Join us for a very special education evening focused on the Permaculture ethos of People Care - with a wonderful talk from ‘Freeway Ricardo’ sharing the journey of achieving his lifelong dream and raising much-needed funds for a great cause in the process. Come for the wisdom, stay for the inspiration - We can all aim to achieve our dreams!
Take a look at just some of the publicity around Richard's endeavor below:
Richard Van Pijlen (@freewayricardo) • Instagram photos and videos
Why Richard van Pijlen has walked 4000kms for Landcare | SBS News
Sweet reason Aussie grandpa is walking across the country
Richard has very kindly offered to raise funds for Permaculture Northern Beaches through bookings from this event.
You may choose your ticket price - and thank you for supporting PNB!
Tickets for People Care - A Talk on Dreams with Richard Van Pijlen
Doors open at 7pm - as always you are warmly invited to bring along a plate to add to our refreshments table.
Please note this event will not take place at our regular North Curl Curl Community Centre Venue. It is at Mona Vale Performance Space.
In Permaculture, People Care is one of the three core ethics, alongside Earth Care and Fair Share.
People Care as an ethos means -
Supporting wellbeing: Ensuring that people’s basic needs such as food, shelter, health, education, and community are met in a sustainable way.
Building strong communities: Encouraging cooperation, mutual aid, and respect in both local and global communities.
Empowering individuals: Helping people gain the knowledge and skills to take responsibility for their own lives and environments.
Respecting diversity: Valuing different cultures, experiences, and perspectives as essential to a resilient and adaptable society.
In practice, People Care might show up in Permaculture through things like -
Creating cooperative housing or community gardens
Teaching permaculture design to empower others
Prioritising inclusive, accessible systems in projects
Designing with the emotional and social dynamics of people in mind, not just the land
Some background from our speaker -
My Name is Richard
I was born in Leiden, about 40 km south of Amsterdam.
I come from a big family with seven brothers and sisters. We lived in a three-bedroom apartment, and our neighbours had 9 children so there was plenty of children to play with.
When I was 14 years old, my cousins from Australia came to visit. They told stories about the wildlife - crocodiles, snakes, and kangaroos. I was fascinated.
But the story that stuck with me the most was about their drive from Adelaide to Perth in an old Holden, crossing the Nullarbor. At that time, the road wasn’t sealed, and they described the huge open spaces and the massive cloud of dust trailing behind their car.
I was captivated by their adventure. I told myself, one day, I’m going to do this. That thought stayed with me for years.
When I turned 67, I realized, if I’m ever going to do this, I have to do it now.
What I didn’t expect was that I wouldn’t just drive across Australia—I would walk. I wanted to see the country in slow motion.
To prepare for my journey, I started training.
I took the bus from Avalon to Wynyard and walked back home. I never quite made it all the way—I’d push myself as far as I could, then call my partner to pick me up for the last stretch.
Over time, I became stronger and started loving it. I practiced other things to prepare:
hot yoga, which helped me handle the heat.
silent meditation (Vipassana) to get used to the silence
a lot of fasting so I could go without food for a few days.
But nothing prepared me for the rain and wind… let’s just say i got drenched more times than I could count.
I really had no idea what I was getting into.
All I knew was this: I am going to walk to the other side of Australia.
I got myself a baby stroller with all my belongings and took off from Newport around Easter time and was hoping to get to Perth by Christmas, walking mainly along the coast for about 5000km.
As I walked I fundraised for Landcare, towards a tree planting project near port Macquarie.
I was setting off on a big adventure—my dream.
I would love to share my experiences—the challenges, the amazing moments, and the beautiful people I met along the way.
Tickets for People Care - A Talk on Dreams with Richard Van Pijlen