Project Cornucopia
Permaculture in action: The Cornucopia project started as a small seed of being given the responsibility to maintain a greenhouse, pasture and two small woodlands as an experiment of self-sufficiency, healing and nature reconnection in an old vinery site in Guernsey. We were invited to breathe new life into the treasured piece of the local growing heritage, and gradually shaped the idea of Cornucopia. Following the 8 stage Permaculture designing framework OBREDIM we observed that the land and it's energy flow fit into the pattern of a spiral and indeed the biology of a nautilus was the perfect inspiration for organising the site, allowing nature do the legwork of millions of years of evolution for us. We used the design web and cultural emergence work of Looby Macnamara to help design a new calendar and community of volunteers who can bank their time and receive produce from the wealth of businesses which signed up for the ecological subculture, using organic vegetables as currency. Nothing exists in a vacuum and as the 8 year project progressed into it's third year (resources) it became clear that this was the perfect crucible for Island wide and global change. The project progressed beyond it's initial vinery-site borders, which became known as 'The Henge', to incorporate a design for the whole of Guernsey (the name meaning Green Island in old Norse). We create opportunities for islanders to take part in healthy, creative, meaningful, and eco-friendly land-based food art, music and permaculture. Cornucopia promotes creative learning and activities that enhance both mental and physical well-being. It also supports small land-based businesses and runs a labour exchange program, allowing people to trade their time for goods and services from our business partners through a time-bank system. It designs permaculture systems and helps transforms our heritage of oil-reliant commercial food production sites by retrofitting them with ecological and sustainable community based organic growing cooperatives.
We’ve created dedicated spaces for each ethic: ‘Luminaria’, a serene woodland area centered on people care; ‘Earthcarea’, for composting and mushroom growing; and the ‘Fairshare Farm’ in the greenhouse for the growers. All onsite businesses contribute equally, with half of their produce going into the exchange. Partners include ‘Fungaia di Luciano’ (a small gourmet mushroom farm), ‘Noah’s Veg Patch’, ‘Enydd’s Beans’, the ‘CIPI goat herd’, and the ‘Community Chickens’. Instead of paying rent, they give half their harvest to the community pot, helping fund site upkeep, development, and trades with external Guernsey partners for goods and services, keeping Cornucopia rooted in a barter system.
The three ethics work together, shaping either a positive or negative cycle. At our flagship experimental project, ‘The Henge’, we’ve created a dedicated space for each one. As well as the pasture for sheep and goats, there’s ‘Luminaria’, a serene woodland area dedicated to the care of humans; ‘Earthcarea’, for composting and mushroom growing; and the ‘Fairshare Farm’ inside the greenhouse for the growers.
After about six months of observation, it became clear that the entire site functioned like a spiral. Using one of the permaculture principles of 'biomimicry,' we noticed that user energy on-site followed pathways similar to those of the ancient nautilus. We figured, if this energy system has thrived in our oceans for millions of years, perhaps it could serve as a blueprint to help tackle climate change. Just like the nautilus’s ‘tentacles’ bring in resources from the outside world down a central track (its throat) into the digestive system, we have human ‘tentacles’ bringing items into the composting area, perfectly aligned with this natural design. While these sea creatures have chambers they inflate and deflate we have areas for growth and harvest.
The macro evolution of the site began, and within a year we had created a beautiful irrigated indoor growing area, tended by goats who quickly cleared the leftover greenery from previous growers. We also built the first phase of the Peoplecarea, an indoor workshop space complete with a Lotus Belle tent. The second year the woodlands were thinned and the goats moved outside and we started populating the growing areas with small businesses. After the second year, the initial 'beta' phase of the community wrapped up, revealing that without strong leadership, certain areas could easily fall behind and create imbalance and so we found more creators to lead smaller projects which leaves much less weight on individuals. Following the fibonacci, 3 leaders became 5, we spiralled out!
Eventually, we moved the human care outdoors to the luminaria for the summer festival, enjoying evening campfires, sunsets, and stargazing. The freed-up indoor space became storage during the installation of a new kitchen and now serves as the biochar production area and 'Men’s Shed.' The Henge site is large and relies on a weekly 'Permablitz' by a volunteer maintenance team, who trade their time and positive energy for goods and services within the Crnucopia network. We also have an outdoors growing space for weekly veg growing sessions. Please reach out if you'd like to be involved.
