Community outreach

Overview People care, the second ethic intrinsic to permaculture has made all of us at Brook End reflect on how we can care for our human communities and explore what we can offer as a family and smallholding to the wider community. "Native knowledge of the land is the language of survival; it is also the language of the human heart and soul." - Kamana

Permaculture demonstration

Supporting the Permaculture Association How we can support the Permaculture Association's Strategic Plan: * Become a LAND (learning and network demonstration centre) * Support visits from groups * Participate in research e.g. forest gardens and mixed veg trials * Become a business member * Host & lead permaculture design courses * Host events for the PA * Support Diploma students through design intensives & by providing design opportunities * Promote the website & association * Network with new groups & sectors * Fundraise for the association & encourage visitors to join * Contribute knowledge to knowledge base e.g. design case studies, images, videos * Work with farmers and growers working group * Work with forest gardening working group * Document all knowledge gains for wider network e.g. writing articles, blogs

Food & medicine

We have a responsibility to grow food for our community and feel our best-suited way of doing this is in relation to the size of our site: Producing on a small-scale for family, friends and local events as well as events at Brook End Producing vitamin-rich fruit juices Cultivating plants to sell that increase others self reliance, such as fruit trees & perennial vegetables Prioritizing vitamin & mineral rich crops such as salad leaves and fruits versus grains or broadscale crops. Another key aspect of Brook End is the focus on medicinal plants. I would like to develop the facilities to grow and process herbal remedies for the community, for example dried herbs for nourishing infusions, vinegar and tincture making. This will gain increasing importance in response to repressive regulation of herbal medicines and challenges posed by peak oil.

As a professional interest it is incredibly important to Nicole that Brook End can become a positive and inspiring demonstration of permaculture in practice. This means that design approaches and decisions are communicated to visitors and that eventually Brook End can become a leading example in sustainable growing. Brook End has been described by Nicole as her permaculture playground with an inferred meaning that the site will also be a place of research and experimentation. With active documentation, these gains and lessons can be shared with the wider community. The aim is for all visitors to take away an increased understanding of permaculture, whether they are experienced designers or simply curious villagers. It is clear with effective agroecology knowledge transfer that demonstration sites are pivotal to their success. Nicole would also love Brook End to become a centre of expertise in vegan organic growing especially in relation to nutrient management.

Learning & education

For modern communities to live sustainable lives, there is a major need for a widespread re-skilling especially in relation to food production so that we have the skills to not only grow, but harvest and preserve our food. We have lost many landbased skills through years of industrialization and those who are returning to a more land-based life are seeking opportunities to gain skills that can help them become more self reliant. All the family at Brook End are enthusiastic about the site becoming a centre for land-based education, not only for the potential income, but for the wider social yields of having a more resilient, sustainable community. We hope to develop Brook End as a rewarding venue for teachers, offering convening and promotion services, as well as being an opportunity for each of us to share our own skills, such as Nicole and permaculture or Michele with her preserve making. With a cabin available as a teaching space and a potential roundhouse, camping facilities and potential indoor facilities following the conversion of the piggeries, we could potentially cater for events all year round, also creating a way of using surplus vegetables and selling other home made items. Potential courses & workshops: Permaculture intro & full design courses Vegan gardening Growing medicinal plants Wildcrafting medicinal herbs Wild foods Herbal medicine making Food preservation Forest Gardening Propagation Preserving & storing food Composting Mulching Soil care strategies Mushroom cultivation Wildlife gardening Jam making Indoor ecosystem management Species identification Willow weaving Tree care Juice & cider making Community food training Food sovereignty workshops & other political trainings

Camps & gatherings

One of the main reasons for taking on Brook End was to allow Michele & Ian to host camps, such as the annual Oak Dragon Camp. Oak Dragon is an earth-centred 10-day long camp where 50 or so people camp on the field. It is enjoyed by the entire family and needs to be designed for to fully allow for parking and wider activities of the camp. Any other gatherings taking place at Brook End need to have the full support of the family as they can be quite energy intensive to host & build structures for. As part of a yearly program other events include Dances of Universal Peace weekends and Oak Dragon cross-quarter weekend gatherings. Harvest festivals, workshops and educational activities all contribute to the health of the communities and as much as the good food they produce. Darrell Frey

Earth based spirituality

The entire family at Brook End identify as pagan, each on different earth-honouring paths, including druidry, shamanism and hedgewitch orientated workings. Working with and respecting the energies of the land is incredibly important to the family and this is manifested in all decisions about Brook End. The family would also love for Brook End to be a centre for earthbased spirituality, helping people who visit to re-connect with the land and themselves. There are a number of elements that could become part of the design for Brook End: Hosting events that support these traditions, for example the Oak Dragon Camp. Providing a facility for rituals & ceremonies e.g. handfastings Michele would love to drum with women in the Glade and facilitate holistic workshops. Being so close to Glastonbury, Brook End is well located for connecting with the local pagan and spiritual communities and hopefully providing a service with such a beautiful outdoor space.

Growers cooperative
With so many small-scale family growers in the village, one way to support the community is by sharing equipment and resources. Part of this could involve forming a growers cooperative where items such as apple presses could be shared and hired, with Brook End being a key facilitator in terms of space and skills.

Darrell Frey
Nicole Vosper, Wild Heart Permaculture 2011

BROOK END