PROJECT PHASES

Phase I

• Initial discussion with client (developing protocols)

• Research: history of land and inhabitants, land tenure, institutional analysis (businesses)

• Holistic goal, vision, mission development (client)

• Geopolitical assessment and bioregional delineation

• Values, objectives, goals, needs, wants

• Available budget delineation

Phase II

• Training in methodologies of Permaculture for representatives of all involved in the site: stakeholders that live and work at and maintain the site

• This typically requires a minimum three-day introduction to Permaculture methodologies and principles or full PDC

• Comprehension of the Permaculture design system and the protocols for the Permaculture site design process

• Understand the basic Permaculture design strategies for water, soil, gardens, trees, climatic zones, structures, and communities

• Apply Permaculture teachings to your site

• Articulate the Permaculture design system and apply it through ongoing implementation, maintenance and management

Some of the applicable topics in Heaven On Earth training:

• Primitive living skills 

• Pastoralism

• Settlement, village life-ways and folkways 

• Map building and modeling

• Permaculture principles 

• Concepts and themes in design 

• The local ecosystem 

• Forms of eco-gardening and farming 

• Broad scale, bioregional site design 

• The application of specific methods, laws and principles to design 

• Pattern understanding and observation skills

• Climatic factors

• Plants and trees and their energy interactions 

• Water: collection, storage, purification

• Soils 

• Earth-working and earth resources

• Infrastructure and roads

• Zone and sector analysis 

• Food forests and small animal husbandry, forest management 

• Cropping and large animal husbandry 

• Harvest and utility forests 

• Natural forests 

• Land and forest restoration

• Aquaculture 

• Planning the homestead 

• “Green” structures, ecological building practices 

• Craftwork and chores, machinery

• “Natural” medicine

• Clothing

• Cooking and food preservation 

• Equipment, tools, bio-fuels and vehicles 

• Renewable energy, system design and implementation

• Energy conservation 

• Biological waste management and recycling

• Strategies for different climates 

• Urban and suburban strategies

• Small farm and garden management and marketing

• Project planning, budgets and timelines

• Office procedures

• Building and planning software

• Communications

• Emergency preparations, safety procedures

• Building codes

• Strategies of an alternative global nation 

• Political, social, economic issues and solutions

• Designing public policy

• Designing sustainable economy

• Human settlement and local ecology 

• Site selection, mapping and modeling

• Dividing, distributing, apportioning land

• Practical work on design

Phase III

• A full assessment is tantamount to any further work on a project. In order to realize the most efficacious plan, based on ecosystem services endemic to a property, a full assessment and inventory of a land base is a prerequisite for making decisions for maximum health and high yield. All decisions made by the client and designers are predicated on what is already present on a site and the principle that we make the “least change for greatest affect”. This is delineated through PA Yeoman’s Scale of Permanence and through points taken from Holistic Management and the methodologies and principles of Permaculture whole system design.

• This phase lays the groundwork for the next phases in the design process, the design charrette and master plan. We proceed by observing, taking measurements, setting a vision and goals for the property, and creating an assessment report. We examine local climate information, geological and soil study for the bioregion, native and settlement history, local plant and animal delineation, and perform general ecological analysis of the landscape. The result of this work is documented and utilized during comprehensive planning in the next phases. The natural forces and energies flowing through a property are noted and observed with an eye to recommending ways to create high yields and comfortable living for those involved.

• An on-site assessment and research are completed

• The design team examines abiotic and biotic factors, physical, biological and cultural attributes, landform, built environment, energy sources, present and historical land use features, activity nodes and corridors, critical habitat foundations, soil composition, vegetation composition and cover, successional pattern and plant productivity, wildlife corridors, water resources, climatological factors, the waste stream

• Recommendations are made and discussed with the client based on the assessment and expressed needs, suitability analysis, and the whys and wherefores of transitioning into a comprehensive Permaculture “green” environment

We have taken the lead from Steven Apfelbaum and Alan W. Haney from their book, “The Restoring Ecological Health to your Land Workbook”. These are the important steps that they have delineated in order to put essential ecological restoration into motion; click on the link below for a PDF of the 10 Steps.

Ten Steps in a Successful Ecological Restoration and Site Planning

Phase IV

• A Design Charrette is held with representatives of all those designing, implementing, occupying and using the site

• A design charrette is a meeting with all stakeholders: an intensive process involving one or more sessions where each stakeholder has the opportunity to reveal and express their thoughts and goals for the project

Phase V

• Create a master plan

• The master plan is a concept map with a corresponding narrative and related appendices that depicts the needs and ideas of the client (and all stakeholders) and the designer’s experience in defining what is best for the land and the people that inhabit it

• The master plan, built on the foundation of the assessment work completed in the early phases, begins in earnest with the intensive design charette performed in Phase IV with all stakeholders involved in the project. Subsequently, the designer reviews and collates all materials collected and works them into a master plan. The designer looks closely at code requirements, zoning, budget, and potential time lines for future implementation

• A narrative and full set of hand-drawn or CAD drawings are prepared. An initial timeline for design and implementation is outlined

Phase VI

• The design team and contractors produce construction drawings, budget, action steps and an implementation timeline

• Using the Master Plan as a guide, the designer and the client work with selected architects, engineers, and contractors to create a full set of construction drawings, budgets, timelines for the project

Phase VII

• Delineate an implementation plan.

• Construct a proposed timeline for installation, phases of construction and planting recommendations.

• Implementation (contract and sub-contract work)

• We assist the client in finding qualified contractors to put the project on the ground

• We also have teams located in different regions around the country that we recommend for implementation

Phase VIII

• Manage, maintain, monitor (ongoing)