Permaculture Links
- Permaculture (UK, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin and South America, Australia/New Zealand, North America.)
- Sustainable Agriculture.
- Organics.
- General Gardening.
- Other Systems including biodynamics and natural farming.
- Trees and Agroforestry
- New Crops and other wonderful plants
- Rare Plants/Heritage Seeds.
- Herbs and Medicinal Plants.
- Soaps, dyes and the uses of plants.
- Foraging, wild plants and wilderness advocates.
- They Just Don't Fit other interesting sites including Hemp, Trees, Compost and Botany.
- Places you can get books from.
- Vegan Stuff
- Genetics and Pesticides
- Communities and Eco-villages.
- Green Building
- Green and Environmental.
A couple of others have split off into their own pages:
- News Groups and Mailing Lists
- One of the best ways for finding answers to specific queries is to ask others on the internet, Theres a lot of knowledgeable people out there.
- Databases, Botany and Photos
- Various places where you can find more information about specific plants: Ethnobotany, Databases, Photos and pictures.
- UK Permaculture Organisations Offline
- Lots of addresses of useful UK groups.
- Suppliers
- Places world wide where you can find interesting plants
And if you really want more links the Internet Directory for Botany has nearly 3000. The internet mining company has two interesting and comprehensive sections: Vegtable Gardening and Herbs For Health. The AgriSurf! Agricultural Web Index looks promising, a searchable index to over 6000 agricultural sites. Study Web has a vast selection of links to Agriculture, Botany, Organics etc. Scott's Botanical Links An archive a Botanical Link's of the day dating back to 1996.
Bugs
If you find any out of date links here please let us know [email protected].
Permaculture: Must See Sites
I've tried to index by region: UK, Europe,Africa, Middle East, Latin and South Ammerica, Australia/New Zealand, North America.
Probably the best place to start for permaculture information is the Permaculture FAQ, which lists most sites and organization as well as introducing some of the concepts behind the subject.
Another must see is InterGarden put together by the Lawrence London, the chap who created the Permaculture mailing list. Contains lots of material culled from the various news groups and mailing lists with answers to everything.
A big list of permaculture groups world wide can be found on the Permaculture Actavist website site.
International Permaculture Conference has the full text of its proceedings on the web, with lots of papers about all aspects of permaculture.
A Permaculture Primer by Dan Earle and Sue Hutchins describes the principles, components, concepts, resources and the associated movements of permaculture.
Netscapes Open Directory project, where anyone can be a editor for a directory page, could turn into one of the best search engines about. The permaculture page looks promissing, and they put us at the tippy-top.
The PermaCulture Wiki and the Permaculture Permacuture, Forest Gardening and Organic Gardening sections in the WikiPedia both which are colabrative encyclodia type things.
Permaculture Projects by region
UK
See also UK Permaculture Organizations Offline and Communities and Eco-villages for other UK projects.
PermaWeb good source info on UK permaculture.
Permaculture Association (Britain) The main UK group for Permaculture, has details of Courses and Events in the UK, and details of services the Association can offer UK groups.
Permanent Publications Publish the UK based Permaculture Magazine. The site contains details of the mag, their book catalogue, and UK Forrest Gardening projects and regular permaculture news and several interesting articles reprinted from the mag. Their Earth Repair Catalogue of 230 permaculture and related books can also be browsed online.
Agroforestry Research Trust researches into temperate agroforestry and into all aspects of plant crops. Lots of info on different types of agroforestry. You can order lots of plants, seeds and booklets from them.
Earthcare garden design and construction. More friends of Plant For A Future. They specialise in forest gardens/woodland gardends/veganic gardens and edible landscapeing.
Primal Seeds a wonderful campaigning site, not really permaculture but focuses on bio-diversity and food security. Offers a good critique of the monoculture practices. With news, actions etc.
Green Adventure South London project, with lots of good eco-permaculture stuff going on. Community Orchards being one example. An inspiration to all.
Naturewise North London project which has set up two forest gardens in an Urban environment. Run lots of Courses.
Edible Bristol Project - its all happening in Bristol which has a very active permaculture group. The focus here is on urban agriculture with a few pages describing their own urban forest garden and links to other urban ag. sites. Bristolians may also be intrested in Kebele a vegan cafe, the site features lots of news from the Bristol area.
TreesponsibilityA local tree-planting group in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, aiming to prevent flooding and counter CO2 emissions by planting trees, and to promote sustainable ways of living.
South East Essexs Organic Gardners featuring Permaculture a Beginners Guide a cartoon intro to permaculture. And a whole bunch of photos of permaculture in action on the authors garden.
Brighton Permaculture Trust. It looks like they are an active group with regular meetings.
Graig Arw Permaculture This South Wales community could turn into something exciting, if only they can raise the money to get some land.
Permaculture design at Tir Penrhos Isaf A project in Snowdonia, Wales which has been going for about ten years. Among the many intresing articles are one on yields which actually shows that Gorse can be a useful plant.
Ragman's Lane Farm One of the premier permaculture sites in the UK with a big range of courses on offer.
East Suffolk Permaculture One of these days the PFAF site will look as good as this. They have all sort of Suffolk type info, meetings, annual gathering, newsletters, links.
Middlewood A permaculture project based near Lancaster. Pictures of the various projects they undertake. The project has a strawbale visitors center where the run courses and a camping barn which you can rent.
Oakwoods Native Plant Foundation South Wales project, into wild flowers, conservation and education. Have a catalogue.
The Living Village Trust Building a 40 house eco-village in Bishops Castle Shropshire on land with planning permission and owned by the Trust. It might be possible to work as a volunteer. A very abitious project which could become a landmark project.
Permaculture in the Mersey Basin You could almost call the Basin my second home, this lot run courses through the area.
New Leaf Scottish group creating a new sustainable eco-village somewhere south of the Grampian hills and north of the Cheviots.
The Natty Trust a community network based in the Brighton area who are buying land for use in a permaculture fashion by members of the trust. Hold regular gathering for members of the trust.
Turners Field Another pioneering permaculture project, in Somerset, run lots of courses.
Tinkers Bubble "An environmentally sensitive human settlement, Tinkers' Bubble is a working example of sustainable living." Bassed in Somerset Tinkers' Bubble has sucessfully chalanged planning law and now have five years to show how low impact housing can intergrate sucessfully with sustainable agriculture. The web page has details of the book "Low Impact Development" by one of the main movers Simon Fairlie. You might also find some good info in Chapter 7!
Permaculture farm and campsite an interesting project in Cwmpencraig, near Drefach Felindre in Dyfed, Wales.
Steward Community Woodland A project in Devon being set up to demonstrate the value of integrating conservation woodland management techniques (such as coppicing and natural regeneration) with organic growing, traditional skills and crafts and low-impact sustainable living.
Vegan Organic Trust Vegan-organics is any system of cultivation that avoids artificial chemicals and sprays, livestock manures and animal remains from slaughter houses. Alternatively, fertility is maintained by vegetable compost, green manures, crop rotation, mulches, and any other method that is sustainable, ecologically viable and not dependent upon animal exploitation. This will ensure long term fertility, and wholesome food for this and future generations.
Becontree Organic Growers London based co-partnership of local people working to revitalise disused land by promoting and respecting natural ecosystems. Very basic site.
National Association of Farmers' Markets. A Farmers' Market is one in which farmers, growers or producers from a defined local area are present in person to sell their own produce, direct to the public. All products sold should have been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the stallholder.
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens have details of lots of City Farms all across the UK many of these you can visit.
Edible Ecosystems in Sustainable Agriculture A Study of Permaculture in Britain an online MA dissretation which provides a good review of the current state of permaculture in the UK. Contains site visits of several projects in the UK.
Wholesome Food Association a UK-wide food labelling scheme designed to encourage smaller-scale food growers and producers to supply local customers with wholesome, chemical-free produce, identified by a widely-recognised symbol. Offers a good alternative to the Soil Association.
Alotment regeneration iniative ARI aims to get more people - individuals and community groups - growing on urban allotments. It will do this by: Promoting and supporting innovation and good practice in allotments management through technical support and advice, site visits, information materials and networking events. Projecting a positive and active image of allotments Raising the profile of allotments with the Government, local authorities and the public.
Dial House Trust - A Centre for Dynamic Cultural Change birth place of the band Crass this centre in Essex has been a focus for much radical activity in the past 30 years. And its now getting right into permaculture.
Tir Penrhos Isaf We have been working at Penrhos (or Benthros, as it is known locally) since 1986 and been living here since February 1992 when we gained temporary planning permission from the Snowdonia National Park. Over that time we have continued to develop our permaculture design for the holding through the practical application of the ethics and principles of permaculture.
This Land Is Ours - A Land Rights Campaing for the UK
Self Willed Land An excellent site with a lot of good thoughtful articles about permaculture, woodland gardening and farming. Of particular interest is the article about self-willed land - the rewilding of open spaces in the UK about the need to allow true wilderness to develop again in this country.
Europe
See The European Permaculture Directory for links to projects throughout Europe.
The EcoForest Garden Trust a British group who run a raw food eco-village in Southern Spain which seems to be thriving. Site has a a good set of links to rawfood and permaculture projects.
Spanish Permaculture Lots of stuff on permaculture in Spain all in Spanish.
Permacultura-es El portal de permacultura en lengua española.
The Permaculture Research Institute Denmark. Still under construction when I last looked (Sept 00) but look prommising.
La Mohea permaculture in semi-deserts in Spain. Run working holidays, and courses.
Guía Verde has lots of good plant links with a Spanish flavour (not particularly permaculture or or organic though). In English and Spanish.
Sunseed Desert Technology is a research project in Spain dedicated to developing sustainable sollutions for Arid lands. These include solar stills for purifying water, Underground greenhouses and researching trees and shrubs for desert reclamination. They run an extensive working volunteers program. I've been to visit in '89 and can highly recomend the place.
Vida Verde next door to Sunseed in Almeria provience, Spain. They run a good catalogue of seeds for unusual edible plants.
Phil Rooksby and Maureen Rooksby are now in Portugal and busy preparing to open their visitor centre and forest garden to the public. If you are interested in supporting our work, promoting the ideals of self-sufficiency & sustainability, please write (in the old-fashioned way) to us at: Monte da Horta, Sao Pedro, 7630-215, ODEMIRA, Alentejo, Portugal. At the moment we would be particularly grateful for offers of seeds & young plants of any edible species. Just pack them well and send by airmail. There will also be opportunities for volunteering, especially with planting, in 2005.
Permacultura Montsant, Spanish project in Tarragona, pages in Spanish.
The Organic Centre "Ireland's Centre for Information, courses and workshops on organic gardening and farming."
Beau Champ eight hectares in the Dordogne, France. Into community, permaculture and alternative technologies. Some friends spent an good few months there and came away impressed. Run lots of workshops and visitor weeks. (Version Française)
Yggdrasil A Belgian Project.
Die Permakultur Akademie: A new (Jan 2002) Permaculture Academy for the german speaking countries Germany, Austria and Swizerland. They will work in cooperation and with a similar concept as the Permaculture Academy of Britain. One of our aims is to issue a course programe for german speeking course.
permakultur austria Info about the group in Austrian plus contacts in Germany and Austria, and some other permaculture stuff (most in German).
Austrian Permaculture (German Language Site)
The German Permaculture Association (German Language Site)
Agricultura Ecológica a page in Spanish with lots of good links to spanish and world wide info. (also in English).
The Earth Village Network an International foundation based in Holland which is setting up eco-village permaculture projects. They already have one site in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
Ecotopia Permaculture Francais, Belgium contacts.
Rudina Permaculture Research Institute Converting a refugee camp in Macedonia into a Permaculture demonstration gardens. Run lots of courses including a Permaculture design Course in Sept 2000.
The website of L'Academie Bretonne de Permaculture.
NORSØKsitt hovedmål er å fremme utviklinga av økologisk landbruk. A Norwegien institute who work for increased knowledge and the further development of ecological (organic) agriculture, thus contributing to the implementation of a sustainable society.
Africa
Berg-en-Dal Sustainable dryland permaculture project. Nice site about this South African eco village.
Permaculture a group based in South Africa. Good for local contacts.
Permaculture Training Centre of Uganda (still under construction).
Eco Carabane Center On a island just south of Senegal, workshops, permaculture, Aquaculture etc.
PermaGhana promotes Permaculture in Ghana, do a lot of training in schools and the community. Has a very fancy front page which chrashes netscape.
Red de Permacultura Palmera . Permaculture in the Canarias (in Spanish). Also see Agri-Tourism in La Palma, Canarias (in English).
The S.E.E.D Project - South Africa Focussing on environmental education in townships nead cape town.
Middle East
The Green Kibbutz Group / Israel Pc Group Israeli group with a reforestation project and several courses.
Kibbutz Lotan, on the road to becoming an ecological community/ecovillage. May be the current contact for above? They are running a green apprenticeship program.
Latin + South America
Educación Ecológico. Permacultura, Agricultura Orgánica, Ecología. Mexican group, run courses , have a chat room, and some articles in Spanish and English. Permaculture In Cuba
A list of Brazilian permaculturalists can be found Here
Asociación Gaia An eco-village in Argentina. Page also in Español
Mexico Child Link a farm for children with learning dificulties run on permaculture principals.
Australia/New Zealand
Permaculture New Zealand A New Zealand-based e-mail list, to keep in touch about courses and other permaculture information.
Gaia Trees are a New Zealand-based nursery based on permaculture principles. Their site includes some information on native rainforest hardwoods, medicinal uses for native plants and trees, and species information. Their on-line garden centre includes a plant search.
Atcros The Web version of the Australian Tree Crops Sourcebook. Lots of info on different organizations in Australia and around the world. Plus some lists of common names and oil yielding plants.
Permaculture International A journal for PC. The site feature info on the mag, a good international directory of PC organization, a mail-order catalogue of Books etc (not plants though), some eco news, and a few articles from the mag.
Permaculture Global Assistance Network A group trying to build international cooperation in the permaculture community. Lots of links and info about the project.
Permaculture Visions An Australian Permaculture design company. The site contains general PC info, seed-saving, IS0 14000 (an environmental quality standard!) etc. Perhaps the most interesting page is Permaculture Plants which lists lots of different tropical plants and their uses.
Permaculture material on WWW and the Internet An embryonic page put together by Dwayne Jones-Evans.
Permaculture Research Institute Set up by Bill Mollison, run various courses.
Rosneath Farm is an eco-village development in south-west Western Australia. It is at an exciting stage; the first houses for residents and the first village infrastructure are being built over the first six months of 2000. As at July 2000, there are 41 blocks available for sale.
Holmgren Design Services in Vistoria, David Holmgren is one of the founders of Permaculture.
Permaculture Design have some very interesting projects in Madagascar, India and Sount Africa.
North America
Gardening As An Anarchist Plot Brilliant site with loads of organic/holistic/permaculture friendly garden ideas & techniques plus pages titled 'The Year of the Urban Terracist' and instructions on downloading your own dinosaur.
Permaculture Drylands Institute focuses on permaculture concepts and designs for arid lands, with a heavy focus on New Mexico and Arizona, publish a quarterly newsletter and run design courses.
Permaculture The Earth New site which should soon (12 Nov 97) have some on link forums. Got a good deal with amazon.com where you get permaculture books through them.
International Institute for Ecological Agriculture Have a Farm, Run Courses, and a good list of US PC groups, and a recomended reading list.
The Permaculture Actavist A US based magazine with lots of interesting PC stuff, the site itself contains a few articles, plus lots of other resources.
Permaculture and Sustainable Living & Livelihood is the home of a number of interesting groups, and lots of articles. Plus related material on Cooperatives, Agriculture and Horticulture, Architecture and Community etc.
Sustainable Living News An online newsletter of sustainable and permaculture info, its becoming Reader Written.
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center combining permaculture with a educational center. They are very well established with 10 full time staff and a budget in the $100,000's. One day we may be able to follow their example.
A Permaculture Primer offers a good introduction to permaculture, covering many aspects. Its also has a good list of books and other resources.
Garden O Vegan Want a groovy project in a gourgeous spot? Then check out this Hawaiian project. Plus there good mates of ours.
Dreamtime Village A Wisconsin project. Especially into Endarchy, hypermedia and radical education.
Lost Valley Education Center An Oregon based project permaculture with a spiritual perspective. Run lots of courses.
Heathcote Intentional Community Have a permaculture demonstration site and run some courses.
Larry's Page has info on permaculture design software, and a few Californian projects.
Permaculture Hot Spots A good set of links.
Permaculture Institute of Northern California
La'akea Permaculture Gardens Hawaii (Good set of links).
FUTPLEX A brand new web based chat room for permaculture. Also have a look at Colabrative Efforts which is gathering information on Sustainable Living from all over.
The Password: Organic Gardening Some interesting links to organics, permaculture, compost, help full bugs, etc.
Sustainable Farming of Central Minnesota. The mission of this group is to promote the use of environmentally and economically sound agricultural practices and to ensure a healthy future for family farms and all of the people of central Minnesota.
Central Valley Permaculture Group Just a set of links at the moment, but watch this space.
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture's kind of like permaculture but different. To sus it out you could have a look at some of these.
Sustainable Agriculture Resources on the Net Lists various newsgroups and site devoted to sust-ag.
Sustainable Agriculture Network a network of US groups involved in sustainable agriculture. Have a lot of very good publications, fund research and run a mailing list.
ILEIA Centre for Information on Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture A welth of information, including a good literature database, lots of links. Publish a quarterly magazine. Strong emphesis on developing countries.
Sustainable Farming Connection Lots and lots of useful information for the farmer.
Food First The Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First and the Transnational Institute. Articles relevant to small-scale farming and global productivity, as well as a vast list of links to human rights/ sustainable agriculture/ global solutions sites. A brilliant resource on the academic end of things.
The US Department of Agriculture's Alternative Farming Systems Information Center has lots of interesting resources covering just about everything.
The University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program has lots of books, video's etc, plus a few web resources notable mentioning cover crops. The have an interesting page on How to Find Agricultural Information on the Internet.
The Tropical Ecological Farm An interesting site and an interesting project.
The World Sustainable Agriculture Association A few articles of a global strategy perspective.
International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability (ISSN:1473-5903) An academic journal on the subject.
Sustainable Trees and Shrubs A big list of plants and the types of conditions they thrive in. Particularly suitable for Southern New England (USDA Hardiness Zones 7a - 5b) and concentrates on low maintenance plants.
Mulch-Based Agriculture GroupTheir motto is Sustainable Agriculture With A Sense of Humus Have extensive citations bibliographies.
Have a look at Living on the Earth with Bill Duesing a collection of articles first appearing on his weekly show on American Public Radio. They make a good read.
The Farm A nice graphical interface to lots of links about things of interest to sustainable agriculture.
Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization A Christian organization who provide technical support to third world development groups. They specialize in urban gardening, and providing seeds and information. There's lots of useful info hidden throughout their site.
Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture Independant research institute, publish alternative agriculture news and several discussion papers.
Organics
I suppose you could say permaculture is to organics as vegan is to vegetarian. Hence there's lots of organic sites out there here's a sample. So for those of you who don't fancy Soya milk ...
MidNet Organic UK based, have info on UK organizations, and some hints and tips. Plus an organic garden tour. And other UK based resources.
Don't Panic Eat Organic The home page of an organic farmer in California, who's into growing Cherimoya a exotic fruit. His page is the best I've found for Organic
WWOOF: willing workers on organic farms. Want to learn what organic farms are all about by volunteering? Click here. Projects in 16 countries. Also see (WWOOF KOREA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada).
Soil Association Premier UK group which certifies organic food. Comprehensive set of leaflets on all sorts of stuff.
GardenZoneThis site is for any gardener in the UK who would like to grow their own food: organic vegetables, organic fruit and, last but not least, organic herbs. A good friedly intro.
Organic Trade Services a good resource for all in the organic industry in the UK. Includes: a comprehensive listing of producers and suppliers, news and events. Aimed more at buisnesses than consumers.
GaiaOne Knowledge Systems Lots of info on the Canadian Organic Scene, Organic Standards, Farmers Markets, Organic Growers, Events etc, and an online report on Transition to Organic Farming.
Organic Gardening from Sierra Pelona Press A good fun site, with lots of tails about organic pest control, with readers letters and stuff like that, makes for a good read.
Canberra Organic Growers' Society A useful resource for Australian visitors, listing seed suppliers, organic organizations, and lots of other goodies.
There's as UK based Organic Gardening Mailing list To subscribe send a message to: [email protected] with 'subscribe organic-l (your full email address)' in the body of the message.
Organic eprints a archive of 1500 electronic publications of interest to organic agriculture. A high proportion of German language articles.
Gardening
... and gardening is like meat eating. Still they have their uses.
One Green World US based on-line catalogue with wide variety of edible plants, nut and fruit trees, and plant products. No particular emphasis on organic cultivation. Several good books on edible plants, though.
Chelsea Physic Garden founded by the Society of Apothecaries in 1673 in order to promote the study of botany in relation to medicine, then known as the "physic" or healing arts. As the second oldest botanic garden in England it still fulfills the traditional functions of scientific research and plant conservation and undertakes to educate and inform as well as to provide the amenity of a walled "secret" garden in the heart of London.
Sensory Garden Project A garden designed specifically to be Positive About Disabled People. To stimulate the senses and provide a haven of peace, a place to chill-out and unwind from the stress of modern living. Run by North Staffs MS Society.
Guía Verde has lots of good plant links with a Spanish flavour (not particularly permaculture or or organic though). In English and Spanish.
Jayne's Dragon Links to resources for various plants.
Garden Web A big site with listings of plants societies, businesses and other groups. Lots (50ish) of online forums which have a good amount of traffic.
GuardenGuides Good links, plus some info on Herbs. Have details of a couple of hundred Annuals, Bulbs, Perennials, Vegetables and Herbs.
GardenNet looks quite a good site with lots of info on gardening, including a comprehensive list of catalogues.
Gardening.com Quite a good site with a well organized set of links. They've also got an on-line database of plants, unfortunately they concentrate on pretty looking ones with nice flowers and no uses.
Virtual Garden Giant site: 3000 species database, searchable list of links, big plant catalogue etc.
Kernxotica a site dedicated to exotic plants in Cornwall.
Northern Pond A site all about ponds, with lots of links to more aquatic fun.
Journal of New Rare and Unusual Plants seems to concentrate more on ornamental species. But might be worth a look. The latest update has lots of article taken from the magazine.
Lesbian gardens some interesting stuff on the origins of plant names, plus various garden tours and chat rooms.
Backyard Gardener Nice site with articles on several different aspects of gardening, including Bog Gardens, Herb Gardens. Each page features a list of plants suitable for that environment.
Earth and Tables A fair selection of resources for Gardners and Cooks, includes a discussion list.
Daydreamer Gardens have some links to water garden web-sites.
Just Gardening quite a lot of forums for gardening discussions plus a few articles.
Other Systems
The Bio-Dynamic Association "Biodynamics is part of the work of Rudolf Steiner, known as anthroposophy -- a new approach to science which integrates precise observation of natural phenomena, clear thinking, and knowledge of the spirit." Here this is applied to agriculture and they seem to be particularly keen on soil health.
Also check out the UK site on Bio-Dynamic Association of Great Britain, the UK-based version of the above. Lots of information about training, supplies including seeds and other Biodynamic equipment, a very comprehensive book list, and an on-line version of the "Star and Furrow", the journal of the BioDynamic Association. Also a few links to other biodynamic sites, anthroposophy and organic gardening.
MOA Natural Farming Another system devised in Japan by Mokichi Okada which seeks to "to respect nature and to adopt its providence as a standard" and "to bring out the natural strength and great ability of living soil".
The Fukuoka Farming Website an outgrowth and extension of The Fukuoka Farming Mailing List, created as a place where people interested in Masanobu Fukuoka's revolutionary method of sustainable agriculture can network and share resources. On this website the terms agriculture, farming, and gardening are considered to be synonymous and interchangeable, differentiated only by the size of implementation.
International Nature Farming Research Center All in Japanese, based around Fukuoka's system.
Masanobu Fukuoka Interview in In Context magazine.
Light Writings has more on Fukuoka's system and lots about seed balls. Plus annoyingly short pieces on lots of other systems.
Biointensive Agriculture dates back 4000 years in China, and includes Double-Dug Raised Beds, Intensive Planting, Composting and Companion Planting. Reports of very high yields. Catalogues of rare seeds also available on the web site.
The Forest Garden Program Promotes Analog Foresty, which is not far off the PFAF ideal. There are now 35 villages in Sri Lanka practicing the scheme.
Biological Control A good site about bugs eating bugs. Lots of links.
Remineralization: grinding up rocks and putting them on your plants. Reported to have amazing effects recreated the state of soil just after and ice age. See the Remineralise The Earth web site. You can read about it at InterGarden or Turtle EyeLand Phill Madeley has written a Thesis on the subject, which contains a good introduction, an experiment using Lettuces and also a good set of Links and references.
The Future is Abundant Most of an on-line book of the same title, this seems to have a lot of inspiration from Fukuoka and Permaculture may also have reference to companion planting.
Keylines a system where the contours of a path of land are analyised to pick the best places for placeing swales, lakes, trees roads, water courses etc. Also see here. The Keyline Plan is a complete book by P A Yeoman on the subject.
Precision farming is getting a bit of a rep these days. Basically its about using lots of high tech monitoring to assess just what nutrients you need to add to get the best growth. Not entirely in keeping with the organic way but it may attract some conventional farmers. The Centre for Precision Farming is a reasonable starting point also have a look at The Grain Supply Update which mentions it briefly.
Trees and Agroforestry
The-Tree aims to share information about the many different facets of knowledge about trees: Trees and the Environment, Cultivation, Extensive Tree portraits of British Trees, Tree Medicine, Permaculture and Agroforestry, Woodcrafts, Myths and Folklore, Philosophy, Customs and Culture inspired by trees, Forestry news from around the world and lots more!
The Overstory a free e-mail agroforestry journal for practitioners, researchers, professionals, and enthusiasts. 93 Issues to date with many an interesting article.
US Association for Temperate Agroforestry has info on the Key concepts of Agroforestry: alley cropping, windbreaks, riparian buffer strips, silvopasture, and forest farming. Plus Links.
Agroforestry Research Trust researches into temperate agroforestry and into all aspects of plant crops. Lots of info on different types of agroforestry. You can order lots of plants, seeds and booklets from them.
Home Orchard Society Publish a newsletter on orchards, website has a few interesting articles.
Forest, Farm, and Community Tree Network FACT Net was an international network of community groups, development workers, tree breeders, researchers, students, and farmers. These 2,000 partners in 100 countries shared an interest in the use of multipurpose trees to improve the soil, protect the environment, and enhance the well-being of farm families and other land users. Through extension, communications, and research, FACT Net provided the skills and resources needed to introduce, improve, and manage multipurpose trees successfully. Has a good selection on factsheets on many tree crops.
UDSA National Agreoforestry Centre part of the USDA has a good range of practical publications about Agroforrestry, Alley Cropping and Forest Farming. Including such clasics as Marketing Speciallity Forest Products. Its good to see these ideas being promoted by government agencies.
Temperate Agroforestry Homepage "Agroforestry encompasses all of the ways that trees and shrubs, intentionally integrated into agricultural land-use systems, provide tree products and protect, conserve, diversify, and sustain vital economic, environmental, human, and natural resources." Commercially minded but some useful info.
Davies and Company are forest specalists and their web-site contains lots of intresting articles including several on Agroforestry and Tree Crops
Atcros The Web version of the Australian Tree Crops Sourcebook. Lots of info on different organizations in Australia and around the world. Plus some lists of common names and oil yielding plants.
International Tree Foundation For over eighty years the International Tree Foundation has been planting and preserving trees around the world. ITF is a registered charity and does not receive government funding. We have 2,500 members who come together via our county branches and at regular events. They plant trees in their local communities and raise funds for tree planting in the most fragile environments of the world. Our member schools help foster a love of trees in their pupils and we help by providing resource packs, activities and competitions for their students and our younger members. Our aims are to plant and preserve trees and to educate people about the value of trees. Our projects worldwide have ranged from planting Jubilee Woods in the United Kingdom to reforesting the foothills of the Himalayas and to planting a green belt around the Sahara.
Sustainable Trees and Shrubs A big list of plants and the types of conditions they thrive in. Particularly suitable for Southern New England (USDA Hardiness Zones 7a - 5b) and concentrates on low maintenance plants.
The Willow Bank A couple of pages about willows and their uses.
International Oak Society lots of info on Oaks (US centric).
Own-root Fruit Tree and coppice Orchard project advocating the use of non grafted fruit trees.
Hedges' News A very nice newsletter about hedges. In English and French.
PFRA Shelterbelt Centre A Canadian federal tree nursery that promotes economic security, rural development and agricultural sustainability by producing hardy trees and shrubs for prairie farmers and other eligible clients. The Centre also conducts applied research on tree related issues including tree improvement, planting technology, weed control, pest control and agroforestry.
Arboricultural Information Exchange UK centric site with lots of news clipping on tree related issues and a good set contacts and links.
Keslick & Son have composed some useful info about the care of trees.
British Trees A Good resource for info about British Trees.
The Log Pile Promoting wood fule in the UK. Good site with lots of contact and lots on the evrironmental benefits, grants, and different fule options.
Wetlands and reedbeds
Reeds from Seeds Supply reeds Norfolk reed (Phragmites australis) and other marginal wetland plants. Website has good info on Reedbed Treatment Systems.
Rare/Unsual Plants/Heritage Seeds
In the interests of bio-diversity and a more interesting diet here's some contacts. There's lots of silly government rules restricting what seeds your allowed to sell (in the UK you can only sell registered plants and registrations costs a packet) heritage seed programs are an attempt to get round these rules and maintain a wide genetic base.
A Good intro to the subject at The Mining Company
A good set of links to seed saving can be found at Seed Saving Resources
A Manifesto for Seeds a good radical read.
Rural Advancement Foundation International is a Canadian NGO which is concerned about the loss of genetic diversity - especially in agriculture - and about the impact of intellectual property rights on agriculture and world food security. They have lots of articles about patenting of genotypes and other such dastardly deeds.
A good number of articles about seed saving plus links to other groups can be found on the Garden Diversity page.
Seed Savers Exchange A US based organization with 8000 members saving old-time food crops from extinction.
The Seed Saver Network Australian Group who been doing the seed saving thing for a long time, publish a handbook on growing traditional varieties of food plants (not online) and have a few international projects.
Heritage Seed Curators Association A group who save seeds from unusual and rare species, in order to maintain bio-diversity.
Why Save Seeds? more Australian info also has some legal info.
In the UK the Henry Doubleday Research Association does a similar task. (Main HDRA page.)
Flora localeaim is to protect indigenous wild UK plants and plant communities from introduced species.
Heritage Fruits Group Whose mission is to Find, Document and Conserve Old Varieties of Fruit Trees in South East Australia. Are developing a list of all the Heritage Fruit varieties in SEA.
The Abundant Life Seed Foundation is a non-profit organization in the State of Washington into preserving and distributing native and naturalized seed. They have a network of growers and a World Seed Fund which sends hairloom seeds overseas.
Seeds of Texas Seed Exchange The name says it all.
California Rare Fruit Growers Have a database of 200+ rare and unusual edible plants. They also run a seed bank (members only) and publish a magazine.
Rare Fruit News Online a newsletter/ mailing list for Rare Fruits.
Algy's Seed Exchange a bulletin board dedicated to swapping seed.
A Grandmother's Garden Interesting site where the author has preserved many old varieties of flowering plants and vegetables. You can get lots of seeds from him. Some good links as well.
Wylie House has some info on Heirloom Gardening, complete with a good bibliography.
Santa Barbara Heirloom Seedling Nursery This lot sell a good range of seeds.
California Native Plant Society Extensive site focussing in endangered plants in California, with details of same. Plant identification quiz's, Kids pages, etc.
Heirloom Gardens More stuff on Hairlooms, plus a few other seed providers, including Native Seeds/SEARCH who do Native Indian seed.
David Ford in PA has a free service to exchange seeds. It is not commercial and he does not sell the member list. To subscribe simply send a blank e-mail with the work SUBSCRIBE in the subject to [email protected].
Solomon Islands Planting Materials Network Makes avaliable non-hybrid seed of food crops used by village subsistence farmers.
ECHO a Christian non-profit organization whose mission it is to network with community leaders in developing countries to seek hunger solutions for families growing food under difficult conditions. Have a good selection of unusual plant seeds.
Envirotech A good list of links to to Seed Saver resources. Added 2003.
Seeds from Bulgria seed swap / seed exchange A good range of 100+ seeds.
New Crops and other wonderful plants
For lists of online database of plant information see Databases.
Southern African New Crop Research Association Still in construction but has some info on interesting plants in their newsletters.
New Crop Resource Online Program A university department researching lots of new crops, they have massive amounts of detailed info about lots of plants, plus loads of links and lots of other goodies. Seems to be growing rapidly.
Australian New Crops Project A good resource center. Info on new crops, links, research, confrences etc.
International Centre for Underutilized Crops based in the UK, but planning to move south. Very detail info on a number of intresting crops. Run a mailing list.
The Lost Crops of the Incas an online version of this classic book featuring: Achira, Ahipa, Arracacha, Maca, Mashua, Mauka, Oca, Potatoes, Ulluco, Yacon, Kaniwa, Kiwicha, Quinoa, Legumes, Basul, Nunas- Poppomg Beans, Tarwi, Peppers, Squashes, Capuli Cherry, Cherimoya, Goldenberry (Cape Gooseberry), Highland Papayas, Lucuma, Naranjilla- Lulo, Pacay- Ice-Cream Beans, Passionfruits, Pepino, Tamarillo (Tree Tomato), Quito Palm and Walnuts. The format consist of gif images so leave a lot to be desired, but it is searchable.
Some plants are so cool they have whole web sites dedicated to them.
For the Future - the Persimmon Tree Interesting article about the amazing uses of the wild persimmon. Also a recipe for Lye soap.
Neem Foundation All about Neem Azadirachta indica. An Indian tree which is know to control Malaria, Cancer and AIDS, combat desertification and deforestation, reduce excessive global temperature and even help in population control. ALso Health Library plus lots of others with a yahoo search.
Jatropha System An Integrated Approach of Rural Development in Tropical & Subtropical Countries Focuses on Erosion control, Women promotion, Rural income generation, Renewable energy production. Seems to be bassed around a particular plant Jatropha curcas which can be used as a hedge and for oil.
Jiaogulan (China's Imortality Herb). In 1976 a Japanese researcher, looking for a sugar alternative, studied a perennial weed known for its sweetness. He discovered an herb with many qualities similar to ginseng, even though unrelated as a plant. This event sparked years of scientific research on jiaogulan, praised in China as xiancao, the herb of immortality, revealing it to be a powerful adaptogenic and antioxidant herb with many therapeutic qualities. These studies led to jiaogulan's use as a prescription medical treatment in many hospitals in China. A book about the plant is avaliable.
Some of you may be interested in the use of Hemp for fibers or oils or in medicinal and industrial uses. I've a few reservations about the plant, as it could become another cash crop farmed on a large scale and the hype its receiving may divert attention from the many other useful plants which appear here, plus I've been told it quite a greedy plant taking lots of nutrients from the soil. Anyway if you do want to find out some of the uses of hemp have a look UK Cannabis Internet Activists.
Pinenut Page some info on pinenuts.
Home Mushroom Cultivation with Hydrogen Peroxide a bit of an FAQ on the subject. See his links page for other mushroom sites.
Mucuna is it's being hailed as the miracle bean. It produces 100 tonnes per hectare of plant matter. Some grow it as a green manure, some feed it out with the crop to animals, some use the bean seed in bread mixes. A few links BBC article, photo,seed suplier.
Herbs and Medicinal Plants
herbs.startwebseite.net a good starting point for herbal browsing, lots of links and a thriving discussion board. In English and Dutch.
The Alternative Nature On-Line Herbal An excellent set of links to other herbal sites.
Medicinal Plants and Herbal Medicine Massive database of medicinal plants, regularly updated. Also database of Samoan plants. Includes information on chemical constituents of plants, medicinal uses, global distribution and biological characteristics.
Henriette's Herbal Homepage Lots of good herb related stuff, including Herb FAQ's archives of various newsgroups.
HerbNet A giant site, with links to all kinds of herb related stuff, including links to: medicinal plants, courses, events, plants in fact everything herbal.
Algy's Herb Page Lots of stuff about herbs, including Algy's Seed Exchange a busy bulletin board dedicated to swapping seed and overcoming the governmental-agribusiness restrictions on what plants we are allowed to sell.
Southwest School of Botanical MedicineThis is a good site. Lots of pics of herbs and other plants plus articles and classic texts on botanical medicine.
Laurie Lacey's Wild World of Plants A very nicely done page with info about several interesting medicinal plants.
Wolfspirit's Apothecary Forum A beautifully designed site with loads of information about herbal preparations, uses, concoctions. Ample links with "weird stuff" sites.
Wise Weeds Herbs, Aromatherapy and Earth-Based Healing. Mainly a site for ordering herbal products, but several herbalism, organics and alternative remedy links. Also an on-line herbals newsletter.
United Plant Savers Their mission is protect native medicinal plants of the United States and Canada and their native habitat while ensuring an abundant renewable supply of medicinal plants for generations to come. Have an at risk list of Medicinal Plants plus a newsletter with lots of intresting articles.
Herbage A database of information about medicinal uses of plants, site has details of about 200 of the more common plants.
Horizon Herbs have details on about 200 herbs.
the Herb Society (UK) Details on the society and some articles on medicinal herbs.
National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK) Will soon have a list of praticioners in the UK.
Herb Quarterely a magazine about herbs, not much on website.
The Herb Society of America a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the knowledge, use and delight of herbs through educational programs, research, and sharing the experience of members with the community. The Society is committed to protecting our global environment for the health and well-being of humankind and all growing things. They encourage gardeners to practice environmentally sound horticulture. The Herb Society of America does not give advice on the medicinal uses of herbs, but many of our members are interested in ethnobotany and the medicinal uses of plants. Their website includes herb profiles and information about HSA projects, programs, research grants, publications, events, and library resources.
The National Herb Centre UK visitors centre for Herbs. Also do research.
Botanical.com list 800+ types of herbs taken from a 1931 Herbal book.
Mining Company: Herbs for Health Lots of herb resources here, and regularly maintained.
Rainforest Medical Foundation highlights some of the medicinal uses on rainforest plants. Useful herbal medicine links. Plus articles taken from their magazine. The Dec 98 edition as an article about the founder of Ethnobotany.
RainTree Pharmacy to the World, Details of about 100 Rainforest medicinal plants, good links. Also sell various extracts.
Weeds and Wild Things A weekly column, with a good set of links.
Herbal Hall 'Possibly the Internet's most complete library for Herbs..' Not quite but still worth a look.
Howie Broursters Home Good set of herb links, and up to date as well. Some interesting articles as well.
Herba Italica Italian herbal site (in Itallian).
La Red Mexicana de Plantas Medicinales, Aromáticas, Condimenticias y Cosméticas está conformada por cinco grupos de productores ecológicos de los estados de Tlaxcala (Cuaxomulco, Teacalco, Aztatla, Tepeyanco) y Puebla (Zapotitlán de Salinas y Yeolixtlahuaca) así como por técnicos, asesores y consultores con formación en las ciencias biológicas, argonómicas y sociales. Promueve la conservación ecológica, el manejo sustentable, la certificación botánica, el cultivo orgánico, el procesamiento, el control de calidad y el comercio justo de más de 150 especies de nativas y extranjeras con alta demanda local, nacional e internacional. Estos recursos herbolarios tienen importancia en fitoterapia, acupuntura, homeopatía, aromaterapia, cosmetología, microdosis, medicina alópata, industria alimentaria y mercado orgánico.
Susun Weed's Herbal medicine resources for women's health, a few articles and a good set of links.
British Association of Holistic Nutrition and Medicine a not for profit organization dedicated to the scientific research and promotion of holistic methods of animal management, nutrition and medicine.
Soaps, dyes and the uses of plants
Pretty soon after these pages went on line I got an email asking how to make soap, and I was stumped. Its taken almost a year but I found a useful page in the end. I'm still interested in finding other pages on the uses of plants.
National Non-Food Crops Centre "Provide a single, independent and authoritative source of information on the use and implementation of non-food crop products and technologies in the UK. The Centre will disseminate scientific and technical information on these issues as widely as possible in order to increase knowledge and understanding, to initiate and facilitate technology uptake and to meet the Government's and society's wider objectives for sustainable development." (Dec 03).
Soap Making Past and present soap making.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Soap But Were Too Afraid To Ask a brief history of soap.
Files about soap making Including an FAQ.
Algy's Herb Lore + Crafts has list of colours you can get from different plants, and a few links for soap/dyeing/incense.
Northern Groves Bamboo catalogue with detailed information about different bamboo species, as well as several bamboo links and instructions on how to care for them. There is also a bamboo discussion site at Giant Grass for sharing information on all the wonders of Bamboo for landscaping, construction, musical instruments, and food.
There's a couple of mailing lists you may find interesting.
Weaving (mostly weaving): e-mail to [email protected] with 'subscribe weaving' or 'subscribe weaving-digest' at the message. Amy Norris manager [email protected]
DyersList: e-mail to [email protected] with the words
SUBSCRIBE
The Fiber Resources Page the best place I've found to start looking for links to fibers, dyeing and spinning.
BEnTroS details of a database all about bio-engineering in the tropics, i.e. for uses like erosion control, reclamation, soil conservation, re-vegetation.
Candle Cauldron A good starting point for finding out about candles, but nothing much on using vegetable waxes.
Willow Pool Designs Bunch of folk who sell willow products online but also run some interesting courses in willow. Some beautiful photographs of willow installations, advice about living willow dwellings, and tips on planting and growing willow. For details of their courses, see Willow Pool Courses.
Agro Tech Fibers Produce a regular newsletter about agricultural fibers, a few sample issues, but you will have to pay for the rest.
Sustainable Transformation of Rural Areas (SuTRA) is a Programme Unit of the Society for Innovation and Development, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Since 1997, SuTRA has been implementing a rural development project in a cluster of 8 semi-arid villages of Karnataka State. In the process SuTRA has put together technologies to empower farmers in semi-arid tropical areas to manage their local natural resource base of land, water and sunshine in a sustainable way. SuTRA is technologies when linked together provide solutions to the main problems that farmers in semi-arid tropical areas face - water and energy, and help them to triple their land based income.
Wild Plants
There's lots of yummy stuff out there, such as 'Chicken in the Woods' a bracket fungus which has both the taste and texture of chicken. But watch what you take you: there's been a bit of a fuss in the UK over lots of posh London restaurants sending out teams to get the rarest mushroom and decimating the populations.
Wild Ones Native Plants, Natural Landscapes. Promote the establishment of native communities around homes and businesses, using ecologically sound practices. Have some good info on Native Eco-regions, ie. growing plants native to your region. Publish a regular journal for subscribers.
The Edible Wild Kitchen has lots of good articles on Edible WIld plants with lots of recipies. Good link section and home to a very active email group WildForager.
The Forager Home Page A good place to start looking for info on wild foods.
Wild Plants Beautiful photographs to aid identification of wild plants.
The Natural-List Online shopping site. All products are foraged. Main interest in medicinal, wild food and crafts.
The Wild Herb Kitchen Lots of recipies for wild plants, including botanical information on their distribution and history.
Wildman Steve Brill Excerpts from his book on harvesting wild plants and info on half a dozen plants.
Dining on the Wilds Good set of links, big list of edible plants (but no details), and details of the courses they run.
The Wilderness a UK based project promoting wild unmanaged nature. Well radical.
The Wild Flower Page Lots of good UK based info in wild flowers, including bibliography, places to see wild flowers, conservation organizations, lists of plants protected in the UK, common names of plants and a good set of links. The news section is very good revised monthly with lots of articles.
Also check the Ethnobotany Cafe mentioned above.
The School of self-reliance has a wild plant of the week and some wild food advocacy. One of the few survivalist pages which isn't all about guns. They are in the process of moving to a new site self-reliance.net includes a wild edibles chat room.
Wildlife Need Habitat Off-Limits To Humans! Full on human free wilderness advocacy.
Wild Food Forager's of America Publish a monthly newsletter (free subscription required) which goes into detail on a particular wild plant. There is also a forum where the topic of the month can be discussed.
Self Willed Land An excellent site with a lot of good thoughtful articles about permaculture, woodland gardening and farming. Of particular interest is the article "self-willed land - the rewilding of open spaces in the UK" about the need to allow true wilderness to develop again in this country.
Commercial use of wild and traditionally managed plants in the UK Very interesting project run by Centre for Economic Botany at Kew. It has carried out an indepth study of how non mainstream crops are being used in this country. A Hundred page report for your reading pleasure.
Book publishers and suppliers
There quite a few people out there selling lots of good permaculture and related books. Don't forget the Plants For A Future, Edible and Useful Plants for a Healthier World and several other good books are avaliable from us.
Permanent Publications UK based, their Earth Repair Catalogue of 230 permaculture and related books can also be browsed online.
Eco-logic Books UK based, sell a wide variety of gardening, permaculture, AltTech and related books.
Rodale Institute BookStore US Based, Good set of Permaculture Books including Plants For A Future
The Permaculture Activist in the US has a good range of books.
Yankee Permaculture Publications Lots of good pc books including, The International Permaculture Species Year Book, The Resources of International Permaculture (2000+ resources), The International Permaculture Solutions Journal, Permaculture Design Course Pamphlets & Robin Newsletter. The courses run by Elfin Permaculture are listed at ASSN Home Page - ELFIN Soil and Health Library A free public library offering an online of books on holistic agriculture, holistic health, self-sufficient living, and personal development. Most of the titles in this library are out of print. It it includeds such clasices as Yeomans Keyline plan.
Permaculture The Earth Got a good deal with amazon.com where you get permaculture books through them.
A Permaculture Primer offers a good introduction to permaculture, covering many aspects. Its also has a good list of books and other resources.
Permaculture Resources Based in New Jersey and New Mexico, have a large book catalogue, and list of events in the US.
The University of California's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program has lots of books, video's etc, plus a few web resources notable mentioning cover crops.
The Fresh Network UK based network of Raw Food fans, with good set of links and lots of books on the subject.
Native Nursery Has a good selection of books on native Australian plants.
Intermediate Technology Publications Has a wide range of books in intermediate technology, and related issues. Has big sections on agriculture and permaculture. You can order online from them.
Some good bibliographies can be found on the Intergarden Site here here and here.
Courses
BSc Herbal Medicine Degree at Middlesex University, UK Not quite the right URL, but.
They just don't fit
Some interesting sites which go beyond the bounds of my classifications.
Soil and Health Library a selection of articles and online books on Radical Agriculture, Voluntary Simplicity and spiritual issues. The Ag section has about 20 titles ranging from texts from roman times to talks by Lady Eve Balfour (founder of organics) and Yeomans on keylines.
Ecological Engineering has been defined as "the design of the human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both". Ecological engineering integrates various existing environmental fields such as classical ecology, agro-ecology, and restoration ecology. The skills of these fields are used to design low-impact systems for waste treatment, food and energy production, habitat restoration and other benefits.
Water Recycling Massive site dedicated to water recycling, research, waste-water systems, irrigation, water conservation. Many databases around the world for research, and a comprehensive links page. Some ace pictures of innovative water recycling projects around the world.
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Network (EREN) A look at what US govt officials are up to, and various projects in the States. A detailed overview of Advanced Integrated Pond (AIP) Systems as well as other pioneering projects. A wee bit of a PR job but lots of good info.
The SWAMP Project Much less scary than the Blair Witch Project. A non-profit cooperative agency of Parks Canada, involved in research into cold climate use of Constructed Wetlands for wastewater treatment.
If you want to talk to people about gardening and the sacred connection we have to the earth through organic cultivation and foraging, try joining the mailing group at Spirit Garden
Madagasan Vegetation A tour through the the different habitats in Madagascar. With lots of info on how to find out just how many plants there are.
The Wildlife Trust UK group, big on creating wildlife reserves etc. particularly liked Southwark.
New Millennium Gardening A soon to be out newsletter covering permaculture, Heirloom varieties
Ark Institute Well into food self-sufficiency, and food security (i.e. the think we could be in deep shit nosh wise). Publish lots of books and the Grain Supply Update which has lots of interesting stuff about how well different crops are doing.
Smallholders Webring UK based, but mainly devoted to animals. Quite into self-sufficiency.
The City Farmer Lots of stuff on Urban Agriculture. In the UK you might want to have a look at The National Federation of City Farms
Compost Guide Instructions on how to compost, which materials to use, and how to deal with common composting problems.
RotWeb all you ever wanted to know about compost. The Compost Resource Page is another good resource on the subject with discussion groups and info on vermicomposting, compost toilets etc.
Humanure is a complete online book about composting human waste.
Community Compost Network Live in a city, don't know what to do with all your organic waste? Well the community compost network is for you.
The Slow Food Movement an international response to the effect = fast food has on our society and life. It questions the validity of the fast food philosophy as an unconscious credo that erodes our culinary = heritage in the guise of efficiency.
The Pollination Scene Lots of info about bees an pollination.
Oxford Bee Company has info about the Red Mason Bee, Osmia rufa which has great potential as a managed pollinator. They also sell nest kit to encourage the bee.
The Problematical Subject of Microclimatology An interesting piece of UK mirco-climates. (To see click on the Useful Bit). Quite a nice catalogue of unusual ornamentals to go with it.
Not forgetting that esential reading matter: Compost Toilet World Actually a very good site on the subject with worldwide lists of suppliers, consultants etc.
Flower Sense An interesting article describing how plants respond to light, touch, smell and sound. Much is on the level of proteins and genes but it does emphasize how rich plants reactions are.
Minerals Nothing to do with plants at all, but heck its my web page. A really nice guide to all the minerals your likely to find.
Bioneers a fancy web-site with a good set of links to sustainable agriculture, natural design and all sorts.
Agrodesierto A page devoted to arid zone development and permaculture with some useful info on arid plants. Mainly in Spanish.
Kernxotica 'Ihe only website dedicated to the culture of tropical and exotic flora in Cornwall'.
Genetics and Pesticides
Primal Seeds a wonderful campaigning site, not really permaculture but focuses on bio-diversity and food security. Offers a good critique of the monoculture practices. With news, actions etc.
Pesticide Action Network North America Campaigns against the use of pesticides and for sustainable agriculture. Lots of good info on the Dirty Dozen Pesticides and lots more.
Living in a GM world a special feature in New Scientists magazine on the whole GM thing. Lots of good articles highlighting some of the possible consequences.
Other Genetic Engineering sites (shamelessly stolen from Cornerstones Links page).
Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology - The best, easy to understand, breakdown of the genetics issue that I've seen (go to the open letter link)
Genetic Engineering Network - Info and Direct action information point against Genetic Engineering
Super Heroes Against Genetics - Catch up on some of the Super Hero's actions
One world Genetic Engineering site - Good links
Communities and Eco-villages
For some strange reason a lot of permaculture stuff seems to happen in small communities or in eco-villages (larger communities). Don't ask me why ≤smirk≥?
You might like to have a look at our page on Housing Co-ops.
The Eco Village Information Service and International Communities websites are the best starting place. Between then they list most of the interesting projects going.
The Global Eco-Village Directory Global listing of Eco-Communities and similar set-ups, search is by region. Also some good information about visiting eco-villages, and several links. Because it's a global site the individual country detail leaves a bit to be desired - tends to list only the communities everyone knows about!
The definitive guide to UK communities is Diggers and Dreamers, which lists 80+ UK communities. Available from Edge Of Time and maybe elsewhere.
Living Lightly Travels in Post-Consumer Society. A book detailing lots of intresting communities and groups (PFAF included). Inspiring.
Cornerstone Housing Co-op is a groovy place just round the corner from me in Leeds. Lots of radical groups are based there and they have a good set of links, especially to the co-operative movement. Their resource centre can now be found at Cornerstone Resource Centre.
Zegg a German eco-village project which seems to be sucessful. Oneday PFAF will be like this. (Also in German).
Stepping Stones housing co-op, and Upstart Workers co-op. A new venture in the Why valley. Consisting of lots of people who helped get Cornerstone going.
Catalyst Colective Know loads about how to set up workers and housing co-ops.
Radical Routes A co-op of co-op's who's members include Cornerstone, Catalyst.
The Natty Trust a community network based in the Brighton area who are buying land for use in a permaculture fashion by members of the trust. Hold regular gathering for members of the trust.
A Raw Food Eco-village is being set up by the The Fresh Network in Spain.
A few more with Web presence are listed at Co-Construction but this is a bit out of date.
In the UK housing Co-ops are a good way to start you can have a look at our own page or some one else's.
You might also like to have a look at this community come eco-village: Findhorn Foundation a Scottish spiritual community famous for growing massive veg. And Redfield in Buckinghamshire. and EarthBallance A sustainability Center/community in Northumberland.
And then there's Christiania Probably the largest alternative communities going, and its right in the heart of Copenhagen to boot. An inspiration to us all.
Parliamentary State Graciosa A small newly formed independent state on the west cost of Africa.
Vegan and Raw Food Stuff
Vegan Organic Trust UK-based vegans. Produce a newsletter with several friendly articles about veganism, organic gardening and other stuff. Run a certification scheme and a visitors centre in the pipeline.
Vegan Views is a UK magazine started in 1975 by a group of vegans who wanted to make contact with others interested in creating a more harmonious way of living based on veganism. The website has a well maintained news section lots of articles and good links to other Vegan groups.
The Movement for Compassionate Living Some interesting articles and other info on all things vegan.
Center for Vegan Organic Education a US based non-profit education and research organization that teaches people about healthy, sustainable, and compassionate vegan organic gardening techniques.
National Vegan Festival September 16th, 2001, London. The essential gathering for UK vegans.
Vegan Village Best starting point for UK vegans.
Vegan Society UK
Vegan Outreach A few interesting articles.
The Fresh Network UK based network of Raw Food fans, with good set of links and lots of books on the subject. They also are building a Raw Food Eco-village in Spain.
The EcoForest Garden Trust a British group who run a raw food eco-village in Southern Spain which seems to be thriving. Site has a a good set of links to rawfood and permaculture projects.
Empowering Detox retreats and Health courses in Spain: Home Colonics, Juice fasting, Yoga, Meditation, Nutrition & TLC. Tel: (0034)-678-014-534, [email protected],www.home-colonics.com.
Making Waves A Vegan Guest House in St Ives, Cornwall. Good friends of Plants For A Future.
Towards Common Ground; Permaculture and the Vegan Way an essay on the relationship between permaculture and veganism.
Solent Vegitatians and Vegans Veggie group based in Southhampton, good supporters of PFAF.
Green Building
Underground (earth berm and earth sheltered) Homes A good starting point for exploration into underground homes. There's lots of interest in these at PFAF and Lee Flier who was first to put the database online has got an Earthship.
Built Environment Network UK group focusing on green building, architecture and planning. Site has a dozen or so articles of various aspects of same. Inc Walter Segal Self-Build, Straw Bale, etc.
Low Impact News UK group into low impact living, stawbales, eco-villages that sort of stuff.
Cob Cottage Company seems to have some good info on Cob building.
Association for Environment Conscious Building UK based. Reasonable Links, very extensive reading lists, and UK contacts.
British Straw Bale Building Association Info about the group.
Yahoo's Sustainable Construction has a good few places to start.
Natural Building Resources Has a good overview of the main natural building methods.
Timber Framers Guild of North Ammerica Heaps of info.
Green and Environmental
The bigger picture, beyond the garden.
Primal Seeds a wonderful campaigning site, not really permaculture but focuses on bio-diversity and food security. Offers a good critique of the monoculture practices. With news, actions etc.
Low Impact Living Initative a UK non-profit making organisation dedicated to helping protect the global environment by researching and promoting sustainable, low-impact alternatives to various aspects of everyday life. We believe that by incorporating these ideas into their lives, people can help protect the environment, improve their quality of life and save money. Run courses and have information on Biodiesel, Compost toilets, Solar electricity, Solar hot water, Straw-bale building etc.
BioRegional Development Group: founded on the green ideal of local production for local needs. The Group takes a market-led approach to sustainable development and promotes the application of appropriate technology.
Environmental Organization WebDirectory probable the best directory to environmental organization on the web.
Envirotech-ist A good set of environmental links.
OneWorld an online media gateway to inform a global audience about human rights and sustainable development. Has sections on news, jobs, campaigns and events. There are editions for every part of the world.
Women's Environmental Network a very active UK group campainging on environmental and health issues from a women's perspective. Two of their campaings are especially relavent local food promoting locally grown food and genetic engenering.
The Appropriate Technology Source book very comprehensive list of AT resources.
Aboriginal Living Skills School A self-proclaimed "let's-get-ready-for-Y2K-as-best-we-can" site, with numerous links to environmental, seed-saving, heirloom seeds, appropriate technology and other sites.
LetsLink UK Lets stands for Local Exchange Trading Schemes, which lie half way between a barter system and normal money. They are normally base in local communities and offer an alternative to the old jobs/dole dilemma.
Resurgence Magazine has been publishing articles that promote creativity, ecology, spirituality and frugality for the last 30 years. Resurgence questions trade without responsibility and the sanity of money without morality. (UK based).
GreenLine magazine. A good radical green read. Has some online articles and a big diary of UK green events and demos.
Intermediate Technology Founded in 1966 by Dr E.F. Schumacher, author of Small is Beautiful,,IT believes that sustainable development is achieved only if the participants in the process are its architects. It regards 'development' as a process of increasing people's economic power by improving their access to technologies appropriate to their skills, incomes and environments.
The Solar Cooking Archive Shows you how to make a solar cooker for only two dollars! Very practical alt-tech.
Managing Wholes a frequently updated set of articles on whole system design, esp forestry and sustainable agriculture.
Sustainable Agriculture Food and Environment a UK umbrella group of farmers, environmental, consumer, animal welfare and development organizations, working towards Sust Ag.
This Land Is Ours UK land rights campaign not afraid of ocuppying a bit of land and growing food on it. Celebrating 350 years of the Diggers. And includes "Defining Rural Sustainability : Fifteen Criteria for Sustainable Developments in the Countryside together with Three Model Policies for Local Plans.
Quoditch Moor A nature reserve near to PFAF's Devon site, its got some on the Culm grassland that we have.
Howard Lyman Interview The story of a man who turned from buying $1,000,000 worth of agro-chemicals a year to an organic advocate. Part of the McSpotlight site.
In Context Magazine 44 onlines issues of a sustainable living magazine, with articles ranging from Cyber-Activists to Sustainable Habitats.
The UN's report on the state of the planet can be browsed online at United Nations Environment Programme: Global Environmental Outlook The book contains a wealth of information about global environmental trends and potential future action.