I was in my "Permaculture Forest Garden" backyard and I heard some people at my fence (they couldn't see me) and I heard one say "Oh my gosh, it's like a farm garden then suddenly it's like looking into a Alice In Wonderland!". It was best compliment! You have been such an inspiration and mentor to me Jeff. Thank you for all that you do and have done to be a light! Namaste
Too bad that too much diversity of plants and products makes it nearly impossible to scale up and sell the products. No money, no adherence from farmers.
The walls are part of why it remains a garden, and the hill where those goats were going is barren. Overgrazing of livestock is part of the reason most of the region is becoming a desert. There are ways to work animals into permaculture, but to bring broader change, like the Great Green Wall in Senegal requires funding to help the farmers restrict their goats for a few years while trees get big enough to survive. Imagine if the US gov funded permaculture instead of bombs, spies, and propaganda.
Thanks Geoff! it's been so awesome to see this site grow over the years. I live in Arizona, between Phoenix and Tucson. so I have a very similar climate, and I love seeing the possibilities. My 1 acre property is nowhere near as developed as the GTD site in Jordan, but it is a living work in progress. Thanks for inspiring us to keep working at it. Cheers Mate!
Geoff isn't the only person with knowledge of permaculture, soil health or restoring soil fertility, which means we can find someone locally to refer us to Geoff's courses or learn better ways to heal nature. Collectively we took a wrecking ball to our planet, it's time we start changing our ways, one garden, one balcony, one yard or farm at a time. Amazing changes Geoff, watched you spend so much time, money and energy to get to this point. Thank you. 🇨🇦💙
This is the most inspiring project I've ever learned about. Geoff Lawton has inspired me for a long time. I have a small property, and perennials, ducks, and swales
This is wonderful Geoff. May all your students be wonderful satellites of your teachings, expanding the whole permaculture thinking across the globe until it seems just the normal way to live, to think, to see…
Always such a treat to watch these videos. Given the projects success, in some respects, it's surprising that the neighbourhood hasn't been keener to adopt the permacultural approach if the lack of greenery is anything to go by, even if all it meant was more comfortable summer living from the shade alone provided by tree canopies.
You change your circumstances and be a hero, but maybe you have not met the average person on this Earth, who is hapless, and clueless, and selfish....
@@Menstral Some people can be taught to evolve. Not all. People of good conscience must be willing to band together and build seed banks, of plants, knowledge, and wisdom, like Geoff has built here. Many yearn for something different but can't find examples. And of course the broader dog-eat-dog capitalism chips away at all of this. But today, more than ever, more people are willing to ask for Ecosia to plant them a forest for their birthday than ask for presents. People who care about ecology may as well throw donations at the few orgs who do things right.
GEOFF Lawton, THANK YOU! Not just for turning rocks & sand into soil, but for EVERY BEAUTIFUL INCH of this planet you have touched with your grace from YHWH! I cried tears of gratitude tonight that you were still publishing - BETTER THAN EVER! ✊🏽
Really great to see this transformation and I love the fact that you emphasise not everything needs to be edible. I think this is a really important part of growing people get wrong. Thank you 🌻
I remember 2009 when I discovered your greening the desert.... What an achievement and what a living example of the great possibilities of ecology and permaculture. This is the stewardship that was intended in the Bible and the holy Quran. Inspiration to build in truth, apart from the inhumane and unnatural industrial agriculture based on the dogma of scarcity. Great great great Geoff! You honor your teachers like the great Bill Mollison.
this has been my most favorite of your projects for years now... greening the desert and bringing fertility to dead areas is what Permaculture is all about
I'm reminded of a book by the sailor Bernard Moistessier. I don't remember which one, but he makes a home and garden on a sandy atoll. He lays palm fronds down on it and sees the soil change character over time. That really stuck with me as I was beginning to be introduced to permaculture at the same time from reading Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemmenway while working as a gardener for a local restaurant. I get a strong feeling of significance about concentrating biomass in garden systems and making positive feedback loops that expand. The taste of an heirloom tomato from good soil changed my life, the insane difference between that and the horrible thing from the grocery store totally blew my mind. I never liked tomatoes until that moment, now I understand that tomatoes are ambrosia and the grocery store sells garbage and taking care of the soil and water is everything.
I'm happy for the progress that this project has had in & through space & time! Congratulations to everyone that contributed to the success (& more successes) of this project! Lots of love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from my end--the Philippines!
Looking good I hope many follow your lead.im starting a small 3ac property in western Australian wheat belt .I'm setting my self a 7 year establishment time .Winter Frost then hot dry summer is a test .but following your advice and taking slow steps forward.thankyou
I have followed you for a long time now. And I think this is amazing. I can imagine if everyone in a mile radius would do the same. I always like the greening the desert updates. Thank you Geoff.
Very nice overview, thank you! By the way, Greening the Desert project and also Permaculture Institute are written into a novel, "The Ministry for the Future" K. S. Robinson. 🙂
I love what you created here , i think the whole village should follow on the footstep and create a bustling oasis that stands out from the rest …. i will be doing something similar but on a much larger scale in Australia , targeting mainly arid zones and desert boundaries …. i might have to get in touch to consult with you on this mega project.
I remember the beginning of this project. The locals put goats back on the original site. They let it revert back to barren land. Some of the people stuck with Geoff, they're the ones who have applied the principles and are reaping the rewards on their own land. A great teacher. The eye is the window to the brain. Being able to see the practices put in place, and therefore the results, ensures the progress of the program.
Geoff , I met a guy from the mldwest of the U.S.A. Iowa maybe ? He came from a farming family . He had a great quote . " We were just good dirt farmers . "
In the Bible, this land surrounding Jericho was called "The Land of Milk and Honey". It took two men to carry a single bunch of grapes, slung on a pole between them. For many thousands of years it has been barren, but it is lovely to see a small corner of it becoming green and fertile again.
Geoff you have done an amazing job. But why live there. Why are you not doing this in Australia. You have always been an inspiration and we have taken our little quarter acre block in country town Australia which was a barren piece of land to a wonderland. It took 20 years but I love what we have done Our backyard is our sanctuary now. God bless you stay safe
Every human community should have a diversity of food plants in it. I work as a decorative gardener and most of the plants I work with are inedible and often toxic. It's not just a disconnect, people have acquired some weird anti vibe about making the land both bountiful and beautiful. They want it to be a tame postcard, something seen and displayed to others as a sign of wealth. Food plants are beautiful, there's no reason we can't replace toxic decoratives with food. The decorative training does transfer over to permaculture when it comes to thinking about how perennials interact over a long span of time and how placement affects everything. I'm grateful for what I've learned working in that industry, but much of it just makes me sad because the normal methods often express a deep disconnection from the systems of nature. I'm glad I get to work outside and be barefoot a lot and use my body and smell soil, it's a good job, but gardening can be so much more than that.
Incredible progress on the project, Geoff! Just a small thing - Parkinsonia aculeata is native to arid environments in the Americas. Not sure how it acquired the name Jerusalem thorn.
Absolutely lovely! My mother studied under you and I love seeing what she shares! I'm currently in AZ and have been dreading setting down roots (pun intended 😂), but this post is making me second guess myself! I'm still watching, but how long ago was this all just sand??
Geoff, I would like to hear your perspective on China's greening desert project. Is permaculture possible on such a grand scale with relatively minor stewardship?
Fantastic work. It boggles my mind that you have problems getting funded. Is there anyone here who knows about fundraising? This seems like something governments all around the world should be funding. How do we make this happen?
Flies and butterflies do a lot of pollination, the latter need only to fly over the flowers to lift the pollen through an electromagnetic field and thus spreading it into the air... And you can't hear them doing it 😉
@@gm2407 I agree, it'd be valuable information. Wildlife/fauna influences the success of flora. Sorry if you're receiving this comment again, it seems my previous one was deleted.
Do you have a biogas digester plant that uses black water to make electricity, hot water, and fertilizer from human and animal waste? That sounds like a good idea and would allow gray water separation for immediate watering of the gardens.
I was thinking about this topic recently. Retoring a desrtified piece of land in a meditaranian climate. And my biggest question was: where would I get the biomass to even start. What would I compost to create soil and humus....
![Swales: Earthworks for Conservation and Storage [PDC Preview]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/W-f2genlUZI/mqdefault.jpg)
I was in my "Permaculture Forest Garden" backyard and I heard some people at my fence (they couldn't see me) and I heard one say "Oh my gosh, it's like a farm garden then suddenly it's like looking into a Alice In Wonderland!". It was best compliment! You have been such an inspiration and mentor to me Jeff. Thank you for all that you do and have done to be a light! Namaste
You can see how this may one day again be the land of milk and honey. Respect.
Ngl, I wish I could fund it
Respect indeed! Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Already is :)
Too bad that too much diversity of plants and products makes it nearly impossible to scale up and sell the products. No money, no adherence from farmers.
It's always a treat seeing new videos from Geoff!
It’s unbelievable, what it looked like and what it still looks like out side, but within those walls a garden.
The walls are part of why it remains a garden, and the hill where those goats were going is barren. Overgrazing of livestock is part of the reason most of the region is becoming a desert. There are ways to work animals into permaculture, but to bring broader change, like the Great Green Wall in Senegal requires funding to help the farmers restrict their goats for a few years while trees get big enough to survive. Imagine if the US gov funded permaculture instead of bombs, spies, and propaganda.
Let's build new mini walkable towns entirely with permaculture techniques!
Thanks Geoff for us to learning how to deal with drought and help the earth
Thanks Geoff! it's been so awesome to see this site grow over the years. I live in Arizona, between Phoenix and Tucson. so I have a very similar climate, and I love seeing the possibilities. My 1 acre property is nowhere near as developed as the GTD site in Jordan, but it is a living work in progress. Thanks for inspiring us to keep working at it. Cheers Mate!
Such a wonderful gift to the people and to the world - showing that if we care for the earth it will feed everyone and produce surplus.
Amazing how the biomass changed the environment. I'm growing on stones with very little sandy soil and growing more soil with biomass is such a help.
Thanks Geoff for helping us realize what is possible!!
just love your work Geoff. thank you for everything you do for mother nature
Geoff isn't the only person with knowledge of permaculture, soil health or restoring soil fertility, which means we can find someone locally to refer us to Geoff's courses or learn better ways to heal nature.
Collectively we took a wrecking ball to our planet, it's time we start changing our ways, one garden, one balcony, one yard or farm at a time.
Amazing changes Geoff, watched you spend so much time, money and energy to get to this point.
Thank you. 🇨🇦💙
This is the most inspiring project I've ever learned about. Geoff Lawton has inspired me for a long time.
I have a small property, and perennials, ducks, and swales
Great video! Would love to see an update of Abla's property. Cheers
Same!
This is wonderful Geoff. May all your students be wonderful satellites of your teachings, expanding the whole permaculture thinking across the globe until it seems just the normal way to live, to think, to see…
Wow the contrast of how much plants in the site compared to the area around is astonishing.
Always such a treat to watch these videos. Given the projects success, in some respects, it's surprising that the neighbourhood hasn't been keener to adopt the permacultural approach if the lack of greenery is anything to go by, even if all it meant was more comfortable summer living from the shade alone provided by tree canopies.
Looked in 8 years ago. The place continues to develops! Congratulations!
We can change the world, a garden at a time. Thanks Geoff
You change your circumstances and be a hero, but maybe you have not met the average person on this Earth, who is hapless, and clueless, and selfish....
@@Menstral Some people can be taught to evolve. Not all. People of good conscience must be willing to band together and build seed banks, of plants, knowledge, and wisdom, like Geoff has built here. Many yearn for something different but can't find examples. And of course the broader dog-eat-dog capitalism chips away at all of this. But today, more than ever, more people are willing to ask for Ecosia to plant them a forest for their birthday than ask for presents. People who care about ecology may as well throw donations at the few orgs who do things right.
Love this guy. Just simple return to the soil and you get that. Nature's amazing if it's allowed to be.
STUNNING PROJECT, thank you for being my number one source of inspiration, mentorship, education and hope for so many years!
GEOFF Lawton, THANK YOU! Not just for turning rocks & sand into soil, but for EVERY BEAUTIFUL INCH of this planet you have touched with your grace from YHWH! I cried tears of gratitude tonight that you were still publishing - BETTER THAN EVER! ✊🏽
Thank you, Geoff!
What a wonderful vision you and your wife had and it is lovely to see it slowly come to fruition. Well done Geoff & team
It's great to see that Robert Plant is so interested in permaculture!
What you have managed to accomplish there is simply incredible. Thank you for inspiring us to keep moving forward, Geoff!
God bless you Geoff, you are amazing!!! 🙏🙌😇 Thank you for what you’re doing for Mother Earth!!
thank you Geoff always a plesure to watch your update.
Everytime i see videos on this project o get more will to go out and work on my land. Tanks.
I always thought the property was bigger but that is amazing!
Really great to see this transformation and I love the fact that you emphasise not everything needs to be edible. I think this is a really important part of growing people get wrong. Thank you 🌻
I remember 2009 when I discovered your greening the desert....
What an achievement and what a living example of the great possibilities of ecology and permaculture. This is the stewardship that was intended in the Bible and the holy Quran.
Inspiration to build in truth, apart from the inhumane and unnatural industrial agriculture based on the dogma of scarcity.
Great great great Geoff! You honor your teachers like the great Bill Mollison.
Wonderful and exciting to see such progress. Thanks Geoff.
another excellent, valuable presentation by Geoff !
this has been my most favorite of your projects for years now... greening the desert and bringing fertility to dead areas is what Permaculture is all about
amazing progress. The site speaks volumes
Always a pleasure! 👍😎
I'm reminded of a book by the sailor Bernard Moistessier. I don't remember which one, but he makes a home and garden on a sandy atoll. He lays palm fronds down on it and sees the soil change character over time. That really stuck with me as I was beginning to be introduced to permaculture at the same time from reading Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemmenway while working as a gardener for a local restaurant. I get a strong feeling of significance about concentrating biomass in garden systems and making positive feedback loops that expand. The taste of an heirloom tomato from good soil changed my life, the insane difference between that and the horrible thing from the grocery store totally blew my mind. I never liked tomatoes until that moment, now I understand that tomatoes are ambrosia and the grocery store sells garbage and taking care of the soil and water is everything.
Great training for Humanity Geoff.I am doing the same in Portugal.Cheers
As always I love your videos. You are an amazing teacher
I'm happy for the progress that this project has had in & through space & time! Congratulations to everyone that contributed to the success (& more successes) of this project!
Lots of love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from my end--the Philippines!
Fantastic job!
Looking good I hope many follow your lead.im starting a small 3ac property in western Australian wheat belt .I'm setting my self a 7 year establishment time .Winter Frost then hot dry summer is a test .but following your advice and taking slow steps forward.thankyou
Wonderful work. We have a really arid and desertic area in south Spain. Something similar should be done here.
Amazing, big change happened there since my last visit 2 years ago
I have followed you for a long time now. And I think this is amazing. I can imagine if everyone in a mile radius would do the same. I always like the greening the desert updates. Thank you Geoff.
Positive, useful, information. Greatly appreciated in these very weird times. Thank you.
Very nice overview, thank you!
By the way, Greening the Desert project and also Permaculture Institute are written into a novel, "The Ministry for the Future" K. S. Robinson. 🙂
Very instructive.
Keep going! In a year our two, they will see a green dot from space…❤
Love what You Do
Showing the World
A
Better Way. ❤
😊😊😊😊
I love the updates.
Incredible job done well!
I love what you created here , i think the whole village should follow on the footstep and create a bustling oasis that stands out from the rest …. i will be doing something similar but on a much larger scale in Australia , targeting mainly arid zones and desert boundaries …. i might have to get in touch to consult with you on this mega project.
I remember the beginning of this project. The locals put goats back on the original site. They let it revert back to barren land. Some of the people stuck with Geoff, they're the ones who have applied the principles and are reaping the rewards on their own land. A great teacher. The eye is the window to the brain. Being able to see the practices put in place, and therefore the results, ensures the progress of the program.
Thanks Jeff amazing work and result, i wish one day you could visit my farm in Sydney. i watch your videos and try to do project on my farm
very cool - bring the global confidence!
I would call Geoff the Green Noble Knight.
How beautiful ! ✨💕
Thank you
Gr8 seeing you there again. Hope all are safe… looking forward to seeing the project at Kim’s place in USA.
Cheers, m8!
If this is possible in the desert, we have no excuses to make foodforest work everywhere!
I’m a huge fan of your work! I’ve been curious how would this project survive with only annual rainfall?
Geoff , I met a guy from the mldwest of the U.S.A. Iowa maybe ? He came from a farming family . He had a great quote . " We were just good dirt farmers . "
Imagine if they had done this all over the country or region. Just wonderful work....everything looks so green🌳🌴🍀🌿🌳🌴☘️☘️
Imagine the whole world. So many nutrients for body and soul.
Wonderful!🌸
In the Bible, this land surrounding Jericho was called "The Land of Milk and Honey". It took two men to carry a single bunch of grapes, slung on a pole between them. For many thousands of years it has been barren, but it is lovely to see a small corner of it becoming green and fertile again.
Absolutely amazing. How much irrigation is needed to maintain this?
Always great to see a new video. Question,are the trees still being irrigated? Tks.
Looking good Geoff, keep em coming.
nice ,thanks for review
Inspiring!
Just imagine this throughout the region. Sufficient resources for humans --> reduced violence.
Geoff you have done an amazing job. But why live there. Why are you not doing this in Australia. You have always been an inspiration and we have taken our little quarter acre block in country town Australia which was a barren piece of land to a wonderland. It took 20 years but I love what we have done Our backyard is our sanctuary now. God bless you stay safe
I love to see updates from this project!
Are there videos from the project in central europe you mentioned, too?
Grande lavoro Geoff !!
Very impressive !
Nice work!
How can I find the project in Central Europe? Very interested I am!
Are you bringing water into the system to supplement it ? If yes how long do you think it could last without irrigation?
Thank you Geoff for the inspiration...could we have an update on Abla's garden if possible....
I’m surprised that more of your neighbors are not emulating you after 15 years.
Every human community should have a diversity of food plants in it. I work as a decorative gardener and most of the plants I work with are inedible and often toxic. It's not just a disconnect, people have acquired some weird anti vibe about making the land both bountiful and beautiful. They want it to be a tame postcard, something seen and displayed to others as a sign of wealth. Food plants are beautiful, there's no reason we can't replace toxic decoratives with food. The decorative training does transfer over to permaculture when it comes to thinking about how perennials interact over a long span of time and how placement affects everything. I'm grateful for what I've learned working in that industry, but much of it just makes me sad because the normal methods often express a deep disconnection from the systems of nature. I'm glad I get to work outside and be barefoot a lot and use my body and smell soil, it's a good job, but gardening can be so much more than that.
Thank you! Could you please bring more info about your Central European project?
Looks tropical ❤❤❤❤
If it can work there, it can work pretty much anywhere 🙂
Incredible progress on the project, Geoff!
Just a small thing - Parkinsonia aculeata is native to arid environments in the Americas. Not sure how it acquired the name Jerusalem thorn.
Absolutely lovely! My mother studied under you and I love seeing what she shares! I'm currently in AZ and have been dreading setting down roots (pun intended 😂), but this post is making me second guess myself! I'm still watching, but how long ago was this all just sand??
I’m curious, what is the project in Central Europe?
It's in Terény, Hungary.
@@mrdeanvincent thanks
Geoff, I would like to hear your perspective on China's greening desert project. Is permaculture possible on such a grand scale with relatively minor stewardship?
Fantastic work. It boggles my mind that you have problems getting funded. Is there anyone here who knows about fundraising? This seems like something governments all around the world should be funding. How do we make this happen?
Amazing Geoff thank you! Would these species work at 4k feet elevation in northern California ?
Where is the place in Europe to learn Permaculture?
Speaking of honey, are there any beas on this site? Insect life of any form, I don't hear much of on greening the desert site.
Flies and butterflies do a lot of pollination, the latter need only to fly over the flowers to lift the pollen through an electromagnetic field and thus spreading it into the air... And you can't hear them doing it 😉
@@andanssas By that, I meant, I don't hear a report about it in video format by Geoff or others and I think it would be interesting content.
@@gm2407 I agree, it'd be valuable information. Wildlife/fauna influences the success of flora.
Sorry if you're receiving this comment again, it seems my previous one was deleted.
If this can work here, this could bring life to Death Valley in the American desert.
Do you have a biogas digester plant that uses black water to make electricity, hot water, and fertilizer from human and animal waste? That sounds like a good idea and would allow gray water separation for immediate watering of the gardens.
You make me want to buy the worst piece of land ever and fix it.
Geoff, what's your favorite variety of fig tree?
Casuarina seems to be allopathic, or at least it acidifies the soil. Which one is it?
Where is the Central European site situated please?
I was thinking about this topic recently. Retoring a desrtified piece of land in a meditaranian climate. And my biggest question was: where would I get the biomass to even start. What would I compost to create soil and humus....