[permaculture] Introduction and a question about Swales

Jeff Hine jhi at post.com
Sun Dec 28 17:14:45 EST 2008


Hi, I am fairly new to the idea of permaculture. I have not taken the 
course or read the principal books on the subject. (money problems) 
Nevertheless, I have been pouring over everything I can find on the net 
and watching various youtube videos. And of course I am blown away by 
the work that you all are doing. I feel like I have been standing on the 
wrong side of the fence for 25 years of my working career and didn't 
even know it for 24. I want over asap!

I live in an area that is considered mountain desert. We receive on the 
average 16 inches of precipitation per year with nearly all of it locked 
up in snow during December, January, and February. I keep trying to 
figure out what permaculture would look like here. I try to imagine how 
to use swales to hold onto as much moisture as possible. I know that 
even when temperatures are cold a lot of snow is lost to evaporation, 
you can see it happen. And then there is wind blowing that moves it 
around. Would swales help in a climate like this? And to be specific 
about my question, Geoff Lawton describes the swales that they put in 
Jordan. He says in the video that the land is dead flat and later says 
the swales were put in on contour. What does it mean to put swales on 
contour on a flat piece of land? Can you treat a building as a hill and 
use that as the contour point? Also, if you know of any resources online 
dealing with geography such as where I live could you point me in that 
direction?

I feel like I live in a very challenging landscape, yet I know that all 
areas are suitable for permaculture design. I am learning and grateful 
for all the folks on this list.

-Jeff



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