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- What is Permaculture?
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- Output 1 Making room for new beginnings; creating conscious space for good design>
- Output 2 Beginning the Design Process; Observing and interacting>
- Output 3 Stacking functions>
- Our current living space; Alex`s house and garden>
- Pete`s house; Turning a monster into an ally!
- Integrating permaculture design into my work place>
- Forest gardening at Margam Park...
- Raising Seth - supporting my son`s journey>
- Extracts from learning journal
- Process reflection
- Appendix
- Appendix ll. Tutor & Peer review
- Output 4 Small and slow solutions>
- Our current living space; Alex`s house and garden>
- Pete`s house; turning a monster into an ally!
- Integrating Permaculture design into my work place
- Forest gardening at Margam Park
- Raising Seth; Supporting our son`s journey.
- Getting to grips with technology!
- Extracts from learning Journal
- Process reflection
- Output 5, Accept and respond to feedback>
- Output 6
- Output 7
- Output 8
- Output 9
- Output 10
- Completed Designs>
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Output two explained - Observing and interacting
Functional Interconnections
"Every essential function should be supported by many components"
- Bill Mollison
There are a variety of projects, at varying stages of progression currently running simultaneously in my life. There is a unifying general theme integrating the projects as one holistically evolving design for living. Some projects represent different stages in the evolution of the overall design to others.
To explain, if we observe each individual “sub-project” as an integral component of a much larger, overall and eco-systemic project, we could refer to the sub-projects collectively as a “guild” of projects. The guilds of projects function as a collective, to drive forward the evolving “bigger picture” life design project. Figuratively, each supports and co-operates with the other, forming a collaborative that in effect grows as in the case of a developing eco-system in nature.
Two such examples in nature are the impressive re-generation following the clearance of forest or the rapid appearance and apparent initial complete colonisation of “weeds” in previously disturbed ground if left to heal itself. What are widely regarded in agricultural monoculture, as weed species are in fact natures soil repair mechanisms, beginning the process of re-building vital life giving soil, the start of the natural healing process and the structuring of a nurturing ground cover layer to support the next evolving stages of regeneration. Nature’s intention in all such cases is always the ultimate overall objective of reaching a stage at which an incredible diversity of species (or components if you like) integrate to produce a self-sustaining eco-system. A state of abundance.
I am therefore figuratively interpreting current individual projects as fulfilling a role similar to that of a component member of a plant growing guild like so;
Initial project support guild –
“Ground cover”
- Our current living space; Alex`s house and garden
- Pete`s house; Turning a monster into an ally.
“Shrub”
“Climber”
- Substantially increase my IT skills – Get to grips with technology!
“Canopy”
- Live lighter on the earth without supporting destructive systems, provide access to something of true value for my son.
None of the individual projects that are part of this project guild, the second output of my diploma portfolio, will have been completed fully by the time this section of my portfolio is on-line. So no single example of the design process will be complete this output. Some of the projects began last year, all are ongoing, and some always will be, constantly evolving.
For my third output, I will continue the design process of all of the projects, further develop each one and also begin others as they evolve. At this stage, the second output of my diploma, I have not completed the design process in full with any of the individual projects in the project guild. As the proposed time for accreditation draws closer however, the individual projects in the guild will mature and blossom at intervals until there are 10 or more complete examples of the design process ready for submission.
Back to the top of this page or move on to the first project component of my second diploma output; Alex`s house and garden