A human circle around the banana circle!
The Introduction to Permaculture 2-Day Workshop was held on 30 & 31 May 2009. 31 participants gathered at Green Circle Eco-Farm to sweat it out!
We started the first morning creating a banana circle and a papaya circle. However, dark clouds and strong wind brought a heavy downpour upon us. Our spirits were not dampened though. We moved indoor for worm bin and flowerpot compost. And out we went as soon as the sun started shining again.
We completed the banana circle and the papaya circle with abundant mulch, ground cover and edible crops. The participants were introduced to various plant propagation techniques along the way, e.g. sweet potato leaves, lemon grass, sugarcane, etc.
Everyone was visibly in love with the circles. We stood holding hands around the papaya circle and each of us sent our love to Mother Earth.
After a “heavenly” lunch prepared by Lily, we headed out to observe the landscape on the farm. Many participants were surprised to learn that weeds do tell us much about soil condition and how we can make use of them and other plants to accelerate succession. The concepts of soil health, contour line, erosion and so on were also introduced.
The 1st day ended with keyhole garden. The participants laid down newspapers to mark out the keyhole beds. Just as described by one of them, it’s like trying to piece the puzzles together!
The 2nd day started with making swale. More digging for our city dwellers! And it was great to feel everyone’s enthusiasm despite the hot sun.
Next we moved on the urban permaculture. It’s all about making use of limited space, and the result is only limited by our imagination!
In the 3rd session of the day, Doug introduced Transition Town Initiative, a community’s response to peak oil. Plenty of laughter when we played the game “spinning the web”. The game brought the participants closer as we started to discover each other’s skills and talents.
During the last session, Gautier introduced the technique of alley cropping and the functions of nitrogen-fixing plants. This would certainly help us move away from synthetic fertilizers and make more use of biological resources.
The 2-day workshop ended with many participants asking for more future activities, networking and connection. It is indeed encouraging to know that with permaculture, we can turn a problem into a solution. As Doug often says , it’s about shifting the paradigm! 
p/s: A big THANK YOU to everyone who has made this 2-day workshop a success! And to Evelyn & Tian Soo of Green Circle Eco-Farm for graciously hosting this weekend workshop!
To view the complete photo album, please visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/permaculture.singapore/
