Day: April 10, 2010

On Saturday, we had a lecture of Permaculture theory given by Tao. This was interesting because many people at the workshop were not familiar with Permaculture so there were a lot of questions. There was also a skeptic in the group–his wife had brought him along and he was kind of a contrary person in general–and it was interesting to hear Tao, and the others in the group, answer his questions. After the lecture, we split up into groups for a Permaculture exercise.
Then we went outside to do some planting. Half of us planted more of their food forest incorporating plants from several different layers. This part of a wikipedia article gives more information about layers.

Abel & Tao pose for pictures. Abel’s mother, Katie Radditz, can be see partially on the left. She is the Director of Adult Programs at church and how I got to see Aprovecho.

The other half of our group planted artichokes using the cardboard/hay/no dig method that I am quite familiar with, having converted the rest of our grass over the winter using this method.

After our activity, people began to drift off, but some of us took a short hike. Some of us made moss beards while on the hike.

The weekend I spent at Aprovecho was rejuvenating and inspiring and I hope to visit again soon.

One of the bridges crossing the creek on the property.

Here’s an inside look at the aquaculture operation. When they arrive , the fish will go in these two tanks. The water in the tanks will circulate through the tanks and then through a series of channels which will be planted with plants that feed the fish. Aside from feeding the fish, the plants will clean the water so it can circulate back into the fish tanks.

This is the area where water will flush through at regular intervals. They can grow food, like tomatoes, hydroponically this way. It will already be naturally fertilized because the fish have been using the water.

Another view of the troughs. If you watch the video that is currently on the front page of the website, you can see a glimpse of these planted at about 30 seconds.

One of the things that impressed me about the people of Aprovecho was their willingness to research and try new things. No one had set up an Aquaculture system before, or built a cistern, but they did their research and did it. It was a good reminder to me that I don’t have to be an expert before I start, just well informed and armed with a plan.