Volunteers and Permaculture Trainees

SFEL integrates an Eco-Lodge and organic restaurant, a model Permaculture farm and gardens, a Permaculture design training facility, and runs a program of trekking and community based cultural activities in Konso. SFEL’s project objectives are to promote alternative livelihoods for the Konso community through facilitating community inclusion in tourism activities, and to promote food security locally and more widely in Ethiopia, through offering training and consultancy services in Permaculture to local stake-holders.

Permaculture (PC) is a system for thinking about, designing and creating diverse food-production systems which work in harmony with natural processes, allowing communities to produce for their needs, while maintaining the ecology that supports them. It integrates ecological agriculture, rain-water harvesting, soil and water conservation, small scale irrigation, nutrition gardens, tree nurseries, small livestock, appropriate labour-saving design-technology, alternative energy and nutrients based on locally available resources.

SFEL runs the Permaculture in Konso Schools Project (PKSP), working in partnership with the international NGO Save the Children Finland, to train and implement Permaculture in Konso schools; (more info:http://permaculture.org.au/2010/03/08/work-of-strawberry-fields-eco-lodge-begins-snowball-effect-for-entire-region/)

Our Permaculture Design Courses (PDCs) follow the standard international 72-hour PDC curriculum and are certificated. We offer PDCs to international students (including our interns) who have the chance to participate on as well as assess our PKSP schools. We also use our on-site demonstration forma for practical demonstration and design exercises for our trainees.

Our lead trainer and PC consultant is Mr Tichafa Makovere is a native of Zimbabwe. He has practiced Permaculture for 15 years around southern Africa, working as lead trainer for the Regional Permaculture in Schools and Colleges Program (ReSCOPE), training and implementing PC in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Angola, Zambia even recently in Uganda. (Tichafa’s CV is available online here: http://www.permalodge.org/Configuration/Permalodge/Downloads/documents/Tichafa%27s%20CV.doc)

Our volunteers live and work at SFEL, participating in the day to day running and development of our demonstration farm, also visiting and participating at our PKSP schools. Volunteers also undertake activities to support and benefit the local community, including: teaching local children (private tuition or taking classes in the local schools), playing soccer with/training a local youths’ group, assisting with maintenance and on-going development of our appropriate design-technology models on site – such as composting toilets, wind power generators (which we have already built) and working to develop new models – such as solar cookers – which can be demonstrated for the local community as transferable design technologies. They also have time to enjoy trekking and community based activities programs around Konso on the week-ends.

Our Internships are a 12 week intensive introduction to and immersion in Permaculture design and application in the rural African environment. They begin with a the 2 week certificated PDC training, are followed up with a stay as a volunteer, usually 10 weeks, but we can tailor the length according to individual needs. The interns will experience the practical application of Permaculture to the issue of community food security development as well as participating in a range of interesting activities to contribute to the community’s as well as their own personal development. As well as this the interns will gain a wealth of new knowledge the history and culture of the fascinating nation of Ethiopia and the personal life experience of meeting the community and local culture of the people of Konso.

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