Tag: Forest Gardens

AdventuresLeave a comment

Traditional Patterns for a New World

Michael Hoag

(Photo, wiki images) We can create a more just and sustainable world where everyone’s needs are met without compromising the health of our neighbors or the happiness of future generations. And we can do so by reclaiming connections with nature, community and beauty that we’ve lost.  There are ancient patterns of sustainable, peaceful and egalitarian cultures that we can replicate to find our way. And these are often the same cultures that we visit on our vacations, because their ways of life and the kind of environment they create, speaks to us, deeply. For those of us who feel trapped … Continue reading Traditional Patterns for a New World

Adventures1 Comment

Permaculture Life Design: "Wealth"

Michael Hoag

(Monarda in our home food forest garden) As “a system for designing human habitats to meet our needs,” Permaculture can be used to improve the function of ANY “structure” we “inhabit,” including invisible structures like economies.  Its basic method is to emulate the processes in nature that make natural systems accumulate life-enhancing energies such as water, fertlility and energy, rather than constantly declining the way most man-made things do.  (A “Forest garden” modelled after a natural ecosystem, to grow more fertile over time.) Those same principles can be used to design our home economies so that our families can grow … Continue reading Permaculture Life Design: "Wealth"

AdventuresLeave a comment

Permaculture at Lillie House

Michael Hoag

What does “Permaculture” mean in the context of what we do at Lillie House? Most of our BIG problems–on the personal level and the planetary one–are caused by the way we try to meet our needs. I used to feel discouraged from doing anything about them because all these various problems are so big and often our attempts to intervene in them only make things worse. On top of that, I felt trapped in the system, unable to escape from contributing to the problems myself, like a cog in some destructive machine. Then I discovered a way I could get out … Continue reading Permaculture at Lillie House