The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

Aurelia Weintz, half Mauritian, half German, was raised and studied in many countries. Her studies in political science at the American University of Paris, were what instigated her move to Egypt, particularly Sinai. Living at the Red Sea for over a year was a life changing experience. Aurelia worked at a German owned beach camp working with Bedouins, and as part of their environmental mandate, built several geodesic domes. Her interest then drifted to traditional handicrafts, where she took an interest in local traditions, Ethic fashions, allowing her to travel all over Egypt. Aurelia's consistent need to connect with new people brought her to Cairo, where she worked for a local NGO with youth on outdoor environmental and science education. She began her journey as a teacher/facilitator making environmental leaning fun and engaging for children, as part of this learning Aurelia developed a garden used for educational purposes, and embarked on yet another journey of discovering Permaculture. Her knowledge made her realize its importance for Egypt. Shortly after the Revolution, Aurelia traveled to Jordan to attend a PDC, visiting permaculture projects in Palestine in an attempt to understand adaptation to arid zones. Since then, she has been working for Nawaya, a grassroots initiative that focuses on training small-scale farmers, as well as promoting permaculture concepts to interested city dwellers. One of her central tasks at Nawaya has been being Egypt's coordinator for Slow Food's 1000 Gardens in Africa project. Aurelia will continue to mesh her many interests to weave a world around her that adds value and optimizes on local resources.