Category Archives: Adventure

Theron’s permaculture adventures around the world.

Presenting: Permaculture Adventures Overseas

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For the first time ever, I have finally complied and will be presenting a series of slides and video of my permaculture adventures in foreign lands over the past two years.

Where does the next bridge lead?

Bamboo bridge on a permaculture farm in Northern Thailand

Next Saturday, August 17, I’ll be presenting a bit of a snapshot of the last two years of my life… From visiting permaculture projects on the island of Moloka`i, three months working with Geoff Lawton himself at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia and nearly a year laying foundations for permaculture movements throughout SE Asia.

This is a completely free and open invitation I’m super excited to share with everyone! We’ll be projecting photos and video after the sun goes down so please show up on time to get the most out of this experience.

This event will be hosted through ape99 at the Permaculture Park in East Austin.
Please sign-up for the ape99 Permaculture Meetup group to RSVP and get more event details.

One lucky person who signs up and attends this event will receive a FREE PASS to the Introduction to Permaculture weekend that Daryl and I will be facilitating the weekend following. We’re also offering a $25 discount to those who sign up for the Permaculture Intro weekend through the Austin Permaculture Guild website.

Why take a Permaculture Introduction course?

Maybe you’ve already taken a full PDC so why take an Introduction to Permaculture Course? Well, each and every permaculture course is going to be different. Permaculture is such a broad subject that Geoff Lawton himself says “…the longer you do permaculture the more you realize what you DON’T know. By this logic,” he says, “Bill Mollison actually knows the least about permaculture because he’s been doing it the longest!” I think that is a great and very humbling way to look at what we are engaged in learning and sharing together.

Rice Harvest Time

Bagging up the season’s rice harvest at Rak Tamachat Permaculture, Central Thailand

No matter how long we’ve been doing permaculture we all still have so much to learn from each other. Taking a Permaculture course is an opportunity not just to refresh knowledge that you might have already encountered but to learn through another’s experience. New discoveries and best practices are being added to the permaculture nexus all the time.

Having traveled around the world learning from experts such as Geoff as well as cultures in areas of the world that are still much more connected to their indigenous knowledge and roots, I’m excited to teach and share what I’ve learned along the way and I’m also excited to invite you to share your experiences with Permaculture. We all have something to gain from working and learning together. As my good friend Daryl always says: “Permaculture is best played together.”

Urban Permaculture & Community in East Austin

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On the east side of Austin, Texas, tucked away at the end of a road in a lower income neighborhood, there is something… different… happening. What was once a derelict lot has now grown into a forest, and not just any forest, a forest of food and community. Welcome to Weirder Austin – East Austin’s own Urban Permaculture Education & Demonstration site!

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Re-Mineralizing Soils with Bio-Fertilizer

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Working with damaged soils can be a huge challenge. In the world we live in today, it’s hard to find soils that haven’t been damaged through agricultural or urban misuse. If you are one of those lucky few who stumbled on a piece of land that already had pristine, rich deep and loamy soils than rejoice because you need not read any further… Still here? Yea, thought so. Most of us in permaculture design are working with or at least, have started out with, damaged, desiccated, mineral depleted, lifeless soils. One way or another, we have been tasked with reviving our soils from generations of abuse. But how do we return the basic building blocks of life to the soil quickly and efficiently so that we can get on with the high yielding polycultures we keep dreaming about? Enter – Bio-Fertilizer!

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Thailand Permaculture – Part 2 of 5 – Discovering Local Solutions

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I returned to Thailand in November with a goal to connect with permaculturally minded people and projects around the region, making as many contributions and exchanges of resources as possible along the way. What I discovered in my travels was far more than I ever could have anticipated! I am excited now to be able to share my experiences with you in hopes that it will provide a resource for all those interested in exploring the expansive world of Thailand Permaculture.

Rak Tamachat Logo in adobe

Rak Tamachat Logo in adobe

In Part 1 of this series I described my revisit to Rak Tamachat, a Permaculture education centre in central Thailand that I had participated in developing only a few months prior, and the community integration work that was taking place there. Then I traveled north to Chiang Mai where I connected with many friends and allies in the region. I visited Chiang Mai Life Construction, PermaPai, and ended the with more community integration and development at The Panya Project.

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Thailand Permaculture – Part 1 of 5 – Cultural Bridges

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I returned to Thailand in late November of 2012 after 3 months visiting friends and family in my home state of Texas. Following a brief respite, getting grounded and recovering from the disorienting 33 hour journey and 13 hour time difference, it was time to start designing my travel itinerary. While resting in Bangkok, I ventured over to the infamous Khao San Road for the first time. Given my previous experience embedded in a rural village in Thailand’s agricultural heart, Khao San Road was not exactly what I had in mind for my travels ahead. In drawing up my plans, I had no intention of following any well trodden guidebook tourist track. There is something much more exciting happening in this country than the bars and souvenir peddlers of Khao San. Just outside of the facade of Thailand’s touristed market streets, there is a wealth of precious gems waiting to be discovered. The most prominent on my list, although appearing a bit rough on the surface, turns out to be a glimmering diamond of hope for the country, and the world. This is the story of my adventures in exploring the many treasures of Thailand Permaculture.

WPN SE Asia Projects

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Home On The Range – Holistic Management & Texas

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Touring through the sundry landscapes of Texas I am reminded of the vast topography under human influence. From beautiful rolling hills, creeks, lakes, forests, and farmland; there is such an incredible abundance of possibility. But, in the coming years, Texas will need to take a keen look at its resource management and find ways to manage holistically, or risk betting the farm.

Wide Open Pastures

Large acreage is an important part of Texas history.

While tumbling over the vast open plains of Texas it becomes more and more evident that our potential for abundance is all but unlimited. Texas ranchers are no stranger to acreage. Some of the largest ranches in Texas range in the hundreds of thousands of acres.* As the largest state in the contiguous United States, it should come as no surprise that land, BIG land, is a big part of what makes Texas, Texas. And BIG land means BIG potential.

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Eco-Pioneers Grand Web (re)Launch

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Welcome Eco-Pioneers!

Over the course of the past few months, this website, along with much of my personal life, has been through a wealth of transition. If you are close follower of my blog,  you may have noticed that my posting has become a bit sparse and irregular. At the same time, if you still have found the time to visit this site on occasion, you might have seen some significant changes. I am now very excited to introduce you to the new Eco-Pioneers and share with you all the great new additions to this Grand Web (re)Launch!

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August PDC in Austin, Texas!!

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It’s finally time, Austin!

As you might expect, I’m very excited to announce an upcoming visit home this August! I’m even more excited to announce this August PDC, an event that has been years in the making! Finally, with the help of so many amazing friends and family, this August, I will be facilitating an entire Permaculture Design Certificate course for the first time ever in Austin, Texas.

Teaching in the Food Forest

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Thailand’s newest Permaculture Education Center – week one

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In a rural village at the Southwest corner of the Isaan Plateau, just over an hour drive south of Thailand’s second largest city, Korat, a band of tenacious permaculturalists have just arrived at the site of their new home. Over the course of the next year, infrastructure will be erected, community and teaching spaces will be established and a traditional corn and rice farm will undergo a dramatic metamorphosis. The work here has already begun… and I’d like to take you along for the ride!

We arrived on site on a warm mid-January afternoon full of excitement and anticipation. What wonders awaited us on this amazing new permaculture adventure?

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Thailand and the big surprise – I’m coming home!

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These last few weeks of traveling and adventure have been something of a dream. In three weeks time, I’ve transitioned from living in a tent, waking each morning at dawn and milking cows to, jogging in the city, meditating on the beach while the sun set across the pristine Indian Ocean, Sleeping in three airport terminals in two separate countries, to finally find myself in this fascinatingly beautiful city of Mueang Phuket, Thailand. I have one week to absorb and immerse myself in the culture here before making the trek north to meet up with team Panya CQ. After a very brief sojourn in Bangkok the crew and I will make our way north again to Korat and the 50 acres I will call home for the next year. Continue reading →