Garden – Djaning

How can one describe being surrounded by beautiful, wild children all day? We’re not entirely sure. So here’s a bunch of photos and some amblings of our first Permaculture kids holiday program. It’s supposed to be a permaculture school. Or something like that.

We’ve got to let you in on a little something, though. This holiday program, it’s more an excuse to reconnect to the source ourselves. And the kids show us how it’s done. They know the way to go. We have plans, and schedules. They, more often than not, tend not to have too much more than the moment…

Dig up worms, taste them. Add water to the already soaked puddle. Jump in. Squelch. Taste it…

Make sparks with a flint and steel. See what catches. What magic appears with this new tool? This new place? This new now that is happening?

We see ourselves as benevolent shepherds and guardians. Encouraging as much joyful movement as is safe, kind and now.

In a place where AI isn’t a thing, screens are an anomaly, and fire is king. This is where we meet our kids.

Surrounded in thrumming cicadas, burping frogs and froglets and the white noise of rain. A singed finger from entertaining a curiosity a little too closely. A fresh cut from a newly sharpened blade who’s learning is deeper than any words. And the remembrance of the day as skerricks of clay are picked from the hair, feel as good as a fizzy drink and way better than Peppa Pig.

We have just completed our first Permaculture Design Certificate course as facilitators.

Fionn has taught on numerous PDCs before and Laura has also. We’ve even taught on the same PDC before, but never solely as Fionn and Laura Quinlan. This, for us, is a real milestone. Something we’re very proud of, though are still very much aware of the managing and tweaking that can and will be implemented to make our next course even better.

We began designing our course around 6 months ago. Utliising the SADIM methodology, along with broader permaculture design techniques we mapped out the desire lines of the course, stated intent, objective and desired outcomes. Some of our included intent/objectives included goals as lofty as “assisting in creation of new neurological pathways”, through to more humble objectives like, “creating a safe space”. Upon initial analysis it would seem that we either accomplished stated aims, or we certainly got very close. This was however a particularly spirited and diverse group of 12 individuals, whom without it is obvious to us that none of it would have been possible.

The course was held over two weeks at the pictresque Hare Krishna Community outside Murwillumbah in the Tweed shire. The children joined us, tentatively introducing them as a part of our tribe and an integral part of our journey together. So with tingle of excitement for what was to come we, slightly noisily, introduced ourselves to our group of 12 budding permies.

Krishna Village PDC Nicole Fredman Djaning — A final design highlight (Nicole Fredman)

Throughout the course we were able to take a couple of short trips to see some of the finer points of permaculture in action. We paid a visit to Australia’s best established Syntropic Agriculture plot, run by Scott Hall and an on and off again team of willing helpers. We also invited the whole crew down to Djaning to see our ever evolving 21 acre plot, with an emphasis on closed loop systems, earth works, main frame and garden design. These trips and grand design schemes, coupled with regular morning contributions to our shared plot at Krishna village, run ins with local Syntropic marauder Thiago Barbosa, swims in the nearby river, and regular yoga sessions made for all round fun and informative two weeks.

Krishna Village PDC Djaning — Students planting seeds at Djaning

If you’re at all interested in ecology, community and self sufficiency or the environment more generally then pop along to our next course planned for 2019. See https://krishnavillage-retreat.com/ for more details.

Tag: Garden

Permaculture Kids – Djaning Holiday Program

Our First Permaculture Design Course