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Urban Permaculture Gets Redesigned

Posted by Frank Gapinski about 13 years ago

He looks like a rangy cowboy but its not a six gun in his hand that he carries, but a artist’s pad and a felt pen marker. In his mid 50s and on a hot muggy Monday morning, Geoff Lawton and fifteen Permaculture interns stride into a suburban home located

in Lismore, NSW. Australia.

The owner turns to me and asks “Who are all these people?” I whisper to her while loading the video camera that these people are all Permaculture Interns from around the world. Canada, the United States and Europe.  They’ve all descended on her little country town to get first hand experience with Permaculture and what Geoff  Lawton has to teach.

Geoff will kill me for saying this, but I like to have a bit of fun with him. “He’s a bit of a Guru!” I murmur to her. Her face lights up. She’s impressed. “Geoff I am so honored to have you here.” she tells him.

We are filming The Urban Permaculture DVD and there are many ways you can do this instructional video. What I was most keen not to do – is turn this video into a home renovation show. The kind you see on television.

I am always keen to try and find the thinking behind the process. I want the viewer to look into the mind of Geoff Lawton and for an hour and half  – figure out whats going on in there. The way he designs a Permaculture system and the reasons why he places a feature in a particular spot. If this video will be of any use to a student or teachers, it must explain why he does things in a particular way and the reasoning behind it all.

So here we are looking at a suburban backyard and small city spaces. We’re here to find out how much realistic design you can do in the average backyard. Today’s shoot is a long one. Geoff has placed an ad in the local paper offering a free consultancy.

The local paper picked up the story and wrote an article about Geoff and Permaculture and now his phone is ringing off the hook.

“I think we got 18 calls today.” grins Geoff, “This could be a business for someone.”

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Comments (3)

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Mark Brown
Mark Brown : He might have a look at my latest project - a display backyard for the Tocal field days. What do you think Frank - should I ask him? http://www.photoblog.com/purplepear/2011/02/15/
Posted about 13 years ago

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Frank Gapinski
Frank Gapinski : Your Tocal backyard is a lot bigger Mark than I had in mind. But I do like your Mandala gardens. I wonder if we could feature them?
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Mark Brown
Mark Brown : The site looks big don't it. We will use a twenty metre front and a depth of eight meters with most of that slope. I picked it for the slope, nothing like having a bit of profile. I would be honored to have you look at the mandalas if you so wished.
Posted about 13 years ago

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My Permaculture Qualifications
Pri verified
Permaculture Design Course
Type: Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course
Verifying teacher: Geoff Lawton
Other Teachers: Bill Mollison
Location: Melbourne
Date: Sep 2005

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