The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

Michael Almon established Forest Floor Permaculture in 1980 on a half-acre site in Lawrence, KS, USA, creating a food forest centered on organic fruits and nuts. Because Permaculture Design Certificate courses were not available in the central USA during the 1980's, he learned permaculture design from reading Bill Mollison and The Permaculture Activist, and from contact with Dan Hemmenway of Elfin Permaculture at Bioregional conferences. Michael's credentials recently caught up with his experience when he earned a Permaculture Design Certificate through the Kansas Permaculture Institute, Stephen Moring being the instructor.

Also during the 1980's, Michael engaged in local political activism to remove institutional barriers that impeded urban permaculture, and advanced policies that preserve prime agriculture lands. Currently, he collaborates with local sustainable agricultural groups to foster a more positive political climate for permaculture such as: the "Lawrence Fruit Tree Project" and "Cultivate Kansas City", working for municipal code changes that will support urban food production.

Michael is a co-founder of the Sustainability Action Network and one of its key projects, the Kansas Permaculture Collaborative. He has been a host site for the annual Permaculture Tour, and has hosted student practicums for the PDC courses given by the Kansas Permaculture Institute. In 2011, Michael was one of six instructors to teach a one-day intensive Edible Forest Garden workshop organized by Cultivate Kansas City. In 2012, he again team taught a two-day Edible Forest Garden workshop with three other instructors. He serves on the Board of the Sustainability Action Network and of the Kansas Permaculture Institute.

He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Design from the Kansas City Art Institute, and operates a home business, Paradigm Design, selling and servicing ecological building products. He and his son Julian live in a solar heated home with solar hot water, well integrated into the permaculture landscape.