Permaculture Principles and Element Analysis

We met again with the students on Thursday to go over some general principles of permaculture design and to talk about element analysis.  We used the classic example of the permaculture chicken and how all of the needs and outputs of the chicken can be integrated into the other elements of a site.  Then the students got busy listing out the elements that they had requested from last week and analyzing them.  We looked at how all of the elements have needs that can come from the outputs of other elements.  This is one basic premise of permaculture design - planning ahead to create a system that is in balance.  Next we will sit down with the students to use all of the lessons we have talked about this month to create model proposals for the new site. Exciting!

  

St. Joseph's Vision

After giving some thought to the site, we all met up again last Thursday to talk about what the students would like to see in their new school. It is very important for the students to direct this process as they will be working to get the site together and experiencing the results. Elin suggested mind mapping to help the students create a visual representation of their ideas.  So we set about teaching the students the concept, and we then settled in as the students - listening to them tell us about what will make their new school a better learning environment.

Site evaluation

 Hello!  This is volunteer, Lisa, and I'll be keeping you updated on the progress over the next few weeks.  I'm really excited to be working with Elin and Frida, as well as St. Joseph's - what bright, eager students.

We went out to the new site last Monday....and, wow!  Lack of water won't be a problem for this school. We're nearing the end of an abundant short rains season, but for now we have a lake.  Every challenge is also a solution, right?  We're working with the students to talk about design ideas for using this water in a positive way.

We also looked at the composition of the soil, sun and wind paths, and native plants already on the site.  The students filled out worksheets about their observations and then we talked about them as a group.  This experience gave the students a chance to think about working with your site to find design solutions.

Back in Kisumu!

Since the last update, when the final report of Growing Knowledge was posted, the project has been moving very slowly but in the right direction. Now one of us in the group is back in Kenya trying to get things started. It has been decided that the school should move to a new site soon, preferably already in January 2012. Hence, together with the permaculture instructor Elin and her volunteer Lisa we are working on a plan for the new site. In close cooperation with teachers and students we will during the coming weeks develop a permaculture design for the compound with focus on creating a good study environment and use the site to its full potential. We will give you further updates here on the blog as the workshops proceed and the design develops.

Frida