We are Shilakong*, an environmental & educational non-profit organisation based in Nice, in the South East of France. Our aim is to facilitate, particularly through permaculture, individual and collective transitions towards ethical and sustainable lifestyles. * To know the origin of this strange name, click here!

Our project, “Le Jardin du Petit Pessicart” (1 hectare on a hill above Nice, of which about 5000 Sq-m / 0.5 ha are used for the project), is a pedagogic permaculture garden embodying the transition towards a more human-based and socially-responsible society, caring for the new generations, and where knowledge sharing is central.

It addresses 4 objectives:

In order to meet these goals, we used permaculture to set up collectively concept, mission and vision for the project.

The garden is an ideal place to educate youth and adults about environmental preservation, sustainable food (and)nf, energy and Transition. That's why we want to create a multi-purpose garden :

In a nutshell, what is Le Jardin du Petit Pessicart garden ?

A demonstrative and pedagogic garden, designed and implemented collectively using permaculture’s ethics and principles.

*There, we organise : *

• Introductory or advanced Permaculture workshops.
• Workgroups focussing on education, resilience and nature-based projects.
• Participative workshops (permaculture, compost toilets, stairs, soils preparation, composting…) allowing to learn while doing together.

And soon, with your support :

• Recreational activities for school groups: ecological gardening, ecosystems comprehension, land art, classrooms or schools projects linked to nature.
• Weekly out-of-school activities for children and their parents: organic gardening, pedagogical hive, geodesic dome and shack in the wood, composting, solar ovens, rain harvesting, etc.
• The implementation of the following design:

Le porteur de projet

At present rich of more than a hundred members, a associative team of nine members, Shilakong has a core team of three very active members on the project :

• Jade, coordinator of the Jardin du Petit Pessicart

Sensitive since many year about the human impact on the environnement, about the growing disparities globally and locally, Jade has been interested in permaculture since 2011 to answer the urgent need to act and to propose solutions. For this, she participated to several Permaculture Design Courses and put in practice her knowledge for different permaculture projects (mainly Heal The Soil CSA in India and Varzea da Gonçala in Portugal). Today, as she is trained in Environmental Education (BPJEPS EEDD), she wish to invite publics from all ages to (re)conect with nature, to (re)discover the living world that never stops evolving and from which we have so much to learn.

• Olivier, Shilakong’s president

In 2004, while attending a Management Phd curriculum, Olivier decides to reorient his life and leave for a journey towards Himalayas and India. There he encounters ethical and eco-friendly traditional lifestyles and discovers Permaculture. It immediately appears to him as a philosophic and pragmatic answer to world's social and environmental needs.

As a primary school teacher, he now looks after facilitating children's blossoming through mixing academic learning with permaculture, and working as much as possible in and with Nature.In this context, he links permaculture and school learnings and work as much as possible with and in nature, thereby ensuring a necessary rebalancing relative to urban conditions where many children grow up (75% in France). Really committed in the energetic and civic transition, he is also member of Alternatiba 06’’s core team.

       •  ** Alicia, Shilakong's treasurer**

As the treasurer of the association, Alicia Debieuvre has a good command of the association budgets. Within Shilakong, Alicia ensure budget elaboration and monitoring as well as an administrative support.

Graduated with a master in humanitarian and cultural project management and invested in the associative field since many years, she also brings support to the other team members on the management and monitoring of projects, particularly for the Jardin du Petit Pessicart project.

Of course, they are not the only implicated persons in the project. Thirty volunteers and local transition stakeholders come to lend a hand to the active members and collectively work on the garden project.

Our journey :

Shilakong brings together nature, permaculture and pedagogy lovers , with diverse personalities and paths but with a commun desire to built together a project that bring meaning to ourselves, others and the planet. Since 2015 are present on events that we created or co-created (Interdependance Day, Fête des Possibles) and in which we participate ( Alternatiba, Souffleurs d'Avenir, Réveillons-Nous), but also in schools (plantation projects, environment education). We also initiated a self-help group for teachers who wish to work with nature project and discover permaculture. Our pedagogical garden project allows us to synthesize our experiences in a magnificent context and provides an ideal medium to deepen the capacity to link permaculture, pedagogy and environmental education.

Retrospective of our actions in the garden :

What is my contribution for?

6733.80 €

Start to grow the gardens !

Planting our first seedlings, bushes and trees : all this implies making the land a safer place for kids, getting all the necessary tools, having an irrigation system, pedagogic tools… These are the basic needs of our project !

9142.20 €

Perm’Accomodate the public

To accommodate the public in a comfortable and sustainable way, we would like to build dry toilets, a water purification system (xylo-epuration system) and composters, to plant an edible hedge, and to seal our rainwater harvesting tank to reduce our water needs!

12679.20 €

Understand and taste nature !

Permaculture and sustainable food : we will create a sheltered educational space to transform and taste the wonders from the garden ! Also, in order to let children wander freely, we’ll create a secure space for the entire land.

<div id="ProjectGoals"> <h2>What is my contribution for?</h2> <div class='project-goals'> <div class="project-goal"> <div class="project-goal-amount">6733.80 €</div> <div class="project-goal-content"> <h3>Start to grow the gardens !</h3>

<p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Planting our first seedlings, bushes and trees : all this implies making the land a safer place for kids, getting all the necessary tools, having an irrigation system, pedagogic tools&hellip; These are the basic needs of our project ! </strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p></p> </div> </div> <div class="project-goal"> <div class="project-goal-amount">9142.20 €</div> <div class="project-goal-content"> <h3>Perm’Accomodate the public </h3>

<p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>To accommodate the public in a comfortable and sustainable way, we would like to build dry toilets, a water purification system (xylo-epuration system) and composters, to plant an edible hedge, and to seal our rainwater harvesting tank to reduce our water needs!</strong></p></p> </div> </div> <div class="project-goal"> <div class="project-goal-amount">12679.20 €</div> <div class="project-goal-content"> <h3>Understand and taste nature !</h3>

<p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Permaculture and sustainable food : we will create a sheltered educational space to transform and taste the wonders from the garden ! Also, in order to let children wander freely, we&rsquo;ll create a secure space for the entire </strong><strong>land.</strong></p></p> </div> </div>

</div> </div>

What has already been done:

SInce december 2015, the active members of the association observe, mesure and study the land attentively. At the end of 2016 a first permaculture design is proposed, the administrative steps with the land owner materialize and since april 2017, we present our project to local transition stakeholders.

Since then, we have achieved many actions, described above (retrospective), and now we need to materialize this wish to see the birth of a permaculture exemplary place, focused on education and doing together with nature, so close to a city center !

That’s why we need your support !

With your help we will be able to :

Develop and secure the whole land: creation of protective fences, stairs, edible edges, implementation of compost bins and a rainwater harvesting roof on our tank and, building a tool shed and a pedagogical kitchen…

Equip ourselves with gardening and building tools, as well as pedagogical materials.

Buy the necessity for epuration and irrigation systems

Implement the welcoming structures

And of course, buy the seeds, the shrubs and the trees for our future food forest !

And if we exceed the amount ? We could install a pedagogical hive (2 Warré bee hives, beekeeping suits for children and adults as well as the necessary material for bee hive maintenance) and build a beautiful geodesic dome : shelter for classrooms and trainings ! And for more environmental coherence, we could clean up and revitalize irrigation and consumption water and also create a pedagogical pond to attract even more biodiversity into the garden.

• Pedagogical hive : 696 €
• Clean up and revitalizing water : 2 063 €
• Pedagogical pond : 1 400 €
• Geodesic dome : 749 €

All these works will be an opportunity to organise workshops, trainings and participative work days, with trained facilitators, where everyone could learn while doing together !

Thank you for your precious support !!!

To continue following us :

Facebook: Association Shilakong

Website : Shilakong.org