Permaculture consultation on Australia's east coast

What a permaculture consultation is, what happens on the day, what it costs, and how it works when the consultant travels the whole east coast.

Banyula Zen, Doonan: the same ground before and after

Aerial view of the Banyula Zen property before the work: mown grass across the paddock beside the fenced garden — BeforeMown grass across the paddock beside the fenced garden.

The same aerial view after the work: swales cut and the paddock covered in mulch — AfterSwales cut and the whole paddock under mulch: the first phase of a food forest.

Every food forest on the Food Forest Journey route began the same way: with a walk over the land before anything was designed, quoted or planted. That walk is the permaculture consultation, and it is the most important hour of the whole project.

Permaculture consultation$250$50 deposit holds your date; $200 on the day.More on the main page →First plantingFrom $1,000Earthworks, soil, planting, mulching and the knowledge to tend it.More on the main page →Annual stewardshipFrom $500/yrA return visit and an in-depth site report each year.More on the main page →

What a permaculture consultation is

Permaculture starts with observation. Before anything is imposed on a piece of land, it is read: where water moves and where it sits, where the morning sun falls and where the afternoon sun burns, what already thrives and what struggles. A consultation is that reading, done together, on your land.

It is also a conversation about you: what you actually want to eat, how much time you will realistically spend tending, and what your budget can create first. The answer is never a whole food forest on day one. It is the first phase, the one with the greatest living return, and a sense of what comes after.

What happens on the day

Book the dateA $50 non-refundable card deposit holds your date and puts you on the regional route, so I know to be in your area.
Walk the landSoil, sun, slope, water, access and what is already growing, and what you actually want to eat, and how much tending is realistic.
Choose the first moveWe agree on the highest-leverage first phase and what your budget could realistically create. The remaining $200 is paid on the day, with no obligation to book a project.

We look at soil, sun, slope, water, access and existing plants, and we work out whether the project is a fit. Soil comes first, then water, then layers: canopy, sub-canopy, shrubs, herbs, groundcover, roots and vines, with support species and biomass to feed it all.

What it costs, and what comes after

The consultation is $250. It's a callout fee covering travel, time on the ground and the reading of the site: a $50 card deposit holds your date and the remaining $200 is paid on the day, once the walk is complete. It is not credited against a later project, and nothing further is owed.

If you go ahead, the first planting starts from $1,000: manual earthworks, soil preparation, planting, mulching, formative pruning and the knowledge to tend it. Every budget splits into materials and labour, at $50 an hour, and working alongside me pulls that lever your way. After planting, annual stewardship brings me back once a year with an in-depth site report: $500 a year for sites up to an acre, from $750 over an acre. Your garden's own app comes free with it.

A consultant who travels the coast

Joel standing with a fork beside a freshly mulched bed under a fruit tree at Glenview, bananas behind — Glenview, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland: a freshly mulched bed under the fruit trees.

I'm Joel Courtidis, a permaculture practitioner, horticulturally trained and a hands-on grower. Food Forest Journey works route by route, from Mackay to Melbourne and back up through the inland, grouping gardens by region so there's more time in gardens and less on the road. I travel the whole east coast two to three times a year, so there are plenty of chances to book a consultation, and every garden on the route can grow into a long-term relationship with Food Forest Journey: a first planting, then a return visit each year to see what it becomes.

The climate changes completely along the way, and so does the consultation. Choose your region for what it looks like there:

Questions

Is a permaculture consultation the same as a permaculture design?

No. The consultation comes first: we read the land together and agree on the first move. Design and planting follow as a project, phase by phase, because the first garden is not the final garden.

Do I need a big property?

No. The route includes courtyards and suburban backyards as well as farms. On a small block the question is where things fit; on a large one, where to start.

Can the consultation be done online?

The first step is always on the ground. Soil, slope, water and light have to be walked, so the consultation happens on your land when the route comes through.

How much does a permaculture consultation cost?

$250, a callout fee for travel, time on the ground and the reading of the site. A $50 card deposit holds your date; the remaining $200 is paid on the day. It is not credited against a later project.

Where do you work?

Australia's east coast, from Mackay down to Melbourne and back up through the inland: Shepparton, Albury–Wodonga, the Riverina and Canberra.

How often are you in my area?

I travel the east coast two to three times a year, so there are plenty of chances to book a consultation and begin a long-term relationship with Food Forest Journey.

Book a permaculture consultation

Send your location, a few photos, your goals and a rough budget. I'll tell you where your land sits on the route and when I can walk it.

Start a project

Read the gardens behind this in the journal, or see the route.