PERMACULTURE ISLAND

Permaculture Island is a family run smallholding that offers education and demonstrations of sustainable living and community services. Situated behind Reeth Bay in Niton and covering 1.6 acres, our house is of solar passive design, and insulated with straw bales. The smallholding is offgrid, water and electric is gathered internally, wood fuel is sourced locally. By reducing dependence upon central products and services, inevitably preserves more amenities available in the public domain. The progression of successful self reliance naturally leads to trade of resources, for example; we import local garden organic matter, and export education and surplus crops.  Our resilience to provide amenities in unpredictable times, is perhaps our greatest asset from a community perspective. The interest and support we receive from the public motivates further research and development, we encourage political organizations and council recommendations to protect and maintain the public amenities on offer.   

Our garden is managed using Forest Garden methods where mostly perennial crops and trees are mixed in such a way to imitate the pattern of a young woodland. Food production is simpler, compared with conventional crops and methods, requiring less labour. Fertility is raised or maintained with the application of mulches, organic matter is placed directly on the soil and not dug in. From 2013 we have offered local residents a garden drop off service for people that cant compost at home or access central facilities.  Mulch is transported around the site using a modified electric golf buggy, there is no such thing as waste, just resources in the wrong place.   The path to regenerative and eventually sustainable habitats is to recognise natural patterns and form directives that co-operate and complement how natural systems work. Albert Einstein once said “We cant solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. For nearly 20 years we have applied ecological principles to positively influence our surroundings so that separate elements are linked in such a way to draw integrated benefits. Designing civilised or wild habitats, as a whole system requires an innovation of “joined up” thinking, the potential for social and environmental reform is significant.  Public support for sustainable services is gathering popularity,  we have noticed the shift  and currently trying to accommodate the interest. Each Sunday we provide a free open garden, where visitors can experience demonstrations and learn from information signs of how the site runs, all visitors must arrive on foot.  The homestead is under continuous development and with ever changing and evolving ground research in practice; work is consistently in progress to develop more efficient and productive systems.

PERMACULTURE

Permaculture is a ” design system for sustainable human habitats that supply human needs in an environmentally enhancing way”. Permaculture is all about functional design – ways to maximise productivity and abundance, while minimising effort, by working with nature, rather than against it.

FOREST GARDEN

RESILIENT CHICKENS

We have observed that chickens and humans can thrive by offering greater autonomy, to move from passive consumer to forager revolutionises not just individuals but the whole tribe.

Food, energy and water can be grown or harvested anywhere and you don’t need to actually own land to do it. There are so many options, from micro gardens, allotments to large scale smallholdings and farms. Our objective at Permaculture Island is to promote pragmatic solutions for all, regardless of situation. we demonstrate the possibilities that are infinitely scalable of abundant design to help inspire people to transform there own lives no matter of situation or location. 

Contact details:

Victoria lodge, Castlehaven lane, Niton, Isle Of Wight, po382nb

Lucy Roberts

victorialodge75@gmail.com