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Over the years I have tried various aerial arts, including pole dancing, silks, trapeze, rope, rings, lollipop, lyra/hoop. I love it all! If I can be upside-down, then I am happy! Most recently I was doing aerial hoop regularly, although, unfortunately there is not somewhere that I can do that whilst I am here in the Philippines.

Permaculture is a holistic approach that is guided by ethics and looks to do good for people and the environment. It is guided by the principles of nature but looks to enhance functionality from what nature can already do. It helps us to provide all our needs within a local reach, including food, shelter, and teaches us to give back to the community any excess. It looks at how landscapes can be enhanced to function better with more diversity of produce, which is ultimately better for the environment and increases resiliency – for instance, if one crop substance fails, then there is something else that can be harvested meaning the whole crop has not failed. This biodiversity also helps the plants themselves be more resilient to pests and diseases and therefore less likely to fail.

Permaculture also shows us how intelligent design of buildings and systems can help to reduce effort and energy required on a daily basis, for instance having the salad garden next to the kitchen so minimizing trips required to get the daily lettuce, but having the other vegetables that are not harvested so regularly a bit further away as there are less trips required to this section of a garden.

Within permaculture, a large element is to make use of everything, closing loops in waste streams, for instance re-using water that has been used to wash clothes or drains from the showers you take, for a second purpose, such as to flush toilets or water the plants. Fresh water is such a valuable resource on this planet that it is important to try not to waste it and get maximal usage out of it. There is a big focus on rainwater harvesting, along with various methods to try and store water within the ground. Water bodies, such as ponds are a great habitat for many species and they can be used to store water when there is excess, but also can be used to soak more water into the ground and can be cleverly used to re-charge depleted water tables.

I am fortunate enough that when I do go on site, I often get to drink from a fresh coconut. which I love! And some days we get it cut open so we can eat from the coconut too.