Berg-en-dal

The farm has been divided into three zones, according to the principles of permaculture: residential, agricultural and wilderness. In the wilderness area we will be rehabilitating indigenous vegetation, regenerating damaged land, propagating seed and preserving existing ecosystems. Wilderness regions also provide environments for the growing of rare, indigenous plants, many of which are medicinal. In the agricultural area we will be growing food, seeds, medicine and biological raw materials for our own use, and the excess will be for sale in the growing market in organic produce and environmentally friendly resources. The residential areas are roughly two acres each for shareholders to build their own homes and maintain kitchen gardens. There is a communal centre for workshops, maintaining a resource centre and seed bank collection, as well as a craft room. There are two cottages for visitors that will be developed into backpackers’ accommodation and to house WWOOFers. It is our opinion that permaculture is the ideal way to deal with dryland areas as it emphasizes working with nature rather than imposing artificial methods such as mono-cropping, fertilizers and genetically modified organisms. By paying attention to water harvesting (digging swales or trenches along the contour of the land) to prevent water run-off, we will raise the ground water level and then be able to pump our boreholes to the maximum for irrigation. We will also catch rainwater off roofs and recycle "grey" water (washing). The unique inter-cropping way of planting and the use of pioneering bushes that permaculture encourages, means that some plants shade others and provide nutrition and even ward off insects, thereby compensating for the difficulty of planting in a dry area. In essence, permaculture is about ecological management and we do not see humanity as separate from nature but as an intrinsic part of it.