Off the Top of My Head
By Paul MurrayIf you’re in Japan and you’re interested in permaculture, you need to meet Phil Cashman and see what he’s doing at Permaculture Awa Farm and Dojo in Wada on the Chiba Prefecture coast.
Bilingual Cashman studied permaculture in 2007 with the godfather of permaculture Bill Mollison and his protégé Geoff Lawton at Melbourne University in Australia. Since then, he has been on a mission to develop his knowledge of natural farming techniques and associated skills and has become a consummate permaculture practitioner.
Phil & Bill: Phil Cashman (left) and Bill Mollison in 2007
Cashman has worked on numerous permaculture projects around Japan, including helping people in tsunami stricken Fukushima to rebuild their lives and return to food production. He has also developed his home permaculture farm in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture as an exhibition farm to show the possibilities of permaculture and in the process feed himself and his family with top quality, locally grown organic fruit and vegetables.
He studied the art of Japanese natural beekeeping with aparian grandmaster Asakazu Tominaga in Nagano Prefecture and has become a specialist in natural beekeeping and natural honey production. Cashman offers workshops in beekeeping as well as other aspects of permaculture at the Permaculture Dojo in Wada, which is about 2 hours from Tokyo by train.
Wada is a popular summer holiday destination for Tokyoites and is famous for its surf beaches, hot spring onsens, fine isakaya restaurants, fresh farm produce and seafood and beautiful coastal scenery.
At Permaculture Awa Farm and Dojo, Cashman and his permaculture team offer a range of courses from introductory workshops for beginners, practical classes and exhibitions for kids, more advanced specialist courses for people with permaculture experience, through to a complete two-week Permaculture Design Course, which is the foundation of all permaculture studies worldwide.
Permaculture Awa is on a one-acre developing permaculture farm that provides live-in opportunities for students to gain invaluable hands-on experience and put permaculture theory into practice to gain the practical knowledge necessary to apply the skills to their own projects. Participants in workshops at the farm over several days can stay at the Permaculture Dojo for the duration of the course and enjoy food from the farm.
Raised-Bed Vegetable Garden at Permaculture Awa Farm
The farm has a small orchard, a large vegetable garden, composting area, worm farm, composting toilet, cob oven, yurt, rocket stove and an interesting hugelkultur project that incorporates a playground for children, including a long wooden slide made by natural playground specialist Yoshihiro Benjamin Iida.
Permaculture Design for Permaculture Awa Farm…A blueprint for the future.
Compost Toilet
Rocket Stove
Hugelkultur Platform
Cob Oven
Yurt
Permaculture Dojo
Wooden Slide built by natural playground construction specialist Yoshihiro Ida.
The Dojo building was originally built as a yoga studio and is a large wooden structure that can comfortably sleep 20 people. The courses on offer include accommodation and in the evenings, Cashman and the crew often fire up the cob oven to bake bread for the morning and make delicious wood-fired pizzas for dinner. Eating pizza, drinking beer and sitting around in the pleasant comfort of the Permaculture Dojo and chatting with interesting people from all around the world is surely one of the best ways to finish a productive day learning about permaculture, natural farming and other aspects of living well.
Wwoofer Yoshiko prepares a pizza to go into the the cob oven
Yoshihiro Ida puts his pizza-making skills to the test
Mmmmm….”Not Bad,” said Phil.
Vibrant discourse proceeded well into the night…
Cashman takes a long view on life and considers permaculture a positive way to secure a high quality of life for himself, his family and generations to come. “I want my kids’ grandchildren to be healthy and happy,” he said and is working toward that end by establishing Permaclture Awa Farm. The farm will provide for a self-sufficient lifestyle for his family and the people working with him. His ongoing quest for knowledge and skills in sustainable living and his willingness to share his experience with others is what makes Permaculture Awa so special.
A passionate teacher with a high level of competence in all aspects of permaculture make Cashman an inspiring and and motivating influence in all who meet him. “I want to make Permaculture Awa the best permaculture exhibition farm in the world so that people can come and see the possibilities, learn as much as they can and then go and spread the word through their own projects,” he said.
Phil Cashman uses natural materials for construction projects on Permaculture Awa Farm
Yoshihiro Iida (left) and Phil Cashman construct a bamboo trellis for climbing beans in the gardens at Permculture Awa Farm
Be prepared to laugh while you work with Phil Cashman…He FUNNY!
So if you want to learn anything about permaculture, if you are an experience practitioner wanting to further refine your knowledge, or if you are just beginning on you permaculture quest, if you speak Japanese or English, get in touch with Phil Cashman as he will light up your mind with his passion for permaculture and lift your spirits with positive future possibilities for a high quality of life for you and your family.
For More Information about Permaculture Awa and Upcoming Workshops Visit the Web site and Join the FaceBook Page:
Permaculture Awa:
http://permaculture-awa.wix.com/permaculture-awa#!home/mainPage
FaceBook: Permaculture Awa
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Permaculture-Awa/539371486103762?fref=ts
Contact Phil Cashman:
E-mail: permaculturedojo@gmail.com
Ph: 080-5042-4302
Permaculture Awa is small link in a global network of people designing practical solutions for the better health of people and the environment. We practice and teach Permaculture Design so our communities can get empowered to be the change they want to see. Lets work together and create a healthier, more peaceful and resilient future for our descendants. パーマカルチャー安房は「我々と我々の子孫のためにもっと平和で健康な環境を育てていきたいと考え行動する家族や友だちのコミュニティーを築きたい」との思いでフィル・キャッシュマンが設立しました。２００７年にパーマカルチャーの父ビル・モリソンからパーマカルチャーデザインを学び、それ以降は日本でパーマカルチャーの研究と実践一筋でやってきました。グローバルな環境問題に対して、ポジティブな変化と具体的なソルーションを着々と実行するグラスルーツムーブメント。この人類の目覚めに全力で貢献する事を試みています。喜びいっぱい精一杯、大勢の世界中の仲間たちとアースケアー、ピープルケアーとフェアーシェアーを実践していきましょう。
The Rongolian Star 
I just spent a Sunday at Phil’s home & permaculture project in Hayama, helping out in the garden. As ever, Phil is an inspiration and joy to learn from and I left in the late afternoon tired, but enrichened & ancouraged with new knowledge. Looking forward to the workshop at Permaculture Awa this weekend!
Good Oh Miguel…you GO Guy!
Phil is one of my Favourite Permies in the world, and he happens to live in my favourite country. How good is that!
One day I took the sponsors of my community garden project to view his house, a kind of timber-disneyland of permaculture. It was like watching stars come out, seeing them so excited, finally understanding how my lovely ideas looked in reality.
They hired him right away.
The results are delicious.
Hi Cecilia, thanks for your comment…and yes, Phil is amazing and his place is permaculture in action. Phil inspired me into permaculture and we are forming an association between Japan and New Zealand that we hope will lead to an exchange programme. Phil is coming to New Zealand later this year for our November PDC: http://livinginpeace.com/permaculture/permaculture-design-course-karamea/