We’re very excitied about this one!

For full course info click HERE

Booking form is HERE

For the last few years I’ve been asking students to rate their course out of 10 .

Here’s how I’ve been doing:

Edinburgh Permaculture Design Course 2016 : Average feedback score    9.6 / 10

Edinburgh Permaculture Design Course 2017 : Average feedback score    9.2 / 10  

Comrie Permaculture Design course  2017 : Average feedback score 9.1 / 10

We had a a great residential Permaculture Design Course at Comrie Croft.

A big thanks to Sam and Judith at Tomnah’a, Sue and Tober at Tombreck, Apple Tree Man and everyone at Comrie Croft.

I got some great feedback from the participants with an average score for the whole course of

9.1/10

I’m teaching this course in Kirkcaldy in a few weeks time.

To book visit http://www.greenerkirkcaldy.org

There’s still places on the Comrie Permaculture Design Course.

After 10 years of designing projects and teaching permaculture courses I have finally managed to pull together this guide to designing just about any project.

I’ll be presenting this during the Scottish Permaculture Gathering this weekend. (June 30 – July 2nd)

You can download a copy by clicking on this link V1.2 the simplest design process June 2017

Here’s a cabin I’ve nearly finished building in the garden at home.  It’s designed as a music studio and permaculture teaching space.

I did use some new materials but here’s all the second hand, reclaimed or skip-dived ones.

All the insulation

All the windows

All the doors

The Floor

The stove flue

The sink

Wood for shelves, skirting, around windows etc.

Corrugated cladding (south-west external wall)

The larch cladding came from Robert Richie near Tranent.

I’d set aside this morning to create posters for the Comrie Permaculture Design course but I don’t think I need to. It’s already filling up nicely with 9 bookings and we’ve still got 4 months ’til it starts.

If you’re interested in one of the remaining places, you should read the info document first and then book using the online form.

comrie-pdc-course-info-2017

Booking form HERE

The first module is Jan 21st and 22nd, 2017. 

In April 2013 I was asked to create a permaculture design for Comrie Croft. Andrew and the team had been running the bunkhouse and campsite for a few years and wanted to do more with the farm.

I was back on site yesterday and it was great to see so many of my recommendations coming to life.

Recommendation : Provide an opportunity for a market garden to take over one of the front fields. It’s a great, south facing site, there’s no local competition and Comrie Croft have thousands of people self catering every year. Producing food on the farm is also a great advert for Comrie Croft.

Result : The Tomnah’a Market Garden was set up in April 2016 and the team have done an extraordinary amount of work already. Lots of infrastructure has been put in and there’s already loads of veg, herbs, eggs and flowers.

Recommendation : Create an obvious entrance for the site reception. Whilst doing my observations on the site I noticed a lot of new visitors struggling to find the reception with some of them giving up and going elsewhere.

Result : A new front to the building with a very obvious entrance and new 100 mile shop which sells produce from Tomnah’a.

Recommendation : Build a compost loo in the high Campsite. I noticed that it was a long trek to get from this camping area to the toilet block. The number of existing toilet facilities were also limiting the number of people allowed on site for events. 

Result : A great new composting loo and washing up station!

Recommendation : Move the bike shop from the steading courtyard next to the reception. They were hard to find and passing visitors could easily miss them. Use the stables for over-night staff accommodation or craft workshops.

Result : The bike shops is in a much better place and the steading buildings are being used by New Caledonian Woodlands and by Comrie Croft staff.

I’ve just finished this recycled building project.It’s a garden shelter to be used for woodwork and as a focal point for the garden at Milestone hospice in Oxgangs.

The frame is Larch from Inzievar Community Woodland, the walls and gates are built from chunky pallets. The pallet wood was flamed and then brushed  in the japanese blackened wood style.

The decoration is made from bottle tops threaded onto wire by students at Firhill High School. A big thanks to Karen, Helen and all the Firhill kids.

Booking is now open for the 2017 Edinburgh Permaculture Design Course, running 1 weekend a month from Jan – June.

Read the course info here :  PDC 2017 course info pdf

And you can book on the course using THIS FORM

Offer a workshop, performance or volunteer as crew by using this form

There’s a competition to design the ‘O’ for this year’s logo.

To Enter –

1) Please create a clear drawing, painting or photograph for us to use for this year’s ‘O’. You do not have to add it into the NonStuff logo, but you can if you want.
2) Original artwork only please.
3)Please post your entries up on the club Facebook Page or email them to hello@nonstuff.club
4)Previous ‘O’s have included a fried egg, a life ring and a hole.
5)The deadline is midnight on May 31 2016
6)The only prize is to see your creation used for the event. 

The chaos quartet are performing at this Valentine’s charity ceilidh on Sat 13th Feb at the Edinburgh Steiner School.  We’re on from 7-8pm and then again at 10.30pm.

There’s only a few tickets left, so get yours now from the link below!

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2386269

NonStuff Industries and The Chaos Quartet are now officially part of the Yellow Movement.

There are only a few places left on the Edinburgh Permaculture Design Course.

The full permaculture course is run over 6 weekends from Jan – June.

Main teacher : James Chapman plus others.

The dates are :

Jan 23+24 – 2 day intro / Module 1

Feb 6+7 – Module 2

March 5+6 Module 3

April 2+3 – Module 4

May 7+8 Module 5

June 4+5 Module 6

Prices are on a sliding scale depending on income –  £260, £440, £620 and £740

To book fill in THIS FORM 

Here’s the PDC info Ed 2016

Contact James via the CONTACT PAGE or on 07790 265883

Nonstuff festival favourites Mike and Solveig have a brand new album out – “Here Comes Today”

Every vinyl copy comes with a free smiling Solveig face!! Amazeballs!!!

You can listen to the album for free, buy the Vinyl or MP3 download from https://mikeandsolveig.bandcamp.com/

Here I am inside one of the new insulated compost bins for Leith Crops in Pots.

An open invite to the launch party of the new, 3 Hares Community Woodland.

The chaos quartet are a new function and party jazz band based in central Scotland. We play a wide range of tunes and styles from trad and bee-bop to free jazz and unusual covers. The line up is keyboards, drums, sax and double bass.

Click on the link to have a listen to some live recordings.

http://thechaosquartet.bandcamp.com

There’s a new alt/trad music night in town – the first one is this Sunday (nov 8) at Berlington Berties near Tollcross.

Join Magpie and Sharon McBrearty for tunes, songs and shanties from Ireland, Scotland and beyond!

8.30pm Start.

Here’s the FaceBook page : https://www.facebook.com/events/1645786905693131/ 

This has been generated from the feedback forms.

3 Hares Community Woodland Design Course.

Here are the rescheduled dates.

Weekend 1 : 28+29 Nov 2015

Weekend 2 : 9+10 Jan 2016

James Chapman will lead a group design over the two weekends. The Three Hares is a new, 20 Acre, community woodland site close to Penicuik, Roslin and Rosewell in Midlothian.

Costs for the course are on a sliding scale from £40/Weekend to £120/Weekend.

You can book on the course using  THIS FORM

photo by Angus Soutar

Festival Prices

Children under 5 – Free

STANDARD PRICES 

Standard Adult  £85

Standard Child £35

Standard Family (2x adults + up to 4 children) £220

Standard adult day pass  £40

Concession Prices  (those on low income/benefits) 

Conc Adult £55

Conc Child £20

Conc family £110

Conc day ticket £25

Beds 

Bed in a dorm – SALE  now only £20 for fri/sat/sun including bedding

Private room in a cabin (3 x single beds) £90

We’ve got some beds in dorms still available for the weekend and they are now only £20 for Fri,Sat and Sunday night. That’s only £6.666666666 a night! Bedding is included.

Private rooms in the cabins are also still available – three single beds for three nights –  £90.

Remember to bring

*slippers

*blankets (for yoga sessions).

*cardboard for the big art project.

See you at the weekend.

The NonStuff team

The new mobile sauna had it’s first outing at Knochengorroch.

Fitting the stove before hitting the road.

Half way to Kochengorroch

Up and running!

A big thanks to everyone who gave us a donation. 🙂

Our first mobile sauna has seen 100’s of hot clean people and is retiring to a permanent location in South Lanarkshire.

Time to build a new, flat-pack one. Thanks to new sauna-crew member Cliff for all the amazing help.

The new sauna’s first outing will be Knochengorroch festival – May 21-24

Swallow the Sea are crowd funding to raise funds for their amazing caravan theater project.

For an £80 donation you get the following perks.

* 2x adult tickets to NonStuff Festival.  (RRP £85! EACH!)

* Heartfelt thank you on their website.

*Handwritten thank you card.

*Show poster + illustrated postcard bundle (Emma Brierley, Jemima Thewes, Jessica Raine)

It’s totally BONKERS and will only happen once.

Find all the info HERE https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/swallow-the-sea

We had a great introduction weekend on the 17 and 18 Jan. There were 22 folk for the weekend with 13 of them following on to do the full Permaculture Design Course.  A big thanks to everyone at the Hermitage golf course and cafe.

Only 3 places left

There are now only 3 places left on the Permaculture design course. Anyone who has completed an introduction course with James, Lusi Alderlsowe or Graham Bell can join us from Module 2 on 7+8 of Feb.

The Hazel Guild is a collaberative group of permaculture teachers based in Scotland. We aim to work together to promote permaculture and improve our courses.

The current members are Ed Tyler, Graham Bell, James Chapman and Lusi Alderslowe.

Visit the site to view all of our courses

www.hazelguild.org

I’ve been busy putting together a collection of my favourite colditz tracks. These were mostly recorded between 2000 and 2006 – most appeared on the albums “we are animals” and “people like diagrams”.

You can have a listen HERE

Snow flakes by Wilson Bentley 1902

Water is amazing stuff. The more you study it, the more unusual and magical it becomes.  Here are a few watery facts which we normally over-look.

Water expands when it freezes. There is hardly anything else which does this (most materials get smaller as they get colder). This is why ice floats.

Water is sticky. This video of water in space is worth a watch

Water is at it’s most dense at 4 degrees C. 4 degrees is also the temperature that grass starts growing at.

Water can cause soil erosion. The faster it flows, the more damage it can do.

Water is essential to all animals and plants.

When there is not enough water, everyone is in trouble, but too much can be very destructive too. Permaculture can inspire habitats which are resillient to dry conditions whilst preventing flooding and soil erosion.

Permaculture Design course Jan-June 2015 in Edinburgh.

Full course details here

Booking form here

Article by James Chapman

Here’s my second mini-article featuring favourite parts of the Permacultrue Design Course.

This week it’s soil.

Photo from wikipedia commons

It’s easy to not think about soil too much – what is there to know? It’s brown and sticky and plants grow in it. Anything else??

I have grown to love and appreciate soil in recent years.  It is one of the most undervalued resources and we’re in great danger of destroying it. Soil is highly complex, has taken thousands of years to make, is home to almost unbelievable amounts of micro-organisms and is absolutely vital to all life on land.  Without it, we would have no trees or plants, and without them there wouldn’t be any animals.

Soil is a mixture of :

* Small rock particles – sand, silt and clay

* Humus – broken down organic matter

* Water

* Air (vital for plant health!)

If the soil is healthy, it will also be chock full of micro-organisms – millions in every handful.

Soil is getting made all the time, but soil erosion is a massive, modern problem. Mechanised farming exposes our soil to rain and wind, washing it down rivers into the sea. In North America, an estimated 1/3 of all top soil is now at the bottom of the oceans.

Permaculture can provide methods of producing food which build soils rather than depleting them – essential skills for a sustainable future.

Full Permaculture Design Course info HERE

Booking form for intro or full course HERE

Intro course Jan 17-18 2015 in Edinburgh.

Full course Jan-June (1 weekend a month) 2015, also in Edinburgh.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to write some miny-articles about my favourite bits of the Permaculture Design Coruse.

This week I’m looking at Trees and Woodlands.

Native, broadleaf woodlands provide a lot of inspiration to permaculture designers.

They are a very good example of a system which is “truly sustainable”. With a bit of sun and rain, a woodland can provide all it’s own needs and produce a surplus for re-investment. Seeds can start off a whole new woodland and the soil is improved through all the rotting leaves and timber.

Woodlands are also great at fitting a lot of different species into a small amount of space. They do this by working in different layers; The canopy, under storey,  shrub, herbaceous, and mycorrhizal layers all add up to a very complex, high density habitat.

These layers directly inspire forest gardens which are very complex, high density food producing habitats.  A forest garden uses the same layers as a broadleaf woodland, but swaps all the trees and plants around to species which provide more food for us.

Every year the course visits Graham Bell’s forest garden which was planted nearly 20 years ago.

It is amazingly productive and requires minimum work – perfect permaculture in action.

Click HERE for full course information.

Click HERE for booking form.

For info on Graham’s courses and his plan nursery, click HERE

The Forgotten Works are performing at this great green party fair on Sunday 23rd Nov.

10.30am start.

Some NonStuff escaped from the festival and has been spotted near the compost heaps at Wiston Lodge.

Anyone wanting to join the NonStuff mailing list for news on festivals, permaculture courses, the forgotten works and events?

Sign up HERE

Online booking form HERE

Full design course information HERE

a few people are wondering where the nonstuff festival came from

this diagram should solve any questions.

Crowd Funding Campaign Launched. 

  

You can pre-book your ticket through our WeFund campaign at a discounted rate of £70 
per adult. (adult tickets will be sold at £85 after May12)
We need £2000 of advanced sales by May 12 for the event to go ahead.

Any help supporting the event would be much appreciated - pre-book your place, 
pledge as little as £5 for a reward or just spread the word!

NonStuff gets off to a flying start on March 16.

The Forgotten Works host NonStuff #1 with performances from VoiceBeat community choir and Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5. We also have  a tiddlywinks championships, sea shanties and craft workshops.

6.30pm -crafts, sea shanties, tiddlywinks heats

7.30pm – performances, tiddlywinks final