Saturday Morning Breakfast, Queensland Style
Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Zaia Kendall May 17, 2012
Editor’s Note: Besides making a mean Saturday morning breakfast, Tom and Zaia make a formidable team to learn from as well. It’s not too late to jump onto their next PDC, starting in just a few days… (May 20).
Saturday is a special day for us: it is our only day off in the week and we like it being a family day. That is why I like making a nice pancake breakfast on Saturdays. This week our breakfast was made with mainly homegrown or locally grown ingredients.
by Zaia Kendall, PRI Sunshine Coast
Bunya nut pancakes, avocado chocolate mousse,
raw cream and a dollop of yakon & passionfruit jam. Mmmm….
Saturday is a special day for us: it is our only day off in the week and we like it being a family day. That is why I like making a nice pancake breakfast on Saturdays.
Last Saturday we had a feast of mainly homegrown yummies on the table: Bunya nut pancakes, Yakon and Passionfruit jam, raw cream, avocado chocolate mousse and bananas.
Comments (2)The Pending Collapse of Western Australia’s Breadbasket?
Biodiversity, Food Shortages, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Zaia Kendall May 10, 2012
In our travels to Tom’s old stomping grounds, we were shocked to find WA’s breadbasket degraded, eroded and overtaxed.
by Zaia Kendall, Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast
Bare Paddock in WA, with some rocks and Pademelons visible
We recently went to Western Australia to see Tom’s family. Tom hasn’t lived in WA for 10 years now, and he was shocked by the severe degradation seen driving South from Perth.
There was evidence of overgrazing (it’s mainly sheep in that area) and excessive chemical use. The overgrazing has compacted the earth — there is no organic material left and when it rains the ground cannot absorb any water. There were some puddles in places on the side of the road. There seemed to have been a reasonable amount of precipitation over the summer. The average rainfall in that area is 500mm per year. A lot of erosion was visible, there are now bigger culverts than 10 years ago, so there must be more runoff which means more topsoil loss. There is evidence of salinity with trees dying in the lower levels.
Comments (5)Permaculture Design Certificate Course at the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast on 20 May 2012
Courses/Workshops — by Zaia Kendall
News on the upcoming PDC course with PRI accredited teacher Tom Kendall. This post reveals some of his background.
18 Day compost
For people who are aware of the need for change in the world, the Permaculture Research Institute Sunshine Coast is an educational facility that encourages change to a sustainable, self reliant and abundant lifestyle to benefit self, others and the earth. PRI-SC’s Permaculture Design Certificate combines Bill Mollison’s and Geoff Lawton’s teachings with Tom Kendall’s lifelong agricultural and self reliance experience.
Comments (0)Personal Responsibility and Causes for Consumerism
Consumerism, Society — by Zaia Kendall April 23, 2012
Editor’s Note: This article is courtesy of the new PRI Sunshine Coast (formally Kin Kin SOULS), led by highly experienced permaculturists, Tom and Zaia Kendall. Please note that Tom and Zaia will be hosting a 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course from May 20, 2012, and a full 10-week Permaculture Life Skills Internship from June 4, 2012.
From a very early age in modern society we are taught that we are not responsible for things that happen to us. This article deals with how we can change that attitude.
From a very early age in modern society we are taught that we are not responsible for things that happen to us. In kindergarten and day care facilities, and even park playgrounds have to have a bouncy soft floor to minimise injury. The equipment has to have certain size restrictions and everything is made to ensure the kids can play without hurting themselves. Tree climbing is now forbidden. Children are not allowed to eat mud pies, crawl in dirt, play with sticks, insects, etc., or get into contact with any germs. Besides the fact that we now discourage kids from interactions with our natural environment (nature), we are wrapping our kids up in (synthetic) cotton wool, which is becoming detrimental to our society.
The Time for Change is Now!
Consumerism, Society — by Zaia Kendall February 21, 2012
What is happening in the world today and how can people help themselves, each other and the planet, so that the future will look bright again.
by Zaia Kendall
I would like to start off by saying how much I love Australia. The people are great, there is a lot of opportunity here for everyone and we have a lot of space and an enormous amount of wealth.
Unfortunately, this also means that people become complacent.
Comments (9)Yacon Syrup
Food Plants - Perennial, Health & Disease, Medicinal Plants, Processing & Food Preservation, Recipes — by Zaia Kendall August 16, 2011
by Zaia Kendall
We had an over-abundant supply of yacon that had to be harvested. Yacon (also known as ground apple) grows very easy in our (sub-tropical) climate — one plant produces many rhizomes for division and re-planting. It needs very little attention when in the ground and Tom is of the opinion that it improves the soil where it has grown.
One can only eat so much yacon and we do not like wasting resources, and after visiting a health shop and noticing the latest health craze is yacon syrup, I decided to try and make some.
Comments (7)Native Bees to Help Our Garden
Animal Housing, Biodiversity, Insects, Working Animals — by Zaia Kendall May 17, 2011
As the world’s bee population is becoming more and more endangered we are keen to embark on the journey of native bee keeping.
by Zaia Kendall
Australian Stingless Bee
As many of you already know, the world’s bees are in trouble. Colony collapse disorder, predator beetles and probably a range of other factors that have to do with our lack of care for the earth is slowly annihilating the world’s bee population. We have definitely noticed a decrease in bee activity in our garden this year and are extremely concerned about this problem, since a lot of our plants depend on bees to produce fruit or vegetables.
So, we were very excited to discover a native beehive in a log on our property.
Comments (3)Use of Biological Resources in Establishing a Food Forest
Food Forests, Food Plants - Perennial, Medicinal Plants, Plant Systems, Seeds, Trees — by Zaia Kendall March 7, 2011
by Tom & Zaia Kendall, Queensland, Australia
This article talks about how we use biological resources to direct and accelerate the growth of our food forest.
 Part of our Food Forest |
Tom has been planting out our food forest over the past few years. We use a chicken tractor to prepare the soil. They get rid of the weeds and grass seeds for us, and dig the soil up and fertilize (and they still lay eggs too!!). When the soil is prepared enough we move the chook tractor to another spot in the food forest that needs to be prepared.
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