Following in the footsteps of a savvy prince and the founder of farming philosophy that has taken the world by storm sounds a sensible thing to do. John Burrows talks to Kaye Cheval who is spreading the word about biodynamics.

Appearing at the GREENhouse: Healthy Ideas -10 am, Monday, December 27, 2010.

Transformation — changing the ways we do things – is what the Greenhouse is all about.

Advocating big changes to the way we produce food is Kaye Cheval, the first presenter in this year’s program. Kaye is a natural therapist and educator of biodynamics, the organic farming philosophy which has adherents world-wide. The essence of the biodynamic approach is that the farm is regarded as a self-contained entity where individual elements – soil, plants and animals – are integrated into a self-nourishing whole.

There are various techniques of soil enhancement, and an astronomical calendar is used to guide planting and harvesting times. Kaye is applying the biodynamic method on her property in the rolling hills of Carters Ridge, in the Noosa hinterland. It’s a lush landscape, green after good spring rain, very different from the semi-arid plains of western Queensland where she grew up.

Kaye Cheval

“My parents ran a sheep station near Winton,” Kaye recalls.

“We were very connected with the outdoors, went horse riding, ran around barefoot and swam in the dam.

“For much of our food, we were pretty well self-reliant, we had milk and butter, fruit trees and a garden enriched with cow manure, no chemicals at all.”

Chemicals, however, did play a big part in raising sheep, but safety issues didn’t get much attention in those days.

“My father developed and died from cancer in his early 50s from his exposure to these chemicals, so I have made it my life work to pass on what I have learnt over the years from others and from real life experiences,” said Kaye.

To that end she is developing her property – Waratah Eco Farm – as a place where people can learn and experience what it’s like to be on a farm operating under biodynamics and permaculture principles.

Kaye’s journey from the western plains began with a move to Sydney to study and work as a nurse, then marriage, children and a move back to the land. This was to a place in the Northern Rivers, a mixed farm where Kaye raised cattle and pigs, and grew vegetables. Her husband was a school teacher at nearby Nimbin, and it was inevitable that Kaye would encounter different approaches to farming.

“We didn’t use chemicals from day one,” said Kaye, “But living in the area led to an understanding that modern farm practices left a lot to be desired and there was a better way of doing things.”

Kaye also studied natural therapies and after moving to the Sunshine Coast, set up the Natural Therapy Centre in Cooroy. Here, for 10 years, she had a very successful practice; it was a no pills and no potions approach, more about advocating lifestyle changes, particularly regarding food. Her interest in biodynamics was sparked by a course she attended in 2002. It was run by Lynette West from the Biodynamic Education Centre. Lynette was the biodynamics consultant to the Mullon Creek Natural Farm.

This is the largest biodynamic farm in Australia and caught the interest of Prince Charles, who invited Lynette to run a foundation course on biodynamics at his organic farm in England.

Lynette died recently, and is an inspiration to Kaye, who is aiming to continue Lynette’s work of spreading the biodynamics philosophy on her property.

Kaye grows fruit and vegies, and there are the animals – chooks, ducks and goats which supply milk and cheese. Grevilleas mingle with fruit trees and attract birds, keeping insects under control. There are swales to conserve ground moisture. One corner of the property is devoted to forest.

Kaye says that biodynamics is viable for both large and small-scale farming. The principles can be applied to a backyard or even a small courtyard. She cites the case of a friend in her 80s, living in a retirement home.

“Space is tight, but my friend grows bananas, vegetables, herbs, and various fruit trees in pots, as well as keeping bees and making biodynamic preparations. She is a good example of someone doing it on a small scale.”

The use of preparations is an intriguing part of the biodynamics method. They’re made by packing a cow’s horn with cow manure, burying it deep in the ground in the autumn, recovering it in the spring and further treating the fermented material by mixing with water and stirring in a certain way. The preparation can then be used as a compost additive, or more commonly used to spray on fields – a little goes a long way – to increase soil nutrition and fertility.

It’s an important part of the biodynamics philosophy, which was developed in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian who also founded a new spiritual movement – Anthroposophy – and the Steiner education system.

He believed that the preparations imparted cosmic forces into the soil. His methods must have results, if the growth of biodynamic farming is any guide. It’s practised in more than 50 countries.

New Zealand proponent Peter Proctor has taken the concept to India, where he has worked with marginal farmers across the country to conserve soil and save communities. A film of his work, One Man, One Cow, One Planet, has won awards world-wide.

Kaye is spreading the word at the local level, and concentrates on the practical steps that everyone can take.

“We need to avoid dead food,”  said Kaye.

“That’s why the soil used for growing food must be healthy and able to supply the nutrients needed in our diet. We can then expect to have healthy bodies.”

In this edition we take an Up Close look at their lifestyle and why they decided to home-school their daughters.

“The most revolutionary thing you can do is to provide your children with a connection to nature.  If you feel you are a part of something, you will naturally respect it,” says Sally Johnson. She says it in a way that tells you that this is a statement made after many years of searching and learning.

Elly and Jessie play under the shade of a tree. Image: greghardwick.com.au

With so much news bringing almost daily predictions of pending doom, climate change has caused many people to simply switch off. Crowded by a growing population, along with an increasing trend to self-impose busy lifestyles upon ourselves, many people are starting to perform a collective head-in-the-sand reaction.

“It’s getting a bit depressing and we’re getting a bit immune to it. People don’t want to listen to it any more — it all sounds too bad to do anything about it,” says Sally.

However, she believes there is something we can all do — change the way we relate to the environment.

“I feel that there needs to be a shift, you push something on people through fear, and it never works.  People have to make a shift inside themselves and let that gradually take over”.

Local academic and author Dana Thomsen recognises our disconnection from nature as a major problem. She wrote, in her recently published book Sustainability innovators: Agents of change on the Sunshine Coast: “ Media coverage of climate change has raised awareness of human-environmental interactions on a scale not seen in recent times where the general trend has been an ever-increasing disconnection with our natural surroundings.”

Sally, her husband Paul and their two young girls, Jessie, 4 and Elly, 6 have lived on their property in the Noosa hinterland for the past seven years. Paul and Sally, both in their late thirties, have that healthy look that comes from years of eating well and spending time outdoors keeping active. Both of them have a keen interest in creating a sustainable lifestyle for their family. Their girls have a youthful sparkle in their eyes and they seem equally as relaxed handling the chickens, helping in the gardens or doing as children do, playing together under the shade of a tree.

Driving down their dirt driveway, cone-shaped piles of mulch are waiting to be placed around native plants. The familiar deep-green-leaves of local Lilly Pilly species line the left of the narrow driveway and on the right, healthy looking chickens quietly graze under a home-made dome, inspired by Linda Woodrow’s The Permaculture Home Garden.

The last big rains flooded the local area earlier this year and now the ground is dry and almost scorched in the midday sun. Trees, lining local streams, still have flood debris lodged a metre or so up the trunk, yet the stream beds are now dry with dead leaves and branches, all poised to be washed away by a summer deluge.

Paul and Sally Johnson. Image: greghardwick.com.au

Fruit trees dominate a northern slope close to their house as lorikeets swoop down to feed from a native grevillea. Despite the dry, hot and sometimes energy-sapping weather, the house and the surrounding land provide a calm retreat from the Sunshine Coast’s growing population.

Pointing towards the north-facing slope, with a keen smile on his face, Paul tells me of his future plans.

“We would like to do more with the gardens, like they do in Bali with directing water, playing with swales and deep ripping, so that the water stays in the ground rather than having to store it in a dam.”

The size and the number of fruit trees, along with the vegetable gardens displays just how much work they have done.

“Its small steps,” says Sally.  “While we still look at the big picture, at times it’s easy to think you’re getting nowhere. But we can now look back and see how far we have come.”

We sit down in the shade of the veranda. The modest timber clad house is cooled as an easterly breeze flows up the valley. The corrugated roof above us supports a 2 kilowatt grid-connect solar power system which sits beside a solar-hot-water panel and tank.

They chose the property due to its location. Few neighbours surround them and yet the area is known for its strong sense of community. For Sally, there was something more.

“The reason for wanting to live here, for me, was my childhood link with nature.  What I connected to in my childhood is what I want for my children.  To allow Elly and Jessie to have the same connection with nature is very important for me.”

Paul, has worked in the landscaping industry and now works for a tree-lopping business and Sally, who has studied applied science and wilderness management spends her weekdays home schooling her daughters.

Home schooling the girls, says Sally, gives them time to continually connect with nature.

“At that young age the connection with nature is the most important thing.  There’s plenty of time for the computers and watching TV when they’re older.”

There aren’t any concrete statistics in Australia for the number of children being home schooled, yet some believe there could be between 17,000 – 40,000 school-aged students, nation-wide. While the Sunshine Coast is thought to contain the highest number of home-schooled children in the country.

The most frequently asked question about home schooling is a concern about socialising. Yet local gatherings with up to 10 other home-schooling families, just in the Cooran area, means their children often get to mix with different age groups, free of the usual and sometimes difficult peer pressures of the school yard.

Through home schooling Sally wants her daughters to experience the small subtleties of nature. As she points out, if your first experiences are the bright flashy lights of new technology, then nature can seem almost dull and uninteresting.

It’s a problem that is recognised around the western world. “Right now children are spending their days inside and their evenings and weekends plugged into electronic media,” said Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club — America’s oldest grassroots environmental organisation.

“They are missing out on the daily childhood joy of playing outside that their parents’ took for granted just twenty years ago,” he said.

According to the 117-year-old conservation organisation, research shows that when children spend time outside they are more creative and better focused.

“Children also have that curiosity of the world, that sense of wonder.  They like to see how things connect,” adds Sally.

“We’ll go for a walk with the girls and Elly, the eldest, will say; ‘Oh, that’s why that happens’ — she is putting things together that she learnt a few weeks ago. “

“We’ve learnt so much too,” says Paul.

“Children are so simple and uncomplicated — they often live in the moment.”

They also make interesting and quite profound comparisons. After watching a kangaroo with a joey in the pouch, Elly quickly noticed how differently we humans live.

“We need prams and lots of other stuff,” she said. “I think it would be better if we made things from nature and lived in smaller houses”.

Further information

Motivation and inspiration: Hunter Campbell “Patch” Adams, M.D.

Currently reading:
Walden: or life in the woods (Henry David Thoreau)

Looking to the future: Eumundi-based permaculture teacher and author, Janet Millington. Image by: Anastasia Holt

The Sunshine Coast, as the world’s first recognised Transition Region within Australia, is an environmental pioneer. Eumundi-based permaculture teacher and author Janet Millington, explains the concept.

“It focuses on helping communities overcome fossil fuel dependencies in the face of peak oil and climate change. It means asking people to reassess their need for petrol, plastics, electricity, imported goods, remotely-grown foods and long-distance travel. It means asking people to consider their means of survival when dwindling resources reach record prices or disappear altogether, when climate change brings devastating storms and mercury-busting weather which cannot be fought by traditional fuel-infused means”.

Transition Town provides alternatives and answers for people to incorporate in their everyday lives.

“If something has to come a long way or is fossil fuel based, make sure you have alternatives. Try to buy local and to support businesses that are trying to compete with global-market forces. Network with neighbours and within your local community, to find people with expertise that can help you become prepared. Understand that this is something that cannot be done alone and that we need to improve our communication and decision making skills as we will succeed or fail only as a group,” she said.

Millington believes the Sunshine Coast is well and truly up to the challenge and points to the proactive stance of many Coast communities as proof of the region’s natural abilities.

The Sunshine Coast is proud of its leadership

“The Sunshine Coast is a leader with a long tradition of good environmental warriors who have fought hard to replace forests or not allow them to be cut down in the first place. We have a population with the economic means and business savvy to see opportunities in the changes that need to be made and we have a Council that is willing and asking for direction from its community. We have much of our eco-services intact or able to be restored and we have good minds that are wise in science and technology and are equally creative. The Sunshine Coast was the first initiative outside the United Kingdom and the first to be not simply a town.”

According to Janet, several local towns are well on their way to self reliance, such as Transition Eudlo, Transition Maleny and Transition Cooran, and urges all Coast householders to take steps toward greater regional independence. Succeeding as a group undoubtedly means the Sunshine Coast will continue to be known as one of the cleanest, greenest, lifestyle-oriented regions in the world, no matter what the future holds. It is one of the main messages of this year’s Sunshine Coast World Environment Day Festival.

Brett Robb and Leonie Shanahan. Image Frank Wilkie.

Brett Robb, from Roundabout Coffee and Fuel at Noosaville has a vision. One where the local community works together to reduce their greenhouse impacts by helping to educate scores of local school children in growing healthy, sustainable food.

He has that typical, friendly and enthusiastic spark in his eyes, often found in those with great ideas. The coffee machine gurgles as it makes the next brew. The smell is just too tempting.

“What I want to do is change community expectations. Imagine if one small local business could find a way to fund the education of over 700 local school children on how to live sustainably,” he says, as he watches the coffee drip into the cup.

“What could we achieve if we all co-operate and combine our efforts?”

This is not the usual conversation you get from your local service-station operator. The price of fuel or the world’s most talked about topic, weather, usually dominates the discussion as you pay for a product that is quickly becoming something of a luxury. It’s Brett’s background as a former waste and recycling manger for Noosa Shire that provides a clue.

“It became clear to me, during my role as waste and recycling manager, that our current practices of carrying out our daily lives are not sustainable. I became aware that our current way of living is robbing future generations of the quality of life they deserve,”  he says, as he hands me the coffee.

The father of four understands that many people are similarly concerned for the future. As transport is one of the major contributors to climate change and is already becoming threatened by peak oil, Brett realised that most people cannot afford the more environmentally-friendly hybrid cars, but they still want to do something to reduce their impacts. Trained as a diesel fitter, Brett says, “I’m used to building things to fix problems. You learn to become more innovative.” The sign out the front shows just how innovative his business is.

A large display board shows how much money was donated to the local Edible Gardens project last month. Six hundred and twenty-two dollars was raised through a carbon-offset scheme which uses 2 cents per litre of fuel sold. In what would have to be one of the most transparent service stations around, the sign displays the cost of fuel to the business, the carbon offset of 2 cents and how that offset is used.

“Two cents, he says, almost offsets the carbon, at the point of sale”. But it’s not only greenhouse conscious motorists who are benefiting.

Edible School Gardens co-ordinator and local permaculturalist Leonie Shanahan, understands the importance of Brett’s idea.

“Without Brett, the permaculture garden program would not be happening,” said Ms Shanahan. But like many good ideas the Fuel for Schools program needs more help from local businesses.

“At the moment, the children are very aware of the waste produced at school and therefore we are looking for donations of compost bins that we can use for our food scraps. Not just for Tewantin school, but other schools and community gardens as well. There are many schools that are keen to be part of the permaculture gardens program,” she said.

I place the now empty coffee cup back on the counter. As I prepare to leave I wanted to ask one final question about the type of feedback Brett has received from his customers. Before I can ask, a young woman, in her thirties, pays for her fuel and comments how great Brett’s initiative is. It’s her first time here to fill up the fuel tank. “I’ll be back,” she says with a smile.

It appears that his idea is not only helping local children understand a healthier way of living, but he is tapping into the local community spirit and in doing so, he is set to have a growing base of customers. Perhaps it’s time for other businesses to join in.

Roberto Perez Rivero, a world-renowned Cuban permaculture and environmental educator, recently toured Australia as part of the Cuba Australia Permaculture Exchange.

Roberto has featured in the award-winning documentary film, The Power of Community, which shows how Cuba adapted to rapidly declining oil supplies. In his early 20s he found himself in the middle of a crisis, which would later become known as The Special Period.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba’s economy went into a nose dive. With imports of oil cut by more than half and food by 80 per cent, the people were desperate.

ECO caught up with Roberto as he ended his Australian tour with a final appearance on the Sunshine Coast at the Future Ready Expo. For five weeks he gave 24 presentations in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia with most venues reportedly packed to capacity.

If the numbers of people who attended his presentations are any indication, Australians are catching on quick to lessons about the consequences of peak oil. Ian Christesen interviewed him exclusively for ECO.

ECO: Tell me something about your background.

Roberto: Ok, yes. My background is as a biologist. I did my degree at the University of Havana and hand-wrote my thesis as there were no computers in Cuba. In fact, there are very few computers at the moment. So when I finally had access to a computer and typed my thesis, the director of the research centre (at the university) asked me if I knew something about permaculture and I didn’t. So that same day I did a little research in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farming where I found a little book that said more or less what permaculture was. The next day I was there (at the uni) and I talked about permaculture and he (the research director) told me that he was signing an agreement with a group of people from Australia that year to train people in permaculture and, if I wanted, I could be a part of this. I didn’t hesitate. I said yes. I always wanted to do something for nature and for the people. My biology training was addressing issues with nature and I thought that it was a good starting point to find out how permaculture worked by addressing the human problems; by trying to use natural solutions.

ECO: So what year was that, Roberto?

Roberto: It was 1993. The crisis, that was known as The Special Period, started in 1991. I was in the my third year of university and things got very, very difficult. We started getting skinnier and skinnier [laughs].We started using more bicycles, the situation was very difficult.

ECO: There weren’t many dogs and cats around in those days?

Roberto: Yes, especially cats [laughs]. I wanted to do more research and I wanted to do something for the people.  The more I learned about permaculture the more I found that permaculture was speaking to me.  They were using terms that I learnt in my training.  Terms about ecology, natural cycles and food forests. So all of these ideas were literally talking to me. The things that I learnt in biology were refining my skills in permaculture they could be applied to improve the life of the people.

ECO: When you were learning about permaculture in Cuba, what sort of government support did you have? Did The Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) assist? Was there a budget nationally for permaculture?

Roberto: No.  Although windows of opportunity existed, like research in organic farming, biodynamics and a huge grass-roots movement. We used the ideas that came from Australia and started trying to use those skills to help people in urban areas. That’s why in the beginning we tried to start roof-top gardens.

ECO: So it was primarily in urban environments?

Roberto: Totally. Why?  Because 35 per cent of the Cuban population were considered urban. And, because Havana had 2.2 million people at the time and contained almost 20 per cent of the population with less than 10 per cent of the land area.  So the biggest problems were there.  It’s a big country and we were able to spread the idea from there. So that’s where we started.  In Australia, we received help from The Australian Conservation Foundation’s Green Team and we finally got a project, partly funded by our Government.

In 1994, around August, the research centre that signed the first agreement was closed as part of the re-localisation of the Government.  We had some contact with part of the CDR.  We didn’t always have funding, we were trying to use the existing structure which was very grassroots based. Urban production was given high priority.

ECO: During that time, were you looking to spread permaculture outside of Havana, for example, into other urban centres like Santiago De Cuba?

Roberto: No, not yet.  In 1995 we started the first permaculture course, the first permaculture design certificate.  There was a rearrangement of the Government facilities and we realised that it was the time to find a more permanent partnership.

Since we already had the project, we tried to look at the non-government sector of Cuba.  Around November 1995 we approached the Foundation for Nature and Humanity(Fundacion de la Naturalez y el Hombre), FNH, Havana, which was led by Antonio Núñez Jiménez, who passed away in 1998.  He said that it was very, very important for Cuba, especially during that period.  So we signed an agreement and from that point on FNH became the focal point of permaculture in the country.

ECO: Do you think, Roberto, that looking back, without this special period happening, without that sort of crisis, that permaculture would have been readily accepted?  Was it something that happened only because of that time?

Roberto: I think it would probably follow the same course as has happened in most parts of the world.  In the case of Cuba there was an urgency to produce food, especially in the cities. But we needed to do it in a very creative way.

ECO: If Cuba gained greater access to oil, for example, from Venezuela, do you think that permaculture will be seen as less important?

Roberto: We are in that situation right now.  We can get oil from Venezuela, at about $28 per barrel.  But we are using half the oil that we were using in 1989 and permaculture is stronger than ever in Cuba.  An explanation for that, is that one, we have had almost 20 years (experience with permaculture) and these values are in the minds of the people. Secondly, it’s not only about the petrol or oil, because after that many years, agricultural production and the country’s infrastructure have changed a lot.  For example, it is not only about the petrol you have now. You buy new trucks because the old ones are rusty.  You will need to invest money in the infrastructure because the roads are very small, often used by only oxen and horse cart. If you consider the costs, permaculture is now very convenient for us.

ECO: Considering the differences in our political structures, can the Cuban example of urban permaculture be used here in Australia?

Roberto: I think that the differences are within how the community is structured.  Our society is deeply community-based and the components of our society, with African, Cantonese, Spanish and a little bit of French influence Cuba is deeply community-based. People rely on each other and that was something that really helped us to resist the worst of the crisis.  There were no riots. There was hunger, nutritional defects, but there were no droughts.  The response was ordered.  I think one of the biggest differences was that our society was not based on the individual.  So that makes the scenario more contentious. People in your society will need to learn to share.

ECO: Will our individuality and political structures exacerbate the peak oil crisis?

Roberto: Yes, especially because of the political structure, I think that you need to be a little stronger in terms of regulation. Free market solutions, unfortunately in my opinion, don’t seem to work.  Capital trading and those sorts of things are not giving the effect that was expected, they are just making it worse. I think that two things are going to hit in a big way.

One, an increase in the price of food, which is happening right now and there are riots happening around the world, because of the high rate of biofuel production.  When you look at wheat, we see that it doubled in price in the last year.  Biofuel itself is a good thing, but what is happening unfortunately, is that they are using human food crops as ethanol.  This is not the solution, but it directly affects us and the economy.  Food resources around the world are at a very low level.

The second  issue is with climate change. These strange events — droughts, hurricanes, typhoons, all of these make food production less reliable.  So between the two pressures of biofuels and climate change, the issues around food production are going to be very, very complicated, even before peak oil hits.

ECO: So it comes down to an equity issue.  Where the so-called developed world is taking away productive farm land for our fuel needs.

Roberto: Exactly, it’s absurd and almost criminal.  Rich countries are abusing energy and natural resources, and now they are taking away productive food crops. If you take away the food and you continue doing that to nature, the planet will be sick.

For more information on how corporations are making money while the world goes through a food crisis follow this link.

ECO: Do you think we are heading for a crisis on a global scale?

Roberto: Yes.  Because the world is adopting the American way of life. It is non-negotiable and based upon economic growth.  They are saying that to keep the economy growing, they can afford to allow a global temperature increase of 3 degrees.  That is total madness.  It is very sad because leaders are being influenced by the big companies.

ECO: I know you are a very busy man, so thank you very much Roberto for your time. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Leonie says: “Besides lots of fun, exercise & fresh air, the students learn the life skill of growing their own organic food and experience many new fresh nutritious foods. It’s very rewarding to see the benefits they get from their garden.”

St Thomas More School: Sunshine Beach Year 5

Question: What do you like about your school permaculture garden?

Jacinta Ainsworth

“We don’t use any chemicals on the food. We learn to co-operate with each other especially when there are tomatoes to pick, which are my favourite.”

Hannah Wilkinson

“We learn how to grow plants and look after them. I started my own vegie garden at home.”

Kristen O’Donnell

“We get together and have fun. I like to eat the food we grow, especially the shallots.”

Noosaville State School Yr 6

Question : Why should schools have permaculture gardens?

Jaimee Gilbertson

“We don’t use any chemicals on our garden so the food we grow is a lot healthier. We get to experience lots of new food.”

Tianie Foster

“We have lots of native animals at our school and our garden won’t harm any of them because it’s eco-friendly. A permaculture garden saves money as we can pick it straight from the garden when the chefs come to cook with us. It’s a good experience.”

Siena Catholic College

Tell us about the garden you are working in at school.

Stella Curtis

“It’s a permaculture no dig garden. This means when we built the garden we didn’t dig the ground but put layers of straw, dirt, papers and compost to build up the garden.”

Sally Skelton

“Our garden is pretty and has lots of food. We watch the plants grow really big and then we get to eat them.”

Palmwoods State School
Question : Why do you love your school permaculture garden?
Mitch Smith

“We are helping the environment by composting and growing healthy food. We also grow food for the tuckshop.”

Soul Cormick

“I like to see all the different insects that visit our garden that help our plants grow. I enjoy using the special hook and pole to get the passionfruits off the tennis court fence.”

Jessica Lowes

“We pick lots of lettuces, silverbeet and herbs for the tuckshop. It’s good our tuckshop has lots of fresh food.”

Permaculture is the conscious design of sustainable and resilient landscapes which mimic the processes and patterns of ecological systems. It is a holistic natural approach which accounts for the natural resources, plant and animal systems, landscape, and structures in the ecological, social and economic contexts, and the close relationships between each of these elements. Above all, it is a system that supports responsible producers rather than dependent consumers.

The permaculture landscape has a mix of perennial plants, avoiding the need to plant annual crops. Every plant is purposefully selected to provide a dependable and generous yield, not merely to satisfy short term requirements but rather to supply our needs in the long run.

Extending this beyond the traditional contexts of fields, veggie patches and gardening techniques, permaculture has developed as a societal system, where the naturalness of ecosystems have been replicated and adopted within households, communities and businesses through their practices, management methods and buildings. Activities pursuing a natural and sustainable approach to living include reducing energy consumption, recycling wastes, and adopting green building designs.

Taking it a step further, the permaculture philosophy has even been adopted in the business of investment, more specifically identified as ethical investment. This is an investment style that rejects the notion that the financial bottom-line is the only criterion for measuring investment success. Ethical investment, promoting a triple bottom-line, considers environmental, social and economic consequences as part of the investment assessment process.

Australian Ethical Investment is a practitioner of socially responsible investment and is considered a deep green fund manager. This means that positive screening methods (active pursuit of investments that have a positive influence on society) and negative screening methods (avoiding companies involved in harmful activities) are adopted. Australian Ethical avoids any investment which is considered to unnecessarily destroy or waste non-recurring resources, or investments that acquire land or commodities primarily for speculative gain. Rather, it seeks out investments that develop and preserve landscapes to support human needs in the long run, rather than satisfying short-term speculation.

In line with permaculture practices, Australian Ethical selects investments in the pursuit of a just and sustainable society and the protection of the natural environment. It invests in perennial companies – companies that are sustainable both environmentally and financially, which it believes will bring long-term sustainable returns. Such companies include those that provide for and support renewable energy and energy efficiency, efficient transport, effective waste management, sustainable land use and food production, and preservation of endangered ecosystems.

There is an increasing demand for products that are sustainable, and an increasing demand from investors for assurance that companies in which they invest are doing the right thing by society.

The adoption of permaculture principles by Australian Ethical is not just limited on an operational level, but is present in all aspects of Australian Ethical’s decisions, in recognition of the role the natural environmental plays in supplying for and ensuring our future.

Obesity is now more widespread than hunger and popular soft drinks now rate as the number one items in our shopping trolleys.

In permaculture we say, “find solutions, not problems”. The media and the government often talk about obesity and its associated problems, but talk on its own isn’t going to fix the issue.

Our solution was to bring the answer to the children and let them experience growing their own organic food. Let them see the whole cycle of seed, fruit, compost, worm castings and food-taste sensations. We wanted to let them explore natural flavours of freshly picked food.

Palmwoods State School was the first permaculture edible school gardens I set up from scratch with the students.  Funding was hard to come by so Clare Cox (School Community Enhancement Officer) combed the local community for donations. Fortunately, the local community saw the benefit in such a project.

In the meantime, the Year 6 students were busy learning about permaculture and design.

August 2004 came around and I was nervous we wouldn’t have enough helpers on the day; how wrong I was. Eighty-five people, including members of Permaculture Noosa, parents, grandparents, teachers and lots of kids turned out for our own garden blitz’ driven by the kids, for the kids.

Palmwoods Permaculture Patch was completed by nightfall. From there we have planted, composted, established worm farms and fed the chooks with the tuckshop scraps. We now grow most of our own mulch, use a banana pit (compost hole) which last time we emptied it, had 20 wheelbarrows of beautiful soil for our garden.

A few times each year we harvest lunch from our gardens. Salads are also shared with the tuckshop and sold to the local organic restaurant Sisters Cafe.

We are constantly hearing about the problems of children’s health and not the solutions. I have a solution for you – Permaculture Edible Gardens for all schools.

Currently I am working at four other schools and have another six keen to join. All this with very limited funds. With the proper funding let us turn the problems into solutions and place our children and the planet, on the healthy pathway.

Relocating from the barren Arizona desert, the Kingsolver/Hopp family (author Barbara, daughters Camille and Lily, and partner Steven) begins a new life in the greener pastures of farm country Appalachia. Their yearlong goal: to have a profound relationship with the food that sustains them by eating only that which the family grows or which their friends and neighbours provide.

During this year, the family of four is gradually altered from naive consumers to savvy, aware partners in food. Taking the journey with them, the reader will find inspiration to make their own cheese, bake their own bread, buy local produce — perhaps even plant something of their own in the back yard.

From the first days of laying down the ground rules (no imported fruit, even in winter), to the final, miraculous birth of turkey eggs, Kingsolver has created an amusing, well-written documentary of a family’s educational and transformative journey. Not light-hearted, the author tackles serious subjects such as genetically modified produce, the case for home dairies, the struggles of small-scale farmers, government restrictions and global warming. Yet these vital threads are woven neatly into the story without being overwhelming to the reader.

The book, like their endeavour, is a family affair. Teenage daughter Camille presents the reader with another perspective through her anecdotal sidebars (“Eating my sister’s chickens”) and offers tasty recipes (“Pumpkin soup in its own shell”). Meanwhile Steven, an environmental studies teacher, dishes out short pieces on pesticides, politics, mad cow disease, urban gardens, and much more.

At the end of the book are references, resources and pertinent organisations which, while mostly U.S.-based, have websites so overseas readers will find plenty of useful information. Visit the family’s website (here), for local food resources, reader stories, and more recipes.