Permaculture courses

Please follow this link for the current information. Thanks.

www.permaculturemalta.org

Spring happenings at the Oasis

Sunsets are never a bore, even if we experience them daily.



As the dates to the exciting upcoming permaculture courses draw nearer,we are kept busy with activities happening at the Oasis...
Volunteers and permaculturists are working together to cultivate and expand further the establishment of rural sustainable design. The pictures that follow, show some clips of the recent activities. For the upcoming courses please visit www.permaculturemalta.org/courses/
One of our bell tents is comfortably sitting near the carob tree while hosting friends who stay with us for some time and help out with the chores of an organic permaculture farm.



The view on our coast is breathtaking and we have enjoyed countless sunsets among the giant rocks that make up the characteristics of our earthly paradise.









Giorgia and Stefano from Milan stayed with us for a few weeks. in this picture, Giorgia is busy with her newly acquired skill of using reeds as a natural material for creativity at the oasis. Reeds are carefully traditionally coppiced once a year. They are annual and thus they regrow each year. Thus they are classified as a renewable material.









Spiru is a young permaculture apprentice who is enjoying keeping free range chicken. He is keen on improving the farm with integrative elements and is always helping out with new ideas...however radical they may seem.

Going with the flow

Sunday 17^th October Green Drinks Malta will be holding a tea-time & afters event called

Permaculture Propagation – A going with the flow experience

between 4pm and 8pm

at the wonderful oasis Dar Frate Jacoba, Triq Wied iż-Żiju, M’Scala

This event should not be missed by those who are still wondering what the hell is Permaculture?, like the idea and want to implement it, enjoy green gatherings, are looking for an alternative afternoon out or just want to be invited to a unique spot in the South of Malta. Whatever your reason, you will have to apply by sending an email to Natalie: info@greendrinksmalta.org. The maximum number of people for this event is 60.

The event is free (well partly funded by EUPU this time round) but a donation to Dar Frate Jacoba once you’re there will be appreciated by the wonderful and hard working team who run the place.

What to expect: Fair-trade beverages to welcome you, a short intro about Permaculture & the completed training programme and an interactive info fair. All this will be topped off with wholesome hors d'oeuvres & wine in the company of lovely people.

Booking is open.

... by the way, Green Drinks Malta together with the Permaculture Research Foundation & Bahrija Oasis, is commemorating the World Day for the Eradication of Poverty and reiterates that Permaculture is a meaningful process to eradicate poverty. Peppi Gauci had the following to say “Permaculture is actual practical work which involves action to eradicate poverty on many levels, financial, environmental, ecological, physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological”. This is how Peppi explains it:

An insight about Permaculture and its link to Eradication of Poverty

In our modern world, globalization has become a factor of major influence in the way we live. Technology has changed the way humans interact with each other and the planet drastically over these last fifty years. In the western world, civilization has engaged in systems which by now are completely dependent on globalization. What does this mean? This means that virtually everything, from the food we eat to the fuel we use to get from one place to the other, from the tools we use, to the fabrics of our shelters, is dependent on globalisation.

Although, many comforts are owed to this factor in the west, much of the real price of this system is being paid in other parts of the planet to the detriment of other people and the planet itself. Globalisation is dependant on a capitalist system which means that in order for it to function, consumption of energy and materials need to be maintained.

However, not only there is not enough energy and resources to supply the entire world's population with the trend we are used in the west, but since the consumption rates are greater than the natural supply ability our system is generating the phenomenon of poverty. Poverty in the west is linked to the absence of material acquisitions for example money and property. However, poverty goes much further. The inability for us to respect our environment, observe the natural patterns and maintain enhanced growth of our natural resources is a type of poverty which is presently being cushioned by globalization. Poverty in our society is everywhere. We have become nations which are suffering from poverty, be it physical, spiritual, environmental, psychological, communal or cultural. Yet, we fail to see this as the messages in our media and modern life projects otherwise.

However, it is only a matter of time, until we will be forced to see that what we are being led to believe is only an illusion created by a system which is running out of time. It is only a matter of time.

Permaculture and permaculturists around the world are working along the realisation that our planet needs our attention in order to sustain a balanced humanity. The main ethoses are Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share. Once these are cultivated, than we are able to once again be in the abundant state of the planet's capability. Permaculture focuses on symbiotic relationships which foster stronger and resilient communities both in the human aspect and the natural world. Hence, Permaculture is gaining the attention of millions of people who have understood its validity for the survival of the human kind within healthy ecosystems and have joined their potential to cultivate themselves as part of the solution to present problems. To conclude on this I would like to phrase Bill Mollison (one of the founders of Permaculture 1976) and say ''The problem is the solution” and “Everything gardens''.

Documentary feature on Permaculture in Malta

In the production of a documentary entitled 'These Green Thumbs' the director is trying to discover the challenges and potential solutions Maltese agriculture is currently facing. The documentary features strong active personalities from the alternative holistic scene on the Maltese Islands. These personalities include Peppi Gauci the Permaculturalist from the Bahrija Oasis, Shirley Cauchi a Macrobiotic Counselor and Joe Borg a local Organic Farmer.

A comprehensive portrayal of alternative agriculture in Malta and its impact on human health.

Peppi Gauci, a Maltese permaculturist, talks about Malta’s land, the soil and the climate elements affecting agriculture.

Technology has helped the farmer keep up with the demand for food, however agriculture is facing a lot of challenges in this unfriendly ecological climate.

Is Malta steering away from the self sufficiency of traditional farming?

Permaculture as a reparative tool to create a natural microclimate where organic life will flourish again.

For the remaining documentary clips visit:

These Green Thumbs

Permaculture

Out of all sustainable farming practices, permaculture is probably the most holistic and ambitious approach. Permaculture is a coined term phrased from “permanence’ and ‘agriculture’.

This approach is based on a design science which involves human input as stewards and constructors of benign and healthy ecosystems made up of trees, water, perennial plants and the production of food and raw materials for human beings. As its name implies, permaculture does not focus on short term gains, but rather long term self sustaining methods of growth, including resource management and soil and water restorative systems which are also ideal microclimates for biodiversity enrichment.

This approach has been a slow catch for conventional farmers, partly because it requires more training and knowledge and partly because it relies on an unusual diversification of land use and crops with limited markets.

However, permaculture is governed by three imperative ethics( listed below) for safeguarding a better future civilization;

Earth care, People care and Fair share (share and return of surplus).

Permaculture is aimed at providing solutions for communities to empower their relationships with themselves, their neighbors and their environment. It has the potential of providing thinking skills whereby problems become solutions and collective efforts work for a more just and equitable future.

For more information on the subject, please visit www.bahrijaoasis@blogspot.com Or write to permaculture.malta@gmail.com for the upcoming courses and events.

Organic Farming

The next phase of agricultural transition is already taking place around the world. The organic farming revolution is the most important element of this transformation, possibly the most sustainably promising factor and least discussed element of future farming.

It is not a small element either, recently, conversion of farmland from conventional to organic production has been happening at the rate of several million acres a year.

Organic agriculture uses less fossil fuels than conventional agriculture, because it needs no chemical fertilizers or pesticides, while producing equivalent yields. Thus organic produce is grown through processes which are more natural, ecologically viable, and with the protection of bio-diversity in mind.

Ecological benefits aside, it also has a simple economic advantage since it does not require paying for expensive chemical fertilizers.

As raw materials for the chemical industries become scarce with the peak-oil scenario, the equation will be harder to ignore. At the same time, the infrastructure and knowledge base necessary for organic farming on a commercial scale is already being used and expanding worldwide.

In Malta organic farming is in its infantile stages, however, a growing demand for this kind of produce is steady and most of this can be attributed to a number of organizations working in this field. A number of local farmers and growers have already demonstrated some successful methods, however further investment in education and more research are necessary to increase this growing market.

Consumers have a role to play. Understanding that organic produce is better for one’s self and the environment, it is important to share this education and further its demand in order to establish an ethical demand controlling supply scenario.

Sustainable Farming

Farming has played an important role in the evolution of mankind all over the planet for thousands of years. Although there has been an element of evolution in farming methods, crop choices, seed varieties, irrigation systems and land management, agriculture has only changed dramatically over the last four decades. This change can be mostly attributed to the events which were shaped by the ‘Green revolution’. In brief, ‘The Green Revolution’ was an accelerated growth of mainly initially developing countries grain production together with the introduction of a different agricultural input such as input of petro-chemical fertilizers, synthetic herbicides and pesticide applications, controlled irrigation and a severe change in landscape management. Once such a system was adapted it became reliant on all herewith mentioned factors and if one had to eliminate any single factor, such adopted crop success will surely fail.

Studies are increasingly showing that conventional agriculture needs severe changes. In order to sustain itself, other forms of fertilizers rather than synthetic ones need to be sourced and applied, while soil and water conservation methods need to be thought and incentivized in order to maximize their biological and social long term benefits.

Since conventional agriculture practice is facing multiple challenges such as inadequate clean water supplies, changes in weather patterns, pest management, and an increase in the carbon footprint, further research and investment is needed in the forms of pilot projects pioneering alternative agricultural methods.

Such methods like agro-forestry, bio-intensive organic farming and permaculture have already marked major improvements worldwide. These farming methods share a common goal:

To produce fresh healthy products, without compromising the natural ecology and bio-diversity which are prime factors to sustainability.

It is important here to mention that sustainability means the ability to sustain, and thus an element of long term planning and resource buildup tied with ethical consumption is needed. This element will be entirely dependent on cyclical patterns of cycling nutrients and energy just like for example a natural forest sustains itself.

“Governments and international agencies urgently need to boost ecological farming techniques to increase food production and save the climate,” said UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, in BRUSSELS (22 June 2010) – while presenting the findings at an international meeting on agroecology held in Brussels on the 21st and 22nd June.

Therefore, in order for farming to be sustainable, it will need to assess its current impacts, and reverse these by alternative systems mentioned above. However; such a feat will involve a spectrum of stake holders including consumers who need to be aware of the products they demand, consume and recycle. Sustainable farming practices are an evolutionary process which will bring in massive ethical behavior changes to our civilization in the face of climate change.

(By Peppi)