13

LIAN
AU S T R A
A C U L TURE
PERM

AUSTRALIAN PERMACULTURE
GROW · BUILD · EAT · THRIVE · NURTURE · DESIGN

ELECTRIC BIKES - MUSHROOM GARDENS - HEALING HONEY - FOOD TRADITIONS

ETHICAL FASHION - PEDAL POWER - GROWING CARROTS - APPLE RECIPES
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 CONTENTS REGULARS:
6. PERMACULTURE AROUND THE WORLD
by Morag Gamble
8. PIP PICKS
10. NOTICEBOARD
12. PIP BRAINS TRUST / LETTERS
14. PERMACULTURE PLANT: BROAD BEAN
by Maude Farrugia
16. PERMACULTURE ANIMAL: NATIVE BEE
by Megan Halcroft
18. EAT YOUR WEEDS: OXALIS
by Peta Burchell
20. SAVE YOUR SEEDS: BASIL
by Jude and Michel Fanton
22. WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN:
March - June
90. COURSE PROVIDERS DIRECTORY
96. BOOK REVIEWS

26
GROW:
26: MAKING A MUSHROOM GARDEN
by Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar
32: GROW YOUR OWN CARROTS
by Emily Stokes

BUILD:
36: AN UNUSUAL RETROFIT
by Samantha Allemann

EAT:
2
42: FOOD TRADITIONS: Sharing A Love of
Food by Emily Stokes
46: RECIPES FOR THE APPLE HARVEST
by Maude Farrugia, Blake Harder, Stan and
Briony Robert and Emily Stokes
42
 THRIVE:
52: THE BUZZ ON E-BIKES by Peta Burchell

DESIGN:
58: DESIGNING THE GOOD LIFE
by Hannah Moloney

NURTURE:
64: HEALING HONEY by Robyn Rosenfeldt

PROFILE:
52 68: PEDAL POWERED BUSINESSES
by Samantha Allemann

64

58
76
MAKE: DIY:
72: MAKE YOUR OWN NATURAL 82: BUILD YOUR OWN MEAT SAFE
CLEANING PRODUCTS by Alex Woodger
by Deb Brearley and Maude Farrugia

FASHION: KIDS:
76: THE TRUE COST OF CLOTHING 86: KIDS’ PATCH
by Natasha Berta and Robyn Rosenfeldt
87: DECORATE YOUR BIKE AND HELMET 3
by Yemaya Oates
88: FUN PAGES
 CONTRIBUTORS
HANNAH MOLONEY
Hannah runs Good Life Permaculture,
a design, education and community
development enterprise with her partner
Anton Vikstrom on Mouheneenner
Country, Lutruwita (Hobart, Tasmania).
With a never wilting commitment to
living like it matters, you’ll find Hannah
striving to be her best self to help foster
the best world for future generations.
She has education and accolades, but more importantly she
has pizzazz, focus, clarity and a belief that if we try, we
can create the most amazing resilient world that provides
abundance for all.
NICK RITAR
Nick is co-director of Milkwood, an
education enterprise dedicated to
teaching skills to regenerate the earth.
Since 2007 Nick and his partner Kirsten
Bradley have given over 7000 students
the chance to learn from the world’s
best sustainable farmers, market
gardeners and permaculturalists.
Their first book Milkwood - Real skills
for down-to-earth living was released in September 2018.
Currently living at the iconic demonstration site Melliodora,
Nick spends his time growing good food, keeping bees,
cultivating mushrooms, teaching permaculture design and
advocating for community-scale resilience.
ALEX WOODGER
Alex is the practical one behind all of the
Pip HQ projects. As Robyn’s partner, he
is the one behind the construction side
all the projects and ideas they come up
with. Maker of houses, furniture, garden
beds, aquaponics systems, beehives,
magazine stands, compost bays and
(as explored in this issue) meat safes.
Alex is able to figure out how to build
anything that needs building using mostly recycled materials
and good design. The Pip office and home wouldn’t exist
4 without him.
Publisher, Editor and Art Director: Robyn Rosenfeldt
Editorial Assistant: Emily Stokes
Sub-editor: Samantha Allemann
Advertising: Tess Bertram-Jones
Subscriptions Manager: Tess Bertram-Jones
Proofreader: Leah Szanto
Designer and Illustrations: Grace West, North South Grace West
Cover Art: Maude Farrugia
Advertising enquiries: Contact Tess at advertising@pipmagazine.
com.au, 0458 286 071 or download our media kit at
www.pipmagazine.com.au/advertising
Directory listings and classifieds enquiries: advertising@
pipmagazine.com.au
Submissions: We would love to hear from you if you have ideas
for articles. Send your pitch to: editorial@pipmagazine.com.au
Stockist enquiries: If you would like to stock Pip contact:
stockists@pipmagazine.com.au
Writers:
Samantha Allemann, Natasha Berta, Kirsten Bradley, Deb Brearley,
Peta Burchell, Jude and Michel Fanton, Maude Farrugia, Morag
Gamble, Megan Halcroft, Blake Harder, Terry Leahy, Hannah
Maloney, Yemaya Oates, Nick Ritar, Stan and Briony Robert, Robyn
Rosenfeldt, Emily Stokes and Alex Woodger.
Photographers and Illustrators:
Levon Baird, Ann F. Berger, Kate Berry, Georgia Blackie, Kirsten
Bradley, Deb Brearley, Yuki Cameron, Cebell Studio, Andrew
Doube, Maude Farrugia, Jean Faucett, Tom Fitzgerald, Megan
Halcroft, Oliver Holmgren, Lester Jones, Sirirak Kaewgorn, Jodie
Lane, Terri Leahy, Natalie Mendham, Ben Mitchell. Brooke O’Brien,
Mick Oates, Brenna Quinlan, Robyn Rosenfeldt, Emily Stokes,
Alistair Tuffnell, Mariaelisa Tumino, Grace West, ZoeO.
Pip Magazine is printed in Australia, by Printgraphics on 100%
Recycled Paper Cover and FSC paper pages and printed with
vegetable inks.
Quality Environment
ISO 9001 ISO 14001
Pip Magazine is published independently by Robyn Rosenfeldt.
PO Box 172 Pambula, NSW, 2549.
ABN: 14 513061 540
Copyright: Pip Magazine is subject to copyright in its entirety.
Permission must be sought from the publisher and author before
content may be reproduced in any form.
Views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the
publisher. To the extent permitted by law, the publisher disclaims
any liability whatsoever in relation to advice, representation,
statement, conclusion or opinion expressed in Pip Magazine.
 EDITORIAL
Hello dear readers,
Thank you for picking up Pip.
We are now into our sixth
year of publishing, and you
know what, I feel pretty proud
of that. For those that don’t
know, Pip is an independently
owned and operated publica-
tion running out of the small
coastal town of Pambula from
a converted barn on our rural
property.
We try to practice what we preach and often article ideas
come from what we are doing here on our property. We have
lots of food growing in the garden, ferments bubbling and
fizzing on the bench, and permaculture design systems in
place to make our place run smoothly and efficiently.
But don’t get me wrong—we too, like so many of us now-
adays, struggle with doing all the things we would like to
be doing.
As I write this and finish off preparations to get this issue
out into the world, my compost hasn’t been turned, my toma-
toes are trailing along the ground unstaked, and my brassica
bed has gone feral, providing abundant foraging opportunities
for the bees. But it all rolls along and we get done what we
can among raising our kids, publishing a magazine and trying
to have time to just ‘be’ occasionally.
In this issue we look at electric bikes and the ways in which
they offer opportunities for many people to ‘get back on
the bike’ who might not otherwise be able to (The Buzz on
E-bikes, pg 52). We also look at businesses that utilise bikes
as their core form of transport (Pedal Powered Businesses,
pg 68). And we have projects you can do around your home
and garden, and we explore ideas around building, growing,
eating and even ways to clothe your body.
I hope this issue inspires you to do what you can, in the time
you have available, with what you have at hand.
Happy reading,
Robyn

COVER ARTIST:
MAUDE FARRUGIA
Maude Farrugia is a Melbourne illustrator with her
own eco-design label Cheerio Paper Co. Under the
label she produces unique and playful keepsakes
with the goal of making everyone’s day a little more
cheery. Her illustrations and designs are featured
on ethically made tea towels, tote bags, notebooks,
colouring cards, pins, brooches and other treasures.
She is also a mad permie, and blogs, podcasts,
writes, doodles and dreams for Pip Magazine
when she’s not busy drawing in Barabara-Vann
(her backyard caravan studio).

5
 PERMACULTURE AROUND THE WORLD
Words by Morag Gamble Photos courtesy of the projects

PRACTICAL PERMACULTURE
INSTITUTE ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA
www.permaculture-eastafrica.com/zanzibar

Zanzibar is an archipelago 25 kilometres off the coast of Tanzania,

a semi-autonomous region on the East Coast of Africa otherwise
known as the Spice Islands. Permaculture Zanzibar is a school to
teach practical livelihood skills using the permaculture approach. It
is run by a vibrant group of young people who organise workshops,
kids’ camps and permaculture school garden programs, train teach-
ers, teach PDCs and are creating a permaculture education garden.
A particularly fabulous program they run is the Fursa Kijani Youth
Program, a youth empowerment program to train young Zanzibarians
in a four month practical permaculture internship, getting them ready
for employment and helping them to start permaculture enterpris-
es—they call it ECOpreneurship. PPIZ accepts long-term volunteers.

SHISABA WATER RESOURCE INITIATIVE

(SHWARI), KENYA
www.ethosfoundation.org.au
SHWARI is working to create a permaculture education and demonstra-
tion farm in western Kenya. It is a non-profit community organisation set
up by a local resident to address very real and immediate needs. Here
there is a daily struggle just to survive—people live on less than a dollar a
day, with low access to food, shelter, clean water and education. Mono-
culture farming practices sidelined the traditional sustainable practices
and undermined the land, the economy and people’s health. SHWARI
aims to make permaculture education and resources available, to directly
help people regenerate the land, grow food and get healthier.
So far, using minimal resources, they have managed to establish a
nursery and propagate over 200 000 trees for local revegetation (Nobel
Laureate Wangari Maathai who started the Green Belt Movement is from
this area). They have also helped start 520 vetiver nurseries in people’s
homes for soil conservation, created water harvesting projects in 35
neighbourhoods, and started over 500 medicinal gardens too.
This project is so worthy of assistance. All donations for their work are
6
gratefully received through the Ethos Foundation, the registered charity
associated with Permaculture Education Institute. You might also be in-
terested in joining the PDC in the Kakamega region in August 2019.
AMRIT KUNJA ORGANIC
PERMACULTURE FARM, NEPAL
www.amritkunja.com
Amrit Kunja is a pioneering organic farm in Nepal on the
slopes above Begnas Lake near Pokhara. The permacul-
ture farm started 30 years ago and has over 500 plant
varieties of vegetables, herbs, spices and fruits.
The farm is also a permaculture homestay. The family
warmly welcomes people to volunteer and stay with them
to learn permaculture, help them with their daily farm work
and have an authentic Nepalese experience. You can col-
lect grass for the buffalo, plant and propagate permaculture
plants, collect honey, harvest black pepper, learn Nepali
language and traditional medicines, prepare local meals,
make buffalo butter, go hiking, and swim in the freshwater
lake.

ISTANBUL PERMACULTURE
KOLEKTIFI, TURKEY
www.istanbulpermakulturkolektifi.org

The Istanbul Permaculture Collective is an urban permacul-

ture group connecting people and creating positive change
in the ancient city of Istanbul, Turkey. They’ve been active
since 2013 organising programs that reconnect city people
with nature and land, and exploring sustainable ways of
urban living. They organise practical workshops, films and
community events, permablitz days and a fabulous nature
and children’s program.
Interest in permaculture is growing in Istanbul. There is
even a rooftop hotel permaculture garden with views of the
Bosphorus, Topkapi Palace and Galata Tower. Finding ways
to integrate permaculture into everyday life in the growing
global urban population is a real priority.

7
 PIP PICKS:
THINGS WE LIKE

THE SOCIAL OUTFIT SPLICED CLUTCH

The Social Outfit are an independently-accredited, ethical
trading social enterprise that provides employment and training
in the fashion industry to people from refugee and new migrant
communities in clothing production, retail, design and marketing.
They make and sell quality products that help financially empower
people and provide customers with unique pieces that tell amazing
human stories.
These clutches are made from offcuts donated from textile
companies that want to avoid textile waste. Fabric compositions
vary (linen/cotton/heavy silks, some with embroidered or flocked
details). Each clutch features two fabrics spliced on the outside,
and a complementary fabric for the lining. Each clutch is one of
a kind.
www.thesocialoutfit.org
$79

HANDMADE TRADITIONAL
FERMENTING CROCK
This beautiful 10-litre fermentation crock has been
handmade on a potter’s wheel by a master potter
at Durand’s Beechmountain workshop in the Gold
Coast hinterland.
The fermenting crocks are stoneware and made
with certified lead-free glazes. They come with two
handmade stone weights and a large water moat to
make the fermentation airtight.
Durand have been making high quality ceramics,
stoneware and pottery for nearly 30 years—you
may already know them for their stoneware grav-
ity water filters and kombucha jars. If you’re into
fermenting, this crock will not only give you lots of
sauerkraut or kimchi, but tonnes of aesthetic plea-
8
sure too.
www.wholesomesupplies.com.au
$250
 OYSTER MUSHROOM KIT
Grow your own delicious and nutritious oyster mushrooms at
home. No specialist equipment needed, this is gourmet food you
can produce yourself with a tiny carbon footprint.
Milton Mushrooms is a small mushroom farm run by Marita, a
self-confessed organic farming, self-sufficiency and science buff.
Milton Mushrooms sell a range of different dried cultures, grain
spawn (which is like a mushroom starter), dried mushrooms and
supplements and easy to use kits.
Whatever your mushroom growing expertise, there’s something
for everyone to make a start delving into the world of delicious
homegrown shrooms.
www.miltonmushrooms.com.au
From $15

DEEPEST DARK SUPER BLACKOUT

ORGANIC CHOCOLATE
If you are a lover of dark chocolate, this is the ultimate. With
90% cacao, Alter Eco’s Super Blackout has all the intensity
of the darkest dark bar but with a smooth, creamy bite.
All Alter Eco products are Australian Certified Organic,
Fairtrade Certified, Carbon Neutral Certified, Non-GMO
Project Verified and Certified Gluten-Free (excluding Dark
Salt & Malt Organic Chocolate).
Alter Eco is all about spreading social justice and
environmental regeneration and embodying the four pillars:
sourcing using Fair Trade principles, producing only organic
and non-GMO foods, creating minimal waste by working
towards 100 % compostable packaging, and in-setting
carbon emissions by means of large-scale reforestation
programs in the co-operatives that produce its crops.
www.altereco.com.au
$5.45

YUBA SPICY CURRY ELECTRIC

BIKE
This electric cargo bike is perfect for steep hills or
long-distance trips and has tonnes of torque and re-
sponsive power output – with a drive system capable
of serious climbing and unparalleled range. It features
a low-rider cargo rack and a 20-inch rear wheel to
lower the bike’s center of gravity and provide a stable
and safe platform for your payload. Add Yuba accesso-
ries like child seats, seat pads, and mini hold-on bars
for the ultimate family-friendly bike – and get rid of 9
your second (or first) car!
www.cargocycles.com.au
$6399
 NOTICEBOARD
To place your event here, email editorial@pipmagazine.com.au

PERMACULTURE TASMANIA
RESURGENCE
Big things are afoot at Permaculture Tasmania
THE PLANTING FESTIVAL
3-5 May 2019, Sunshine Coast, QLD
as a new energy is flowing in and has given a
boost to the organisation recently. Workshops
If you’ve been lucky enough to attend the
as diverse as building with bamboo, cob
Woodford Folk Festival you’ll know Woodfordia,
building, bee-keeping, pruning and grafting,
the 500-acre parkland on the Sunshine Coast
fermentation, and basic cheesemaking, as well
hinterland the festival is held at. Woodfordia
as Permaculture Intro courses are being held
is maintained each year by those who attend
throughout the state.
The Planting Festival, a three day event which
A network of local groups have started up and
ensures the site remains a healthy forested
meet monthly, with skill-sharing get-togethers,
parkland for the enjoyment of future generations.
social events and film nights happening.
It’s not just tree planting that’s the focus of
Run by a very experienced bunch of
the festival though—there is also music, dance,
volunteers, Permaculture Tasmania is intent
art, food, films, workshops, forums, ceremony
on sharing skills, knowledge and resources,
and folklore. You can also attend a range of
supporting permablitzes and building
free masterclasses, from horticulture to how to
community.
recycle and repurpose clothes.
The Planting Festival is family-friendly with
www.permaculturetasmania.com
camping on-site. There are a range of ticket
types with day and camping options.

www.theplantingfestival.com

CANDELO VILLAGE FESTIVAL

26–28 April 2019, Candelo, NSW

Join a weekend celebration of arts, farming and community connection

through culture. Held in the beautiful village of Candelo on the NSW South
Coast, the weekend program will include traditional crafts by local artisans,
inspiring speakers such as Bruce Pascoe and Charlie Massey, plenty to eat
and drink, and a range of fantastic musicians from around the globe. Pip will
be holding a stall at the Field Day so come and say hi!
10

www.candelovillagefestival.org
INTERNATIONAL
PERMACULTURE DAY
5 May 2019
A day of celebration and action for all things
permaculture! Now in its tenth year, International
Permaculture Day is a chance for you to connect
with the permaculture community around you and
find out the why’s and how’s of permaculture in
your area.
You’ll be able to visit permaculture homes,
gardens and farms, and attend film screenings,
permablitzes (garden makeovers) and workshops.
You may even want to organise an event in your
area.
You can find or upload an event in your area by
visiting International Permaculture Day’s website.
www.permacultureday.org
LOST TRADES FAIR
9 & 10 March 2019, Kyneton, VIC
4 & 5 May 2019, Toowoomba, QLD
5 & 6 October 2019, Richmond, NSW
If you haven’t yet made it along to the Lost Trades
Fair, you have more opportunities than ever, with
the popular event now taking place in three states.
The original fair in Kyneton will be held in March
and will then travel up to Toowoomba in May and
Richmond (NSW) in October.
Head along and meet the artisans and
craftspeople—bookbinders, long bow makers,
silversmiths, guitar makers, saddlers, woodturners,
clock makers and cane weavers to name just a few
of the stall holders. They will demonstrate their
skills and share their knowledge about their craft.
Tickets tend to sell out well in advance so don’t
delay, head to the website to get yours.

www.losttrades.info

EDIBLE GARDEN TRAIL

March 2019, Blue Mountains, NSW

Last year the first Blue Mountains Edible Garden Trail was created—38
gardens up and down the mountains were open to the public. 500 people
visited from all over to see the gardens, all of which were organic and
many were based on permaculture principles.
The trail is now an annual event, with the intention of encouraging
other areas to create edible garden trails and inspire more people to create
organic edible gardens, with the flow-on effect of better food security and
fewer food miles.
With dozens of gardens open again this year, visitors will be able to talk
to gardeners directly about their passions and methods, so get ready to
11
be inspired.
For more information contact Susanne Rix on 02 4757 4231 or
ediblegardenfestival@gmail.com
 L E T T E R S TO P I P
PIP BRAINS TRUST
This issue we’re answering questions on ferments. Got a burning question on
traditional lacto-ferments or kefir? You haven’t missed out. Send it in and we will
answer your question in our blog. Questions answered by Pip’s Emily Stokes.
Question for the Pip Brains Trust? Email editorial@pipmagazine.com.au
Is it healthy to make preserves using vinegar?
(Heather, NSW)
The method of preserving food with vinegar has only been
around since industrialisation. It came in as a quick and easy
way to keep food shelf stable so it would be saleable for lon-
ger. A much healthier way to preserve your food is through
the process of lacto-fermentation. This is how people pre-
served their food long before fridges and canning became
popular. Lacto-fermentation is how traditional sauerkraut and
kimchi are made. The vegetables are simply crushed with
salt, stuffed in a jar or crock and pushed down until the liquid
comes to the top. It’s this process of anaerobic fermentation
that preserves the food through encouraging the lactobacilli
bacteria to proliferate (the same bacteria that are probiotic for
your gut). At this time of year you can stuff your cucumbers
into a jar under a salt water brine. They will be preserved
for many months, and not only that, they will contribute to a
healthier gut flora every time you pull one out to have on a
cracker with cheese.
I tried using a salt water brine to make cucumber pickles,
but my cucumbers went soggy. What can I do? (Sally, ACT)
There are a few ways you can keep the crunch in your
lacto-fermented cucumber pickles. Try scratching off the
blossom end of the cucumber before you pickle it in brine,
because the blossom end has enzymes that cause softening.
Try using whole small cucumbers instead of slicing up larg-
er cucumbers. Add something with tannins in it to keep the
crunch in your pickles (for example, a tea bag, grape leaves,
horseradish leaves or oak leaves). Lastly, try to slow the
fermentation down a bit by leaving your jar somewhere cool
to ferment rather than the hottest part of the kitchen.
12
I made a salt water brine for my carrot sticks and left it
on the bench to ferment for a week or two. It went kind of
slimy. Is it still ok to eat? (Robyn, NSW)
When you make a traditional lacto-ferment such as you have
with the salt water brine, a wide variety of bacteria and yeasts
will be present to culture your vegetables. If your vegetables
have gone a bit slimy, have a strong odour or have grown
some mould on top, there may be a proliferation of a certain
type of bacteria, yeast or mould present. This can be caused
by under-salting your ferment, or leaving it to ferment in too
warm an environment. The optimum temperature for fermen-
tation is 10–20 degrees. Over 20 degrees is okay too, but
fermentation will happen more quickly and vegetables may go
more soft and tangy. If the weather has been hot, try to find a
cooler place for your ferment, such as a cool cupboard, away
from hot appliances and direct sunlight, or place it in a bowl
or sink of cool water. Or try an insulated container with some
ice bricks. For salt levels, try using a 5% brine (50 g salt to 1
litre of water). Or you can salt to taste and try making it taste
like seawater. Don’t be too put off by a bit of mould or yeast
overgrowth, or an unusual smell. Often you can scrape the
top off and your ferment will be perfectly edible underneath.
My water kefir is not very fizzy. How do I get more fizz in
my drink? (Marie, VIC)
The fizz in your water kefir drink is the carbon dioxide that’s
produced by the water kefir crystals acting on sugar. When
you have left your new batch to ferment on the bench for
a couple of days (less in summer, more in winter) and you
decant your drink into bottles, taste it at this point. If you
want more fizz, then it needs to be slightly sweet when you
bottle it. Make sure you use truly airtight bottles, not cheap
flip-top lid versions (you can get airtight bottles from a home
brew shop for a few dollars each). Then leave the bottles
on the bench for another day or two and the drink will keep
fermenting and create more fizz. Or add a small handful of
berries or other fruit when you decant it (this adds a bit more
sugar) to really add fizz and flavour. This is called a second
ferment. Be aware that leaving it on the bench in the height
of summer can cause an explosion of fizz that will cover your
ceiling upon opening. Open with care. Slow the fermentation
process down by storing it in the fridge.
My water kefir grains have grown well over summer. I hope LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Email your letters and photos to editorial@pipmagazine.
it’s okay to feed the excess crystals to the chooks? (Pat,
com.au. We’d love to hear what you think of Pip and if
NSW)
you’ve embarked on any projects as a result of our arti-
If your water kefir crystals are growing well and doubling in
cles. Each issue, one published entrant will receive a lim-
volume each week, then this is a great sign. It means they
ited-edition Pip magazine art print, printed with archival
are healthy. You must have been feeding your crystals the
inks on beautifully textured archival 300 gsm rag paper.
optimum diet, which is good quality water (not town water),
good quality sugar and some added minerals. Minerals can be
in the form of a pinch of bicarb, a pinch of crushed coral or a
pinch of crushed eggshell. This adds calcium and magnesium
Thanks so much Robyn! I absolutely love the
carbonate. You can try a whole sugar such as rapadura, or
magazine. It’s so inspirational and educational
add a small amount of molasses for minerals also. You will
and really makes my family and I evaluate our
need to play around with these ingredients to get them right,
lives and incorporate permaculture, which makes
or only add them from time to time. And yes, kids and chooks
for a happier family. Thanks for this great
will love to munch on your extras.
publication.
I tried making yoghurt with milk kefir as a starter and my
Christine Clancy
yoghurt didn’t go solid. Is my milk kefir not working proper-
ly? (Annie, QLD)
The more you feed your milk kefir culture, the more you will
receive the love back. Your milk kefir will be most happy when
you feed it with fresh milk every 24 hours. If you go away or
What a great article [Dreaming Of A House Cow
store your milk kefir in the fridge for more than a week or so,
by Emily Stokes, issue #11]—took me back to my
then it will begin to lose vitality and lose its ability to start your
youth and milking our very mad cow, moody and
yoghurt or cheese. To be active and alive, feed your milk kefir
violent at times! Still that’s when I learned good
every day. This will also give you the most probiotic health
cowgirl skills. We locked calves up when we
benefits as you will be consuming it every day too—great for
needed milk, so not tied down to a daily chore.
your gut flora.
But the trick to getting cream was to fetch in a
calf and let it suck until the cow did a pee, then
haul calf off, and voila, we had cream! We always
left a back teat for the calf who then spent the
day with mum. I later on had a gorgeous Guern-
sey cow called Madam and she performed the
same withholding trick and the same method as
above. Very smart animals!

Loved the first time I’ve read your magazine—so

full of information and common sense!

Best regards,

Kris McKeon

13
 P E R M A C U LT U R E

PLANT

BROAD BEAN
Words and photos by Maude Farrugia

Broad beans (Vicia faba) are prized as much for their year (in fact, many dishes are based around the use of dried
fleshy beans as they are for their potential use as a rather than fresh beans).
nitrogen-fixing cover crop. This ancient food of ear-
ly Mediterranean civilisations is still widely cultivated OTHER USES
across the world today. Sometimes known as ‘fava Broad beans, along with their leguminous friends, are often
beans’ (fava from the Latin word for bean), they’re a used as a green manure due to their potential as a nitro-
popular staple across the Middle East and Africa, and gen-fixing plant. There are some caveats to this process how-
are commonly eaten as a snack across virtually every
ever. Firstly, in order to achieve effective nitrogen fixation, the
continent.
correct bacteria must be present in the soil to kickstart this
process. Some seed sellers provide an inoculant with green
GROWING
manure seeds to ensure that this is the case, so if you’re aim-
They may not grow to Jack and the Beanstalk proportions, but
ing to use broad beans to fertilise your soil, then this is a good
broad beans are almost as easy to grow as those fabled magic
first step.
beans. Pop them in a sunny spot come autumn (in temperate
Secondly, there is some evidence that in order to maximise
regions—they’re not suited to tropical climates) and see them
nitrogen fixation it’s important to dig in your crop before seed
burst forth with vigour, quickly overtaking other plants you’ve
set (i.e. before you get any beans). For small space growers
mollycoddled through seedling-hood.
there often isn’t the room to entertain this prospect, but one
Before planting it’s common practice to soak seeds over-
technique practiced by our 77-year-old Sicilian neighbour is
night to give them a head start, but this isn’t strictly neces-
taking a bean harvest, cutting plants right back and letting
sary, especially if you’ve got a few good days of rainfall fore-
them shoot and flower again before digging them in—this sec-
cast. Beans are best planted in blocks for pollination and wind
ond growth is a lot quicker, as the beans’ root systems are
protection purposes, as they will help each other to stand up.
well established.
Some people like to stake their beans, while others (myself)
don’t bother and put up with a few unruly plants at the edge
PROBLEMS
of the block. If staking is your thing, it’s best to do it at planting
While being an easy and low-maintenance crop to grow, broad
time so you don’t disturb young roots as they’re establishing.
beans can suffer from fungal issues. This happens in spring,
It’s also common practice to sow broad beans after a hun-
when the weather warms up but there’s still moisture in the
gry summer crop like tomatoes or corn, as too much organic
air, just as you’re beginning to enjoy a harvest. Removing dis-
matter in the soil will mean lots of leaf growth and less bean.
eased plants is the best organic method to avoid this problem,
and if you’re planning to save seeds for next year’s planting,
USAGE
ensure they are not visibly disease-affected. Ensuring you
Despite some people’s thoughts to the contrary, broad beans
don’t plant broad beans in the same patch year after year can
are delicious—when you know how to cook them. High in pro-
also help you to avoid a build-up of diseases.
tein and carbohydrates as well as low in fat, it’s no wonder
they persist as a staple food of many diets across the world.
Try them as falafel, ful medames, in dips or arancini if
you’re yet to be convinced. Another trick is podding baby
14 broad beans and using them with, or instead of, fresh podded
peas. Very young whole pods can also be eaten. If you find
yourself in a broad bean glut at the end of spring, fear not!
They can also be easily dried and stored for use later in the
Clockwise from above left: Broad bean plant; Broad
bean plant in flower; Dried and fresh broad beans.

15
 Clockwise from top: Carpenter bee (Xylocopa) in
mid flight; Homalictus species with its scopa full of
pollen; Blue banded bee; Making nests for reed bees.

16
P E R M AC U LT U R E

ANIMAL

NATIVE BEE
Words and photos by Megan Halcroft

Mention bees and people invariably think of the • Masked bees have distinctive bright markings on their
European honey bee, Apis mellifera. However, faces.
this species is only one of 20 000 species of bees • Blue banded bees have iridescent hair-stripes (from
worldwide. Australia is home to about 2000 species of white to dark blue) on their abdomen.
native bees and most of them are very important plant • Teddy bear bees have thick, orange hair.
pollinators. • Parasitic cuckoo bees lay their eggs in the nests of other
(host) bees.
Native bees have a symbiotic relationship with a permaculture
garden. Many of permaculture’s non-interventionist tech-
SUPPORTING NATIVE BEES
niques support native bee populations. In return they support
Use flowering plants
us by providing valuable pollination services, which help to
One of the best ways to support bees is to plant large num-
produce high crop yield and good quality seed.
bers of flowering plants. By ensuring access to food resourc-
es throughout the year, you support their reproduction.
TYPES OF NATIVE BEES
Basically, native bees are divided into two categories, solitary
Conserve and create habitat
and social. Of the 2000 Australian bee species, only 11 are
Conserving areas of natural habitat enables female bees to
social, forming colonies and making honey. Most species are
find safe nesting sites and helps increase existing popula-
solitary and do not make honey, but they are very important
tions. Allow plants to bolt and go to seed, as this provides
pollinators.
bees with much needed floral resources. Let plants, espe-
cially those with hollow or pithy stems, break down insitu or
Solitary bees
to slowly rot in piles in isolated corners of the garden. This
Solitary bees live their lives independent of other bees and
provides nesting sites for some masked bees and reed bees.
nest in a variety of nesting materials. Once a female has mat-
ed, she finds a safe nesting place to raise her brood. She
Don’t use chemicals
forages for floral resources, returns to the nest, unpacks the
Avoiding chemical pesticides in your garden is vital to the
pollen from her scopal hairs and regurgitates swallowed nec-
health of all bee populations, as well as many other benefi-
tar. As she collects her precious cargo of pollen and nectar,
cial insects such as wasps, hoverflies, robber flies, predatory
she pollinates the plants.
shield bugs and lady beetles. These beneficial species help to
control pest species such as caterpillars, aphids, mites and
Social bees
grasshoppers.
There are 11 species of social stingless bees in Australia, and
they make and store small amounts of honey. In temperate
HABITAT CREATION
areas, honey harvest is not recommended, as the bees need
It’s easy to create habitat for bees in your garden. By drilling
the honey to survive winter, but it is possible.
deep holes in wood blocks or dead stumps, you will be pro-
viding natural nesting substrate which mimics old borer-holes
SOME NATIVE SPECIES (don’t use treated wood).
Native bees species are grouped together according to either
When pruning plants, check to see if any have hollow or
their nesting behaviour or by distinguishing body markings.
pithy-centred stems. Bundle them up with some wire and hang
• Reed bees generally nest in hollow or pithy-centred
them in a tree or on a fence. It’s also desirable to leave some
reeds or plant stems.
small areas of bare earth for ground dwelling bees to burrow. 17
• Carpenter bees burrow into soft wood.
Blue banded bees will nest in rammed earth blocks. You can
• Resin bees collect plant resin to seal the brood cells.
fill hollow concrete blocks with a mix of damp soil and ram
• Leafcutter bees cut discs from soft, young leaves to
tight with a blunt tool.
make their nests.
 E AT YO U R W E E D S
OXALIS
Words by Peta Burchell
Oxalis is of the Oxalidaceae family which has over 850
different species worldwide, with about 30 species in
Australia, seven of these native. A number of species
are grown as ornamental plants. Oxalis is from the
Greek oksos meaning sour, referring to the taste of
the leaves and stems.
A common weed, oxalis is actually part of the sorrel family
and is found in most parts of the world, being especially di-
verse in the tropical areas of Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.
Oxalis originates from the highlands of South America
where it has been cultivated since Incan times. The Incas do-
mesticated many of their prized crops from pernicious weed
species creating vigorous, low-maintenance vegetables that
were able to thrive in adverse conditions.
IN AUSTRALIA, THE MOST COMMON
VARIETIES ARE:
Oxalis pes-caprae: also known as thumb, sour-sob, yellow
sour grass, buttercup oxalis, Bermuda buttercup and English
weed. Particularly common in the southern area of Australia.
Oxalis corniculata: produces small yellow flowers soon fol-
lowed by the emergence of upright seed capsules. It also has
a variety with purple-coloured leaves.
Oxalis debilis: produces deep pink flowers typically during
the months from July through to September.
Oxalis latifolia: produces deep pink flowers during the
months May through to September.
DESCRIPTION
A perennial growing to 15 cm, oxalis is easily mistaken for
clover, so look carefully for what sets it apart: three heart-
shaped leaflets and small five-petaled pink, purple, white or
yellow flowers with ten stamens. Clover, on the other hand,
has leaves that are shaped like a tear. Typically oxalis re-
produces itself through the seeds it produces or the bulbs it
forms.
This persistent weed will grow in dry, open areas as well as
moist, nutrient-rich soils, and in both sun and shade. Oxalis
can form a dense groundcover often excluding native species,
18
especially in shady sites.
Oxalis is commonly seen as the invasive weed that takes up
water and garden space, instead of the delicate, edible plant
that gives a carpet of colour. Lawns or soils that are thin,
weak and deprived of nutrients are also desirable places for
weeds like oxalis. This can make it a useful plant in marginal
areas needing some greening up.
Once oxalis gets into your garden, it’s there. The more you
dig at it to get it out, the more it spreads. So, like many edible
weeds, if you can’t beat it, eat it.
USES
Oxalis has been consumed by humans for centuries. All parts
are edible, including the root bulb which can be succulent
and sweet. Some say the leaves and stems taste much like
rhubarb but not as tart, while others say oxalis leaves have a
lemon flavour.
The leaves and stems of oxalis varieties can be used in sal-
ads, made into soup or pesto, or used as stuffing for fish and
chicken. The leaves will wilt quickly, so they should be used
shortly after picking.
The tubers, including the larger Oca variety, are as versatile
as the humble spud. Eaten raw they have a crisp apple-like
texture and tart flavour which makes them a wonderful addi-
tion to salads and coleslaws.
When cooked (be it roasted, chipped, mashed, boiled or
baked), they are similar to new potatoes and their sharpness
becomes a mild tanginess with a rich, waxy flavour and tex-
ture.
The larger fleshy, juicy tubers of Oca have long been cultivat-
ed for food in Colombia and elsewhere in the northern Andes
of South America. Oca is now grown and sold in New Zealand
as New Zealand Yam (although not a true yam), and varieties
are available in yellow, orange, apricot, and pink, as well as the
traditional red-orange. This variety is better suited to cooler
climates as temperatures over 28°C cause plants to wilt.
Among Indigenous American tribes, oxalis also had medic-
inal value. As Dr. James Duke notes in his Handbook of Edi-
ble Weeds (CRC Press 2000), ‘The Kiowa Indian tribe chewed
wood sorrel to alleviate thirst on long trips, the Potawatomi
Indians cooked it with sugar to make a dessert, the Algonquin
Indians considered it an aphrodisiac, the Cherokee ate wood
sorrel to alleviate mouth sores and a sore throat, and the Iro-
quois ate wood sorrel to help with cramps, fever and nausea.’
And if all else fails, learn to tolerate oxalis. With weeds, it’s
all about how you look at them. Many gardeners have given
up struggling to eradicate it and decided that oxalis makes a
pretty groundcover and a nice addition to the vegie basket.
Ben Mitchell

Cebell Studio
Clockwise from above: A ground cover of oxalis;
Oxalis oxalidaceae or sour-sob; Oxalis in the vegie
patch.
Robyn Rosenfeldt

19
 Robyn Rosenfeldt
Jean Faucett

Clockwise from above: Tulsi/ holy basil; Basil seeds;

Sweet basil going to seed.

Sirirak Kaewgorn

20
S AV E YO U R S E E DS
BASIL
Words by Jude and Michel Fanton
BOTANICAL NAME: Ocimum basilicum, O. gratissimum, O.
sanctum and O. canum.
ORIGIN:
There are several species of basil, all of them native to either
Africa or Asia.
DESCRIPTION:
There are both perennial and annual basils, and their shape
and size range from almost prostrate to mighty bushes two
metres high.
CULTIVATION:
Basil is predominantly a warm season plant. In cool climates,
plant for summer cropping. Perennial basils thrive after a
winter pruning.
PROPAGATION:
Both perennial and annual basils can be propagated by
cuttings. This way there is no need to be concerned with
isolation distances. Just pop the bottom ends of the stalks in a
glass of water until white roots start appearing, then replant.
Annual basils however are usually propagated by seed.
SAVING THE SEEDS:
Basil flowers are coloured white through to purple. They have
an abundant and pungent nectar, and rely on insect pollina-
tion, so one basil will cross with others. You will need to sep-
arate different varieties by as much garden space as possible
(preferably fifty metres).
The seeds mature from the bottom to the top of the flow-
er, and capsules generally contain four seeds. Either cut the
stalks or rub your hand up them when the top seed capsules
turn brown and brittle.
Dry on a sheet of paper or in a paper bag. Rub well when
the seed capsules are crisp and dry, either in between the
hands or on a small gauged wire mesh to dislodge the four
seeds contained in each capsule.
Place the crushed mixture in a large bowl and carefully
whirl the lot until the seeds gather at the bottom of the bowl
and the chaff on top. Pick out the bulky chaff with your fin-
gers; the rest can be gently blown over. A very small gauged
sieve will let the dust fall through and retain the seed.
STORAGE:
The seeds will last up to five years sealed away in a dark, dry,
cool place. They are small and spherical, and there are 600
to the gram.
USE:
Think pesto—a heady mix of sweet annual basil, garlic, Par-
mesan cheese, olive oil and pine nuts (macadamias can be
substituted here) ground up together. The most authentic ba-
sil for use in pesto is the ‘Piccolo’ variety.
Basil is recommended as a tea for some forms of headache.
A fine powder made of dried basil leaves was used in the
olden days as a snuff to clear blocked noses.
ON THE LOOKOUT:
Every Greek and Vietnamese front yard seems to have basil
plants. Basil releases its aroma on touch. Some Greek fami-
lies use them as a border plant along a footpath that is near
the front door so they have an advance notice of visitors—a
kind of olfactory bell.
O. basilicum is the sweet annual basil of European culti-
vation. Ask your Russian friends for the famous Malarossy
Bazilike. Ask your Spanish friends for Albaca Menuda (Fine
Basil) and Albaca de Hojas de Ortiga, or Nettle-leafed Basil
which is called Basilico Arricciato by the Italians.
Then there is Holy Basil (o. sanctum) in India, the sacred
plant of the gods Krishna and Vishnu. It is bushy and has
purple calyces.
O. gratissimum is cultivated in Thailand and Malaysia as
‘Selaseh Besar’, coming in several exotic scents. It has quite
small leaves.
O. canum is the ‘Kemangi’ or ‘Hoary Basil’ in Java and Ma-
laysia. It is an annual with a lot of branches up to one metre
tall. The aromatic leaves are used in laksa and the seeds are
used to make jelly. 21
Adapted from The Seed Savers’ Handbook by Jude and
Michel Fanton (Seed Savers’ Network 1993)
 IN THE GARDEN:
MARCH - JUNE
Seasonal garden guides for all climates.
TROPICAL
ARID
MEDITERRANEAN
SUBTROPICAL
COOL TEMPERATE
WARM TEMPERATE
COOL TEMPERATE
Words by Fabian Capomolla
:KDɕƲȶƬˌ • Feed the soil in March by removing spent crops and add-
• March: Brussels sprouts (seedling tray), broad beans,
beetroot, broccoli (seedling tray), cabbage (seedling tray),
carrot, chives, coriander, daikon, endive, fennel, kale,
kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, pak choy/
bok choy, radish, rocket, shallots (plant bulbs), silverbeet,
turnips.
• April: Brussels sprouts, broad beans, beetroot, broccoli,
cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, chives, endive, fennel, garlic
(plant cloves), kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, mustard
greens, onions, pak choy/bok choy, parsley, peas, radish,
rocket, shallots (plant bulbs), silverbeet, spinach, turnip.
• May: Broad beans, beetroot, carrot, chives, fennel, garlic,
kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, onions,
parsley, peas, radish, shallots (plant bulb), silverbeet,
spinach, turnip.
• June: Broad beans, garlic (plant cloves), mustard greens,
onions, peas, radish.
22
:KDɕƲȶŽR
• Look to make the most of your summer crop bounty by
preserving and pickling. March is a great time to make
sugo (pasta sauce).
ing good quality compost into the garden beds. Remove
mulch to cool soil for the incoming winter crops.
• Chillies will now be ripe on the plants, so remove and dry
out. Cut the chilli plants back hard so they can survive
over the winter.
• Fruit such as any remaining tomatoes will be taking longer
to ripen on the vine, therefore remove and ripen inside.
Autumn fruits such as figs and persimmons will start to
appear. Net these trees to keep the birds at bay. Pears and
apples should be in abundance, so now is the prime time
to make homemade cider.
• Feed the soil with nitrogen by planting winter crops of
broad beans and peas. Look to save seeds from last sea-
son’s crops and store these in a dry, dark spot in prepara-
tion for sowing later on in the year. Harvest and dry any
summer herbs.
• Companion plant your brassica crops with white flower-
ing plants to confuse the cabbage white moth. Net young
seedlings with superfine mesh to inhibit them from laying
eggs on the underside of the foliage. Cut back on water-
ing, and remove mulch from around plants if starting to
get waterlogged.
WARM TEMPERATE
Words by Alison Mellor

:KDɕƲȶƬˌ :KDɕƲȶŽR
• March: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, broad
beans, lettuce, rocket, parsley, radish, coriander, beetroot,
potatoes.
• April: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and kohlrabi,
garlic, coriander, celery, onions, carrots, leeks, broad
beans, snow peas, podded peas.
• May: Kohlrabi, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Red Russian
kale, broad beans, snow peas, podded peas, sweet peas.
• June: Silverbeet, lettuce, parsley, Asian greens, radish,
asparagus crowns, rhubarb, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic
chives, comfrey, yarrow, yacon.
MEDITERRANEAN
Words by Nadja Osterstock
:KDɕƲȶƬˌ • Remove shading as days shorten and there is less intense
• March: Asian greens, beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrot,
celeriac, celery, horseradish, kale, leek, lettuce, radish,
rocket, silverbeet, spinach, swede, turnip, watercress.
• April: Artichoke, asparagus crowns, beetroot, broad
beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauli-
flower, celeriac, celery, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce,
onion, radish, rocket, silverbeet, spinach, swede, turnip,
watercress.
• May: Artichoke, asparagus crowns, beetroot, broad beans,
broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower,
celeriac, celery, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, onion,
radish, rocket, silverbeet, spinach, swede, turnip, water-
cress.
• June: Artichoke, asparagus crowns, beetroot, broad
beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauli-
flower, celeriac, celery, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce,
onion, radish, rhubarb, rocket, silverbeet, spinach, swede,
turnip, watercress.

• Harvest basil and get busy making pesto. Be sure to leave
some basil to go to flower, as honeybees and native bees
love it! Let some of your bean pods fully mature, then dry
out the seeds to save for next summer. Harvest mature
pumpkins, leaving a few centimetres of stalk attached.
• Clear out any finished summer crops and prepare the
beds for winter crops by incorporating compost or build-
ing up the beds no-dig gardening style.
• Sow or plant some alyssum and sweet peas for winter
colour.
• In May, cut back spent perennial herbs such as sages and
Echinacea.
• Check on young brassicas for cabbage white butterfly
eggs and caterpillars, and squash or remove. Alterna-
tively, set up a growing area with fine netting to keep the
butterflies out. Feed brassicas with seaweed solution
every couple of weeks.
• May and June is a great time to tackle garden building
projects like chicken houses, frog ponds and native bee
hotels.
• Harvest some bamboo to dry out for tomato and bean
stakes in the summer.
:KDɕƲȶŽR
heat (except for any late hot spikes).
• In March and April, feed citrus while there’s still enough
warmth for them to use it, especially if they are potted.
• Watch for vines dying back, and knock on melons to see
if they sound hollow. Cut pumpkins with plenty of stalk
and let them cure for a few weeks before using or storing
over winter.
• Spread mature compost around fruit trees, dig it into ve-
gie beds and use a small amount to make compost tea for
liquid plant feeds. Water compost in well, especially if soil
has become water repellent over a long dry summer.
• Order bare-rooted deciduous trees for winter planting and
get the soil ready to plant in June.
• Nurture leafy greens with liquid fertilisers (e.g. fish solu-
tion, weed tea, worm wee, seaweed), watering over the
whole plant for a foliar and root-feed to ensure maximum
absorption.
• If you live in a low-lying or frosty spot, protect any vul-
nerable plants by covering them on clear nights, and don’t
prune off frost-damaged parts of plants until the frost risk
has passed, as they protect the healthy parts below.
23
 ARID
Words by Alex McClean

:KDɕƲȶƬˌ :KDɕƲȶŽR
• March: Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese
• Set irrigation to an autumn setting as the first signs of
greens, kale, swede, potato. Start planting parsnip, beans
cool weather arrive. Autumn is also a great time for plant-
and peas. Keep planting tomato, sweet corn, carrot, silver-
ing fruit trees and natives, giving them six full months of
beet, beetroot, parsley, radish.
cool weather before next summer arrives. Citrus, mulber-
• April: Swede, parsnip, beans, peas, celery, kale, leek,
ry, figs, olives, and passionfruit all do great planted out at
onion, carrot, silverbeet, beetroot, shallot, parsley, lettuce,
this time of year.
radish, chives, spring onions, spinach. Keep planting cori-
• Finish as much autumn vegie planting as you can before
ander, Chinese greens, broccoli, cauliflower, onion.
the first frosts arrive in early May. April is a great month
• May: Parsnip, turnip, peas, leek, kale. Start planting:
for pruning and feeding citrus and other evergreen fruit
artichoke, rhubarb. Keep planting onion, Chinese greens,
trees. Prune lightly and feed one third of annual require-
broccoli, carrot, silverbeet, beetroot, shallot, parsley,
ments (the other 2/3 can be applied in spring).
lettuce, radish.
• Make sure any frost tender plants are protected if you’re
• June: Parsnip, spinach, chives. Keep planting swede,
south of the tropic of Capricorn, as the first frosts can
cabbage, Chinese greens, turnip, peas, kale, leak, onion,
arrive in early May.
carrot, silverbeet, beetroot, shallot, parsley, lettuce, radish.
• Preparing planting holes early for mid-winter plantings
of deciduous fruit trees and grape vines will bear great
results down the track.
• Start planting out your deciduous fruit trees and vines
now, but save pruning until late June and July – and don’t
forget to take hardwood cuttings for propagation when
you do.
• The wood fire will be going in the house so you might
be tempted to put the ash on the garden, but be careful!
This will raise the pH of your soil, already a big issue in
many arid areas reliant on ground water for drinking and
irrigation.

SUBTROPICAL
Words by Morag Gamble

:KDɕƲȶƬˌ :KDɕƲȶŽR
• March: Beetroot, broad beans, beans, capsicum, carrot, • From March onwards, finish clearing summer weeds, then
coriander, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, leek (seedlings), mulch before winter weeds get a foothold.
lettuce, okra, pak choy, potato, radish, rosella, rocket, sil- • Plant winter tomatoes in a spot where they will get at
verbeet, spring onion, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. least six hours of direct sunlight daily.
• April: Beetroot, broad beans, beans, capsicum, carrot, • Divide and transplant overgrown perennials.
coriander, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, leek (seedlings), • Propagate herbs and shrubs from cuttings.
lettuce, okra, onion, pak choy, peas (climbing, sugar snap • In June, prune deciduous fruit trees and shrubs, and plant
and snow), potato, radish, rosella, rocket, silverbeet, bare-rooted varieties.
spring onion, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini. • Feed leafy greens with a liquid fertiliser.
• May: Beetroot, broad beans, beans, capsicum, carrot,
cucumber, eggplant, garlic, leek (seedlings), lettuce, okra,
onion, pak choy, peas (climbing, sugar snap and snow),
potato, radish, rosella, rocket, silverbeet, spring onion,
strawberries, sweet potato, tomato, zucchini.
• June: Beetroot, broad beans, beans, capsicum, carrot,
cucumber, eggplant, garlic, leek (seedlings), lettuce, okra,
pak choy, parsnip, potato, radish, rosella, rocket, silver-
24
beet, spring onion, strawberries, sweet potato, tomato,
zucchini.
TROPICAL
Words by Emma Lupin
:KDɕƲȶŽR
:KDɕƲȶƬˌ • Rain will be lessening, so top mulch garden beds with hay
• March: Eggplant, okra, snake beans, chilli, sweet pota- to keep moisture in.
toes, cassava, taro, turmeric, ginger, yam bean (Jicama), • The end of March will be a good time to prune fruit trees,
galangal, Thai basil, sweet basil, lemon basil, garlic chives, particularly citrus.
Thai coriander, Vietnamese mint, mint, oregano, Ceylon • Start planning for the drier months, harvesting all the
spinach, Brazilian spinach, abika, sweet leaf, kale, bok many wet season wonders including snake beans, wing
choy, pak choy, choy sum, mustard greens. beans, okra, chili and eggplant.
• April: Eggplant, snake beans, chili, zucchini, flying saucer • Cut off the manure crops (such as mung beans) to add a
squash, tomato, radish, green beans, snow peas, corn, green manure into the beds.
cucumber, sweet potato, cassava, taro, turmeric, ginger, • April and May are great times to dig up root vegies, such
yam bean (Jicama), galangal, Thai basil, sweet basil, lem- as sweet potatoes and cassava, and replace the areas
on basil, garlic chives, Thai coriander, Vietnamese mint, with dry season crops. Keep some cuttings going for the
mint, oregano, parsley, rocket, Ceylon spinach, Brazilian wet season in a smaller area.
spinach, abika, sweet leaf, kale, bok choy, pak choy, choy • Keep the water up and make sure all the correct crops are
sum, mustard greens. in full sun for best growth.
• May: Eggplant, snake beans, chilli, zucchini, flying saucer • This time of year, wicking beds can be used to save wa-
squash, tomato, radish, honeydew melon, watermelon, ter, as can vine wind breaks to keep south-easterly winds
green beans, snow peas, Jap and butternut pumpkin, from drying out the plants.
corn, sweet potato, cassava, taro, turmeric, ginger, yam
bean (Jicama), galangal, Thai basil, sweet basil, lemon
basil, garlic chives, Thai coriander, Vietnamese mint, mint,
oregano, parsley, rocket, baby spinach, rocket, Brazilian
spinach, sweet leaf, kale, bok choy, pak choy, choy sum,
mustard greens, nasturtiums, zinnias, edible pea flowers
and sunflowers.
• June: Eggplant, snake beans, chilli, zucchini, flying saucer
squash, tomato, radish, honeydew melon, watermelon,
green beans, snow peas, pumpkin, cucumber, sweet po-
tato, cassava, taro, turmeric, ginger, yam bean (Jicama),
galangal, Thai basil, sweet basil, lemon basil, garlic chives,
Thai coriander, Vietnamese mint, mint, oregano, parsley,
rocket, baby spinach, rocket, sweet leaf, kale, bok choy,
pak choy, choy sum, mustard greens, nasturtiums, zinnias.

25
Kate Berry

MAKING A MUSHROOM GARDEN
Words by Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar
Learning how to grow mushrooms from scratch is
a little bit like learning a magic trick. And yet once
you have the basic skills and principles sorted out, it’s
really very doable.
Cultivating mushrooms is an excellent way to vastly increase
both the diversity and the nutrition of your homegrown pro-
duce. And conveniently, mushrooms can be grown in disused
areas with little light, so they slot into a home food system
without competing for the same space as your other growing
projects.
Blue oysters, garden giants, enokitake, pink oysters, turkey
tail, shiitake, reishi, pioppini—a whole world of mushrooms
can be grown down the side of your house, the place where
not much else grows, as well as in buckets in the empty space
under the porch, under your stairs, or even under your couch.
Don’t have much light? Mushrooms don’t mind. If they have a
stable temperature to grow in and can be moved to a humid
environment to fruit in, they’re happy.
As a bonus, home mushroom cultivation can be run mainly
(or exclusively if you like) on common waste products—wood-
chips, coffee grounds, straw, cardboard, tree prunings and so
on. The cost for setting up home cultivation can be very small,
and once you get right into it, you can harvest all year round
and each month can be packed with nutrient-dense mush-
room goodness.
Don’t be put off by the technical ‘mushroom speak’. Gener-
ally, mushrooms are not well understood, but once you’ve got
the fundamentals straight, the processes are straightforward.
GROW
And then you’ll have a potential lifetime of mushroom har-
vests ahead of you to nourish and heal your family, to swap
and share, and you’ll be able to teach others how to grow
them as well.
Bring on the mushrooms.
MUSHROOM GARDENS
Mushroom gardens are a great way to use up odds and ends
of woodchips and any spawn that needs a home, as well as
creating resilience in your garden with yet another periodic,
seasonal food stream that needs little attention.
There’s also the input for outputs factor—considering what
you put into mushroom gardens (a bunch of woodchips and
some spawn) and what you get out of them (many flushes of
tasty mushrooms, and then great compost at the end), it’s a
winner of a technique.
The basic processes are the same as for any other mush-
room cultivation. You want to build up a large quantity of ac-
tively growing mycelium in a suitable substrate. The easiest
method is to inoculate a large quantity of minimally processed
woodchips in situ with grain spawn.
MAKING A MUSHROOM GARDEN
You’ll need to find a good spot for your mushroom garden—
somewhere that’s reasonably moist with dappled shade. Take
advantage of places that are too shady for vegetable gardens. 27
A blackberry patch or similar brambles makes a good choice
(once you’ve removed the brambles, of course).
 You will need:
• Corrugated cardboard to cover an area 2 x 2 metres
• Approximately 200 litres of pasteurised hardwood
woodchips, prepared a week ahead using the pasteuri-
sation/fermentation method (see box)
• At least 5 litres of spawn (see following page)
1. Remove the grass from a 2 x 2 metre area of ground
(leave any small bushes).
2. Cover the bare ground with a double layer of soaked
corrugated cardboard. Cover the cardboard with a 5 cm
(2 inch) thick layer of the prepared woodchips. Spread
the spawn in a layer over the woodchips, then cover
with another 5–10 cm (2–4 inch) layer of woodchips.
3. Periodically water your mushroom patch to ensure the
woodchips stay a little moist—the equivalent to 25 mm
(1 inch) of rainfall per week is a good amount.
4. Keep an eye on your mushroom patch. After a few
months, the mycelium should have colonised the wood-
chips. When conditions are right for the mushroom
species you are cultivating, they should begin to fruit.
TIPS
Woodchips from eucalyptus, willow, poplar, alder, maple,
birch, ash or even fruit trees will all work.
WHAT’S THAT SMELL?
The fermentation process of the woodchips is the anaero-
28 bic organisms (that don’t require oxygen) eating the available
sugars and producing waste products. This is a good thing,
as it uses up some of the available sugars in the woodchips
(less sugar = less contamination) and the waste products are
toxic to aerobes. This is why it smells! The anaerobes are
also eating the competition directly because the water causes
spores of aerobes to germinate and then they are eaten by
the anaerobes.
This technique will work well for smaller areas, too—just
scale down the quantities accordingly. One square metre (11
square feet) is a good minimum size to work from.
PASTEURISING THE WOODCHIP SUBSTRATE
Compared to bucket or jar cultivation, you need a lot of
prepared substrate for a mushroom garden—we’re not
just talking about small volumes. We’re talking wheelbar-
row-loads of woodchip substrate. Fear not, it’s entirely
doable using simple tools and zero energy inputs.
This technique is a very low-tech hybrid pasteurisation/
fermentation method that prepares the woodchips while
effectively drowning or smothering any microbiology that
might compete with your mycelium. It was taught to Nick
by Paul Stamets in the USA, and we now use it at home.
To use this technique, take the required amount of
hardwood woodchips and submerge them in a big drum
of clean water for a week. We use a garbage can lid
that fits inside the drum and place a brick on top to hold
the woodchips under the water. This will kill any aerobic
(oxygen-breathing) microorganisms in the woodchips.
During this time, if the woodchips are fresh, they will
also begin to bubble and ferment.
After a week, and once you’re ready to make your mush-
room garden, drain the woodchips, all in one go. Draining
will flood the woodchips with oxygen, killing most anaero-
bic microorganisms. The woodchips are now pasteurised,
and you’re ready to build your mushroom garden.
Kirsten Bradley

GROW
Kate Berry
Front page: Harvested king oyster mushrooms.
This page, clockwise from top left: The finished mush-
room garden; Fermented woodchips, ready to be used
as substrate; Stropharia rugosoannulata; Cardboard,
fermented woodchips and a box of woodchip spawn.

Ann F. Berger

29
Kirsten Bradley
 GERMINATE AND

Brenna Quinlan
SPORES GROW INTO HYPHAE GROW INTO
MYCELIUM
MATE &
MATURE MUSHROOM COMBINE

MUSHROOM DEVELOPS

PINS FORM

GOOD SPECIES FOR MUSHROOM GARDENS
• Stropharia rugosoannulata (king stropharia or garden
giant). This is one of our favourite outdoor mushroom
species. It loves to live with a rich diversity of microor-
ganisms.
• Pleurotus eryngii (king oyster, boletus of the steppes).
King oyster mushrooms are from the Mediterranean
and can handle slightly drier conditions. They thrive
in symbiosis with Eryngium sp. (sea holly) and other
plants from the Apiaceae family, so plant some sea holly,
fennel, parsley or angelica in the same garden.
• Flammulina velutipes (enokitake). Enokitake grow wild
where we live. In the middle of winter, they grow on all
kinds of stumps and they particularly like the pruned
stems of our currant bushes.
Once the mycelium has colonised and eaten as much of its
chosen food as it can, and when conditions are right, the my-
celium will start to form fruiting bodies in the form of mush-
rooms, to reproduce and extend its territory.
Mushrooms are incredible little pieces of life. They’re ‘an-
ti-gravity’, meaning they’ll push upwards with uncanny force,
through wood or soil or sometimes even asphalt in a bid to get
up into the fresh air and the light, to spread their spores. Just
a few days later, they’re rotted and gone.
Like peaches, mushrooms are a tasty, unprotected food—
their mission is to be eaten. In the process of being knocked
about, picked up or generally taken apart, their tiny spores
spread near and far, in their millions, with some spores land-
ing in just the right spot to begin the process of life all over
again.

LIFE CYCLE OF A MUSHROOM This is an extract from Milk-

Mushrooms start off as spores, emitted from a mushroom wood’s latest book, Milkwood:
much like seeds from a seed pod. When a spore lands on Real skills for down to earth
a suitable substance, it grows into a hypha—a little thread living by Kirsten Bradley and
composed mainly of mycochitin, a similar substance to that Nick Ritar (Murdoch Books
which crustaceans use to make their shells. When two or 2018), RRP $45.00. Photogra-
more hypha grow near each other, they bond together and phy by Kate Berry and Kirsten
share their genes to produce mycelium, a large network of Bradley. Illustrations by Brenna
hyphae, looking a little like a branching web of delicate white Quinlan. www.milkwood.net
threads or roots.
Different mycelium eat different things. Some break down
whatever woody substances they can get close to. Some my-
celium have special relationships with certain tree species, This article represents the permaculture
sharing sugars and other nutrients with plant roots. Some principle USE AND VALUE DIVERSITY.
30 mycelium eat insects, or live within them. They’re truly em- For more info go to page 93.
bedded into every aspect of life on earth, in a range of sym-
biotic roles.
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GROW YOUR OWN CARROTS
Words by Emily Stokes
Photos by Robyn Rosenfeldt
The humble carrot may be easy and cheap to buy, but
the absolute pleasure of picking a few fresh carrots
to crunch on straight from your garden and the taste
sensation you will receive are well worth the invest-
ment of your time.
With a bit of good planning, it’s possible to have a supply of
carrots from your garden nearly year round, and what a food
to have on hand—this versatile vegetable is an absolute pow-
erhouse of nutrition. Raw, steamed, baked or juiced, carrots
are packed with vitamins any way you eat them. And the
humble carrot has a beautiful secret that only carrot growers
will get to discover.
SOIL
Being a taproot, carrots need soil that their roots can easily
grow into. If a carrot has to push its way through heavy clay,
compacted or stony soil, then this can slow down growth and
cause deformed roots. Sandy, loamy, loose soil that is deep
and well dug is best. You will find that different parts of your
garden will grow better carrots than others, so you may need
to experiment with different areas.
Carrots are not heavy feeders and like to grow in soil that
has been fertilised or composted in a previous season. Over-
ly-enriched soil can cause misshapen roots also. The aim is
to grow long, straight, smooth roots. Having said that, you can
buy seed varieties that are small and bulbous that will happily
grow in more shallow soils.
GROW
PLANTING
While it’s possible to transplant carrots from seedlings, being
a root vegetable, it makes sense to grow them directly from
seed. As the seeds are small and difficult to handle, it’s a
good idea to mix them with some dry sand before planting.
Dig a trench about 2 cms deep, keeping your trenches in rows
about 30 cms apart. Sprinkle your seed/sand mix into the
trench and fill over top with light soil. Once the carrot tops
are about 10 cm tall you can do a first thinning, leaving about
5 cm between plants. Thin them again a few weeks later to
leave a final spacing of about 8 cm. Your thinnings will make
for a juicy snack.
Something that often seems to trip people up when growing
carrots is getting the seed to germinate. If you want to grow
carrots successfully, you need only remember one thing—
moisture. Once you plant your carrot seeds you must keep
them moist (but not too wet) until they start to pop out of the
ground. Carrot seedlings are too fine to push through a dry
crust.
Some gardeners will cover their carrot bed with shadecloth
or hessian, or even a plank of wood, in order to prevent the
soil drying out during germination. Then you need to keep up
a very regular light sprinkling of water through the shadecloth
or hessian. Lots of love in those early weeks.
33
Carrots can take a 1–3 weeks to germinate, so don’t panic if
they take a while to appear. Once they do appear, remove the
cover and let your carrot babies enjoy the sunlight.
 Front page: Freshly pulled carrots, straight from the garden.
This page, clockwise from top left: A carrot starting to show
its size through the top of the soil. You want carrots to be at
least 2.5 cm in diameter before you pick them; Carrot patch
ready for the first thinning; Carrots come in lots of shapes,
colours and sizes; Thinning carrots allows other carrots to grow
larger in size.

34

WHEN TO PLANT
Carrots are usually sown in late winter in warm climates, and
mid-spring in cool climates. However, many varieties say you
can grow them year round, and if you do a few plantings three
weeks apart you will have a nice succession of carrots to
eat in your home garden. Keep in mind that carrots grown
through a few frosts can have more flavour as the plant will
start to store energy as sugar in the roots for later use. Really
hot weather can cause carrots to grow fibrous.
HARVEST & STORAGE
Carrots can take 2–4 months to mature, depending on the
variety and climate. Harvest your carrots at whatever stage
you like or wait until you can see they are about 2.5 cm in di-
ameter. Scratch the soil away from the top of the carrot to see
their size. This may be within three months. Don’t be misled
by bushy tops (especially if they have been overfertilised), as
the roots might still be spindly. You might want to wet down
the bed before you harvest to make the carrots easier to pull
out, or gently use a fork.
One of the great pleasures of growing your own carrots
is eating them fresh from the garden. They store well in the
ground so you can harvest them as you need them. Carrots
are quite cold-hardy and will be fine in the ground through
winter, especially with some mulch on top. If you’d like to
harvest your carrots to make room in your garden, pull them
out, twist the tops off, scrub off the dirt and store them in a
tub of moist sand somewhere cool.
VARIETIES
There seems to be an endless variety of carrots with a pleth-
ora of different names and colours from orange to white, red,
yellow, purple and crimson. Look for a variety that will suit
your climate and a size to suit your garden bed. The Nantes
bright orange heirloom variety is great because of the large
cylindrical root that doesn’t taper at the end. It’s also very
sweet. You can buy heirloom Paris Market varieties that have
a small bulbous root suitable for smaller garden beds or pots.
If you’re keen and have only a small space to grow carrots,
GROW
there are a few interesting ideas out there you can try. One is
to bury 45 cm lengths of drainpipe vertically into the garden
bed, fill it with a soil and compost mix, and plant your seeds
on top. The carrots will grow the length of the drainpipe and
then into the garden bed beneath. If you want to be in with
a chance of winning the ‘longest carrot at the show’ award,
then this could definitely be worth a try!
GROWING ISSUES
Carrots are generally disease-free in the home garden, al-
though occasionally slugs and snails can be a problem. You
can deter carrot whitefly by companion planting onions with
your carrots. For carrot maggot, you can sprinkle coffee
grounds or diatomaceous earth around your plants. If you end
up with amusing carrot shapes, twisted around itself or rather
hairy, then you may have added too much manure or nitrogen
to your beds, you may not have thinned your carrots enough
or you may have planted in soil that is too heavy.
SAVING SEED & THE BEAUTIFUL SECRET OF
CARROTS
Not until you decide you love growing carrots and want to
save the seed will you discover that carrot has a beautiful
flower head. Is it worth the wait though? Carrot is a biennial.
In its first growing season it will put out a taproot and then
later it will produce secondary roots off the taproot, and final-
ly, if you’ve managed to wait that long, in its second year you
will see the carrot flower.
If you are harvesting your carrots and find the perfect spec-
imen, you can store it for replanting later. Otherwise you can
transplant immediately to a designated area of your garden
and it will continue to grow and finally give you the flower
head full of seed. Imagine if we all had the garden space and
time to slow down our lives enough to plant beds of carrots
just for their beautiful flowers!
35
This article represents the permaculture
principle OBTAIN A YIELD. For more info
go to page 93.
Robyn Rosenfeldt

AN UNUSUAL RETROFIT
Words by Samantha Allemann
You won’t find many homes in the inner city that have
intentionally shrunk to make way for a larger garden,
but that’s what happened behind a bright red door in
Northcote, Melbourne.
Alistair Tuffnell and Christine Baro live with their cat Peppino
in a two bedroom workers’ cottage. When Alistair bought the
house twenty years ago, it was rundown, dark and all he could
afford in the area. His partner Christine moved in three years
later and they had big plans for living off the land.
‘We went to Tassie where we were going to buy a farm, but
that didn’t work out,’ says Alistair. ‘So all of the things that we
wanted to do down there, we thought, “stuff it, let’s do it here
instead.” ’
THE RETROFIT
Hesitant to take out a loan, the couple instead started small in
their foray into retrofitting their home. They purchased a solar
electricity system, 1.5kW (eight panels) for $5000 in 2011,
which has since paid for itself.
The retrofit began a year later. One of the first priorities
was letting more light into the 100-year-old cottage. With its
high ceilings and narrow hallway, the house was cold and
gloomy in winter. The space was opened up by demolishing
the bathroom and kitchen at the back of the house, transform-
ing it into a glasshouse. This also made the house smaller,
extending the size of their north-facing garden.
BUILD
THE GLASSHOUSE
While a local builder, Peter Samsonidis, led the build, the
glasshouse design was Christine’s idea, inspired by the glass-
house David Holmgren created in his mother’s house.
Not only does the glasshouse bring copious amounts of light
into the living room and new bathroom and kitchen, it’s also a
source of passive solar. Alistair says that the temperature is
usually ideal in Melbourne’s cooler months, and while it gets
quite hot in summer, reeds and bamboo provide shade when
needed.
BATHROOM AND TOILET
The coverings also provide privacy for the shower, bathtub
and toilet—pretty important considerations for the close liv-
ing confines of the inner city. While the bathroom was being
relocated, a five-storey apartment complex crept into the sky
directly behind the house, so screens were utilised and fence
screens added. ‘We’ve tried to make it as best we can where
we’ve got privacy and the people next door don’t get to see
things they don’t want to see either!’ says Alistair.
The alfresco toilet sits behind a bamboo screen and is sur-
rounded by cucuzza squash vines in summer, but having no
walls or door, it’s still exposed to the rest of the garden. It was
37
inspired by a similar design Christine saw in Guatemala. ‘I feel
claustrophobic in an indoor toilet,’ she says.
As for braving Melbourne’s winter chill when you need to
go? ‘The alfresco toilet is amazing to acclimatise the body
 to the seasons,’ says Christine. ‘Yeah, it’s cold—you just go
quicker,’ says Alistair.
Alistair acknowledges that the alfresco toilet is cultural-
ly challenging. ‘I’m very mainstream middle class—none of
my friends have a toilet outside and some people just don’t
feel comfortable using it,’ he says. ‘But there’s a public toilet
across the road if someone is really desperate.’
MATERIALS
The windows of the glasshouse came courtesy of a friend
who lives in Tasmania. ‘All we had to do was pay for shipping
which was only around $100,’ says Alistair.
Alistair and Christine
had no prior building
experience
Many of the materials came from a salvage yard in nearby
Preston, with some of the wood locally sourced. A dance hall
was pulled down to make way for the apartment complex,
so Alistair managed to snare lots of the Oregon timber on its
way out. It received new life as the doors and walls of the
glasshouse and Christine’s shiatsu hut (which sits at the far
end of the garden, next to the toolshed), as well as being made
into an island bench for the kitchen. Other wood came from
Northcote train station and the high school Alistair works at.
38 ‘All of this wood has a story of local place, some of it over a
hundred years old,’ he says. ‘Its story continues as it lives as
benches and rafters and so forth in our home today.’
LOCAL CONNECTION
The builder and plumber were both local, with the heavy
drapes in the living room sewn by the builder’s wife, and the
kitchen benchtops crafted by a friend.
‘I built relationships by getting local people—that way
they’re accessible when you need them for maintenance,’
says Alistair. ‘You either have to have the skills to fix things or
you need to be able to access people who have those skills.’
TWEAKS AND COMPROMISES
The retrofit took three years, allowing the couple to take their
time to observe and reassess their design as needed. Plans
that changed along the way included swapping the compost
toilet (too hot in its desired location and impractical) for the
alfresco option, and opting for recycled jarrah flooring for the
glasshouse instead of gravel.
Compromises were also made, with Christine’s preference
for a Hikari Japanese bath winning out over Alistair’s sugges-
tion of a claw foot tub.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
Alistair and Christine had no prior building experience, but
they were well supported by their friends as well as the pro-
fessionals they hired. ‘Heaps of people were involved—it was
a labour of love,’ says Alistair. ‘People are practical when
they’re given the opportunity.’
About twenty friends, including ‘a very strong friend going
through a break-up who thought smashing down walls was
the best therapy’, helped with the retrofit.
‘It was all pretty informal,’ says Alistair. ‘Just by chatting
 BUILD

39
Robyn Rosenfeldt
Oliver Holmgren Alistair Tuffnell
 to friends, family and colleagues about our retrofit ideas did
it evolve into people offering to come and help, or we asked
them if we thought it was something they may be interested
in or had knowledge they’d be willing to share.’
COST
All up, the retrofit cost approximately $30 000, a modest sum
considering the level of change and improvement made. The
best money spent was paying their $120 000 mortgage off
before the retrofit.
‘To be mortgage free, although at a great personal cost (of
Front page: The glasshouse running down the side of
the house with the Japanese bath looking onto the
garden. Page 39, clockwise from top: Alistair and
Christine in kitchen-loungeroom; The north facing
glasshouse that heats the house in winter; Outside
toilet in backyard. This page, above to below: Plans of
house and garden; Their house has the yin and yang
symbol on the back wall.

Oliver Holmgren
working two jobs in my late twenties and the damage this
cost me of lost time from family and personal relationships),
has allowed us the time and freedom to do the self-managed
retrofit we have done,’ says Alistair.
The biggest cost was playing their builder, $50 an hour—
money also well-spent, says Alistair. ‘I trusted him as he did a
quality job for a fair price and he trusted me to work with him
as I helped out with the grunt work of the building,’ he says.
‘This is when I started really learning how to build/retrofit a
house, because the builder was proud of his craft and I was
an enthusiastic learner.’

A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE
Alistair and Christine’s retrofit has showed their friends and
family another way of living.
‘It’s really important to see different ways of doing things,’
says Alistair. ‘Australian houses are getting bigger with less
people living in them, so people who come over are able to
see a viable alternative to that.’

For more info on this retrofit and how to retrofit your own
life visit www.retrosuburbia.com.

This article represents the permaculture

principle USE EDGES AND VALUE THE
MARGINAL. For more info go to page 93.

40
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FOOD TRADITIONS:
SHARING A LOVE OF FOOD
Words by Emily Stokes

Food traditions are vital in binding us together as fam- FOOD PREPARATION DAY

EAT
ilies and as communities. From our very first mouth- For Rennie Tumino in Korumburra, Victoria, growing up mak-
ful, food deeply connects us to other humans. It con- ing passata was a family tradition that he will definitely be
nects us to our parents and grandparents, connects us passing on to his children. ‘We’ve always had Passata Day,’
to our friends, and can connect us to our children in he says. ‘Mum and Dad couldn’t buy passata in Australia when
how we share our food knowledge, habits and values they first arrived in 1952 so they had to make their own.’
with them. Even when he left home, Rennie got roped into returning
to help his family uphold this food tradition. Now he has been
Food expresses our cultural identity and helps define us. In
holding his own Passata Day for many years to celebrate the
some cultures eating is always a social activity. Sit down at
tomato harvest and preserve tomatoes to use for the rest of
an Arab or Chinese dining table and you will not eat from
the year. ‘My wife said to me once, ‘you know, you can buy
a single plated dish per person, you will eat from shared,
passata now’, but that’s not the point. Whether it tastes dif-
communal platters. Immigrants take their food traditions with
ferent or not, it’s really about spending the day with friends
them to new countries and cook the food they know as a
and family.’
way to preserve their culture. If you grew up with the smell
‘Every summer it’s Passata Day, every winter it’s Salami
of Nonna’s slow-cooked sugo wafting through the house, it
Day. Then there’s Lamb Day, and we also have a day where
will have created a bond with your family that will be there
we harvest all our peas from the garden, then all sit down
for life.
together and shell the peas and prepare them for the freezer.
For many of us, food traditions are not part of our social
We have a bit of a laugh when we’re together and we talk,’
fabric anymore. They have been lost amongst a busy life of
he says.
full-time work, running a household and trying to navigate a
Passatta Day involves about 15 to 20 people coming togeth-
healthy diet. But it’s not too late to resurrect or create a food
er at Rennie’s family home, using the equipment to squeeze
tradition in your family, household or community, whether
tomatoes and bottle them for everyone to take home. ‘My sis-
it’s a regular Sunday meal with extended family, creating a
ter-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, everyone comes along
family cookbook, or one of the more involved food traditions
and pitches in,’ says Rennie. ‘We used to grow the tomatoes
outlined below.
but now we just buy them. For Salami Day we used to raise
It’s about taking the time to harvest or seek out quality in-
the pigs but it’s a lot of work, so now we just buy the pork.’
gredients, slowing down to prepare and cook quality meals,
Food, friends and family are the real winners. ‘These food 43
then really stopping and sitting down to eat with others. It
preparations days really promote family time, they promote
gives us a better appreciation for food, and better relation-
talking,’ he says. ‘And we really appreciate where our food
ships with food and those around us.
comes from because we’ve spent so much time preparing it.’
 Mick Oates
Jodie Lane
Front page: Rennie’s nephew Seth joining in on passata
day. This page, clockwise from top: Community dinner
on Bruny Island; Collecting olives; Passata Day with
Rennie’s family; Olives taste better when you pick them
yourself. Mariaelisa Tumino
Robyn Rosenfeldt

44
COMMUNITY DINNER
‘It’s an unstoppable beast now—I think we could be away and
it would still go on,’ says Jenene Oates, who began opening
her home on Bruny Island in Tasmania for a monthly commu-
nity dinner three years ago.
‘There can be ten people, there can be 50, it doesn’t mat-
ter because everyone brings a dish. And it’s amazing how
it works out every time, where there is an even spread of
dishes—some meat, some vegetarian dishes, some desserts,
some bread and dips. Except one time in the middle of winter
where there were ten trays of roast pumpkin!’
‘The oyster farmer brings oysters, someone who dives
brings crayfish, and the goat grower brings a goat dish,’ says
Jenene. ‘If there isn’t enough salad we just go into the garden
and gather some. One lovely reclusive Swiss farmer always
turns up with these delicate handmade pastries and a strong
homemade alcoholic cider. People really make an effort. If
they don’t particularly like cooking, it doesn’t matter. I just say
bring some biscuits for the dip, or it’s okay to turn up with
nothing.’
The community dinner started for Jenene after she read
Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton (Vintage Books 2013).
‘He talks about all the things religion provides that atheists
miss out on, and how people can start their own traditions to
gain those things. One of them is sharing food.’
To kick off her community dinner, Jenene originally handed
out an open invitation flyer to some friends and asked them
to pass it on. Her diners are made up of a slightly different
group of people than her usual friendship group, and this dy-
namic creates something wonderful. ‘They are all people who
believe in food, who believe in sharing food. Everyone brings
something from the heart, something fresh and seasonal,’ she
says.
100 forks, knives and plates came from the op shop, and
trestle tables are set up either inside or outside Jenene’s
home, depending on the weather. A fire is always going and
this keeps people socialising.
‘There is an element of risk to holding a community dinner,’
says Jenene. She finds people from all backgrounds, religions
and political angles end up sharing food together. ‘That’s
community. It’s not a monoculture. And out of that risk comes
wonderful things. I love that my kids see that. It’s always dif-
ferent, it’s always enjoyable. And everyone cleans up.’
HARVEST DAY CELEBRATION
Alan Watt has been opening his olive grove on the NSW Far
South Coast to community picking days during the harvest
period for 15 years. He has a few different formats for picking
days, which are organised when there are sufficient olives to
harvest and sent as an invitation to those who have picked
before.
‘We have a Pick and Pizza Day, which is more of a social
picking get together,’ says Alan. The olive picking goes from
9.30 am till 1 pm, with a morning tea break in between. ‘After
picking we settle in for a leisurely lunch of pizzas, which we
provide and that people make up and cook themselves in our
wood fired ovens.’
‘During and after lunch, the morning’s harvest will be pass-
ing through the olive press so you can see it in action and be
able to take home a souvenir bottle of fresh extra virgin olive
oil,’ says Alan. ‘We have up to 35–40 people on these days
which run over a number of weekends in the picking season.’
Alan uses another format called the Pick Your Own, or Pick
and Picnic Days, where groups of pickers with at least 14
adults arrange to meet at the property and pick olives for
whatever length of time they decide. Alan found this type of
event suited large families with children and those people
who wanted to gain a maximum return of olive oil in return
for their picking efforts.
‘This is a common and traditional method of exchange
throughout the Mediterranean olive growing region,’ he says.
‘The olives are pressed the day following the harvest and peo-
ple come and collect their olive oil. Pickers bring their own
lunch and drinks but we provide a barbeque.’
EAT
WHAT’S YOUR FOOD TRADITION?
‘My family food traditions revolve around
roast dinners and creamy rice pudding. All
seems right in the world when you can smell
it cooking. But that’s just half of it—setting the
table beautifully with napkins and candles turns
sharing a meal together into something special.’
– ANNA MASLEN
‘Something we are trying to resurrect in our
family is grace, not in the religious term but to
thank the farmer (who we are so disconnected
with today) for keeping us healthy and alive.’
– BRIAN WEHLBURG
‘My Nanna from Port Lincoln would visit
us in Ceduna with a Mazda full of apricots.
When she arrived we’d sit around the table
for the afternoon stewing apricots, making jam
and eating apricots. Definitely handing on the
preserving fruit tradition.’
– ROBYN MARTIN
This article represents the permaculture
principle INTEGRATE RATHER THAN
SEGREGATE. For more info go to page 93. 45
Maude Farrugia
RECIPES FOR THE APPLE HARVEST
Words by Maude Farrugia, Blake Harder,
Stan and Briony Robert and Emily Stokes
It’s apple season again! Apples eaten in season and
fresh are definitely the best for flavour, crunch and
vitality. If you have a healthy apple tree at home, you
may well be wondering what to do with them all.
Never fear, there are lots of ways to use up your apple
harvest and preserve the excess.
With an endless choice of varieties that cover almost the en-
tire alphabet, apples can be grown in every state, and are har-
vested from January to May depending on where you live. If
stored carefully you can be eating fresh apples all year round.
Whether you’re lucky enough to have your own apple tree,
can snaffle a few boxes of seconds from the markets or wild
harvest the trees in your neighbourhood, the apple bonanza is
upon us. Here are some ideas from several Australian apple
growers to make the most of this year’s harvest.
APPLE SCRAP VINEGAR
Recipe by Maude Farrugia
Apple scrap vinegar turns a few simple ingredients into some-
thing far greater than the sum of its parts. Unlike apple cider
vinegar, which is made of the high-value pure fermented juice
from apples, apple scrap vinegar is made from little more than
the waste from processing apples.
But don’t be put off by its scrappy name—it tastes remark-
ably similar to its more prestigious cider-derived cousin, and
can be made in bucket loads when apple eating season is on!
It’s also a great addition to homemade cleaning mixes, and
has multiple culinary and medicinal uses.
Note: not all apples are made equal, and the flavours you
get from different varieties will result in different flavoured
vinegars. In general we use whatever we have to hand, how-
ever these common eating varieties are also well-known to
create a decent cider blend: Yates, Granny Smith and Cox’s
Orange Pippin.
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp. raw sugar
• 1 tbsp. boiling water
• 1 litre of soft water (rainwater or tap water that has
been boiled and allowed to cool or been left uncovered
for 24 hours)
• 100 g organic apple scraps (peels and chopped cores—
EAT
you can hoard these in a container in the fridge over a
few days until you have enough to make vinegar)
Method
1. Add raw sugar and boiling water to a large jar or jug
that will hold a little over 1 litre. Stir until sugar dis-
solves.
2. Add water, then apple scraps. Stir vigorously and cover
loosely with muslin or calico.
3. Repeat stirring 3–5 times per day until mixture begins
to bubble of its own accord and smells a little alcoholic
(usually takes a week or less).
4. Strain out the apple scraps (they can be composted) and
return to jar.
5. Continue stirring 2–3 times a day (or less, it will just
take longer to turn into vinegar).
Begin testing your brew every few days for vinegary-ness. It
will start out tasting a lot like apple cider, and become more
and more sour as the acid-making bacteria colonise it. Once
it reaches a level of sourness and flavour you enjoy you can
bottle it.
If you’ve bottled it a little ‘young’, the vinegar may still com-
plete a secondary fermentation once bottled, so it’s wise to
release the lid every so often to let off any gas that may have
accumulated.
47
 APPLE CIDER
Recipe by Blake Harder, permaculture designer.
Ingredients
• 30 kg of mixed apples, tart and sweet (roughly equates
to 25 L of apple juice, depending on variety)
• Raw sugar for secondary fermentation (1 tsp per 750 ml
bottle)
• 1 sachet of brewing yeast (optional)
Equipment
• Mechanical crusher or a sturdy bucket and a clean,
sharp spade/shovel or length of sturdy timber
• Apple press (hydraulic, jack or worm-gear) or
heavy-duty home juicer
• 1 x 20–25 L brewing vessel, sterilised
• Air lock
• Hydrometer (optional)
• Bottles and caps to suit volume (sterlised)
• Capper
• Teaspoon and funnel for spooning sugar into bottles
• Siphon (some brewing vessels have a tap at the bottom
which eliminates the need to siphon)
Method
1. Juicing apples and fill barrel
• Juicing apples involves two stages: crushing and
pressing. This process helps to achieve a clear juice
with little sediment. Crush/bash/macerate the fruit
either mechanically or by hand with a bucket and
your choice of implement from the list above. You
are aiming to release as much juice as possible, this
means less work for your press/juicer and more
juice for you. If processing by hand you may want
to start with small batches (2-5kg).
• Transfer the crushed apple (called the pomace) into
your chosen press/juicer and press out the juice.
If using a home juicer, you may want to filter the
juice at this point. Pour into your brewing vessel, it
should be close to full. Too much air may introduce
unwanted bacteria which may make your brew
‘sick’. The leftover pomace (mostly apple skins, pulp
and seeds) is a good addition to the compost or can
be fed to most farm animals.
• Using the hydrometer, measure and record the
Specific Gravity (SG) of your juice. It should fall in
the range of 1050–1075. The SG is the density of
any liquid compared to water. The higher the read-
ing, the denser the liquid, and therefore the more
natural sugar present. The higher the sugar content,
the drier your cider will taste.
• If you don’t have a hydrometer, you know when
your cider is ready to bottle once the airlock has
48 stopped bubbling for at least a couple of days
(keeping in mind that fermentation is affected by
temperature, so some brews may stop if it gets too
cold and start again when it warms up—I’ve never
seen this with cider though).
2. Add yeast or go wild!
• Pitch (sprinkle) the yeast on top of the juice. Avoid
stirring as the yeast is more effective enmasse.
The yeast will create a happy bubbling layer on
top within a few days which also acts as a barrier
against any unwanted bacteria. I have had good,
consistent results using a champagne yeast (EC-
118). You may wish to be adventurous and try other
yeast strains.
• If you decide to go commercial yeast free, or wild,
then you are simply relying on the bacteria present
on the apples and in the air to do the fermenting. It
is a slower process and gives a different (yet wildly
pleasant) result every time.
• Place the lid on your vessel; be sure it is airtight.
Insert the air lock. Place your brew in a room that
has a steady temperature (15–20°C).
3. Wait and measure
• Your brew should start fermenting anywhere be-
tween 24 hours and 7 days. The airlock should be
cheerfully gurgling away. Don’t worry if it starts off
frothing, it just means you have a very active brew.
Check the SG after a week of constant stable bub-
bling, then again every couple of days until you be-
gin to record the same measurement (1000–1010).
Your brew is ready for bottling.
4. Bottle and wait
• Add sugar to clean bottles then pour in cider, cap
and label. Place in a cool, dark room to complete
the secondary fermentation (the fizzy bit) for at
least two weeks. Alternatively, you could bottle your
cider without additional sugar and drink it flat or
mixed with soda water.
• Cider can be cellared. Those made with a com-
mercial yeast have a shorter shelf-life than wild
ferments. In my experience, wild fermented cider
will mellow at around 12 months or more, whereas
commercial yeast brews are best consumed within
12 months.
To calculate the alcohol content of your brew, the most com-
mon formula is: ABV = (OG - FG) x 131.251
• ABV = Alcohol By Volume
• OG = Original Gravity, the first Specific Gravity reading
before fermentation (e.g. 1.060)
• FG = Final Gravity, the final Specific Gravity reading
before bottling (e.g. 1.002)
As an example: ABV = (1.060 - 1.002) x 131.25
Therefore ABV = 7.61% (this value may increase slightly if
you decide to do a secondary fermentation)
Cider can be as simple or as complex as you want. Good
brewing is all about observing natural patterns.
 Blake Harder
Maude Farrugia

Front page: Apple scrap vinegar. This page, clockwise

from top: Apple scrap vinegar; Blake’s cider; The apple
press; Apples for making cider. Following page, left to

EAT
right: Apple roly poly.
Blake Harder

Tom Fitzgerald

49
 Robyn Rosenfeldt
APPLE ROLY POLY
Recipe by Stan and Briony Robert from Fat Carrot Farm

This recipe comes from Briony’s great-grandmother and is

a family favourite. It’s a basic scone dough filled with apple
and served with a butterscotch sauce. A really great and
simple dessert after a hard day’s work on the farm.

Ingredients
Dough:
• 1 cup self-raising flour (wholemeal/unbleached mix)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• Approx. ½ cup of milk (maybe a bit less)

Filling: 4 WAYS TO PRESERVE APPLES

• 2 large apples (we use our Gravensteins early in the Recipes by Emily Stokes
season, Bramleys in the middle and Sturmers late in the
season) 1. Dehydrating
• 1 tbsp. raw sugar Slice your apples across, as thin as you can. Don’t worry
• 1 tsp. cinnamon (freshly ground) about peeling and coring unless you have an abundance of
time on your hands. Lay your apple slices in your dehydrator
Sauce: or solar dryer and dry until crispy. Store in an airtight jar.
• 375 ml water They will keep in a cool cupboard for a few years and makes
• 3 tbsp. raw sugar a tasty snack.
• 2 tbsp. golden syrup
• 3 tbsp. butter 2. Freezing
Core and cut up apples and add them to a bowl with salt water
Method or lemon juice. This will stop them from going brown as you
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. are cutting. Once your apples are all cut, drain the bowl and
2. Rub the butter into the flour. place the apples in Ziploc bags to freeze. If your bags hold
3. Mix in the milk, enough to make a light, sticky, scone dough. enough for a pie filling then winter desserts are very quick
4. Roll the dough into a rough circle about 5–10 mm thick. and easy.
5. Grate the apple onto one half of the dough circle, keep-
ing clear of the edges. 3. Slow Cooker Applesauce
6. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the apple. Wash, peel, core and slice apples, then add them to a slow
7. Roll up the dough starting from the apple side, pinch the cooker. Add a little water and cook on high for a few hours.
ends closed and place the roll into a snug-fitting baking Add some cinnamon and give the apples a good mix. Cook for
dish. another few hours, then let your applesauce cool. Store ap-
8. In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients and plesauce in the freezer or bottle it using your normal bottling
bring to the boil. method.
9. Pour over the roll and bake, uncovered, in the oven for
30–45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and 4. Cool Storage
crispy. Serve warm with cream. If you have spare room in your fridge or a cool pantry or
cellar, your apples will store well for up to six months. Ap-
ples can be stored in a plastic bag or wrapped in newspaper
individually or just on their own (preferably in a single layer).
They will store best if you check them and remove any fruit
that is spoiling. Choose your best fruit for long-term storage.

This article represents the permaculture

50
principle CATCH AND STORE ENERGY.
For more info go to page 93.
 hj
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Natalie Mendham
THE BUZZ ON E-BIKES
Words by Peta Burchell
Our cities are becoming more spread out and also
more congested. A revolution is needed to help people
reach their destinations quickly, sustainably, enjoy-
ably and affordably.
Electric bikes (e-bikes) may be the solution with their energy
efficiency, the ease they offer in urban environments by elim-
inating parking and traffic jam issues, their lack of pollution,
and their suitability for riders with compromised fitness or
health.
HOW DO THEY WORK?
E-bikes are pedal bikes that have been modified or manu-
factured with an electric motor that is powered by a battery.
Most electric bikes come with either a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) or
a lithium polymer (LiPo) battery.
This battery assistance is commonly known as ‘electric-as-
sist’ or ‘power-assist’, as they need pedal power to enable
them. The electric motor augments whatever power you pro-
duce as you pedal, allowing you to go further and faster.
Some e-bikes have a throttle system, which with the press
of a button propels you forward regardless whether you’re
pedalling or not. A few models use a combination of pedal
assistance and throttle.
ACCESSIBILITY
All bikes are great for your health and the environment, how-
ever e-bikes also make bike riding accessible to people with
different abilities and fitness levels. If you are unfit, have is-
sues with your health, knees, back, feel too old to ride, lack
riding confidence or live in a hilly environment, e-bikes make
riding safer and easier.
Some cycling purists may say that e-bikes are cheating, but
a little pedal assist may be what some people need to reignite a
desire to cycle and give them the confidence to get back on the
bike. If this means more people outside exercising in the fresh
THRIVE
air and out of their vehicles, then that has to be a good thing.
Studies show that riding an e-bike the same distance as a
traditional bike while using the highest power assist (meaning
the easiest for the rider) will burn half the calories of the reg-
ular bike. For a greater workout, simply minimise the power
assist.
Another great benefit is that those with only moderate fit-
ness levels can attempt and enjoy more strenuous off-road
or mountain bike riding that normally requires a high level of
fitness.
TYPES OF BIKES
E-bikes come in many shapes, sizes and configurations to suit
a wide range of needs and purposes. There are mountain
bikes, off-road bikes, bikes for the city and commuting, fam-
ily bikes with cargo carriers for children or groceries, step
through bikes for those with limited mobility, road cycles, fold-
ing bikes for public transport commuters or travellers, tricy-
cles for the elderly, company-sponsored food/courier bikes
and more.
53
BATTERY RANGE
This depends on a number of factors such as the size of the
battery, the weight of the rider, the amount of assistance
 the rider uses, and the environment. One can expect at least
20–30 km using the maximum power assist and over 100 km
using less. If the battery does run out, you can still pedal, but
because the bikes are heavier, it is harder work.
RECHARGING THE BATTERY
Batteries can be charged in any 240 V outlet. This can be
done at home or work and can be left overnight. Some bat-
teries can be taken off the bikes for charging.
The cost of the electricity needed to fully recharge a battery
is 4–10 cents. You can ride from 30 km to 100 km on a full
battery depending on how much e-assist you need. Compare
this to the price of petrol!
SPEED
Pedal assist e-bikes are limited by law to electric-assist up to
speeds of 25 km/h and after that the motor stops assisting.
BUSINESS
Urban businesses are now catching on. Lack of parking
and traffic congestion have made bikes and now e-bikes a
practical option. E-bikes are now being used in many cities
worldwide for couriers, take-away food deliveries, deliveries
of groceries and consumer products. Australia Post is making
a slow but steady shift to using e-bikes as delivery vehicles.
E-bikes are perfectly suited for the demands of the job. They
facilitate affordable, rapid transportation of goods through
busy cities with no parking issues and without generating ex-
haust or noise.
54
ECONOMICS
A decent quality e-bike for simple urban commuting starts at
around $1500–$2500, compared to $700–$900 for a quality
pedal bike. As with all bikes you pay significantly more de-
pending on the type, brand and the extras like dual suspen-
sion. You can get a high quality, engineered bike from $3000.
It is recommended that your e-bike is purchased through
a reputable local dealer so if there are any issues they can
be sorted. There can be significant differences in quality and
reliability, and buying quality can avoid an expensive disap-
pointment. The quality of the battery is a very important factor
when choosing an e-bike as well.
There are also different options for converting a normal
pedal bike to elec-assist, which is an attractive alternative,
especially for those who already have a good bike.
ENVIRONMENT
Cars, trucks and other forms of transportation are the single
largest contributors to air pollution at approximately 20%.
Cars produce nearly a fifth of household greenhouse gas
emissions. Getting more cars off the road equates to less
CO2, less traffic congestion, less stress and better commuter
health.
In the Netherlands, the use of e-bikes has extended cycling
distances to the extent that experts agree they are eroding car
sales. In cities like Melbourne and Adelaide, the cycle culture
is well-established, with cycle lanes and bike stands city wide.
We need the rest of our cities and towns to catch up and
make cycling a safer option. More bikes, less cars, healthier
people = healthier planet.
TRUE TALES
Anna, aged 52, has chronic back pain. She lives in Melbourne’s
inner north and works in the city about 9 kilometres away.
Until Hilda, her e-bike, came into her life, Anna would take
public transport—a bus, then a tram. Two hours of her time.
When the idea of public transport was too much, she would
drive and spend $16 on parking.
Cargocycles

Front page: Hannah coming home with daughter Frida and the
chook food up the hills of Hobart. This page, clockwise from top:
E-bikes with child seat attachments make it possible to potential-

THRIVE
ly do away with a car; The crew from The Hood doing the school
run fully packed with bags and musical instruments; Anna on her
way to work in Melbourne.
Louise Sampson

Yuki Cameron

55
 Anna now cycles to and from work using the bike lanes and
paths that wind along roads, creeks, rivers and park reserves.
Her ride takes 30 minutes. She bought her e-bike on a pay-
ment plan over three years. The repayments are just $5 more
per week than public transport. Anna’s family no longer has a
second vehicle, saving them a minimum of $12,000 annually.
Anna says it’s been a ‘game changer’ for her physical and
mental health.
Hannah from Good Life Permaculture in Hobart is also an
e-bike fan. ‘We converted one of our bikes to electric when
we had our daughter, as we quickly realised that carting her
up and down the steep Hobart hills wasn’t overly easy for us
on our bikes,’ says Hannah.
The bike often carries Hannah’s three-year-old daughter,
any shopping and a sack of chook food (all at the same time).
As a result, the family is considering selling their car and con-
verting their other bike to electric, simply hiring cars for work
as needed or entering into a car-sharing arrangement.
‘Electric bikes have been life changing for us,’ says Hannah.
‘Not only are they cheaper to run than a car and good for our
bodies, they’re also a powerful step away from being so de-
pendent on fossil fuels.’
56 Yuki and her family live in West Heidelberg, in an informal
suburban community of 70 people across 20 households
called The Hood. Six or sometimes more children are trans-
ported 13 km each way to and from school on e-bikes. The
trip takes them on quiet back roads and bike trails, and can
be done in 35 minutes (although sometimes longer with the
younger children). Yuki says the electric motor really comes
in handy for the home trip with tired kids.
The Hood’s stable of e-bikes includes two Yuba Mundo car-
go bikes and other custom made bikes designed and built by
a member of The Hood. A few times a week their bicycle
‘school bus’ also transports a cello and three violins to school.
They also use cargo bikes, which comfortably carry an adult
plus three children, for camping trips, play dates and market
shopping.
Yuki says that by modelling the use of electric bikes for fam-
ily transport, they have inspired others around them to do the
same.
So, if you are an active cyclist, a lapsed cyclist, a want-to-
be cyclist, or someone who simply wants to be car-free and
not reliant on public transport, e-bikes offer a huge range of
choices for work, family, pleasure or fitness. You’ll find your-
self riding to places and distances you wouldn’t have dreamed
of, looking forward to that next hill.
This article represents the permaculture
principle CREATIVELY USE AND
RESPOND TO CHANGE. For more
info go to page 93.
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DESIGNING THE GOOD LIFE
Words by Hannah Moloney
Photos by Natalie Mendham

We bought our old house and quarter acre block in
urban Hobart in late 2012. The only reason we could
afford to buy it was because of its ‘interesting’ and
limited access—just a steep old 100 m concrete stair-
case from the road. And while we were pretty okay
with this initially, we always knew we wanted to buy
the neighbouring block that came with easy access.
In 2016, we bought the neighbouring weed block, making our
block three quarters of an acre now with access. We quickly
built a driveway which we mostly use for our electric bikes
and are now in the process of implementing our full design.
When we did our initial design, we designed the whole
property with the neighbouring weed block in mind, hoping
that one day we’d get it and thankfully we did. This means
we’ve been able to quickly roll out the implementation process
(as our budget allows) as we’d already been thinking about it
for four years.
pink was essential to inspire joy and love.
• Renovating beneath the house, improving the living
space which allows us to share our home with more
people.
Future works we plan on doing to the house to improve its
design include:
• Double glazing all the windows.
• Shifting the kitchen from one of the southern rooms into
the north-east room.
• Adding a connecting deck from the kitchen to the garden
to integrate it further into the landscape.
DESIGN CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
The slope
The biggest design challenge on our property has been our
steep slope. How we’ve responded to it is to create a series
of terraces with ramps between each one so a wheelbarrow
DESIGN

can travel across the whole property. And while we would

THE CHANGES WE MADE have loved stone retaining walls to create more flat space, we
Our house was built in 1925 and is a simple rectangle facing
gave that idea away when we did a budget and the cost was
north/north-east, a wonderful design for maximum solar gain.
pushing $100 000.
The only changes we’ve made to the house so far include:
Instead we have large earth banks between each terrace
• Re-roofing, as the old roof was starting to rust and was
which we’ve planted out as either a food forest or as or-
painted in lead paint, meaning we couldn’t harvest rain
chards. The orchards are interplanted with tree lucerne or
water.
native indigo shrubs between each edible tree acting as nurse 59
• Insulating the ceiling and floor.
trees, fixing nitrogen and growing quickly to help protect ed-
• Painting it hot pink. It was flaking lead paint everywhere
ible trees from wind. A pasture layer including red and white
when we bought it, so stripping and painting it was
clover, phacelia and comfrey also help stabilise the slope.
essential to avoid further soil contamination. The hot
 Heat treated pallets were an important addition to stabilis-
ing the slope and helping to get things growing. We embedded
them into the landscape with timber pickets and planted into
their ledges. This accelerated the plant’s growth significantly,
and water and soil were held higher in the slope.
A great bonus is that these pallets are a free resource which
we collect from industrial sites around town. Be sure to only
collect the heat treated ones (look for their ‘HT’ stamp) as
they’re free of methyl bromide, a chemical used to preserve
some pallets—you don’t want this in your soil.
Water
Hobart is Australia’s second driest capital city with an annual
rainfall of just over 600 mm. Before doing our earthworks,
rain would just roll straight off our steep hillside. Now the ter-
races slow and sink water into the soil, benefiting surrounding
crops. We’ve also directed some of the house’s greywater into
the orchard downhill of our house with subsurface irrigation.
All this means that water is working for us passively, reducing
the amount of irrigating we need to do in hotter months.
Wind
We get very strong westerly winds, so strong they blew our
broccoli crop out of the ground one season. With this in mind,
we chose to keep the weedy windbreak made up on Coto-
neaster and Pittosporum trees and move the annual beds to
60 the new land next door in 2016. We’ve now planted these old
annual patches with more productive trees to thicken up the
windbreak and provide more food.
Contamination
We inherited a lot of rubbish and contaminants left over from
the previous owners on the property, specifically lead in the
soil downhill of the house from the house paint (where grav-
ity put it) and old rotting furniture and goods half-buried in
the front garden. As a result, this section of the property is
contaminated with lead and has one large steep bank where
plants struggle to grow. We call this bank ‘the death zone’.
Our response to this was to remove as much rubbish as
we could and plant natives and herbs on the death zone bank,
most of which died, but nasturtiums seem to thrive (it’s a
work in progress). Next to this area, we’ve planted mixed fruit
trees on the lead contaminated areas. While lead will show up
in harmful levels in leafy crops and root vegetables, it doesn’t
in fruit and nut trees and other fruiting crops such as toma-
toes, peas and beans.
ANIMALS
Animals are a big part of our life here. We have two female
Toggenburg goats, one of whom we milk every morning and
receive two litres each day for cheese, yoghurt and milk. Be-
ing in an urban space, we walk them down the back bush
road, tether them around our garden in the grassy patches
and cut them fresh fodder daily.
There are also chickens for eggs, beehives for honey and
pollination, and thoughts of future geese to help mow the
grass. While the animals require significant inputs from us
(especially the goats), the rewards are enormous and well
worth our time and energy.
Front page: Hannah in her beautiful,
colourful north-facing lounge room.
Opposite page: View from top of the
property. This page, clockwise from top:
Happy families. Hannah, Frida, Anton and
the goat; The house was painted hot pink
to inspire joy and love; The property is
designed so people, animals and plants
thrive; Hannah working on the fruit trees.

DESIGN

61
 ENERGY & NUTRIENT CYCLING
Being in an urban area, we’re connected to mains water and
power, however we still have solar panels (connected to the
grid), harvest water and optional low-tech compost toilets.
Harnessing energy and cycling nutrients is important to us
and nothing compostable leaves our property, instead it goes
to one of our compost systems or animals and eventually
back into the food gardens to provide valuable nutrients.
GROWING IN A COOL TEMPERATE CLIMATE
Being in a cool temperate climate, we’re always interested in
making warmer microclimates in our landscape, including our
cold frame. This nifty bit of infrastructure is more affordable
and compact than a hot house but just as effective for small
crops. We’ll be using this to grow bush tomatoes, basil and
eggplants.
AN URBAN LIFE
We live a farming lifestyle but are only 2.7 kms from the cen-
tre of Hobart city. We purposefully chose to live in the city
so we didn’t have to be dependent on a car to move around.
Tasmania has limited public transport and we love riding our
bikes. These days we have electric bikes to help carry a grow-
ing kid and the occasional sack of chook feed up some very
steep hills.
62
As we run our business from home, our house and garden
are more activated as there’s almost always someone here to
tend the animals, water the carrot seeds and make sure the
raspberries are protected from the birds. We’ve taken huge
inspiration from the radical homemakers movement and hold
community sufficiency close to our hearts and life intention.
NOW AND THE FUTURE
Over the next year we’ll build our shed, an earth cellar (for
cheeses and garden produce) and a pergola for our rampant
grapevines. We still have lots to do, but every now and then
we look around and remember that where once grass, gorse,
boneseed and cotoneaster thrived, now people, animals and
edible and native plants do. A rich landscape providing around
70% of our food plus habitat and beauty, all coming together
to form a love-filled home.
Permaculture ethics and principles have provided us the
framework for practical and less tangible design thinking and
methods that have led us here. To a lifestyle that’s meaningful,
grounded, freeing, colourful and benefits others. The good life
is pretty good here.
Good Life Permaculture is based on Mouheneenner
Country, Lutruwita (Hobart, Tasmania). They are a
permaculture landscape design and education enterprise
that works to make lives and landscapes resilient and
regenerative.
This article represents the permaculture
principle USE EDGES AND VALUE THE
MARGINAL. For more info go to page 93.
Permaculture landscape design & education
to get you living the good life!

You can find us in Tasmania & at Goodlifepermaculture.com.au

Irina Petrova
HEALING HONEY
Words by Robyn Rosenfeldt
Honey is one of the most ubiquitous products in Aus-
tralian homes. Most households have a jar of honey
on the shelf, whether it be for eating or medicinal use,
but lately we are realising that not all honeys are the
same.
There has been a focus in the news lately about where honey
comes from and what it consists of. There have been con-
cerns over honey being diluted with other syrups and these
blended sweeteners masquerading as honey are now appear-
ing on supermarket shelves.
WHAT IS HONEY MADE OF?
The composition of honey is mainly sugars and water, but it
also contains several vitamins and minerals, including B vita-
mins as well as amino acids, proteins, antioxidants and vari-
ous compounds with antibacterial actions.
Dr Nural Cokcetin, a honey researcher at the University of
Technology Sydney, says a common misconception is that
honey is a standard product. ‘It is incredibly complex, with
over 200 components such as different simple and complex
sugars and amino acids, many of which vary depending on
which flowers the bees visit to collect the nectar they turn into
honey,’ says Dr Cokcetin. ‘So in the same way that different
honeys look and taste very different, they can also have dif-
ferent medicinal properties.’
‘Many of the ancient peoples prescribed certain honeys col-
lected from specific locations, seasons or flowers for specif-
ic conditions. They were selecting the activity of the honey
based on the floral source, although it’s unlikely they would
have framed it this way themselves.’
WHAT THE BEES ARE EATING
Bees make honey by collecting nectar, bringing it back to
the hive and then storing it and sealing it in the honeycomb.
Therefore the flavour of honey is dictated by the flowers the
nectar is collected from and its quality can be affected by
whether or not the flowers have been sprayed with pesticide
and herbicides and also pollution.
Even if you keep bees and use organic practices in your
own garden, honey bees forage on average within a 5 km
radius and could be in touch with a wide range of potentially
sprayed flora from other people’s properties.
During winter and times of slow pollen/nectar flow when
NURTURE
there are not many flowering plants, some beekeepers will
supplement this and feed the bees sugar syrup. There are
times when this can be the difference between life and death
for the bees if there is no other sustenance. Some beekeep-
ers take this to the extreme and feed their bees sugar so that
they can continue to draw honey from the hives.
This happens when the focus is on producing large quanti-
ties of honey rather than on the health of the bees. Because
the bees are feeding on sugar, not pollen, the amount of ben-
eficial nutrients and bacteria are reduced. It’s best for the
bees if beekeepers make sure they leave enough honey for
the bees to feed on over winter so they don’t need to be fed
sugar syrup.
PROCESSING THE HONEY 65
The simplest method for extracting honey is to crush it and
just filter out large solids (such as chunks of honeycomb and
dead bees). This is done by either placing the honeycomb in
 a press which compresses the honey comb, extracting the
honey and sieving off the larger particles, or just placing it in
a sieve and allowing the honey to drip through. This way none
of the goodness is destroyed and the honeycomb is kept aside
for other purposes.
Another common practice is spinning the combs. This is
done to extract the honey from the honeycomb without de-
stroying the comb, meaning beekeepers can put it back in the
hive, giving bees more time to focus on making honey rather
than building more comb. The potential risk of doing this is
that over time the comb takes up diseases and pesticides that
have been collected by the bees, meaning it is more likely to
affect the honey and the overall health of the bees.
If you are sourcing honey to eat,
go for the most local and least
processed honey you can find.
Once it has been extracted, honey is often heated to keep it
as a runny product that doesn’t crystalise. Unless labelled as
‘raw’, most honey has been heat-treated.
MEDICINAL EFFECTS OF HONEY
‘One of the most exciting things about the antimicrobial ac-
tivity of honey is that it works against a very wide range of
microbes that cause infections, even antibiotic-resistant su-
perbugs,’ explains Dr Cokcetin. ‘And there are no signs of
microbes developing resistance to honey, like they so rapidly
do to antibiotics.’
‘Apart from its ability to stop superbugs in their tracks, hon-
ey also encourages wound healing and stimulates our immune
response and has additional therapeutic qualities, including
anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and prebiotic properties.’
Honey is used in medical and surgical applications, but this
is a specialty product created under strict guidelines to en-
sure purity, a certain level of antibacterial activity and sterility.
HONEY FOR GUT HEALTH
The most exciting part of Dr Cokcetin’s research is the contri-
bution that honey can give to gut health. ‘Certain foods (called
prebiotics) that come from complex sugars like those found in
honey can help improve gut health by promoting the growth
of our ‘good’ gut microbes,’ she says. ‘Recent studies show
that Australian honey from various native species of flora can
boost the number of good bacteria living in the gut with a daily
dose of 20 g (about a tablespoon).’
Heating honey does little to affect its prebiotic qualities, so if
66 you are using a spoon of honey in a hot cup of tea or cooking
with it, you will still get the prebiotic effects. And best of all,
raw honey taken directly from your home hive will have these
prebiotic qualities too.
ANTIBIOTIC HONEY
What is currently well-known as manuka honey is often
praised for its medicinal qualities. What makes this honey
different is that the bees have foraged on the flowers of the
Leptospermum scoparium plant.
Australia is home to the largest diversity of Leptospermum
(also known as tea tree or jelly bush) plants in the world with
more than 80 species, including Leptospermum scoparium.
A handful of these have similar levels of antibacterial activity
to the New Zealand honey branded as manuka. Dr Cokcetin
and a research team at the University of Technology Sydney
are currently testing them to give credence to the fact that
the antibacterial honey comes from the flora, not a particular
country.
‘Some Leptospermum species produce honeys with high
levels of a naturally occurring compound called methylglyoxal
(MGO or MG), which is responsible for this added antimicro-
bial activity,’ she says. ‘This type of activity is usually referred
to as “non-peroxide activity” or NPA.’
Most manuka honey is sold with ratings or symbols that
have been introduced into the market to represent the anti-
bacterial strength of ‘active’ honey. Some examples include
NPA, MGO/MG, and UMF® (Unique Manuka Factor). General-
ly, the higher the number, the higher the level of antibacterial
activity,
WHICH HONEY TO CHOOSE
If you are using honey as a dressing for wounds, burns and
cuts and topically to help skin conditions such as eczema and
acne, then you may want to investigate one of the brands of
certified NPA/UMF®/MGO honey, registered with the Thera-
peutic Goods Administration (TGA). There are plenty of Aus-
tralian manuka or jelly bush honey available.
If you are sourcing honey to eat, go for the most local and
least processed honey you can find.
If you are buying honey, check the label. It may say ‘pure’,
‘natural’ or ‘raw’ 100% honey, but it pays to dig a little deeper.
Talk to your honey producer at the farmers’ market or the
wholefoods store. Ask a few questions about how the bees
are kept (Are they fed sugar?) and how the honey is pro-
cessed (Is it heated?).
By supporting small-scale local producers you will ensure
there are plenty of bees living in your community to pollinate
fruit trees, vegetables and other flowers so that your local
area has a thriving food production economy.
To read about Dr Nural Cokcetin’s honey research, visit
www.ozhoneyproject.wordpress.com
This article represents the permaculture
principle RENEWABLE RESOURCES +
SERVICES. For more info go to page 93.
Craig Clitheroe
Adrian Iodice

Front page above to below: Healing honey. This page

clockwise from above: Capped honey cells in the hive;
Honey in jar with honeycomb; Crushing honey.

NURTURE
Stephen Orsillo

67

PEDAL POWERED
BUSINESSES
Words by Samantha Allemann
THE GOOD BREW COMPANY (VIC)
Deano Goodbrew has been selling kombucha for over ten
years. While his Brunswick-based business The Good Brew
Company ship their products Australia-wide, Deano regularly
jumps on his bike to deliver to the inner-north in the most
environmentally friendly way possible. When he’s not zoom-
ing around town, Deano and his bike can also be spotted at
sustainability events across Melbourne.
What is your business?
I have been running a bike-based brew business called The
Good Brew Company since 2007. We are now incorporated
and brew predominantly medicinal soft drinks like kombucha.
Who are your customers?
We sell our drinks in bottles and kegs to customers in organic
supermarkets, cafés, restaurants and at festivals. We also sell
all the kits, ingredients and brew equipment you need to brew
your own kombucha. We want everyone to be able to brew
their own medicine, get healthy and be independent of big
pharma and big soft drink!
What type of bikes do you use for your business?
My first bike was a modified ice-cream trike that comes apart
and travels easily for mini events all over Victoria. I still use it
if I am doing an event that requires a second bike.
My second bike was a Christiania cargo bike from Peter
Santos. Peter helps lots of people make their businesses
68 mobile and he’s an incredible resource for us future-thinking
bikepreneurs. My third and favourite bike is the one I use at
every event these days—a specially constructed trike with
a frame built by Vern Smith Cycles in Maidstone. A good
The Good Brew Company
friend of mine was very generous and donated a motorised
front wheel, a 36 V battery and a solar panel with an inbuilt
regulator that charges the battery. I’ve built two versions of
the bar on the back, both with three taps.
Why is your business pedal powered?
When I started my business I was very enthusiastic about
climate change activism and societal change, and I still am.
The sustainability consultancy I did for a brewery in the Yarra
Valley encouraged them to use solar vacuum tubes to pre-
heat the brews (this reduced the environmental impact from
the biggest energy use at the brewery, which was boiling the
water for the brew) and to keg a larger percentage of output
instead of bottles (to reduce the amount of packaging pro-
duced); this when served into reusable cups completes the
holistic approach. Putting kegs on a bike seemed like the eas-
iest way to get taps more accessible to punters and therefore
use more kegs.
What challenges do you face as a pedal powered business?
Somedays the prospect of getting a heavy bike full of liquids
across town in a hurry is quite a motivational challenge. But
once moving, the faces of delighted beer fans keeps me going!
To be honest there’s not many challenges apart from the initial
dealing with food safety requirements, but I think it’s heaps
easier than most businesses’ initial challenges.
What’s your favourite part of being a business on wheels?
Knowing that I am making a difference environmentally, and
raising awareness and consciousness of lateral eco techniques
to solve traditional climate damaging logistical problems.
www.goodbrew.com.au
Robyn Rosenfeldt
HOME COMPOST DOCTORS (VIC)
In Melbourne’s north-east, compost is being pedaled to homes
to encourage people to establish or improve their compost-
ing systems. The Home Compost Doctors project is run by a
handful of volunteers, including Mikoto Araki, who loves riding
the electric cargo bike up and down the hills of Heidelberg to
promote composting.
What is your project?
Home Compost Doctors in 3081 is a project supported by the
2017 Banyule Environmental Sustainability Grant. We are a
free service, making home visits by bicycle. We provide free
assessments and advice on how to set up and improve your
composting system. We deliver composting materials with
our cargo bike. We want to help disadvantaged people in our
community so they don’t need to purchase compost from a
nursery and they can grow their own food. We use salvaged
materials where possible, e.g. making worm farms using
Styrofoam boxes, Bokashi buckets using recycle food-grade
buckets, etc.
Who are your customers?
Anyone who lives in the postcode area 3081—Heidelberg,
Heidelberg West, Heidelberg Heights and Bellfield.
What type of bike do you use for your business?
We use a Yuba Electric Boda Boda Step Through, an electric
cargo bike.
Why is your project pedal powered?
As Melbourne’s population is getting bigger, more develop-
ments are happening in the suburbs and I can really feel the
car increase on the road. Even when I go to the supermarket
during the day, the car parks are full. I am very frugal and
live very simply. I moved to Murundaka Cohousing Community
in Heidelberg Heights in 2011 and joined Transition Banyule
where I met like-minded people who are passionate advo-
cates for sustainable living and sustainable transport. I had a
car accident and it was like a gift in disguise as I was happy to
let go of car ownership. At Murundaka we share cars, so if I
need to I can just borrow my neighbour’s car. I am committed
to sustainable transport and have been wanting an e-bike to
collect materials for composting for a long time, but e-bikes
can be quite expensive, so I applied for the Banyule Environ-
mental Sustainability Grant. Our project was awarded it to be
able to trial the electric bike.
What challenges do you face as a pedal powered project?
We haven’t worked out the best way to attach the buckets or
PROFILE
bike trailer to the cargo bike yet. Also I am not a technical per-
son so I panicked when the power didn’t turn on. The bike can
be heavy and hard to balance when carrying a large quantity
of stuff.
What’s your favourite part of being a project on wheels?
I love running the project car-free. I love the electric assistance
of the e-bike as I don’t need to worry about being too tired—
Heidelberg is hilly so it is good to have a little bit of assistance
on the hills. The bike can be pushed right next to the spot
in the garden where we want to unload, so compost-making
becomes much more convenient than carting the compost
from a trailer in the driveway in a wheelbarrow. We also save
money as there is no cost for petrol as our electricity is solar
powered. Parking is easy and I can ride inside the mall to 69
get right in front of the café to collect the coffee grounds.
Cargo bikes are eye-catching as well—I love promoting
#compostnotlandfill and sustainable transport.
 Andrew Doube
AROMA ROAMA (TAS)
Winter might not be everyone’s ideal time to cycle in Tassie,
but Andrew Doube was happy to brave the cold when he start-
ed Aroma Roama in June. What makes that a brave choice
is that Andrew’s business relies on pedal power. His mobile
coffee cart regularly serves up hot beverages to the crowd at
the All Saints Market in South Hobart and his e-bike has set
up shop in courtyards, parks and gardens, on the beach and
in an amphitheatre.
What is your business?
Aroma Roama is a mobile micro-cafe towed behind an e-bike.
We sell organic chai, espresso coffee and hot chocolate at
markets, festivals, weddings, parties, corporate events, you
name it! We are a slow food business—espresso coffee is
hand ground and manually pressed on the spot. We support
our local economy wherever we can. Our beans are roasted
locally and the organic milk we use is produced locally.
Who are your customers?
People who like quality bespoke hot drinks.
What type of bike do you use for your business?
The cart is pulled by a sprint, with an extra large battery to
extend its range.
Why is your business pedal powered?
Aroma Roama is pedal powered because it can be. Why not?
70 It’s fun to ride and to do something different and new, to ex-
plore other ways of being in the world and other business
models, to have a go at taking another step towards a more
earth-friendly society, and it feels free and light. While some
Andrew Doube
of the energy used in moving the bike, and much of the energy
used in the chain of production that provide the product we
sell still comes from fossil fuel, reducing the weight of the
vehicle significantly reduces the energy required to move it.
The less energy we can use unnecessarily, the less we are
dependent on fossil fuel, and the less carbon emissions we
produce. It’s also a small step away from the car dominated
cities many of us inhabit. So much of what is done currently
with heavy cars and vans could be done with lighter, smaller,
more efficient vehicles, making cities cleaner and nicer places
to inhabit.
What challenges do you face as a pedal powered business?
Being pedal powered increases my personal risk on the
roads significantly. I am very exposed and vulnerable to larg-
er, heavier, more powerful vehicles. This is due to the bike’s
slower speed, lack of encasement and the trailer reducing
maneuverability. Car and truck drivers often have little aware-
ness of my vulnerability and effectively take risks with my life
in the way they drive their vehicles. Being pedal powered also
reduces the amount of stuff we can carry to work. We have
to be very efficient and organised, and carefully consider size
and weight in all our decisions. Lastly, it takes more time in
travel and reduces the range the business can operate within.
What’s your favourite part of being a business on wheels?
The sense of relief I experience knowing I am taking a step
(even if it’s a small one) towards a more earth-friendly society.
www.facebook.com/AromaRoama/
Brooke O’Brien
THE SMOOTHIE CYCLE (QLD)
A family run business based in Brisbane, The Smoothie Cycle
have been whipping up and helping people make their own
pedal powered drinks for almost ten years. The process is
simple—customers jump on The Smoothie Cycle bikes to mix
up their smoothie and then take a well-earned drink. Brooke
O’Brien explains that their upcycled bicycles are so crucial to
the business that they too feel part of the family.
What is your business?
We pedal the finest organic smoothies. We use local organic
produce to make nutritious smoothies on our upcycled blend-
er bikes and we have heaps of fun along the way. As well
as providing delicious smoothies, our blender bikes also grab
people’s attention and provoke conversations about sustain-
ability and health.
Who are your customers?
We mostly get hired out at events and functions with the oc-
casional local market or festival thrown in. Our customers are
varied depending on the gig. We’ve worked with universities,
councils, companies and community groups, to name a few.
What type of bikes do you use for your business?
All of our blender bikes have been upcycled so each one is
unique and lovingly built in the back shed. We have both adult
and kid-size bikes so everyone can have a go. We always pick
bikes with a bit of character about them and they get a lot of
love because of that. They’re more like family members than
appliances.
Brooke O’Brien
Why is your business pedal powered?
It’s more fun that way! I hope to inspire people to think outside
the box and to show by example the different ways you can
reduce your environmental footprint while having fun. Also,
with pedal power we can mix up a smoothie anywhere. There
have been a few events where the site has lost power yet we
can keep bringing the deliciousness with our own muscles.
What challenges do you face as a pedal powered business?
The biggest challenge we face is keeping the blender bikes
in shape. When they break down we can’t buy a solution off
the shelf. I’m very grateful to have friends and family who
help out with their upkeep and who come up with new and
inventive ways to solve a problem or create a new blender
bike. Being a small family business, we rely heavily on our
PROFILE
amazing network of family and friends. I’m very grateful for
this support and we wouldn’t exist without it.
What’s your favourite part of being a business on wheels?
I love it when kids come along and take a look at the blender
bikes. They get excited because they can understand how it
all works and you can see great things going on inside their
minds. I also love how pedaling a smoothie gives you the
space and time to get to know your customer and have a little
chat. I love people and I’ve met so many awesome folks whilst
pedaling. But most of all I really love witnessing the pure joy
people experience from pedaling themselves a smoothie.
When someone hops on the bike and just starts giggling, it’s
a beautiful thing.
71
www.thesmoothiecycle.com
 3

2
6

72

MAKE YOUR OWN NATURAL
CLEANING PRODUCTS
Words and photos by Deb Brearley and Maude Farrugia
The green clean movement is big business these days,
with microfibre ‘wonder’ cloths (often made of plas-
tic and biocidal silver) peddled as an eco-solution to
harmful cleaning chemicals while requiring virtually
no effort.
When looking for sustainable alternatives, rags are a great
way to use up old fabric scraps, but these often contain plastic
materials (e.g. elastane) that mean their eventual landing spot
must be in landfill. But fear not! For those of us with a teeny
bit of crafty nous or gardening know-how, there are some
very simple alternatives.
The two simple cleaning craft projects detailed here can
be made from natural unrefined fibres, are completely biode-
gradable and are suitable for all compost systems at the end
of their lives.
DIY BROOM MILLET SCRUBBING BRUSHES
Materials
• Broom Millet: While this strange and wonderous fibre is
not very easy to get your hands on commercially, the ex-
citing news is that it is insanely easy to grow, and a small
patch (1 m x 1 m) will give you enough to last your house-
hold many years (with an added side harvest—good grain
to mill for yourself or for feeding whole to chooks).
• Hemp twine
• Rubber bands
• Yarn needle
MAKE
Method
1. Cut desired lengths of threshed Broom Millet (about 15
cm) and secure bundle with elastic bands at either end.
With a long length of twine, make a ‘whip’ and wrap the
twine around it tightly.
2. Continue wrapping twine tightly around the whip.
3. Keeping twine secure, poke a yarn needle through the
bundle, abutting the twine (a second pair of hands could
be handy here).
4. Thread the yarn needle with the end of the twine.
5. Pull the needle through the bundle, then insert it behind
the wrapped twine.
6. Pull needle underneath the wrapped twine but leave
a little loop instead of pulling flush. Pass the needle
through this loop and pull securely. Repeat until bundle
is secure and snip off end. Ta-da!
Notes
You can use other materials as your scrubbing fibre, but
they may not last as long as Broom Millet. Native grasses
and reeds work well or New Zealand flax, but it needs to
be teased into smaller threads for use in something like a
brush.
73
74

CROCHETED CIRCULAR DISH CLOTH
Materials
Yarn: I am always on the lookout at op shops for random balls
of cotton yarn to make dishcloths, but one of my favourite
yarns is twine or string from a hardware store. The fibre used
to make the yarn is not as finished or refined nor as tightly
spun as cotton yarns prepared for crocheting garments, so it
tends to be more absorbent and thus more suitable for a dish
cloth. I also have used jute string for a cloth that works more
as a scourer, but it does not last as long as cotton.
Crochet hook: The size of the hook will depend on the thick-
ness of the yarn. If you want a firmer cloth, then a smaller
hook is best, while a more open softer cloth is obtained by
using a larger sized hook. These cloths are crocheted in a
continuous spiral so you don’t have to judge if there is enough
yarn to finish a round. When you have about a metre of yarn
left, you can make a loop so that the cloth can be hung up to
dry, keeping it fresher than being left damp in the sink.
I have a few of these dish cloths in use and will hang them
out in the sun to dry and this keeps them fresh and clean.
Method
1. Make 3 chain.
2. Into the first chain, make 8 single crochet stitches to
form a circle. This is the foundation circle.
3. To start the spiral/circle, make 2 single crochet stitches
into the space formed by the first of the 8 stiches (that
was used to make the foundation circle). Repeat this in
each of the remaining spaces in the foundation circle.
This forms the second round of the cloth.
4. For the third round, just do one single crochet in each of
the spaces in the previous round.
5. Alternate each round now: one increasing round (2
MAKE
stitches in each space) and one round of a single stitch
in each space.
6. Repeat these rounds until you have about a metre or
less of thread left.
7. With the remaining thread, form the hanging loop by
making a chain of about 10 to 15 stitches (the number
depends on the size loop you want). When it is the re-
quired length, take the loop back to the edge of the cloth
and fasten off with a single crochet stitch. Sew in the
end with darning needle. Sew in the small end at centre
start as well to finish.
Notes
Depending on your tension, the yarn and the size of the hook
used for your cloth may get a rippled edge. This just means
that instead of increasing every second row, you should in-
crease every third row to keep the cloth flat. If it starts to
‘cup’, then increase for two rounds. You will soon get a feel
for when you need to do an increase row.
Single crochet stitch
Start a single stitch by pushing your hook through the loop of
a chain stitch or space in previous row from the front to the
back. Then hook the yarn and pull it back through the loop,
which should leave you with 2 loops on your hook. Hook the
yarn again before pulling it through the 2 loops on your hook,
leaving you with a single loop. Move on to the next loop or
space in the previous row and repeat the process. For simple
crocheting tutorials, look online.
75
This article represents the permaculture
principle RENEWABLE RESOURCES +
SERVICES. For more info go to page 93.
Levon Baird
 FA S H I O N
THE TRUE COST OF CLOTHING
Words by Natasha Berta and Robyn Rosenfeldt

Unless we are going to get really primitive and go back makers don’t necessarily pursue certification, but this is still a
to not wearing clothes, clothing ourselves is some- good starting point.
thing we all have in common. Yet doing that in a way
that isn’t causing harm either to the people making THE HUMAN COST
our clothes or the planet is proving to be increasingly Easy access to cheap clothing is having an impact on our
difficult. In this age of fast fashion where clothing is culture, our earth and our quality of life.
made to be cheap and disposable, it takes a concerted When garment makers are trying to produce clothes for the
effort to find clothes that are truly ethical.
lowest cost, the first person to lose out is the person making
the clothing. Poorly paid workers in large unregulated facto-
It is most sustainable not to buy new products at all, and
ries make most of the clothing available in shops today. These
instead buy from op shops, repair clothes when they need
workers (including children) are often not only paid poorly
mending and simply reduce the amount of clothing we own.
and work long hours, some of them are threatened verbally
But if we are going to buy something new, which, inevitably
and physically.
we will need to from time to time, it is best to buy good quality
These workers are often not allowed to join a union and
clothing that will last and from a reputable company that has
have no right to oppose or negotiate for a better deal. The
proven ethical standards.
documentary The True Cost spells it all out in graphic detail.
You can look for clothing made from organic materials, but
that is only one part of the manufacturing process—there
THE COST TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND
are the dyes used, the environmental impact of the growing
ANIMALS
process, the energy consumed during manufacturing and the
Manufacturers are generally unregulated in the fashion indus-
disposal, not to mention the welfare of those involved in the
try—regulation is voluntary and not widely embraced. Dyeing
production process from paddock to wardrobe.
and factory outputs are big contributors in terms of environ-
There are many things to look for in a company to see if
mental degradation. The genetically modified cotton industry
they are truly ethical, but that can be an overwhelming task.
in India, which is causing wide spread environmental deg-
It’s not always possible either. Supply chain transparency is
radation across the country, is another example of how fast
great in theory and is growing in response to fast fashion, but
fashion harms the environment. 77
how do you really know if your clothing is ethical? Ethical
If you extend the environment to animals, then we’re look-
Clothing Australia is an accreditation body that lists brands
ing at the way animals are treated while they’re alive if their
with transparent and legally compliant supply chains. While
bodies make a part of our clothing (leather, fur and skins, for
there is fair trade certification, a lot of sustainable garment
 example), or how they’re maintained while they’re producing
the contents of our clothes (wool). It’s not uncommon for an-
imals to be treated cruelly during these processes, and they
don’t have the same legal protections that animals raised for
food have.
It’s very sobering to take a conscious and thorough look at
what you are wearing right now and think about how it got
to you.
Easy access to cheap
clothing is having an impact
on our culture, our earth
and our quality of life.
ORGANIC CLOTHING
You may be wondering, is a brand more sustainable because
they have organic garments? Not always. Organic clothes are
a great option, but the overall sustainability of a garment in-
volves more than just the farming practice of the fabric.
Overall, sustainability is based on the treatment and condi-
tions of workers and animals, the way a business manages its
waste and the impact on the physical environment.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMPANIES
Bodies such as Good On You and Ethical Clothing Australia
78
can help us make informed decisions about which companies
we want to support. They show us which companies are ethi-
cal, what they are doing well and where they need to improve.
Good On You is an app that rates garment makers based on
these three measures:
• People
They look at the brand’s impact on workers across the
supply chain. These include policies and practices on
child labour, forced labour, worker safety, freedom of
association (the right to join a union) and payment of a
living wage. They also consider a brand’s supplier rela-
tionships and auditing practices.
• Planet
They consider each brand’s resource use and disposal,
energy use and carbon emissions, impacts on water, as
well as chemical use and disposal.
• Animals
They identify the use of fur, angora, down feather,
shearling, karakul and exotic animal skin and hair. They
also consider how wool is grown and whether and how
the brand uses leather.
SOME SUSTAINABLE BRANDS
ZoeO is a fashion design studio based in Pambula in coastal
NSW. They create sustainable, ethical and functional pieces
that are made in Australia using natural and earth friendly
fibres such as linen, organic cotton, merino wool and denim.
They incorporate design techniques that eliminate textile
waste. They ensure that the hands that manufacture their
clothes have great working conditions and are paid well.
www.zoeo.com.au
Veja

GeorgiaBlackie
Front page: Nya Leth modelling the designs of the
The Social Outfit’s Digital Print Project, designed
to engage young people from refugee and new

FA S H I O N
migrant communities in different areas of Western
Sydney. This page, clockwise from top left: Tilpia
shoes by Veja made from fish leather; Women’s &
Girls’ Emergency Centre Patchwork Project; The
Pip pinny from ZoeO; Ethically made organic cotton
top from Vege Threads. Following page: Model Nya
Leth (centre), with Liverpool Digital Print Project
participants (L-R) Wurood, Reem, Hind and Balsam.
Vege Threads

ZoeO

79

Vege Threads is based in Northcote, Melbourne and makes
clothing for men and women. Their swimwear comes from
recycled bottles and their eco credentials extend to donat-
ing 1% of their profits to environmental projects and NFPs.
They’re also producing the garments in Australia in a sweat-
shop-free manufacturing process. Vege Threads use Aus-
tralian certified organic dyes and plant-based dyes as well
as Woolmark certified wool and organic cotton and hemp.
www.vegethreads.com
Lonely Kids Club in Sydney make t-shirts, pyjamas, shirts
and jumpers with limited edition art prints. They are sweat-
shop-free and not mass produced, so their unique print runs
of fabric are usually one-offs. Mental health awareness is one
of their passion projects, as is keeping quality garment manu-
facture alive in Australia. www.lonelykidsclub.com
Veja is a French footwear company who produce shoes
made of upcycled plastic bottles and fish leather (an agricul-
tural waste product). Their website shows you exactly where
they source their materials, how much people get paid and
where they live. They don’t advertise either, so even though
their shoes cost five times more to produce, they sell for the
same price as a similar shoe because there’s no ad budget.
www.veja-store.com/en/
The Social Outfit in Newtown, Sydney are an accredited
social enterprise creating super fun prints and good quali-
ty items that you can keep until you’re a granny. They sup-
port refugee communities to become financially empowered
through training refugees and new migrants in the design,
marketing, retail and production of sustainable garments.
www.thesocialoutfit.org
Thunderpants are an ethical family-owned and operated
80 company from New Zealand. They make underpants and
other products (such as bags and aprons) from certified fair
trade organic cotton. Every aspect of production (from how
the fabric is made and the clothes sewn) is traceable, test-
LesterJones
ed and controlled for quality. Their designs are cheeky and
bright. www.thunderpants.co.nz
CAN BIG BRANDS REMAIN ETHICAL?
A great example of a company that remains ethical while mass
producing clothing is Patagonia. Their aim is to build the best
product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire
and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
Patagonia are actively trying to reduce their environmental
impact, supporting grassroots activists by paying an earth tax,
advocating for systemic change, making repairable products
and having repair hubs (there’s one in Patagonia’s Sydney
store) and supporting regenerative agriculture practices.
www.patagonia.com.au
CHANGING YOUR BUYING HABITS
Yes, ethical clothing will cost more, but that is the true cost of
clothing. T-shirts that cost $4 cannot be made without harm
being done somewhere along the line.
If you are buying new, search out clothes that have been
made to last, produced ethically and if possible produced lo-
cally. And value what you already have—take pride in and
care for your clothing by repairing or repurposing it. Wear
your permaculture ethics (earth care, people care and fair
share) on your sleeve.
We would also like to mention our supporters; Izwoz,
Tsonga and Humphrey Law Socks all of whom make ethical
and environmentally friendly products while fairly supporting
the people that make them.
This article represents the permaculture
principle OBSERVE + INTERACT.
For more info go to page 93.
Fine merino and Fine 19.5 micron merino wool from the
Boorowa region of NSW, soft baby alpaca
Made in Victoria and approved by Ethical
Clothing Australia. Available at David
alpaca luxury from Peru and alpaca for thicker socks for Jones, Myer, independent retailers and
socks from winter spun in Italy are used to manufacture sockrevolution.com
Humphrey Law our range of alpaca and fine merino socks.
Every second sock is solar powered.
humphreylaw.com.au/sustainability
 Clockwise from top left: Wrap the frame in shade cloth;
The door is made from another frame that slots inside
the bigger frame; Prosciutto and salami in the making;
The meat safe, placed under the eaves on the south
side of the house.

82
BUILD YOUR OWN MEAT SAFE
Words by Alex Woodger
Photos by Robyn Rosenfeldt

Making your own preserved meats such as salami,
chorizo and prosciutto has been a tradition among
Italian communities for a long time. With a growing
interest in good quality homemade food, the tradition
is gaining popularity here in Australia too.
An important part of the creation of preserved meats is the
drying process. If you are making your own preserved meats
you’ll need somewhere secure to hang them while they dry
and age. A DIY meat safe is a good option which you can build
to suit your specific situation.
Where you position your meat safe is important as the pro-
cess depends on having a dry, well-ventilated place where
your meat can age for several weeks and up to several months
(until the meat has lost all its moisture and developed its fla-
vour). Generally meat preserving is done over winter when
the weather is dry and cool.
BASIC DESIGN
With these design features in mind, this food safe is built
from a combination of recycled and bought materials. The
following description will provide the approximate measure-
ments, but keep in mind that you can alter them to make the
finished article suit your exact needs. There are no hard and
fast rules as long as the basic key features mentioned above
are met.
YOU WILL NEED:
• Thick 90% shade cloth (enough to wrap around the
sides of your safe)
• Mouse and snake mesh (enough to fill in all four sides)
• A pallet, cut to size
• Timber lengths approximately 70 x 35 mm in diameter
• Screws
• Drill
• Corrugated iron for the roof
• LaserLite for the front
• Amounts will depend on the size of the safe you build
DIY

While the basic design can vary depending on the size and and the materials you find.
shape you want and the materials you have at hand, there are
some key functions the safe will need to accomplish.

Your meat safe will need to:

• Allow good air flow around the food to facilitate drying
and to prevent mould growth.
83
• Protect the food from the weather while allowing air-
flow.
• Keep out all kinds of little creatures who might want to
share in your spoils.
 METHOD:
THE BASE
An old pallet was used for the base and a starting point for the
whole project. The pallet was cut in half to become 600 mm
x 1200 mm, these dimensions allow for an average shoulder
width person to step inside comfortably.
By its nature a pallet has gaps between the boards so these
would need to be filled in with boards to prevent animals get-
ting in. Alternatively the floor could be lined with plywood.
THE FRAME
The body of the safe was constructed by making two identical
frames out of scrap hardwood (50 x 35 mm approximately).
If you are buying new, 70 x 35 mm untreated framing pine is
best as it is cheap and easy to work with.
The frames were as wide as the pallet at its short dimen-
sion (600 mm) and high enough to walk into (1850 mm ap-
proximately). The frames should be fixed together with wood
screws or nailed.
Cut four more pieces of timber the length of the long di-
ameter of the pallet, minus the thickness of both frames. Run
these between the four corners of the frames and fix. You will
now have effectively created a large rectangular box.
Fix down through the bottom of the frames into the pallet to
join it all together.
VERMIN PROOFING
Wrap three sides of the safe in thick shade cloth to keep out
flies and bugs. This also reduces the amount of light getting
in. You need to carefully fix the cloth with staples or clouts at
one edge and work around the three sides, trimming with a
Stanley knife as required.
84
Once the cloth is in place, cover the entire frame with mouse
and snake mesh. This stuff isn’t cheap but ensures nothing on
four legs will ever find its way in. This is very important if you
don’t want your goods nibbled. Once the shade cloth and wire
are in place, run some thin timber battens around all edges to
hold it well in place.
THE ROOF
Cut a piece of 6 mm plywood to cover the top of the frame
and tack it down. This makes sure the safe is sealed from the
top. On top of this put some scrap sheets of corrugated iron
extending approximately 300 mm out to form an eve. These
should be fixed with roofing screws into the frame edge.
To really make the roof waterproof, attach a piece of poly-
carbonate (LaserLite) corrugated sheet to the long side that
faces out. With this design being approximately 750 mm wide
it came down far enough to ensure no sideways rain could
wet the hanging produce inside.
THE DOOR
Making a door simply involves building another frame to fit ex-
actly inside one of the end frames and covering it with shade
cloth and mesh as per the sides. Screw some pieces of wood
onto the insides of the frame to act as stoppers and the door
just pops in and out, held in place by some swivelling stoppers
on the outside.
Finally, cut and fit some heavy square mesh to the under-
side of the roof to provide multiple hanging points. Strips of
wood could be screwed across the underside of the roof with
a similar result, or screw metal hooks into the plywood top.
That’s it! Obviously the safe should be placed completely
out of direct sunlight against a south facing wall, or even bet-
ter, in a cellar with good ventilation. Either way it will provide
a perfect home for your meats to cure in, safe from pests.
This article represents the permaculture
principle USE SMALL + SLOW
SOLUTIONS. For more info go to page 93.
 BE INSPIRED - Real stories about real owner builders
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Australia-wide

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junkies.com.au
 KIDS’ PATCH
We love to see our Pip kids out in the garden growing food and
we would love to see some pics of what you are getting up to.
We’re looking for photos of little kids, big kids, school groups and
community groups. So if you have a garden and you’re growing
food, send us a photo of you in it.
Our Kids’ Patch winner for issue 13 is Olive Woodhouse from
Officer in Victoria. Congratulations! You’ve won a a digital down-
load of Formidable Vegetable Sound System’s album, Grow Do It.
Next issue we are giving away a CD of Formidable Vegetable
Sound System’s album, Grow Do It. To be in the running, kids,
parents or teachers can email a photo through to editorial@pip-
magazine.com.au along with your child’s name, age and suburb.

SHOW US YOUR GARDEN

NAME: Olive Woodhouse
AGE: 3
Location of garden: Officer, VIC
Describe your garden: We have five big vegie gardens
in our backyard that Dad built. We have lots of natives
around our house too that we planted, and three chick-
ens that lay eggs for breakfast!
What do you grow? Cauliflower, beetroot, carrots, corn,
tomatoes, onion, silverbeet, lettuce, broccoli, beans, and
strawberries.
What is your favourite thing to grow? Strawberries
and carrots. Because I like eating them!
Why do you love gardening? Because I like being out-
side and growing my dinner.
Favourite job in the garden? Watering the garden with
the hose!

86
DECORATE YOUR BIKE & HELMET
by Yemaya Oates (age 13)

You may want to decorate your bike for a special occa-

sion, to turn heads when you next ride to the park, or to
spend an afternoon making something look good just for
the fun of it!
If you have a good look around your home you will no
doubt find everything you need for simple and special
bike decorations. Look for leftover balls of yarn, bailing
twine, coloured cardboard or paper, ribbon and crocheted
shapes that haven’t found an otherwise useful purpose.
You might also find felt, sequins, old CDs or material.
Have a look in your garden and see if you have flowers
and greenery that could be used.
Next you will need to gather scissors, string, glue and
sticky tape. Wool or string can be woven through the
spokes, and cardboard shapes and beads can be attached
to the spokes too. Just make sure your decorations are
well attached and won’t affect the wheels moving free-
ly. Get an adult to check. Leafy branches or streamers
made of yarn can be attached to handlebars. A favourite
of some kids (and adults!) is to have a basket attached to
the front handlebars to carry flowers, garden vegetables
or toys.
Helmets can have sweet floral additions: roses, calen-
dula or other flowers, in addition to the cable ties that
people often use to deter those determined magpies.
What about painting a big set of eyes on the back of your
helmet to look back at those swooping birds?
Decorate your bike and send us a photo. We’d love to
see your creative ideas.

87
 COLOUR IN THE BIKE
FUN PAGES Colour in our beautiful bike girl and her vegetables.

Take a photo of your finished artwork and either:

• email it to editorial@pipmagazine.com.au
• post it on Instagram with the tags #pipmag or #pipcolouringin
• send it to Pip Magazine, PO Box 172, Pambula, NSW 2549

The winner will be published in issue 14 of Pip Magazine and will

receive Thunderpants ‘Colour Me’ underpants and a fabric crayon
set, so you can colour in your own undies!
The winner from issue 12 is Nell McClure Wheatley, aged 7 from
Cedar Creek, Queensland.

ELL , 7 Y EA RS
N LD
A R CR EEK Q
CED

88
 Q. WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU
CROSS A BIKE WITH A FLOWER?
A. BICYCLE PETALS.

BICYCLE FACTS
• There are a billion bikes in the world, 400 million
of them in China.
• The first commercially sold bicycle was called a
‘Boneshaker’. It weighed 80 kg and was sold in
1868 in Paris.
• The fastest recorded speed of a bicycle is
133.75 km.
• The biggest rideable bike ever made was 7.8 m
long and 3.7 m high (as tall as a house).
• The longest tandem bike ever built was 20 m long
and could seat 35 people.

Q. WHY CAN’T A BICYCLE STAND

UP ON ITS OWN?
A. BECAUSE IT’S TWO-TYRED.

J K J K M U S H R O O M R T W
M I L L E T J Z B I C Y C L E
I J A M P A S S A T A C O O E
E R C Q V I N E G A R I Y L T
WORD FIND T P V E N R B J E E M W B I H
BASIL FUNGI
F A S H I O N E T O B A U V I
BATTERY HONEY
BEE MANUKA A C I D E R B Z O Y N I F E C
BICYCLE MILLET
BROADBEAN MUSHROOM Q F Q E E D S R R I V P K S A
BROOM OLIVES O B R O A D B E A N M R Y E L
CARROT OXALIS
CIDER PASSATA X X K S N D T T B G A O K C Y
EBIKE PEDAL A S S T S T S X P J N P H A F
ETHICAL PROPOLIS
FASHION SUSTAINABLE L Q Z Z A U G K E N U O O R U
FESTIVAL VINEGAR
I U O B S B X I D R K L N R N
S T F E S T I V A L A I E O G 89
B A S I L S E R L D V S Y T I
 COURSE PROVIDERS DIRECTORY
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Send your details to hello@pipmagazine.com.au: name, location, courses, web, phone, email.

HEALTHY HARVEST KITCHEN GARDENS, PERMACULTURE SYDNEY INSTITUTE,

PERMACULTURE & Springwood, Organic Gardening, Sydney, Intro to Permaculture, PDC, Cider &
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(02) 4998 8072, lagunaearthhouse@gmail.com PURPLE PEAR FARM,
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LIMESTONE PERMACULTURE Anambah, PDC, Intro to Permaculture, Mandala
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limestone.permaculture@gmail.com ROSNAY ORGANIC VINEYARD AND ORCHARD,
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NSW & VIC PDC, Intro to Permaculture, 1300 767 629
Blue Mountains, PDC, Permaculture Teacher
Organic Gardening, Market Gardening, Natural www.rosnay.com.au, info@rosnay.com.au
Training Course, Permaculture in Development
Beekeeping, Mushroom Cultivation, Natural SAGE PROJECT,
Course, 0407 437 553, www.bmpi.com.au,
Building and more. www.milkwood.net, Moruya, Market Gardening, Seed Saving,
lis@bmpi.com.au
(02) 5300 4473, hello@milkwood.net Medicinal Gardens, Beekeeping & Hive Building,
BROGO PERMACULTURE GARDENS,
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE Backyard Gardening, Fermenting, Drawing,
Bermagui, PDC, Earthworks,
CAMPUS OF TAFE NSW, www.sageproject.org.au, 0439 032 038,
www permaculturedesign.com.au,
Thurgoona, Cert IV and Diploma of education@sageproject.org.au
(02) 6492 7306, brogopg@bigpond.net.au
Permaculture online; Organic Farming; SOUTHERN HARVEST EDUCATION,
BYRON COLLEGE OF PERMACULTURE.
(02) 6043 6700, Intro to Permaculture, PDC, Specialist courses
Byron Bay Mullumbimby, PDC, Accredited
RI_PermacultureNEC@tafensw.edu.au e.g. Farm establishment, homesteading, forest
Permaculture Training, and more.
NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NEW gardens
www.byroncollege.org.au
SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA, www.southernharvest.org.au/education
(02) 6684 3374, admin@byroncollege.org.au
Sydney, Seed Saving & Seasonal Planting, education@southernharvest.org.au
CAROOLA FARM,
www.nature.org.au, (02) 9516 1488, SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEMS & SERVICES,
Mulloon, Converting to Organic Production
ncc@nature.org.au Sydney, Workplaces, Water and Energy
(SPCA Organic Standards),
NORTH SYDNEY COUNCIL, Efficiency, Ethical Investment, House Design &
www caroolafarm.com.au, (02) 4842 1899,
Sydney, Sustainable Investing, Sugarbag Construction,
penny@caroolafarm.com.au
Beekeeping, Preserving, Edible Gardens, www.sustainabilitysystems.com.au, 0414 385
CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY,
www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Waste_ 644, cameron@sustainabilitysystems.com.au
North Wagga Wagga, Sustainable Agriculture,
Environment/Get_Involved_Green_Events/ SYDNEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE,
www.csu.edu.au/faculty/science/saws,
Green_Events, (02) 9936 8100, Sydney, Permaculture: An Introduction,
(02) 6933 2765, gash@csu.edu.au
gabrielle.lewis@northsydney.nsw.gov.au Beekeeping for Beginners, (02) 8752 7555,
COFFS REGIONAL COMMUNITY GARDENS,
ORGANIC FOOD GARDENS, www.sydneycommunitycollege.com.au,
Coffs Harbour, Meal Planning to Reduce Food
Sydney North, Central Coast. customer.service@scc.nsw.edu.au
Waste, Insect Reservoirs, Plant Propagation,
Permaculture, eco gardens, workshops. SYDNEY ORGANIC GARDENS,
www.coffscommunitygardens.org.au,
organicfoodgardens.com.au, Jannali, Organic Gardening, 0416 229 154
contact@coffscommuitygardens.org.au
0414 427 050, www.sydneyorganicgardens.com.au,
ELEMENTAL PERMACULTURE,
james@organicfoodgardens.com.au info@sydneyorganicgardens.com.au
Warrawong, PDC, 0424 241 881,
PERMACULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE THE QUIET GARDENER,
www elementalpermaculture.wordpress.com,
AUSTRALIA, Sydney, Intro to Permaculture,
elementalpermaculture2012@gmail.com
The Channon, PDC, Hand Tools, Renewable www.thequietgardener.com.au, 0412 130 221,
FERMENTING AUSTRALIA,
Energy, Permaculture Teacher Training, craigd@thequietgardener.com.au
Fermentation Workshops by Fermentation
Understanding Earthworks, Permaculture Life THE VEGGIE LADY,
Revivalist, Sammi Zajko. Workshops held in
Skills, www.permaculturenews.org, Narellan, Backyard Vegies, Sensory Gardens,
regional NSW, Sydney and Melbourne.
(02) 6688 6578, Healing Gardens, Therapeutic Horticulture,
www.facebook.com/fermentingaustralia,
education@permaculturenews.org Organic Gardening, Home Grown Vegetables &
www.stickytickets.com.au/fermentingaustralia
PERMACULTURE COLLEGE AUSTRALIA, Herbs, Consultations, 0411 579 778,
GARDEN TO TABLE PERMACULTURE,
Nimbin, PDC, APT–Cert IV, Diploma. Advanced www.theveggielady.com, toni@theveggielady.com
90 Charlotte Bay, PDC, Organic Gardening &
Courses – Creative Community Facilitation, TRUST NATURE,
Permaculture Courses, Seasonal Harvest
Permaculture Teacher Training & Facilitation, Byron Bay, Permaculture Soils & Organic
Lunches, Edible Garden Tours, www.
Sustainable Aid for Permaculture Development Fertiliser, Living Soils & Composting,
gardentotable.com.au, 0413 769 530,
Work, Advanced Design Skills, 0408 662 468, www.trustnature.com.au,
megan@gardentotable.com.au
www.permaculture.com.au, info@trustnature.com.au
(02) 6689 1755, admin@permaculture.com.au
VALLEY’S END FARM – TERRA GOOD LIFE PERMACULTURE, ELTHAM WORMS,
PERMACULTURE, Hobart, Permaculture Design Courses. Melbourne, Composting
Jilliby, Central Coast, PDC Intro to Small-Scale Beekeeping, Growing Food, & Worm Farming, www.elthamworms.com.au,
Permaculture, Forest Gardening, Fermentation Fest, Introduction to Permaculture. 0419 310 003, elthamworms@yahoo.com
www.terrapermaculture.com www.goodlifepermaculture.com.au, EMPOWER,
0424 199 470, alexia@terrapermaculture.com 0418 307 294 Melbourne, Creating & Maintaining Small
hello@goodlifepermaculture.com.au Space Gardens, www.facebook.com/
PERMACULTURE TASMANIA, events/1431512460484444, 0401 822 915,
QLD Tasmania wide. Low cost Permaculture skills shek@empowerprojects.org
ACS DISTANCE EDUCATION,
share and workshops across the state. Intro HOLMGREN DESIGN,
Nerang MDC, Organic Farming, (07) 5562 1088,
to Permaculture, Fermenting, Foraging, Bee Hepburn, PDC at Yoga Ashram, Permaculture
www.acs.edu.au/default.aspx, admin@acs.edu.au
Keeping and more. www.permaculturetasmania. Forestry, Advanced Design Principles, holmgren.
MY FOOD GARDEN,
com, permaculturetasmania@gmail.com, com.au, (03) 5348 3636,
Samford, Biodynamic Gardening–Introductory
0402 317 812 and FB, Instagram info@holmgren.com.au
course to biodynamic gardening principles,
RESEED, KINGLAKE RANGES PERMACULTURE,
0401 156 532, peter@myfoodgarden.com.au,
Penguin, Various courses, Kinglake, Seed Saving, Propagation,
www.myfoodgardens.com.au/workshops
www. permaculturetas.org/main/locations/ Managing a Garden, Mushrooms, Bees, Livestock,
CRYSTAL WATERS,
reseed-centre, info@permaculturetas.org 0430 637 748, foggyforge@gmail.com,
Conondale, PDC, www.crystalwaters.org.au,
TASMAN PENINSULA PERMACULTURE, taylor.daryl@yahoo.com.au
contactbrucegibson@gmail.com, (07) 5494 4620
Tasman Eco Village, Nubeena , PDC course, LANEWAY LEARNING MELBOURNE,
LEARNING FROM NATURE,
Miles Durand Permaculture 0474 559 791, Melbourne, Gardening & Sustainability,
Discover an easier and cheaper way to grow
mdurand@live.com.au lanewaylearning.com,
food, by bringing Nature’s free ecological
melbourne@lanewaylearning.com
services back into your garden and farm.
Courses throughout Australia and Internationally, VIC MILKWOOD,
BALLARAT PERMACULTURE GUILD, NSW & VIC PDC, Intro to Permaculture,
online resources, learningfromnature.com.au,
Ballarat, PDC, Intro to Permaculture, Organic Gardening, Market Gardening, Natural
(07)4069 5058, info@learningfromnature.com.au
courses in practical skills, Beekeeping, Mushroom Cultivation, Natural
MORAG GAMBLE,
www.ballaratpermacultureguild.org Building and more,
Crystal Waters Ecovillage and beyond.
info@ballaratpermacultureguild.org www.milkwood.net, (02) 5300 4473,
Community Permaculture Workshops, Citizen
BULLEEN ART & GARDEN, hello@milkwood.net
Design Workshops, Permaculture Camps and
Bulleen, Ornamental Edible Garden Design, NORTHERN MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TAFE,
tours for schools, Permaculture Garden Tours,
Preserving, Sowing & Saving Seeds, Vegie Epping, Information on Organic Agriculture,
Introduction to Permaculture, PDC https://
Gardening for Absolute Beginners, infohub.ifoam.bio/en/node, (03) 9269 1042,
ourpermaculturelife.com moraggamble@gmail.
Balcony & Small Space Gardening, marlid-aas@nmit.vic.edu.au
com 0400 336 413
Successful Composting & Worm Farming, PERMACULTURE SOUTH WEST VICTORIA,
NOOSA FOREST RETREAT –
www.baag.com.au, (03) 8850 3030, Warrnambool, Permaculture, Home Skills,
PERMACULTURE COMMUNITY,
classes@baag.com.au Appropriate Technology, Fruit Tree Pruning &
Kin Kin, Noosa Hinterland, Sunshine Coast,
CASTLEMAINE COMMUNITY HOUSE, Grafting Workshops, andrew@wallabygarden.
PDC, (07) 5409 7577,
Castlemaine, PDC, Cert III in APT, com.au
sunshinenaturalhealth@gmail.com,
www.cch.org.au, REGRARIANS,
www.permaculturecoursequeensland.com.au
(03) 5472 4842, education@cch.org.au, Bendigo East, Regenerative Agriculture, www.
NORTHEY STREET CITY FARM,
reception@cch.org.au regrarians.org, 0431 444 836 or
Windsor, Intro to Permaculture, PDC, Sustainable
CENTRE FOR ADULT EDUCATION, 0400 840 845, regrarians@gmail.com
Living Workshops, Beekeeping, Permaculture
Melbourne, A Year in the Garden: Vegetables RMIT UNIVERSITY,
Practicals, School & Group Tours, Urban
& Herbs, Backyard Beekeeping, How to Build a Melbourne, Permaculture & Sustainable Living,
Farming, (07) 8578775 www.nscf.org
Traditional Wood-Fired Oven, www.rmit.edu.au,
PERMACULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
www.cae.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx, 0419 779 886, rick.coleman@rmit.edu.au
SUNSHINE COAST,
(03) 9652 0611, enquiries@cae.edu.au TELOPEA MTN PERMACULTURE AND NURSERY,
Kin Kin, PDC, (07) 5485 4664,
CERES ENVIRONMENT PARK, Monbulk, Advanced Permaculture Skills,
www.permaculturesunshinecoast.org,
Melbourne, PDC, Educational, sustainable Preserving, Cheesemaking, Cider Making, www.
info@permaculturesunshinecoast.org
and fun array of offerings across cooking, petethepermie.com, 0418 665 880, telopeamtn@
PERMACULTURE TOOLS,
cheesemaking, craft, gardening and bigpond.com
Indooroopilly, Permaculture Earthworks.
sustainability. From a one-day workshop to our THE PERMA PIXIE,
Hand Tool courses,
hands-on gardening courses and our bi-annual Dandenong Ranges, Herbalism, Rewilding &
www.permaculturetools.com.au,
Permaculture Design Course. Soil, www.thepermapixie.com, 0450 375 528,
sales@permaculturetools.com.au
www.ceres.org.au, (03) 9389 0124, thepermapixie@gmail.com
ROBIN CLAYFIELD,
luisa@ceres.org.au THE WALLABY’S ROCK GARDEN,
Crystal Waters Permaculture Village and
CHESTNUT FARM, Garvoc, Garden Design, Natural Building,
Globally. Dynamic Groups Teacher Training
Ballarat, PDC, Forest Garden Design Intensive, Appropriate Technology,
Courses, Social Permaculture Courses, Dynamic
Intro to Permaculture, Grafting internship, www.wallabygarden.com.au,
Decision Making and Community Governance
Permaculture Principles Master Class, Powering- andrew@wallabygarden.com.au
Courses, Crystal Waters Permaculture Village
up Your Community Group, Practical Skills. TREAD LIGHTLY PERMACULTURE,
Tours, www.dynamicgroups.com.au
Individual grafting tuition available, Dunnstown, PDC, CERT III, Intro to Permaculture,
(07) 5494 4707 robin@earthcare.com.au
(03) 5331 3110, www.chestnutfarm.net.au, Glass House Design, Compost Loo Construction
SAVOUR SOIL PERMACULTURE,
steve@chestnutfarm.net.au & Design, Mulch, Plant Propogation & Seed
Laidley, PDC, Intro to Permaculture, Beekeeping,
CULTIVATING COMMUNITY, Saving, Beekeeping, 0400 261 233
Backyard Aquaponics and Bioponics, Food
Richmond, Food Waste Avoidance & Recycling www.treadlightlypermaculture.com.au, info@
Forest, Intro to Forest Gardening, Regenerative
(composting, worm farms & bokashi), treadlightlypermaculture.com.au
Design, savoursoils@hotmail.com
www.cultivatingcommunity.org.au, VERY EDIBLE GARDENS,
(03) 9429 3084, Brunswick, PDC, Biointensive Gardening,
SA info@cultivatingcommunity.org.au Edible Weeds, Rocket Stoves,
FOOD FOREST, ECOSHIATSU, www.veryediblegardens.com,
Gawler, PDC, Bushfoods, Preserving, Natural Apollo Bay, Victoria. Ecoshiatsu, Permaculture, veg@veryediblegardens.com
Building, Fruit & Nut Growing, Ecological Design, Moxibustion, Herbs, Edible
www.foodforest.com.au, (08) 8522 6450, Weeds, Home Economy Skills
foodforest@bigpond.com www.ecoshiatsu.net, 0407 111 327, WA 91
connect@ecoshiatsu.net AHAM VRITTI HERBAL,
TAS DELICIOUSLY INSPIRING GARDENS, Perth, PDC, Organic Gardening, Creative
GAIA’S GARDEN, (DIG), Geelong, Organic Gardening & Farming, Facilitation,
Bracknell, Permaculture courses, sewing skills Livestock, Chickens, Soil, www.facebook.com/ www.ahamvrittiherbal.com.au, 0406 449 369,
to repurpose and repair clothing and any fabric pages/Deliciously-Inspiring-Gardens, info@ahamvrittiherbal.com.au
items, 0412 298 286, 1stgaia1@gmail.com 0423 150 448
 CANDLELIGHT FARM,
Perth, PDC, APT,
www.cfpermaculture.com.au, (08) 92951933,
rossmars@waterinstallations.com
FAIR HARVEST,
Margaret River, PDC, Beekeeping,
Cheesemaking, Introduction to Permaculture,
www.fairharvest.com.au/, (08) 9758 8582,
info@fairharvest.com.au
MERRI BEE ORGANIC FARMACY,
Nannup, Nourishing Soil, regenerating topsoil
for a safe climate, www.facebook.com/
merribeenannup,
0478 602 545, beewinfield@westnet.com.au
PERMASEED,
Bunbury, PDC, Intro to Permaculture,
Aquaponics, Wicking Beds, www.facebook.com/
peppalucisediblelandscapes, 0427 456 699,
georginawarden@bigpond.com.au
TERRA PERMA DESIGN,
Perth, PDC, Soil, Edible Weeds, Food Forests,
Watering & Irrigation, Chooks, Nutrient Cycling,
www.terraperma.com.au,
0466 633 275 , info@terraperma.com.au
WESTERN EARTH CARERS,
Perth Zero waste, sustainability, compost,
worm farming,
www.earthcarers.org, (08) 9384 4003,
earthcarers@wmrc.wa.gov.au
ONLINE
GEOFF LAWTON,
PDC, www.geofflawton.com, (02) 6688 6578
LEARNING FROM NATURE,
Discover an easier and cheaper way to grow
food, by bringing Nature’s free ecological
services back into your garden and farm. 
Courses throughout Australia and Internationally,
online resources, learningfromnature.com.au,
(07)4069 5058, info@learningfromnature.com.au.
NOOSA FOREST RETREAT,
online permaculture course,
support@permaculturecourseonline.com.au,
http://permaculturecourseonline.com.au
OUR PERMACULTURE LIFE,
Comprehensive online introduction to
permaculture programs - The Incredible Edible
Garden and Our Permaculture Life Membership
Community with Morag Gamble
https://ourpermacuturelife.com/permaculture-
courses/ moraggamble@gmail.com
PERMACULTURE EDUCATION INSTITUTE,
Comprehensive online Permaculture Educators
Program weaves together a PDC and a
Permaculture Teacher Certificate with Morag
Gamble. Self-paced. Start any time. www.
permacultureeducationinstitute.org, morag@
permacultureeducationinstitute.org
PERMACULTURE VISIONS,
PDC, www.permaculturevisions.com,
(02) 4228 5774, sampsms@ozemail.com.au,
info@permaculturevisions.com
SPIRAL GARDEN,
Hobart, Seedlings Permaculture for Families
e-course, spiralgarden.com.au,
0401 438 668, hello@spiralgarden.com.au
BEEKEEPING
ACT
BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION OF THE ACT –
CIT, SCHOOL OF HORTICULTURE,
Bruce, Backyard Beekeeping,
www.actbeekeepers.asn.au,
92
(02) 6282 8112, enquiries@actbeekeepers.asn.au
NSW
BEEKEEPING NATURALLY,
Bermagui, Natural Beekeeping, www.
beekeepingnaturally.com.au, adrian@
beekeepingnaturally.com.au
MILKWOOD PERMACULTURE,
Sydney, Natural Beekeeping, www.milkwood.net,
(02) 5300 4473, info@milkwood.net
NATURAL BEEKEEPING AUSTRALIA,
Sydney & Mudgee, Natural Beekeeping (in
conjunction with Milkwood Farm),
www.naturalbeekeeping.com.au,
tim@malfroysgold.com.au
SAGE PROJECT,
Moruya, Beekeeping & Hive Building,
www.sageproject.org.au,
0439 032 038, education@sageproejct.org.au
SYDNEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE,
Sydney, Beekeeping for Beginners,
www.sydneycommunitycollege.com.au,
customer.service@scc.nsw.edu.au
(02) 8752 7555,
THE URBAN BEEKEEPING,
Sydney, Beekeeping, www.theurbanbeehive.com.au,
bees@theurbanbeehive.com.au, 0411 191 232
QLD
SAVOUR SOIL PERMACULTURE,
Laidley, The Art of Balanced Beekeeping,
www.savoursoilpermaculture.com.au,
(07) 5465 1399, savoursoils@hotmail.com
SUGARBAG,
Brisbane, Sugarbag Beekeeping, Stingless Bees,
www.sugarbag.net, 0434 416 053,
tim@sugarbag.net
TAS
GOOD LIFE PERMACULTURE,
South Hobart, Small-scale Beekeeping,
www.goodlifepermaculture.com.au,
0418 307 294,
hello@goodlifepermaculture.com.au
SA
JEMBELLA FARM,
Angaston, Raw honey sales and beekeeping
workshops. jembellafarm@gmail.com
jembellafarm.blogspot.com/bees 0473 493 413
VIC
THE PRACTICAL BEEKEEPER,
Thornbury, History of Beekeeping, Getting
Started with a New Hive, Extracting Honey,
www.thepracticalbeekeeper.com.au,
0418 863 884,
benedict@thepracticalbeekeeper.com.au
VICHONEY,
Upper Beaconsfield, Beekeeping,
http://organichoney.melbourne,
anna@vichoney.com.au
J BEEKEEPING SCHOOL,
Diggers Rest, Beekeeping,
www.jbeekeeping.org.au,
secretary@jbeekeeping.org.au
AMAZING BEES,
The Basin, One-on-one Coaching,
www.amazingbees.com.au, 0414 558 400,
dietmar@amazingbees.com.au
BEC’S BEE HIVE,
Kallista & Flemington, various beekeeping
workshops, mentoring, supplies
& field days, www.becsbeehive.com.au,
0409 850 735, bec@becsbeehive.com.au
CENTRE FOR ADULT EDUCATION,
Melbourne, A Year in the Garden: Backyard
Beekeeping, www.cae.edu.au,
(03) 9652 0611, enquiries@cae.edu.au
KINGLAKE RANGES PERMACULTURE,
Kinglake, Bees, taylor.daryl@yahoo.com.au
0430 637 748, foggyforge@gmail.com,
MELBOURNE CITY ROOFTOP HONEY,
Beekeeping, hosting, courses, mentoring &
tours, www.rooftophoney.com.au
PERM-APICULTURE BEEKEEPING GROUP,
Melbourne, Natural Beekeeping courses,
www.naturalbeekeeping.org.au,
pcm.apisig@gmail.com
TREAD LIGHTLY PERMACULTURE,
Dunnstown, Beekeeping,
treadlightlypermaculture.com.au,
0400 261 233,
info@treadlightlypermaculture.com.au
WA
FAIR HARVEST,
Margaret River, Beekeeping,
www.fairharvest.com.au, (08) 9758 8582,
info@fairharvest.com.au
PHARMCO PTY LTD,
Perth, Intro to Beekeeping, 0412 136 945,
rob_mckrill@yahoo.com.au
NATURAL BUILDING
NSW
AREC,
Bombira, Sustainable Building,
arec.com.au, (02) 6372 3899,
info@arec.com.au
EARTH BUILDING SOLUTIONS,
St Georges Basin, Building with Mudbricks,
Making Mudbricks, Wood-fired Earth Pizza/
Bread Ovens, 0408 425 855,
www.earthbuildingsolutions.com.au,
mail@earthbuildingsolutions.com.au
LAGUNA EARTH HOUSE,
Laguna, Earth/Straw Building,
www.facebook.com/lagunaearthhouse,
(02) 4998 8072, lagunaearthhouse@gmail.com
STRAWTEC,
Jervis Bay, Straw Bale Construction,
www.strawtec.com.au, 0408 415 806,
strawbales@bigpond.com
SA
AGARI NATURAL BUILDERS,
Adelaide, 3-week Straw Bale Round House
with Reciprical Roof,
www.agarifarm.org, 0434 169 349
dani@agarifarm.org
FOOD FOREST,
Gawler, PDC, Organic Vegetables and Poultry,
Preserving, Natural Building, Fruit & Nut
Growing. www.foodforest.com.au,
(08) 8522 6450, foodforest@bigpond.com
VIC
AGARI NATURAL BUILDERS,
Mornington Peninsula,
1-week Straw Bale Wall Raising
www.agarifarm.org, 0434 169 349
dani@agarifarm.org
THE STRAW BALE HOUSES,
Axedale, How to Build a Straw Bale House,
www.straw-bale-houses.com, 0428 246 868,
brian@anvill.com.au
THE WALLABY’S ROCK GARDEN,
Garvoc, Natural Building, Appropriate
Technology,
www.wallabygarden.com.au,
andrew@wallabygarden.com.au
AUSTRALIA WIDE
MUDMOB,
Natural Building, Cob Building
for Animal Shelters, www.mudmob.net,
mudmob@gmail.com
THE HEMP BUILDING COMPANY,
1 & 2 day Hempcrete Building Workshops.
www.thehempbuildingcompany.com.au,
info@thehempbuildingcompany.com.au
0417 517 081
 DAVID HOLMGREN’S
12 PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES
1. OBSERVE AND INTERACT
“By taking the time to engage with
nature we can design solutions that
suit our particular situation.”
3. OBTAIN A YIELD
“Ensure that you are getting truly
useful rewards as part of the work
you are doing.”
5. USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE
RESOURCES AND SERVICES
“Make the best use of nature’s abundance to
reduce our consumption and dependence
on non-renewable resources.”
7. DESIGN FROM
PATTERNS TO DETAILS
“By stepping back we can observe
patterns in nature and society. These can
form the backbone of our designs, with
the details filled in as we go.”
9. USE SMALL AND
SLOW SYSTEMS
“Small and slow systems are easier
to maintain than big ones, making better
use of local resources, and producing
more sustainable outcomes.”
11. USE THE EDGES
AND VALUE THE MARGINAL
“The interface between things is where
the most interesting events take place.
These are often the most valuable, diverse,
and productive elements in the system.”
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES GO TO PERMACULTUREPRINCIPLES.COM
2. CATCH AND STORE ENERGY
“By developing systems that collect
resources when they are abundant,
we can use them in times of need.”
4. APPLY SELF-REGULATION
AND ACCEPT FEEDBACK
“We need to discourage inappropriate
activity to ensure that systems continue
to function well.”
6. PRODUCE NO WASTE
“By valuing and making use of all the
resources that are available to us,
nothing goes to waste.”
8. INTEGRATE RATHER
THAN SEGREGATE
“By putting the right things in the right
place, relationships develop between
them and they support each other.”
10. USE AND VALUE DIVERSITY
“Diversity reduces vulnerability to a
variety of threats and takes advantage of
the unique nature of the environment in
which it resides.”
12. CREATIVELY USE
AND RESPOND TO CHANGE
“We can have a positive impact on
inevitable change by carefully observing,
and then intervening at the right time.”
93
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 BOOK REVIEWS
RECLAIMING THE URBAN COMMONS
Anthology edited by Nick Rose and Andrea Gaynor
(UWA Publishing 2018)
Review by Emily Stokes
As we continue to become a more
urbanised society, the question
of how we can live and eat well
in our cities has never been more
critical. This collection of real sto-
ries explores past histories of ur-
ban food production in Australia,
plus we hear from current food
production innovators on what
they’re doing and why.
Part One reflects the diversity in
urban edible gardens, Part Two
acknowledges the important role played by the permaculture
movement in training a generation of urban gardeners and
farmers, Part Three contains stories that represent the new
face of urban agriculture in Australia, and Part Four ties it
together with an urgent call for transformative change.
This anthology shares the stories of those who have taken
risks and learnt lessons along the way. It’s a source of in-
spiration and wisdom for those wanting to join this import-
ant journey to bring back a deeper connection between ur-
ban dwellers and their food, for now and future generations.
Authors include many of Pip’s regular contributors including
David Holmgren, Morag Gamble, Kat Lavers, Hannah Moloney,
The Food Forest, Mariam Issa and more.
THE NOMA GUIDE TO FERMENTATION
By René Redzepi and David Zilber (Artisan 2018)
Review by Emily Stokes
Named best restaurant in the world
four times, Denmark’s Noma and its
founders and chefs have been exper-
imenting with fermentation for over a
decade. Their first laboratory was in
a boat moored outside the restaurant
and then a dedicated space was built
in converted shipping containers. Their
fervent experimentation culminated in
this beautifully put together book.
Whether you’re a fermentation enthusiast or novice, you
will appreciate the history and science explained simply and
thoughtfully. The recipes are clearly photographed at every
step. Your eyes will be opened to a world of new possibilities,
with lacto-fermented plums, coffee, apple or rose kombucha
and celery or pear vinegar, to name just a few.
Use this book to broaden your horizons and ferment your
96
own soy sauce, miso, koji and black garlic. This book has plen-
ty of options to experiment using careful tutorials that will
transform the way you ferment and eat at home.
THE SECRET NETWORK OF
NATURE: THE DELICATE BALANCE
OF ALL LIVING THINGS
By Peter Wohlleben (Vintage Publishing 2018)
Review by Robyn Rosenfeldt
Peter Wohlleben is a German forester and
author. In his previous books he studied
the connections among trees and among
animals, but in this book he brings them
together and looks at the interconnect-
edness of nature as a whole and the de-
structive effect that humans are having
on these connections.
Wohlleben reveals the many complex
and unseen connections in the natural
world that have been keeping our planet’s
equilibrium finely balanced. He explores different examples of
these connections, such as how wolves can alter the course of
a river and how fish can be responsible for the growth of trees
in a nearby forest.
In this book he demonstrates how the number of connec-
tions and relationships in nature are too numerous for humans
to ever fathom nor truly understand and therefore it is impos-
sible to ever be sure what effect our interference will have.
Although these ideas aren’t new, Wohlleben highlights some
interesting examples that help confirm what we already know;
nature is most often, best left alone.
NOURISHING DIETS: HOW PALEO,
ANCESTRAL AND TRADITIONAL
PEOPLES REALLY ATE
By Sally Fallon Morell (Grand Central Life & Style 2018)
Review by Emily Stokes
Another well researched book from
Sally Fallon Morell, digging deep into
different cultural food practises, from
Australian Aborigines who grew vast
fields of grain and made it into bread,
Japanese consuming large amounts of
white rice alongside a diet rich in fish,
organ meats, broth and seaweed, the
Mediterranean diet of cured meat and
raw milk cheeses, to Britain’s pre-Victorian era diet of organ
meats, raw dairy, eggs, butter and bone broth.
According to Fallon Morell, all traditional diets had a com-
mon theme – they all contained full-fat, nutrient dense an-
imal products with their fat soluble vitamins A, D and K2.
She argues against the Blue Zones and The China Study
diets which advocate plant-based eating, and examines the
modern paleo diet and how this lean-meat, no-carb diet is in
contrast to what people ate traditionally.
This book explains how traditional diets can be satisfying
and delicious, and do not need to exclude any of the major
food groups. It offers practical tips and recipes to bring these
ideas to modern kitchens.