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The Greening The Desert Project Internship

Intern Insights from Nov-Dec 2019

Every year at The Greening the Desert Project in Jordan (which is a PRI approved demonstration site), Nadia and Geoff Lawton host a month long Internship Programme.

Permacultureists and avid students from all around the globe, who have a keen interest in learning more about dry climates and seeing for themselves how the desert has in-fact turned green, descend on this little village, in Jordan, in the Dead Sea valley.

The Dead Sea valley is the lowest exposed land on Earth and the conditions here are challenging. Soil is poor and rainfall is minimal. However, permaculture solutions are transforming the landscape in this small village. In this short video (courtesy of Geoff Lawton Online) a group of interns take us through some of the permaculture practices that are responsible for this transformation.

Benson Jack Anthony and Sam Parker Davies (both students of Geoff Lawton) lead us through the changing landscape. At the start there is a strong focus on soil, rainwater catchment and swales. We are then joined by two more interns, Saeed and Joshua, who talk us through the different types of trees (both food and medicinal) on the site. Planting methods and chop and drop techniques are explained, then it’s onto the animal systems.

There is a wonderful sense of building community and lasting friendships, along with helping to create an abundance during The Greening The Desert Project Internship Programme.  If you are interested in joining the next Internship, places are currently available and spots can be reserved here.

The Permaculture Research Insitute

PRI Zaytuna Farm functions as a model farm (in development) and permaculture training facility. Geoff and Nadia Lawton, world-renowned permaculture educators and consultants, lead the project. Much of Geoff and Nadia’s time over the last few years has been spent away from the Institute, consulting and helping set up projects in diverse locales around the world. Seeing the worldwide demand for knowledgeable permaculture consultants and teachers increase exponentially, as fuel and fertiliser prices skyrocket and the effects of climate change, soil depletion and water shortages begin to hit hard, priority and focus is now shifting back to the Institute, where growing the training program will increase the output of quality teachers to help fill the growing need for them.

One Comment

  1. All these ‘Greening the Desert’ techniques are now urgently required in Australia. All native eucalypt forests should probably be interspersed with much less fire-prone species, perhaps a mosaic of eucalypts and native / introduced non-aromatic and xerophytic species.

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