David Casey, Chief Visionary Officer of NuMundo.

his episode is the first in a series on creating and running a permaculture business. I started with David because NuMundo is just launching, after a year of laying a good foundation, and his thoughts here provide some insight into ways to create your own space to build and grow an entrepreneur-driven career from your own unique experience. If you are a host who wants to register your site, or a traveler interested in these opportunities, the website is numundo.org.

Resources:
NuMundo.org (David's Site)
The NuMundo CrowdFunding Campaign

uring the closing Brad shares some of the current research on using street runoff to irrigate roadside plants, as well as four water assessment suggestions that he uses to evaluate every site. Find out more about him at harvestingrainwater.com. Desert Harvesters' website, desertharvesters.org, has numerous resources that expand on the conversation Brad and I had today.

One piece I recommend you read is the Manifeasto (PDF) by Kimi Eisele, as it is a one-page poetic encapsulation of everything Desert Harvesters stands for, including the vision and approach to spreading knowledge about native plants, and the power of celebration and capturing water runoff. Through the use of celebration Desert Harvesters created community that leads to a greater buy-in from the changemakers in not only Tucson, but other regions as well. Through actions that started out illegally, with those first curb cuts, Brad and the others in his neighborhood showed that these ideas of using street run-off worked. Leveraging those two ideas shaped through the creation of the cookbook, they expanded the circle of influence further and further, accomplishing more collectively than through the actions of a given individual or organization. 

Resources:
Harvesting Rainwater (Brad’s Site)
Desert Harvesters The Desert Harvesters’ Manifeasto (PDF)
Multi-Use Rain Garden Plant Lists

His books, like what he shares in this interview, are filled with passionate personal presentations, balanced with a reservation towards any claim or information that sounds too good to be true. Can fermented foods change your life? Yes, but not in a miraculous way. What they will do is change your relationship to food, health, the cycles of the world, and the context of your diet. You can find out more about Sandor at his website, wildfermentation.com, and all of his books are available through Chelsea Green Publishing. If you are interested in picking up those books use the links in the show notes as a small portion of your purchase goes towards supporting the podcast.

If you are wondering how to make fermented foods, pick up a copy of Wild Fermentation and begin reading. As soon as you encounter something that sounds interesting, try it. Make a small batch. A pint, a liter, a half gallon. However you want to measure it, start somewhere. You have the accumulated knowledge of hundreds of generations behind you. You can do this. The bacteria and yeast want to help you make delicious, wonderful foods. Go for it.

You might just be surprised what you learn about food, and yourself. If along the way you have successes, failures, or questions you want to share, get in touch with me. or email: The Permaculture Podcast.

Up next week on December 3 Brad Lancaster returns to share his work the the Desert Harvesters and collecting water in an urban environment. December 10, Jereme Zimmerman continues the fermentation conversation when we talk about Making Mead like a Viking. The last interview of the year comes out on December 17, and is with Taj Scicluna, better known by many as The Perma Pixie. She got up early to talk with me about the current state of Permaculture in the world. Until the next time, take care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

Resources:

Wild Fermentation (Sandor's Website)
Wild Fermentation (The Book)
The Art of Fermentation
The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved

Then we talked about the idea of paying permaculture forward through our actions. Today we delve into his perspective on the intersection between Christianity and Permaculture, a subject he is exploring intensely during his preparations to enter seminary. Heading into this interview, I’d like to begin with my thoughts on what follows.

These conversations about Faith and Earth Care generate the most feedback I’ve ever received on any of the topics presented on this podcast. As our community continues to discuss whether permaculture is just a design system or a movement, and the role of spirituality has in that dialog, this material is of ever more importance. You’ll find that Dillon expands on this through a personal view on his faith, mixed with a call to apply the moral teachings of Christ with the ethical entreatments of permaculture.

Having known Dillon for a long time, I expected this to be a passionate conversation, and it defnitely is. More so, I never found him to hold back, mince words, or shy away from expressing political views, and he definitely doesn’t today. Anyone is likely to find a few moments in this conversation that are a little uncomfortable, but left with a lot to consider once we reach the end. This interview came about from a series of articles, titled The Christian Call to Earth Care, that Dillon wrote for his blog that blend together faith, politics, and biblical scholarship. You can read those and more of his work at: dilloncruz72.wordpress.com

Resources:
Creation Care, Neighbor Care, Future Care (Dillon's Website)
The Christian Call to Earth Stewardship
The Christian Call to Earth Stewardship II: Permaculture Jesus?
The Possibility Handbook Crowdfunding Campaign Costa Rica PDC Drawing

We also talk about student fellows that live and work at Gibbs house, including the research projects, as well as funding, and the involvement of the university. If you are interested in permaculture that involves education, policy, research, or demonstration, this is a show to listen to. What I liked about this conversation was the way in which universities can get involved to advance permaculture, without needing it to be a core part of the curriculum, but a place for students and others to research and explore in ways that connects with their academic study. Both sides win. I also wonder how programs like the one at Gibbs House and WMU can influence larger movements on college campuses regarding sustainability. Will these ideas gain traction? Is there a place for higher education and permaculture to mingle? Or should they remain separate? What are your thoughts on the intersection of academia and permaculture? Let me know. Leave a comment or get in touch. 

Resources
Western Michigan University Office of Sustainability
Gibbs House
Cedar Creek Permaculture Farm (Joshua's Personal Site)
The Possibility Handbook Crowdfunding Campaign
Costa Rica PDC Drawing
Four Seasons Farm / Elliot Coleman
Jean Pain (Wikipedia)
Galen Brown
Galen Brown's Compost-Energy Systems
The Island School
Cape Eleuthera Institute

Peter also shares a bit more detail on the nature of rewilding, how people come to this subject through different movements, and how the nature of un-domesticating humanity is still something being explored, because each of us exists in the modern world and with that face different choices framed by the larger culture we are a part of. Quite a bit just to introduce where the conversation goes, while still barely scratching the surface of what we cover. You can find more of his work at his personal website, Urban Scout. Peter is also a regular contributor to rewild.com and the Rewild Facebook group, and his educational nonprofit is rewildportland.com. A few announcements, before my thoughts that close out this episode. The first is that in order to make mobile browsing easier, especially through podcast apps like iTunes, there is now a resource section in this episode with clear links to all the information and offerings mentioned in the episode so you don’t have to look for in-line links to find anything. You can expect to find this as a regular feature in episodes moving forward, and I’ll backfill older episodes as time allows. As this show comes out there are just over three weeks remaining until the drawing for the permaculture design course at Joshua Peaceseeker’s farm, Verdenergia, in Costa Rica. You can still enter, but the drawing is limited to not more than 50 entries, so get yours in soon. www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/costa-rica I am also running a listener only crowdfunding campaign to support a trip to The Possibility Alliance (should I call it The Possibility Handbook?) where Ethan Hughes and I sit down to record tens of hours of audio for the creation of a book that digs in deeper to his philosophy and perspective. If you like Ethan’s interviews support this project by making a pledge today. www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/book Adam Brock is also writing, People and Pattern, which has a crowdfunding campaign that ends on Friday, November 6. Let’s push his goal way over the top by supporting this project. You can find out more about his work on social and economic permaculture by listening to our interview from 2013, Invisible Structures with Adam Brock. If you’d like to get in touch with me and the show, call or email: The Permaculture Podcast. Final among these announcements, there is a bit of swearing near the end in this conversation, just to let you know in case you listen at work. I entered this conversation with only a cursory knowledge of conservation rewilding and speaking with Peter reinforced a simple point that is made self-evident with permaculture: people are a part of all the systems we design. Even as we might work to design ourselves out of direct impact, the act of design is a human practice. So is reintroducing wolves to the American Midwest. Yes, they were once native there and we removed them, but we also changed the environment they are returning to. The place they came from will never be what we might project onto it through our vision and actions. This kind of influence is not limited to the modern era. We have an anthropological and historical record that stretches back for tens of thousands of years that shows that humanity modified the environment for our use. We are social animals and tool makers with big brains and an intelligence that allows us to change the world. Let’s use that gift for the benefit of all life, starting with our own. Question the cultural stories you hear, including the news and the beliefs you grew up with. See how those narratives serve the hierarchies that seeks to keep you tame. Reconnect with the land, even the heavily modified city environments. Find what lives there, what grows there. Get to know the names of the plants, animals, and fungi so you can learn more about them, including the yields useful to you and other life, but remember that the name is not the subject being named and there is more than we can hold in our thoughts. As you do this, tend to that space, care for the life that inhabits the area, including your family, friends, and neighbors. Share food and new stories together. Take action in the ways you are able, but put yourself out there. Make some noise. Show others what they are capable of. Show how they can tend themselves and the land. We are more than the worst decisions our culture ever made. Let’s go make some better ones, that takes care of earth, ourselves, and each other.

Resources

Episode 1513: Rewilding Permaculture with Peter Michael Bauer

Urban Scout Rewild

Rewild Facebook Page

Rewild Portland

Costa Rica PDC Giveaway

The Ethan Hughes Book Project (The Possibility Handbook?)

People and Pattern Crowdfunding Campaign Invisible Structures with Adam Brock Rewilding North America by Dave Foreman

The Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage

Tending the Wild by M. Kat Anderson

Restoring the Pacific Northwest Feral by George Monbiot Keeping it Living, edited by Doug Deur and Nancy Turner

Tom Brown, Jr.

Anarcho-Primitivism (Wikipedia)

Reclaim Rewild (scribd)

We also digress in the middle to talk about nocino, an Italian sipping liquer, which you can find a recipe for at Lisa’s site, Burdock and Rose, and pick up a copy of her book at Timber Press.

When it comes to Midwest Foraging I agree with the quote from Sam Thayer that graces the cover, “A beautiful book that any forager in the Midwest will want to own.” As there is an overlap in plants from this book to where I am in the Mid-Atlantic, it’s a good addition to those book shelves as well. The layout and format leads to a book that you can, as Dan De Lion recommended, spend time with to leisurely browse and read to build a familiarity with plants which you can then begin to recognize as you go about your daily walks or journeys into the landscape.The entries, which are arranged alphabetically around a common name, include the latin binomial name, very important for proper discussion and identification, along with which parts are edible, a short introduction, and one to a few color pictures. Common features you’ll find in many field guides include descriptive text, how and what to gather, how to eat the plants, and, where necessary, cautions about poisonous plants that have similar identifying features. Where this book stands out from some earlier field guides is the inclusion of information on where and when to gather, very important for knowing the right time of year to look for a particular plant; and notes about future harvests. This latter portion in particular caught my attention because using those entries we can wildcraft ethically to insure plants are available for ongoing use and so we can tend to Zone 4 and the wild places. With 115 plants included, Midwest Foraging covers a lot of ground and is a good first choice for a beginning forager in the region covered. For more experienced folks with a larger library this is a valuable companion to include with your other field guides. Add a copy to your library by ordering from Timber Press or your local retailer, where the book lists for $24.95.

If you enjoyed this conversation with Lisa and would like to add your thoughts to the discussion, or your own review of Midwest Foraging, leave a comment below. 

We pick up after taking a short break from recording part 1 and open with a discussion on permaculture as a movement. I would like to thank Emma Huvos for setting up this event, inviting the panelists, and hosting at her farm. Visit TheRiversideProject.com to learn more about her work to move the farm more towards permaculture, and to check the calendar for any upcoming events.

Leaving this round table and getting to sit down with everyone and talk about permaculture at the potluck afterward left me reminded of the trip to visit with Eric Puro and other members of ThePOOSH in Kentucky and the need to spend time with people in order to create intimacy and community. For that day in West Virginia, as we all sat around and talked, we bonded through the common interest in permaculture and creating the world made possible by systemic design. This idea of building trust, intimacy, and community I’ve been digging into for the past several months is the only way I see that we can create the opportunities necessary to face the issues that lead humanity ever closer to the crisis. Solutions exist to all the technical problems we face over the next century including climate change, energy, food, and transportation. All of it. Every last one. The only thing we lack, however, is the social and political capital to make it happen.

To change all of that, will you join me? Wherever you are at, whatever your choices may be for yourself and your descendants, starting today will you live with the intent to broaden your community and move closer to creating the world you want to live in? If you are politically minded, will you run for office? If you work in the public sector, will you guide decisions and policies so they come from a permaculture perspective? If you own a business will you move your company structure and rules to align with the ethics of permaculture? In your day-to-day life will you work on reducing the impacts of your lifestyle and become an example for others?

We all have a role in creating a bountiful world.

If there is any way I can assist you in taking action in your own life, let me know by leaving a comment below.

Jen Mendez at PermieKids.com challenges each of us to use cardboard and other materials in a sustainable way that connects children and their families to the natural world through creativity. Watch the video below, and then listen to her extended podcast with more information about the challenge and other organizations involved in this project.

You can find out more about his work at Verdenergia.org.

Stepping away from this conversation I’m left with three reminders of how to change our lives and accomplish our goals. Those are: living with intent, living where we are at, and living in community. Living with intent means to actively make choices about our actions and what we bring into. Now, more than ever, each of us and our decisions impact not only ourselves, but also the descendants of humanity and all other life on the planet. Living where you are at means inhabiting both the physical sense of place, and getting to know the people and space that you call home, but also about developing self-awareness. We must know our needs and wants in order to live well where we are, and to be kind to ourselves and others for each of us are at a different stage of the journey, and that trip is our own to take. Living with community means connecting with others to rebuild what we’ve lost as a culture. We arrived in this moment through the passage of time, and so did the story of our society. Meet other like-minded folks. Tell stories. Expand your Zone 1 and Zone 2 social permaculture circles, and get real with others. Dig deep. Get to know others so you can trust one another whatever the situation. 

Is there any way I can assist you on your path? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Until the next time, spend each day transitioning to the life you want to live, while creating the world you want to live in, by taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other.