As a teacher, trainer, speaker and author on homesteading, sustainable living, activism, art, and farming there is one key “complaint” I have heard from people literally hundreds of times: They get stuck. They can’t figure out what they want, or … Continue reading How to ACTUALLY Transform our Lives and Achieve our Dreams
I’m extremely proud to announce that we’re running this beautiful program again this year, which we created with our dear friend, student, teacher, and inspiration, Hanna Read of Art of Health Massage. This year, we even have a few new tricks and … Continue reading Learning from Herbs: Adventures in Home Herbalism
“The opposite of a bad idea is rarely a good idea, it’s usually just another bad idea.” In America’s frantic and polarized culture, this axiom is one of my favorite thinking tools. It’s an oldie-but-goodie that’s being re-popularized by … Continue reading I Wish I Understood this Before I Started Farming! (Why Permaculture ≠ Farming)
https://instagram.com/p/BnCsKIWgVj_/ https://youtu.be/-QwdEjdOxiE You want to LEARN JUST ONE WEIRD TRICK that will have a guaranteed positive effect on a huge range of features including: Farm and garden productivity and profitability Reduced irrigation requirements Reduce … Continue reading Designing and Establishing Edible Hedges, Hedgerows, and Windbreaks
“I’m not interested in what you do in your garden. You can read any one of 1,000 books on the topic. What I want to talk about is where you’re banking your money, and how you’re spending it.” Bill Mollison, the Founder of Permaculture As a system of design, Permaculture can be applied to almost every aspect of our lives, including how we structure our finances and fund our endeavors. It’s worth noting that far less than half of the Permaculture Designer’s Manual is about growing food. And for me and Kim, it is the materials on Social Permaculture … Continue reading Permaculture and Money: Investing in Transforming our Lives, Livelihoods, and Society
“You can solve all the world’s problems in a garden.” – Geoff Lawton, The Permaculture Research Institute RELATED VIDEO: Permaculture ideas for positive direct action! Hot enough for ya? If not, just wait: According to NASA 2014, 2015, and 2016 were each consecutively the hottest years on record globally, and 2017 was the hottest year on record without an El Nino, coming in second after 2016. Already, 2018 is looking like it will be a contender. This next couple of paragraphs are the bummer part, so first: LOOK! A BUNNY! Of course, it would be nice if heat was the … Continue reading Gardening Against Climate Change – 10 Tips and Techniques
(Dynamically evolving French Intensive spacings and planting design at Lillie House) I love French Intensive Gardening, or French Intensive Method (FIM.) This old evolved set of French techniques using planting designs with precise, tight, non-row spacings, interplanting, and clever companion planting – all to achieve the highest possible productivity and quality – has a lot to offer the Permaculturist and expert gardener or producer. And this goes beyond the lessons that FIM teaches us about true sustainability, companion planting, soil building, plant spacing and size, and producing top-quality produce. FIM is one of the major things that gives our garden … Continue reading French Intensive Methods for Permaculture
“When you put beauty in a place that has none, that’s a game changer.” — Ron Finley To live in a beautiful, uplifted situation with dignity should not be seen as an exclusive privilege for the elite. It is … Continue reading We Deserve Beauty: Finding Inspiration in Patterns
Is it a community of doomer hippies? An incomprehensible internet meme for do-gooders who hate lawns and love fermenting things? A clever rebranding scheme for the organic farming movement thought up by wayward corporate marketing gurus? A cult for Gaia-worshipping environmentalists? A secret society for foraging herbalist hedgewitches? WHAT IS PERMACULTURE? After 6 years, 100 posts, over 100,000 page views, and hundreds of followers, I’ve never written a post answering that question! Why? Because there are already so many good treatments of the topic on the nets. Why re-re-reinvent the wheel when the internet’s rolling along just merily without me. … Continue reading What is Permaculture – A Primer in Pictures and Patterns – PART 1