The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

I was lucky enough to have a rural upbringing in the early 70s where my mother made bread, preserves, jams, milked our dairy cow, my father gardened, butchered, preserved meats, tanned hides, trap rabbits, etc.

I worked in the bush/forest with my father, distilling eucalyptus oil, cutting mine props, fence posts and generally managing the forest.
We had what I now see was a self reliant life style.

I had many jobs in horticulture, agriculture, earth works, building/construction, landscaping, steel fabrication, sawmills, forestry, etc., but was always dissatisfied. Then, Bill Mollison's Global Gardener video gave me hope and a breath of fresh air. It took all my previous experiences and married them together as components of a larger human system.

I signed up for a PDC with Bill Mollison in Tasmania in 1999 and then got inspired to volunteer at the Permaculture Research Institute back in the days when the PRI was based at Tagari Farm. I quickly became their farm manager due to my back ground, and have been involved over the years in site development and education of the now renowned Zaytuna Farm, PRI's new base.

I have been fortunate to work with Bill Mollison on a number of occasions - the 1st being in 2007 at a practical training camp and worked periodically with Bill and Lisa, which lead to being farm manager at the Permaculture Institute in Tasmania and I also co-taught with Bill, Lisa and Greg Nibbs on practical training camps.

In April 2010 I taught the 1st PDC in Morocco and consulted on Prickly Pear Plantation in the south of Morocco which one of my students was running.

I have also worked in Jordan on the PRI Dead sea project.

I then went to Palestine to co-teach another PDC with Brad Lancaster on the Marda project. Both courses were part of the permaculture master plan.

I am presently continuing to go back and forth to Zaytuna in northern NSW to work and teach.

now are commited to my home town working with the members of tumut's community gardens,Mac cauley school garden and pushing the permaculture theme consulting and teaching organising movie nights and decussion for the eduction of my community