The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

Location: Zaytuna Farm, 1158 Pinchins Road, The Channon, NSW, Australia 2480
Start Date: 2001
Expected Completion Date: Ongoing

Project Concept

The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia functions as a model farm (in development) and permaculture training facility. Geoff and Nadia Lawton, world-renowned permaculture educators and consultants, lead the project.

Much of Geoff and Nadia’s time over the last few years has been spent away from the Institute, consulting and helping set up projects in diverse locales around the world. Seeing the worldwide demand for knowledgeable permaculture consultants and teachers increase exponentially, as fuel and fertiliser prices skyrocket and the effects of climate change, soil depletion and water shortages begin to hit hard, priority and focus is now shifting back to the Institute, where growing the training program will increase the output of quality teachers to fill these vacuums.

Project Description

The Institute currently runs eight courses per year – four Permaculture Design Courses (PDCs), and four On-Ground Skills Training Camps. You can read a detailed description of the courses themselves here.

Currently, the facilities can accommodate from 15 to 35 people, at a stretch. The PRI of Australia has development plans going through the approval process, which once approved and built would double this capacity.

The farm itself also provides opportunities for people who have completed their PDC to stay and work on the farm in an internship capacity – lasting anywhere from a few months to two years.

The climate is sub-tropics with hot wet summers and cool dry mild winters with light frosts in the early mornings on the lower slopes and frost free on the upper slopes.

The 27 hectare property has 800m frontage to the Terania Creek and across the creek sits the small village of The Channon. The farm is continuously being developed as an ongoing education model providing students with example of permaculture systems in place, being initiated, established and maintained.

The main frame of earthworks on site consists on 3 high dams on the same contour level and connected by a 400m large swale, these provide gravity irrigation water throughout the site with an average head pressure of 20m in the mid slopes. There are extensive water-harvesting swales in the mid to lower slopes with keypoint dams and feature dams with multiple uses including aquaculture.

The growing systems include extremely diverse kitchen gardens, food forests, extensive main crops, farm forestry, nursery and pastures.

Animals systems include, compost worms, bees, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, goats, dairy and beef cows, working dogs and horses. Rabbits and pigeons will be added soon.

All the grazing animals have very diverse cut forage systems established. All animals have a full compliment of rock and sea minerals added to their foods regularly, creating healthy, high quality products including very high quality manure for fertilizing, composting and worm farms.

High quality compost is continuously being produced from very diverse farm elements, and the life quality is assessed by a powerful microscope. This compost is used to create highly oxygenated, life-dynamic, compost tea fertilizer.

Most of the structures on site are straw bale construction with mud renders and lime plasters. All electicity is provided by solar with a stand alone battery bank storage. Toilets are dry composting systems and grey water is cleaned with biological reed bed systems. All drinking water is pure, clean rainwater.