The Permaculture Farm: education and R&D
Welcome to our litlle permaculture playground and nature heaven!
The Seedlings Permaculture Educational Farm marks the beginning of our journey. Back in 2015, when we first acquired the property, it was a blank canvas—no trees, sparse grass, and no infrastructure to speak of. The rice paddies were a testament to years of neglect and harmful practices: constant tilling, chemical pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers had taken their toll.
But with boundless love, patience, and tender care, we’ve transformed this once-barren land into a thriving oasis of abundance. Today, we proudly harvest a diverse array of food for our family and community, including our dedicated staff and CSA members. Life has returned to the soil, teeming with biodiversity, turning our farm into a true paradise on Earth—a source of inspiration for our children and all who visit.
Here, amidst the rustling leaves and flourishing crops, we host workshops on sustainable living skills and conduct research to explore and refine best practices. Our aim is to share our knowledge with local farmers, who increasingly seek to embrace our holistic approach. With Lyse’s coaching expertise and Damien’s consultancy, our dream is for the Pai Seedlings Foundation to blossom into a vibrant hub for environmental initiatives in Mae Hong Son province.
So come, wander through our fields, breathe in the fresh air, and feel the heartbeat of nature. Together, let’s sow the seeds of a greener, more sustainable future. Welcome to our haven, where the soil is rich, the spirits are high, and every day is a celebration of life’s abundance!
Objectives
- A place to connect to nature through our senses.
- A place to find inspiration and meaning.
- A place to study, learn, experiment, select and share the best practices for nature-inspired and sustainable lifestyles.
Activities
Permacultur & Agroforestry
Agroforestry is system of land use in which harvestable trees or shrubs are grown among or around crops as a means of:
- enhancing/diversifying the productivity of the land.
- protect and maintain its biodiversity.
- produce locally large amounts of biomass to be transformed into biocomposts for fertilizattion
Feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants. [Ajarn Yaak]
Vegetable Market Garden
Our vegetable gardens produce dozens of edibles for our family, staff, CSA members… and the local insects and animals with whom we share the abundance.
All naturally and biologically grown, this is our where our food and medicines come from.
Our challenge now is to attract enough yearly members to become financially sustainable and create a model.
History started with agriculture, and, to this day,the way we decide to grow our food largely informs our Cultures and our relationship to Nature. [Damien Masselis]
Biocomposts & Biochar
Whilst food production is the visible part of our work, none of it would be possible without its invisble counterpart happening below the ground.
Biochar and Biocomposts are vital elements to repair damaged soils: by giving it structure and life we allow soil to deliver its natural ecological services: water rentention and filtration, carbon sequestration, climate mitigation, plant nutrition, biodiversity, etc…
Soil management is a critical tool in local food security and global climate mitigation.
Natural Building
Over the course of 6 months in 2019, just before COVID, we build an eco-house at the farm: made with locally harvested bamboo, clay and rice straw, the building is both affordable, easy to build and amazingly comfortable.
It balances temperatures (never too hot or too cold), feels and looks cosy, filters air… and provides an living environment beyond description.
Most people work 9 to 5, 5 days a week, for more than 40 years to pay for a house in which they barely spend a few hours sleeping and escape as soon as they have holidays. This is nonesense.
Soil Biology
Permaculture design is a necessary element in ecosystem restoration because it gives us the understanding of how to work with nature. But it is also very slow.
Soil microbiology is techical but can help us regenerate soils faster: by analysing with a microscope what’s missing in the soil and producing the right biological amendments (The Soil Food Web) we hope to provide local farmers faster solutions to embrace organic methods.
Get your soil biology right – ensuring the ‘good guys’ (aerobic micro-organisms) flourish and are in balance – and the rest falls into place. – Dr Elaine Ingham
Join our CSA & Food Box program
Do you want to be part of this adventure and enjoy the best food available in town? Join our CSA & Foodbox program!
Looking for other ways to get involved at the farm?
Jobs, internships, volunteering. Join the movement!
Do you want to support us?
Choose which project you want to support, choose the amount, and become part of the solution!