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Episode-1111- Geoff Lawton on Property Selection and His Newest Video

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Geoff Lawton - Managing Director of PRI Australia

Geoff Lawton – Managing Director of PRI Australia

Since 1985, Geoff Lawton has undertaken 1,000’s of jobs consulting, designing, teaching and implementing in seventeen different countries around the world. Clients have included private individuals, groups, communities, governments, aid organizations, non government organizations and multinational companies.

In October 1997 Bill Mollison, upon his retirement, asked Geoff to establish and direct a new Permaculture Research Institute on the 147 acre Tagari Farm previously developed by Bill. Geoff Lawton developed the site over three years and established The Permaculture Research Institute as a registered charity and global Networking center for Permaculture projects. Geoff Lawton is the managing director of The Permaculture Research Institute.

Geoff joins us on TSP today to discuss site selection in both the suburbs and rural areas.  He was also good enough to answer quite a few questions from the audience on his latest video and gives us some amazing insights today on how the problem can often indeed be the solution.

Resources for today’s show…

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Comments

Episode-1111- Geoff Lawton on Property Selection and His Newest Video — 20 Comments

  1. Can’t wait to hear Geoff on this podcast.
    I spent the morning (before heading off to my “job”) moving logs & building 2 hugel beds my tiny yard, listening to the video in the background to inspire me. Even though I can’t purchase a bigger piece of land right now, I am very inspired to do all I can in the space that I have. Very excited for the release of video 3, which I think will address all that can be done in small urban/suburban spaces.

    Geoff & Jack, thanks for all you do!
    Cheers,
    Barb

  2. Loved this! Was so excited yesterday I couldn’t fall asleep till 4AM! So many ideas running in my brain!

    Thank you so much for this answered some questions but more importantly helped me see things from the different perspective. Seeing my land with different eyes now solutions are popping in Questions are running amuck. They are better questions now! So now I can get better answers. That will make life much easier.

  3. I have not listened to the podcast yet but thanks in advance to Jack for doing a show on the “extra” questions.

  4. Is it just me or is anyone else wondering how many people there are that can speak with a guy like Lawton totally on his level? Jack you said you consider yourself an apprentice to guys like Geoff the other day, I think you are underselling yourself.

  7. That was a great interview, Jack. You did a good job of focusing the conversation and clarifying some of Geoff’s statements.

    • That would be leucaena and moringa learned about them from Marjory Wildcraft’s DVD. She plants them as fodder and shade for her garden. Making them a short term in a food forest is just a natural fit.

      • Awesome Jack. I love that idea. That will make my nosy neighbor (referenced in Friday’s call in show) think I’m even crazier :). Thanks for the great answer on that question by the way!

  10. There was a Peter Schiff interview of a man living near a flood plain that created a large pond like structure that coupled with a slow municipal pumping system of some sort prevented flooding on his & his neighbors property, and he created an island for fowl inside it. I think it was on 4/7/13 or 4/8/13; however it is now behind a pay wall. I think I downloaded it onto my computer at home before this happended. He might be interesting to talk with or have interact with some of the permaculturist like Mr. Lawton. I am pretty sure I can find it if you want it.

  11. Jack, How do you swale a flat piece of land? I am just south of Dallas so basically the same environment as you. I have half an acre that is basically flat, the house is the lowest spot other than the culvert out in front of the house. When it rains all the water runs off the property into the field next to me. The farmer dislikes it because his access road runs down the side of my property and turns to a mud pit. I would love to keep the water in the landscape longer without having pooling in the yard. Any help would be great even if it is just where to find info on this type of land.

    • Really you should watch my permaculture series from end to end you can find it here, the first three have some crappy audio but it works itself out over time. I really get into swales deeply here with some of the questions like this one that come up over and over.

      http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEA7BA330871366B8

      The simple answer though is your land isn’t flat, no land other then perhaps the salt flats where they run cars at 300 plus MPH is flat. The greening the desert project where they put a kilometer of swales on a few acres is likely flatter then yours. Make an a-frame level and get some flag or stakes and get to work mapping and you will never see your land as flat again.

  12. Perfect timing! I am seriously considering a property that is not 4 miles from what was perhaps the site of the first PDC in the US. Thank you for putting out these beautiful videos. I have watched them over and over. They made me aware of several very important considerations regarding the property.

  13. For those of you not on the mailing list..

    There is a new video and PDF today called:

    5 Acre Abundance on a Budget

    !!! 🙂 Thanks Geoff!

  14. @Modern Survival –
    Is there a good way to test soil depth when scouting a property?
    (to check for subterranean rock shelves)

    Kind of hard to dig a bunch of test holes on a property you don’t own, though I guess you could.

  16. Thanks Jack & Geoff for this podcast. Geoff thanks for the free videos. I have brought four of the five videos and watch them regularly with our young sons.
    You have a talent in making everything understandable even for the 5 year olds

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