Project 6 is a design of a property in located in East Texas. This will be my first land based design project of the Permaculture Diploma. Ranch X is what I have dubbed the 150 acre ranch that my parents own and are living out their retirement on. This design project will not only be a full master plan consultation and design of that space, it will also serve as a platform for the development of an East Texas Permaculture Education Center. Some details of this project will have to remain undisclosed until various business licensing and domain registrations are secured. Until that time, this project is seen as a space to apply the full spectrum of my abilities as a permaculture design consultant.

Initial Observations

Approximately 8 years ago, my father and step mother purchased a large piece of land for their retirement in East Texas. A former homestead and dairy farm, the ranch has not had a lot of discernible activity prior to and since its purchase. Now the land is occupied by my Step Mother (Evil Step Mother – ESM **She is actually very sweet ant that is just the playful nickname I have for her) as the primary decision maker and two trailers occupied by residents that might be effected by the design but have little to no influence on the design.

The land is in a very rural area surrounded by other ranching operations, pine monoculture farms, industrial chicken broilers and gas wells. Averaging at about 300 ft elevation the property is a long rectangle that stretches from east to west at for over 1,500 yards and about 450 yards north to south. There are currently 4 dams on the property, two on the hill nearest the house and two in the primary valley that runs through the property. A seasonal creek, Gibbons Creek, snakes through the property from north to south and there is at least one spring line as well as several smaller brooks.

The main house is at the top of the hill near the western most side of the land where my ESM maintains several flocks of foul (chickens, ducks, geese, guinea, etc…) In addition to a large coop, a market garden and well house, there is a large pole shop and storage container. This information and much more will be documented in great detail in the Analysis section of this design Project.

Goals Assessment

A goals assessment is vital to any design work with land based design being no exception. In order to determine the goals for Ranch X I’ve decided to approach the work as if it were an actual consultation. Of course, because this consultation involves me personally, it will go much deeper than the simple format I’ve used for consultations in the past. Testing this process however will be a helpful tool for identifying the effectiveness of my goals assessment process.

Analysis

A full site analysis of the design, with accompanying appendices, produced in a professional manner and used to inform the design work.

Design

A full and professional Master Plan Permaculture Design based off the Goals Assessment, Site Analysis, known best practices and personal design knowledge and experience.

Implementation

The phasing plan and a link to the projects website which will be used to document the process and progress of implementation.

Appendix

The Appendix captures all the things that don’t fall under the above sections and provides a body of support for the richness of the information above. This section also provides a space for my assessment of this permaculture diploma project as well as peer reviews. The appendix includes:

Time & Information Resources (coming soon)
Process Review / Reflection (coming soon)
Supporting Evidence (coming soon)
Learning Journal Extracts (coming soon)
Peer Reviews (coming soon)