On Tuesday the 16th of October the Permaforest trust visited the Holy Goat Ranch intentional community in Dorroughby.

We were hosted by the beautiful and dynamic Graham Jordan. It was awesome to have a guided tour of the past 25 years of his Life’s work. His insight and understanding of his home showed us the potential fruits of living in harmony with ones environment. He is a natural fit for his stewarded landscape.

Graham has a strict policy on acceptable fruit tree behaviour. If a tree doesn’t flourish and fruit under its own initiative it is quickly removed and replaced with one that does. Managing a property with the particular characteristics of this one means that he doesn’t have the free time and energy to baby anything that doesn’t want to seize it’s chance at life.

He used pioneering acacia’s and eucalyptus to establish the soil and recover it from paddock. After 10 years the acacia’s began to die off, falling over and damaging a lot of the fruit trees that he had planted around them. The eucalyptus were now getting too big, so he also removed the ones that he could but many still remain.
However despite the difficult end transition, they succeed in their initial purpose. Life was returned to the soil and the animals to the ecology.

The site was changed.

The return of wallabies marked a new phase in the life of the orchards. Small pioneering shrubs that once were free to thrive like pigeon pea were now heavily browsed. The ground-cover under-story was now seeded to grasses and other green manures. Several introduced species went rampant, and now are his work to remove for example Dollarweed and wandering jew. This meant that he could also increase the amount of work done by machine, the ride-on mower replaced the hand scythe.

Just recently scrub turkeys have moved into their regrowth rainforest;

This meant another change. As well as having to fence vegetable gardens, they also need now to use only rough mulch around fruit trees so the turkeys don’t scratch it away to their giant compost piles of nests.

The slope in some parts is incredible; but handbuilt stone steps; guiding around the massive fig tree roots mean we all make it to the house sites safely.

Graham spends 5 days of his week working in and around Lismore as a contract builder. He built most(all?) of the stunning structures on the community. The other two days he works on maintaining the community.

Thankfully on a site like this; his other forte is rock retaining walls.

It is an inspirational environment.

He is aware of the tripartite division of energy within systems. This concept is of a third going to metabolism, a third to maintenance and repair and a third for production, construction and expansion.

The community is spring fed, they also collect their rain water.

In exchange for his time we did several hours of Rainforest Regen on the south slope of the property.

Here is a view from where we are working across the valley to the north face.

We worked to clear privet, groundsel, kaffir and lantana to allow young seedlings dropped by birds some light to establish. This was the third sweep of this area.

At the end of it all; Graham took us to a private water fall for us to all have a swim and cool off.

Then we were free to hang around the lounge until we wanted to leave.

All of us from the trust would like to thank Graham and the Holy Goat Family for opening their doors to us and sharing the wealth they have built over the last 25 years of living here. It was an amazing experience.

Today we visited some urban Permaculture systems.

One of these is sustainability and community education centre in Byron Bay called the Island Quarry.

It is based on the site of an old bluestone quarry that hit a spring and closed down. The spring now fills an amazing body of water.

Owned by the commonwealth it is managed by a not for profit in trust an experiment that is quite unique to the world as far as they can see. This means at this stage there is an incredible amount of work that must go into integration of the council approval and applications processes.

It has been a long road for them, and they are building for the long term. A 25 year management plan is in place. Slow, small solutions have allowed this place to continue progressing through considerable challenges.

Now they are an avenue for considerable energy through work for the dole schemes, dept of corrections programs, and mutual obligation agreements.
The ongoing community work is done by volunteers, where it serves as a place to foster connections and meet likeminded people. Several projects have seeded and germinated there and then been planted out in other places.

Interesting to see a charcoal maker in place to convert their considerable store of salvaged trees into a usable product. I’ve spoken a little bit about this biochar process before.

Expect to hear more about it – lots of potential in our context.

Changing the Pace:

We also visited a home scale garden that has been grown and tended by Wally for over 25 years!

He is over 90 now and still gardens six days a week (he takes a day off from work for the Lord). Growing beautiful broccolis, luscious lettuces, pineapples, tomatoes and more.

Enough for his wife, himself and most of his neighbours too in their ¼ acre block.

In a twist to the conventional home garden he fertilises it with his own composted humanure. A fine example of the principle of using biological resources.

Here is his composting chamber:

Giving amazing growth really considering the salty coastal sand that is the soil around his place.

He credits persistence in the garden, there is no lack of challenges on his block but he keeps at it and the results shine through.

This year birds have been a particular problem for him when he is out the front they duck out the back.

Gavin is an absolute inspiration, a testament to good design. In seven years he has completely regenerated the once paddock of his steep north easterly aspect block to a vibrant, massively productive Permaculture paradise. He has also built a beautiful house, travelled and worked internationally on numerous projects including tsunami relief and rebuilding in Aceh and is raising three kids.
Fruit trees of all shapes, sizes and stages of maturity fill his designated zone he said he had to contain himself or it would have kept going down the hill.
His home absolutely inspired me to check out Daily’s nursery in Kyogle. Fruit trees suit my kind of investment style, a lot of energy at the beginning and then consistent returns for a long, long time.

Here at the largest worm farm in the southern hemisphere. It is a trial joint-project between the Lismore city council and Triton.
The council implemented a system of green bins, Recyclables and landfill. They then deliver the green waste collection to the complex.

The project started 15 years ago.

There are problems with some contamination.
In the first year 12% of the input was contaminated. People were throwing moldy veg from the supermarket, plastic bag and all into the bins and into the system. Others were putting everything everywhere once the landfill bins were full.

Through a system of feedback, public education and integration of new biodegradable starch bags this has been reduced to 2% in the highest grade 4mm product that is sold today.

And it is rich!

This operation is large scale. We didn’t get to see it under a microscope.

That was the domain of a smaller scale business called Soil Food Web. Working with composting teas brewed on site they were doing research into the life forms that can number in the millions in a single teaspoon of soil.

They are off the grid. A stand alone solar system powers the lab and the pumping equipment.

When analysing healthy soils biology is intimately connected with the chemistry.

With the decline in availability of abundant oil and its family of products; the culture emerges that encourages a return to biological resources.

They zoom to up to 400x and count, by hand and eye the levels of three key families that live in healthy soils.

This level of work gives measurable information on the nature of what we do when developing soil health. Then give vital feedback when determining what to do next when healing land.

The cure-all is compost. Through a process of continuos aeration of a compost starter, molasses, oats and many other experimental ingredients that feed bacteria and fungus levels a super rich life juice is created that can inoculate large areas of land with benifitial soil organisms that balance the system.

To bring all this home; the marketplace.

Every Tuesday the Tweed Regional Organic Producers Organisaion (TROPO) holds an organic farmers market in the Lismore Showgrounds.

It is a friendly co-operative with a place to openly communicate the needs of the market amongst the growers.

There are two retail distributors allowed in the marker. One is there with the understanding he brings what the local market cannot provide, the other to take excess food at the end of the markets to be resold at another regional market up the coast.

Food is fresh, the greens picked only hours ago.

All store holders are certified, and display that at the stall. Questions about the produce can be asked directly to the person that grew it. They were happy to answer and told us about their gardens and their life as a grower.

Wholistically balanced soil is fertile and healthy. Healthy soils grow healthy food.

“The overall name of these interrelated structures is system. The motorcycle is a system. A real system. …There’s so much talk about the system. And so little understanding. That’s all a motorcycle is, a system of concepts worked out in steel. There’s no part in it, no shape in it that is not in someone’s mind. I’ve noticed that people who have never worked with steel have trouble seeing this- that the motorcycle is primarily a mental phenomenon.”

- Robert Pirsig
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The decision to buy a motorbike brand new doesn’t fully gel with many of my prescribed ethics. In fact it will allow me a greater level of personal freedom, this luxury is one of the bigger roots of my personal energy consumption.

Which is why I best justify it as an emotional decision.

It’s a reward, a bonus to myself for the work I’ve done and continue to do. It is a return that has made itself possible by the freedoms and independence I’ve accepted and taken responsibility for.

However I am responsible to others in my life also. Which is a good part of the reason for posting this.

Deeply in Love with my partner and family, and knowing this is reciprocated I understand their concern for my welfare, health and happiness.
Riding a motorbike expands your exposure to the world. The connection builds between the rider and the landscape. The danger and ugliness of the region are equally opened up to.

The risks I’ve navigated and balanced in my life apply naturally to riding a motorcycle. I accept and manage them rather than deny they exist.
I don’t put up barriers to protect my beliefs in-fact I aim to remove them so that they do not collide with the realities of living.

I learned the hard lessons of speed on the ski slopes. My body has had a taste of the bloody side that exists with the loss of control. There is a very firm gut feeling when safe and fun creeps towards reckless and endangering. Thrills no longer satisfy my longer term perspective.

The parallels continue.
When exposed to elements outside of your control (such as weather, other people who may not have such a grip and animals or hazards) there is a development in the line of precautionary intuition. A feeling when something isn’t right to slow down or pull over and take a break.
Likewise when skiing a piece of chocolate and some water is often enough to regain the confidence and energy to safely re-engage.

I am healthy, happy and able to take my time to get where I am going. If ever these change, I promise I will not be riding my motorcycle.

Feedback;

Ann

Stepping into your shoes Guy, I can easily see why you want that beautiful new motorbike and the joy and freedom that it offers, cruising through the beautiful countryside around you, surrounded by the fresh air and the pleasure of driving the motor bike. My dad wouldn’t let me even have a pushbike as a child, but the desire didn’t go away and maybe that is part of the reason I love riding my bike so much.
However stepping into his shoes and my shoes, with the deep love we have for you and Kirrah and the strong desire that we don’t want anything to spoil your wonderful health and happiness, please be very careful. I would feel better if you have every possible piece of safety gear with no short cuts when you are riding, much easier to prevent an injury than try and fix it later, just think of Jessie’s shoulder. So please buy all the best protective clothing and do all the advanced motorbike training courses available.
Then take it easy and enjoy your new motorbike, remembering that we all love you very much and want you stay completely happy and healthy.

Mum

The bike has arrived in Brisbane. Now I get to test my patience while I wait till Ben needs to next go up there for work so that we can put her on the back of the ute and bring the bike home. Then till I get my license.

I’m getting a few extras fitted too. New tready tires for our road conditions, and some crash bars.

Delivery

Today I woke up at 2:50am. I ate some light breakfast. And got my bag for Brisbane ready. Kirrah was up and we were off the Kyogle Train Station.

I am at Ben’s now. It is 12:32am. It has been a very long day. I saw the first light of day. I saw the sun rise. And then I met Ben. We spent the day, between business meetings, in his hotel room. He used up to three phones at once – quite a feat really.

I saw the morning star. Now I am at Paradox St. It is very late.

I am still up. I’ve done some energizing breathing.

I first wanted my own bike when I was 16. I was patient.

I am 23 years old now.

My new Enfield from India is in the garage 15m away. I wanted to take it for a test ride, bringing helmet. I instead used the time of the mechanic to learn about the servicing and works of the bike.
He then helped us strap it down tight. We left the centrestand up to prevent it fracturing. Instead we sat on it and tightened the straps against the suspension of the bike. That is where it stayed from Brisbane to Tintenbar and tomorrow Home.

I am going to have a great sleep in tomorrow – Wayne has baked fresh bread!

Feedback;

Ann

The bullet looks beautiful. But the best thing is that my Indian friend Sush told me is that it doesn’t go as fast as a bullet. Sush would love this motorbike and has been telling me all it’s virtues, strong, smooth, powerful but not fast. He said he has seen some amazing sights in rural India, where he said the bullet is the main form of transport for the framers transporting their goods. Small dairy farmers transport their milk cans astride the bullet down little rough little trails to the larger dairies. It said it is very well designed for a smooth comfortable ride

Guy

Royal Enfield was the brand of the Enfield Cycle Company, an English engineering company. Most famous for producing motorcycles, they also produced, amongst other things, bicycles, lawnmowers, stationary engines, and even rifle parts for the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield. This legacy of weapons manufacture is reflected in the logo, a cannon, and their motto “built like a gun, goes like a bullet.”

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Enfield

We just got back from the Queens birthday holiday weekend at Kirrah’s Parent’s new property in Koreelah. It is about 105km from our place. The drive takes about 2 easy hours.

Click on any of the pictures for the full album!

This is our “JUCY crib” and us on our second night in Auckland.

It’s a really good set up! We have a fridge (chullybun), a small gas burner and a weeny sink. Which is great because there are only 2 dishes, 2 sets of knives and forks and one kitchen knife.

But the best bit is… It goes!

We spent two nights in Auckland before we got city fever and hit the rural country roads!

As you can see the hills are a bit brown from the drought.

This is our first stop. The point at Raglan Surf Beach. Nice sunny day and big waves.

We were able to catch up with our friend Barney.

Barney and Kirrah planning the next leg of our journey. A back road down the coast towards Waitomo caves. More about that later!

The beautiful Bridal falls in between Raglan and the caves. The rain stopped for us to walk through the forest to take this picture.

Us! The waterfall in the background… yay

Waitomo Cavers!

We

Every now and again we decide to pay someone else to manage the day for us. It often involves a group and something that we would never do under our own self guidance. Like decend into the bowels of earth, submerge ourselves into fridged waters and float on rubber inner tubes through vast caverns of glow worms.

Rediculous!

And us climbing out at the other end again.

Kirrah is much happier in warm dry clothes!

I think we both enjoyed the (free) scenic walk more.

Everything you’ve heard is true. New Zealand’s Forests are completely spectacular.

Well after a night at the caves we wanted to keep moving (the caravan park, like everything in the small town, was very, very expensive). So to balance it all out we went camping for free in the National park (although we did give a nice donation).

We found this private little patch a short walk to the lookout.

Well, the sign said it was short…

Is that 15 minutes each way or return…

Should we turn around….

Oh my… How do we get down there!

Our 15 minute stroll turned into an hour and a half when is it going to end guy can you carry me this last little bit I am hungry we should have turned at that sign back there do we turn back now or keep going….

Luckily we came prepared with snacks and plenty of water. We finally popped out on the main road a couple of k’s away from camp wondering were we made the mistake. When hiking in the forest always get a map of the trails and a compass. We didn’t know if we started on waintamui or manitikiki so it made it difficult to understand the signs.

Well, our plight seemed a little trifle after chatting to these fiesty Romanians who had just completed the 8 hour hike to the summit!

Well that is long enough away from the luxuries of settlement for us. We on we go towards the centre of the north island. In Search of a SHOWER!

Between us and such luxuries lies the Forgotten Highway. Which actually proved to be downright spooky!

Every second attraction along this highway was a tale of woe.

I present the tallest (and most disappointing) waterfall in the North Island of New Zealand. 32km of dusty dirt tracks and a 40 minute return walk and the water didn’t even reach the bottom!

The story goes that these falls were discovered by an early pioneer and his trusty sheepdog. They were attacked by a boar, the dog fought and they both went over the edge.

There is no petrol or shops for over 120km. Which doesn’t sound like a great deal, but it took us over 5 hours of driving to get to the end of the highway.

At least you can always fall back on the just watching the landscape.

After one too many memorial bridges that collapsed in death and dispair, pubs that burned down a year after opening and memorial graves for locals that died young we reached the end.

The most beautiful and charming small town and caravan park yet, Taumarunui!

What a beautiful spot. The owners are the friendliest we’ve met on our whole travels!

The 9th Australian Permaculture Convergence
Celebrating 30 years of Permaculture
Sydney – Easter weekend – March 20th to 25th 2008

I registered and paid my deposit for the full event today!

I was first inspired to go to this convergence upon hearing that Bill Mollison would be meeting me halfway. He is traveling from Tasmania to give several key note speeches. Listening to Bill speak is definitely one of the things to do on my journey.

It is an opportunity for me to meet some of the people that have contributed their lives to the movement. I’m looking forward to rounding out some of their personalities beyond that of the author of my text books.

I want to see if I can experience an exchange in the subtle authenticity that comes from a life well lived that loses something in the transfer to the page.

It feels so good to have this renewed flourish of energy in my career.

Find out more @ http://apc9.org.au/

Monday 28th of May, 2007 marked my beloved cousin’s 31st Birthday. A took a few days off to see her.

As I drove the Bruce Hwy, I got to see an amazing storm brew passing through the town of Coolum it began to rain. By the time I got to her place in Noosa it was hailing.

Turning 180 degrees around and you are on the mangrove lined tidal zone. Across the water is a mangrove forest.

Beautiful settings. While I was there we took some time to do a few photographs of her latest work.

Stunning.