The We Are All Farmers Permaculture Institute

What is permaculture?Permanent culture

Permanent agriculture

Regenerative, managed practices (economic, interpersonal, ethical, often with a focus on food and energy production/management)

Permaculture is systems design, with ethics (Earth Care, People Care, Obtain a Yield and Return of Surplus) and principles rooted in the thoughtful and protracted observation of nature.

What is an example of Regenerative?“The anthropologist/philosopher Gregory Bateson used to tell this story:

Founded in 1379, New College, Oxford is one of the oldest Oxford colleges. It has, like other colleges, a great dining hall with huge oak beams across the top, as large as two feet square, and forty-five feet long each.

A century ago, some busy entomologist went up into the roof of the dining hall with a penknife and poked at the beams and found that they were full of beetles. This was reported to the College Council, which met the news with some dismay, beams this large were now very hard, if not impossible to come by. "Where would they get beams of that caliber?" they worried.

One of the Junior Fellows stuck his neck out and suggested that there might be some worthy oaks on the College lands. These colleges are endowed with pieces of land scattered across the country which are run by a college Forester. They called in the College Forester, who of course had not been near the college itself for some years, and asked him if there were any oaks for possible use.

He pulled his forelock and said, “Well sirs, we was wonderin’ when you’d be askin’.”

Upon further inquiry it was discovered that when the College was founded, a grove of Upon further inquiry it was discovered that when the College was founded, a grove of oaks had been planted to replace the beams in the dining hall when they became beetly, oaks had been planted to replace the beams in the dining hall when they became beetly, because oak beams always become beetly in the end. This plan had been passed down because oak beams always become beetly in the end. This plan had been passed down from one Forester to the next for over five hundred years saying “You don’t cut them from one Forester to the next for over five hundred years saying “You don’t cut them oaks. Them’s for the College Hall.”oaks. Them’s for the College Hall.”

“The answer to the question, have new oaks been planted, is probably. Somewhere on the land owned by the New College are oaks that are, or will one day, be worthy of use in the great hall, assuming that they are managed in the same way they were before. It is in this management by the Forester in which lies the point. Ultimately, while the story is perhaps apocryphal, the idea of replacing and managing resources for the future, and the lesson in long term thinking is not.”

From: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/oak-beams-new-college-oxford

Permaculture is systems design

Copyright Karl Schmidt 2008

The Patterson School How do we create a system that produces a yield with high labor at the beginning,but less labor over time? How do we rehabilitate and set the Patterson School on the path to being a leader in regenerative farming/organic farming?

http://permaculturenews.org/category/earthworks-earth-resources/swales-earthworks-earth-resources/page/4/

http://treeyopermaculture.com/treeyo/introduction-to-permaculture-and-holistic-management-systems/

Sam DobsonIredell County Dairy & Beef Farmer, last year of transition to certified organic forOrganic Valley.

Already direct-marketing grassfed beef & producing for Hickory Nut Gap Farm

9th generation on this land.

http://grasspunk.com/2012/05/16/wormvana/

http://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Trampling_grass_to_renovate_poor_pastures/

With set stocking we destroy fertility.

With Management-intensive Grazing (MiG) (high density animal numbers, short duration grazing, and long rest periods between grazing), we can create fertility.

USDA Hardiness Zone

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

Soil Health

Management intensive Grazing

“Conventional” gardens

More

www.irrigationdirect.com

Www.plant-care.com

Ufseeds.com

Design Unifies

Permacultureusa.org

Community Unifies

Terrainforma.ca

Examples of Integration

From the Left clockwise: treehugger.com; ordinary-2-extraordinary.com; upbeetlandscapes.com

The food forest gardening approach is the creation of systems which are productive and abundant yet which require

very little maintenance.

http://foodgrowsontrees.blogspot.com/

A Forest Garden

http://www.theinnovationdiaries.com/1422/food-forestry/

Filter the ideas through hands-on training in permaculture design and these principles

permaculturepower.wordpress.com

Some Additional Permaculture Possibilities for the Patterson School

-Birdwatching sanctuary-Forest Garden orchards-Agroforestry including selective tree harvesting through use of draft animals-Custom grazing operations

--Heritage cattle, pigs, turkeys -Direct marketing of organic grass-fed meats

--Grass-fed Meat Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)-Mushroom production-Organic vegetable production

--CSA--Patterson School Farmers' Market--Patterson School Organic Farm School

-Organic Dairy--Value Added Dairy Products

--Artisan and Regional Yogurt and Cheese-Heritage animal, plant, and seed production that is historically unique to the

Patterson School's past-Organic Farm Vacations and Getaways-Permaculture Education destination with We Are All Farmers Permaculture

Institute_Premiere Environmental and Food Conference Center-Grazing workshops-Organic Medicinal Herbs-Cut Flowers

Turn now to initial proposal

– Stewards land and builds soil for possible additional enterprises– Jumpstarts beginnings of Patterson School as a land and

agricultural attraction– Coalesces re-commitment, possible to raise seed money for

enterprises– Coalesces education, possible to raise donations for education– Grows food and teaches community

Management intensive Grazing (plan is for cattle—paid to custom graze):Learn more at

– The Stockman Grass Farmer: https://www.stockmangrassfarmer.com/index.php

– Greg Judy

Pastured Sheep, start a flock

Mushroom Cultivation

“The field lies open to the intellect.”--Bill Mollison

Start with: –Sepp Holzer, Permaculture–Take a permaculture design course–David Holmgren–Mark Shepherd

Thank you!!!