Building Raised Beds on Contour
When our community pond became stagnant from silt runoff and the build-up of plant detritus over 40 years, it needed some serious rehabilitation and excavation. In 2018 we hired a contractor to help us with the job (a nearby friend and neighbor of the community) but what to do with all of the muck? Not knowing how much muck there would be we marked off two long contour lines in the field above the pond and had them dump truck-load after truck-load along side of our markers.
The goal? To build raised beds on contour.
Tag: CSC
Living Woven-Willow Brush Fence
Another Experiment at Midwest Permaculture
How one can attractively store woody brush to give it time to break down.
Hello permaculture friends. We wanted to give something a try. We have not seen this exact design in the literature or on YouTube (although it certainly could be out there) but the idea is to use our yard brush while also building a sturdy fence. Continue reading “Living Woven-Willow Brush Fence”
The Permaculture Design for CSC in Stelle, IL
| Below: A Self-Guided-Learning Tour into Permaculture Use these pages as an educational journey into applied permaculture thinking and designing. At the bottom of every page you will find the directory of the key elements included in this design. Each page is like opening a chapter in a permaculture design booklet that explains the element, its function, and why it was included. Enjoy your learning. We explore all of these elements in each of our Permaculture Design Certificate Courses. |
| We began designing CSC’s (Center for Sustainable Community) 8.7 acres of land in early 2011. The initial plan was presented, approved and adopted by CSC in the Spring of 2012. Then in 2021, we recreated the framework design to include our progress and help inspire our current direction of movement.
Asked to guide the design, Midwest Permaculture continues with implementation over a decade later. We expect it to take us about 5 years to fully establish each element of the design and then another 5 years to see it move into greater maturity. We want the implementation to be a learning experience for hundreds of people. We welcome your interest and participation. Here are a couple of options.
|
Directory of Design Elements
The hyperlinked images below open a new page with more-detailed explanations of each element in the design as it relates to this project. The elements without a hyperlink will be linked-in once we complete the content of those pages in the coming months. (We wish they were all done as well.)
 |  |  |
| Permaculture Design for CSC in Stelle, IL | CSC Vision for Property | Design Overview |
 |  |  |
| Year-Round Greenhouse | From Orchard to Food Forest | Wood Gasification |
 |  |  |
| Season Extenders | Integrated Gardening Techniques | Coppicing/Pollarding |
 |  |  |
| Composting Toilets | Hedgerows | Keyline Plowing |
 |  |  |
| Linear Food Forests | Hugelkultured Swales | Chinampas Gardens |
 |  |  |
| EarthCamp Village | Thermal Mass Rocket Stove | Tree-Range Chicken |
 |  |  |
| Mushroom Cultivation | Vermicompost | Hipcamp |
You can follow our RSS feed or subscribe to our blog by email to receive automatic announcements when each new element is posted.
CSC Vision for Property
Why a ‘Vision’ is part of this Permaculture Design Every permaculture design begins with the vision that the owner or owners have for the property. We will end up with quite different designs for the same piece of property should one owner have the vision of creating a pick-your-own fruit operation where another wants to create a healthy and safe environment for aging horses. Some elements will be the same – many others will be different. Here are the sorts of questions we will ask an owner(s) when starting a permaculture design for their property:
|
|
Design Overview
Why a Design Overview is part of this Permaculture Design When creating a permaculture design for a client, it’s very helpful to give a clear and brief overview of the existing resources, goals and key elements of the proposed design so that they can see the bigger picture. It is also a very helpful tool should they need to explain their plans to family members, partners, investors or lenders. |
|
