Early morning radio - Live!

 Radio Live's Tony Morrell rang this morning for an on-air chat about permaculture and the Motueka hui. Despite the early hour and the  explosions from the duck hunters out on our estuary, I managed to deliver my message, some of which I've copied below (not that I spoke from the text - I'd written this soon after we got back - we just chatted.)

Permaculturalists (those who practice permaculture) from all over NZ gathered at Riverside Community, near Motueka at the top of the South, to meet, talk, debate, workshop and otherwise beat out a path for the future of permaculture here in Aotearoa. The setting for the hui was wonderful for the purpose - a quiet setting amongst trees and gardens, a complex of meeting and dining rooms. kitchen and a hall for performances and a large marque in the middle of a field set about with big oak trees. There were around 200 attendees from all over, aged from their late teens to early eighties and some, but not too many, babes in arms. The presenters and tutors were very interesting, talking on topics as various as appropriate technology (tools and how to find, recognise, use and maintain them), disaster preparation (Chch delegates had much to say about the possible role of permaculturalists in future/disaster-proofing cities), Terraquaculture (using groundwater as a basis for agri/horti/aqua culture on your land) and many other engaging topics. Adam and I described our experience with food forests and associated matters (seed drilling, green cropping, wild plans for the future etc.) and Adam also did a stand-alone presentation on his Farmageddon 'experience' which provoked a great deal of interest and may result in a trip to Australia to facilitate an 'experience' for a community over there. The hui featured a day of site-visits and those were very worth-while, giving us Southlanders a chance to see how well permaculture was working in a warmer climate zone. The properties we visited were various and all large by our standard, most being around 50 hectares. They featured all sorts of innovations and were characterized by abundant growth and citrus, something we don't grow easily down here. Feijoas and figs were also extensively grown, along with grapes which were almost always swathed in netting to protect them from birds. Apples grow well in the region, though not so well as down here in my opinion. Dieter Probest's apple orchard was very interesting and had many varieties that were unknown even to us enthusiasts, but he is in the process of removing many of the trees he no longer has an interest in. A property that interested us greatly was one tucked into the hills near Ngatimoti, where the house is powered by a large waterwheels that turns constantly beside the house and drives the grain mill as well. their forest garden is huge and features massive bamboo big enough to climb! Much of the rest of the property is planted in sweet chestnut and those are producing huge crops, some of which we ate for dinner. Back at Riverside, we all ate very well, with all of the produce (bar rice) having been grown in the gardens there. That made the meals taste extra good. The hui was very valuable as a venue for meeting others and arguing over directions and plans for the future. there were some heated debates and those seemed to produce welcome change and renewed vigour - just like a good pruning! Hui so far have been in the North Island and it was a greatly appreciated opportunity for us South Islanders to be able to take part without having to travel long distances, though for us Rivertonians, the drive wasn't a short one!