The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

My name is Berry, if I had to come up with two words to describe myself I'd probably choose the words Earthling. Earthling because I have the very real sense that the world is only divided up into countries and property by these peculiar animals called Homo Sapiens. Nature does not seem to be divided up amongst those lines, tree roots grow right through the imaginary borders and birds migrate without papers. Seeing all this I consider the human notion of borders and nations a minority opinion which ought to be put into perspective by the larger population of Earthlings.

The road was my home for about 2.5 years, and I have learned more in those 2.5 years than in all the years of schooling I received before that. I quit my job as a bio-medical engineer to reconnect with my Self and the Earth, mainly because my job involved working for the pharmaceutical industry. This industry does not have the best interest of the earth or its inhabitants in mind if you ask me.

So, I quit my job and started finding myself out again. Who am I evolving into? A Permaculturist (or permie ^_^). I also consider myself an activist, I have participated in many actions surrounding climate and environment, borders and migrants and housing rights or squatting. You could probably call me an anti-globalist and anarchist, but I don't like labels :) I don't like to protest all of the time though, not anymore anyway. So I have also been developing my practical skills. I have participated in quite a few eco-building projects. I have followed a Permaculture Design Course and am now looking forward to designing and implementing my first designs.

Right now I am working on my first real PC design and implementing it as I go along. I have a small (300 square meters) allotment garden in the city of Leiden. I hope to turn it into a microscale farm producing a lot of my own food and I am aiming to build my own little house from strawbales this year.

My main interests within Permaculture are mycology (mushrooms and their magic ways), soil and forests.
Of course I am always learning, and as I travel and see the world I will continue to learn and share my knowledge. I am therefore hoping to maybe also receive a Permaculture Teachers training, so that I may help out teaching Permaculture courses. I feel I know a lot about the biological world from my background as a bio-medical engineer already and what I learn from Gaia in my everyday life keeps astounding me. As I have just finished my PDC I feel a new chapter of my travels opening up, one that is less focused on travel and more focused on learning. I hope to maybe open a website and blog about this. We'll see :)

What I can share:
Experience with eco-building (including treehouses, I love building treehouses!).
Experience with farming, gardening and I guess Permaculture (even though I never called it that).
Experience with lab work
Knowledge on nutrient cycles, soil biology, etc.
Many many many digital books, documentaries and films on Permaculture and eco-building.
My enthusiasm, muscle power and ability to learn quickly.

Willing or needing to learn:
I want to learn to use a digger! I want to be a swale and pond digger for Permaculture projects.
I want to live in a place that is inoculated with mycophiles :) I want to learn more about the ways of the Mycellium beyond what I've read in books. I want practical, hands-on experience growing mushrooms.
I want to learn to plant trees, how to care for saplings and work in a nursery. Especially in food forest settings.

If you could provide any of these teachings or need my help, just give me a message and I will respond as soon as I can.

I guess that's it for now. Thanks for reading!

With love for the Earth,
Berry