Mohammad Saleh

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since Nov 19, 2012
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Biography
Mohammad, a Permaculture specialist with over a decade of experience, designs innovative ecological and urban gardening/farming systems tailored for the Mediterranean climate. His solutions cater to landless individuals, refugees, students, and small-scale gardeners. As a Permaculture educator certified by the UK Permaculture Institute, he offers design courses globally and has taught diverse groups, including teachers, students, professionals, and farmers. Mohammad collaborates with various organizations, spanning NGOs, schools, art centers, companies, and farms, both locally and internationally. His expertise is multidisciplinary, blending practical and academic knowledge, enabling him to engage with the wider society comprehensively.
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This sounds great
looking forward
all the best

this link isn't working: bit.ly/SAGE-VIP
Hi everyone, I believe this is my first post here, and I’m looking for your precious advices.

I’m about to start launching my own PDCs offline and online. After 13 years of doing what i listed below. I want to focus now on teaching my own organized PDCs and generate more Perma actors in my society (they are rare), and what i realized over the years is that teaching is what i do effortlessly.

Of course I have questions in mind on what it would take? Can 1 alone do this? How much time it takes? How to market? How to price? What’s the ideal number of students? I don’t know, anything I can’t think of and you guys might have experience with.. i would really appreciate the input 🙏🏼


My actual experience so far in Permaculture:
- I lived off the grid for few years, started as a WWOOFer for 3 months and then I managed that ecological educational center for 3 years.
- for the last 8 years i have been managing my own eco design enterprise in the urban environment.
- i work mainly in schools, with teachers and students.
- implementation is almost part of every project, and education takes a great part as well.
- i have taught about 10 PDCs locally and internationally, but i wasn’t the main organizer.
- i’m a registered Perma teacher in UK Permaculture Institute.
- I’ve done few purposeful exo-art projects.

Have a great 1 everyone
1 year ago
Hello colleagues;

I need your help and advice, As I'm designing a greenhouse in Bethlehem, Palestine, the Middle East, Mediterranean climate.
Which will be mainly for Aquaponics production and a small commercial nursery.
I'm a Permaculture designer for the last decade.

All great resources I cam across on greenhouses mostly come from moderate or cool climates, where everybody is interested in gaining and storing heat.
in our climate of cold winters and hot dry summer it's quite challenging to find the right guidance to face the cold wet winters but also the hot blasting summer.

The greenhouse I'm designing has the following details:
is facing south. (good? or too much heat?)
transparent sides on east and west (good?)
Roof Angle: 45 Degrees
metal skeleton
incorporating a store and a cafe
Mostly intensive Aquaponics growing inside (NFT, DWC, Media)
Seeding shelves

For climate control, It's supposed to have:
Trombe water wall at the back to store heat in winter at low sun angles
GAHT (Ground to Air heat transfer) system of 2 layers for cooling and heating
vents at the top north and bottom south
2 large doors at south and east
Shade cloth on the south side in summer
double glazing
insolated north walls
few animals at the back for providing heat

But I'm still wondering about climate and weather, will it really be comfortable enough to be in, also to stay and have a drink in the tiny cafe.
also, wondering if the roof angle is right?
do I need to insulate ground under GAHT system?
Can I rely on light instead of direct sunlight in summer?

I would really really appreciate the advice for our specific climate to produce a good project.

Kind regards
4 years ago
Thanks to all the relplies,

@ Stephen Layne

The soil structure is Loam, a good luck 20% Clay, 40% Silt, 40% Sand, it just lacking in organic matter.
PH level seem balanced according to a home test using vinegar and bicarbonate, i will further investigate.

Yeah expanding the garden or the design over the concreted area is possible.
When you mentiond the fig tree I remembered a plant list I read in Art Ludwig's book Oasis Greywater where he writes "No paradise is complete without figs" . I checked that list of plants and it lists plants from warm to cold climates as so:
  • Banana
  • Mango
  • Avocado
  • Citrus
  • Pineapple Guava
  • Fig
  • Clumping Bamboo
  • Blackberry, elderberry, currants
  • Peach, Plum, Apple, Pear, Quince


  • From Avocado and below all can grow in this climate, I might try a Mango and a Banana with a bit of micro climate modification.
    This book reminded me with it's systems that it's quite possible to deal with lots of water by using the right earthworks and plants choice.

    @ Tomas More

    I like the idea of the hanging gardens of Babylon. I made my desktop background this imagined garden so to keep the inspiration going..

    The garden have a sitting area/ a deck with a pond under it hopefully. Also a stream and waterfall.
    The budget is fairly good.

    What do you mean by a Rain-machine, I remember something like a tractor or so but can't get google to show me what you mean, can you send me a link please?

    @ duane hennon

    The videos are quite helpful.. i'm watchin watchin...
    I would really like to know if ponds and aquaponics need lots of water or do they resemble a closed loop that holds lots of water.


    Thank you all, it's really helping to get these several tips..
    9 years ago
    @ Michael Cox

    Yeah sure, you got me right.

    No it's not possible to expand this area, the rest of the property is the building and the surrounding yards. Concrete concrete concrete...
    maybe a roof top garden is one possibility...

    It can be possible to give to neighbors but I'm hoping to create a design that can be very distinctive due to an unusual resource for our climate as you mentioned. Wetland plants and water loving plants are scarce in landscaping over here which means a very distinctive garden to demonstrate. Neighbors as well have no plants in the garden for now so it's a second project to deal with above this one.

    Permaculture Principle 6: Produce no waste.
    I'm hoping to use all the water positively, but only if possible.

    Thanks
    9 years ago
    @ Duane:
    thanks for the translation

    the water is distilled, no chemicals. It's great actually.

    Aquaponics:
    Are aquaponics closed circle systems like ponds?
    I'm asking because these two systems seem to me like good holders of water but not necessarily heavy water consumers. Please correct me if i'm wrong as I have no real experience with these systems and how much water they would really need on daily/weekly bases.

    Thanks for the help so far
    9 years ago
    @ Stephen

    There are no vegetation in the garden except for few weeds which normally reach 1-2 feet high around here, but in this garden they are about 6 feet tall LOL. So they are pretty happy. The way the water is disposed right now is in one spot during the working hours. Some metal sheets are randomly covering this soil area where the water is directly poured.

    The area is fenced, no grazing.

    What is "sunken pit gardens"?
    I googled it and all i see is sunken sitting area with fire-pits. I'm familiar with sunken beds as a rainwater harvesting in dry lands as a way to benefit from the accumulation of water from the surrounding of the bed.

    I will have an answer tomorrow to what the soil structure, but i'm sure it's not so sandy, it has a good amount of clay.

    Yeah i'm researching local nurseries and native species for aquatic or wetland plants but would benefit from a recommendation of a family or some species from those who have experience.

    I have the following list so far:

    Water Loving plants (potentially edible):
    Oenanthe javanica (hope spelling is right, identification is important there are poisonous plants in this species)
    Lebanese cress
    Sagittaria
    Water chestnut
    calamus
    comfrey
    wild rice
    cattails/reed (typha latifolia)
    sycamore
    Cottonwood

    Wetland plants:
    papyrus
    canna
    elephant ear
    willow
    beach sunflower
    cane (thin bamboo)

    Edible:
    Banana
    Malus fusca (crab apple)
    elderberries
    Cranberries
    Mints
    Gingers (some varieties survive here)
    Cydonia oblonga (fruiting quince)

    Thanks
    9 years ago
    Hello Permies,

    I've got a new project to design with the following details:

    - Jerusalem area / Palestine / Middle east
    - Mediterranean climate
    - Hardiness zone: 9 (Long hot summers, cold winters with few frosts and few days of snow)
    - Above seal level: 777
    - Size: 7m*22m= 156m2
    - Sun: full sun exposure
    - Wind: Western winds
    - Urban property surrounded with concrete walls.
    - Red brown soil (not specifically clay-ish)
    - soft bedding rock at 1.5 meter below surface


    The property belongs to a factory of wet wipes and a by product of the production line is 6 m3 (cubic meter) of water on daily bases. They have been disposing this much water in this garden for some years now but water didn't cause a wetland formation.

    I have been reading and specializing for the last 4 years of how to deal with arid land Permaculture through the use of Rainwater harvesting, native low maintenance plants and desert rehabilitation techniques because that's the issue in the middle east. The challenge in this project is quite the opposite.

    How to manage this water surplus for this size of property?

    I thought of these solutions:
    - Wetland plants
    - A pond
    - Water demanding plants like Bananas, willow and others
    - Rain garden

    Any other recommendations from those of you who actually design gardens in heavy rain areas?
    Any great resources (books, videos) that would help me design the details of the mentioned solutions?

    I would also appreciate a list of plants that can fit my situation if possible.

    Positive regards

    9 years ago