North Devon Permaculture

LAND Region:

England›South West

LAND Learner

Summary

Summary:

North Devon Permaculture is based at Wishtree Agroforestry and Permaculture Centre, nr Black Torrington in North Devon. It is 5 acre nursery consisting of culm grassland and a variety of deciduous trees, some of which are edible. Our goal is to transform this young woodland into a resilient, abundant and beautiful ecosystem using agroforestry and applied Permaculture design. We aim to demonstrate how one can live and work with the land using permaculture with people being at the centre, zone 0.We are a social enterprise.

About the project

Detailed Description:

Our Vision: an abundant world in which humans flourish, in partnership with nature and each other, safeguarding the earth for us and for future generations.

Our Mission: deliver Permaculture education to individuals, businesses, educational establishments and organisations.

Our Aim: through courses, land demonstration and garden design we will show people how to live a resilient and regenerative way of life through growing food and social integration.

Through experimental agroforestry and innovative resource cycling, we are designing systems to provide us with a life of self-reliance and independence. We are building a polyculture of Permaculture-based income streams:

> Permaculture courses and workshops
> Permaculture garden design consultancy
> Permaculture life design services
> Agroforestry nursery
> Working with schools and colleges (please contact us for more details)

Through our demonstration of the ethics and principles, we aim to help people reconnect with the land, each other, and themselves. One of the intrinsic characteristics of living a life based on Permaculutre is to live with the land. We aim to live the 'right livelihood' with our home being the centre of the land, to demonstrate how people can live and work regeneratively. This includes helping to regenerate business to build local economy.

In our agroforestry based systems, we grow edible trees and perennials plants and have begun a new agroforestry nursery. We offer the opportunity for people to view our site as it emerges, helping them and us to learn what Permacaulture techniques work for us and are best suited to our land and systems.

Current systems that we have on site are an emergent food forest and other growing beds demonstrating small scale food forestry. A polytunnel housing our nursery production and food for ourselves and guests. We are working on building a treebog, creating a teaching space and putting in a clay oven. We welcome volunteers who are interested in learning about Permaculture or can help us to build up our infrastructure which is currently of a wild camping status.

The project is based in a rural location in Devon among a farming community. We hope that through demonstration we will be able to show the local farmers how to implement Permaculture into their livelihoods.

Project Detailed Information

We are an offgrid project, using one 150 watt solar panel. We use rain water catchment and have a seasonal stream which we intend to harvest water from. We occasionally use mainswater from local residents as our redundancy. Our main activity is growing food in an agroforestry based system, using the no dig method. We utilise organic material from onsite to mulch our growing beds.

Areas of Activity:

Built Environment›Settlement types and design›Low impact development

Number of people involved:

There are various principles and techniques we use on site. For example we believe in valuing the marginal, the edge by creating lots of hedging around the area. This helps to create wildlife corridors and provides us with fuel and food to forage as well as food for wildlife. We value all the ethics especially the third as we are aware of our usage. We gather wind blown sticks for fuel for our woodburner and kelly kettle. Use and value renewable resources - we use the thinned out trees and stick wood as fuel for our woodburner and to help with creating harder standing for our pathways as they are muddy. We under pin what we do using the prime directive and three ethics and the nine forms of capital. People care, the second ethic, is important to us so when designing any of our elements and systems we look at how they will benefit people, creating a space for meditation, enjoyment and general wellbeing. "Produce no waste" is echoed in the things we do. Our greenhouses were donated to us as was one of our sheds. We use reclaimed wood and wood cut from the trees on site for our treebog, we also use humanure, collecting our own waste and composting it to use later on. Across the site there are various ways we can show how we are using the principles and ethics.

Number of people text:

There are two directors of this project, and a few people that come on a seasonal basis to help out. One or two are regulars.

Project Contact Details

Email:

Contact person by email

Contact Name:

Iain and Wenderlynn Bagnall

Project Dates

August, 2011

Online links

Website

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