My clients had recently settled on a shared lifestyle block and wished to start shaping their piece of land. They asked me to work with them to plan their new garden and also to work towards holding a Permablitz to implement the early stages of their plans.

The Permablitz movement was first started in Melbourne by Dan Palmer and Adam Gubb. I started a group in Katikati with cohorts Hugo Verhagen & Sue Peachey in 2012. It has since grown in support throughout the Bay of Plenty as a means to learn about gardening and living on the land by bringing community together to share their knowledge. If you wish to learn more visit www.permablitzbopnz.net

The first step for my clients was to write their Purpose Statement.
Purpose Statement "We hold this land in trust and love and share its gifts with others through gatherings of like-minded people, living simply with the land and growing food and medicine abundantly. We embrace the land as a sanctuary for ourselves and others and as a place of teaching, sharing and connecting."

This bare land has been gradually transformed into an abundant garden using a process of differentiation. For example, being aware of our daily patterns helps us map out regularly used access ways, whether hard or soft surfacing is needed, where to site screening from neighbours or shelter from strong winds, and regularly used elements such as a chicken run, compost bin or herb garden.
We ask questions such as - What is set in place and unchangeable? What are the movable elements?
We discuss areas that create tensions and areas of latent potential.
On the day of the Permablitz we used the Living Design Process to site a shed for a bathroom. Everyone was involved in the process by considering practical requirements such as access, light, privacy, proximity to other elements, and gut instinct. The shed was then moved to the site with much celebration, ready for the next step in the design process, truly living the design.