In total, our team members have several decades of experience delivering talks, workshops and training in the field of sustainability for a wide cross-section of society: from the general public to schools, from local councils to faith groups, from Transition initiatives to University students.

We draw on the quality of mindfulness into our work, and our activities are designed to be fun, inspiring, engaging  and transformative.

The Team

Shumaisa Khan completed the Building Sustainable Communities Permaculture Design Course at Brighton Permaculture Trust, with teachers Bryn Thomas and Hedvig Murray.  She is also a member of the Permaculture Association’s Research Advisory Board,  has studied food sovereignty and community food initiatives in London for her PhD, and taught undergraduate students about environment and inequality at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Shumaisa is fan of solidarity economics, and in this vein has supported diverse grassroots food initiatives, and has also been involved in WBAI, a listener-sponsored community radio station in New York.   She is currently doing her Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design and is co-teaching permaculture workshops to empower others to apply it to their lives, too!

Muzammal Hussain is drawn to what he describes as the ‘Restoration of Wholeness’ – creating the conditions and mutually beneficial relationships such that the earth and communities can regenerate, becoming both productive, beautiful, and whole.  This calling drew Muzammal to permaculture, an approach that invites giving space to observe and sense a system – whether a potential growing space, a group or a community – before then implementing a design that is supported by nature, rather than one that fights against it.

This journey also led Muzammal to mutually supportive places, including natural healing (Muzammal is an Accredited Practitioner in a mind-body healing approach called ‘The Journey’, as well as being a medical doctor), and to explore the richness of group facilitation approaches through workshops, courses and retreats. Muzammal’s experience has led him to become part of a UK network of grassroot facilitators, and he has delivered numerous workshops over the years on ecology and sustainability, as well as around diversity. Muzammal brings his background in these related fields into his permaculture teaching, facilitating groups to co-learn, discover their own wisdom, and be empowered.

In total, Muzammal has been involved with grassroots ecological work for almost 20 years, and also has an MA in Environment, Development & Policy. He completed his first Permaculture course with Naturewise, and then completed the two-week Full Permaculture Design Course (PDC) as part of ‘Earth Activist Training’. This was at Landmatters eco-community in Devon, with two inspiring teachers – Andy Goldring and  Starhawk.

Additionally, Muzammal has spent the last year working on a Diploma in Applied Permaculture with the PAB (Permaculture Association of Britain). As well as teaching permaculture to others, he also applies it to his own life – growing food on an allotment, designing courses, and developing a resilient livelihood while living simply.