Permaculture in New Zealand

Growing Preparing and Cooking Nutrient Dense Food

Saturday 30th January  to Monday 1st February 2010
9:00AM Saturday – 12 noon Monday.
Location: Koanga Institute, Torere.
Tutor: Kay Baxter, $330

An
intensive live in weekend, which covers all the content  covered in the
previous  two, one day workshops  on 1) Bio-intensive Gardening and
Growing Nutrient Dense Food , Sat, 3rd October
and 2) Preparing and Cooking Nutrient Dense Food , Sat, 14th November. (see content below)
However the extra time allows us to go into more detail and for you to gain much more  practical  hands on experience.  

The following books will be available during the workshop only,  at wholesale prices

•    The Koanga Garden Guide: A Complete Guide to Gardening Organically and Sustainably by Kay Baxter  ($34)
•     Change of Heart: The Ecology of Nourishing Food.  By Bob Corker and Kay Baxter ($25)
•    Growing Nutrient Dense Food. By Kay Baxter ($2)
•    Save Your Own Seed.  By Kay Baxter ($4)

Bio-intensive Gardening and Growing Nutrient Dense Food

For
both beginners and experienced gardeners, covering the theory and
practise of Bio-intensive gardening, and how to ensure the food you
grow is ‘nutrient dense’
Bio Intensive Growing is a system that has
been developed  by John Jeavons after over 30 years of studying the
ancient agriculture systems that actually grew soil, and great
civilisations. He has used that knowledge together with his own
extensive research to put together the Bio-intensve system which is
about growng the most amount of food in the smallest area for the least
amount of energy used (and water), in a way that every body can do. 
The Koanga Institute uses this method and encourages others to do so as
well.
 In addition to bio-intensive gardening, we are researching and practising growing ‘nutrient dense food’.
 For
our food plants to fully nourish us they must be grown in highly
mineralised soils, with the right minerals available in the right
ratios. This workshop will show you how to take care of your soil  so
that all the produce from your land (vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs,
meat etc) is healthy and nutrient dense. We will cover many ways of
achieving this using both bought and local  inputs.
 Kay  believes
this is one of the most critical areas of learning for us all at this
point in time.  Our research and learning is based on the wonderful
work of Dr Carey Reams, Dr Arden Anderson, and Dr A F Beddoe, as well
as Grant Paton.  All of these men are scientists whose amazing work Kay
is  studying so that it can be put into "homegardeners' language and
practice... and be more accessible for all of us.  You will gain a
clear understanding of how to grow nutrient dense food as the best
basis for a healthy body.
.The workshop will cover :-
•    the theory and practise of Bio-intensive gardening
•    growing soil
•    compost making
•    pest and disease control
•    a basic understanding of the Biological Ionisation theory
•    how to use a refractometer to measure the Brix (nutrient density) of your plants
•    what minerals and other things our soil needs to grow high Brix plants
•    soil testing as a basis for designing a fertiliser program
•  
 how to source or make fertilsers you will need, ( including green
manures,biochar, seaweed, sea water, burnt or crushed  bones and
shells, compost teas, carbon sources etc
•    how and when to apply fertilisers, foliar sprays and ‘inoculants’
•    raising seedlings
•    planning your growing program
•    and more

Preparing and Cooking Nutrient Dense Food
There is a ‘maze’of different, and often conflicting information, out there on what makes a ‘good’ diet.
The Koanga Institute supports the work of the Weston A Price Foundation   www.westonaprice.org 

Weston
A Price found  that all non-industrialised peoples he studied in the
1930's who were still eating their traditional/indigenous foods were
incredibly healthy compared with industrialised people, and that,
although they were eating widely varied diets,  their diets were all
based on the same principles. He  believed that if we wish to be
healthy  and responsible as the elders of those generations to come we
also must base our diets on the same principles.

The characteristics of all traditional diets as found by Dr Weston A Price were
* they contained no refined or denatured foods
* they all contained some sort of animal protein and fat
*
compared with the typical industrialised diet, they contained at least
four times the calcium and other minerals, and TEN times the fat
soluble Vitamin A and D (that was in the 1930's.. those figures are far
worse now)
* they all ate some animal or insect  products raw
*
all diets had a high enzyme content -  fermented vegetables, fruits,
meats condiments, beer and wine as well as raw high enzyme foods
*
seeds, grains and nuts  were soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally
leavened in order to neutralise naturally occurring antinutrients in
these foods
* total fat content of traditional diets varied from
30% to 80%  of their total calorie intake and only around 4% of
calories came from polyunsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains,
nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of the fat 
calories was in the form of saturated and monosaturated fatty acids.
* traditional diets contained nearly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega -3
*all traditional diets contained some salt
* traditional cultures consumed animal bones , usually in the form of gelatin rich bone broths
*
traditional cultures made provision for the health of future
generations by providing  special nutrient rich foods for parents to
be  ( both before and after conception)

This workshop will show
you practical ways to use all of  these principles to create fully
nourishing and delicious meals for your family in  New Zealand today, 
including how to source the necessary food items .
You will get to taste many examples of this food.

To book your place, a 50% deposit is required two weeks before workshop starts.

For more information contact us.

Sign up for this event, workshop or course.