‘Permablitz the Gong’ began as a conversation between three Wollongong women – Jacqui Besgrove, Sheryl Wiffen and Kristy Newton – in 2011 after Jacqui and Kristy completed their Permaculture Design Course (PDC). The women wanted to do something about food and sustainability at a community level, and got together with Rebecca Mayhew soon after; hosting their first permablitz on International Permaculture Day in May 2012.
Ten permablitzes, five frog ponds, six chicken houses, two native zones, five verge gardens, three DIY water tanks, kilos of sheet mulch, a garden tour, a seed bombing workshop and many swales and no dig gardens later, they think they have something worth holding on to. That’s what can happen when permaculture designers get together with willing workers and properties in need of love.
Permablitz originated in Melbourne, was founded by Dan Palmer (who had worked with a South American community group called CODEMO), and evolved into a network of designers and groups that coordinate permablitzes locally. Permablitz Melbourne has been generous in sharing information. Wollongong has several diverse communities, and we tweaked the information to fit our culture and the core collective’s capacity to design, organise and facilitate permablitzes. We practised on three of our own backyards.