Sure, with miles upon miles of sprawling single family homes, congested freeways, paved rivers and architecture meant to be viewed from the seat of a moving vehicle, I can attest that Los Angeles does a good job of living up to its reputation of a city filled with un-inspired design. However, if you take a deeper look into this complex urban fabric, you will discover some green gems that are making big impacts here and opening the eyes of city dwellers around the globe.
Pasadena-based Path to Freedom (PTF) was featured in the LA times twice this week (here and here) for what founder Jules Dervaes calls his "homegrown revolution," created by using "hands as weapons of mass creation."
PTF is an example of urban permaculture, a design philosophy rooted in careful observations of natural patterns and a harmonious integration of ourselves and our communities into the landscape. Using the principles of permaculture, Dervaes and his family have transformed their 1/5 acre city lot into an urban homestead to decrease their energy dependency and to exemplify self-reliant urban living.
Home to over 350 different edible and useful plants and a variety of insects and animals, PTF produces an impressive 3 tons of organic fruits and vegetables annually on their small lot. This produce is supplied to local restaurants and caterers through PTF's home business Dervaes Gardens.
In a permaculture model, all waste, if left an unused resource, becomes pollution. So all food waste at PTF is recycled to its next highest use, through composting to build healthy soil. The use of energy-efficient and human-powered appliances, solar and cob ovens, and solar panels has reduced their electricity dependence by two-thirds. The Dervaes also home-brew their own biodiesel, and are working on water harvesting and re-use projects. They do all of this while maintaining their highly informational website and blog...
continue on at worldchanging los angeles
[Photo by Al Seib for the Los Angeles Times]
[edited by greenlagirl, siel)
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