Matt & Donna's Permaculture Homestead

Gumbaynggirr Country, Bellingen, NSW, Australia

The Brief

We were called in to consult, design and help implement changes for this positive attitude homesteading family of 5 with dreams of abundance and self-sufficiency. With very busy work schedules and homeschooling, Matt and Donna wanted to build and grow a dynamic urban Permaculture garden to feed their families and their wider community.

A relatively small landholding set atop a hill with a sloping easterly aspect, in the famous township of Bellingen, in the mid-north coast of NSW, Australia. A place well known for its sustainability values as much as its subtropical climate, rates of vegetation growth, high rainfall and flooding.

We supported a process of applying their passions for Permaculture, landcare, and community resilience to making this beautiful vision come to life.

Challenges

• A series of big old pine stumps
  
• Super vigorous vine weeds
  
• Limited budget
  
• Difficult access and not much space for machinery and materials
  
• An ever-evolving design moving from idealism to the implementable

Design & Implementation

Importantly, we had many rounds of chatting, imagining, and designing with the whole family, including the children who were centrally involved.

Onsite works started with vine-weed management, moving the chook shed (chicken coop) and then the removal of the large dead Radiata Pines by earth moving machinery. Then followed extensive earthworks to create terraced usable areas for a gathering space, vegetable gardens, and a food forest area. The new terracing also slows the downhill movement of water, topsoil, and energy.

Leftover soil and debris were used to make a re-wilded pond in the lowest corner of the site to capture water and provide a biodiverse water system for frogs and insects.

A green manure and grass mix was immediately sown on the top tier, settling the topsoil and creating a grassed open family and play area. The next tiers were planted densely with nitrogen fixers, pollinators and wild-gardening greens and an array food forest trees. All these coming together to provide year-round sustenance to the family and surrounding wildlife.

Finally, we recorded all the intended land use areas and practices on a map to help guide this great project into the future…

Ideas in Action

• Local economics & resilience
• Children actively involved in shaping the design
• Family friendly landscapes
• Design of space and energy flows

• Abundant urban Permaculture system
• Children foraging & wild-gardening
• Wildlife habitat
• Propagation & seedling raising nursery
• Best practice waste management

Outcomes

Their place is ‘popping’ now. The vision, modified and grounded, is well on the way to coming true. We often visit, discuss ‘next best steps’ and have a cuppa. The children are always excited to see us.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Charlie and the Garden Juju team.

The design & project work has really helped us to jump ahead with our vision…”

Property Owners

Matt & Donna’s Permaculture Homestead

Gumbaynggirr Country, Bellingen, NSW AUS

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