As the Assembly holds a consultation on 'Rethinking food in Wales' Jane Powell asks what Paramaethu has to offer. Permaculture design goes beyond the novel land uses for which ii is best known, and draws on traditional wisdom and historical experiences of social change to propose new approaches to modern challenges. 

In our second article on rooting permaculture in Welsh culture, Sue Laverack reflects on diversity, language and tradition. Sue worked as a counsellor for many years before moving to a smallholding in southwest Wales, where she is learning Welsh.

It’s a principle of permaculture design that the boundary between contrasting ecosystems, such as an estuary or a woodland edge, is particularly diverse and productive.The recent Paramaethu Cymru gathering produced some exciting new insights and directions by bringing together some of the different communities in Wales.

In the first of a series of articles on the importance of rootedness in Wales, Marit Parker challenges permaculturists to value Welsh approaches and perspectives as part of the UK tradition.

As part of our quarterly Paramaethu Cymru coordinators’ meeting we include a site visit treat! This time we visited dedicated eco builders Debbie and Julian who also happen to grow the most amazing salad, veg and soft fruit.

Meet Cara Wilson, the new coordinator of Paramaethu Cymru, who is based in Pembrokeshire and brings a wealth of experience to her new role, and find out more about what she does. 

At the Lammas gathering, we talked about the structure of Paramaethu Cymru - how do we connect with each other and make decisions? We now have a coordinator, Cara Wilson, but she is part-time and much of the work will still need to be done on a voluntary basis. We are looking at a structure therefore where working groups concentrate on particular tasks...

Lammas ecovillage in Pembrokeshire proved an excellent choice for the Paramaethu Cymru gathering in June. Not only did the site offer a beautiful place to meet within the community hub with all the facilities we could need, but also the eco-village itself offers one of the most interesting examples studies of medium to large scale permaculture design in Wales.

Sector39 have successfully launched thier first full PDC in Uganda attracting farmers, teachers and community leaders from Uganda, Kenya and Burundi.