Permaculture or permanent agriculture is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Permaculture designs have the same diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.  

GRA was introduced to permaculture in 2006 at a workshop with Geoff Lawton, one of the world’s leading experts and promoters of permaculture. Permaculture offered a path to connect and expand GRA’s current programs in organic gardening and tree planting, and GRA’s future plans for sustainable building, rainwater harvesting and alternative energy.

The following year, GRA organized a successful two-week Permaculture Design Course with Geoff in Musoma, Tanzania. Thirty students, both local and international, graduated; the youngest was only 11 years old!  After the training, several of the local permaculture graduates began collaborating with GRA to develop more permaculture gardens and further promote the principles of permaculture to address the problems of food scarcity, poor housing, deforestation and other environmental issues in the area. 

We now have three active permaculture demonstration plots in Tanzania, with plans for further development in the near future. Each demonstrates essential permaculture concepts like using swales to catch water for the crops, enriching the soil with nitrogen plants, harvesting water, compost-tea, compost pile, banana/papaya circles, bag garden, nursery, bank saving seeds and others. The gardens are supported by local efforts and a string of international volunteers that have brought new energy, insight and experience to the projects. GRA has a partnership with the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia to refer experienced volunteers to expand the knowledge and implementation of permaculture principles in the Mara region of Tanzania.

The first demonstration permaculture plot is a half acre on our office compound in Musoma. The garden provides food for staff and volunteers, as well as 40 children from the Musoma orphans project every Saturday. Musoma orphans meet here in the shade of our pavilion to collect sundries and participate in fun weekly activities like art, singing, drama and sports. Our second plot is on one acre in Kinesi Village at UVIMAKI Rural Development Association. It was designed and implemented by graduates of the 2007 Permaculture Design Course, and provides food for Association members.

In 2009, Ireland's Freedom from Hunger Council (Gorta), awarded GRA-Tanzania a generous grant to develop a third plot to bring food security to the 75 families caring for orphans in rural Kinesi Village. With the help of visiting permaculture experts from Zimbabwe, Australia and the United States, a 2.5 acre plot is being designed and developed by GRA personnel and some 30 villagers. Another large plot has been offered by the village for expansion of the garden. As the garden matures, fruits, veggies and grains from the garden will provide a self sustainable replacement for participants' vital monthly rations of beans, maize and rice.  Already, it is producing Chinese cabbage, okra, tomatoes, kale, maize and beans.  A small pond has been created on the site to raise tilapia, a local fish, and provide a habitat for ducks to produce eggs and organic fertilizer.
 
The third site also hosts a newly constructed, three bedroom compressed earth block house that will serve as a home for one caretaker and up to four visiting volunteers. The demonstration home includes a composting toilet and other simple, alternative technologies. In the future, we hope to work with UVIMAKI Rural Development Assoc., a local NGO, to provide microfinance mortgages to villagers wishing to build new, environmentally friendly earth block homes in Kinesi.

In 2010, GRA received another generous grant from The Ferguson Foundation to assist 30 families design and development permaculture gardens on their individual plots. The project will provide expert permaculture advice, seeds, fencing materials and tools. The process is just starting now, and will continue over the remainder of the year.