THE PERMACULTURE INSTITUTE
SPN Field trip 2001

—by Karen Schell
Eden has been rediscovered, and it's on an acre of land near Point Reyes Station. Otherwise known as the Permaculture Institute, this paradise is more than just a beautiful garden, it is a model of ecological sustainability. Permaculture, or "Permanent culture" has been described as the practice of creating mutually beneficial relationships with the natural world. It is sustainable living; a stewardship of and collaboration with the landscape. Run by Penny Livingston-Stark and James Stark, the bountiful place has evolved slowly and beautifully over the last eight years.

Waving grasses, wandering vines, shocks of lavender, and an herb spiral greet the visitor upon entering the permaculture garden. Meandering towards a mini-wetland past deep purple heads of kale, luscious tomatoes, or perhaps beds of lettuce, depending on the season, one emerges amid nectarines to find a tiny earthen house straight out of a fairy story. A sculpted dragon's tail curves from behind the building becoming a bench. Extending from the side, the dragon's head, featuring a glittering abalone eye, forms an outdoor oven. To the right is a grapevine-shaded arbor over a dining table, and ducklings splash in the little pond nearby.

Continuing along the path, past a volunteer South American tuber known as Mashua, one chances upon a bed of chamomile. More than one visitor has given in to the sedative effects of the chamomile carpet and peacefully rested awhile. Beyond, the path opens up at a little clearing by a pond in front of two small straw bale structures, one vaulted and painted naturally with bright colors. Fish swim among the ducks and water lilies and a living pear tree fence guides you back around towards the arbor. Above in the branches, sumptious Santa Rosa plums beckon. Those who have experienced the integrative permaculture garden will attest to not only joy and calm, but possibly even the attainment of "permamind".

"Permamind" is simply the permaculture state of mind. It means experiencing things as interrelated, not merely as separate components. Permaculture is not just a gardening technique. It involves gardening, to be sure, but also encompasses architecture, water usage, even economics and social welfare. It is systems thinking at its finest, and promotes working with the land and its other inhabitants.

"The majority of what you see here we didn't even plant." Livingston-Stark says, gesturing towards the surrounding garden vines, plants, bushes and trees. "Gophers, ducks, and birds have planted and managed them. The gophers planted those jerusalem artichokes there," she says, pointing to an aesthetic looking planting. "You start to see incredibly beautiful things."

Bill Molison from Tasmania began the Permaculture movement in 1974 as a way of restoring and promoting natural systems and moving away from compartmentalized agriculture. Penny Livingston-Stark and James Stark, long time gardeners and activists, started eight years ago co-creating the demonstration garden at the Permaculture Institute in Point Reyes from scratch and on a low budget.

Working on a lowbudget was not a problem, but the perfect situation for starting a permaculture garden, as Permaculture's philosophy is working with what you already have. The first thing they did was mulch the lawn. A lawn is one of the most wasteful kinds of landscaping that exists because of high water usage, possible pesticide application and wasted space. Instead of rototilling, they layered newspaper ("A great way to get rid of bad news!" James Stark jokes), cardboard, and wood chips directly on top of the lawn itself. Worms and insects started in immediatly doing the dirty work. Having nature build the soil isn't just the lazy man's way out, it helps create a healthier system.

"There's a whole city going on under there with all kinds of life; going in with a rototiller is like ripping up the entire city; all the connections are broken." Livingston-Stark explains.

The gardener can dig holes right in the woodchips and start planting. It's an easy and satisfying way of beginning to interact sustainably with the land.

Mulching the lawn can produce an excess of earwigs. In the world of permaculture, however, this doesn't indicate a battle to be fought using poisons and pesticides, but merely a balance to correct.

"It's not an earwig problem, it's a bird shortage." Livingston-Stark reasons. They aquired a few ducks to compensate and the balance was restored.

"After awhile I realized I'd rather sit by a pond than change duckwater," she says. So she and Stark dug a pond. A mulbery tree planted over the pond feeds the fish and the rocks around the edge were scavenged off the road. Digging the pond produced a pile of dirt. Again, for most people, hauling the dirt away could be an expensive problem, but not for someone with permamind!

Using this windfall of dirt, they built a small office in the garden using a process very similar to adobe building called Cob. Cob is basically dirt, straw and water mixed together, then built into smooth, solid walls and allowed to dry. The natural Cob concoction can be mixed with bare feet.

"This building was literally danced into being!" laughs Livingston-Stark, gazing at the creative earthen structure. Cob is not only beautiful, it is inexpensive (including the roof, inside and outside plasters, and labor, the office only cost about $1,500 to build) and people of all ages can participate. Additionally, Cob lasts, even in earthquake country.

"A two-story cob structure in Australia survived two big earthquakes," says Stark, "and the Dolores Mission which is made of adobe (very similar to Cob), survived the1906 earthquake and fires." A building method like Cob which is labor intensive and resource frugal would seem to fit our emerging human condition.

"With an increasing humanity and decreasing resources where are we sending our support?" asks Livingston-Stark.

An expanse of land isn't even a requirement for modeling these innovative interactions. Happily, the opposite is true. Permaculture promotes saving space and water, interplanting and canopy stacking and thus lends itself well to town and city life.

"The thing I like about Permaculture is that it ties everything together on a local scale, and works with nature, not against it." says Petaluma City Council member Matt Maguire, a visitor at the Point Reyes garden. As such, it contributes potential answers to many of society's problems, including housing, food supply and water efficiency. When nature is involved, you cease to struggle and expend extra energy fighting against what's there and you use what's there to your benefit, saving energy.

"We must stop treating the earth like a big bio-bank." says Stark, "When you give a little with the earth you get a lot back." The paradise here is proof of that.

The Permaculture Institute hosts garden by appointment. (415) 663-9090. They also offer workshops, design courses, and a bed and breakfast cottage. For more information check out the website at: www.permacultureinstitute.com

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