Permaculture Week-end at Ben Vista Farm

Learning From the Land: Reflections on Our Permaculture Weekend

On the 25th and 26th of April, a group of us gathered on the Ben Vista Farm in Newtownards under glorious spring weather for two days of learning, experimenting, and thinking differently about how we live and work with the world around us. Under the expert guidance of Philip Allen, the event was open to anyone curious about permaculture, from all walks of life, and that mix of people made the weekend what it was.

Permaculture is often described through its principles, but those principles only come alive when you start applying them with your hands in the soil and your head in the wider system. Over the two days, we did exactly that.

We built a herb garden by following the patterns already present in the landscape rather than imposing a design on it. We planted potatoes directly on the ground, a simple act that sparked conversations about labour, energy, and how often we overcomplicate things that nature already knows how to do.

We also designed a couple of spaces belonging to the participants, using the classic permaculture approach of turning problems into solutions.

One of the most interesting part of the weekend was exploring how permaculture thinking stretches far beyond gardens and farms. The same principles, care for people, care for the planet, and fair share, apply just as well to how we organise our economy, our democracy, and the circulation of money.

Because we had such a diverse group, the conversations naturally drifted into co‑operatives, community shares, and positive investment. I was surprised to realise how closely co‑operative models align with permaculture principles: shared responsibility, shared benefit, and systems designed for long‑term resilience rather than short‑term extraction.

We explored how money can circulate in ways that strengthen communities instead of draining them, and how democratic ownership can be a practical expression of “care for people” in economic form. We had the opportunity to discuss ‘community shares’ and the way they have been used by communities in Northern Ireland.

Being outdoors, working with soil, sharing food, and learning together reminded us that care for the planet and care for people are not separate tasks. They are the same work, expressed through different actions.

And in the sunshine, with hands dirty and conversations flowing, it felt clear that permaculture is not just a set of techniques. It is a way of seeing the world that invites us to build systems, gardens, communities, economies, that are generous, regenerative, and grounded in relationships.

This blog is part of the ‘Connecting the Agroecology Movement in Northern Ireland’ project funded by Farming the Future