Aranya Gardens - About Me

Aranya

Aranya Gardens - about me

Aranya, Dip.Perm.Des.

I first came across permaculture back in the late 1980's, being fortunate enough to meet one of the first designers working in this country. I found the subject full of common sense ideas that immediately inspired me to apply some of the principles in my own life. I had already started gardening out of a desire to grow healthy organic food for myself, at a time when there wasn't much of it available for sale in the shops & this proved to be a good place for me to start applying some of these new ideas. I was very concerned about what we were doing to the environment & also determined not to poison my own body if I could avoid it. So I grew organically, concentrating on fruits, vegetables & herbs, not seeing the point at the time of wasting space on anything I couldn't eat! Luckily, I met a keen gardener of many years & I avoided making too many mistakes early on by following their guidance.

During the 1990's I regularly lectured & debated on environmental issues in schools & colleges & in the media for a national campaigning group over a period of five years. After that I completed the Certificate in Permaculture Design (a two week residential course), where I finally got a proper immersion in the subject. From that point on I just had to incorporate all these fantastic new ideas into what I was doing - I was hooked!

We clearly learn much better when we have an enthusiasm for a subject & although I love to dip into my collection of gardening & permaculture books, most of what I have learned has been from simply doing it. I went on to participate in a week-long Teaching Permaculture Creatively course & to complete Stage One of the City & Guilds 7307 Adult Education Teaching Certificate. I have also designed & implemented several major garden projects during the last decade using permaculture principles, that formed a major part of my Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design portfolio which I completed in September 2003. I have been a trustee of the Permaculture Association (Britain) since September 2000 & also now act as a Support Tutor for the Diploma WorkNet to help students along their own Diploma pathways.

I was initially trained in Physics, but I felt that I needed to be doing something that wasn't harming our beautiful planet, so initially I turned my gardening hobby into my job. As well as being work that I enjoyed, maintaining gardens naturally was something positive that I could do to earn my living. However, "Multiple elements for each function" is an important permaculture principle that reminds us that nature always supplies everything from more than one source. This is why eco-systems have such an inherent stability. So in order for me to achieve this same stability I have diversified my work & created a 'poly-income' for myself.

I feel that permaculture has a lot of solutions to offer us, so I now enjoy having the opportunity to teach "something that can make a real difference in all our lives". I create teaching resources for both teachers & students & also tutor students on their Diploma pathway. I design gardens for people using permaculture principles where needed & as you will see from the sample gardens, these principles can be applied in many different circumstances. I offer web design to ecologically-minded groups & individuals, which could also open up the possibility of online selling for those trying to make a right livelihood for themselves. I have a project recording studio which I make available to like-minded musicians to help them to get their songs out & have subsequently initiated the Permaculture Musicians project.

This has in turn produced a CD of permaculture songs called 'Earth Stars', that is now being sold to raise funds for permaculture projects at home & abroad. I even photograph & sell pictures of salad mandalas created from plants grown in my own garden. I am currently involved in co-ordinating a number of projects, including bringing together the best examples of permaculture design onto a CDROM as a teaching resource & also producing a second CD of permaculture songs. If you feel that you have anything to contribute, please get in touch. An online permaculture marketplace is also in the pipeline.... so watch this space!

This document maintained by Aranya: aranya@aranyadesigns.co.uk