Greetings to attendees of the Places of Refuge Conference. I am sharing a few online resources to help those interested in permaculture design learn a bit more about the practical applications.
Hugelkultur www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/
Greening the Desert
The following is the original version:
This is second video,with follow-up on the project:
Here is a video on what swales can do in the landscape:
There is so much more to permaculture design, but this is a good start to understanding some of the possibilities!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Nearing our return to the US
Happy belated New Year! We rang in the New Year by trying to find a rat that was scratching about in our bedroom. Some things are a little different here! We have one week left of our 3-months in Uganda, and as such we have been discussing the transition back. We are going to miss our friends here, the weather, and the deliciously fresh mango, pineapple, and avocado. We are glad to be returning to our family and friends back in the Midwest, but are not as excited to return into the middle of winter!
The last week is a busy one, as I(Grant) will be teaching a 2-day basic permaculture workshop at the Connect Africa Hub the 20th and 21st. I am eager to share what I have learned so far about permaculture, and to spread it's values and influence to both Uganda and Kenya, as we will have students from both East African nations!
I will be posting pictures on this blog of our time here when we return to the US, but it has not worked to do so over here. Take care and God bless.
Grant and Paige Shadden
Urban Eden
The last week is a busy one, as I(Grant) will be teaching a 2-day basic permaculture workshop at the Connect Africa Hub the 20th and 21st. I am eager to share what I have learned so far about permaculture, and to spread it's values and influence to both Uganda and Kenya, as we will have students from both East African nations!
I will be posting pictures on this blog of our time here when we return to the US, but it has not worked to do so over here. Take care and God bless.
Grant and Paige Shadden
Urban Eden
Monday, December 19, 2011
Seasons greetings from Uganda! We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. We are doing pretty well, other than a trip to the hospital for Paige due to a bacterial infection that made her rather I'll for a few days. She is doing better now, thank God.
We made a trip to the coast of Kenya and back. The traveling was rough, but we had some highlights. Paige and I were invited to plant a tree on the grounds of a Maasai tribe church, so the would remember us visiting. I was happy it was a nitrogen-fixing tree, but even more excited that local leaders expressed interest in permaculture after I described it, and invited me back to teach them.
We also spent a few days in an area called Kibwezi, which is a dry place. I had the honor of co-teaching a dryland sustainable agriculture conference with a native Kenyan. The 35-40 local leaders and farmers in attendance were receptive and encouraged by our practical hands-on workshops, and we had follow-up reports they had already begun implementing what they learned.
We are back at the Connect Africa Hub, and have been continuing the work on the land for the permaculture design. We have dug over 300 feet of rainwater harvesting Swales on contour with the land. Plantings of many trees, including orange, guava, coffee, cocoa, macadamia nut, mango, avacado, and nitrogen-fixing varieties, as well as passion fruit vines! We are preparing to teach some smaller home-scale permaculture garden techniques appropriate for villagers as well.
It has been a tremendous learning experience for me, and I am looking forward to working hard the last monh of our time here in Africa. Thanks for the support and prayers.
Grant and Paige
We made a trip to the coast of Kenya and back. The traveling was rough, but we had some highlights. Paige and I were invited to plant a tree on the grounds of a Maasai tribe church, so the would remember us visiting. I was happy it was a nitrogen-fixing tree, but even more excited that local leaders expressed interest in permaculture after I described it, and invited me back to teach them.
We also spent a few days in an area called Kibwezi, which is a dry place. I had the honor of co-teaching a dryland sustainable agriculture conference with a native Kenyan. The 35-40 local leaders and farmers in attendance were receptive and encouraged by our practical hands-on workshops, and we had follow-up reports they had already begun implementing what they learned.
We are back at the Connect Africa Hub, and have been continuing the work on the land for the permaculture design. We have dug over 300 feet of rainwater harvesting Swales on contour with the land. Plantings of many trees, including orange, guava, coffee, cocoa, macadamia nut, mango, avacado, and nitrogen-fixing varieties, as well as passion fruit vines! We are preparing to teach some smaller home-scale permaculture garden techniques appropriate for villagers as well.
It has been a tremendous learning experience for me, and I am looking forward to working hard the last monh of our time here in Africa. Thanks for the support and prayers.
Grant and Paige
Friday, November 18, 2011
Update on Africa Permaculture Project
Greetings from Africa! Paige and I(Grant) have been enjoying our time in Uganda so far. The fresh produce here is so flavorful and delicious; I've been eating a good share of pineapple, avacado, and mango. It is so nice to enjoy good clean food, and makes us hope for more accessibility to good clean food for more people back home as well as in Africa. We are working with our friends, Trevor and Jana Tychon, and the organization they started called Connect Africa. We have been spending time observing the land and creating the start of a working npermaculture design for their 20 acre Hub, which will be a training center for permaculture practices in the future.
We have spent the first few weeks spilt between traveling about and staying at the Hub. When back at the Hub, we have been spending time in an amazing treehouse we helped finish under the shade of a pair of mango trees. It is a relaxing place to pray and meditate and listen to the variety of birds that share the beautiful little piece of God's wondrous creation.
We have taught a composting workshop, and now have all the residents of the Hub recycling the large quantity of fruit and veggie scraps that were previously being thrown out. Now the members of Connect Africa are learning to compost, in order to simultaneously build soil and grow nutritious food. I have enjoyed getting to know and work alongside the farm staff, who are eager to learn more about permaculture. They have expressed a desire to take the ideas of permaculture back to their villages, which inspires me all the more. We'll be posting pictures and hopefully some video as well, so you all following us back home can share in our adventure. Much love from Paige and I. Take care and God bless as we enter the holiday season.
We have spent the first few weeks spilt between traveling about and staying at the Hub. When back at the Hub, we have been spending time in an amazing treehouse we helped finish under the shade of a pair of mango trees. It is a relaxing place to pray and meditate and listen to the variety of birds that share the beautiful little piece of God's wondrous creation.
We have taught a composting workshop, and now have all the residents of the Hub recycling the large quantity of fruit and veggie scraps that were previously being thrown out. Now the members of Connect Africa are learning to compost, in order to simultaneously build soil and grow nutritious food. I have enjoyed getting to know and work alongside the farm staff, who are eager to learn more about permaculture. They have expressed a desire to take the ideas of permaculture back to their villages, which inspires me all the more. We'll be posting pictures and hopefully some video as well, so you all following us back home can share in our adventure. Much love from Paige and I. Take care and God bless as we enter the holiday season.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
HERB SPIRAL (Permaculture design)
We have had the privilege of being commissioned to do 'edible landscaping' for one of our clients this summer! The entire backyard is being transformed, and will be finished about a week! More pics of finished project to follow!This picture is of Grant's proud work. Not only is it a brilliant method of permaculture, but it is also very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. He planted mostly perrenial herbs, so it is essentially a gorgeous art piece that takes care of itself every year! And the excitement continues as Grant is currently getting his permaculture design certification! We are looking to create many more spaces of beauty, abundance, and sustainability both here and in Africa.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Garden Q & A Time!
QUESTION: Ready to shower the bride and groom with gifts this summer?
ANSWER: Why not edible gifts? Not that kind, silly. How about a beautiful, very low maintenance Square Foot Garden (or a gift certificate for an hour consultation)!
QUESTION: Want to give your parent, spouse or best friend thee most special gift for their birthday?
ANSWER: Urban Eden provides everything from small herb gardens, all the way to large veggie & fruit gardens, and even edible landscaping!
QUESTION: Ready to experience the best tasting food of your life?
ANSWER: Start growing your own little backyard Eden! Give us a call.
QUESTION: Did you know that when you use Urban Eden's services, you are helping send us over to Africa in the winters to teach natives there how to grow their own food?
ANSWER: Yes, you are indeed! We are using a percentage of our profits to fund our trips there!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Our favorite summer garden recipe!
Basil and brandywine pasta:
6 large homegrown brandywine tomatoes (or whatever is in your garden), diced
6 large homegrown brandywine tomatoes (or whatever is in your garden), diced
1/2 pound cooked, ground up beef (we prefer organic & grass fed, but meat is optional)
a handful of fresh basil, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 fresh sprigs of thyme
2 fresh sprigs of oregano
a couple generous splashes of red wine (your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
a Tbs of milled flax seed (to help thicken, plus added nutrition)
1 pound of Organic whole wheat penne pasta (follow directions on container)
a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese (or whatever raw local cheese you have)
a handful of fresh basil, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 fresh sprigs of thyme
2 fresh sprigs of oregano
a couple generous splashes of red wine (your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
a Tbs of milled flax seed (to help thicken, plus added nutrition)
1 pound of Organic whole wheat penne pasta (follow directions on container)
a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese (or whatever raw local cheese you have)
Directions: First cook and ground beef in large sauce pan. Then put all of these delicious ingredients together in same large sauce pan as the beef. Let simmer for 35-40 minutes. Add this to cooked pasta. Sprinkle cheese on top (and any leftover fresh basil). It is as simple as that! (Serves 4-6 people)
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