Pip Magazine Issue 2

MORAG GAMBLE Morag Gamble, of SEED International, is a passionate permaculturalist who has been involved in projects and teaching for twenty years in twenty countries. Morag has applied permaculture throughout her life in many ways - as a city farmer, school gardener, ecovillager, educator, designer, advisor, networker, writer, film-maker, researcher and lecturer. Morag co-founded Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane, the city farm network and Conondale School’s permaculture garden. She advises university permaculture projects and international permaculture institutes. She leads holiday gardening master classes for children, permaculture camps for senior students, and helps others to design permaculture garden systems. www.SEEDinternational.com.au LACHLAN MCKENZIE Lachlan McKenzie lives in Darwin, NT, teaching permaculture and working with community and school gardens. He has lived and worked permaculture for twenty years, all over Australia, in East Timor and Indonesia.…

I’m really excited about the diverse range of articles included in issue two. We’ve got stories from all over Australia. People are hearing about Pip, and the word is spreading. Our six sections have changed slightly for this edition. ‘Create’ has become ‘Thrive’, which is a section about earning a living and the ‘B’ word: business. Robin Clayfield’s article on the ethics and heart of social enterprise reminds us of all the ways in which businesses can choose to be ethical, and it offers a checklist of what to think about – whether we are running our own business or choosing businesses to support. Beck Lowe’s article on growing your own meat is something close to my heart at the moment. We have just gone through the process of raising, killing, butchering…

Permaculture is being applied in many communities and contexts around the world. It plays a leading role and catalyses positive change, from sustainable redevelopment to disaster preparedness, renewal of small farms and creation of urban agriculture zones. URBAN AGRICULTURE ZONES IN CALIFORNIA Vacant land in Californian cities can now be designated as agricultural zones since the passing of new legislation in 2013. It encourages increased use of privately owned, vacant land for urban agriculture and improves land security for these projects. The key to making this work is that landowners who commit their land to urban agriculture for at least five years will receive a reduction in property tax. In San Francisco, the 18th and Rhode Island Permaculture Garden was the first piece of land to take advantage of this tax break. Over…

The Chikukwa Project Film The Chikukwa project is an amazing story of African villagers who turned their lives around. This film made by brother and sister team; Gillian and Terry Leahy is a feel good story about an incredible permaculture project that has been growing in Zimbabwe for the last twenty years. Where once the people of the Chikukwa villages suffered hunger, malnutrition and high rates of disease, this community has turned its fortunes around using permaculture farming techniques. Complementing these strategies for food security, they have built their community strength through locally controlled and initiated programs for permaculture training, conflict resolution, women’s empowerment, primary education and HIV management. Now they have a surplus of food and the people in these villages are healthy and proud of their achievements. Their degraded landscape has been…

Australasian Permacullture Convergence 2015 NW Tasmania hosts the next Australasian Permacullture Convergence [APC 12] in March 2015. The town of Penguin is home to the RESEED Permaculture Centre and the NW Environment Centre who will host the event from 9–12 March, with a festival before and tours afterwards. It’s 40 years since permaculture conversations began between Mollison and Holmgren in Tasmania and so the theme is ‘Honouring the past– transforming the future’ - the challenge to permaculture. Visit: www.apc12tas.com or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/apc12tas Southeast Harvest Southeast Harvest Festival celebrates the quality and diversity of fresh food produced in the south-eastern shires of NSW. Join us to share in the harvest, make connections with local growers and learn how to eat with the seasons. The weekend is centred around Moruya. It will be at Riverside Park…

BEANS Saving seeds is magical, economical, political and essential, all at the same time. It projects us into a future of abundance and security by nurturing our local food supply. It’s spring! So it’s a great time to start with a small handful of beans. Check out www.grow-it-organically.com/green-bean-varieties.html if you need help to choose a variety. And then follow these simple steps. Decide what quantity you want to save – for seed for next year, for eating green and maybe some for putting aside for a winter stew. Choose a non-hybrid variety. If your local seed savers don’t have what you want, see the big range at www.aussieorganicgardening.com/2011/11/open-pollinatedseed-suppliers/ Set aside a number of plants in the row for seed only. At the end of the season when the plant has turned brown, remove these at…