Purpose and Profit go hand in hand for a thriving future.
We want to belong to a movement that:
- minimizes waste and energy
- practices Circular Economy
- connects the community with earth and nature
- provides adaptable resilience modes
- impacts on planetary thinking for climate change
- implements the Principles for Responsible Investment
We design environments for people to connect, share and collaborate in shaping healthy communities.
Our focus: to better our community, company, customers, environment, planet.
Our values: echo the value we create.
PURPOSE AND PROFIT can work in harmony!
We draw from permaculture design the agenda of natural green living and create the urban framework for consciously designed local farming landscapes to provide sustainable and resilient cities.
We are keen to incorporate the element of farming into the built environment, connect to nature, and activate local communities around growing fresh food and a healthy lifestyle.
Permaculture: A Quiet Revolution— An Interview with Bill Mollison
By Scott London
Bill Mollison calls himself a field biologist and itinerant teacher. But it would be more accurate to describe him as an instigator. When he published Permaculture One in 1978, he launched an international land-use movement many regard as subversive, even revolutionary.
Permaculture — from permanent and agriculture — is an integrated design philosophy that encompasses gardening, architecture, horticulture, ecology, even money management and community design. The basic approach is to create sustainable systems that provide for their own needs and recycle their waste.
Mollison developed permaculture after spending decades in the rainforests and deserts of Australia studying ecosystems. He observed that plants naturally group themselves in mutually beneficial communities. He used this idea to develop a different approach to agriculture and community design, one that seeks to place the right elements together so they sustain and support each other.
Today his ideas have spread and taken root in almost every country on the globe. Permaculture is now being practiced in the rainforests of South America, in the Kalahari desert, in the arctic north of Scandinavia, and in communities all over North America. In New Mexico, for example, farmers have used permaculture to transform hard-packed dirt lots into lush gardens and tree orchards without using any heavy machinery. In Davis, California, one community uses bath and laundry water to flush toilets and irrigate gardens. In Toronto, a team of architects has created a design for an urban infill house that doesn’t tap into city water or sewage infrastructure and that costs only a few hundred dollars a year to operate.
Permaculture design is a roadmap to sustainability: it helps create systems that are ecologically sound, do not pollute, provide nutritious food and are sustainable for an extended period. It’s about how you place the design elements to work together with the natural world. Permaculture provides a framework for consciously designed landscapes that mimic the patterns and relationships found in Nature that provide diversity, stability, and resilience.
We draw from permaculture knowledge and methods to observe, analyze and design opportunities for local environmental situations and provide a personalized solution for sustainability by growing fresh food locally. The challenges facing our food systems are tremendous: every year the demand for food rises, people are flocking to cities, climate change is altering weather patterns, and unpredictability threatens the ability to get the healthy food that we need. Our goal is to create sustainable opportunities in growing fresh local food wherever you live. Urban farming ensures the future of cities by maintaining the connection with Nature.
When people talk about “permaculture’ often the first mental image that they have is a large green open space farm or some other kind of farming system. But the principles of permaculture are flexible enough that people living in cities can benefit from them too – including growing their own healthy, organic food.
The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020, more than half of all the people on the planet will live in urban locations, even in less developed countries where rural populations have been more significant. Feeding all those people is becoming increasingly difficult if we rely solely on conventional agriculture by cultivating food in rural areas and transporting it into urban locations – while the energy needs of towns and cities will also continue to grow as their populations do.
With innovative solutions and community dedication, it is possible to grow fruits and vegetables, keep bees, and even raise small animals in urban areas. However much space you have in the crowded hustle and bustle of the metropolis, there are always opportunities to practice permaculture.
Making buildings and houses more eco-friendly in their power and water usage, planting trees and growing vegetables can bring multiple benefits to families to improve their quality of life.
Urban farms promote conversations between people. Cultivating food in urban farms can become the multi-generational centerpiece of friends and families, providing a place to meet, socialize, share ideas and laughter. Urban farming promotes health – both physical and mental.
Edible gardens encourage communities to get involved in the cultivation of the food, increase physical activity, and benefits mental state. It provides a means to get in touch with Nature and take time out from the hectic whirl that modern city living often demands. The health of the inhabitants is also improved because of the quality of food that they will have access to when cultivating a garden.
If the time between harvest and consumption are kept to a minimum, the food retains the maximum nutrients and flavor. When cultivating with permaculture principles, the food will be free of chemicals, herbicides or any other biocides.
Urban farming encourages people to eat seasonally.
Most city consumers are used to supermarkets that provide a variety of fruit and vegetables all year round. This means that for much of the year those varieties are imported, from around the world, adding to the environmental impact and cost of transportation. Eating in season allows people to get in touch with the natural rhythm of the local seasons and appreciate the variety of produce that changes throughout the year.
Growing your own food means that the crops cultivated have the maximum freshness, nutrients, and flavor at the time you consume it. Permaculture design offers the opportunity of living sustainably in a beneficial way to the people and to their environment
“It is with great pleasure that I strongly recommend Ruth Meghiddo, founder of Farm Urbana. Ruth’s commitment to the environment and sustainable urban farming is both noble in cause and practical in application. Her tower gardens are economical, healthful, delicious and sustainable. Her keen knowledge as an architect enhances her overall sense and use of space, ambiance and environmental impact. Her concept of rooftop gardening is an efficient use of space for growing your food and your health. It is also a marvelous way to create community through gardening. Bravo, Ruth on making a true positive difference in the world.”
Marcy Sudock
“Ruth Meghiddo is an innovator and thought leader in the concept of the “Circular Farm Economy.” She is also making important contributions in creating a sustainable business model for a hybrid city + farm economy. Some of the important contributions that she is working to achieve are to shorten the distance between producers and consumers, reduce harmful emissions, and support a local community of growers and producers. As someone who grew up on a working farm and participated directly in the production of food, I believe it is vitally important that we educate our communities on the values of a safe and reliable food supply. Ruth Meghiddo is doing just that through her work in sustainable agriculture. Ruth is truly a leader in the future of the Circular Farm Economy and in creating an innovative hybrid city + farm business model.”
Debra SatterfieldFounder at Design Innovation Research Group