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Carly Gillham 's Profile
Carly Gillham
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Joined:
02/02/2011
Last Updated:
06/02/2011
Location:
Bolivia, Plurinational State of
Climate Zone:
Mediterranean
Gender:
Female
Web site:
makingsenseofthings.info





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Roches de Murat Zaytuna Farm, The home of the permaculture Research Institute   Marda Permaculture Farm, Palestine Kinesi Orphans Permaculture Project The Panya Project BUILDING A CHILDRENS’ PERMACULTURE GARDEN The Love & Haiti Project GiveLove - Ecological Sanitation Haiti AAE Haiti Badilisha Ecovillage Foundation Trust Mexico Corn - Demonstrating a Soil Microbiological Approach Permaculture Research Institute Chile Permablitz Brisbane Permaculture College Australia Ti Lorien, Haiti Haiti Homefront ecoart farm Permaculture Gold Coast Djanbung Gardens Permaculture Education Centre Nemenhah Perma-Village Model Bayan Ulgii Sustainable Agriculture and Economic Learning SPERI - HEPA FFS - Vietnam Purple Pear Farm Quinta do Vale The Congo Project Zumot (Re)Forestation Project Entebbe Chap. Nemenhah PermaVillage Roundstone Farms Himalayan Farm Project Centro IMAGINE VIDA
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Aaron  Elton Alexandre Gilbert Alice Gray Anselm Ibing Aurelia Weintz Beau Horgan ben grubb Billy Jones Brad Lancaster Bron(wyn) Elliott Byron Joel Clea Chandmal Darren J.  Doherty Elisabeth Fekonia Eva Saldaña Buenache Fouad Yammine Frank  Wolf Geoff Lawton Grifen Hope Hunter Heaivilin Jean S.  Renouf José Ignacio Castro Jude Fanton Kalinya  Farm Lilian Ricaud Maddy Harland maria baltazzi Marilyn McHugh Mark Brown Michel Fanton Murad J.R.ALkhufash Nadia  Lawton Nick Huggins Owen Hablutzel Paige Tantillo Polly Higgins Rhamis Kent Robin Clayfield Robyn Francis Sharon Carr Shawn Tisdell Simon Addison Thomas Greig Tim Auld Tom Kendall Troy Ansley Vanessa Monge Augusto Fernandes Warren Brush Wendy Marchment X X view all(50)

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Farm Time with Elisabeth Fekonia

Posted by Carly Gillham about 13 years ago

Experiencing Elisabeth Fekonia's Permaculture Farm...

A few weeks ago, my partner I were invited by Elisabeth Fekonia to spend few days at her Permaculture farm, in order to give her a hand with the garden and the animals. We accepted gladly as we knew that in addition to being helpful, we’d also learn a lot. Indeed, Elisabeth is the person who taught us how to make homemade brie, cheddar, cottage cheese, butter, ghee, sour cream, yoghurt and kefir – all of this in a one day workshop only! But she also knows how to make sourdough bread, miso, saurkraut, rennet, soap (out of pig fat), sponge (out of the luffa vine), as well as how to build a house, make wooden furniture, digging dams, saving seeds, etc… We definitely encourage you to check out her website.

So we arrived there on Monday last week, and stayed until Thursday. A pretty short stay as you can see, but sufficient to help her in different ways, and to enjoy the farm experience. The place was designed to allow those living there to be self-sufficient. As such, it has a number of edible gardens of different types, as well as pigs, cows (+ a bull), chickens, goats and bees; the water comes from a well located on the property – and grey water is also used to water parts of the garden; the balconies are filled with herbs of different sorts; and the use of a compost toilet helps capturing nutrients from human excreta. The gardens across her property fulfill various functions and create their own micro-climates; you will find tropical edible plants, a veggie patch and an orchard amongst others. A special treat for us was the spinach quiche Elisabeth made us from the tropical large leafed Tahitian spinach. Who would have thought that this is edible?!

Last but not least, the house is built on the top of the Black Mountain, which means it has an incredible view of the valley below…

We ended up feeding the animals, working in the edible gardens, milking the goats and cows, repairing the property fence as well as the pigs’ pen walls and other stuff, cleaning the place, making (loads!) of butter, grinding flour, but also having long discussions with Elisabeth about her farming and teaching permaculture experiences… You’ll learn without surprise that it’s hard and constant work and includes a number of different constraints ranging from regulations, to animals’ fluctuating health and to constant property maintenance (no holidays for her)… The good thing though is that in addition to living a pretty healthy life and being self-sufficient at the same time, you end up with fridges full of meat, eggs, cheese of different sorts, as well as milk, cream, etc… There is a definitive pleasure in processing your own food, from seeds to compost!

It was also pretty cute to see how the animals relate to Elisabeth. While the goats and cows were free-ranging in the 6-acres property, she’d simply have to call them by name from her balcony and they’d reply to her, bleating and mooing each louder than the next!

Anyway, this was only an introduction to her farm, but a definitely worthwhile one. We had hoped to be able to visit her again soon, but our coming weeks are unfortunately already pretty busy preparing for our adventures abroad. Please see the thumbnails below for some pictures from our time with Elisabeth...

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Comments (5)

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Vanessa Monge Augusto Fernandes
Vanessa Monge Augusto Fernandes : Is this Permaculture heaven?...possibly,beautiful story .
Posted about 13 years ago

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Carly Gillham
Carly Gillham : Wow! I only just realised this latest comment! Thanks for posting this on PRI's site :)
Posted almost 13 years ago

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Kate Wilson
Kate Wilson : We use only the highest quality parts and materials and follow strict repair protocols to ensure that your trailer is repaired correctly and to the highest standards. Fort Worth Mobile Truck Repair
Posted 3 months ago

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Robert Hones
Robert Hones : We understand that your car is an essential part of your life, so we make it a priority to get you back on the road in no time. Sunrise Towing Company
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My Badges
Aid worker
My Permaculture Qualifications
Other course verified
Permaculture Aid Course
Type: Aid Worker
Teacher: Geoff Lawton
Location: Zaytuna Farm, 5km from The Channon, New South Wales, Australia
Date: Sep 2010
Other course verified
Bamboo Construction Workshop
Type: Gardening
Teacher: Brad Halasz
Location: Northey Street City Farm, Brisbane, Australia
Date: Nov 2010
Verified
Permaculture Design Certificate
Type: Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course
Verifying teacher: Wendy Marchment
Other Teachers: Dick Copeman, Tim Lang, Wendy Marchment, Faith Thomas, Adrian Holbeck, Kym Burnell-Jones
Location: Northey Street City Farm, Brisbane, Australia
Date: Sep 2010
Pri verified
Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course
Type: Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course
Verifying teacher: Geoff Lawton
Other Teachers: Bill Mollison, Warren Brush, Brad Lancaster, Nadia Abu Yahia Lawton
Location: Amman, Jordan
Date: Sep 2011

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