COMPANY HISTORY
The broad acceptance and knowledge of permaculture as a study, practice and lifestyle came to Ghana officially through Ghana Permaculture Institute (GPI). It began in 2004 when GPI was a network (GPN) established to connect and work with rural dwellers, low-income and small-scale farmers in Ghana. As the work progressed, GPI recognised the need to create a space where permaculture activities and practices could be implemented and showcased to students, farmers and other people in the community. The development of the demonstration and education Centre has allowed individuals to gain practical knowledge and experience, going beyond the usual, theoretical methods of teaching. This has proven effective in sharing essential permaculture practices to all, including the non-literate.
Ghana Permaculture Institute is a charitable, non-governmental and non-profit making organisation and has legal documents that govern its activities.
This institute has been registered in 2011 as Ghana Permaculture Network with the Ghana Registrar General Department with the registration number G-27713. Due to the growing numbers of the network members and more people requesting to be taken through the Permaculture Design Course (PDC), this brought about the need to start a demonstrational institute which was re-registered in 2015 with a new number and name as CG168972015, GHANA PERMACULTURE INSTITUTE.
Ghana Permaculture Institute envisage training, empowering and promoting the practical knowledge and skills of permaculture sustainable design system through the use of the permaculture core ethics of Earth care, People care and fair share in rural communities in Ghana.
It also aims at contributing massively to alleviating poverty, enhancing food security and creating employment avenues through the environment/climate change mitigation programs like the community tree nursery and tree planting.
SUCCESS STORY
Since 2004 the Institute has set up 50 community tree nurseries and continues to offer, advice and training to local farmers. Currently we are networking with over 8,000 farmers. We share permaculture knowledge with schools, teaching children about health care, earth care and enterprise. Through our tree nursery project, we donate trees to schools, community organisations, and farmers. In 2008 we donated over 35,000 trees to the United Nation Trees for Africa program and continue to give away thousands of trees, teaching people how to design food gardens and control the severe erosion and degeneration of the environment around their homes. From 2013-2018, we implemented sustainable development projects with the Southern Network for Environmental Development and BMZ (German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) through which we expanded our network to West African Countries such as Togo and Burkina Faso. The institute continues to promote the permaculture principles through the addition of more ecological projects such as alternative medicine research, mushroom spawn production moringa farming and honey processing. We are currently working with local farmers, women’s groups and schools sharing practical permaculture education that is immediately implemented through land-based design and enterprise.