Lessons from Melliodora
For quite a while I have thought I would like to make a
living from farming. After constantly
hearing my dreams of farming, my wife Christine who has a real understanding of
the hard realities of farming suggested
I go to a farm to get real experience (reality) before I jump in to something I
know very little about. And she suggested I apply to do an internship with the
co-founder of Permaculture, David Holmgren. So I applied at Melliodora, in
Hepburn Springs.
When I got accepted to do a three week internship I read a
book called Fields of Farmers by Joel Salatin, which is about mentoring and interning.
I attempted to heed his advice for the intern: from first accepting everything
and forgetting judgment up front to not being a prima donna about the jobs that
need to be done. “Chances are there is more to any procedure than you know.
Devote yourself to accepting the protocols and techniques of the master you’re
with. Every task is a valuable component of the entire process. Jump in, it’s
all about immersion” (Salatin).
Salatin states that
he has learned something from every farm he has visited. Sometimes it‘s simply
a slick new gate latch. He goes on to explain that interns must not be casual
observers. “When you’re out working with a mentor get up where you can see.
What really is the technique? How does he hold the hoe? Foot placement? Body placement?
Eyes in relation to hands? Every single thing, every single thing has a host of
nuances”.
I have just completed the internship. Melliodora is a 1
hectare garden farm and sustainable home which is a model of small scale
intensive permaculture. David Holmgren and Su Dennett designed and built the
sustainable home and farm (with many helping hands) and they maintain mixed
food gardens, orchards, dams and livestock (chooks, geese and goats), as well
as do ecosynthesis (use of introduced species to fill niches in a disrupted
environment, with the aim of increasing the speed of ecological restoration) creek
revegetation.
Melliodora, January 2015
David and Su openly shared their knowledge and experiences
with me and the other interns. To be able to spend three weeks working at one
of the best examples of permaculture under the guidance of such experienced
mentors was a real privilege. I learned by observing David and Su and by doing
the daily garden farm chores. Perhaps I learned most through osmosis, just
being there.
Sue with an Austrolorp Chook
I had many stimulating chats with David and Su. There was
much time for dialogue and explanations about why things are done in such ways
at the garden farm. On one occasion in
the garden I asked David about his method of gardening and he explained the importance
of intuition and listening to his emotions. For example on this summer day it
was cooler and it had been raining earlier which provided extra moisture in the
soil. David described how this ‘autumn-like’ weather made him feel like
planting, and so that is what he did today: sowed carrots, daikons and butter
lettuce.
David and Karl sowing
carrots, daikons and salads
Melliodora has been designed to mimic the patterns and relationships
in nature. After 30 years it continues to work productively and sustainably due
its systems management. Many applications such as chooks and orchards have been
adopted (rather than single use farming) which require interconnected
knowledge. Human physical labour rather than complex machines are used to
organise and maintain the permaculture garden farm.
Human labour with simple machines is
mostly used
The amount of embedded knowledge that David and Su have can
be overwhelming at times. To try to cram
into three weeks a lifetime’s knowledge and experience couldn’t be done on my
notepad which I kept with me at all times. However through the stories I was
told and the context of doing , the internship became a means of developing
habits –not just procedural how-to’s but the way I think and behave. The
effectiveness of the internship was that it put me, the student, next to masters who have earned their status through
time and trial.
My confidence gained as David explained some of the mistakes
and changes in thinking they had made in their thirty years at Melliodora. And what he has learned from his mistakes and
observations. For example David described to me, while we were picking
hazelnuts, how he had originally placed too much lime in the soil for hazelnut
trees. Also he described how his original thinking at Melliodora had a large
focus on fruit trees but now his focus has increased on nut producing trees.
Some highlights of the three weeks included walking around
the property in the rain with David observing and maintaining water flows. This
was very exciting and educational for me as we walked around in our raincoats
seeing water fall from the sky and flow along the contours of the land. David
has designed the landscape of Melliodora to catch and store water from a large
catchment of 40 hectares. On this day I observed the two dams (0.8 Megalitre
and 0.3 Megalitre capacity) fill up with water to capacity – much needed to
maintain a healthy intensive vegetable garden and orchard at this time of year.
David in the rain observing a leaky weir in situ
Another highlight was working in the garden with David and
two other interns from France , Karl and Aline.
Being in the garden for several hours each day allows one to observe and
become attuned to changes and progressions in plants and animals.
David
sowing potatoes in comfrey
Simple design: the most
used garden tools located immediately next to garden bed
The meals together were great. The food was brilliant,
healthy and delicious. There is something about eating, preparing and cooking
your own food immediately from your garden and animals that cannot be matched.
Working with David and Su, their immediate family and other
interns, and interacting with the local community allowed me access to a potential vocation without the full responsibilities of running a business. At
Melliodora, I got to test the waters of permaculture garden farming and see if
it is something I want to seriously pursue.
Alistair Tuffnell
