Hedvig’s permaculture diploma

So the assessment stage continued a bit more today using the zone and sector tool.

The zoning method comprises on concentric cirlces, with the frequency of use decreasing from the centre to the outer rings.  The sectors are based on different factors.  So for my assessment, I’ve created four sectors: Get Growing, Permaculture, other work and family.  For each sector, I’ve looked at income generation and the frequency of income generation in that sector.  It makes more sense when you see it, and unfortunately I left my camera at my brother’s house last week.  But I’m going over there tomorrow, so I will get some snaps up asap.

The process was interesting as it got me thinking about the seasonal nature of the gardening work and how to manage that.  I thought about applying for some part time work that would be provide work through out all the year.  Or looking for other work during the non-growing season.  During last week I heard about a growing job, and I’ve started to work on the application today, so will see what happens with that.

I also sat down and read Holmgren’s short version of the principles while sitting out in the sun, great to re-read it with my different projects in mind.   It is strangely comforting to read, to feel like things fit into a framework that I believe in.  I then had a chat with a friend about different forms of income generation and re-skilling.  Felt very Transition Towns.  Such essential stuff.  To be part of a community of self-employed people trying to make sense of the world.

Don’t feel like it makes sense to do the action learning questions tonight before having done the design element of the project.  So I’ll post them up when I have got a bit further with that.   Good to be moving on this and also keeping going with the cosmetics and herbs project.  They do feel connected.

So the developments continue.  I’ve tried out a new essential oils mix for my deodorant and that seems to work better (ylang ylang, orange and bergamot).

Today I tried a different cosmetics thing.  I made a strong chamomile tea, let it cool, filled up a spray and put it in my hair while working out in the garden, to see if it would work as a dye.  Did try it once years ago and it didn’t do much, so thought I would be more persistent this time.

Might be making some balms this weekend.  Thinking about tinctures.

Plus thinking about combining the growing side of things.  Brought a lot of herbs down we’ve grown from the glasshouse so now have hyssop, chamomile, borage, basil, sage, parsley, comfrey, thyme, rosemary, fennel, coriander and probably more growing outside.

The herbs that I picked previously are all now in containers, and I spent the night before the soltice collecting and drying more herbs.  So trying to build up the stores for the winter ahead.  I’ve got a good amount of sage so that will help with sore throats.

Irene leaves soon so thinking about how to pull together some of the info.  I’m also leaving the house so thinking about design in a different way.  Lots still going on.

Oh, I know, it sounds like a lot of fun.  In order not to procrastinate too much, I did cushioned today’s activity with a fair amount of work in the garden.  But the assessing did get done, and some interesting findings did come out of it.

I knew that my life wasn’t financially sustainable because I don’t earn enough.  Equally I knew that for this year I was prepared to go into my savings in order to get through the first year of running the organisation.  What was more surprising is that it is more possible to get things to be sustainable and it wouldn’t require too much, which would be awesome.

I have also decided that I am going to move out of London and to Brighton, which I’m really excited about.   So I started surveying interesting organisation and going through websites to see if there are any jobs around for the non-growing season.  I got the info I need from HMCR to figure out my tax… so the fun never ceases.

What went well?  Straight forward analysis, going on to assess job opportunities.

What didn’t go so well?   The internet was cutting out today, so couldn’t continue research into organisation.

Vision?   Contentedly settled into Brighton, earning more money to be able to get ‘Get Growing’ growing.  Research teaching positions in Brighton, continue research for organisations and jobs.  Develop business plan and scenarios.

Next steps? Emails about other work for this summer, think through and assess what want from work,

Oh yes, after a bit of procrastination, the new project is underway.  A really different project, from working with my flat mates, this is quite a personal one.  I am taking a good hard look at the my personal finances.  Can you understand why my usual enthusiasm for my permaculture stuff was dampened a bit?

But after a week’s break up in Yorkshire, I came back ready to have a go.  Also, Sara and I spent some time figuring how much we can get from Get Growing over the growing season and this month was more than I expected.

Permaculture is about designing a system for sustainable living.  Although there is a lot more I can do to become more environmentally sustainable, at this moment in time my financial sustainability brings my environmental stuff in jeopardy.  So why not apply the principles, theories and techniques to personal finances.  As a recent self-employed person and setting up and running my own organisation, there is a huge need for it all to be sustainable.

Today I started the surveying.  I looked through my bank statements and surveyed my income and expenditure.  I have done all of 2009 so far.  It was quite relieving doing the work.  To face facts.  And deal with numbers.  Being dyslexic and numbers having a tendency to jump around quite a lot, this daunting task for anyone is just a tad more daunting.

With this clear understanding and having kept my timesheets up to date, I was ready to take the next step.  Months back I had got a tax credits form, filled it out, but hadn’t filled in number of hours because wasn’t sure what it was going to be.  I went on to complete the form and more importantly went to the post office and sent it off.  As if that wasn’t enough, I came back and tackled the online tax self assessment that is due in January.  That process is now underway and I’m waiting for the codes etc.

During the process of surveying became clear: which months were going to be tighter, where potential cuts could be made.  I also started factoring in other ways of increasing my income.

I planned to explore the principles of ‘apply self-regulation and accept feedback’  and ‘use and value diversity.  Even within the first session, I feel confident that will happen.

To conclude with the action learning questions:

What is going well?  Feel relieved to have started, got good results from the surveying that will have lasting impacts.  Feel more much in control.

What is not going so well?  Have to wait to get codes for the online assessment, lots of uncertainly makes planning and surveying difficult.

Vision? Using zone and sector tool for the surveying and designing.  To come with a plan how to become more financially sustainable, especially given the seasonal nature of my work.  Figure out ethical investment.

Next steps? Use zone and sector tool for surveying, and then move onto the assessment.

So, last time we left off at the surveying and assessing stage.  Since then I have continued with the assessing and researching for the products that I could make.

I had a good chat with Sarah about different products, and how easy they are to make.  Ire and I also explored different aspects of essential oils, which was another part of the assessment.  In the Neal’s Yard book that we were looking at it includes a psychological profile for each oil.  So we went through the different oils and noted down who sprang to mind when reading it.  This was an interesting exercise.  The dual purpose of it was 1) a way to get more familiar with the oils and use people we know as a way to make sense of it 2) figure out which oils would be good for various products we want to make for different people.

I have spent some time out in the garden trying to see plants in different ways.  I planted the calendula that I found in tea dregs. It is growing, both the Neal’s Yard and the Organic Catalogue.  Pretty slowly, but ‘use small and slow solutions’ is one of the design principles of permaculture, so it’s all good.  I just showed Sarah one of our sage plants that is looking particularly fine, and she hadn’t discovered it, some we’ll be drying more of that to get us through the winter.  I have been taking lots of cuttings for peppermint so that we have plenty.  We have used peppermint to make a body scrub, so hopefully this year it will be from home-grown stuff.  I also took a cutting from Marianne’s comfrey, that was growing profusely at her house.  Sarah was really excited about it and we spent some time reading about it while in the garden.  It is taking well, so lots more to get excited about.

This leads me on to the other aspect of the project: making stuff.  I started with something simple, home-made deodorant.  Here is the recipe I used:

½ tsp rock crystal

10 drops juniper

10 drops frankincense

3 drops lemongrass

2 drops bergamot

Put the rock crystal into deodorant container, add essential fills.  Fill to the top with water and shake. 

The blend of smells seemed to work in itself, but I wasn’t sure about it for me.  How about a future blend of:

Bergamot

Orange

Lavender

Geranium

Thus the learning cycle continues, and I’m looking forward to the next batch.  There is talk of trying to make different things, and there is still a lot of work to be done in the growing and making cleaning products.  

The first project that I have started for my diploma is all about plants.  I wanted to explore new ways of seeing plants.  In particular, using plants for cosmetics, cleaning products and herbal medicine.

I took a course in herbal medicine a few years ago, and really appreciated the understanding that I got from that.  Since the new year my flat mates, Irene and Sarah, have been to a few courses about herbal stuff.  I thought that I could use this project to pull together our knowledge and share it in a more structured way.   Especially as Irene is leaving for Ecuador soon, and Sarah is going back to Oz at the end of the year. Sarah is really into the herbal medicine side, Irene has been learning about natural beauty and I know more about the growing side of things.  The two of them are pretty obsessed with cleaning, so something to learn for all.  The perfect combination to develop from last years attempt at food growing.

Today, I started the surveying the plants that we use for teas (partly medicinal), cooking (mainly herbs and spices), essential oils plus the herbs that we are already growing.  While doing it I was assessing the ease to grow those plants in the UK.

After this I replenished our stocks, our marigold pot was looking particularly low, and had to pour out the dregs of the big paper bag to fill it.  A few bits fell out, as I was putting them back in the jar, I noticed a few seeds in the mix, and also in some of the heads. 

So now have a collection of seeds to be planted tomorrow and Thursday during the flower phase of the biodynamic calendar.

I continued the surveying looking at the different cosmetic products I have, noting different brands, prices, main ingredients, base oils used etc.  The final thing was to look into cleaning products, observing the brands and prices.

I picked some herbs from the garden to dry: lemon balm, mint, sage, oregano and they are now drying in my cupboard above the boiler.  I collated some recipes for room sprays, inhalations, cleansing, gargles, mouthwash, perfume, cologne and toothpaste.

As Irene was home today, I started the assessment with her about the different beauty products: how easy they were to make, how (cost) effective, and other observations, and in her opinion whether it would be worth doing regularly.  We also went out into the garden and measured up.  So in the next few days I will draw up an outline for the garden and begin marking the sun at different points in time.

One of the permaculture principles that I wanted to explore through this project was ‘obtain a yield’ and I definitely feel like we will be able to obtain a different yield from the plants we do grow.  The other principle was ‘integrate rather than segregate’ I feel from working with my flatmates rather than doing the research by myself I do benefit from that integration.  I hear about their tips from experience and people on their courses rather than just a book, there is support and enthusiam to make products together, and a real different eagerness to grow plants.

The project is underpinned by the permaculture ethics of earth care, people care and fair shares.  Learning about the components and decreasing my demand of chemicals and thus pollution.  Also it encourages others to grow plants and doing so using organic methods.  It is all about people care: physical, mental and spiritual well-being through re-connection with nature, producing home grown plants for medicinal use and beauty.  We are planning to make extra and give them as presents to friends, and through sharing the experience here maybe others will be encouraged to try it out.

It is early days for the project and for the diploma but even at this stage I feel more empowered.  There are so many plants that we use in the house that can be grown, and so many natural beauty products that can be made.  From the surveying I felt like we didn’t use what we grow enough, and working with Irene today feels like it is making a difference.  When I suggested to Irene that we make sage croutons for our soup this evening, she went straight out to the garden to pick it from Sarah’s window sill.

To answer the action learning questions:

What’s going well? Learning lots, feel inspired, using more fresh stuff, clear idea how to switch from bought stuff to making my own and much more.

What isn’t going so well?  Not enough time to research

Vision? Mini apothecary in my bathroom

Next steps? Continue assessment with Sarah, draw outline of garden, transplant lemon balm seedlings, read up.

Permaculture has many definitions, the most succinct one that I have come across recently was from the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast, where it is defined as a ‘design system for sustainable living’ it ‘looks at the way nature does things’.  For example, in nature there is no output that isn’t used as an input for something else.  It is a system that is based heavily on ethics and principles which informs that meaning of ’sustainable living.’

The diploma is self-taught and draws on action learning theories and methods.  To complete you need to do ten designs that don’t all have to be land-based or implemented.  You have support from your Action Learning Tutor and Action Learning Guild, plus various Design Tutors.  You need to complete the Full Design Course (FDC) before starting on the diploma, which I did in December 2007.  It takes a minimum of 2 years to complete.

I enrolled for the permaculture diploma in October 2008, just before going WWOOFing in Italy.  I wanted to use the time away to research and design some pieces for my portfolio.  I struggled for a bit to get started with my diploma, co-ordinating a time with my tutor to chat when I was WWOOFing in Italy turned out to be tricky. I did a lot of observing (one of the principle tools) and learnt a lot, and thought a lot about different projects I could do.  I also went to the Slow Food Salone del Gusto in Turin, which was very inspiring, and guided my thinking.

While away I realised that I really don’t want to stay in London, and for a number of different reasons I think that Brighton is the place to be.  When I came back in January I looked into changing my tutor to someone down in Brighton, which happened in February.  The Brighton Permaculture Trust organised an induction for the people doing the diploma in March, which was great.  It was informative, really useful and I felt inspired having a much clearer idea of what the diploma involved.

For the past month I have been developing my Action Learning Pathway.  I read up about action learning theories, assessed the ideas I had had for designs while I was in Italy, and formulated a pathway.  I found David Holmgren’s Permaculture Flower a useful tool.  I have now written up a quite detailed Learning Pathway, and have arranged to meet up with my Action Learning Tutor at the beginning of May (if you would like to see it, do get in touch).  So looking forward to that meeting and what comes out of it.