Of The Earth: Building Permaculture Landscapes | Landscape company

Of The Earth: Building Permaculture Landscapes

Phone: +61 405 647 009

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20.01.2022 Happy New Year! Of The Earth finished off a hectic 2017 with a natural render retrofit at the sustainable fashion outlet Baserange Store - Melbourne. Inspired by the work we did on the superadobe dome in South Australia, we were contacted with the idea of converting several marble tile plinths into soft, organic structures to display clothing and jewellery. This is part of the stores evolution into a warm, nurturing, sacred, womb-like space. ... First, we installed wheels on all the plinths. This would allow for ease of movement and configuration in the store. Renderers lathe (AKA metal lathe, or blood lathe) was then fitted onto the marble tiles in preparation for the base coat of ceramic tile adhesive. These two points of connection would allow the final coat of lime/sand/cement render to grip to the marble tiles. Once our physical and chemical bonding points were installed, we then handmade the final coat render using a touch of beige oxide. After application, a sponge float was used to create an organic finish, bringing out the grains of sand found in the render. Of The Earth usually works in rural settings, so working from dusk till dawn in the heart of Melbourne's CBD was a surreal experience to be saved. The challenges of working in a confined space with limited access for tools, equipment and materials was to be respected and overcome with discipline and a sense of achievement. Special thanks to Karina Utomo for being such a wonderful collaborator to work for. And to friend and mentor, James Henderson of Henderson Clayworks, for always being open with his invaluable knowledge and advice. My work is only possible with the kindness of people such as these. My sincerest thanks. I'm very much looking forward to more jobs such as these in 2018 that challenge, extend and utilise my unique range of skills and abilities. Peace and mud, Kegan

19.01.2022 Of The Earth, in cooperation with Birdsland Environmental Education Centre, Yarra Ranges Council and Hillscene LIVE ran a Natural Building Workshop to build a cob pizza oven for the community garden which was used to feed the participants and attendants at this years Hillscene Live Festival. The circular base was made using superabobe/earthbag filled with sand made up of 80% sand/20% clay. Scoria, followed by a layer of vermiculite, insulated the centre of the base directly ...below the hearth. Sand and bricks were then laid, followed by a ring of cob to accurately set out the width of the oven dome. Using a pile of sand to create a form, we then mixed cob (straw, clay, water and sand) which was placed to a width of no less then 120mm to create a dome shape. The dimensions of the pizza oven are essential. This is in order to achieve the required air circulation for effective cooking. A great online how-to guide can be found here: http://pinkbird.org/w/How_to_construct_a_pizza_oven_dome_ou As with all things related to natural building and solar passive design: it's all about thermal mass and insulation. This was a massive effort by all involved. I'd like to thank Gavin, Steve and Bee from Yarra Ranges Council and Justine Walsh from Hillscene Live for their on-going inspiration and support. Long-lasting friendships and opportunities have arisen from what was simply a great project. I'm very much looking forward to much more of the same in the future. Please don't hesitate to enquire about building a cob pizza oven in your garden, school, or community hub. Peace and mud, Kegan

17.01.2022 Join local community members for a weekend of alternative building and community construction, in one of the regions iconic natural wonders, Birdsland Reserve. Facilitated by natural builder and permaculturalist, Kegan Daly from Of The Earth, the weekend will showcase the full spectrum of natural building techniques that can be used in housing, landscape construction and gardens. The natural building information session will run on the morning of Saturday October 28th as an ...introduction to the materials, methods, techniques and motivations that go into creating homes that are ecologically designed and environmentally sustainable. Building types covered include straw bale, Earthships, earth bag, mud brick/cob and light earth. This session is open to all. The cob pizza oven building workshop will continue for the rest of the weekend and put into practise the use of natural materials to create an enduring asset that will help nourish us during community events and social gatherings. Skills learnt will include making cob, earth bag construction, principles of insulation, foundation construction and natural rendering. Limited places are available for this part of the program, so please register your interest at [email protected] or 0405 647 009.

15.01.2022 Kelly and I recently attended the Permaculture Design Course taught by John Champagne and Brogo Permaculture Gardens in Bermagui, NSW. For Kelly it was the first full immersion in the principles, ethics and design theory of permaculture. For myself it was an opportunity to reaffirm my love of permaculture and dig a little deeper than I did as a nieve novice at my first PDC in 2011. For a fully run down of our experience during the course, please sign up to Of The Earth's new...sletter by visiting www.oftheearth.net A special thanks to Daniel Deighton and Aaron Sorensen from Elemental Permaculture who ran a brilliant design process. Kelly and I have used this process on a recent suburban permaculture garden design. We're both looking forward to sharing the final drawings and details with you all very soon. Peace and mud, Kelly and Kegan.

15.01.2022 SUBURBAN PERMACULTURE GARDEN DESIGN//South Australia Over the past year Of The Earth: Building Permaculture Landscapes has been engaged in applying simple, small solutions to regenerate the degraded soils of a suburban backyard in Adelaide's north suburbs as part of a process to implement an edible micro-forest garden. BRIEF... Design an edible forest garden with biologically-rich soils that can provide a healthy environment for grazing chickens while also supplying the household with fruits, vegetables and herbs. Beneficial insects and bees will be encouraged to pollinate fruits and vegetables, prevent the accumulation of harmful insects and create a sense of activity and wild abundance. METHOD Select a wide variety of plants for chicken health/nutrition and soil building before establishing a system of rotational grazing. A transitional period will occur where lifeless soil is inoculated with compost/manure and planted over to green manure crops for several seasons. ACTION Removal of soil degrading trees and plants. Use a sheet mulching method of soil building using inoculated compost, local animal manures and green manure crops. Repeat the planting of green manure crops over several seasons. FUTURE Use a diverse range of trees, shrubs and ground covers that can create a multi-layered, multi-functional ecosystem that will supply chicken fodder, soil nutrients and edible plants. Implementation of this project will be occurring throughout July. To find out more about the project, the design process we use and the growth of this urban food forest, please sigh up for a our newsletter at www.oftheearth.net

14.01.2022 Of The Earth will be at this years Off Grid Living festival with examples of straw bale building and natural rendering techniques. Will also be announcing a special natural building internship that we’ll be running in NSW later in the year. The festival is a free-for-all. Anyone interested in anything associated with off-grid living need attend.

13.01.2022 Natural Building Internship || October 1- 20, 2018 || Braidwood, NSW Presented by Of The Earth: Building Permaculture Landscapes. Located 1 hour east of Canberra, this internship is an opportunity for un/skilled, passionate and dedicated natural building enthusiasts to develop a deeper understanding of the craft through experiential learning.... Living on-site for three weeks with like-minded world-changers, the project will cover three main skills: *Straw bale wall construction *Natural rendering *Earthen floors In addition you'll also learn about: *Earthships *Solar passive design *Council approvals *Retrofitting existing structures with natural materials *Pathways into the natural building industry To receive more information about the internship please email [email protected] or phone 0405 647 009. We look forward to hearing from you and working on this amazing project. Peace and mud, Kegan

10.01.2022 Straw bale and natural render job in Wensleydale, Victoria with Creations In Parallel was another great example of how we can use natural marerials, solar passive design, communal building, conventional sub-contracting and owner-builder participation to achieve a high-quality sustainable home. Many thanks to the owners for their help, Andy for his skills and expertise, and builder Jez for his continual patience and mentoring in the fine arts of conventional building projects.... We’re already looking forward to bigger and better builds for 2018. New methods, more detail, finer finishes. We’ll be posting more photos of the various projects Of The Earth has been involved with in the weeks leading up to the Christmas break. Peace and mud, Kegan

05.01.2022 Preparations are afoot (pun intended) for the natural building internship beginning next week in Braidwood, NSW. A couple weeks of digging and pouring footings for the straw bale house went smoothly. Samples of clay, earth, sand, straw and lime are revealing what’ll be the best mixture for the straw-clay render, earthen floor and variety of other earth-based natural building products. The days have been perfect for building. The location; blissful. The build crew; the best y...et. The music; totes hectic. This modest project will give interns an opportunity rarely on offer; the chance to complete straw bale walls to the final coat of earth and lime render, and constructing an earthen floor. We look forward to a crew of 15 people joining together, empowered to feel the satisfaction of learning and building. Peace and mud, Kegan

05.01.2022 Earthen floors are perhaps the most sustainable part of a natural home. Earth, straw and water (otherwise known as #cob), along with a hard days work or two. It was a transformative, powerful experience putting down the floor in the #strawbale #roundhouse. We had the help of an excavator driver to mix up the cob, which made it a comparatively quick process. The results were incredible.

03.01.2022 Comprehensive natural building workshop held in the rainforests of the Olinda Arthouse, Dandenong Ranges on Saturday September 30th and Sunday October 1st. Hosted by Of The Earth: Building Permaculture Landscapes, the course will cover: Straw bale wall construction... Earthship design principles and rammed earth tyre wall construction Earth bag AKA superadobe wall construction Mud brick making Light earth construction Cob making Solar passive house design Natural render (clay, lime, cement) Landscape construction and garden structures Notes to guide you through course material USB with a lifetime (over 90 books!) on conventional and alternative building methods For more information about how to enrol, the workshop project, natural building resources and course content, connect via the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1611045295623120 Peace & mud, Kegan

02.01.2022 Sunset over a straw bale home in Gherang, Victoria. Photo credit to Amber Cella. Builders for the project: Creations In Parallel. Straw bale contractors: Of The Earth: Building Permaculture Landscapes and Mudmob Natural Building.

01.01.2022 Check out this off-grid, strawbale home that Of The Earth did the bale work and first coat of render on. Cheers to Creations In Parallel for having us on the project.