[permaculture-oceania] Permaforest Trust June Update

[The Permaforest Trust]

***  Certificate 4 in Accredited Permaculture Design Second Semester Starts 
July 31st: Applications Now Accepted ***

G'day Folks,

Although we are all about sustainable practices here at The Permaforest 
Trust, we do have our priorities straight.  Over the past fortnight our 
weather has been fairly consistently grey and wet - wonderful for the land 
but tough on our solar power system - so we've been on critical power usage 
only.  However, with the World Cup unfolding and Australia's participation 
in it, we've got the television out of the cupboard, dusted it off and 
minded our power consumption extra carefully so that we can follow a few of 
the games.  Televised live at odd hours of the night, some eyes are looking 
bleary!

Last week we enjoyed a day of activity based training on Permaculture Foods 
and Their Uses.  Sindhu, a local permaculture trainer full of knowledge, 
facilitated this day and had us harvesting cassava, arrowroot and banana 
blossoms, amongst other things.  The dishes we created (with the guidance of 
our in-house 'foodie' Sido) included Barkers Vale Special Hidden Valley 
Laksa, Banana Blossom Salad (recipe below), and a delightful Cassava Gateau 
(NB some artistic license taken with these recipe names J).  A great day and 
a great lunch!

This semester's Weekend Getaway (June 9th to 11th) saw a group of 
unsuspecting visitors thrown into the fray here at the Trust for a couple of 
days of healthy eating and work around the farm. Each visitor was greeted by 
a student and shown around the grounds where the intricacies of our system 
were introduced along with some of the permaculture thinking behind them. 
Work sessions on Saturday and Sunday mornings were physical, but rewarding 
with the basics of fruit tree planting being a major emphasis. As a result 
the Trust now has new avocado, mulberry, fig and mango trees in the ground. 
It was great for the students to experience contact with other people 
interested in permaculture and a good time was had around the campfire 
sharing stories and a few glasses of red wine.

Earlier this month we were paid a visit by the PACE group (Pedal Australia 
for Clean Energy).  This group of inspiring young people are 
circumnavigating the perimeter of mainland Australia, via bicycle and 
veggie-oil powered van, with the aim of raising awareness about climate 
chaos and promoting the use of sustainable energy and sustainable transport. 
If you'd like to know more or join their mailing list visit 
www.pedalaustralia.org.au for more information - they are doing a great job 
and would welcome your support.

Also, the latest breaking news is that Sue Lennox of YouthLead fame spotted 
a platypus in our big dam during her recent visit! This is fantastic 
surprise as the dam is only two years old and we didn't expect that it would 
be habitat quality quite so soon. Now late afternoons in the sun can be 
spent watching our little friend glide around in the water.

In July we take our mid-year break so our next update will be in August.

Cheers- The Permaforest Crew

The Permaforest Trust
Lot 3 Hidden Valley Rd
Barkers Vale  NSW  2474

Australia
phone +61 02 6689 7579
fax +61 02 9225 9536
www.permaforesttrust.org.au

Offering Certificate 4 and Diploma in Accredited Permaculture Training



Sido's Banana Blossom Salad

2 medium banana blossoms

bowl of cold water and vinegar (say 3 tablespoons)

1 red onion /shallot

¼ cup lime/lemon juice

1 cup mint

1 cup thai basil

½ cup roasted peanuts

3 med-large cloves garlic

3 tablespoons palm sugar

2 birds eye chilli

Peel off the first 2 to 3 layers of banana blossom and discard.  Continue to 
peel the layers, placing the "leaves" on top of each other, to make a stack 
of 5-10 leaves.  Finely shred with a sharp knife, and place immediately into 
cold water and vinegar to soak.  Continue this process until you reach the 
"heart" - the tender middle.  Slice off stalk and cut the heart lengthways 
through the middle.  Place it flat side down and shred finely, adding this 
to the soaking bowl.  Discard baby bananas.

 Finely slice red onion/shallot, chop basil and mint and crush roasted nuts.

 Roughly chop garlic and chilli.  In a mortar and pestle, grind garlic, 
chilli and palm sugar to a paste.  Combine with lime/lemon juice.

 Heat 1 cup of water in a large fry pan or wok, strain banana blossoms and 
cook until wilted.  Drain.

 Add all other ingredients and stir through well.

 (Variation on recipe for non-vegetarians - toss through some poached 
chicken and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce.)


Semester II Certificate IV Accredited Permaculture Training commences July 
30th

We are now accepting registrations for Semester II in our APT program at the 
Permaforest Trust.  Places are limited.  If you are interested in applying, 
please contact us as soon as possible.

We are also seeking expressions of interest for Management Trainee positions 
here at the Trust for Semester II.  If you'd like more information please 
contact us or see www.permaforesttrust.org.au for details.

If you want to know more about sustainability and learning to reduce your 
ecological footprint, then join us for a life changing experience of 
community and study at the Trust.



PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSES (PDC) AUSTRALIA 2006

Victoria
Southern Cross Permaculture Institute
www.southerncrosspermaculture.com.au
PDC December 2 - 16.

New South Wales
Diversity Farm
www.diversityfarm.com.au
PDC 3 - 16 September 2006

Brogo Permaculture Gardens
www.brogo.org.au
July 3

Djanbung Gardens
www.permaculture.com.au
July 3

The Permaculture Research Institute
www.permaculture.org.au
August 20 S.A
September 02 NSW
September 17 Melbourne
November 27 S.A



OTHER SHORT COURSES

 'DYNAMIC GROUPS'  10th to 15th July 2006 at The Eco Centre, Crystal Waters 
via Maleny. SE Qld  A 6 Day Creative Facilitation Intensive for Teachers, 
Facilitators, Group Leaders, Permaculture Trainers, Activists, Community 
Workers and Healers. Facilitated by Robin Clayfield and Hosted by EARTHCARE 
EDUCATION. Enhance the colour, shape and depth of how you Facilitate. Gain 
confidence and learn new and diverse skills. Spend 6 days immersed in a 
creative, interactive learning adventure where the content is 'Process'. 
Robin has run this training in 8 diverse countries and several states of 
Australia and is excited to run this course in her home community of Crystal 
Waters for the first time in two years. Cost: $795 includes all meals, 
morning teas, 7 nights Bunkhouse style accommodation, Handouts/Toolbox and 
Facilitation for the 6 days. Contact: Robin Clayfield, EARTHCARE EDUCATION, 
58 Crystal Waters, Maleny 4552.  Ph. 07 54944707. Email 
<robin at earthcare.com.au>

Ecovillage Design Education Programme.  July 31 to August 26  EcoLogical 
Solutions - Consultancy & Education Services 
www.ecologicalsolutions.com.au and www.gaiaeducation.org

GARDENING WITH PERMACULTURE  Starts 2nd of July 2006 Ryde Tafe College 
Contact Penny on 02 9448 6301
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