Permaculture

The term permaculture combines the words permanent and agriculture . Permaculture is a design system focused on creating sustainable human habitats modelled on natural, ecological patterns and processes. A permaculture design may include gardens, green buildings, alternative energy and  water harvesting.

The core principles of Permaculture gardening include care of the earth, care of the people, and return of the excess to both (see sustainable urban agriculture).

Permaculture integrates nature, land, buildings and people harmoniously. The result is a sustainable supply of food, medicine, energy, shelter and other needs. It is a way for us to create the conditions for health and can be seen as a holistic strategy for health promotion in line with the broader objectives of the WITS Health Promotion Unit.

Siyakhana offers courses to the public in urban permaculture food gardening. If you are interested in doing a course, then join our mailing list and keep informed of when our next courses will be running. Alternatively contact us to enquiry about our contracted training services.

Siyakhana's ongoing design activities are reflected in our broadscale landscape design. Embracing the principles of Permaculture, Siyakhana relies on the careful management and cycling of resources to achieve a stable, diverse and productive climax ecosystem. The following elements of permaculture gardening are clearly demonstrated at Siykhana:

LandScaping

The Siyakhana site is being landscaped using swales, bunds, and diversion ditches to harvest and store rainwater and build a healthy soil. Swales are special ditches which run across the slope, parallel to the contours. Soil from the ditch is deposited on the downhill side of the ditch which allows a swale to slow, spread, sink and store surface run-off. The ditch also accumulates organic debris and decomposes to make a rich humus, helping to soak up water and fertilise the soil.

Soil Conditioning

Pioneering herbaceous ground-covers like comfrey, mullein and yarrow generate biomass and condition the soil with their root systems. This helps to improve humus content, drainage, water infiltration, and soil life. Soil is further conditioned by adding compost from the garden's own compost heaps, and by adding kraal-manure . Biomass is cycled on-site through intensive composting and mulching .

Grass clippings generated by the local park maintenance crew are used to mulch vegetable beds. Mulch provides a habitat for soil life, and slowly decomposes to humus, thereby fertilising the soil . It also acts as a sunscreen for the soil, , reflecting harsh sunlight and buffering soil microclimate . It prevents wind erosion and stores water like a sponge . Mulch also suppresses weeds and together with regular hand-weeding, eliminates the need for herbicides.

Vegetable Garden

Applying the principles of crop rotation and companion planting, Siyakhana produces a broad selection of seasonal crops, including beans, maize, pumpkins, cabbage, kale, lettuce, spinach and brussels sprouts . These vegetables are then distributed to the partner-NGO's of the Siyakhana group, thus supplementing the diets of inner-city orphans and vulnerable children cared for by these CBO's.

Companion planting of vegetables reduces the impact of insect pests by placing crops in such a way that they protect each other by attracting beneficial insects, or by releasing insect-repellent chemicals. Together with crop rotation , this ensures that the soil maintains a healthy balance of nutrients . And so, guilds of useful plants grow together, supporting and protecting one another.

Herb Garden

Research has showed that the use of herbs can play an important role in providing basic health management options . The high levels of phytochemicals present in herbs can also supplement peoples' nutrition and can significantly improve the quality of life for people suffering from chronic ailments.

Siyakhana cultivates a variety of indigenous and cosmopolitan herbs to provide affordable and renewable natural health-care resources.

Nursery

Our nursery has been designed to protect young plants from harsh weather, whilst allowing access to light and ventilation. It is a protected environment that allows us to produce seedlings and cuttings throughout the year .

Aside from providing a protective environment for the plants, the nursery also functions as a vital component in the project’s sustainability , as it allows the project to generate funds by selling seedlings to the surrounding communities.

Seed Bank

In an age where genes, the very fabric of life, are being tampered with and patented by large multinational corporations to improve shareholder profits, the preservation of heritage seeds is a vital way for ordinary people to maintain economic and political freedom .

Collecting and exchanging seeds is a vitally important aspect of sustainable agriculture, preserving the rich genetic heritage of locally-adapted cultivars and ensuring that this wealth is preserved and shared. Hence, to enhance the genetic diversity and natural resilience of the site and its crops, we have established a small seed bank where we collect and keep a wide variety of seeds.

Bee Hive

Bees are the primary pollinators of most vegetable, fruit, and nut crops in our garden and they thereby greatly enhance the productivity of the site.

Bees also produce a rich honey which is based on the nectar of our diverse ecology of herbs, fruit trees, and vegetables.
Honey, considered to be man’s first sweetener, has long been regarded as a medicine in its own right and therefore represents a valuable garden product.

Owl Box

Rodents are a major source of damage to crops in urban agriculture and unfortunately, Siyakhana has not been left unscathed by this problem. In order to avoid using dangerous and polluting poisons , we choose to rather implement the Permaculture method. This encourages the use of integrated pest management using ecological processes to control pest populations. And so, we provided a habitat for owls .

Working closely with Prof Neville Pillay of WITS' animal, plant and environmental sciences unit, we created and introduced an owl-box . The objective of this owl box is to provide a comfortable roost so that an owl will be able to patrol the site around dusk and dawn , thus eradicating the rodent problem.

Pond

Designed by Prof Taigbenu and associates from WITS department of Civil Engineering , the pond serves as a storage mechanism for irrigation water.

Run-off is collected in the pond and is used in the dry season. The pond also has the potential to be developed into an aquaculture system ; wetland plants including reeds and papyrus have been established, and the pond is already attracting water-fowl . We envision it as an important aesthetic and recreational feature of the project.

Designed by Prof Taigbenu and associates from WITS department of Civil Engineering , the pond serves as a storage mechanism for irrigation water.

Run-off is collected in the pond and is used in the dry season. The pond also has the potential to be developed into an aquaculture system ; wetland plants including reeds and papyrus have been established, and the pond is already attracting water-fowl . We envision it as an important aesthetic and recreational feature of the project.

Natural Building

In order to house and shelter workers, visitors and equipment, the Siyakhana project is erecting various buildings using strawbales and cob . Cob uses earth mixed with straw to create a locally-available building material that can be molded and sculpted into almost any shape.

These structures are semi-permanent , designed with ecological principles in mind, and constructed primarily from natural materials , which means that they provide a comfortable and healthy living environment . At the end of their life-cycle, buildings can be broken down with minimal effort and decompose harmlessly .

An important objective of this aspect of the project is to research natural building and to establish a team of skilled natural builders who will be able to implement construction projects for clients. In order to house and shelter workers, visitors and equipment, the Siyakhana project is erecting various buildings using strawbales and cob . Cob uses earth mixed with straw to create a locally-available building material that can be molded and sculpted into almost any shape.

These structures are semi-permanent , designed with ecological principles in mind, and constructed primarily from natural materials , which means that they provide a comfortable and healthy living environment . At the end of their life-cycle, buildings can be broken down with minimal effort and decompose harmlessly .

An important objective of this aspect of the project is to research natural building and to establish a team of skilled natural builders who will be able to implement construction projects for clients.

Solar Energy

The sun's energy is a renewable, readily available and clean energy source and it does not generate harmful pollution as do coal-fired power-plants. Drawing on this natural power source, the Siyakhana project is able to maintain a high-tech office completely off-grid that functions as follows:

• A solar cooker is used to prepare herbal infusions and to heat meals.
• The site's office equipment (laptop, cellphone, printer and lights) is powered by a Photovoltaic system supplied by Flexopower. This system converts sunlight into electrical energy which is stored in a battery and converted into the appropriate current and voltage by an inverter.