permaculture

through a heap of synchnicities including power outages, chance encounters and smiles, i was able to find a permaculutre farm near El Bolson, Argentina at which to donate my time and energy towards while learning about sustainible living. i spent two weeks sharing on this four-year old farm near the rio azul and gained more practical knowledge than i could have read in dozens of books. what is permaculture one might ask? here is a brief descrption, from a book :)
¨Permaculture is about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive communities. The focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather on the relationships created among them by the way we place them in the landscape. This synergy is further enhanced by mimicking patterns found in nature. ¨ -Introduction to Permaculture: Concepts and Resources. By Steve Diver, ATTRA Publication #CT083. 2002

i was glad to have been able to find a place such as this farm. it is operated by an awesome young man named alex who is an american that grew up in indosesia, studied in the usa and has been living in argentina for 5 years. he is very involved with the local community both as a farmer and a teacher at a waldorf school, and has a steady stream of volunteers from all over the world as well as locals who help keep the farm going. the main theme was experimentation. we were constanly trying out new ideas and imporoving upon old ones. new planiting ideas, new ways to regulate the chickens, new kinds of cheese, new mud for the walls, new kinds of foods and new ways of interacting with one another. there was no electricity on the farm and we relied on a wood burning stove and earthen oven for cooking, a nearby spring for water, a solar dryer for dehydration, composting toilets eggs form the chickens and a cow for yoghert, cheese and milk. i felt totally connected to everything on the farm, all my work and all the food. it was a wonderfully freeing feeling to be close to total self-sufecietcy and know that if all else failed there was food in the earth to eat and good company to relax in candle light with.
most of my time was spent building a kitchen and community center. we built in a totally natural way using wood from the surrounding area, straw from the farm, glass form recycled bottles, mud and clay from the earth and love from our hearts. the foundation was river rocks, followed by home made pallets of wood filled with straw and covered with a mud mixture that hardend as if it was concrete. i was also involved in chicken rangering, cooking, bamboo curing, plant seeding, seed saving, harvesting, jam making, weed eating (literally), wheat and rye threshing, wood chopping, foundation laying, sanding and just about anything life related. my time was apparently short, but i feel as though i experienced so much. i am very greatful to have had the chance to learn and so happy to have met all the wonderful people that take part in the farm.


permaculture, and this farm in general, are not methods of returing to times past. they are not soley for an escape from technology or the world at large, but they are rather well thought out designs for living in harmony with nature and our true selves while existing simply and abundatly by ones own means. the methodology may seem to hint to days past, but really it is a leap forward while using time tested practices and nature as a true teacher and provider.it is a (re)evolution of how we look at our lives and our connection to food and the world around us. the farm is down in the valley to the right.
the growing areas which are divided into allyes, mandalas and regions is situated in order to provided the most benifit to all plants. everything is planted in rotation, near to other natural helpers and cover-crops of ryes are used after each cycle to repelntish the nitrogen to the earth. cereals and grains are grown further to the right along with a few different species of maize.

night time dinner of farm goodies

door to the kitchen with re-used wine bottles for decoration above it. the sign reads: dance with roots in the ground, energy of the wind, flow of the water, and the joyful spirit of the fire. lets dance together!

home-made and self-invented wheat-thresher with the lovely girls from oregon workin it. truly an amazing inverntion that may end up revoltionizing small farm abilities in the area and abroad as small portable threshers are not today readily avalible. the creator used an old lawn-mower engine and welded this amazing invertion to life. it produced perfect seeds and saved much time and energy.

fish caught via harpoon in the river running next to the farm. the fish was over a meter long and weighed at least 50 pounds! the fisherman above, pastore, was a wiz with both his harpoon and a chaisaw which he used for everything from sanding to trimming to precision building to standing with one leg on the second story creating a notch for the roof while upside-down....

inside of alexs house, hand built and perfeced.

outside view of the house which is in perfect ratio geometry of the human body, seven sided and has a living roof for temp control and shelter.

farm with kitchen in the background.

bio-intensive mandala garden for transplatable veggies and fragile plants.

me making jam from wild blackberries and apples i harvested from the forrest surrounding the farm. sooo delicious.

community work day. some fellow permaculturists from a nearby center come on sudays to help and share a feast of fresh food.

community. communities build upon everything. from relgion to gangs, for support or on facebook, sports, schooling and work, art and music, on the internet and for everything in between. community is what humans do to feel connected and it is how we organize and find meaning. its really powerful to be a part of a community that surrounds something as vital as food and shares everything in order to survive. communities unite us. food sustains us. our homes we create define us. spirituality insipires us. any combination is a whirlwind of creativity, love and warmth. thanks for being in a community with me, no matter how far apart we may be. love and blessings.

namaste