I hold a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design and specialise in urban regeneration.
I'm an internationally recognised visiting expert in community currency development and am responsible for innovation and the development of registration services using open money protocols across Europe. I have over 20 years of experience within community currencies, having set up and run a LETSystems and incentive programmes.
In the UK I broaden the interest in Sociocracy (applied dynamic governance) and practice the techniques of sociocratic governance methods during facilitation and workshop sessions. I facilitate strategic and operational working circles of Sociocracy UK and deliver sociocratic training at permaculture courses and events.
I am the co-founder and managing director of UK social enterprises Common Resource Ltd. and East London Food Access Ltd., where I lead on design, development and research. Using my experience of the UK social enterprise and community sectors, I specialise in applied CSR and innovation, and facilitate, chair and manage a portfolio of community projects.
I joined the Permaculture Association as Treasurer at the end of 2019.
My main career was in the water sector as a Finance Director, including relations with regulators and responsibility for various business plans. I subsequently worked as a consultant in the UK and the Middle East on financial and regulatory projects, and as a part time Finance Director for a parliamentary body.
I have been a charity trustee in the water and education sectors. I am also a trustee, and former Chair, of my local tennis club.
I am enjoying working with new colleagues and trying to put my past experience to good use. This is a stimulating environment to be in. The Association offers much that can help to create a better world.
David joined the Board in 2019.
Tammi Dallaston
I have been registered disabled since having spinal surgery in 2018, and want to extend this newly acquired way of being to continue to assist the Permaculture Association with issues around accessibility and inclusion. I am a neurodiverse, working class, single mum of three; and have fought to feel like an active member of the permaculture community since undertaking my PDC in 1999.
I want to challenge the mindset of the white privileged landowner being the ones that 'can do permaculture' - and show that disabled single mums are just as capable!
I currently teach permaculture with Shift Bristol. and manage Field Families (permaculture at events) - which includes the co-ordination of Glastonbury Festival Permaculture Gardens and the permaculture areas at the Green Gathering.
I'm a founder member of Brighton Permaculture Trust; former manager of Ragmans Lane Farm; ex-Chair and trustee of Moulsecoomb Forest Garden Wildlife Project; and founder member of Permaculture Wales (Paramaethu Cymru).
Tammi joined the Board in 2020.
Andrew De La Haye
I believe passionately in using permaculture to change the way we grow and consume our food, the way we care for nature, the way we promote biodiversity in all aspects of our lives. I want to see permaculture thinking and practice become mainstream in food production in peoples’ own land, in farming generally, in health, society, education, in fact in all aspects of human life. I want to use my vision/strategic skills as well as the practical change management/people skills and experience to bring about change.
In our garden we invite people who want to make a change to come and have an insight into how we nurture our whole way of life on many levels. We hold open days every month in the spring, summer and autumn. Through this we inspire so many people in different circumstances and provide easy ways into permaculture.
I have an ability to think outside the box. I have spent the last 15 years rediscovering the way the world really works (as opposed to the monetary, materialistic, industrial-scale world) and have very thoroughly explored my alternative paradigm which enables me to see ways to take forward vital programmes like permaculture.
Andrew joined the Board in 2020.
Bob Mehew
Bob Mehew has been practising permaculture for 10 years after having completed a design course with Patrick Whitelfield. He is over half-way through a diploma, which was largely put on hold in 2015 due to taking on Huxhams Cross Farm with The Apricot Centre - a new biodynamic farm in Dartington, Devon. Bob has created highly efficient farming and back-office systems to facilitate the growing and selling of seasonal vegetables, fruit, eggs, preserved products and flour and has helped rapidly scale the business to achieve a farm-side turnover of £150,000 in under 5 years. Bob is currently focussing on operationalising a new business called Dartington Mill which is reclaiming grains at a local level for farmers, millers and bakers, producing exceptional quality flour from modern and traditional grain varieties.
Bob’s origins are however not in farming but Information Technology with a specialisation in business process engineering and in later years in project management for the IT sector and local government. Completing the PDC was a turning point that led Bob to embrace permaculture and utilise it to create his current lifestyle.
Bob’s current focus is the ‘business-side’ of permaculture, how to get projects onto a financially sustainable footing, seeking to inspire students with a new course - The ECO-nomics of Permaculture’.
Bob joined the Board in 2020.
Scott Moncur
I believe that Permaculture is in a sweet spot able to take advantage of the increasing awareness of the bad outcomes from current food production and land management. The organisation has a rare opportunity to promote itself, and become financially successful in providing design and business plans for moving food production to permaculture principals. I want to be part of that.
A keen acolyte of permaculture practice, I believe my experience (including convener of Finance Audit & Risk of a £2 million turnover charity) and a lawyer of nearly three decades experience negotiating and concluding tricky situations would be a useful addition to the skill set of the board particularly in
- Articulating and promoting the members moral ownership of the organisation
- Establishing implementing and monitoring board and organisational performance against objectives
- Interfacing between the board, members and permaculture management and staff to ensure open transparent governance, consistent with permaculture policies Setting achievable and stretch goals and aims for the organisation promoting permaculture inside and outside the organisation
- Supporting board members in their personal development
- Delivering to Board objectives and good decision making for good outcomes for organisation members and board participants establishing performance metrics to evidence that performance and exercise of its power intra vires/within its boundary scope.
Scott joined the Board in 2020.
Carla Moss
Permaculture is a model that I believe can provide ideas to tackle the current challenges we face. I’d like to be a trustee of the association to participate in bringing about its vision for a healthier world for our children and grandchildren. I’ve been a member for a few years. I’ve done a PDC, completed my diploma and trained as a tutor. I now run an online Design Forum for Diploma apprentices to help build confidence and competence in Permaculture Design. I’m also part of the Diploma Working Group.
Through the work I do as an artist and coach I’m particularly interested in our inner zone – the things that make us tick. The beliefs we have and values we hold that enable or disable us in our quest for making our lives and world healthier and happier. My career is founded on research and story telling through visual creativity to help us deepen our relationship with the world around us and with ourselves.
Carla joined the Board in 2020.
Rachel Phillips
I have held an avid interest in Permaculture since 2015 when I undertook my PDC. Since then I have become part of a successful organisation, Apricot Centre CIC, where I have been able to deepen my knowledge and experience within the Permaculture Discipline. I have led the team to set up a Level 3 in Regenerative Land Based Studies. I am passionate about working within the areas of Nature Connection/Ecotherapy work and education both in Land and Non Land Based Permaculutre.
I am a trained Educationalist and Ethnobotanist who has a current practice in heritage crafts. I also have a therapeutic background. Most of all I have enthusiasm to raise the profile of Permaculture further and hope that by being more involved with the Association this will give me the opportunity to support its ongoing development.
Rachel joined the Board in 2020.
Gihan Soliman
I've been interested in permaculture for years and entered it among the UN commitment for Sustainable Development 2012. My knowledge and enthusiasm for permaculture arise from my belief in regenerative agriculture, and my understanding of the imperative circularity of viable natural systems. Permaculture in this respect is also related to my interest in cybernetics. I can increase the visibility of the Association by linking to the UN sustainable development goals and IUCN activities as well as peer organisations mainly in Africa (but also in Latin America). My most relevant qualification is a master of science in Environment, culture and the society from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Edinburgh and my thesis was on soil fertility.
Gihan joined the Board in 2018.
Sammuel Yisrael
I have a vision to create a blueprint for sustainable permaculture care hubs across the UK that are a show case for rural arts and crafts while providing a sustainable local source of food. In line with this I created Sol Laug Haven C.I.C an award winning Community Permaculture farm that offers a variety of experiences to help enable individuals, groups and companies to rebuild their lives through the connection to Mother Earth. We have seen many people lives changed through our work and I would like to share that experience nationally across the UK.
It is my passion and focus to assist and inspire businesses and individuals to achieve their goals. It is about creating an environment that supports people and businesses to perform at their very best. I am very enthusiastic about using innovative ideas to create excellence.
From an early age I worked with volunteer groups and communities working with a variety of vulnerable groups including homeless, disabled, and adults/ children experiencing learning disabilities - traveling as far as Africa, helping to establish new schools and hospitals in Gambia.
Sammuel joined the Board in 2020.