SHELBURNE FALLS — A new nonprofit coming to The Mill at Shelburne Falls is looking to change lifestyles by introducing the community to permaculture.
Led by Kay Cafasso Parker, The Permaculture Place is designed to be a resource center where visitors can learn about permaculture, which Cafasso Parker describes as “ethical design to meet human needs while at the same time restoring, repairing and enhancing the natural world.” The soon-to-be-opened center has also hosted concerts throughout the summer to raise money.
The Permaculture Place was formed two and half years ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down its opening. While the space at 49 Conway St. is only open during special events this year, Cafasso Parker plans to open on weekends in 2023. There is a gallery and event space as well as a gift shop that sells books about permaculture gardening and lifestyles.
“I want people to feel they have skills they can access, feel a sense of community and share skills together,” Cafasso Parker said when asked about her goals for the space.
Cafasso Parker added that climate change can feel scary and intangible, but this center can be a place where people feel they have agency in this global crisis.
“People will feel empowered to put carbon back in the soil from our work,” she said.
Cafasso Parker studied environmental science in college. She explained she learned what’s wrong with the environment, but did not learn practical steps she could take in her own life.
She then apprenticed at a farm in Colorado where she learned about permaculture. Colorado has such a harsh climate, she said, it is crucial to work with the environment instead of against it for agricultural purposes. Cafasso Parker feels that lesson is translatable to every climate.
After her time in Colorado, Cafasso Parker moved to Shelburne Falls to be closer to her family in upstate New York. She has taught permaculture practices for 18 years.
She said gardens can be grown just for food, but they can also support pollinators, improve the soil and be ground covers.
“Gardening and farming is not only for our benefit,” Cafasso Parker said.
The Permaculture Place plans to host speakers, with topics ranging from how to make compost tea to talks on agroforestry (the growing of trees among other crops).
Along with The Permaculture Place, Cafasso Parker runs Sowing Solutions, a company operating out of the same space as the nonprofit that teaches a 10-day class to become certified in permaculture design. The class teaches permaculture design principles, which are then put into practice at the gardens of local residents. The next class will be held in October. Residents are welcome to contact Sowing Solutions through its website, sowingsolutions.org, to volunteer their gardens.
The Permaculture Place will be open during an Oct. 15 makers’ market at The Mill at Shelburne Falls.
“I’ve taught hundreds of students throughout the Northeast,” Cafasso Parker said, “but it is a big step to start a nonprofit whose teaching is accessible to passersby.”
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.