Sweeping an open hand towards the greenery of the local *Permaculture
Centre <http://www.permacultura.org/>* behind him, which teaches techniques
for sustaining the forest, Charles says: “Coming here to Brazil has also
presented me with a wonderful chance to listen and learn and try to get to
grips with the complexities of these issues and for all the rainforest
countries around the world.
PAL serves as the link between seven sustainable research centers in Brazil,
Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala. We maintain a financial support system of
private donors and foundations across the USA and Europe, and network,
coordinate, provide technical assistance, and represent the centers’
projects at an international level. We also translate, write, and publish
environmental books and magazines in Spanish and Portuguese, and provide
university student exchanges with our Brazilian centers.
A senior student of Permaculture’s founder, Bill Mollison of Australia, Ali
was born in Iran in 1953, and educated in England and Italy. A man who
“makes things happen,” Ali founded PAL in the USA with the mission of
expanding permaculture into Latin America. He has established more than 26
projects on three continents, and been involved at every level of their
development. Ali’s particular expertise lies in tropical agroforestry
systems and in the design and construction of aquaculture systems. He has
presented at the Bioneers Conference and Sustainable Resource Conferences on
several occasions, and currently coordinates the Permaculture movement in
Brazil.
Kriscan and permaculture designer Ethan Roland, of appleseedpermaculture.com,
discuss the ways in which we currently view peak oil and how we can flip
that vision to make it more conducive to positive change.
Where does Chocolate come from? Gregory Landua and Sandy Hepler explore the
organic Fiar Trade growing cooperatives in Nicaragua to find out about
native Cacao varaties, shade growning techniques, and explore the
possibilities of BEYOND ORGANIC, regenerative chocolate trade.
Patti Moreno the Garden Girl installs an eco lawn from http://www.wildflowerfarm.com and http://www.eco-lawn.com. This lawn needs
little watering, no fertilizer and doesn’t need to be mowed. It is perfect
for the city, and can grow in bad soil and even in the shade. It is made of
a blend of seven types of fescue grass first discovered in a forest in
canada.