Our Permaculture Property

Our demonstration permaculture site is a 10 acre property in Leongatha South, South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. We have been designing and establishing the site using permaculture design principles since 1994. We run residential permaculture design courses on the property.

Once a degraded dairy property, with overgrazed, compacted heavy clay soils, poor drainage, weeds and frosts, not to mention howling winds, the main problem was an excess of water. Using the permaculture addage "the problem is the solution" we developed extensive aquaculture systems to deal with the excess and turn it into a productive element of the property.

The site has been transformed. It now features vegetable gardens, greenhouse, integrated poultry system, young orchards, extensive aquaculture system (including chinampa ponds growing yabbies and fish). Thousands of trees have been planted for woodlots, windbreaks, fuel and shelter, native bush foods (including macadamia trees). We have built a mud brick classroom demonstrating passive solar design principles which doubles as WWOOF accommodation.

 

Our property from satellite photo taken
in 1994. A house in a degraded cow paddock.

Our property from light plane taken in 2001 shows the dramatic progress of site implementation.