Thank you and Merry Christmas to everyone who’s responded so positively to the writings and films I’ve been posting on Our Permaculture Life – on this Blog, on Youtube and Facebook,

After decades of ‘just doing it’, I was encouraged a year ago to start writing about our permaculture way of life and have received such amazing feedback both in person and online. It is so uplifting to know so many people are interested in living a simple &natural way of life.

I so enjoy receiving the comments you write, and participating in discussions about the various topics. I’d love your suggestions too (please fill in the v.quick survey below).

The ripple effect of our actions, our words, our thoughts – our work and the way we choose to live – is profound. It’s so important to be thinking about change – exploring the possibilities and taking positive, practical steps.

16 POPULAR POSTS FROM ‘OUR PERMACULTURE LIFE’

1. My Permaculture Garden – a 30 minute tour of my award-winning garden, plus list of species.
2. Morag’s Simple and Successful No Dig Garden Method – a step by step guide (film coming soon)
3. How to Make Comfrey Tea – a super easy natural homemade fertiliser
4. Worm Towers – a quick and easy way to turn food waste into garden fertiliser – without digging or turning. and Worm Tower Film Clip – a superbly simple way to put your foodsraps back in the soil
5. 7 Ways to Use All of Your Pumpkin Plant – simple abundance
6. City as Farm: City Dwellers Love to Grow Food – weaving food growing into the cities
7. Ingeniously Simple Idea to Harvest Compost Worms By 8 Year Old Boy – innovative thinking from my young home educated son.
8. Temporary permaculture for renters – 11 ideas for growing abundant food without owning land
9. Live simply: 14 Ways to Save Money and Avoid Debt – practical and common-sense advice
10. Save over $23,000 a Year and De-stress with a Few Simple Living Strategies
11. Five Easy Steps to Make Cheap Beeswax Wraps & Reduce Cling Wrap Use – make your own beeswax cloths in minutes for less than a dollar.
12. Five Simple Ways to Improve Your Soil – having great soil is the basis of healthy plants and food.
13. Did you know our clothes are poisoning us? More Reasons to Choose Simple Natural Fashion for Earth Care and People Care – it’s good to know the backstory to where many of our ‘things’ come from
14. 27,000 Trees A Day to Wipe Bottoms – What’s Your Wipe of Choice? – taking a closer look at a  very common household consumable
15. Why I Let My Young Children Leave School To Learn At Home… an introduction to the way I home educate my children
16. 9 Ways to Simply Use Chia: an easy ‘superfood’ to grow at home – great ways to grow and use chia, and some yummy recipes too.

PLEASE SEND YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND FEEDBACK

I’d love to get your feedback and suggestions about the topics you enjoy most and those you’d like me to write and film more about. Either leave a comment at the bottom of this post or click on this survey monkey link – it should take less than a minute to complete.

The post 16 Best Posts on Our Permaculture Life : Practical Simplicity for Everyday Life appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Watch this 5 minute film to see how to simply and cheaply make your own natural beeswax wraps – to wrap veggies and fruit, leftover bowls, cheese, sandwiches, jar tops, bread loaves, lunchbox snacks and so much more.

Yes, it’s a small step, but many small steps, and a sense of commitment to want to make a difference, is more powerful than you may think.  When you take positive steps forward, there’s a ripple effect of positive change.

For the method shown in the film, all you need is to make your own beeswax wraps is:

• a piece of natural cotton cloth (choose the size you need for your particular use – I find 20cm x 20cm is a useful bowl-top size)
• natural beeswax (about 5-10 grams is all you need for 20cm x 20cm cloth)
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil
• flat sandwich hotplate

5 easy steps  to make beeswax cloths:

To wash – simply wipe, rinse off or use warm soapy water – not hot.

The post Five Easy Steps to Make Cheap Beeswax Wraps & Reduce Cling Wrap Use. Film #10 with Morag Gamble (5 mins) appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Watch this 5 minute film to see how to simply and cheaply make your own natural beeswax wraps – to wrap veggies and fruit, leftover bowls, cheese, sandwiches, jar tops, bread loaves, lunchbox snacks and so much more.

Yes, it’s a small step, but many small steps, and a sense of commitment to want to make a difference, is more powerful than you may think.  When you take positive steps forward, there’s a ripple effect of positive change.

For the method shown in the film, all you need is to make your own beeswax wraps is:

• a piece of natural cotton cloth (choose the size you need for your particular use – I find 20cm x 20cm is a useful bowl-top size)
• natural beeswax (about 5-10 grams is all you need for 20cm x 20cm cloth)
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil
• flat sandwich hotplate

5 easy steps  to make beeswax cloths:

To wash – simply wipe, rinse off or use warm soapy water – not hot.

The post Five Easy Steps to Make Cheap Beeswax Wraps & Reduce Cling Wrap Use. Film #10 with Morag Gamble (5 mins) appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

If you relate to more than half of the above, you possibly could have already been labelled a ‘hippie’.  I reckon though, the real hippie days are long gone.

It could be said that a lot of the actions and values I’ve described above have been influenced by the radical hippie movement of the 60s and 70s – living and working for social change, peace, freedom and the environment –  but there have also been many other philosophies, discoveries and ideas that have contributed to this way of thinking and living over the past 40 years too.

Am I a hippie?

I relate to all of the above points, but I don’t identify as a hippie (I’m too young). I particularly try to avoid the hippie tag because of the negative connotations that typically come with it – I don’t smoke or drink or have never been into drugs.  I try to avoid other tags too – it becomes to easy to be parcelled up and dismissed. Tags and labels seem to close people’s minds to new possibilities and interesting ideas that are worth exploring.

I know I hold a bit of fear of being labelled a hippie. Considering where I live and what I do, I am an easy target. A recent article about my way of life had the title “Earth Mother, Eco-teacher“. I admit I shuddered when I first read the words ‘Earth Mother’ describing me. It felt like a hippie label, but when I read the article, I realised the title had been given with much respect not condescension.  I think in that moment, I let go of some of my fear and I felt encouraged that this way of life is seen as a positive aspiration.

I love my work, particularly the Nature Kids and permaculture programs I run for kids and the community.

I am not trying to drop out of society. I have my whole life been dropping into living a positive, healthy, community-connected, earth-connected way of life. This feels purposeful to me and brings me a deep sense of joy and meaning. I live in an ecovillage, grow food, teach permaculture, live simply, dress simply, homeschool my kids… Does that make me a hippie? No.  I perhaps embrace a number of hippie culture qualities – love, peace, care for the earth, care for people, living simply and ethically – but I’m just me – me in relation to my community and environment.

Relaxed and happy – barefoot in the garden spreading compost, mulching and planting.

Labels are a great way to be boxed, dismissed and/or marketed to – best if possible to be avoided! Be free, be open, live well, love life, connect and make a positive contribution.

The post Are you a hippie? appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Our modular house – there is the main pod (orange), the kid pod (yellow), the office pod (upstairs), and the guest pod near the entrance to our lot.

We love it here. The kids love it here. They have already discussed which part of the house they will live in when they get older. It will be easy to add a little kitchenette and bathroom to make each ‘pod’ and independent unit.  I’d love that – having a big extended family around me when I’m older.

Our family – out on the verandah where we spend most of our time. Except in mid-winter, the house is always open – freely flowing between inside and out.

The post Our affordable debt-free eco-house appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.