During the conversation today, we talk about his many years of building and consulting on the construction of greenhouses. At his site in Basalt, Colorado, this includes creating local greenhouse environments that allow the growing of citrus, and hold temperatures at a minimum temperature of 55 degrees year-round. As a permaculture practitioner, this stems from multiple systems, but one active method that Jerome has developed is his climate battery, the principles and functions of which he shares with us, and further details of which are in his book. Whether you have an interest in gardening, greenhouses, or appropriate technology, you’ll enjoy hearing Jerome share his experiences and knowledge.

You can find out more about Jerome, his work, and book at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture website, CRMPI.org.

As I mentioned during this conversation, I owe a lot of my permaculture education to what Jerome and the team at CRMPI have done over the years because that is where, as I remember, Ben Weiss trained before teaching me. If you are looking for a Permaculture Design Course or to study professional practices, you’d be hard-pressed not to study there if you can make it. As part of the work for this show, as I said to Jerome, I’m interested in visiting sometime to learn more, we’ll see what happens with that. For anyone interested in starting a small business, whether permaculture or otherwise, there is something to be said for the ongoing adaption and stick-to-it-iveness that Jerome and CRMPI have gone through over the years to keep operating. Rebuilding the greenhouse after losing it in the fire. Operating multiple businesses to provide financial income and redundancy. Trying different things to see what works. What fits for that environment, physically, socially, and metaphorically. I also like that he is planning for the succession of CRMPI and the other businesses so that this work can go on. Not just for another season, or another month, but for decades to come. A reminder to think long term, beyond our own lives, and to flourishing future generations.

If there is any way I can help you to explore the possibilities of your local community, prepare for a bountiful future, or grow your business or permaculture practice, get in touch by leaving a comment below.

Resources:
The Forest Garden Greenhouse
Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture
Chelsea Green Publishing 

Below you'll find a link to this piece, as well as to our interview “The Power of Permaculture,” from 2014. That conversation remains one of my personal favorites due to Byron’s deep exploration of how this practice of permaculture changed his life. Find out out more about him and his work at oaktreedesigns.com.au, which is where you will also find a digital copy of A Lesson in Identity and can read the text for yourself.

Resources:
Oaktree Designs
A Lesson in Identity
Byron Joel - The Power of Permaculture (Interview)

This conversation centers around her work with the collaborative and how to foster permaculture people, not just permaculture landscapes. This is more than permaculture as a design practice, but as an embodiment of all the pieces that make permaculture what it has become, a way to live in an ecologically sound way.

Find more information about Rachel Kaplan and her work on Permaculture from the Inside Out at https://13MoonCollaborative.com

Stepping away from this interview, I find my view on the idea of Zone 00 changing. For a long time I rejected the idea of the personal work, of the inner landscape, because it skirted the line of spirituality and woo a bit too much for my taste, because the presentations of the idea of Zone 00 were couched in language more mystical than mundane. Studying the American Civil Rights Movement and other non-violent movements, however, showed that transformation begins with the self before the physical manifestation in the world. In some cases, like the Salt March lead by Ghandi, can take 15 years of personal growth and preparation. Those stories are too often left out of the history books and so we only see the end results. Not the beginning. For us to create a more bountiful world we need to address that inner landscape to know our heart’s desire, understand our calling, and to heal so that we can heal the world. By taking care of ourselves, we can practice permaculture from the inside out. Wherever you are on your journey, whatever you are doing whether you are a new student, a teacher, or a small business owner, the door remains open if there is some way I can assist you.  

Resources:
13 Moon Collaborative (Rachel’s Teaching Work)
Urban Homesteading (Rachel’s Book Site)
Charles Eisenstein
Permaculture Skills Center
The Information Diet
Johnston Square Open House
Howard Zinn A People’s History of The United States (Wikipedia)

Related Interviews
Erik Ohlsen
Jason Godesky

The last in the three part video from Blake Kirby of DaddyKirbs Farm, on harvesting sweet potatoes at his Texas farm. Find out more about Blake at his blog or YouTube channel.

Along the way we also talk about education, and some of the differences between Australian and American training, including the work to formalize the permaculture design certificate.

You can find out more about Taj and her work at ThePermaPixie.com, which includes her calendar, blog, videos, and lots of other information.

What I like about this conversation is hearing that there is a movement afoot in the world to take this work of permaculture and find ways to make it more available and accessible through existing systems. To professionalize our practices. To provide opportunities that help fund education and make permaculture more accessible through programs that already exist. Another piece of this is Taj’s sharing of a potential 4th ethic, the ethic of transition. I like this idea, and am considering including it in my own practices, as it continues the thread discussing the space between personal responsibility and the systemic issues we face within the culture we come from that extends directly into the practice of permaculture. Though we might encapsulate this in the existing strategy of appropriate technology, I find that this stands stronger as an ethic, because it provides a place to work through the world we live in at the moment, so we can build the framework of the world we want to live in. In that, each of us have choices to make.

What will we use from the old system to build the new? For some that includes formal education in the university model as it stands. To others that means accepting an informal process that provides different opportunities. In permaculture, that could be embracing the Mollisonian approach to a Permaculture Design Course, underneath the umbrella of a group like PRI or PINA, while others are creating new programs that deliver the similar content in a different way that includes things like new Ethics or principles that build on the earlier material, or focused on a particular subset of the community such as activists or community organizers. Others still might live in the gift while others use capitalism. While one rejects flying another might use flight as a way to teach the world. Live without computers or electricity as a model for others, or embrace these technologies to share those ideas with the world. In making these choices, and deciding how to move forward as individuals, we need to start talking about what we are doing as a community, inside and outside of permaculture.

What works? What doesn’t? Where do we feel included? Where do we feel excluded? How are we our own worst enemies? Is organizing formally drawing you in to do more? Or are you feeling rejected because of the emerging structures? Where do you see examples of racism? Sexism? Where can we be allies to one another and come together to make a real and lasting difference? You are not alone. I am not alone. We’re all in this together. Let’s work on making the world a more bountiful place.

If there is any way I can help, get in touch by leaving a comment below.

Resources:
The Perma Pixie (Taj’s Site)
Permaculture College Australia (Robyn Francis)

The second of a three part video from Blake Kirby of DaddyKirbs Farm, on harvesting sweet potatoes at his Texas farm. Find out more about Blake at his blog or YouTube channel.

Blake Kirby is a permaculturist and small scale farmer from Marion, Texas, who I've gotten to know through his blog, YouTube Channel, and an ongoing personal correspondence. While the podcast continues to focus on social and economic systems, the issues we face as individual practitioners and as as a community, throughout 2016 I'll be sharing information from other folks doing good work around on the ground topics such as farming, gardening, or earthworks.

Enjoy.

With that is also some talk of self care, so that as practitioners we don’t get frustrated or burned out, but can continue on our path while remaining whole. We also touch on the importance of finding your own niche, and understanding your personal needs and wants so you can practice authentically, and not create more harm than good, or to compare what we do with others, but to be who we are and do what we do. Whether you are new to permaculture or have been practicing a while, this interview is a good refresher on why you matter and the importance of finding time to take care of yourself while tending to Earth. You can find out more about Taj and her work at thepermapixie.com, which includes her upcoming calendar, blog, videos, and lots of other information. When it comes to that idea of living in two worlds most of us, one way or another, exist with one foot in the permaculture world and another in a larger society that doesn’t share our goals of creating the world we want to live in. That can become frustrating, and lead to burnout and other hard to manage difficulties that make it feel easier to drop out of one of these worlds and fully inhabit the other. To find a community to live in and let go of transforming the larger culture towards a more regenerative one. Or on the other side to embrace that culture and let go of permaculture practices and leave it to someone else to do that work. I can understand the appeal of both and have considered doing either one, and have considered doing both myself. The need to remain in place, and work in both communities, holds me here, however. By remaining where we are, doing what we do, and embracing both sides, we give more to either, and transform not only permaculture, but also the larger culture towards one of regeneration and sustainability.

How do you keep yourself centered and manage caring for Earth, yourself, and others, as a member of your society?

Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Resources:
The Perma Pixie (Taj's Site)
Natasha Alvarez - Permaculture as Revolution

He also stresses the importance of communication so that we can create new traditions that honor ourselves and the perspectives of our loved ones. Hearing what Ethan shared with us, how will you transform your holidays? What new traditions will you create? What conversations will you have to have to make this happen? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment in the show notes here, or get in touch with me directly. Call:  or email: The Permaculture Podcast Also, if you haven’t heard already, Ethan and I are writing a book together, called The Possibility Handbook: A Toolkit for Transformation. To support the creation of this book, I’m running a listener exclusive crowdfunding campaign. By pledging your support now you can receive early access to the the manuscript as it is written, hear the audio we record that serves as the basis for the book, and view pictures and video taken at The Possibility Alliance. If we can raise $5,000 I’ll head to The Possibility Alliance January 16 - 23, 2016 to begin recording. Find out more, including the topics we’ll cover, at www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/book Until the next time, spend each day creating the world you want to live in by taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

Along the way we touch on favorite styles, how to get started, and developing your own mead making rituals and traditions. You will find more about him and his work at Jereme-Zimmerman.com, and at Earthineer.com. His book,Make Mead Like a Viking, is available through Chelsea Green Publishing, and retails for $24.95. Pick up a copy directly from Jereme or Chelsea Green, or order your own through your favorite independent bookseller today. Links to all those resources, and more, in the show notes. As I get into during the interview, I like Jereme’s book. A lot. On the bookshelf behind my desk are over a dozen books on fermentation and alcohol, including those by Papazian, Schramm, and Buhner, and Make Mead Like a Viking fits well among them. Light-hearted and an easy read, it blends ancient myth with modern techniques, while keeping things wild and still providing all the information you need to get started. If you’re someone new to the world of mead, or home brewing in general, start with this book, as it is as unintimidating and welcoming as a book on fermentation can come. If you’ve been doing this for a while and read many books on making your own mead, wine, beer, or spirits, on a scale from Charlie Papazian’s The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing and Stephen Harrod Buhner’s Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers, Jereme Zimmerman’s Make Mead Like a Viking rests comfortably in the middle. From here, next Monday, December 14, a short episode with Ethan Hughes discussing “What about Christmas?” and how we can transform our holiday into one of new traditions. After that, on Thursday, December 17, is the last interview of the year, when Taj Scicluna, The Perma Pixie, joins me to have a conversation about the general state of permaculture. Until the next time, spend each day taking care of earth, yourself, and each other.

Resources:
Jereme-Zimmerman.com
Earthineer.com
Make Mead Like a Viking (Chelsea Green)
Charlie Papazian, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing (Homebrewing.com)
Stephen Harrod Buhner  (Gaian Studies)
Stephen Haarrod Buhner - The Citizen Scientist (The Permaculture Podcast)
Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers (Brewers Publications)