Hazelnut Permaculture

Thunder Bay is experiencing a weakening economy, which has resulted in population decline, increased bankruptcy rate of local businesses, and out migration of youth. According to Statistics Canada, the population of Thunder Bay has declined by 4.1% from 113, 662 in 1996 to 109,016 in 2001. This compares to an overall 6.1% population increase in Ontario. Bankruptcy of local businesses increased by 12%, from 41 in 2001 to 46 in 2002; in 1999 there were only 9 bankruptcies. The rate of youth out-migration from Northern Ontario is extremely high, increasing substantially since 1996. These trends make the voluntary simplicity movement and worker co-op model of employment creation more relevant to more people.

The Hazelnut Permaculture Workers Co-operative is being developed based upon the ethics and principles of Permaculture as detailed by Holmgren. David Holmgren brings into sharper focus the powerful and still evolving Permaculture concept he pioneered with Bill Mollison in the 1970s. It draws together and integrates 25 years of thinking and teaching to reveal a whole new way of understanding and action behind a simple set of design principles. The 12 design principles are each represented by a positive action statement, an icon, and a traditional proverb or two that captures the essence of each principle.

The co-op offers Permaculture design, education and communications services, including:  organic lawn maintenance  natural(home and business) landscaping  site design consultation  individual and organizational sustainability consulting services  permaculture and community development workshops

Hazelnut's raison d'etre: We design gardens everyone can enjoy.

In the longer term, Hazelnut intends to create a demonstration garden, a Resource Centre, and an urban market garden. They hope to provide people with concrete evidence that sustainable living is possible, and that food (which includes plants and domestic fowl) can be grown in urban settings. The market garden and demonstration site will provide a location for prospective clients to see what Hazelnut does, ask questions and take a workshop.

Market size - Gardening as a leisure activity has grown exponentially in the past twenty years. Statistics Canada puts it at the top of the list of leisure activities with more than 80% of adult Canadians claiming to garden. All signs indicate that this passion for gardening will only increase in the future. There is also growing interest in sustainable, or ecological living. This is particularly true for a percentage of the baby boom generation. Like the rest of Canada's population, Thunder Bay's overall population is aging, as the boomers age.

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