Parr's Permaculture Design

Parr's Permaculture Design

Sunday, October 3, 2010

3rd Jan 2010 "Happy New YEar - The Awesomeness Continues"

2nd Group Email:


Happy New Year to you all!  I hope 2010 is already feeling as fresh and inspiring for you as it is me. 

I last wrote to you from Canberra, a very strange place... I have since been in Brisbane for a week and Woodford Folk Festival for the last 11 days.  Yesterday night I arrived Nimbin, where I am finding it easy to recollect myself and my energy for the next stint of the epic journey of discovery... 

Brisbane... I could definitely live in Brisbane. Its awesome - friendly people,very pretty city as far as cities go (boardwalks that extend the whole length of the winding river through the centre of the city, through botanical gardens, past southbank swimming pool disguised as a beach, past numerous bridges linking to the other side of the river, bike paths a-plenty too) and the climate really does bring with it an amazing ability to grow exotic plants - banana tree in George's back yard laden with fruit, mango trees dropping fruit all over the pavement - the trees produce more than people seem to be able to eat!  I can imagine that growing food in QLD is easy to do in abundance. There were many storms indicating that water is not in hugely short supply - yes they are experiencing a drought too, but seems nothing like that of Melbourne's drought.
After a few days I moved from George's place (New Farm) to Mark's place (Paddington). Two very different parts of Brisbane, Paddington felt like an expensive place to live, but was a heaven for good health food shops.  I seem to have become a connoisseur of health food shops, and can tell a good one within the first 10 seconds of walking in the door. The further away I feel I am from a supermarket, the better. After a few awesome days with Mark, a good friend I used to pass clubs with in Melbourne, I got picked up by Gabe to go to her house and start the prep for Woodford.  2nd in command meant starting work as soon as I landed at her house.  Well, after a swim in her pool and a session in her full-body massage chair, that was!
It took two trips to the site to get everything we needed there to start with... other stuff was to follow n other various cars, vans and campers. A good friend Jen and I arrived onsite on Xmas eve, set up a bunch of tents and started setting up the donga (circadia's office space). The festival kicked off on 27th Dec, by which time all 50 circadia crew were settled in, tents/vans set up, and roles were established.  Quite an undertaking for us, let alone the entire festival!  2,200 volunteers, 150,000 punters in total! Out of my three Woodfords, this one was by far the best.  Our campsite rocked, 5 minutes walk from work (circadia), the weather behaved, massage chair in the donga, all in all win win win win win. I could write forever about all the millions of amazing things that happened but instead will do it in small phrases (in no particular order): 

chai from the lemonade stall - windchimes - access all areas - hugs - greenhouse talks - teamwork - being sober - connecting with beautiful people - sunrise Jan 01 - ops, the beating heart - rain - Flap! - 3-minutes silence - massages - Mr Percival made me cry - Geoff Lawton - synchronicity - permaculture - inspiration - love - blue moon - holding hands - sharing - remembering my brother - chai tent - humidity - circadia - Ian Lowe - cloudland - hot showers - eating dinner for breakfast - 1 hour of sleep followed by 13 hours of sleep 

Yesterday I managed to connect with my lift and head offsite early afternoon with Janee, Chinta, Matisse and Nahani, a family living just outside Nimbin.  We arrived yesterday, I cooked us dinner and hit the sack by 10.  A humungus sleep on a level bed (our camp was on a decent slope at WF) brought me close to normal today.  Another good feed tonight (BBQ is cranking now) and sleep and I'm ready for the Permaculture Course on Tuesday (day after tomo).  Its all worked out so perfectly, I feel better climatised to the humidity, and up for 3 weeks of hard slog on a farm working towards the permaculture dream.

As I said before, I hope that moving into 2010 is inspiring for you.  My vision as I head into this new year is one of humankind managing to heal the earth so that we are allowed to continue to inhabit it. 

If we look after the earth it will look after us. 

Be well & be happy...
Christian.

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