Practical Permaculture Volunteer Week 2023
Dates:
26th - 31st May 2023- FULL waiting list only
Facilitators:
Duration:
4 day residential volunteer week. Arrive after 4pm on 26th May, leave by 11am 31st May
Volunteer Week Description
We are excited to announce that our Applewood annual volunteer week will be from the 26th - 31t May 2023. This week gives us a chance to share our beautiful home with friends, previous visitors and people interested to see what we do, whilst getting important maintenance jobs done, which we need your help with.
In past years we have built a compost toilet, raised beds, erected our yurt, fenced our orchards, and most importantly had a lot of fun! In the evenings we gathered around the fire, after a productive days work to sing songs, share stories and make merry with our home grown juice and cider! We also manage to fit in a tour of land and buildings and leave space for people to enjoy the peace and energy on our 20 acre smallholding. We will announce more about this years program later in the spring. This event will be family friendly.
We have limited places, so If you would like to come please contact Emma at applewoodcourses@yahoo.com .
Applewood Permaculture Centre is a 20 acre smallholding. Looby and Chris are lucky to have this as their family home since July 2016, with their 2 daughters, as well as a training centre. There are various teaching spaces, from heated yurt and barn space to outdoor marquee and open air. There are many diverse habitats here already; we have woodland, orchard, pasture, pool and gardens. Applewood is a tranquil sanctuary for wildlife and people alike. We are blessed with night times filled with owl hoots and immense starry skies that you’ll get to enjoy round an outside fire.
Our Work week is open to anyone who would like to come and help us with our maintenance and improvement jobs on our land. You don't need to be highly skilled in practical jobs and we do want lots of enthusiasm and willingness to learn new skills. As well as some construction projects, we will also be gardening and making food to share, so there will be many ways to join in to accommodate all abilities.
Families
We are very happy for families to come along and take part in the work week. Both our children Teya and Shanti have always joined in when they can. We ask that each person over 18 completes the booking form and you can add any under 18's to your own form. You will of course be responsible for your children at all times.
Accessibility
We want to make our events accessible for people with different mobility needs and this is currently quite challenging because of the steepness of many areas on the land. However we are willing to work with people to try and find solutions so please do get in contact to discuss options.
Working here at Applewood, helping to create and maintain this land and space for learning and personal transformation, is both fun and fulfilling. Looby and Chris are such caring and grateful hosts, it's a real pleasure to help them.
Plenty of sunshine, laughter, fires, building, digging, new friends and copious amounts of fellowship, sharing and reconnecting. Thanks for another episode on my life's journey. Ali
Deeply grateful for this nourishing and re-inspiring time we would spend together. A truly wonderful week full of joy and laughter, support and creativity, connection and reconnection, fire and water, deep conversations and silly songs, remembering and en-visioning. My heart if full, Yasemin
Logistics
Facilitators & Venue
Chris lives at Applewood with his partner Looby and children Shanti and Teya. He has taught permaculture in the UK, Europe, Nepal, India, U.S.A. and Mexico. He is also a UK assessment level tutor for apprentices working towards their diploma in applied permaculture design with the Permaculture Association Britain.
As well as time spent at Applewood hosting and teaching courses and gardening on the land here, Looby leads a productive career as a pioneer of permaculture and Cultural Emergnece. Looby is author of People and Permaculture, 7 Ways to Think Differently and Strands of Infinity. People and Permaculture Is the first book globally to translate the use of permaculture principles and design for people based systems, widening the definition of permaculture and making it relevant and accessible to all. She is creator of the Design Web, a holistic design framework that has been used thousands of times globally for all sorts of personal and social designs.
Looby has been chair of the Permaculture Association Britain and is a senior diploma tutor.
The Venue
Applewood is a 20 acre smallholding, Waterloo Farm, recently acquired in the beautiful hills of North Herefordshire. Here, the owners, Designed Visions partners Chris Evans and Looby Macnamara, are developing a permaculture demonstration and training centre. We feel that with permaculture, you need to see it to believe it, and then need to be able to learn it, and then acquire the resources (seeds, plants, books, friends and networks) to do it!
The site includes woods, pasture, a lake, kitchen garden and an orchard of heritage apples. A converted barn and outbuildings provide indoor accommodation and the grounds a peaceful campsite.
For regular updates and photos see our facebook page