe there is a rising consciousness amongst the global North of the associated issues and there is a willingness to pay a fair price to purchase goods grown in the global South.

EVFI is a framework that can be replicated by any ecovillage that is part of the GEN network. The model is to set up (as existing for BWC)  a permaculture hub of demonstration, education and business enterprise. We select an appropriate HVAP that will be processed by a workers cooperative of BWC, and then supplied into the global fair trade network. This organisation is managed and administered by BWC which takes a profit for the HVAP processing. Together we will build a network of local farmers who grow and supply the product and they make a fair income in return. What is really exciting is the holistic benefits that this model offers using permaculture thinking and design. We create a financial income, raise quality of life and health of local people. We conserve soil, raise fertility, capture and store water, translate all waste streams into valuable nutrients and build biological capital. All this makes for a more resilient and vibrate community that can support local people, regenerate the local ecology and generate a surplus income that can be ploughed back into the community. Truly a “win”, “win”, “win” scenario!

Trial Plot
The first step will be to create a baseline quarter acre plot at Ndanifor to quantify the yield of an average selection of local food crops typically grown by local farmers. Then along side this we will plant up the same crops but this time reduce the planting to intercrop our HVAP crop. This comparison will enable us to assess yields and demonstrate the viability of the overall project. The BWC team are already working hard with Elke Cole, our natural builder extraordinaire to set up the land based infrastructure. Through our funding stream the team will be able to recruit additional resources to manage and support this on going enterprise while still generating a surplus income that can be reinvested into building more infrastructure.

Next steps
The UK team is now busy generating funding proposals to realise the vision. In parallel, we are researching high value plants suitable for this venture and setting up the fair trade supply channels. This is a exciting phase of the project and we feel sure that the seeds of hope planted in the work we are doing now will bear lasting fruits in the years to come. Please send us your blessing and we look forward to sharing good news in the near future.

“Towards a Better World Cameroon”

Members Enjoy Green Scythe Fair 2014

Last month, on 15th June five members of the Permaculture Association got together and enjoyed a great day promoting permaculture at the Green Scythe Fair in Somerset.

This is a one day event that takes place in a beautiful setting on the Somerset Levels and is run entirely on wind, sun and muscle power. The day features excellent live music, over 70 stalls displaying traditional skills, crafts and produce, and lively environmental debates.

Permaculture Association members stall at the fair

The Green Scythe Fair is now in its tenth year and has as its aims:

1. To raise environmental awareness through creative activities2. To promote sustainable communities in South Somerset3. To engage the local community in Green Issues

Scything master classes are run over three days prior to the fair, and attendees come together to camp, relax, enjoy each others company and sample the local cider in the camp site next to the event.

“None of us knew each other before so it was lovely to meet other permies in the area!  It's a lovely little one day event, very green, where local farmers and travellers seem happy to share the space and men and women alike compete in the scything competition. There's live music going on all day and everyone joined in and danced to the last band." - Linda Philp, Permaculture Association Member

Special thanks to Linda, Marion, Graeme and Anna for helping us to promote permaculture to a different audience!

Getting together to run a local stall is a great way to make new friends. Want to meet other members in your area? Just reply to this email or give us a call and we'll help put you in touch!