One Straw Permaculture

My name is Rob Lawrence. I am the founder of One Straw Permaculture. I acknowledge the Gubbi Gubbi people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I work and live, and recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respects to elders past, present and future.

The name One Straw Permaculture pays respect to Masanobu Fukuoka, the father of natural farming, author of "The One Straw Revolution," and inspiration for many renowned permaculturalists for generations.

One Straw Permaculture was founded from a deep sense of connection with the environment I felt as a young man spending time in nature. I sought the answer to a burning question: As humans, what is the true nature of our relationship with our planet?

The answer came to me slowly, over a long time. I studied the world views of indigenous peoples of Central and South America. I visited and worked on intentional communities with environmental values. I started to garden, organically of course! I volunteered for the Wilderness Society and later worked for Greenpeace.

Then I found Permaculture: A system for ecological design that provides a comprehensive, feasible, down to earth solution to the environmentally destructive nature of modern Western society.

My focus shifted from "You should" to "I will." My garden became a playground, a learning centre, an experimental lab, an exercise in patience, a source of production, of sustenance and peace. My skills became known and I became a professional gardener.

Short Bio:

2013 - Joined a workshop for 4 weeks to build 'Australia's first Earthship.'
2014 - Completed my PDC (Permaculture Design Course) and a 2-day Teacher Training course with Rosemary Morrow.
2015 - Co-taught my first Introduction to Permaculture Course along with Kat Szuminska and Sue Girard.
2015 - Assisted PDC students with their course at Noosa Forest Retreat
2015 - Completed a 1 week course in Permaculture Earthworks with Danial Lawton.

During this time my gardening business became Permaculture Gardening, and then permaculture Mentoring, Consulting and Design.

One Straw Permaculture was born. Now I walk with people on their land and help them move forward on their journey to live more closely with our living planet.