The following quote is from the excellent Permaculture Association website 

"Through the observation of the natural world we can see a set of principles at work. Permaculture design uses these principles to develop integrated systems that provide for our needs of food, shelter, energy and community in ways that are healthy and efficient. We can use permaculture design methods to improve the quality and productivity of our individual lives, our society and our environment."

What follows is a collection of quotes that help to describe permaculture. For further reading we would suggest the Permaculture Magazine website

 

“Permaculture is defined as consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for the provision of local needs…more precisely I see Permaculture as the use of systems thinking and design principles that provide the organising framework for implementing the above vision”
David Holmgren ‘Pathways to Sustainability’ 2004

 

 

“Permaculture is an integrated, evolving system of perennial and self-perpetuating plants and animal species useful to man.”
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren – 1st definition of Permaculture

 

“Be the change you want to see happen”
Mahatma Gandhi

 

“Adopting permaculture in your garden could be the first step towards limiting your personal consumption and planning your life to become more creative as time goes by”
Graham Bell, ‘The Permaculture Garden’

 

“Is it all worth it? If we do our best to heal the Earth and make our place in her a sustainable one, is there a good chance that we will succeed?…to my mind that’s the wrong question. Even if we could answer it – and we can never know anything about the future for certain, it would beg the question How do I want to live my life? So my answer to the question..is that I want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem”.
Patrick Whitefield ‘Earth Care Manual’

“It is time for all of us to make changes about how we live our lives and to follow a path of the heart. By following our intuition and inpiration we encourage our own acts of heartfelt genius and boldness. This makes us feel alive and vital, gives us a great purpose and harnesses parts of ourselves we may have neglected or didn’t even know we had. We no longer feel overwhelmed by the way the Earth’s resources are managed, but recognise that change is in our hands, yours and mine, the hands of extraordinary people who have made a leap of understanding and are determined to make a difference. We become part of the change by becoming part of the solution.”
Glennie Kindred ‘Earth Wisdom’

March 23rd 2015 POSTED BY: Ragmans Farm

A Wonderful Time at Ragmans by Yanthe Oosthoek - Student Summer 2014


Being back in Holland made me realise how amazing my time at Ragmans had been. While cycling through the Dutch landscape (which is not very impressive compared to the beautiful Wye Valley Ragmans is surrounded by) I notice myself pointing out different weeds growing in the fields. This is something I did not even look at before I started working on the farm. Not only the weeds are keeping me busy; realising the importance and purity of nature was something I just took for granted before. 



As a second year student of International Development Management I had to learn more about farming. So I spent weeks and weeks trying to find the right placement place or WWOOF farm. There were two things I knew before I started searching: I wanted to learn more about permaculture and I wanted to go to the UK. I Googled ‘permaculture farm in UK’ and found Ragmans. I knew immediately that this was the place where I wanted to go.

In the first week on the farm it became clear this was exactly what I needed. 

In the time between my first working day on the farm, which was the 14th of July, and the last one, 10 weeks later, each and every day was different. The weather, jobs, and people all made my days interesting and worthwhile. Freya, Pete, Matt, and Juan Fran supported me along the way and gave me many opportunities. They gave me space to learn as much as possible about each and every aspect of the farm. From scything the orchard to compost-tea’ing the apple trees, stacking wood, preparing the Yurt, to organising a Gathering of Centres on the farm. Their trust in me made me feel so much more confident. Whenever I had a difficult permaculture question they were always willing to give me an answer and tell me even more about it. It felt like I had been there for ages already. They all create such a warm and welcoming atmosphere within the farm! 



As part of an individual placement assignment I was involved in organising a Gathering of Centres. A two day meet up to exchange experiences between 9 other educational farms in the UK. It was amazing to see how people with the same interests and concerns had the opportunity to share knowledge.



I had never thought an event like this could be so supportive and helpful. This gathering was a great opportunity for me to meet other inspiring people and become more involved in ‘interesting sustainable things’ going on in the UK. Something Holland can learn a lot from! 




It is hard for me to draw up a list of all the things I learnt during my time at the farm because it is endless. Working with the Growers proved a very valuable experience as well. The alternation of working on Ragmans for 4 days a week and one day in the Growers garden was perfect. Nat, Danny, Ben, and Jon taught me so many things about veggies, soil, equipment, seeds during the days I worked with them. I never knew I would develop a serious interest and see the importance and value of growing local food and flowers. 





Even though Ragmans is quite isolated, having warm, helpful, and lovely people around me made me feel at home. Thank you Freya, Matt, Pete, Angie, Ann, Steve, Carine, Juan Fran, Nat, Jon, Danny, and Ben. The work you all do is amazing and you are all amazing! You know what they say about people visiting Ragmans once, don’t you? They all return in due time. Well, don’t worry, I will be back for sure! 



October 2014


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