Designers weekend at The Pingle, Wirksworth

This event is now fully booked - another one will be along soon - keep in touch!

Design Practice weekend - 7th - 8th March 2015,  The Pingle, Wirksworth, Nr Matlock Derbyshire  Postcode DE4 4AH

As well as contributing to the design of the site, you will have the opportunity to discuss your existing design work and projects with the team.

Led by Angus Soutar, Charlotte Dean and Trevor Wynne

Camping barn nearby at New Buildings - the Bunk Barn (we have made a group booking)

Book a place for this event (sorry, full up)

Our clients have recently bought  an 8 acre property in the rolling countryside near Wirksworth. They want to develop the site along permaculture lines, and have invited us to provide them with an outline design for the site.

"We are really excited at the possibility of permaculturalists coming to our place. We've been around and about over the last few years helping people with many different projects. Now it seems that it is time for us to care for a place that we are responsible for, for ourselves, but also for sharing: with friends and their families and anyone who wants to learn with us. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring together our ideas into a holistic plan; to bring three fields together into a small holding. Our aims include:

+ To understand the land and its water ways and to find what is best to create more biodiversity.

+ To find a way to create an income with a sustainable specialist crop e.g. medicinal mushrooms. Other ideas include wasabi, watercress...

+ To create an orchard (which will also contain a forest garden) to satisfy our desires for eating as well as the possibility of brewing cider and local wines (using fruits like currents and gooseberries).

+ To have enough fruit and veg to feed ourselves and to distribute.

+ To grow an abundance of culinary and medicinal herbs.

+ To create a space for people and children to come and learn with us.

+ Ultimately we would like to have a small number of livestock (goats, sheep) for milk as well as chickens."

The main areas for design seem to be:

+ managing the water flowing through the landscape, looks interesting and possible
+ creating low maintenance high yield forest gardening system, including coppice, foods, medicines and human waste processing
+specialist yields such as mushrooms, closing loops with neighbouring farmer who manages and processes timber. + other ideas are horseradish
+ possible small scale camping/respite for urban contacts.

Accommodation will be available nearby for the Saturday night - there is a comfortable camping barn complete with a wood burner, no-one wants to be cold on this one!

The cost for the weekend includes meals and a place in the camping barn on Saturday - £50

Our hosts, Fash and Gus, will provide lunches x 2 and evening meal x 1. But please bring food for your own breakfasts in the camping barn

If you need a place to stay on the Friday night you may be able to negotiate a stay at The Bunk Barn,

Book a place for this event

Directions and accommodation

More info for those who have booked

More details shortly or E-mail us