With a background in plant and soil sciences, Mary has spent the last several years working with conservation organizations in South America, Latin America, and Mexico to work on mitigating the impacts of climate change on local populations by aiding communities to gain access to funds and help return wealth to their home region. My desire to speak with Mary arose from my conversation with Rico Zook on practicing permaculture internationally. Her experiences are very different from someone who would teach around the world and lend a different perspective. We discuss that and how to get involved, however, a large part of our conversation is about climate change and the need to build human relationships through communication. Mary's travels allowed her to see firsthand the disruptions occurring because of climate change. In a world where we control our environment with a push of a button and choose what to eat based on what's at the supermarket, or local restaurant, these problems are not self-evident, but they are coming. To understand that, and make the changes to solve these problems, we need to care for the people involved and communicate clearly from their own perspective and their experiences to bridge the gap between ourselves as individuals and build relationships with communities. However, our conversation is not without hope. The roots of Permaculture are bifurcated between the indigenous knowledge of the past, and the growing understanding afforded by science brought into a synergistic holistic system that values the world, people, and all life. Permaculture provides ways to find and implement solutions for the changing world. Thankfully, there are governments and organizations that are beginning to see that we have a way.

How do I get involved with International Permaculture?

• Become Knowledgable: Read and Research
• Match your skills to the organizational needs
• Volunteer
• Learn additional languages.

Resources
Watershed Resource Consultants
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degredation (REDD)
Terra Genesis International
Wildlife Conservation Society
Winrock International

The interview in this episode is with one of my teachers Rico Zook. We met at the teacher training I took in 2011, along with Jude Hobbs and Andrew Millison. You can hear about that in experience in my review. I wanted to talk to Rico about his experiences with itinerant teaching of permaculture. He travels all over the world, to India, Cambodia, the U.S., and Jordan, to instruct others and along the way fosters relationships, build community, and overcomes his personal assumptions to connect with his students and their needs. We range over here and there in this conversation, but begin with his introduction to Permaculture in New Mexico and the Llama foundation and end with his thought for all of us: to look around and ask ourselves, "What can I do better?" You can learn more about Rico, including his upcoming travel and class schedule, at his website: I-Permaculture. People, places, and information mentioned in this interview: Ben Haggard Build Here Now Lama Foundation Regenesis Group