In Robin Wall Kimmerer's magnificent book "Braiding Sweetgrass" she invites the reader to think about the fact that, in her view, "All flourishing is mutual." Or put simply, that when we fail to be mutual we cannot flourish. We are only as vibrant, healthy, and alive as the most vulnerable among us. She goes on [...]
Category: Permaculture
Three Simple Things – Thinking about the Permaculture Ethics
At the heart of Permaculture sit three deceptively simple ethics: Earth care. People care. Fair share. I say deceptively simple because for many people their instinctive response when they first encounter them is: “Well what’s so radical about them?” On paper I guess maybe that is a fair reaction, but when you really start to [...]
Design From Patterns to Details
“Writing a play is like smashing that (glass) ashtray, filming it in slow motion, and then running the film in reverse so that the fragments of rubble seem to fly together. You start – or at least I start with the rubble.” TOM STOPPARD The seventh of Holmgren’s Permaculture principles invites us to “design from [...]
“Produce No Waste” – A Creative Perspective
Each month I meet online with a group of folk from near and far, some of whom I have met in real life but most who I haven't. We come together to talk about art, imagination and Permaculture. To think about how our creative practice may help shape our Permaculture practice, and vice versa. For [...]
An Imbolc Hearth
Late last year I visited a friend at his magical farm in Wales. As we walked around the beautiful space that he and his family have created we came to talk about the way that he was fascinated by the idea of working to ensure that his patch of the planet should, as much as [...]
Drawing Maps Without Roads
I drew a map without roads for a project that I am working on. I love that in the map the two beautiful rivers in my borough are revealed as a spine running right through. And how it highlights the way that roads have come to dominate, and often blight, our communities, landscapes and lives. [...]
I grow things because…
I grow things because… I love being outside. It grounds me and connects me to the things that matter. It is great fun (most of the time!) It helps me put down roots. It allows me to make more space for “wild”. Home grown food tastes better. It makes me slow down. It’s something we [...]
A farmer called Gerald
A few years ago I met a farmer and activist called Gerald. He was wonderfully full of knowledge and generous in his willingness to share it. He was also a man who was totally connected to the land and fully understood the critical importance of humankind’s role within the natural world. “Agriculture has got that [...]
Deep Time Walk
"A Deep Time Walk is a transformative journey through 4.6bn years of Earth history via an interactive 4.6km narrated walk. It is an invitation to view the world differently, encouraging positive action and advocacy for a regenerative Earth. My vision is to create an ensemble of geographically specific and culturally nuanced Deep Time Walks, providing [...]
Thinking about soil
We explored the life of soil in the woods near home. We dug a small sample of soil and talked about the multitudes of life that it contains And the life that it provides. We smelled it and handled it and rolled it into little clay-ey balls Then we took individual samples of soil. Everybody [...]
Liz Postlethwaite 