Pip Magazine Issue 6

JOEL MEADOWS Joel draws on a deep well of experience (as an energy auditor, sustainable transport consultant and environmental educator among other things) which he combines with a rare knack for explaining technical issues in a clear and engaging way that cuts straight to the heart of matters. Joel has just finished owner-building his permaculture-designed property and strawbale house which features impressive passive cooling, heating, lighting and water strategies, rocket stoves for heating and cooking, and a beautiful curved roofline that follows the path of the winter sun. When he’s not doing these things, Joel makes sculptures of steel and wood, runs cider workshops, i s a cooker of food, an avid gardener, radio DJ and musician. ANNIE RASER ROWLAND Annie Raser-Rowland is a horticulturalist working at CERES nursery in Melbourne, and a…

I was asked recently what brought me to the place I am in today: the editor of a permaculture magazine, living in the country on a property with an evolving permaculture design, teaching permaculture, growing food, eating well and trying to bring up my kids to understand and respect the planet. It made me stop and think: haven’t I always been this way inclined? I’ve always felt a connection to nature, but I definitely wasn’t brought up as the daughter of activists or living on a commune: I grew up in middle class, suburban Melbourne. So what caused me to choose the life I have right now? When did I start to have this affinity with the earth, and wanting to do the best for her? Was it annual camping trips immersed…

morag@ethosfoundation.orgwww.our-permaculture-life.blogspot.org NEVER ENDING FOOD, MALAWI, AFRICA Never Ending Food is a permaculture demonstration and education organisation working to help address malnutrition holistically, improve children’s access to healthy food and promote food sovereignty. It’s led by Stacia Nordin (a dietician) and Kristof Nordin (a social worker) who have been in Malawi since 1997. The Nordins moved to Malawi to help with HIV prevention through the US Peace Corps. They learned quickly that to address malnutrition they would need to improve the quality and diversity of food, and to do that they needed to improve soil fertility. That’s when they came across permaculture. They now help to teach permaculture across Malawi, supporting communities and schools to set up abundant and sustainable food systems. Their own house is a demonstration plot, where people can visit to…

AUSTRALIAN MADE AUSSIE HO MI, ASIAN HANDHELD HOE Unlike western gardening tools, the Aussie Ho Mi is an ergonomic hand-held hoe which uses a more comfortable and natural action and is based on a traditional Korean design. This tool is lightweight and perfectly balanced. It rotates easily in the hand from the sharp pointed working edge, to the equally sharp wide edge. Dig, weed, cultivate, ridge, plant, scalp–this tool will do everything. Once you start to use it, you will find yourself hooked! Handcrafted in Australia by artisan tool makers F.D Ryan, the Aussie Ho Mi is made from high carbon steel, heat-treated for maximum strength and sharpened to a knife edge. With care, your Ho Mi will last a lifetime. Available on the Pip website. www.pipmagazine.com.au $30 SKIN OF THE EARTH SKINCARE RANGE Skin of…

To place your event here, email hello@pipmagazine.com.au STUDY PERMACULTURE IN 2017 AT CQUNIVERSITY Australia’s Graduate Certificate in Permaculture Design at CQUniversity provides practical responses to the growing global need to adapt sustainably to social and environmental changes. The first of its kind in the world, the graduate certificate provides benefits such as the flexibility to study by distance education with residential schools hosted by industry partners offering practical learning experiences. Applications are open in August for commencement in Term 1, 2017. Visit www.cqu.edu.au to enrol. For more information, contact Dr Keri Chiveralls, at k.chiveralls@ cqu.edu.au. MAKING PERMACULTURE STRONGER Making Permaculture Stronger is a new project making waves in the global permaculture community. Starting with the idea that, like anything, permaculture has room for improvement, this project is opening a space for high-calibre collaborative inquiry into areas of…

BOTANICAL NAME:Cucurbita spp., for example C. maxima, C. pepo and C. moschata COMMON NAMES: pumpkin, winter squash (USA) ORIGIN: Central America and Southern USA DESCRIPTION: a fast-growing annual vine producing abundant leaf-mass and large edible fruits. PERMACULTURE USES • A particularly useful food plant. Can be cooked in sweet or savoury dishes – roast pumpkin and pumpkin soup are classics. The seeds are edible, containing good amounts of zinc among other nutrients; some cultivars have hullless seeds, making them easy to eat. Flowers are edible, shoots and young leaves can be added to stir-fries or steamed; and the whole vine can be chopped and slowcooked in soups and stews. • Seeds are also used medicinally. • Many cultivars can be stored for months. • Cut into chunks, pumpkins make a great stockfeed for goats, cows and even chickens. •…