The Inkpot Team

Fran describes herself as a premaculture desginer specialising in food. She has been her own boss since 2002,working in many areanas with a variety of ethical groups, most predominatly with Brighton Permaculture trust, through whom she cooks for many groups and situations. She was born into a foodie household where she was spoiled with diverse culinary expreinces. Her parents loved to travel the world particularily he father who spent his adult life compiling a database from traditional recipes he had tasted enroute. 

Fran's son was born ith a "tree nut" allergy which led her to explore and specialise in restricted diets. In her 30s she was a vegan for 3 years but now classifies herself as a "permaculture vegetarian." Her cooking skills lean towards Mediterrean and Chinese/Asian fusion but she is also passionate about fermentation, raw foods jams, pcikles, pestos and vegetable dips. She also loves to eat and cook wild food and regional, seasonal variarions. Amongst her permaculture skills are the design she did for how to feed 2000 people apple crumble in a field and her "make no waste" wartime wisdom of creating new things from "left overs." As a passionate person  about all things food, Fran is more than happy to share her learning with others either formally or round a dinner table. 

Aranya first came across permaculture back in the late 1980s being fortunate enough to meet one of the first designers working int he country. He found the subject full o common sense ideas that immediately inspired him to apply the principles in his own life. During the 1990s he regularly lectured and debated on environmental issues in schools and colleges and in the media for a national campaigning group over a period of five years After completing the 72 hour Design Course, he went on to participate in a week-long Teaching Permaculture Creatively course and to complete Stage One of the City and Guilds Adult Education Teaching certificate. He has also designed and implemented several major garden projects during the last decade, which formed a major part of his Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design portfolio, completed in September 2003. 

Aranya currently supports apprentices on their own Diploma pathways, is a busy permaculture teacher as well as co-teaching on the Training of Teachers courses. He feels that permaculture has a lot of solutions to offer us and enjoys teaching 'something that can really make a difference in all our lives.' His book Permaculture Design: a step-by-step Guide to the Process was published in Spring 2012. In the same year, he also set up a YouTube channel where he regularly uploads his own videos around a permaculture theme.

While working as a freelance textile designer Trish began to research the history of colour in 1992, quickly becoming fascinated not only by the abundance of colours and colour harmonies available from natural resources, but also by the wealth of recipes and processes that have been passed down for generations.

Over the past twenty-something years she has given dyeing demonstrations and workshops for heritage events, adult education courses, fairs, teacher training days and art groups. Trish continues to work experimentally on an intimate scale with natural dyes, using yarns and cloth made from natural fibres such as wool, silk, cotton and linen, to create colourful clothing and other items, including dyed papers for handmade books and stationery. Wherever possible she uses home grown or locally harvested dye plants as well as the more exotic ingredients that add to the spectrum of possibilities in this exciting craft.

As a knitting addict and occasional spinner,Trish particularly relishes the happy relationship between wool and natural dyes, looking forward to the results of each new batch from the dye pot that will inspire future knitting and stitching projects.

Joe works for the Permaculture Association as Learning Coordinator and is a freelance designer and teacher. He completed his PDC in 2007 and gained his Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design in 2015. He has attended permaculture teacher training courses in England and Denmark and taught on design courses throughout the north & midlands of England, as well as in Ukraine and Spain. He is actively involved in the European permaculture network and is a member of the Permaculture Council of Europe. Joe brings a wide range of interests to his teaching. A keen gardener, he’s also interested in eco buildings and lives at LILAC: a community-led housing project comprising 20 affordable homes made of timber and straw bales in Leeds. He also holds an MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental & Energy Studies from the Centre for Alternative Technology. He is currently training as a person-centred counsellor.