Week 30 Hotnitsa interview
When did you first hear about Permaculture and why were you interested?
-It was about 15 years ago. I have always been interested in different eco sustainable life practices and in permaculture I find all in one.
Where did you take your PDC course and when?
-I took my PDC in Croatia in 2017.
What was your biggest takeaway from the course - what made the biggest impact at the time?
- Definitely - how to make hot compost. And of course meeting very interesting and inspiring people.
What did you gain or learn on the course that you didn’t expect?
- I already knew a lot about permaculture and have started my own project. I learned more about water management, composting. It was interesting for me to see how the Croatian permaculture is developing. I remember that then I decided to start designing for other people, so it was an inspirational course.
What is your personal definition of Permaculture?
- Permaculture for me is a way of living, it is a mindset.Permaculture is a system for how to design our living on the Earth today so we have a tomorrow.
How has Permaculture changed your life?
- Totally, I moved from the big city into a small village and yes, it was a life change, I believe for the better!
What was your first design or what did you do after the PDC?
- Oh, I am not sure that I remember well. I started hot composting! The first design was of a community centre.
What part of the theory was the most useful to put into practice?
- again about composting. Also the process of the design.
After the course, how much extra studying or learning did you do on this topic?
- About composting a lot. About the design process - I am still learning new things as every design is different.
What mistakes did you learn from?
- I suppose to estimate very well the input and output of energy you can invest in a design in order to achieve success and permanence.
Can you think of a time or a person that you had a positive impact on in relation to Permaculture?
Permaculture met me with a lot of wonderful people, great friendships were made and I am very thankful!
What are the main challenges for you when designing or when implementing your designs?
- The main challenges are People, the expectations of people, they usually are inspired and want to make and do a lot of things but are not thinking about maintaining it and the implementation as well.
How do you manage to irrigate your landscape?
- rain water and pumped water from the well is collected into water tanks. The water tanks are connected with a drip irrigation system around the main part of the garden where most of the annual plants are based.
If you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice, what would it be?
- A good question! To learn to graft trees. To work more for improving the soil. But I am also thankful for all the mistakes as it is a way of learning,
What are the long term goals and or visions of your project?
- Self-sustainability.
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