Podcast 227: Spreading Permaculture with Geoff Lawton Part 1

Listen Online
Download

Get all of the podcasts in convenient, giant zip files
Subscribe on iTunes

Summary
Credit:
Music by Jimmy Pardo
Summary by Cassie Rauk

In this podcast, Paul and Geoff Lawton talk about spreading Permaculture.

At the time of the interview, Geoff is in the Dead Sea valley in Jordan. He is near the original Greening the Desert site, which he and Paul discuss along with the new Greening the Desert site, which is now 4 years in and funded by teaching courses. They have a few interns and if you are interested, you can check out the Greening the Desert internship page.

They also discuss how Geoff’s Food Forest DVD has taken the world by storm. Geoff is in the process of making a new film about food forests in cold and dry climates, with more in depth films on each climate in the future.

Geoff talks about how he was a part of the Permaculture Convergence in Northern California where he did a talk and a 5-day workshop. Then they discuss TEDx San Francisco where Geoff talked about Resilient Cities and the counter culture.

Paul and Geoff jump right into talking about Geoff’s new website, GeoffLawton.com and his new video “How to Survive the Coming Crisis.” They discuss getting the word permaculture and permaculture ideals in the minds of more people.

There are also plans to show some of Geoff’s videos in China, 10 countries in Africa and get some of the videos in Arabic. It is Geoff’s plan to have up-to-date permaculture information available 24-7. It is time for mainstream media to catch up with permaculture. Geoff tells us about how people are starting to realize that there are food supply issues on the horizon and that we need to look at perennial food forest systems.

Geoff also proclaims that Paul is the Duke of Permaculture.

Paul mentions that he is doing Keynote speech in San Diego in March.

Relevant Links

Podcast 227 - Spreading Permaculture with Geoff Lawton Part 1

Podcast 089 - Geoff Lawton Part 1
Podcast 090 - Geoff Lawton Part 2
Podcast 195 - Geoff Lawton on his Food Forests DVD

The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia
Geoff Lawton's New Website
Geoff Lawton at TEDx San Francisco

Support the Empire

Help support the empire and get all of the podcasts in bundles here.

Super podcast!

FYI, the correct link to podcast 227 is:
http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/2211-227-spreading-permaculture-with-geoff-lawton/

Thanks Noah, I fixed the link. I had trouble posting this podcast properly yesterday: issues with the link and with the audio quality. I guess I had a bad day.

Probably the best podcast in the history of podcasts (both parts one and two).

I found it VERY inspiring too.

So nice to listen to the crown prince and the duke of permaculture discuss lofty matters.

Do I need to start calling Mr. Wheaton "My Liege"? I don't remember swearing an oath of fealty, but maybe he sneaked one in before my first cup of coffee. Is it legally binding if coffee was not drunk first?

Maybe this question goes in a different thread...
Does anyone care to guess the dimensions of the mobile cart Geoff uses in his video? It looks awfully small for 25 chickens but it is just for night/laying.

I did ask in the comment section of Geoff's website how come the chicken's didn't fly out of the paddock. They do clip the wings once and apparently they stop trying to escape after that.

Yay, I got an answer from Geoff:
http://youtu.be/1-d-gflyxy0?t=13m50s

I can't seem to embed this but the short answer is 4x6'.

A great audio. It did bring up a question of swales vs terraces and how to use them in cold climates. Can anyone recommend a link to a visual image to explain the idea Paul was trying to get across? The verbal description did not seem the same as the images I have seen on Geoff's and others videos and drawings.

thanks to Paul and Geoff for sharing so much great info with us. There is a lot to absorb and learn how to use and share.

Paul,

The Sahara did not become a desert because people chopped all the trees. In fact, the story of the Sahara is much more fascinating than this. There is a 18,000 year cycle that oscillates the Sahara between lush greeness and desert. Actually, 3,000 years from now the next green period will start. This cycle is driven by the Milankovitch cycles (a slight but influential periodic oscillation in the earth's tilt).

There's a good documentary about this here:

There are examples of desertification caused by deforestation all over the world.

There are examples of undoing the damage by planting trees.

Cj Verde wrote:There are examples of desertification caused by deforestation all over the world.

There are examples of undoing the damage by planting trees.

I'm sure you're correct. However, this does not apply to the Sahara. The Sahara has oscillated between desert and lushness for dozen of times since 3 million years ago.

The wiki page on Milankovitch cycles makes no mention of the Sahara at all. And the Sahara page makes no mention of the Milankovitch cycles.

These cycles may or may not cause/exacerbate the desertification process but that doesn't mean the regreening is not possible.

Steven, that was a really interesting documentary (I still have a few minutes to watch at the end). I wonder if the change in Earth's tilt could have combined with human activities to accelerate the change.

Cj Verde wrote:The wiki page on Milankovitch cycles makes no mention of the Sahara at all. And the Sahara page makes no mention of the Milankovitch cycles.

These cycles may or may not cause/exacerbate the desertification process but that doesn't mean the regreening is not possible.

Regreeing has been proven to be possible. However, regreening the entire Sahara seems such a gargantuan task, I just don't see how that's possible. Regardless, the Sahara did not become a desert because people chopped all the trees.

Paul has done a podcast on regreening parts of the Western Sahara. Even in such a relatively minute area there are tough challenges.