In episode 126 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Steven Golemboski-Byrne. The conversation covered Steven’s introduction to permaculture, the development of his property in County Down, food growing, off-grid energy, natural building, biogas and the permaculture gathering in Ireland. Who’s at the Table Steven Golemboski-Byrne is based in County Down, Northern Ireland. He has been involved in permaculture for 15 years and lives off-grid at Lackin Cottage Farm. His work includes providing power systems for people who cannot or do not want to connect to the electricity grid, alongside consultancy on buildings, heating systems, natural materials, greywater recycling and water treatment. An Introduction to Permaculture in Bangor Steven first encountered permaculture while working on a community farm project in Bangor. The farm’s owners wanted to develop community farming and social-prescribing activities, but the people involved did not yet have a clear plan for organising the site. Philip Allen delivered a one-day introduction to permaculture for the group. Steven said the course left him with more questions than he had beforehand, but it helped the project develop a long-term design. Work on that design was still continuing 15 years later. Steven subsequently visited projects in Wales, including Lammas Ecovillage, where he met Simon and Jasmine Dale. He was also part of a group attempting to establish another ecovillage in Wales. Although that project did not proceed, the group had already considered how permaculture could inform the design of a future site. Finding Land and Making an Initial Plan Steven and his family wanted to live off-grid and travelled to different projects to see how other people were doing it. Before finding land, they developed a list of things they might want to include and considered how they could earn a living. Their budget was a major factor when looking for a property. They eventually found land in County Down containing some woodland, along with ground that had previously been closely grazed by sheep. Once they had the property, they considered which parts of their earlier plans were suitable for that particular site. They produced an initial five-year plan and a first permaculture design for the property. Renovating the Cottage and Working Outwards When Steven and his family received the keys, the house was derelict. They had previously lived in a converted truck, which they brought to the new property. With Claire pregnant and their daughter Lyra due to be born, they had 14 weeks to make the cottage habitable. Their first priorities were shelter, heating, bathing and somewhere to sleep. Food was initially grown in bags and containers because there was no prepared growing area outside. Rubble from work on the cottage was used while putting infrastructure in place, and development gradually moved outwards from the house. Once they had enough dry ground, they established a route to the planned polytunnel, began improving the soil and started planting. They also planted large numbers of trees during the first few years so that the trees could begin growing without losing another season. Practical Work Before the PDC Steven did not complete a Permaculture Design Certificate until 2018, several years after arriving at the property in 2012. Before taking the course, he had already helped to organise gatherings, facilitated courses and contributed sessions about the work taking place on the farm. Hannah Moll taught courses at the property, including during its first year. Steven completed his PDC in Wicklow. He described the course as practical and hands-on, while also providing more detail about subjects including ponds, soil and the process of developing a design with other people. Food, Fuel and a Local Group of Households The property initially concentrated on producing food for Steven’s family rather than operating as a CSA. Steven described a loose local group of four or five families who grow food and keep different animals. Food and other resources are exchanged within the group, which also places wholefood orders through Suma. During lockdown, members worked together on larger jobs, including erecting polytunnels. They would work at one property before moving to the next. This arrangement has continued, although the group no longer meets for shared work as often. Lackin Cottage Farm has usually kept chickens, although it had no chickens at the time of the conversation. Steven also keeps horses. One of the horses can undertake field work, move materials and pull timber. The property grows much of its own fuel. Existing woodland has been supplemented by thousands of planted trees, coppice and double hedgerows. Adjusting the Amount of Food Being Grown The amount of food grown at the property has changed over time. Steven explained that the vegetable-growing operation became too large to maintain comfortably, even when the systems were designed to require less intervention. The family has since reduced the scale of production to a level that provides what they need. They also try to retain resources within the farm and the wider group of local households. A smaller garden immediately outside the conservatory is now used more intensively. Steven said that concentrating effort in this area has made it more productive than the larger growing area further from the house. Some other areas are left without regular intervention. Steven described allowing them to remain wild unless they begin affecting another part of the property. Greywater, Rainwater and Compost Toilets For the first four years, the property relied on compost toilets, including one inside the house. The indoor toilet was later replaced with a rainwater-flushed system, while compost toilets remain outside. The cottage also incorporates part of the water system associated with an Earthship design. Greywater from the bathroom passes into beds in the adjoining conservatory, where some food is grown. The water then moves into a small pond and can be pumped back to flush the toilet. Rainwater is stored in IBCs. In one building, the structure was positioned in front of the tanks because rock prevented them from being buried. Building with Natural and Recycled Materials Steven has built roundhouses, compost toilets and other structures at the property. The buildings include examples of load-bearing and non-load-bearing straw bale construction, sheep’s-wool insulation, earth plaster and a reciprocal-frame roof. One building uses a rammed-earth tyre foundation, a timber frame and straw-bale walls. Clay taken from a nearby hole was used for the earth plaster, while birch cut approximately 200 yards away provided the frame timber. The floor was reused from another building. Sawmill waste, silage plastic and soil were used in the roof, which is now covered by growth and is not readily visible from outside. Steven said the structure cost approximately £400 and took around four or five weeks to erect, although the plastering was completed over a much longer period. It now serves as his office and workshop and is heated with a small wood burner. Insulation and Moisture in Existing Buildings Cormac and Steven also discussed Cormac’s garage renovation. The garage was being stripped back to its brick walls and roof structure for use as a workshop, classroom, office and podcast-recording space. Steven discussed using wood-fibre insulation between and above the roof structure to reduce cold bridging. For the walls, he described a possible build-up involving wood fibre, a vapour-control membrane, battens and an internal board. They also discussed the need to consider where moisture might condense within an insulated wall. Steven noted that his suggestions were based on systems used successfully in his own buildings and were not a guarantee for another structure. Off-Grid Power Systems Living off-grid led people to ask Steven where he obtained his equipment and whether he could provide similar systems for them. During the pandemic, this work developed into a separate business. Steven provides power systems for people who cannot connect to the electricity grid or who do not want to connect. The work combines customer installation, DIY involvement and Steven commissioning the technical parts of each system. He does not install solar panels on roofs. Many of the systems he works with use ground-mounted panels, while some customers already have photovoltaic panels and want to move from an on-grid arrangement to an off-grid system. Steven said solar panels were among the least expensive parts of an off-grid installation. Battery storage remained more costly, with shipping disruption and availability affecting prices at the time of the conversation. Heating a Biogas Digester The property has also used a biogas digester to turn food waste into cooking gas. Steven described two possible ways to maintain the temperature of a digester. A passive option is to place an IBC digester behind glass or inside a greenhouse. At Lackin Cottage Farm, the digester was positioned near the house. A coil of plastic pipe was placed inside the IBC and connected to the return from the heating system. Water returning to the boiler transferred enough heat to keep digestion operating. Steven said the optimum temperature was approximately 37–38°C. At temperatures in the twenties, the system produced enough gas to cook once a day. He was preparing to move the digester and test a greenhouse-based arrangement. Retrofitting an Existing Cottage A second cottage at the property is used as guest accommodation. Steven described it as an old building retrofitted with readily available materials rather than a new, highly insulated modular structure. The cottage does not use oil or gas, provides its own power and has very low bills. Steven also uses the property to demonstrate different building materials, heating systems and resource-
