A New Zealand Government Department authorised by a covertly suspicious and deliberately rhetorical Act of Parliament and compounded by a tacitly implied Royal authority to receive Official Complaints.
Office Manager: Red Scarlett
Senior Complaints Officer: Billy Connolly
Office Receptionist: Steve Martin
Office Security Guard: Alexei Sayle
Tea Slut: Jim Carey
Karamea Ministry of Red Tape Offices, Market Cross, April Fools’ Day 01/01/2013 0935 hrs
Steve Martin: Chow!!!!
Herr Dim Bong Goon: Hi ye wau ha!
Billy Connolly: Are you taking the f…… proverbial Jimmy?
Herr Dim Bong Goon: Nein!! Standing on ze rusty nail kamerad!
Billy Connolly: Welcome to the Karamea Ministry of fu….. Red Tape Jimmy!
Herr Dim Bong Goon: Ya! Ist goot! I vishing to make ze complaint about ze Vestern forces of imperialistic capitalism laughing at my empty whetoric!
Billy Connolly: An Official fuc…. Complaint Jimmy?
Herr Dim Bong Goon: Ya! I intend to nuke the decaying edifices of Vestern imperialism and I have ze red button right here in my brief case!
Steve Martin: Love the swaztika dude!
Herr Dim Bong Goon: Don’t call me Dude! A dude is a camel’s genital proboscis! Do I look like ze camels long driver?
Billy Connolly: You’re the fuck… crazed meglomaniac that’s going to annihilate Glasgow Rangers! Procreate me Jimmy!
Herr Dim Bong Goon: I am going to destroy Disneyland, the Out House, McDonalds and WWF!!!
Billy Connolly: Never!! Not fucki.. McDonald’s!! Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steve Martin: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jim Carey: Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alexei Sayle: Didn’t you kill my bruvver???
Herr Kim Bong Goon: Ha ha ha!!! Aufwiedersein to Gentle Ben, Lassie, Ed and Skippy!! Ha ha ha!!
Billy Connolly: No! Not fuckin. Skippy!!!! Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steve Martin: Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jim Carey: Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Who the fuck is Skippy?)
Alexei Sayle: Oi you! Yeah you! I’m talking to you, I’m talking to you!
Gang Nam: Excuse me! Allow me to introduce myself I am Gang Nam and I am ze Fuhrehr’s Minister of Information. Ze glorious farterland is going to totally obliterate all memory of Voodstock!!! Ha ha ha!!
Billy Connolly: Are you fucking crazy Jimmy !!!!!!??!!!!! You would kill a poor innocent wee birdie!! ……. Christ!
Kaboom!!!!!
Jim Carey: Alrighty!!! What a shot, what a weapon!!!
Red Scarlett: My new designer Russian PK 126 Bazooka!!!
Billy Connolly: What a fucking mess JimmY! Someone get a vacuum cleaner!!!!
Gang Nam: Anyone want to see me dance???
Red Scarlett: We are the saviours of Western democracy! Let’s party!!
“What permaculturalists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet. We don’t know what the details of a truly sustainable future are going to be like, but we need options, we need people experimenting in all kinds of ways and permaculturalists are one of the critical groups doing that.” — David Suzuki
Join the New Permaculture Generation
By Arthur Lewis Gordon Jackson
Looking out over the lifeless brown quilt of drought-stricken Midwest corn monoculture from the window of a Boeing 747-700, it was immediately apparent to me that permaculture farming practices would have prevented this ecological catastrophe. The hottest summer on record in the United States combined with aggressive commercial farming practices has created the potential for a biblical famine!
I had been to New York City to attend the nuptials of a very close friend and was heading to a lush, green parallel universe to do a permaculture design course in Karamea on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
However, New Zealand too has had a dry summer with much of the country being designated a drought zone. There is a change happening on weather systems, we should be focussing all of our available energy and resources to find solutions to overcome the challenges this will present. The permaculture fraternity appears to be doing just that…working with the forces of nature to create food production systems that will produce an abundance of food and can be sustained forever.
New York City from the Empire State Building
Flying over the land at 10,000 feet affords a perspective on life that is not possible at ground level. The view of a bird reveals clearly the perils of commercial agriculture and the devastating impact of human influence on natural systems
Vast tracts of flat fertile farmland devoted to the production of corn, which is now a staple food in the United States. Corn and its byproducts form the basis for most processed food products. The diverse natural landscape that must have once existed here is all gone…the diversity of flora and fauna has been replaced with a single crop.
The interior of the Unites States currently resembles the dry withered skin of an old elephant…with the occasional urban smogatropolis bursting through the leathery hide like a festering pustule as we flew over cities…surely this is not a healthy landscape? How long will it be before the great elephant succumbs to consumption?
As I look around the plane, I consider that I am possibly the only passenger pondering the subject of sustainability. I am one of the lucky 10% of the world’s population who can actually afford to fly and I’m feeling very decadent indulging myself the environmentally expensive luxury of international flight, but am I decadent compared with the businesspeople in first class who do this most every day? Are they decadent compared with the owner of the airline who has mansions all over the world, his own island and is planning flights to the moon? Thinking about the poor sodbusters below watching their cornfields wither and die as they pray for rain puts my self-indulgence into sharp perspective.
Looking down on the state of the land in the U.S. Midwest, it is clear land-use changes need to be made as the current system of food through the exploitation of land resources is clearly not sustainable and appears headed for collapse.
In permaculture, it is often stated that, “the problem is the solution” and that the solution to any problem already exists in nature. Broad-scale monoculture farming is the problem here, the solution is to reintroduce crop diversity, water harvesting, replanting trees along waterways, assisting nature to remediate the damage done and collectively applying permaculture principles over the entire region.
Another huge part of this problem is that there are many mouths to feed in the United States, food production is essential to the sustenance of the populace. Midwest farmers no doubt feel the weight of responsibility to provide food.
The good news for U.S. farmers is that there is already a lot of permaculture activity in the United States and progressive farmers like Joel Salatin and his Polyface Farms in Virginia have working models of what is possible with a change of mindset from “we do it this way because that’s how my grandfather did it,” to it’s time to take a new approach, let’s learn about permaculture, and set about repairing our land for future generations. Doing what you’ve always done does not always produce what you’ve always got and cracks are appearing in the broad-scale commercial monoculture model…it’s time to have a rethink on food production in the Midwest and everywhere else.
Joel Salatin Sharing his Knowledge with other Farmers at a PolyFace Farm Field Day
With that in mind, Paul Murray decided to be part of the solution and study permaculture so that he could help find answers to the challenges of future food production and distribution and work towards rebuilding and replenishing the land so that it may produce an abundance of food and feed everyone forever .We need to help others to learn about permaculture and how to grow food for themselves without relying on corporate agriculture food production and distribution systems.
However, Permaculture Design Course students often come from large cities somewhere in the world. They may not have had an opportunity to gain hands-on practical experience necessary to apply the principles of permaculture in a practical situation.
Seeing the need to offer practical training for people who have completed a theoretical Permaculture Design Course to enable them to achieve the confidence and competence necessary to apply the permaculture theory they have learned in the classroom to their own permaculture ventures, Living in Peace Project founder Paul Murray decided to offer his property, facilities and services to people seeking practical permaculture experience and set about creating a centre for excellence in permaculture.
The LivinginPeace Project seeks to holistically apply the principles of permaculture to the establishment, development and management of a business venture. The stated goal of the LivinginPeace Project is to incorporate the elements of art, travel, permaculture and education into a sustainable business.
Inspired on completing a Permaculture Design Course with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton at Melbourne University in 2009, Murray, with a lot of help from people from all over the world, and with further inspiration from the Permaculture Master Plan, he began to establish a permaculture exhibition farm, education facility and centre for permaculture research, training and practice in the Karamea region at the top of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
In June 2004, Murray purchased an old maternity hospital and converted it into a hostel to offer reasonably priced accommodation to young and budget travellers visiting the region. A year later, he purchased a small farm and motel complex to cater to travellers looking for self-contained accommodation and organic gardens to grow food for his family, colleagues and customers.
Murray has a degree in agricultural science with a major in horticulture. The degree was essentially a study in commerce and taught students how to maximise the profit derived from every square inch of land with no real consideration for maintaining the fertility of the farm or for responsible stewardship. Permaculture made a whole lot more sense and the Permaculture Design Course with colourful, progressive-thinking characters like Mollison and Lawton and 100 students from all over the world convinced him of the way forward and his life changed as Lawton suggested it might.
The long-term objective for the Living in Peace Project is to gradually phase into permaculture and away from tourism, which Murray believes to be “an environmentally expensive form of entertainment” and into the provision of permaculture education, way of life and knowledge sharing with travellers. “Karamea is a stunning region, but it is also perhaps the most remote town on mainland New Zealand, people have to make a real effort to come here.” “I want to cater to travellers who make that effort––people who take the time to learn from their travel experience––and we have a great opportunity to share our permaculture knowledge with people from all over the world and, hopefully, gain new ideas and innovations from the people who come and stay.”
The hostel, Rongo Backpackers & Gallery, hosts travellers from over 50 countries each year and the Murray hopes the experience of living and working on a permaculture farm will spark a quest for knowledge among his guests and that they will take some of the energy-saving, self-sufficiency initiatives and permaculture practices home with them.
Bananas and avocadoes can be grown in Karamea and the region enjoys an almost sub-tropical microclimate. The soil is deep, well-drained alluvial loam, which enable a broad range of food crops to be grown. The annual rainfall is around 80 inches and it is evenly spread across the year, alleviating the need for irrigation and water storage.
“In all my travels, I’ve never come across a place with greater potential for growing food. The Living in Peace Project farm is a blank canvas for permaculture designers. People have the opportunity to learn how to go from bare earth to Eden rather than just seeing an established permaculture farm, we offer a very interactive experience and the chance to learn how to do it rather than merely seeing it after it’s done,” he said.
The project has employed Dave Tailby as the Permaculture Farm Manager this year and he has taken charge of the property and its development.
“Having Dave on board is fantastic! He’s a great people-person, a really hard worker and is as passionate about permaculture as anyone you’ll meet. He’s an asset to the project and a really great teacher,” Murray said.
LivinginPeace Project Farm Manager Dave Tailby (right) Talking Compost with a Couple of Urban Permaculturalists
After doing his Permaculture Design Course and watching the Permaculture Master Plan video, Murray decided to devote his life to permaculture and saw his tourism accommodation facilities and farm performing a different function––spreading the word about permaculture, helping others to learn and offering an opportunity to urban permaculture people to learn practical farm skills so that they might be better able to establish their own permaculture projects.
In the meantime, the LivinginPeace Project still offers accommodation over the summer months to visitors coming to see the many regional attractions, but changes focus from May to December to host permaculture students as interns on the farm and will offer a permaculture design course from May 14 to May 28, 2013.
“We are very fortunate to have Tim Barker from the Permaculture Research Institute coming over to lead the course, Tim is a great guy and an experienced permaculture practitioner with lots of practical skills to pass on to students on the course,” Murray said. Barker is currently one of the farm managers at the PRI’s Zaytuna Farm in New South Wales, Australia and describes himself as “Mr Fix it.”
Eventually, Murray hopes to phase tourism out altogether and focus entirely on permaculture programmes year-round. “I don’t think international tourism is a good bet, but I do believe in international travel…it’s the best form of self-education you can get,” he said.
The LivinginPeace Project will therefore cater to travellers and provide opportunities for people to affordably stay in Karamea for an extended period and learn about New Zealand customs, culture, traditions, lifestyle, food while they also learn about permaculture, sustainable living and self-sufficiency.
For more information on the LivinginPeace Project, or to enrol in the LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Design Course, please contact Paul Murray:
The course will cover theory and practice in Permaculture and will be held on a developing permaculture farm in sunny Karamea at the top of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Course Outline:
The PDC held at The Living Peace Project/Rongo Backpackers & Gallery from May 14 to May 28, 2013 will be slightly different to most other PDC’s. The full theoretical curriculum will be presented, but we will also be expanding the classroom out into the surrounding environment and conducting practical workshops so that students will go home with all the theoretical information, but also with confidence, ability and skills to put their course material into practice.
Practical aspects of the course will include:
A 21-day compost pile will be built and tended throughout the PDC.
Students will partake in practical permaculture demonstrations and activities.
A workshop on aquaculture/aquaponics.
An excursion to True Blue Organics to see the process of extracting essential oils.
Establish gardens and plant trees as well as examining the decomposing process in a natural forest system.
Visit permaculture farms in the Karamea region.
Visit old-growth forest systems in the Karamea region.
On completion of the PDC each graduate will receive a LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Design Course certificate
The students will also receive the diversity of 3 teachers all of whom are very experienced and knowledgeable in specific areas. Specialty subject teachers ensure the students receive the most critical information throughout the 72-hour programme.
On completion of the PDC, students may choose to stay on to experience life on a working permaculture farm.(Accommodation at the discounted rates as listed below)
LivinginPeace Project PDC Certificate
Course Fee Structure:
Course Fee: NZ$1,200 per person
Meals: $20 per person per day
(Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) (Morning and Afternoon Tea supplied)
*** 25% deposit required on booking the course.
Full payment to be made by commencement of the PDC.
*** Please e-mail us for Bank Account Details or
send a cheque made out to Iltamara Ltd to:
Rongo Backpackers & Gallery
130 Waverley Street
P.O. Box 54
Karamea 7864
NEW ZEALAND
Cancellation Policy:
Up until May 1, 2013: Full refund of deposit and course fee Between May 1 and May 14: 50% refund of deposit and course fee After May 14: No refund of deposit of course fee
PDC Lecturer Dave Tailby with PDC Students Luc Gregoire and Anneliese McNaughton
On Contour: Plotting a Swale
The Economics of Permaculture with LivinginPeace Project Founder Paul Murray
Teachers’ Profiles
Tim Barker
Aussie born, trained as a diesel fitter, began my Permaculture journey after reading Permaculture One by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in 1981, still reading and learning. Ran an adventure tourism business in far North Queensland for 8 years, also contracted to the EPA as a guide for environmental impact studies on the cape York Peninsular, and in conjunction with Tourism Queensland and Aboriginal communities set up and ran turtle conservation camps as a test case for indigenous eco-tourism based business. Former treasurer of the Albatross bay catchment management group and served as environmental contracts administrator for a large contractor based in Far North Queensland. Received my PDC through Permaculture visions, and completed an internship at The Permaculture Research Institute under Geoff Lawton. Was invited back to the PRI as a MR Fix It and teacher. Favourite pastime; thinking, appropriate low tech and aquaponics.
Age: 48
Dave Tailby
Living In Peace Project Farm Manager, Dave was formerly a qualified builder and did his PDC with Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia Zaytuna Farm in 2010 and joined the Living In Peace Project as the Farm Manager in March 2012. He has taken charge of the farm development and is creating a permaculture exhibition farm to help others learn about the principles of permaculture. Dave is a great people-person and loves to share his knowledge of permaculture and building.
Age: 50
Paul Murray
Paul is the founder of the Living In Peace Project.
He did his PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton at Melbourne University in 2009.
Grew up on a grazing property on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Degree in Agricultural Science (horticulture) from University of South Australia (Rosweworthy).
Grad Dip Arts (Journalism) University of Southern Queenland (Toowoomba).
Age: 47
Permaculture Farm Development
Farm Tour with Moo and Rusty
Wwoofers from all over the world
Potluck Dinner at Rongo
View of the Farm
Dinner at Rongo Backpackers
Peace Garden at Rongo
View of Mount Stormy, Karamea
LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Farm Manager Dave Tailby Shares his Knowledge
Aerial View of Karamea
Rongo Backpackers Gallery Aerial View
Big Rimu Tree in Karamea
Aquaculture Lecturer Annalise Runarson
PDC TESTIMONIAL by 2012 Students
Anneliese McNaughton and Luc Gregoire
We had been wwoofing for The LivinginPeace Project for four months. It was a really good time and an awesome experience.
We were offered the chance to do the PDC with the LivinginPeace Project for the end of October 2012. We receive a huge amount of theoretical and practical information. The lecturers, LivinginPeace Project Farm Manager Dave Tailby and Founder Paul Murray, covered what is usually done in PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, but also added their personal experiences, which was a real bonus.
Dave shared his knowledge about composting, practical design, landscaping-earthwork, working with animals (ducks, sheep, chickens) and Paul concentrated on Collective project around permaculture and the financial and legal possibilities of these projects with ecotowns, trusts, other ways of banking and fundraising.
They also included other guest speakers from around the community and throughout New Zealand.We visited Peter Curreen who has a long established permaculture farm in Karamea. We also recieved a presentation by Annalise Runarsson about aquaculture and the possibilities of growing food in conjunction withraising fish.
The LivinginPeace Project farm fits very well for a PDC. There is a big veggie garden, a food forest, sheep, chickens, ducks, some awesome people around to share their experiences and some very good food for the students in the garden. The LivinginPeace Project is a very good example of a collective project built around permaculture principles. This PDC has changed our way of thinking, of looking at things, we warmly recommend everybody to do their PDC there.
Dave’s Golden Permaculture Rule
Design Time
The PDC Graduates with LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Farm Manager Dave Tailby
Dave discusses Permaculture with thesis student Juliann Bertone
A thirst for inspiration, wisdom, experience and understanding led Gerar Toye (52) on an international quest from his birthplace in South Auckland to Karamea at the top of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
The youngest of six children, Gerar spent his formative years in Manurewa––one of the most multi-cultural suburbs of Auckland and also one of the roughest and toughest––before moving to Borneo for a couple of years with his father Dallas, a school teacher, and mother Pauline, a volunteer nurse.
On returning to New Zealand and completing his primary education, Gerar developed a strong interest in photography and became a darkroom printer for New Zealand’s top professional photographers. The job satisfied his passion for photographic printing, but the formulaic style of the photography he was charged with printing and the sterile, safe and conservative images he constantly saw emerging in the developing fluid left him wanting to make his own images and express his creative ideas through photography.
Gerar quit the job that no longer inspired him and went to Australia in 1982 for a couple of years before returning to Borneo to hook up with childhood school friends there. The trip triggered his wonderlust and he spent the next two decades travelling the world and gaining the international experience, self-education and wisdom that travel affords.
Sri Lanka was next and there he met fellow travellers from the north, who had strange tales of India to share. “In Aragum Bay, I met people who had travelled through India who told me crazy stories about the country with sparkles in the eyes, which inspired me to visit the country,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the tales I heard and wanted to verify them for myself…I wanted to prove them wrong, but after seeing the country for myself, I found out that all I’d heard was true and more!”
His tourist visa allowed for six months in India, but that was in no way sufficient once his interest in the country and its diverse culture was piqued. He returned 10 times and travelled extensively all the while with his camera at the ready.
In 1989, he heard about the Kumbh Mela Festival, a Hindu pilgrimage that takes place every four years in four different locations in rotation. Hindu devotees flock to bathe in the sacred Ganges River and here he photographed the religious, cultural and anthropological spectacle of the largest gathering of humans on the Earth.
The experience was overwhelming, 30 million people assembled in one location, with 70 million attending the event over the course of one month inspired Gerar to return to participate in the Maha (large) Kumbh Mela festival in 2001, which occurs every 144 years and is held at Triveni Sangam the “meeting place” at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the Sarasvat rivers.
There Gerar photographed the myriad people assembled in the largest-ever congregation of religious pilgrims with his unique “shooting from the hip” style that enables him to capture candid moments, spontaneity and genuine emotion in his subjects. The hand-printed images are now being exhibited at the Global Gypsy Gallery in Karamea.
With the travelbug’s teeth now deep into his flesh and Gerar ventured to numerous countries, travelled through the Americas, Europe and Asia, all the while with camera at the ready to capture moments of human emotion, joy, expression and life moments. With three cameras and 200 rolls of film each year Gerar had no room for cold or wet weather clothes so spent his time in constant warmth with only one winter in his twenty years on the road.
Opportunities abounded and he helped everyone he met basically woofing before it was invented. These led to some marvellous experiences, including being invited to tour America with Paul Kelly and Crowded House, which he turned down to follow an affair of the heart. Using his darkroom skills he built a darkroom on a 1910 Danish Gaff rigged ketch from Fremantle West Australia through Indonesia, Micronesia and Japan and on to Alaska.
He now had a body of work that he could share with others and market to finance his vagabond lifestyle. Years on the road had also furnished him with wisdom and spiritual understanding well beyond his years and he decided to mix both his spirituality and photography to create postcards, posters and T-shirts of his images matched with inspirational quotations and put his experiences out into the retail market. Despite significant effort and attempts to offer his cards to retail outlets, shop owners were not keen to stock his products, so he decided to go it alone and sell them himself.
He returned to New Zealand in 1990 initially to Mangawhai Heads north of Auckland where his now retired parents live. While there, he painted an ecological mural on the public toilets as a move to think globally and act locally. The mural was graffiti-free until it started to peel ten years later and he was commissioned to return to repaint it for the locals.
He later travelled in a purple 1956 Bedford bus called “Carpe Diem” with the Kiwi Gypsy Fair for five years, circling the country six times and selling his wares at markets, festivals and fairs. The response to his products was very positive and the feedback he received encouraged him to produce a book compiling his photographic images and quotations. However, finding a publisher to handle the idea proved frustrating as the idea was considered unsaleable. “The images and quotes were very popular with the public, so I knew a book would work,” he said. Publishers thought otherwise and he was forced to go it alone and using all his credit cards to produce his first book “Reality is for Those with no Imagination,” which was published in 1997.
The next challenge was to find book retailers that would stock and sell his book. This again proved frustrating as he wasn’t backed by a publisher and as a sole trader, retailers were less than helpful and he met with similar resistance from bookshop owners he had experienced when marketing his quote cards.
Around that time the Internet was gathering popularity and he set up a Web site www.globalgypsy.com to stock his own work and market it online. This proved a good move and his product started to move. Retailers gradually came on board and his work is now stocked in over a hundred outlets across New Zealand and Australia. His book sold out and has been translated into French, German and 16 other languages. He now has eight books on the market and has sold over 14,000 copies making him one of New Zealand’s best-selling authors.
In 2002, Gerar and his then partner Amla had boy/girl twins Kiva and Rimu. His nomadic lifestyle quickly changed and he became a father, settled back into life in New Zealand,
He decided to pursue his creative passion and enrolled in a fine arts degree at Canterbury University in Christchurch. He initially decided to study painting, but on reflection switched to filmmaking as he felt the artform had a greater propensity to influence people in a positive way. “I didn’t feel I could change the world by painting,” he said.
The challenges and responsibilities of fatherhood forced him to leave university before graduating, but he managed to express his talent for directing and writing film and produced a low budget ($400) 20-minute short film titled “Zen and the Art of Hitchhiking,” which can be seen online:
Invited by Paul Murray to revisit Karamea and the LivinginPeace Project he had started Gerar was inspired to be part of the dream to bring people together and he settled into life in the small remote rural community in 2007 after purchasing the old information centre building in the centre of town. He painted it in rainbow stripes and established a retail outlet of his own to market his growing range of books, postcards, T-shirts, fridge magnets, jigsaws, bumper stickers, framed photographs and posters and expanded with a range of goods and products including; organic food, local produce, artworks, fair trade items, second-hand goods, accessories, curios and pre-loved natural-fibre clothing…the Global Gypsy Gallery was born.
Today, the Global Gypsy Gallery is a veritable emporium and must-see shop for any visitor to Karamea. It has become a Farmer’s Market where local organic fruit and vegetable growers can sell their excess produce, local artisans can sell their creations, the best cup of tea and coffee in town and hours of browsing through a treasure trove of quality new and used products from around the world. Gerar’s photographs adorn the walls and he again has overcome the challenges of unsupportive retailers and conservative mindset by doing it himself…and doing it very well.
Global Gypsy Gallery
Farmer’s Market: Fresh Local Produce and Packaged Organic Foods
Gerar Toye at he Helm of the Globl Gypsy Gallery
Smile Umbrella
Gerar Toye’s Best-Selling Books
Framed Photos from India
The Endorphin Mat
Gerar Toye
Gerar commutes between Karamea in the summers and Bellingen N.S.W. Australia where his twins who are now ten attend the Chrysalis Steiner School. He is working on two film scripts “Holy Cow Shit” and “My Sweet Revenge,” which is about 7 strangers who kidnap former U.S. President George W. Bush and hold him captive for a week. Gerar is currently seeking funding for the film. His dream now is to make films that will inspire others to reflect and think for themselves and to connect with the love of giving and compassion.Another long-term goal is to establish the Global Gypsy Cafe Project where cafes would be set up in countries of need and staffed by Wwoofer volunteers to train orphans and children of sex workers to grow food and run the cafes. Gerar considers that the way to freedom for many in their cycle is to receive skills and not handouts. Each cafe would be self-sustaining and provide healthy organic food to travellers, while encouraging people to see a notice board of locals that need assistance. It is hoped that graduates from the LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Design Course would be able apply and share their knowledge of food production though the project.Disillusioned by charity tourism, Gerar sees a way that the efforts of travellers can be harnessed and directly helping those in need. After his time in Calcutta with Mother Teresa and working in Dr Jacques clinic, he saw a direct way he could help by creating a system where travellers can be placed where they can help the most without anyone flying anywhere and without money changing hands. His upcoming Holy Cow Shit film will express the concept in film and all that is required is $15,000 funding if you have more than you need and would like to share.Gerar is seeking funding to establish a not for profit entity for the project, which could potentially place thousands of travellers in areas where they can give and receive the most and help needy people take charge of their lives. If you can assist Gerar realise his vision in any way, please e-mail Gerar Toye: nz@globalgypsy.comAdditional information is available on the Global Gypsy Web site www.globalgypsy.com
To: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney
From: Tomas Young
I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been wounded and on behalf of those whose wounds, physical and psychological, have destroyed their lives. I am one of those gravely wounded. I was paralyzed in an insurgent ambush in 2004 in Sadr City. My life is coming to an end. I am living under hospice care.
I write this letter on behalf of husbands and wives who have lost spouses, on behalf of children who have lost a parent, on behalf of the fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters and on behalf of those who care for the many thousands of my fellow veterans who have brain injuries. I write this letter on behalf of those veterans whose trauma and self-revulsion for what they have witnessed, endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the active-duty soldiers and Marines who commit, on average, a suicide a day. I write this letter on behalf of the some 1 million Iraqi dead and on behalf of the countless Iraqi wounded. I write this letter on behalf of us all—the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.
You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.
I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.
Your positions of authority, your millions of dollars of personal wealth, your public relations consultants, your privilege and your power cannot mask the hollowness of your character. You sent us to fight and die in Iraq after you, Mr. Cheney, dodged the draft in Vietnam, and you, Mr. Bush, went AWOL from your National Guard unit. Your cowardice and selfishness were established decades ago. You were not willing to risk yourselves for our nation but you sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to be sacrificed in a senseless war with no more thought than it takes to put out the garbage.
I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had killed some 3,000 of my fellow citizens. I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States. I did not join the Army to “liberate” Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called “democracy” in Baghdad and the Middle East. I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq’s oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion. I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes. The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level—moral, strategic, military and economic—Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences.
I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire.
I have, like many other disabled veterans, suffered from the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration. I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned. You, Mr. Bush, make much pretense of being a Christian. But isn’t lying a sin? Isn’t murder a sin? Aren’t theft and selfish ambition sins? I am not a Christian. But I believe in the Christian ideal. I believe that what you do to the least of your brothers you finally do to yourself, to your own soul.
My day of reckoning is upon me. Yours will come. I hope you will be put on trial. But mostly I hope, for your sakes, that you find the moral courage to face what you have done to me and to many, many others who deserved to live. I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness.
—Tomas Young
Maureen Dowd / Repent, Dick Cheney
Vice comes clean: He was the real president, and he stands by all of his mistakes
March 7, 2013 12:24 am
By Maureen Dowd
Dick Cheney certainly gives certainty a black eye.
In a documentary soon to appear on Showtime, “The World According to Dick Cheney,” America’s most powerful and destructive vice president woos history by growling yet again that he was right and everyone else was wrong.
R.J. Cutler, who has done documentaries on the Clinton campaign war room and Anna Wintour’s Vogue war paint room, now chronicles Mr. Cheney’s war boom.
“If I had to do it over again,” the 72-year-old says chillingly of his reign of error, “I’d do it over in a minute.”
Mr. Cheney, who came from a family of Wyoming Democrats, says his conservative bent was strengthened watching the anti-Vietnam War protests at the University of Wisconsin, where he was pursuing a doctorate and dodging the draft.
“I can remember the mime troupe meeting there and the guys that ran around in white sheets with the entrails of pigs, dripping blood,” he said. Maybe if he’d paid more attention to the actual war, conducted with a phony casus belli in a country where we did not understand the culture, he wouldn’t have propelled America into two more Vietnams.
The documentary doesn’t get to the dark heart of the matter about the man with the new heart.
Did he change, after the shock to his body of so many heart procedures and the shock to his mind of 9/11? Or was he the same person, patiently playing the courtier, once code-named “Backseat” by the Secret Service, until he found the perfect oblivious frontman who would allow him to unleash his harebrained, dictatorial impulses?
Talking to Mr. Cutler in his deep headmaster’s monotone, Mr. Cheney dispenses with the fig leaf of “we.” He no longer feigns deference to W., whom he now disdains for favoring Condi over him in the second term and for not pardoning “Cheney’s Cheney,” Scooter Libby.
“I had a job to do,” he said.
Continuing: “I got on the telephone with the president, who was in Florida, and told him not to be at one location where we could both be taken out.” Mr. Cheney kept W. flying aimlessly in the air on 9/11 while he and Lynn left on a helicopter for a secure undisclosed location, leaving Washington in a bleak, scared silence, with no one reassuring the nation in those first terrifying hours.
“I gave the instructions that we’d authorize our pilots to take it out,” he says, referring to the jet headed to Washington that crashed in a Pennsylvania field. He adds: “After I’d given the order, it was pretty quiet. Everybody had heard it, and it was obviously a significant moment.”
This guy makes Al Haig look like a shrinking violet.
When they testified together before the 9/11 Commission, W. and Mr. Cheney kept up a pretense that in a previous call, the president had authorized the vice president to give a shoot-down order if needed. But the commission found “no documentary evidence for this call.”
In his memoir, W. described feeling “blindsided” again and again. In this film, the blindsider is the eminence grise who was supposed to shore up the untested president. The documentary reveals the Iago lengths that Mr. Cheney went to in order to manipulate the unprepared Junior Bush. Vice had learned turf fighting from a maniacal master of the art, his mentor Donald Rumsfeld.
When he was supposed to be vetting vice presidential candidates, Mr. Cheney was actually demanding so much material from them that there was always something to pick on. He filled W.’s head with stories about conflicts between presidents and vice presidents sparked by the vice president’s ambition, while protesting that he himself did not want the job.
In an unorthodox move, he ran the transition, hiring all his people, including Bush Senior’s nemesis, Rummy, and sloughing off the Friends of George; then he gave himself an all-access pass.
He was always goosing up W.’s insecurities so he could take advantage of them. To make his crazy and appallingly costly detour from Osama to Saddam by cherry-picking his fake case for invading Iraq, he played on W.’s fear of being lampooned as a wimp, as his father had been.
But after Vice kept W. out of the loop on the Justice Department’s rebellion against Mr. Cheney’s illegal warrantless domestic spying program, the relationship was ruptured. It was too late to rein in the feverish vice president, except to tell him he couldn’t bomb a nuclear plant in the Syrian desert.
“Condi was on the wrong side of all those issues,” Mr. Cheney rumbled to Cutler.
Mr. Cheney still hearts waterboarding. “Are you going to trade the lives of a number of people because you want to preserve your honor?” he asked, his voice dripping with contempt.
“I don’t lie awake at night thinking, gee, what are they going to say about me?” he sums up.
They’re going to say you were a misguided powermonger who, in a paranoid spasm, led this nation into an unthinkable calamity. Sleep on that.
Maureen Dowd is a syndicated columnist for The New York Times.
First Published March 7, 2013 12:00 am
Deep underground in Poland lies something remarkable but little known outside Eastern Europe. For centuries, miners have extracted salt there, but left behind things quite startling and unique. Take a look at the most unusual salt mine in the world.
From the outside, Wieliczka Salt Mine doesn’t look extraordinary. It looks extremely well kept for a place that hasn’t mined any salt for over ten years but, apart from that, it looks ordinary. However, over two hundred metres below ground it holds an astonishing secret. This is the salt mine that became an art gallery, cathedral and underground lake.
Situated in the Krakow area, Wieliczka is a small town of close to twenty thousand inhabitants. It was founded in the twelfth century by a local duke to mine the rich deposits of salt that lie beneath.
Until 1996, it did just that but the generations of miners did more than just extract. They left behind them a breathtaking record of their time underground in the shape of statues of mythic, historical and religious figures. They even created their own chapels in which to pray. Perhaps their most astonishing legacy is the huge underground cathedral they left behind for posterity.
It may feel like you are in the middle of a Jules Verne adventure as you descend into the depths of the world. After a one hundred and fifty metre climb down wooden stairs, the visitor to the salt mine will see some amazing sites. About the most astounding in terms of its sheer size and audacity is the Chapel of Saint Kinga. The Polish people have for many centuries been devout Catholics and this was more than just a long term hobby to relieve the boredom of being underground. This was an act of worship.
Amazingly, even the chandeliers in the cathedral are made of salt. It was not simply hewn from the ground and then thrown together; however, the process is rather more painstaking for the lighting. After extraction the rock salt was first of all dissolved. It was then reconstituted with the impurities taken out so that it achieved a glass-like finish. The chandeliers are what many visitors think the rest of the cavernous mine will be like as they have a picture in their minds of salt as they would sprinkle on their meals! However, the rock salt occurs naturally in different shades of grey (something like you would expect granite to look like).
Still, that doesn’t stop well over one million visitors (mainly from Poland and its eastern European neighbours) from visiting the mine to see, amongst other things, how salt was mined in the past.
For safety reasons, less than one percent of the mine is open to visitors, but even that is still almost four kilometres in length … more than enough to weary the average tourist after an hour or two. The mine was closed for two reasons:
… the low price of salt on the world market made it too expensive to extract here. Also, the mine was slowly flooding … another reason why visitors are restricted to certain areas only.
The religious carvings are, in reality, what draw many to this mine … as much for their amazing verisimilitude as for their Christian aesthetics. The above shows Jesus appearing to the apostles after the crucifixion. He shows the doubter, Saint Thomas, the wounds on his wrists.
Another remarkable carving, this time a take on The Last Supper. The work and patience that must have gone into the creation of these sculptures is extraordinary. One wonders what the miners would have thought of their work going on general display? They came to be quite used to it, in fact, even during the mine’s busiest period in the nineteenth century. The cream of Europe’s thinkers visited the site … you can still see many of their names in the old visitor’s books on display.
These reliefs are perhaps among some of the most iconographic works of Christian folk art in the world and really do deserve to be shown. It comes as little surprise to learn that the mine was placed on the original list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites back in 1978.
Not all of the work is relief-based. There are many life-sized statues that must have taken a considerable amount of time … months, perhaps even years … to create. Within the confines of the mine, there is also much to be learned about the miners from the machinery and tools that they used … many of which are on display and are centuries old. A catastrophic flood in 1992 dealt the last blow to commercial salt mining in the area and now the mine functions purely as a tourist attraction. Brine is, however, still extracted from the mine and then evaporated to produce some salt, but hardly on the ancient scale. If this was not done, then the mines would soon become flooded once again.
Not all of the statues have a religious or symbolic imagery attached to them. The miners had a sense of humour, after all! Here can be seen their own take on the legend of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The intricately carved dwarfs must have seemed to some of the miners a kind of ironic depiction of their own work.
The miners even threw in a dragon for good measure! Certainly, they may have whistled while they did it but the conditions in the salt mine were far from comfortable and the hours were long … the fact that it was subterranean could hardly have added to the excitement of going to work each morning.
To cap it all, there is even an underground lake, lit by subdued electricity and candles. This is perhaps where the old legends of lakes to the underworld and Catholic imagery of the saints work together to best leave a lasting impression of the mine. How different a few minutes reflection here must have been to the noise and sweat of everyday working life in the mine.
The Japanese TV Programme “Sekkai no Hate no Nihon Gin” (“Japanese at the Ends of the World”) heard about Sanae Murray, the wife of LivinginPeace Project Founder Paul Murray and came to Karamea at the top of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand in November 2012 to discover why she left Tokyo to live in Karamea.
The TV crew were here for five days and filmed the daily life of Sanae and her family and the happenings at their businesses Rongo Backpackers & Gallery, Karamea Farm Baches, Karamea Connections, Global Gypsy Gallery and the beautiful scenery and nature of Karamea.
The programme is in Japanese, but non-Japanese speakers will be able to understand it visually, so please check it out and then come and visit us in Sunny Karamea!
Thank you to Tokyo Broadcasting System for allowing us to put the footage on our Web sites and to the Sekkai no Hate no Nihon Gin film crew…good job guys!
Incorporating Art, Travel, Permaculture and Education Into a Sustainable Business.
Permaculture Design Course in Karamea
(May 14 to May 28, 2013)
The course will cover theory and practice in Permaculture and will be held on a developing permaculture farm in sunny Karamea at the top of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Course Outline:
The PDC held at The Living Peace Project/Rongo Backpackers & Gallery from May 14 to May 28, 2013 will be slightly different to most other PDC’s. The full theoretical curriculum will be presented, but we will also be expanding the classroom out into the surrounding environment and conducting practical workshops so that students will go home with all the theoretical information, but also with confidence, ability and skills to put their course material into practice.
Practical aspects of the course will include:
A 21-day compost pile will be built and tended throughout the PDC.
Students will partake in practical permaculture demonstrations and activities.
A workshop on aquaculture/aquaponics.
An excursion to True Blue Organics to see the process of extracting essential oils.
Establish gardens and plant trees as well as examining the decomposing process in a natural forest system.
Visit permaculture farms in the Karamea region.
Visit old-growth forest systems in the Karamea region.
On completion of the PDC each graduate will receive a LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Design Course certificate
The students will also receive the diversity of 3 teachers all of whom are very experienced and knowledgeable in specific areas. Specialty subject teachers ensure the students receive the most critical information throughout the 72-hour programme.
On completion of the PDC, students may choose to stay on to experience life on a working permaculture farm.(Accommodation at the discounted rates as listed below)
LivinginPeace Project PDC Certificate
Course Fee Structure:
Course Fee: NZ$1,200 per person
Meals: $20 per person per day
(Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) (Morning and Afternoon Tea supplied)
*** 25% deposit required on booking the course.
Full payment to be made by commencement of the PDC.
*** Please e-mail us for Bank Account Details or
send a cheque made out to Iltamara Ltd to:
Rongo Backpackers & Gallery
130 Waverley Street
P.O. Box 54
Karamea 7864
NEW ZEALAND
Cancellation Policy:
Up until May 1, 2013: Full refund of deposit and course fee Between May 1 and May 14: 50% refund of deposit and course fee After May 14: No refund of deposit of course fee
Karamea Connections Oparara Basin Tour Karmea Connections: Movement of the People www.KarameaConnections.co.nz
Living in Peace Project Permaculture Farm
Hot Composting 101
PDC Lecturer Dave Tailby with PDC Students Luc Gregoire and Anneliese McNaughton
On Contour: Plotting a Swale
The Economics of Permaculture with LivinginPeace Project Founder Paul Murray
Teachers’ Profiles
Tim Barker
Aussie born, trained as a diesel fitter, began my Permaculture journey after reading Permaculture One by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in 1981, still reading and learning. Ran an adventure tourism business in far North Queensland for 8 years, also contracted to the EPA as a guide for environmental impact studies on the cape York Peninsular, and in conjunction with Tourism Queensland and Aboriginal communities set up and ran turtle conservation camps as a test case for indigenous eco-tourism based business. Former treasurer of the Albatross bay catchment management group and served as environmental contracts administrator for a large contractor based in Far North Queensland. Received my PDC through Permaculture visions, and completed an internship at The Permaculture Research Institute under Geoff Lawton. Was invited back to the PRI as a MR Fix It and teacher. Favourite pastime; thinking, appropriate low tech and aquaponics.
Age: 48
Dave Tailby
Living In Peace Project Farm Manager, Dave was formerly a qualified builder and did his PDC with Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia Zaytuna Farm in 2010 and joined the Living In Peace Project as the Farm Manager in March 2012. He has taken charge of the farm development and is creating a permaculture exhibition farm to help others learn about the principles of permaculture. Dave is a great people-person and loves to share his knowledge of permaculture and building.
Age: 50
Paul Murray
Paul is the founder of the Living In Peace Project.
He did his PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton at Melbourne University in 2009.
Grew up on a grazing property on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Degree in Agricultural Science (horticulture) from University of South Australia (Rosweworthy).
Grad Dip Arts (Journalism) University of Southern Queenland (Toowoomba).
Age: 47
Permaculture Farm Development
Farm Tour with Moo and Rusty
Wwoofers 2011
Potluck Dinner at Rongo
View of the Farm
Dinner at Rongo Backpackers
Peace Garden at Rongo
View of Mount Stormy, Karamea
LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Farm Manager Dave Tailby Shares his Knowledge
Aerial View of Karamea
Rongo Backpackers Gallery Aerial View
Big Rimu Tree in Karamea
Aquaculture Lecturer Annalise Runarson
PDC TESTIMONIAL by 2012 Students Anneliese McNaughton and Luc Gregoire
We had been wwoofing for The LivinginPeace Project for four months. It was a really good time and an awesome experience.
We were offered the chance to do the PDC with the LivinginPeace Project for the end of October 2012. We receive a huge amount of theoretical and practical information. The lecturers, LivinginPeace Project Farm Manager Dave Tailby and Founder Paul Murray, covered what is usually done in PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, but also added their personal experiences, which was a real bonus.
Dave shared his knowledge about composting, practical design, landscaping-earthwork, working with animals (ducks, sheep, chickens) and Paul concentrated on Collective project around permaculture and the financial and legal possibilities of these projects with ecotowns, trusts, other ways of banking and fundraising.
They also included other guest speakers from around the community and throughout New Zealand.We visited Peter Curreen who has a long established permaculture farm in Karamea. We also recieved a presentation by Annalise Runarsson about aquaculture and the possibilities of growing food in conjunction withraising fish.
The LivinginPeace Project farm fits very well for a PDC. There is a big veggie garden, a food forest, sheep, chickens, ducks, some awesome people around to share their experiences and some very good food for the students in the garden. The LivinginPeace Project is a very good example of a collective project built around permaculture principles. This PDC has changed our way of thinking, of looking at things, we warmly recommend everybody to do their PDC there.
Dave’s Golden Permaculture Rule
Design Time
The PDC Graduates with LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Farm Manager Dave Tailby
Dave discusses Permaculture with thesis student Juliann Bertone
A New Zealand Government Department authorised by a covertly suspicious and deliberately ambiguous Act of Parliament and compounded by a tacitly implied Royal Approval to receive official complaints.
Office Manager: Red Scarlett
Senior Complaints Officer: Antony Visigoth
Office Receptionist: Alessandra Sharkarov
Tea Strumpett: Delicious La Humba Bumba!!!!
Karamea Ministry of Red Tape Front Office, Market Cross:
Monday March 4 th 9:30 a.m.
Alessandra Sharkarov: Welcome to the Karamea Ministry of Red Tape
Nero Ceaser: A burp!
Antony Visigoth: Narzdrovia comrade!
Nero Ceaser: A grazi! I wish to make a complaint regarding the Rongo Friday night a Gourmet Club dinner!!!
Antony Visigoth: The cuisine??
Nero Ceaser: Superba!!!
Antony Visigoth: The wine???
Nero Ceaser: Magnificento!!!
Antony Visigoth: The repartee???
Nero Ceaser: Intellectual profundito!!!
Antony Visigoth: Pray tell what troubles neither the palate nor the mind???
Nero Ceaser: I was served a vegetarian meal and I am a baptised a cannibal!!!
Antony Visigoth: Is cannabalism a religion???
Nero Ceaser: More a philosophy, a primordial necessity and a personal statement! Comprendo???
Alessandra Sharkarov: Wow! Can anyone be inducted into your clique?
Nero Ceaser: Si! You must give up a muesli and jam scones and rededicate your life!
Alessandra Sharkarov: Oooh! Can I join???
Nero Ceaser: Slurp!!! Of a course!!! What is that a photo on the wall???
Antony Visigoth: That is the Karamea Ministry of Red Tape calendar girl of the month!!
Nero Ceaser: Why is she covered in a whipped cream and a strawberry jam??
Antony Visigoth: I did that with some twink and a red felt pen!
Nero Ceaser: Fuck, it’s a my mama!!!
Antony Visigoth: Mmmm! I can see the similarity! She is fat, balding and got sagging man’s breasts!!!
Nero Ceaser: I beg you’re a fucking pardon!!!
Antony Visigoth: What…are you hard of hearing??
Nero Ceaser: Well actually a yes I am!!!
Antony Visigoth: WHY ARE YOU SO DEAF!!!
Nero Ceaser: When your bruncha a rudely and incessantly screams at you for a mercy it’s a ear shattering!!!
Antony Visigoth: I see!
Nero Ceaser: You a prick, you have a drawn a rather large banana in a rather suggestive and a rather provocative fashion in a my mama’s mouth.
Antony Visigoth: Too right your mother’s a slut!!
Nero Ceaser: Santa Maria!!! You have turned a my mama into a gastronomical trollopa!!!
Antony Visigoth: Indeed serious cause for complaint!!!!
Nero Ceaser: Complaina!! I should a kick your butt!!!
Antony Visigoth: Oh, I don’t smoke!!!
Nero Ceaser: A ha fucking ha!!!
Red Scarlett: Pardon me what is all the commotion in the front office!!!
Nero Ceaser: You’re a staff member is totally out of control!!!
Antony Visigoth: Oh really? Is my fly open again???
Nero Ceaser: Can someone transcribe my complaint???
Antony Visigoth: Indeed! Here we go! Karamea Ministry of Red Tape Official Complaint 171/5: “Circumferentially challenged, defollicled cannabalistic sub humanoid dago wishes to make frivolous complaint regarding the complete lack of moral fibre of his portentious mother!!!
Nero Ceaser: How a much lira??
Antony Visigoth: Including Imperial War Tax, $5,000 dollars.
Nero Ceaser: You take a my personal cheque???
Antony Visigoth: Is the Pope gay???
Nero Ceaser: That is an incriminating a question and in the absence of a legal representation I a pleading the 5th!!!
Red Scarlett: Cash only, small unmarked bills. No roubles or pesos!!!!
Nero Ceaser: I a believe this office is a fraud and I am going to ring the PM!!!
Red Scarlett: Ok, you can use the phone in the office mortuary!!!
Nero Ceaser: Mortuary???
Red Scarlett: I meant butchery chamber!!!
Red Scarlett: (Whisper) (Use my Smith and Wesson .38 from the office armoury and make it quick and make it clean!!)
Antony Visigoth: (Whisper) (Gotcha boss!!!)
Karamea Ministry of Red Tape Execution and Torture Chamber
Nero Ceaser: What a day is it today???
Antony Visigoth: For you!!! Judgement Day!!!
Nero Ceaser: Scuzi!!!
Antony Visigoth: Look I am rather busy. I only have time for one more question!!!
Nero Ceaser: Why are there a dissecting table and a toasty pie machine in you’re a office butchery???
Kaboom!!!
Antony Visigoth: Sucker!!! I didn’t say I time for another answer!!!
Red Scarlett: Shize strasse!!! The richochet has set off the sprinklers and the burglar alarm!!!
Antony Visigoth: Panic!!!
Red Scarlett: Stay cool!!! Right!!! Quick!!! Race to the staff cafeteria as fast as you can!!! It’s time for a cup of tea!!!
Karamea Ministry of Red Tape Staff Cafeteria
Delicious La Humba Bumba: Cup of tea??
Antony Visigoth: Too right sheila!! Had a busy morning!!!
In the summer of 2006, a guy claiming to be Auckland artist Dean Buchanan arrived in Karamea and asked to stay with us at the LivinginPeace Project. His line was that he was overwhelmed by media attention and had decided to escape the limelight for a while to concentrate on his artwork out of the public eye. He also had an artwork to deliver to Shania Twain and was on his way to Wanaka to meet her and deliver the painting, which she had apparently agreed to purchase for $NZ17,000.
As the founder of the LivinginPeace Project, which incorporates art, travel, permaculture and education into a sustainable business, I was delighted with the opportunity to host such a successful and well-established artist as one of the principle objectives of the LivinginPeace Project is to assist artists and foster creative pursuit.
I offered “Dean” a quiet, peaceful cabin on our permaculture farm so that he could live and work without interruption. The cabin has no phone, Internet or other distraction and he said it was exactly what he was looking for and thanked me profusely for the opportunity. I gave him a very reasonable rental rate and looked forward to getting to know him and seeing what came out of the arrangement artistically.
I have to establish clearly that “Dean” was a very nice person, extremely amicable, had a great sense of humour, and was always eager to help on the farm and with the business…it was pleasant to host him and he was a very low-maintenance guest…the only problem is that he wasn’t Dean Buchanan.
He was driving an old Toyota truck that was loaded with artworks of all descriptions, including the 3mx2m abstract landscape that was scheduled for the wall of Twain’s Motatapu Station property near Wanaka on the South Island of New Zealand. The painting was superb, a rugged landscape in warm colours on hessian featuring New Zealand forest…”Dean” allowed us to display it on the wall at Rongo Backpackers & Gallery until it was time for him to deliver it to Twain…again, I was delighted to have such a beautiful artwork on loan in our gallery.
Shania Twain’s Motatapu Station Homestead
Real Shania Twain
A similar, slightly newer version of “Dean’s” truck
After about a week, I noticed that “Dean” hadn’t really been doing much in terms of painting and my spidey sense began to tingle a little. I did some research on Dean Buchanan and his artwork and the available photos at that time were insufficient for me to definitively determine that “Dean” was not Dean. Both Deans were around the same age, had similar facial features and the information I was able to track down online was in line with what “Dean” had told me, so I decided to accept his story and allow him to stay on. I accepted that his lack of productivity was in line with his stated need for peace and quiet and rest to recover from an intensively creative phase of his career and the associated media attention.
After two weeks, I asked for payment for his accommodation and my intuition proved to be correct…”Dean” didn’t have any money! He then wanted to work for accommodation, or give me some artworks from his van in lieu of payment…my response was then as it is now…”I can’t pay my bills with paintings mate,” “Pay up, and honour our agreement, or move on.”
Several months later, the real Dean Buchanan called and filled in the details. Apparently, “Dean” was an impostor who had stolen his identity along with many of his artworks and was travelling around selling them to finance his life.
I called the real Dean Buchanan at his studio in Auckland to get an update on proceedings and apparently the identity/art thief is still on the lam.
Buchanan said the impostor’s real name was “Ian something, but he also goes by Gunny Huckleberry.” He added “Last I heard, he was in Napier smoking “P” and whoring it up in my name.”
Identity theft is becoming a popular form of fraud these days and “Gunny Huckleberry” has cost Dean Buchanan thousands of dollars in damaged reputation, character defamation as well as the theft of his physical and intellectual property.
To see the awesome artworks of the real Dean Buchanan visit his Web site:
On a positive note, we now offer the cabin on our permaculture farm to aspiring artist’s as part of the LivinginPeace Project Artist in Residence Programme and it has become known as the Artist’s Bach. We have hosted artists from the United States, Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Japan, Israel, and New Zealand.
As a result of this blog post, the impostor, whose real name is Ian Malcolm Baike, has been apprehended by police in Napier and the real Dean Buchanan has his identity back…a good result for all concerned. I’m sorry Ian, you were a nice guy, but you can’t go about stealing other people’s property and assuming their identity…that’s just not on Mate!
By Ian Steward
(Photo: PETER MEECHAM/Fairfax NZ)
REAL DEAL: Auckland artist Dean Buchanan has had a con-man impersonating him and selling his artwork over the past six years.
For many artists, imitation is the highest form of flattery. But this is taking it a bit far.
For six years, after a truck-load of his paintings disappeared, west Auckland artist Dean Buchanan has been getting reports of his own disreputable behaviour from around the country.
In Karamea, on the West Coast, he stayed at a backpackers for two weeks, apparently on his way to sell a painting to Shania Twain at her ranch in central Otago, and then could not pay his bill.
A friend told him he had “shagged a woman in the back of his truck” while selling paintings at Auckland’s Parnell markets.
He heard he had sold another woman a painting in Aotea Square, Auckland, signed the back of it with a cheesy slogan and then made a pass at her when he helped her hang it.
The thing is, it was all news to Buchanan.
Turns out an impostor had been touring the country claiming to be Buchanan and living off – and spoiling – the artist’s reputation.
The real Buchanan noticed something was wrong when people were getting upset with him for no reason, particularly for ignoring close friends and family.
“Friends of my mother’s were saying to her ‘Dean’s down at the Browns Bay market selling his paintings.’ Mum rang up and said ‘Why didn’t you come up and see me?’ ”
Similarly, in Wanaka, the wife of a mountain-climbing friend heard Buchanan was in town selling paintings at the local square. She went and asked the man if he was her old friend and when he said yes, she said “Well, I don’t think you are”.
One night Buchanan, a super-fit non-drinker, got a phone call from “the VIP bar at Sky City,” where someone claiming to be him was trying to cash a cheque for $5000.
Buchanan said he met the alleged imposter some years ago and entered into a loose agreement for him to sell his paintings. When he dissolved their relationship, it is alleged the man disappeared with a truckload of Buchanan’s paintings.
Buchanan’s paintings sell for thousands of dollars, and he has exhibited in Japan, the United States and Switzerland.
“I’ve met numerous people who have bought paintings off me who [actually] haven’t,” Buchanan said, “It’s really devastatingly annoying.”
Buchanan has had gallery owners as far afield as Arrowtown refuse to stock his work after news of his supposedly “disreputable” behaviour.
“People look at me like I’m really bent. Being ostracised is really horrible, especially when you haven’t done anything.”
Devonport woman Sandra Killen bought a painting from the fake Buchanan at Aotea Square about five years ago. He insisted she pay in cash and then helped her to hang it in her apartment, but not before he signed the back “Love Auckland and it’ll love you, DB.”
(Photo: PHIL DOYLE/Fairfax NZ)
NOT THE REAL DEAN: Sandra Killen with her Dean Buchanan painting which has a fake dedication.
The real Buchanan said he never signs his paintings with his initials, and cheesy slogans are not his cup of tea either.
Killen said her focus was on art, so she was surprised when the fake Buchanan tried to kiss her.
“I said, ‘I’m not going out with you after I’ve just given you all this money.'”
Rongo Backpackers Karamea owner Paul Murray met “Dean Buchanan” as the artist passed through the West Coast, apparently on his way to sell a painting to Shania Twain at her ranch in central Otago.
Murray said the man was an amicable, friendly guest who allowed the backpackers to hang “Shania’s” painting in the premises while he relaxed and “recovered his artistic muse.” He then could not pay his bill.
A man has recently been charged with theft by a person in a special relationship over the disappearance of $20,000 worth of Buchanan’s paintings.
Anyone who thinks they may have bought a Buchanan from the wrong man is asked to contact Detective Constable Stacey Bailey of the Napier police.
Revered Auckland artist Dean Buchanan was repeatedly told about a man peddling his work in towns he had never been to, and that he was reportedly signing the work for lucky punters too.
A couple of years earlier, the artist had entered into a “loose agreement” with 59-year-old Ian Malcolm Baikie that would see Mr Buchanan provide him with paintings to sell.
The arrangement originally went to plan as Baikie sold a few, handing the proceeds back to the artist.
“I said to him once ‘just give me some paperwork, sell my paintings, don’t get greedy and everything will work out fine’,” Mr Buchanan said.
By 2006, the relationship soured when Mr Buchanan started hearing stories about what the seller had been up to.
Baikie refused to either return Mr Buchanan’s paintings – a couple of dozen, according to the artist – or give him the cash from their sale.
Mr Buchanan and Graham Brimble, who had also given the amateur art dealer work to sell, made a complaint to police and in June 2013 he was charged and appeared before the Napier District Court.
After denying the charge, Baikie stood trial in the Auckland District Court this week where Judge Brooke Gibson heard from several witnesses who had seen him selling paintings around the country.
Barbara Stevens, who knew Mr Buchanan well, told the court via audio-visual link from Perth that she was bewildered to see Baikie passing himself off as the artist at a market in Wanaka eight years ago.
She challenged him about his identity but he brazenly stuck to his story.
There were further sightings in Napier, Karamea and Piha.
Because of the lack of documentation the Crown could not prove the extent of Baikie’s theft or how much the artwork may have been worth but Mr Buchanan said it was not about the money.
“I don’t care about that, eh,” he said.
Judge Gibson found 59-year-old Baikie guilty of two charges of theft in a special relationship, and was prepared to sentence him yesterday but his lawyers requested time to prepare an application for a discharge without conviction.
Mr Buchanan considered the likelihood of him getting off without penalty as “unlikely” and described the whole scenario as “just all so pathetically sad”.
In the meantime, Mr Buchanan’s star had been on the rise, selling work around the globe to celebrities such as former member of The Smiths, Johnny Marr.
He had also recently designed the stained glass windows for Kings College’s new chapel.
Outside court, Baikie said the court had been told “bold-arsed lies” and he wished he had given evidence.
He was remanded on bail and will be sentenced next month.
Frances Tordoff came to stay at Rongo Backpackers & Gallery in the summer of 2012 on the recommendation of her daughter Bekki, who had previously worked at Rongo as a Wwoofer (Willing Worker on Organic Farm) several times since the hostel opened in 2004.
Frances Tordoff
Rongo is part of the LivinginPeace Project, a venture founded in 2001 that combines art, travel, permaculture and education into a sustainable business. Environmental responsibility and energy efficiency are paramount in all LivinginPeace Project business decisions and the project has grown to include a backpackers hostel, motel complex, permaculture farm, 31-hectares of forest, a transport service, radio station and a share in the local organic food and clothing recycling shop.
Frances is originally from Manchester, England, but came to New Zealand in January 2012 to work in Dunedin as a rehabilitation instructor for visually impaired people.
“My daughter Bekki came home to the U.K. inspired after having stayed at Rongo, she was much more careful about recycling and introduce the bokashi (composting system) to our home, she was much more aware of the environment and the impact we have on it.” “As soon as she got home, she went into her room and said, “Why do I have all this stuff?” and immediately went about reducing her possessions, took a load of stuff away and gave it to the local charity shop.”
The changes in her daughter’s behaviour, and her persistent badgering to visit the LivinginPeace Project made Frances curious to visit Rongo and see for herself just what all the fuss is about.
At 56, Frances is no longer a young budget traveller off to see the world, but found staying at Rongo to be a pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable experience. “It was great, there were all sorts of nationalities of people staying when I was there and they were all getting on together.” I was not excluded from any activities because of my age and my stay at Rongo was very peaceful and relaxing…it’s a nice bit of space away from the madness.”
The LivinginPeace Project has an programme whereby supporters of the project can donate money and in return, receive a holiday voucher in the form of a promissory note, which is a legally binding agreement between the LivinginPeace Project founder Paul Murray and the holder of the note. The LivinginPeace Project Promissory note/Holiday Voucher entitles the holder a holiday in Karamea at the LivinginPeace Project facilities and can be redeemed in accommodation, transport, meals, courses and art purchases. The vouchers are $1,000 and are valid for five years from the date of purchase. They are transferrable and can be given to another person as a gift.
Frances generously decided to invest $1,000 to the LivinginPeace Project and in return received a holiday voucher, which she can pass on to her younger daughter Alice, who is the only Tordoff family member not to have visited the project, or she may decide not to redeem the voucher, which would effectively make the $1,000 a donation to the venture.
“This place did so much for my daughter (Bekki), so this is a bit of pay-back…If I had more money I’d give it to you,” she said.
The money received from the LivinginPeace Project Holiday Voucher initiative will be used to further develop and improve the facilities and services so that they will be available to the people who choose to redeem their vouchers in the future. It is a means of raising money to invest in the project without the burden of debt-servicing and in the process, the sale of the vouchers serves to promote and market the venture.
(Photo: PETER MEECHAM/Fairfax NZ)
REAL DEAL: Auckland artist Dean Buchanan has had a con-man impersonating him and selling his artwork over the past six years.
The Rongolian Star 
Permaculture Solutions for a SUSTAINABLE Future
“What permaculturalists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet. We don’t know what the details of a truly sustainable future are going to be like, but we need options, we need people experimenting in all kinds of ways and permaculturalists are one of the critical groups doing that.” — David Suzuki
Join the New Permaculture Generation
By Arthur Lewis Gordon JacksonLooking out over the lifeless brown quilt of drought-stricken Midwest corn monoculture from the window of a Boeing 747-700, it was immediately apparent to me that permaculture farming practices would have prevented this ecological catastrophe. The hottest summer on record in the United States combined with aggressive commercial farming practices has created the potential for a biblical famine!
I had been to New York City to attend the nuptials of a very close friend and was heading to a lush, green parallel universe to do a permaculture design course in Karamea on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
However, New Zealand too has had a dry summer with much of the country being designated a drought zone. There is a change happening on weather systems, we should be focussing all of our available energy and resources to find solutions to overcome the challenges this will present. The permaculture fraternity appears to be doing just that…working with the forces of nature to create food production systems that will produce an abundance of food and can be sustained forever.
Flying over the land at 10,000 feet affords a perspective on life that is not possible at ground level. The view of a bird reveals clearly the perils of commercial agriculture and the devastating impact of human influence on natural systems
Vast tracts of flat fertile farmland devoted to the production of corn, which is now a staple food in the United States. Corn and its byproducts form the basis for most processed food products. The diverse natural landscape that must have once existed here is all gone…the diversity of flora and fauna has been replaced with a single crop.
The interior of the Unites States currently resembles the dry withered skin of an old elephant…with the occasional urban smogatropolis bursting through the leathery hide like a festering pustule as we flew over cities…surely this is not a healthy landscape? How long will it be before the great elephant succumbs to consumption?
As I look around the plane, I consider that I am possibly the only passenger pondering the subject of sustainability. I am one of the lucky 10% of the world’s population who can actually afford to fly and I’m feeling very decadent indulging myself the environmentally expensive luxury of international flight, but am I decadent compared with the businesspeople in first class who do this most every day? Are they decadent compared with the owner of the airline who has mansions all over the world, his own island and is planning flights to the moon? Thinking about the poor sodbusters below watching their cornfields wither and die as they pray for rain puts my self-indulgence into sharp perspective.
Looking down on the state of the land in the U.S. Midwest, it is clear land-use changes need to be made as the current system of food through the exploitation of land resources is clearly not sustainable and appears headed for collapse.
In permaculture, it is often stated that, “the problem is the solution” and that the solution to any problem already exists in nature. Broad-scale monoculture farming is the problem here, the solution is to reintroduce crop diversity, water harvesting, replanting trees along waterways, assisting nature to remediate the damage done and collectively applying permaculture principles over the entire region.
Another huge part of this problem is that there are many mouths to feed in the United States, food production is essential to the sustenance of the populace. Midwest farmers no doubt feel the weight of responsibility to provide food.
The good news for U.S. farmers is that there is already a lot of permaculture activity in the United States and progressive farmers like Joel Salatin and his Polyface Farms in Virginia have working models of what is possible with a change of mindset from “we do it this way because that’s how my grandfather did it,” to it’s time to take a new approach, let’s learn about permaculture, and set about repairing our land for future generations. Doing what you’ve always done does not always produce what you’ve always got and cracks are appearing in the broad-scale commercial monoculture model…it’s time to have a rethink on food production in the Midwest and everywhere else.
With that in mind, Paul Murray decided to be part of the solution and study permaculture so that he could help find answers to the challenges of future food production and distribution and work towards rebuilding and replenishing the land so that it may produce an abundance of food and feed everyone forever .We need to help others to learn about permaculture and how to grow food for themselves without relying on corporate agriculture food production and distribution systems.
However, Permaculture Design Course students often come from large cities somewhere in the world. They may not have had an opportunity to gain hands-on practical experience necessary to apply the principles of permaculture in a practical situation.
Seeing the need to offer practical training for people who have completed a theoretical Permaculture Design Course to enable them to achieve the confidence and competence necessary to apply the permaculture theory they have learned in the classroom to their own permaculture ventures, Living in Peace Project founder Paul Murray decided to offer his property, facilities and services to people seeking practical permaculture experience and set about creating a centre for excellence in permaculture.
The LivinginPeace Project seeks to holistically apply the principles of permaculture to the establishment, development and management of a business venture. The stated goal of the LivinginPeace Project is to incorporate the elements of art, travel, permaculture and education into a sustainable business.
Inspired on completing a Permaculture Design Course with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton at Melbourne University in 2009, Murray, with a lot of help from people from all over the world, and with further inspiration from the Permaculture Master Plan, he began to establish a permaculture exhibition farm, education facility and centre for permaculture research, training and practice in the Karamea region at the top of the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
In June 2004, Murray purchased an old maternity hospital and converted it into a hostel to offer reasonably priced accommodation to young and budget travellers visiting the region. A year later, he purchased a small farm and motel complex to cater to travellers looking for self-contained accommodation and organic gardens to grow food for his family, colleagues and customers.
Murray has a degree in agricultural science with a major in horticulture. The degree was essentially a study in commerce and taught students how to maximise the profit derived from every square inch of land with no real consideration for maintaining the fertility of the farm or for responsible stewardship. Permaculture made a whole lot more sense and the Permaculture Design Course with colourful, progressive-thinking characters like Mollison and Lawton and 100 students from all over the world convinced him of the way forward and his life changed as Lawton suggested it might.
The long-term objective for the Living in Peace Project is to gradually phase into permaculture and away from tourism, which Murray believes to be “an environmentally expensive form of entertainment” and into the provision of permaculture education, way of life and knowledge sharing with travellers. “Karamea is a stunning region, but it is also perhaps the most remote town on mainland New Zealand, people have to make a real effort to come here.” “I want to cater to travellers who make that effort––people who take the time to learn from their travel experience––and we have a great opportunity to share our permaculture knowledge with people from all over the world and, hopefully, gain new ideas and innovations from the people who come and stay.”
The hostel, Rongo Backpackers & Gallery, hosts travellers from over 50 countries each year and the Murray hopes the experience of living and working on a permaculture farm will spark a quest for knowledge among his guests and that they will take some of the energy-saving, self-sufficiency initiatives and permaculture practices home with them.
Bananas and avocadoes can be grown in Karamea and the region enjoys an almost sub-tropical microclimate. The soil is deep, well-drained alluvial loam, which enable a broad range of food crops to be grown. The annual rainfall is around 80 inches and it is evenly spread across the year, alleviating the need for irrigation and water storage.
“In all my travels, I’ve never come across a place with greater potential for growing food. The Living in Peace Project farm is a blank canvas for permaculture designers. People have the opportunity to learn how to go from bare earth to Eden rather than just seeing an established permaculture farm, we offer a very interactive experience and the chance to learn how to do it rather than merely seeing it after it’s done,” he said.
The project has employed Dave Tailby as the Permaculture Farm Manager this year and he has taken charge of the property and its development.
“Having Dave on board is fantastic! He’s a great people-person, a really hard worker and is as passionate about permaculture as anyone you’ll meet. He’s an asset to the project and a really great teacher,” Murray said.
After doing his Permaculture Design Course and watching the Permaculture Master Plan video, Murray decided to devote his life to permaculture and saw his tourism accommodation facilities and farm performing a different function––spreading the word about permaculture, helping others to learn and offering an opportunity to urban permaculture people to learn practical farm skills so that they might be better able to establish their own permaculture projects.
In the meantime, the LivinginPeace Project still offers accommodation over the summer months to visitors coming to see the many regional attractions, but changes focus from May to December to host permaculture students as interns on the farm and will offer a permaculture design course from May 14 to May 28, 2013.
“We are very fortunate to have Tim Barker from the Permaculture Research Institute coming over to lead the course, Tim is a great guy and an experienced permaculture practitioner with lots of practical skills to pass on to students on the course,” Murray said. Barker is currently one of the farm managers at the PRI’s Zaytuna Farm in New South Wales, Australia and describes himself as “Mr Fix it.”
Eventually, Murray hopes to phase tourism out altogether and focus entirely on permaculture programmes year-round. “I don’t think international tourism is a good bet, but I do believe in international travel…it’s the best form of self-education you can get,” he said.
The LivinginPeace Project will therefore cater to travellers and provide opportunities for people to affordably stay in Karamea for an extended period and learn about New Zealand customs, culture, traditions, lifestyle, food while they also learn about permaculture, sustainable living and self-sufficiency.
For more information on the LivinginPeace Project, or to enrol in the LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Design Course, please contact Paul Murray:
E-mail: rongo@actrix.co.nz
Ph: 0064 (3) 7826-767
Incorporating Art, Travel, Permaculture and Education Into a Sustainable Business.LivinginPeace Project Permaculture Design Course 2013
Permaculture Design Course in Karamea
(May 14 to May 28, 2013)
Course Outline:
The PDC held at The Living Peace Project/Rongo Backpackers & Gallery from May 14 to May 28, 2013 will be slightly different to most other PDC’s. The full theoretical curriculum will be presented, but we will also be expanding the classroom out into the surrounding environment and conducting practical workshops so that students will go home with all the theoretical information, but also with confidence, ability and skills to put their course material into practice.
Practical aspects of the course will include:
The students will also receive the diversity of 3 teachers all of whom are very experienced and knowledgeable in specific areas. Specialty subject teachers ensure the students receive the most critical information throughout the 72-hour programme.
On completion of the PDC, students may choose to stay on to experience life on a working permaculture farm.(Accommodation at the discounted rates as listed below)
Course Fee Structure:
Course Fee: NZ$1,200 per person
Meals: $20 per person per day
(Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) (Morning and Afternoon Tea supplied)
Transport: Transport supplied by Karamea Connections
*** 25% deposit required on booking the course.Full payment to be made by commencement of the PDC.
*** Please e-mail us for Bank Account Details or
send a cheque made out to Iltamara Ltd to:
Rongo Backpackers & Gallery
130 Waverley Street
P.O. Box 54
Karamea 7864
NEW ZEALAND
Cancellation Policy:
Up until May 1, 2013: Full refund of deposit and course fee
Between May 1 and May 14: 50% refund of deposit and course fee
After May 14: No refund of deposit of course fee
Accommodation Options:
Rongo Backpackers & Gallery
Karamea Farm Baches
(single occupancy)
(two people)
Karamea Connections Oparara Basin Tour
Karmea Connections: Movement of the People
www.KarameaConnections.co.nz
Teachers’ Profiles
Tim Barker
Aussie born, trained as a diesel fitter, began my Permaculture journey after reading Permaculture One by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in 1981, still reading and learning. Ran an adventure tourism business in far North Queensland for 8 years, also contracted to the EPA as a guide for environmental impact studies on the cape York Peninsular, and in conjunction with Tourism Queensland and Aboriginal communities set up and ran turtle conservation camps as a test case for indigenous eco-tourism based business. Former treasurer of the Albatross bay catchment management group and served as environmental contracts administrator for a large contractor based in Far North Queensland. Received my PDC through Permaculture visions, and completed an internship at The Permaculture Research Institute under Geoff Lawton. Was invited back to the PRI as a MR Fix It and teacher. Favourite pastime; thinking, appropriate low tech and aquaponics. Age: 48Dave Tailby
Living In Peace Project Farm Manager, Dave was formerly a qualified builder and did his PDC with Geoff Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia Zaytuna Farm in 2010 and joined the Living In Peace Project as the Farm Manager in March 2012. He has taken charge of the farm development and is creating a permaculture exhibition farm to help others learn about the principles of permaculture. Dave is a great people-person and loves to share his knowledge of permaculture and building. Age: 50Paul Murray
Paul is the founder of the Living In Peace Project. He did his PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton at Melbourne University in 2009. Grew up on a grazing property on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Degree in Agricultural Science (horticulture) from University of South Australia (Rosweworthy). Grad Dip Arts (Journalism) University of Southern Queenland (Toowoomba). Age: 47PDC TESTIMONIAL by 2012 Students
Anneliese McNaughton and Luc Gregoire
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