Permaculture Institute

Left to right: Scott Pittman, Larry Santoyo, Les Crowder, Arina Pittman, Craig Sponholtz, Chris Meuli & Chrissie Orr

Scott Pittman, one of the foremost teachers of permaculture in the US, has taugth the subject extensively worldwide on four continents. He is the founder of the Permaculture Drylands Institute and co-founder of the Permaculture Credit Union. Scott co-taught with the founder of permaculture Bill Mollison, and helped to establish permaculture movement in the US Southwest. His experience includes working with indigenous and traditional people worldwide, design projects that range from backyards to thousand-acre farms and activism in promotion of sustainable living.

Larry Santoyo is an artist, land use planner and green business consultant. He is among the most experienced Permaculture Designers and Educators in the US and has taught environmental design at colleges and universities nationwide, including UC Berkeley and California State Polytechnic University. Larry is Director of EarthFlow Design Works,a community planning and design firm that integrates economic development strategies with ecological systems management.

Les Crowder has taught beekeeping since 1988. Known for his calm and peaceful relationship with bees, Les maintains over 200 top bar hives without chemicals, contraptions or expense. He and his wife Beth make a livelihood working with honey, beeswax, propolis, bee pollen and royal jelly.

Arina Pittman is teacher and practitioner at her Lots of Life in One Place Permaculture Gardens and Bee Yard. Her experience includes working as the executive director of EcoVersity, a school of sustainability in Santa Fe, and design and installation work on permaculture projects. Arina teaches dryland gardening, food forestry, food preservation and animals in permaculture.

Craig Sponholtz earned an M.A. in Agro-Ecological Restoration from Prescott College and studied permaculture at Tagari Farm in Australia. He has had extensive training and hands-on experience in water harvesting, erosion control and stream restoration. His business, Dryland Solutions, Inc. designs and implements watershed restoration projects throughout the Southwest. Craig teaches a wide variety of techniques that foster beneficial relationships between people and the watersheds they live in.

Chrissie Orr, M.A. Edinburgh College of Arts, is an artist, anthropologist, activist, and animator. She has been a circus performer throughout Europe, a muralist in Corsica, and has been a creator of community-based art projects in Europe, Australia, Iran, Turkey, Mexico and the U.S. She founded the nationally acclaimed Teen Project in Santa Fe and directed the cross-border Bridge Project between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. Chrissie teaches Land Arts and Community Activism.

Chris Meuli, M.D. was born and raised in New Mexico, became a Board Certified in Family Practice after graduating from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1977. The grandson of a conservationist rancher, he inherited the interest in the land which has led him to experiments with a wide variety of water harvesting techniques over the past 30 years on his homestead in Edgewood in the mountains east of Albuquerque. He helped found the Albuquerque Permaculture Guild and served on the Permaculture Drylands Board. He has written articles on the crenellated windbreak, the spreader drain, vertical sponges, design processes and pattern recognition.

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The Food Drawing by Chrissie Orr and students Silver City, NM October 2006. In honor of all the hard working farmers that strive to provide local sustainable food production and remind us of our connection to the earth. All the materials emerged from the earth and now will return. The cycle continues, we are nourished and the land is nourished. The alchemical change, the re-emergence, which will sustain us again. The materials used were all gathered locally: Potatoes, corn, beans, amaranth, apples, quince, squash, jojoba, flour, calendula, echinacea, turmeric, chile, clay, wild seeds, wild sesame, pot shards, black walnuts, pecans, bread, russian sage, organic compost. Lots of Life in One Place Permaculture Gardens and Bee Yard by Arina Pittman, in its 6th year of production include a working community of plants, animals and people. The Santo Nino Clinica by Alfred von Bachmayr, local community and World Hands Project Anapra, Mexico, 2005-2006. Strawbale and pallet trusses retrofit of cinder block building to allow for more services for children with special needs in this border community.	Teaching Team Left to right: Scott Pittman, Larry Santoyo, Les Crowder, Arina Pittman, Craig Sponholtz, Chris Meuli & Chrissie Orr Scott Pittman, one of the foremost teachers of permaculture in the US, has taugth the subject extensively worldwide on four continents. He is the founder of the Permaculture Drylands Institute and co-founder of the Permaculture Credit Union. Scott co-taught with the founder of permaculture Bill Mollison, and helped to establish permaculture movement in the US Southwest. His experience includes working with indigenous and traditional people worldwide, design projects that range from backyards to thousand-acre farms and activism in promotion of sustainable living. Larry Santoyo is an artist, land use planner and green business consultant. He is among the most experienced Permaculture Designers and Educators in the US and has taught environmental design at colleges and universities nationwide, including UC Berkeley and California State Polytechnic University. Larry is Director of EarthFlow Design Works,a community planning and design firm that integrates economic development strategies with ecological systems management. Les Crowder has taught beekeeping since 1988. Known for his calm and peaceful relationship with bees, Les maintains over 200 top bar hives without chemicals, contraptions or expense. He and his wife Beth make a livelihood working with honey, beeswax, propolis, bee pollen and royal jelly. Arina Pittman is teacher and practitioner at her Lots of Life in One Place Permaculture Gardens and Bee Yard. Her experience includes working as the executive director of EcoVersity, a school of sustainability in Santa Fe, and design and installation work on permaculture projects. Arina teaches dryland gardening, food forestry, food preservation and animals in permaculture. Craig Sponholtz earned an M.A. in Agro-Ecological Restoration from Prescott College and studied permaculture at Tagari Farm in Australia. He has had extensive training and hands-on experience in water harvesting, erosion control and stream restoration. His business, Dryland Solutions, Inc. designs and implements watershed restoration projects throughout the Southwest. Craig teaches a wide variety of techniques that foster beneficial relationships between people and the watersheds they live in. Chrissie Orr, M.A. Edinburgh College of Arts, is an artist, anthropologist, activist, and animator. She has been a circus performer throughout Europe, a muralist in Corsica, and has been a creator of community-based art projects in Europe, Australia, Iran, Turkey, Mexico and the U.S. She founded the nationally acclaimed Teen Project in Santa Fe and directed the cross-border Bridge Project between El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. Chrissie teaches Land Arts and Community Activism. Chris Meuli, M.D. was born and raised in New Mexico, became a Board Certified in Family Practice after graduating from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1977. The grandson of a conservationist rancher, he inherited the interest in the land which has led him to experiments with a wide variety of water harvesting techniques over the past 30 years on his homestead in Edgewood in the mountains east of Albuquerque. He helped found the Albuquerque Permaculture Guild and served on the Permaculture Drylands Board. He has written articles on the crenellated windbreak, the spreader drain, vertical sponges, design processes and pattern recognition.
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