My (then 12 yo) daughter filmed this conversation I had with the inspirational and innovative permaculture designer, Natalie Topa, in her apartment in Nairobi. My kids and I visited her at the end of our month journey in Uganda and Kenya working with local permaculture projects that you helped us raise fund for through Ethos Foundation and we sponsored through Permaculture Education Institute.

Balcony Permaculture

There are chickens on the balcony, mealworms in the main room,  perennials in pots, hardy herbs, greens and self-seeding vegetables, vertical trellises, edible vines for shade, habitat for wildlife, homes for pollinators, ceramic plates full of seeds being saved, mushrooms, ferments, dried foods and a tank for a future spirulina project.

Mixed pots of herbs, vegetables, fruit, roots, medicines everywhere growing in balcony-made compost.

Permaculture for displaced people

Natalie Topa experiments relentlessly to find simple positive solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of many. She is the Regional Resilience and Livelihood Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council – which she says is essentially about sharing, exploring and adapting permaculture ideas.  She oversees teams building resilience for displaced peoples, including refugees and internally displaced peoples, in the countries of Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Yemen.

Natalie collecting seeds from local farmers, experiments with growing them in small spaces. Access to good seed for resilient foods is essential for displaced communities.

Insights for a changing climate

For the past 16 years, she has been based in Africa and SE Asia working in community development, post-disaster recovery, post-conflict community and town planning, and community resilience and adaptation to climate extremes and disasters.  Natalie’s insights are incredibly valuable in a climate changing world, where people are already feeling the impact.

One of Natalie’s many indoor insect experiments to produce healthy food for chickens from urban waste.

Permaculture laboratory

As we wander through her permaculture apartment in her home base of Nairobi, Natalie talks about how this balcony garden is her experimental lab for the work with displaced people who have little space, little resources and mostly waste to work with. During this conversation she shares simple permaculture design ideas that can make a huge difference and she shares some stories of how this is happening. 

Star bean – a resilient food and tea source – as well as microclimate moderation and organic matter for soil building.

We talk about ways to use wastes, make soil on a balcony, create small ecological systems, grow a diversity of foods, produce protein and share surpluses, and explore & learn from traditional cultures.

Eggs from balcony chickens. Natalie gets 6 eggs a day.

Balcony Garden Film with Natalie Topa (40 mins)

I hope you find this 40 minute walkabout with Natalie full of wonderful inspiration. As we walk and talk, Natalie shares so many great lessons for food resilience, learning how to live with a small footprint, getting rid of waste – and also about climate resilience, working for the common good, being a permaculture educator, being a permaculture designer…

For more information about small space permaculture design, watch my masterclass: Small Space Kitchen Garden: The Permaculture Way

I was so delighted to meet Natalie in her home in Nairobi and was so inspired by her work. You can follow her facebook here: Nat and Friends: Permaculture and Resilience Design 

The post Balcony Permaculture: Morag Gamble visits Natalie Topa’s apartment in Nairobi appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Jenny is a permaculture designer, teacher and author. She designed and established her 3-acre permaculture property near Maleny in Queensland, Australia over 20 years ago and over the years it has grown and evolved with her changing needs, energy and life. It has evolved into an amazing edible and natural landscape that provides her with an abundance and a habitat that nourishes her deeply.

In Jenny’s Garden

Jenny has her favourite fruits and herbs closest to her home including:

• tamarillo
• avocado
• citrus
• rosemary
• chilli
• lemon myrtle

… and in her outer permaculture zones she has

• larger fruit trees
• a clutch of dragon fruit poles
• a cabinet timber plantation
• rainforest plantings
• rare butterfly vine plantings
• fish pond and
• even a little hideaway cabin in the treetops.

It really is a permaculture oasis and Jenny’s knowledge of plants and design makes this such a fascinating tour – particularly since she’s been living in it and adapting it for 2 decades.

Permaculture habitat

As well as being a fabulous habitat for her and her family, her garden has also become a place of great diversity and habitat value. She has regenerated this landscape so that now it attracts so many birds, lizards, frogs, and even a highly threatened species of crayfish has taken residence in her gully.

More films to watch

You might also like to watch my Walkabout film with Wiruungga exploring bushfoods and medicines, or check out my own garden.

Jenny Allen’s Book

Jenny’s beautiful book Smart Permaculture Design (also known as Paradise in Your Garden) has sold out completely after 3 print runs, so look for it in your local library, borrow it from a friend or perhaps find it in a second hand store. Every now and then I see it in a bookstore – snap it up if you can. Definitely worth it for all the valuable tips and practical permaculture advice. What I love about it too is that it is full of gorgeous photos from her garden.

Register now my Incredible Edible Garden online course starting March 31.

The post Permaculture Oasis Tour with Jenny Allen and Morag Gamble appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.