In a recent post, I wrote about why permaculture is humanity’s last hope for long-term survival. We could go back to hunting and gathering, but there isn’t much wild food left to hunt or gather, thanks to the global destruction caused by agriculture.

Permaculture is not only sustainable, it’s regenerative, says author of the world’s best selling permaculture book Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, 2nd Edition Toby Hemenway. It regenerates the soil, plant life, wild animals and eventually creates rich, complex, bio-diverse forest ecosystems, which produce tons of free, nutrient-dense foods.

But we can’t create paradise on Earth over night. We have to start somewhere, and it might as well be in our backyards. Since most of the global population now lives in cities and suburbs, Hemenway gives us tools to start from there and work our way out.

Below is a list of the 30 most useful plants for urban and suburban gardens from his book The Permaculture City: Regenerative Design for Urban, Suburban, and Town Resilience:

1. Chestnut tree. In addition to nutritious, delicious chestnuts, the leaves are used medicinally for fever, cough, whooping cough, and other respiratory problems. They create habitat for small animals, attract beneficial garden insects and create forage for chickens and other animals. They also make a great hedge row, help break the wind for smaller garden plants, and provide  lumber.

2. Pine tree. Pinenuts, habitat, forage, hedge row, wind break, lumber,

3. Black locust. Nitrogen-fixing, edible flowers, edible seeds, attracts beneficial insects, creates animal forage and habitat, hedgerow, windbreak, lumber.

4. Honey locust. Edible seed pod, attracts beneficial insects, creates animal forage habitat and erosion control.

5. Apple Tree, Apples, beneficial insects, habitat, forage, hedgerow. Late and early varieties for eating, storage and cider can be grafted onto one tree.

6. Stone Fruit Tree. Stone fruit, beneficial insects, habitat, forage, hedgerow

7. Medlar tree. Related to rose bushes this small tree produces delicious fruit in the late falland provides habitat for small animals.

8. Bamboo. Edible bamboo shoots, habitat and forage for animals, makes a good hedgerow and provides windbreak, can be used as poles or support stakes for other plants, and the fiber can be used to make paper, cloth and other material.

9. Buffalo berry bush. Berries, beneficial insects, habitat, forage for chickens and other animals, hedgerow, windbreak, natural red dye making, nitrogen-fixing, drought resistant.

10. Red currant bush. Can be grown in shade, edible flowers and fruit, beneficial insects, habitat, forage, grows and spreads easily.

11. Gooseberry bush. Doesn’t need too much sunlight, edible berries, beneficial insects, habitat, forage, hedgerow.

12. Goumi bush. Tart berries, beneficial insects, habitat, forage, windbreak, hedgerow, nitrogen-fixing, tolerates air pollution.

13. Hazlenut bush. Nuts, oil, habitat, forage, windbreak, hedgerow, can be used for basket-making.

14. Purple Ozier Willow. Medicinal bark and leaves, habitat, windbreak, branches make beautiful baskets.

15. Raspberry bush. Berries, beneficial insects, forage, habitat, hedgerow.

16. Siberian pea shrub. Peas, beneficial insects, forage, windbreaker, hedgerow, nitrogen fixer, soil stabilizer, the leaves make blue dye.

17. American licorice. Edible licorice root, medicinal, nitrogen producing.

18. Cardoon. Edible fruit, beneficial insects, makes great mulch.

19. Comfrey. Edible leaves, medicinal, beneficial insects, chicken forage, nutrient accumulator species, produces large quantities of biomass, spreads easily by root division.

20. Daylily. Edible flowers, leaves, roots, attracts hummingbirds, stems can be twisted into cords.

21. Egyptian or walking onion. Edible flowers, leaves, roots and bulbs, attracts beneficial insects, while repelling pesky insects, nutrient accumulator species, can be used to make yellow dye.

22. Groundnut. Edible nuts and roots, nitrogen-fixer.

23. Kale. Hardy, perennial, nutritious greens.

24. Maximilan sunflower. Edible roots and shoots, attracts beneficial insects, repels deer.

25. Oca. Edible flowers, leaves and roots. Alternative to potato, rich in vitamins and minerals.

26. Russian sage. Edible leaves, attracts beneficial insects and hummingbirds, windbreak, hedgerow.

27. Sweet cicely. Edible leaves, seeds and roots, beneficial insects and can be used as a furniture cleaner/polish.

28. Yarrow. Edible, medicinal leaves used in tea, beneficial insects, nutrient accumulator,

29. Grapes. Edible fruit and leaves, habitat for small animals and used in dye making.

30. Kiwi. Edible fruit, habitat, spread aggressively by birds in areas with summer rain.

https://returntonow.net/2017/12/13/30-valuable-plants-urban-gardens/

On – 13 Dec, 2017 By Sara Burrows

TETOUAN, Morocco – The uphill footpath of recycled tires and timber logs winds between fig, olive, and pomegranate trees, passing cactus bushes and a scattered assortment of flowers and herbs. The garden does not appear to reflect years of thoughtful planning and work, but everything here was planted with a purpose. 

“Every single piece of soil here has its own story,” says Farida Alluch, a certified permaculture designer, about her home garden in Tetouan, in northern Morocco.

“Here you clean the dishes with pleasure knowing that you are watering the plants,” says Farida Alluch, a certified permaculture designer (MEE/Matthew Greene)

Alluch is among a growing movement of gardeners and farmers in Morocco’s Rif region practising permaculture – an approach to agriculture that encourages working with, rather than against nature where the emphasis is on sustainability.

Developed in the 1970s by Australian biologists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, permaculture’s popularity is increasing in drought-prone Morocco.

Here you clean the dishes with pleasure knowing that you are watering the plants

– Farida Alluch, permaculture designer

The north African country is currently in the midst of a water crisis due to high consumption rates and inadequate management of the resource. According to the World Resources Institute, Morocco is among the countries expected to face “extremely high” levels of water stress by 2040.

Unpredictable weather in recent winters is also contributing to Morocco’s current drought. This past November was the driest month of the country’s winter rainy season in more than 20 years.

Trial and error

Though her background is in sociology, Alluch says that she “has always been interested in ‘greening’ the desert,” beginning with a career in project development at the World Bank that posted her to Eritrea, Yemen, and throughout Latin America, exposing her to questions about climate change and ecological challenges.

It was in Eritrea where Alluch first encountered permaculture, but when it came to pursuing the activity more seriously, she returned to her native Tetouan, spending close to two years surveying land for sale before settling on her current location. 

A young pomegranate tree in Alluch’s garden (MEE/Matthew Greene)

The property back then was “just some bushes and shrubs,” she says on a tour of her front yard garden.

Alluch designed a small ranch-style home, which she built along with the help of neighbours and friends. Implementing mostly natural supplies collected from the local area, dried mud bricks were used for walls and bamboo reeds for roofing. The materials keep the space cool in the summer months and sustain heat when temperatures begin to drop.

Additionally, on her own she installed a plumbing system that directs water drainage to irrigate sections of the garden. 

The produce vendors and distributors want to have perfect-looking produce. They will not accept defects

– Farida Alluch, permaculture designer

“Here you clean the dishes with pleasure knowing that you are watering the plants,” Alluch says with laughter.

Arriving at this point, however, was a process of trial and error despite Alluch obtaining a permaculture design certificate in Argentina. The first plant she put in the ground was a banana tree that died after several months.

“It was a blunder. I tried to bring something to the land instead of inviting what wants to come. I looked at what my neighbours were growing, and that is when I started to see results,” she says.

Experimentation continues to inform how Alluch approaches gardening. She is particularly attracted to plants with features adapted for arid climates like her recently acquired moringa. The plant is endemic to India and is both drought-resistant and naturally produces nitrogen to enrich the earth. 

Her garden holds pomegranates, olives, figs, oranges, mint, verbena, barbary cactus, sunflowers, onions, garlic, potatoes, beans and legumes and other vegetable varieties. At the moment, she is attempting to grow a passion fruit tree.

Chickens roam free at Assilah Eco Village (MEE/Matthew Greene)

Alluch avoids synthetic products such as fertilisers and pesticides, a position shared among many permaculture practitioners. Instead, she favours using natural or “green” mixes to feed her plants, which typically consist of straw and compost.

Pressures from agricultural industry

When she explains this to her farming neighbours, they agree with her in principle, but admit that the pressures of Morocco’s agricultural industry make it difficult to justify doing the same. 

Many of his neighbours earn a living from cannabis farming

“Unfortunately, the market dictates how farmers work. The produce vendors and distributors want to have perfect-looking produce. They will not accept defects,” claims Alluch.

Still, community members share an interest in learning common permaculture techniques like composting or how to arrange plants together for better efficiency. 

Agriculture is the main economic activity of the village Sidi El Yamani (MEE/Matthew Greene)

Morocco is nearly a decade into a national agricultural reform programme designed to maximise food production and promote exports. The Ministry of Agriculture claims the programme will improve efficiency, but there are concerns that the reform is pushing a model of intensive farming at the urging of international development organisations and big agribusiness.

The programme, Plan Maroc Vert, is backed by groups including the African Development Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank and fertiliser corporations like Maroc Samad.

Part of the programme is to increase the scale of farming, mechanise agriculture, improve infrastructure (i.e. irrigation systems), use more fertiliser and make it easier for banks to finance and invest in agriculture.

The country is the primary North African supplier of fruits and vegetables to the European Union (EU), sending approximately 60 percent of its agricultural exports to the EU, with demand expected to further increase in the coming years.

Drier conditions

In the province of Chefchaouen, 65 kilometres south of Tetouan, organic farmer Ahmed Ayad has watched the impact of intensive farming unfold around him.

With many of his neighbours earning a living from cannabis farming, they depend on fertilisers and other chemicals to meet their target yields. Applying the products, however, uses up significant quantities of the area’s water supply, in addition to stripping the soil from much of its value. 

Morocco is the world’s leading producer of cannabis and the primary supplier of the drug for Europe’s illicit cannabis market. While the government has managed to eradicate some cultivation – which remains legal in areas of the Rif – the industry is poorly regulated and continues to provide a livelihood for approximately one million Moroccans.

Ahmed Ayad, an organic farmer from the Chefchaouen region, earned the nickname of “El Bio” (MEE/Matthew Greene)

From a seat at his coffee table beneath an acorn tree, Ayad points out the half empty water basin that sits in the bottom of the mountain valley. The harvest season is over, but rains have yet to arrive to replenish the dam. 

The farming he does today is not lucrative for him and he is more or less retired. He pursues his farming more out of passion than as a business endeavour. According to Ayad, he went organic when he started observing irregular weather, rising temperatures and less water.  

Now in his late fifties, Ayad says the consequences of the drought are evident.

There is less water in this area than before to the point where even the animals are fewer

– Ahmed Ayad, organic farmer

“There is less water in this area than before to the point where even the animals are fewer,” he says.

To cope with the dry conditions, Ayad turns to composting for soil enrichment. He rotates his gardens to prevent soil depletion, and has even created the area’s first wind-powered sprinkler as an improvised irrigation system. 

The techniques have helped Ayad nearly achieve food self-sufficiency, but he does not sell any produce. 

He dries and stores beans, fruits and vegetables plucked from his garden to use across the winter months. It is a feat he is keen to remind visitors of when coming to his home that is also an “ecological inn“. Complete with an ad on Airbnb, Ayad’s son Ibrahim manages the bookings. 

“Everything is from the garden,” he says proudly over a bowl of vegetable stew prepared earlier in the day.

Growing the scene

Ayad’s lifestyle – he does not use electricity – earned him the nickname of “El Bio” in the village and a reputation among neighbours for gardening “the way it should be done”. 

Some devices such as his radio run off a battery, while he uses a gas burner for lighting in the evening. Items such as his mobile phone are kept alive with a solar charger. 

Like Ayad, Alluch has also stirred up talk in her small neighbourhood once people took notice of what she was doing.

“They would ask questions like ‘Why is she buying straw? She does not have any cows,” says the smiling Alluch. “I am a bit of a phenomenon around here.”

Alluch welcomes all guests who inquire about her garden. She likes to use the interest as an opportunity to show visitors that permaculture promotes a mindful lifestyle, not a less modern one.

“All I want to do is exploit their curiosity. My door is open to anyone who wants to come in and see what is happening here,” she says.

Alluch also hopes that she can introduce younger people to permaculture, like her 32-year-old neighbour Ali Fares, a farmer she is now persuading to take permaculture design courses. Courses are offered in the Morroccan cities of Essaouira and Marrakesh.

“I slowly became interested in everything. I wanted more information. I would walk into the forest and begin asking myself these questions about the relationship between this and that. You open your eyes to what is going on around you,” Fares says.

Though Alluch teaches permaculture concepts informally, she has ambitions to integrate a more structured educational component to her project in the near future, especially as she notices more urban professionals becoming worried about climate and food security issues.

For Linsey Taylor-Auad, the founder of Assilah Eco Village, the concepts of conservation and sustainability are not radical ideas to many of her neighbours in Sidi El Yamani, a village near Morocco’s northwest Atlantic coastline. 

A stained glass window made from recycled bottles above a door frame at Assilah Eco Village (MEE/Matthew Greene)

The village, founded in 2014 and funded out of Taylor-Auad’s own pocket, is inspired by traditional English country-style architecture and has unique aspects, such as a guest cabin built from recycled cable reels.

“From my experience, people from rural areas are incredibly resourceful. They are skilled in mending and repairing just about everything from clothing to electronics,” Taylor-Auad says. 

Taylor-Auad would like to eventually invite local artisans to her site for collaborations that teach volunteers and tourists traditional crafts like weaving, as well as offer workshops in building all-natural homes, solar water heating and other eco-construction skills.

Down the road, Taylor-Auad’s neighbours Ismael Jimenez and Nina Wagner say they need all the help they can receive as they convert land inherited from Jimenez’s family into a permaculture farm and guesthouse.

The pair, who began their project three years ago, are benefiting from the input and guidance of local labourers.

“We discover many possibilities by comparing and combining our style with their approach,” says Wagner.

Having learned mostly from reading permaculture books and online tutorials, Jimenez and Wagner find much-needed encouragement from the local interest and assistance they receive. Ideally, they would like to see their project inspire others to do the same.

“Really, anyone can do permaculture,” Jimenez believes.

This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/permaculture-morocco-4209127

On – 30 Nov, 2017 By Matthew Greene

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East African Permaculture Convergence 28th – 29th May 2018.

The 1^st Permaculture East African Mini Convergence 28 -29 May, 2018

Background:

The permaculture East African convergence is an event organized once  a year across East Africa to bring all permaculture practitioners, Teachers , Livelihood , Climate change Justice , Food Justice  based organisations, community workers or scholars on Natural resources and Agricultures to discuss permaculture key Local, community ,National and Global efforts and contributions using permaculture and how to make them more effective. The Key approved Main stream approved topics will be discussed at the Main Convergence that will be scheduled come 2019.

The specific Objectives of framing permaculture execution regional Calendar in the East African Regional, Permaculture in a school environment, links to curriculum and on site activities. Permaculture landscapes, design, food forests, plant nurseries and propagation, Permaculture and bio energy: Methane digestion, grazing scheme s, biochar, coppice and wood gasification.

 Permaculture and enterprise: Using permaculture to create successful business and enterprises.

The PDC will have 4 groups of up to 15 participants and each one will focus on one of those areas as a specialism. Their design activity will also be related to the theme. These in turn might help provide a focus for the discussions at the EA Convergence.

Brief

E.A. Permaculture Convergence at Sabina School. We will have just completed a 2 week residency at the school and it seemed like a great opportunity to invite broader participation and to profile the work of permaculture in East Africa

Region.

Day 1: 28th May

Outward facing: A chance to profile the work of EA permaculture. Projects a groups. Invites to opinion formers and budget heads. Who do we need to reach out to demonstrate the potentials for Permaculture design in education and as a business model, especially for small farmers, refugees and new enterprises in references to the specific objectives .

Day 2: 29th May

Inward facing: Practitioners, enables, teachers, project developers. Where next/ what do we need to put in place to achieve the Potentials outlined and highlighted in day one in reference to achieve the set objectives with time lines.

PRI-UG demonstration site Stop Over for those who will not have not attended PDC ..

At Buwama and between Kampala and Masaka, this established , Permaculture farm has high ecological standards and can serve as a stop off visit point for people travelling to Sanje and Sabina school , Small scale demonstrations of biogas, compost, integrated farming with pasture, grazing, wildlife habitat maintenance, fish farming, veggies and education. At Buwama.

Who should attend?

Permaculture Practitioners, organizational livelihood project Managers and Directors, farmers, leaders and school Head Teachers, Nature or climate Activists

How to Book a slot?

Book in advance to avoid disappointments since there is a set limit of the Number of participants needed for this Convergence, send an email requesting for the registration form [email protected] or [email protected] 

Convergence fees: 215,000  Uganda shillings, 50.7 Euros .

Payment can be completed : at ABC bank ltd or Mobile or Airtel on the Invoice sent after filling in your registration form,You will receive an Invoice on the email you have in the application form 
After receiving your Payment a receipt  will be generated   and  you need  present it on arrival.

How to Apply  –   Complete the application Form :  https://goo.gl/forms/3eQsRbZDJaTduFXV2

What you should carry?

You need to carry your own towel and other personal body sanitary and a receipt a copy of your registration form.

How can you Partner or contribute?

All Interested partners are welcome, sponsors, donors , beneficiaries. You can be volunteer or sponsor a community scholar – officer, your staff to participate in the convergence or donate to the organizers in making the event better and colorful.  for more inquiries [email protected] and [email protected]

Organizers

 Sector 39 UK,  

www.sector39.co.uk

Broadfield Enterprises Uganda ltd- permaculture Group

www.broadfieldpermaculture.co.uk

Partners

Permaculture Research Institute of Uganda

www.pri-kenya.org

And Dolen Ffermio – farmers Link .

Popular posts from this blog

International Permaculture Design Course 13th – 26th  May, 2018 Uganda.  Applications Open December 30th 2017 and Closes April 28th 2018
Lead Tutors

 Steve Jones
 Director at Sector 39 United Kingdom Wales.

Angie Polkey
 Ecological Advisor, United Kingdom, Wales

Mugarura Charles 
CEO at Broadfield Enterprises Uganda Ltd 
& Tropical Permaculture Tutor ,
Institutions:  Sector 39 United Kingdom [email protected] Venue:  Sabina Permaculture Food and water security Project- Kyotera District Uganda
Background:
The permaculture Designing Course is a fundamental academic accreditation for all professional permaculture practitioners, it’s a special multifunctional  discipline or approach that bridges sustainability Gaps in reference of Natural resources and external forces of the human race and economic factors. Permaculture skilling program is very important to enhance effective transformation of project design and execution.  Permaculture it’s at the center of climate change adaptation and establish…

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On – 17 Dec, 2017 By mugarura charles

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/podcasts-farming-toolbox/

On – 04 Dec, 2017 By Karen Lanier

In this blogpost, I talk about a solution based approach to agriculture that is steadily finding its way to  a form a new wave in agriculture.

In late 1970s, Bill Mollison, an Australian ecologist and professor at University of Tasmania was trying to understand how environment, nature, agriculture and urbanization can coexist. One of the main principles of his observation was that even though each element of the ecosystem is different, it ultimately works together. For example: bees pollinate  without which life will not sustain; birds provide pest control and pollination; certain plants intake the nitrogen fixation present in the air and convert it into a form that other plants can use etc.

The theory of permaculture was hence born, with focus on individual roles of each element in forming an ecosystem which is scientific and effective. This innovative technique to agriculture soon formed a field of study –  ‘permaculture design courses’ that brought this new and novel technique to farmers across the country .

Permaculture aims to create systems that are ecologically viable, economically sound and self-sustaining which is applicable in both rural and urban communities (Source). Based on an observation of nature, permaculture is the application of authenticity found in traditional farming, merging it with modern farming practices by creating a ‘conscious design and a cultivated ecology’. (Source)

Over the years, permaculture has proven to be beneficial for smallholder farmers. It enables a farmer to sustainably, effectively and efficiently utilize resources especially their land. Permaculture is entirely based on three ethics: Earth care- ensuring a healthy balance for all prevailing life systems to sustain and multiply; People care- provision to access all necessary resources; Fair share- a means to provide for the first two principles.

Alternate agrarian practices like permaculture, bring innovation and enthusiasm in agriculture. What are your thoughts on this? You can write to me on [email protected]

– Dr Smitha Kurup, Scientist, Mahyco

https://www.mahyco.com/permaculture-and-design-thinking/

On – 06 Dec, 2017 By Anindita Mukherjee