Client Questionnaire

Client Profile

Permaculture Design Project Client Questionnaire

Name:
Address:
Phone:
Property Size:
Occupation:
Amount of time available for maintaining property:
Financial situation, budget for implementation:
Number of people living on site, ages, and cultural background:
Vehicle preferences and needs (car/truck, farm equipment, recreational equipment): Special requirements:

Hobbies:
Allergies:
How long do you plan to live at this site?

Client Needs

  • -­‐  Observations

  • -­‐  Prioritize goals: objectives, phase planning (list)

  • -­‐  What is the client’s relationship to this place?

  • -­‐  How does the client intend to interact with the site on a daily basis?

  • -­‐  Access

  • -­‐  Storage

  • -­‐  Water: source, drinking, irrigation, storage, amount

  • -­‐  Lighting: paths, buildings

  • -­‐  Structures: house (type of heat), greenhouse, shop, barns, chicken house, other out buildings

  • -­‐  Utility areas: clothesline, recycle and trash, wood, service equipment

  • -­‐  Children’s special areas

  • -­‐  Level of food self-­‐reliance (present and future): diet and taste preferences (vegetables, herbs, berries, orchards, nuts, herbs)

  • -­‐  Income production from property: market gardens, animals, woodlot, crafts and an education center

  • -­‐  Compost and recycling

  • -­‐  Animals, Livestock and /or Pets

  • -­‐  Wildlife enhancement

Regenerative Design Institute – Permaculture Design Course

Site Planning and Assessment 1. Plans and drawing

  1. a. Existing site drawings, aerial photos, contour maps, legal description, land survey

2. Existing

  1. a. Ecosystems, structures, fences, pathways, sacred sites
  2. b. History: logged, cropped, pastured, and sprayed
  3. c. Talk with neighbors, research county records, and soil conservation service

3. Resources on and off site

  1. a. Natural features: springs, sunken areas, woodland, minerals, sand and rock deposits b. Edibles: native fruits, berries, tubers, greens, fish, and game
  2. c. Sources of biomass on and off the property
  3. d. Views: good and not so good
  4. e. Sawmill, factories, dump, plant and seed sources

4. Known challenges on-­‐site or limiting factors

  1. a. Water
  2. b. Topography
  3. c. Erosion
  4. d. Noise: rail, aircraft, highway, and neighbors
  5. e. Visual pollution
  6. f. Unpleasant odors or other off-­‐site nuisance, dust, privacy concerns g. Time and money
  7. h. Invasive vegetation

5. Location

  1. Plants, animals

  2. Structures: ease of access and excavation, foundation strength, depth of bedrock, depth to water table

  3. Wells: depth to water, rock porosity and permeability, pollution potential

  4. Septic: depth of bedrock, depth to water table, and drainage characteristics of soil

  5. Food storage

6. Energy

  1. a. Wind direction and velocity (monthly)
  2. b. Number of sunny and cloudy days
  3. c. Solar access, obstructions
  4. d. Stream gradient: from top to bottom
  5. e. Other potential energy sources—biomass, geothermal, methane

7. Zoning

  1. a. Local governments
  2. b. Previous land use, Use Permits

Regenerative Design Institute – Permaculture Design Course

8. Legal Constraints

  1. a. CC & R’s: Covenants Constraints and Restrictions -­‐ Deed restrictions b. Property lines
  2. c. Easements: buildings, roads, access
  3. d. Water rights

9. Access

  1. a. Existing roads
  2. b. New roads required and potential cost: to structure(s), fields, other

10. Utilities

  1. a. Electricity, gas, water (well or district), telephone, sewage b. Locate existing utility lines, water lines, sewer and septic

11. Community Land Use

  1. a. What is going on upstream and over the fence (toxic sprays, cattle in creeks, etc.)? b. Economic and emotional health of community
  2. c. Schools, public transit, hospitals, fire department, landfill/dump, and shops

Environmental Analysis 12. Aspect

  1. a. Solar access: South/ Southwest preferred b. Hot/warm summer slopes
  2. c. Cool summer slopes

13. Climate

  1. a. Light availability: sun, rain, clouds, fog
  2. b. Temperature: average high and low temps. Extreme High’s and Low’s c. Average rainfall: yearly and monthly
  3. d. Frost: average dates, extreme first and last dates, and pockets
  4. g. Microclimate(s)
  5. h. Air drainage
  6. i. Altitude and latitude

14. Wind

  1. a. Wind access, drains, thermals, chills, cooling breezes b. Damaging or desirable winter winds
  2. c. Average annual wind speed

15 Hydrology

  1. a. Water quality
  2. b. Existing water rights and resources—note potential water rights c. Surface water and level of water table: year round and seasonal d. Drainage patterns
  3. e. Springs creeks, streams, ponds (note permanence)
  4. f. Catchment: size, type
  5. g. Depth of well
  6. h. Rainfall Patterns, Extreme Flood or Drought Conditions

Regenerative Design Institute – Permaculture Design Course

16. Soils and Geology

  1. Geology and conservation maps (government maps)

  2. Soil type: clay, loam, sand, soil depth, and organic content

  3. Soil tests—pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, other minerals

  4. Drainage and absorption

  5. Stability of site

  6. Maximum depth of frost

  7. History of use

17. Topography

  1. a. Contour maps or field survey
  2. b. Identify keylines, valleys and ridges
  3. c. Determine slope gradient (degree of slope) either severe, moderate, minor; or percent grade

18. Natural disasters

  1. a. Fire, flood, frost, earthquakes, hurricanes, drought, lava flows, cyclones

Plants and Animals
19. Vegetation

  1. a. Identification of existing plants and their vigor and health b. Forests: type, age, condition, value
  2. c. Density
  3. d. Exotic species present
  4. e. Plants to be cultivated: vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, natives, exotics, woodlot f. Rare Native Plants

20. Animals

  1. a. Wildlife Patterns, nests, pathways, forage and nesting areas b. Domestic animal capacity on the land – Grazing? Predators?

Regenerative Design Institute – Permaculture Design Course