The Threshold Centre Permaculture Project

Aim

We are a cohousing community with 1 acre of land where we plan to create a Permaculture LAND Learning Centre plus camping for volunteers.

We are a cohousing community with 1 acre of land where we plan to create a Permaculture LAND Learning Centre plus camping for volunteers.

THE THRESHOLD CENTRE PERMACULTURE PROJECT

WHO WE ARE

The Threshold Centre is a cohousing community comprising 14 houses and a community farmhouse, established in 2005. It has been our mission since the beginning to promote cohousing and sustainable living as a spiritual, social and practical experience by means of running Cohousing Workshops and Gardening Weekends and other educational events throughout the year (see www.thresholdcentre.org.uk).

THE DREAM

Our plan for 2015 is to expand on this vision by involving the wider local community and giving volunteers a practical experience in the development of Permaculture principles within our 1-acre garden and orchard. This will then become a demonstration Permaculture plot for future visitors, including becoming a LAND Learning Centre. We also plan to encourage individuals and groups in the locality to share in our garden space and to learn about organic growing, at the same time getting an insight into how cohousing works as an alternative community lifestyle.

Alongside this we intend to improve our camping facilities so that we can provide more accommodation for our course participants and visitors, and Wwoofers to help maintain our enlarged gardens.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

We are a Community Interest Company, we manage ourselves and survive financially on Service Charge contributions from residents and a small income from our courses and weekend events. Inspired by the Permaculture Association’s partnership with Crowdfunder, and knowing that we need to find external funding for this garden project if we are to make it work, we decided to ask YOU!

PRACTICALITIES

In order to realise our vision for a Permaculture garden and outdoor learning space, and at the same time help our community to become more self-supporting foodwise, our aim is to redevelop the garden by expanding and improving the growing area, incorporating a pond and a forest garden merging into the orchard.  

Also to improve our camping facilities, including providing a strawbale camping kitchen and repairing our existing yurt accommodation and compost toilet.

TIMING

We are starting to do some of the work on this ourselves, but we hope people (you!) will join us on our Gardening Weekends on 2-4 May (3 May is International Permaculture Day!!) and 18-19 July (see our website) to help us out. The main work is planned for August, when you are invited to come and camp for a week or two and help us create a beautiful space for camping and working, learning and playing.

THE STRAWBALE BUILD

The strawbale build will be a separate project hopefully taking place at the end of August 2015 (when straw becomes available!). It will be led by an experienced strawbale builder and teacher, and people are invited to pay £150 per week to come and camp for a week (or two), help us with our building and take away the relevant skills. (N.B. Free places for Crowdfunders!).

WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO?

We are seeking a total of £5,000 to fund this exciting project, as follows:

£1500 - improvements and repairs to the yurt and compost toilet.

£1500 - materials to build a strawbale camp kitchen (including turf roof, rainwater collection, and seating area)

£ 500 - soil improvement (compost, manure, mulch etc.).

£ 500   - materials for a cob oven, reedbed drainage system and pond.

£ 500   - trees and perennial plants to start creating a forest garden

£ 500 - to organise and finance a strawbale building course, to host and coordinate volunteers (who we hope will help with much of the work!), and to finance the rewards and promote the whole project.

REWARDS

In return for your financial contribution, when you pledge, you will see the list of interesting rewards we are offering.

FUTURE

Once this funding has helped us to set up the basic camping facilities, establish the Permaculture vegetable garden and start planting a forest garden, our aim is that this will be a self-financing, ongoing education and activity project. As Charles Dowding says, it will feed and inform both residents and visitors alike.

TESTIMONIALS

Charles Dowding has been growing organic vegetables commercially and for home consumption for thirty years, without soil cultivation (i.e. ‘no-dig’). He has written several books on vegetable growing and also writes articles for several gardening publications, runs workshops and gives talks, see www.charlesdowding.co.uk .  Charles led a workshop at the Threshold Centre in 2014, showing us how to create ‘no-dig'raised beds without wooden edging and with mulched paths. We were inspired to continue using this method and have found it works well.Of our new project, he says:       “This project will feed and inform”.

Amanda Pearson, ex-resident of 7 years, currently a Director of the UK co housing network and also works for WWOOF UK (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) to support volunteers and special projects. This is her response:“I am delighted to hear of the plans the Threshold Centre has to expand its growing activities. Not only will it enhance the exemplar role the project plays in demonstrating alternative, environmentally friendly ways of living, but it will also enable the centre to welcome more people - especially WWOOFers, and expose them to these ideas and ways of being.”

Stephen Nutt BSc PGCE DipPermDes (ex resident), says:“I can thoroughly recommend Threshold Centre for funding towards their enlarged Permaculture gardens. In the three and a half years I was resident there I witnessed great strides towards community self-reliance: rainwater harvesting, PV panels, biomass heating, and eco-sewage treatment. In the gardens there was an innovative rainwater harvesting system fitted to the polytunnel, perennial crops, a herb spiral, a compost toilet, excellent demonstration of compost making and chickens integrated within the orchard. We held one full PCDC and several Permaculture Introductory days, and having seen their plans I feel they are well placed to become a leading Permaculture site and teaching resource.”

Alan Heeks (Co-founder of the Threshold Centre) says:“My vision in founding The Threshold Centre was to embody and connect all the main aspects of sustainable living: central to this was a garden which would create food, beauty, fun and social connections. The new plans for the Threshold Garden will achieve these hopes much more fully. These plans have been created by people with a long-standing connection to the land here, and a good grasp of how to apply Permaculture in practise. The funding they seek is modest for the scale of project, recognising that a lot of unpaid labour will be gifted too. So I urge you to support them.”

THE PROJECT CO-ORDINATORS                                                                        

Linda Philp has lived here at the Threshold Centre for about 5 years, and is a keen gardener and Permaculturist. She has been involved in establishing Forest Gardens in London and set up a community garden in Somerset.Rozzie Dunwell has been here 3 years, after living in Australia for 18 years, where she was involved in the Broadacres Permaculture project with Bill Mollison. Prior to that she set up the Culpepper Community Garden in London.Andrew Pring, resident for 6 years, comes from a smallholding background and does lots of the gardening/ maintenance work here. He is our video-maker for the project.Charles Woods, resident now for 2 years, with a background in architecture, he is doing the plans and drawings for the strawbale build etc.

LOCATION AND CONTACT DETAILS

The Threshold Cohousing Community Centre is located at Cole Street Farm, Cole Street Lane, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5JQ.

Gillingham (Dorset) Train Station is within easy reach, and there is limited parking space.

For more information please contact Linda Philp on 01747 825477 (email [email protected] ) or Andrew Pring on 07717 226490 (email [email protected])

To find out more about the Threshold Centre and its activities, see our website at www.thresholdcentre.org.uk

This project closed unsuccessfully on 25th March 2015