Panya project..experiments with Permaculture

After hearing about Urban Permaculture for the first time in Australia i knew that it is something i want to learn more about. Leah, my friend from Surfers Paradise organised a whole information evening at Mandala Café where i was introduced to the awesome ways, tricks and tipps to grow food in your very own garden or balcony .Yes, thats the thing..you can have a garden even on concrete ( thats why it´s called Urban)

Well, i got so inspired that it was crystal-clear to visit Panya project, where Leah was living as a long-term volunteer for 6 months during the same time i was in Thailand.  

I had no idea what to expect, but the positive, warm and open atmosphere from the first minute on convinced me in a heartbeat. 

So, you are surely still thinking..what is Permaculture? Well, i actually didn´t know exactly either..but everyday i found out a little bit more.

The idea is to develop sustainable human settlements and agricultural systems with the attempt to model them on natural ecosystems.That means you look around and try to use everything that is already there and include the positive aspects in your design. So you would built houses on the shadowy sides that don´t have the best soil for farming anyway...you would consider sun and shade..your hills and valleys.

Each element of a design is carefully analyzed in terms of its needs, outputs, and properties.

But it´s not only about the building and farming..it´s also a way of living in a community, sharing skills, being there for each other and trying to be in peace with nature.

the toilets..when one toilet is full it will be closed for 6 months and then you have the finest compost ever

open air shower

bananas for brekkie anyone?

the garden

dinner together

permaculture..that´s the whole circle of the community life

It can be quit disturbing too, as you find out so many really bad things that are happening around the world and you get so angry. And then you begin to think. And then you begin to see things really clear.
Like what am i eating when i go to a restaurant? Where is that corn coming from and is it GMO ( genetically modified) ? What do they put in the food to make it taste so yummy ( MSG here in Thailand). How does my shampoo affect the water?

I can´t go to Mc´Donalds anymore..or Burger King..or drink Coke without a bad conscience. Because it´s not only that the food is really cheap and bad for you..it´s more that now i know in which terrible conditions the animals that provide this meat are living and dying.There are countries as big as Europe with only 13 slaughterhouses, where 32000 pigs are being killed in an hour. If you want to know more: watch Food Inc.

But i want to tell you a little bit more about the fun part living in a community. The mornings began with Yoga and a really healthy breakfast before doing different jobs on the farm. 3 to 4 jobs where announced every day from the long-term volunteers that run the place and you could choose what you would like to learn or help with. The selection can go from making bricks, plastering houses, building doors, making beautiful things ( that means decoration), gardening, making compost, flipping the compost, digging a ditch for a new water connection, weeding, pruning...you can see..the list is never ending and there is always something to do.

Lunch and dinner are quit a big event and people are mixed in groups for 4 different jobs that change everyday ( cooking, pot wash, tidying& sweeping and meta ( that´s my favourite one..you can make either other people happy with little attentions like flowers, little notes or just a big smile and a hug or you can make yourself happy with whatever you need that day)

whats my job today?

in the mud pitt preparing the soil for brickmaking 

gardening...one seed in each little pot

brickmaking

The afternoons are free, so were spent either with reading, listening to music, making music, trekking ..and most of the time visiting the neighbour farm Pun Pun that had the most amazing smoothies and cookies in their their little café ( all organic of course).

yummy smoothies and home-made sweet bread

cycling the countryside

dying clothes with onion and some flowers

excurtion to the next bigger village

walking the dogs 

 A perfect energy boost for the offered skill share workshops that were offered by the volunteers after dinner .Here a little selection: Natural Dying, Poi, Capoeira, Tango dancing ...or watching a movie. 


Yeah..it was a busy time, and out of 1 week that i wanted to be there suddenly it were 2 and i could have stayed even longer if i didn´t had my flight for Bali booked and my Visa for Thailand nearly   expired.

This time at Panya teached me a lot and i´m not done with learning. Go and visit the Panya Project ( www. panyaproject.org) and change your way of living.

Thanks Panya team, i hope to be back sometime ;-)

Pai..between mountains, clear fresh air and Christmas feelings

If you don´t sleep the whole journey from Chiang Mai to Pai you´ll  have an amazing view into this beautiful mountain range that i already forgot that can exist.Pai was located deep in the mountains so we just drove up and up and even a little more up. I was amazed by every curve this little minibus took just to see more of the mesmerizing greens behind. I couldn´t wait to get to Pai and breath the promising fresh air.

Pai is a nice and relaxed little town, focus here is on art, music,good food, yoga and massage.And exactly that´s what we did. We got ourselves a cosy family hut for 3 near the river, went on a stroll over the market to get some street food and tea and went home to have an early night..YES..you read that right...we had TEA for dinner and went to bed EARLY.But to my apology: I was really sick..and i couln´t speak. My voice just left me and i only did the handsign thing which sometimes turned into a whole bodylanguage dance to express what i wanted to tell Ana and Matt. It was quit funny because either they just interpreted everything exactly like i wanted to say it ( mostly Ana ) or were making fun of me and just saying something completely different ( well, you can guess that that was Matt ) or just handsign back. This is the best part anyway..if you can´t talk people also don´t talk or just whisper back to you..really funny.. i had to remind them that they actually could just say what they need to say.

one little part of the Phi Phi crew together again ;-)

Well, and the other thing that happened was that it got really..really cold at night. I´m not kidding, I had to buy a jumper and a scarf so i wouldn´t freeze to death. And getting up in the morning to go to our Yoga class turned out to be a real challenge as getting out of bed  or -even harder-going to the toilet was rather challenging.  It felt kind of like that..

But this cold evenings brought back memories of Christmas..all the lights were lit, on the streets you had a little market every day to buy jewellery, scarfs, food , tea.... i was wearing a hat and a big scarf and walked arm in arm with my good friends through this magical place.
Just a perfect place to get some rest, fresh air and healthy attitude towards body and soul after the weeks of party, buckets,dancing and craziness in the south of Thailand.

Market feeling

Ana and Matt left after 4 days so i did the big walks to the Wat and the Waterfalls alone, enjoying my own company for a while.I couldn´t talk anyway..right?!
But as always when you are travelling alone..you are never alone for too long..i met Sarita from Australia and we had the loveliest 3 days together just hanging out, riding our bicycles through the mountains and ending the days with a good Chai tea.

enjoying good street food with Sarita

not to forget the best Chai in Pai

After a week it was time for a new adventure and so i took a 3 hour journey to somewhere in between Pai and Chiang Mai to visit Leah, a friend from Australia. She is currently living at the Panya project, an organic farm which experiments the concept of sustainable living and permaculture since approximately 6 years.

More from there....
xo, j