This post is an invitation to anyone interested in practicing or learning their permaculture design skills. The details below correspond with the first part of a 2-part YouTube video series. The second part is a suggested plan for the featured land (that belongs to someone else) who gave permission for this practice exercise. If you are interested in sharing your plan ideas, please leave a message in the comments of the video (NOT here). You will get a link to the private part 2 if you submit a plan.
-- INTRO --
A professional permaculture design should always follow an extended period of observation. Typically, this period is sufficiently long to provide designers with insight into all of a property’s useful seasonal patterns and changes. However, this is a quick design exercise for practical educational purposes, as often précised by students a permaculture design course (PDC). Consequently, the observations are provided in the forms of a video and supplemental notes below.
-- TASK --
Prepare a design proposal for the farm. It should be a snapshot of the farm in the medium term (roughly 3-5 years into the future) and proposes ways of meeting needs at the functional level (and NOT the detailed level of elements). For instance, to propose your various guilds by function, you may propose one guild to safeguard against soil erosion (its function) but not list the names of individual species (perhaps other than say, plant only and plants with deep roots). Using the video and supplemental notes below, the presentation should specifically address each of the following items one at a time: Water; Access; Structures; Plants and; Humans & Animals. The presentation should address each item with suggestions superimposed over the master map along with accompanying notes.
Design objective:
To produce food for Ed (the owner), his community and the market.
Key design strategy:
To plan work out of the design, ie to minimize Ed's output of resources (time, work and money).
NB The proposal does NOT need to include an implementation plan (with ordered stages). However, if you wish to provide an implementation plan, it should be provided as a separate presentation.
-.General -
Climate
Tropical, 13°10' north of the equator
Farm is ‘moderately wet’ in the generally dry tropical country. Significantly higher humidity from mid-October to November.
- Water -
Ed's weekly water needs require approx 1,488 litres / 392 gallons (drinking & cooking, showering, laundry (by hand), dishwashing, toilet & miscellaneous). The past 10-year average suggests a monthly water deficit of approx 98 gallons / 371 litres during the dry season using his 20*10 foot roof runoff alone.
- Access -
Create zones.
Include considerations of elements that are to be allowed and or blocked.
Unobstructed Atlantic Ocean winds from the East. The aerial distance from the ocean shoreline is roughly 2 miles.
- Structures -
The small hut has hurricane straps from the ceiling to the ground.
- Humans, Animals & other non-plant species -
Animals
Ed wants ONLY dogs and free range chickens
Major pest (country-wide) is the giant African snail
The country-wide problem of ‘bungie top’ was uncharacteristically not apparent in Ed’s neighboring home property, possibly because it was in a small gorge.
Human life
The owner’s / Ed’s
daylight hours are largely spent at a full-time job and various small moonlighting personal
is a devout Christian and does not like or speak with his Rastafarian neighbors.
Personal life circumstances has changed since preliminary observations. He got a girlfriend for whom you should cater. For instance, double any calculations like water.
Ed has a 4-wheel drive pickup farm truck.
- Other Considerations -
Ed’s finances
Ed makes minimum wage
Ed is debt-averse.
