The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

Zaytuna Farm

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• Commenced: 01/01/2001
• Submitted: 19/05/2011
• Last updated: 08/04/2013
• Location: The Channon, NSW, Australia

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Zaytuna Farm

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Project Summary

Zaytuna Farm, home of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia.

Project Description

Zaytuna Farm is a demonstration site and education center in the village of The Channon in NSW Australia, and the home of PRI Australia. The property is 66 acres/27 hectares of ex beef cattle/ex dairy farm land with a boundary on the ???Terrania Creek.   It was first purchased in 2001 and has since been under constant development and evolution as a demonstration site of permaculture design and land use and operating as an education centre.  

The site is 45 km from Byron Bay on the east coast with a top altitude of 83 metres and a bottom altitude of 30 metres. It has a general aspect towards the east to north east with steeper southern slopes, gentle northern slopes and an gently sloped open central valley. Most of the valleys are in a state of reforestation with native eucalypt re-growth and a camphor laurel emergent rain-forest. The open pasture country is partially dominated by fire-response weeds due to a continuous burn-maintenance practice by the previous owners.  An exensive series of 15 dams (valley dams, rigde point dams, contour dams and aquaculture fish ponds) and 2 km of water harvesting swales have been installed to drought proof the property during the dry winter season and to raise the overall potential  farm production of fish and water plants through aquaculture.  Multi species food forests have been established and are continuosly being extended and farm forestry and rehabilitation of the forest creek edge continues to be developed.  A large variety of bamboo has been planted (over 30 species) for various uses including fresh shoots for food, timber for building, specific varities for weaving, making fishing rods and living hedges, erosion control, windbreaks as well as forage for animals and dry leaves and branches for making cob, for using in wattle and daube construction (bamboo daube) and as fire lighting faggots. 

A variety sizes of kitchen gardens growing diverse vegetables and herbs have been positioned around the main area of the house and new commercial kitchen, with species varying from mediterranean to subtropical,  and using well drained raised beds or sunken semi aquatic beds for asian crops (taro,bananas, coco yam galangal, Vietnamese mint, turmeric).   There is a large one acre main crop garden in the central valley specialising in the growth of main bulk crops (amaranth, corn, salad mallow, potatoes, broad beans, peas, kale, pumkins, mellons, sweet potato, cassava). Dairy cows are milked every day, beef cows and working horses play an integral part in the management of the farm. A 2.2 km steel-wired electric fence laneway, 6 m wide, has been established around and through the open grazing areas of the farm with multiple access gates creating completely mobile self grazing systems to increase the fertility of  the grazing landscape.  The flexible grazing cells also allow for crash grazing areas of forest regrowth dominated by weed trees, facilitating reforestation with high quality timber and productive tree systems.

There is a small herd of Saanan-Nubian cross goats bred for both meat and milk which can easily forage on weed tree regrowth foliage (small and large tree privet), these are milked every other day. A flock of ducks and chickens for meat and eggs are free ranged throughout our food forest systems for both maintenance and fertility.  We hope to add rabbits and pigeons to the equation of small animal productions in the near future. Two farm dogs, both Australian breed, work on day and night shifts to help with farm maintenance,  a small Tenterfield Terrier to catch mice and rats and an Australian Stumpy Tail cattle dog to move the cattle and to protect the poultry from the foxes at night.

Our nursery shade house and poly tunnel system runs on its own solar-powered drip irrigation system and automatic humidifier and we grow all our own seedling vegetables, fruit trees, legume trees, forest trees and bamboo, all propagated on site. We hope to expand this to create a retail permaculture plant nursery open to the public and to combine that with a weekly farm market where local people can buy any surplus produce.  

Compost, natural anaerobic pro-biotic ferments and worm farms are the main sources of fertiliser for the farm and we have an extensive composting system located next to our nursery.  

The main buildings on the farm are made from straw bale with cob and earth chaff render and natural lime plaster. Wheat straw, rice straw, sugar cane and bamboo have all been used as in-fill bale construction.  All drinking water on the site is harvested from roof water rainwater catchment. All toilets are dry composting and all the grey waste water produced on site is filtered with a system of reed beds.  The electricity needs for the entire farm are met by a large solar power station with the state of the art copper indium selenium panels attached to the latest technology charge controller inverter system and a large state of the art Hybrid Nano GEL/AGM construction battery bank storage unit.  

A stay at Zaytuna Farm gives a practical permaculture experience in forestry, crop gardens and nursery, animal husbandry, general farm maintenance, water systems, consultancy, alternative energy systems, natural building methods, surveying as well as the experience of communal living. Projects around the farm are progressive, working with both the development of the students as well as the property as a whole. 

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