Along the way she tells us about the process of distilling, including watching for our heads, hearts, and tails; the poisonous compounds found and concentrated in distilled alcohol we need to look out for; equipment every distiller should own to keep them and their final product safe; and why we should think twice about making sugar-shine.

Find out more about Victoria and her work at victoriahedheadmiller.com, and her books from New Society Publishers at newsociety.com.

If you’re interested in making booze at home, after listening to our first episode together on the legality of this practice and deciding it is worth the concern, I highly recommend her book, Craft Distilling, as you can learn all you need from Victoria’s hands-on, experience-based approach. If you want to learn more about making beer, wine, or mead as the basis for your at-home still runs, I recommend the following books from my days as a brewer, vintner, and mead maker. The first of those is Charlie Papazian’s classic The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. This will tell you just about everything, and I do mean everything, about making beer. From there, on the wine side, one of the favorites that got me started is The Foxfire Book of Winemaking, filled with memories and recipes for wines, juices, and punches based on the traditions of the region I call home, Appalachia. Finally, when it comes to making mead, though I like The Complete Meadmaker and several others, my go-to is Jereme Zimmerman’s Make Mead Like a Viking. He’ll have you wild fermenting honey in no time, and after a night of drinking with Jereme before an event can say that a honey-based gin is a delightful thing.

At this point, I would like to offer an update in my comment about methanol and damaging the optic nerve. The amount required to do so is 10ml or about 2 teaspoons. To me, that’s not much, but looking into it further the risk of creating and consuming methanol in that quantity from a single batch of alcohol is unlikely. The issue increases, however, through multiple distillations as we combine and concentrate larger amounts of alcohol. Play it safe, use the alcohol refractometer, and make sure you separate your heads, hearts, and tails. 

What did you think of this episode? Did you learn something new? Are you interested in brewing beer or setting up a still? Leave a comment below.

Resources
Victoria Redhed Miller
Craft Distilling
From No-Knead to Sourdough
New Society Publishers
The Legality of Craft Distilling (Our First Interview)
The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
The Foxfire Book of Winemaking
Make Mead Like a Viking

Using her book and those experiences as a place to start, we explore her interest in wild fruit and foods, including first falling in love with the paw paw, and about how shared experiences, in the forest or around the table, bring us together. You can find Sara on her website sausagetarian and her book at Chelsea Green. I also recommend following her on Instagram, if you’re on there, as she posts some really great pictures about food. Just as with her website, you’ll find her there as sausagetarian.

Talking with Sara, as you hear from the stories I shared today, reminded me of all the different connections I have with food from particular flavors like the applesauce, crafted through culinary means, to those moments that matter with my children. Standing by the trailside with my son picking berries, or sitting in the grass with my daughter munching on violets. Or now, in this moment, of when I was a child and would sit at the edge of my parent’s garden and pick strawberries. Food, whether foraged, gleaned, or purchased from farm or market, give us time with ourselves and others. Food is nourishment for our body, our spirit, and our community. Finding something to eat, whether simply untended or truly wild, weaves those threads with the wider world, as we taste the soil and season in what we gather.

What are you foraging for? What are your favorite fruits? What are your favorite fruit memories? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Resources
Sara Bir (sausagetarian.com)
Sara on Instagram
The Fruit Foragers Companion (Chelsea Green)

ind out more about Leslie at LeslieCrawford.net. Sprig The Rescue Pig, published by Stone Pier Press, is distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing. You can purchase the book at ChelseaGreen.com or look for it wherever you buy books.

I really like Leslie’s non-confrontational and non-judgemental tone to the story of Sprig, that shows us what is possible in expanding our relationships and connection to the natural world and other than human, in a beautiful way through Leslie's expressive language and the delightful illustrations by Sonya Stangl. If you are a parent of younger children, as I say somewhere in that 6 to 9 range, I recommend that you pick this up and start to share these stories and your values with your children. Gwen the Rescue Hen is now available for pre-order at stonepierpress.org.

What do you think of the story of Sprig? Are there other books you would recommend for permaculture parents for children? Let me know. Let me know by leaving a comment below. 

Resources
Sprig the Rescue Pig
Gwen the Rescue Hen
Leslie Crawford
Stone Pier Press
Chelsea Green

During this conversation, David and Elaine explore the microbiology of the soil, the impact of this life on the health of our plants and agricultural system, how we can be citizen scientists, and the power of a microscope to bring all these ideas together, right in front of our eyes. Underneath it all is the importance of healthy, living soil for human well being, as individuals, participants in a community, and citizens of the world. Find out more about her work on soil microbiology at soilfoodweb.com and on her classes and other work with Environment Celebration Institute at environmentcelebration.com.

David and I have also partnered with Dr. Ingham and Environment Celebration Institute to make her courses more accessible to permaculture practitioners. If you’d like to take one of her online classes, use the promo code permaculturepodcast at checkout to save up to 50%. By doing so, you also help to support the podcast.

Stepping away from this conversation, I’m reminded of several past interviews that focused on citizen science and nutrient-dense foods, with Dr. Ingham’s talk with David adding the importance of soil microbiology and what we can do to support a healthy soil biome. As permaculture practitioners we can blend scientific research - both our own and that of others - with our Earth care practices. To continue these conversations and the exploration of these ideas, you'll find links to the related interviews, including those mentioned above, below.

What do you think of what Dr. Ingham is doing? Do you use a microscope in your exploration of the world? Have you taken one of her courses? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Resources
Dr. Ingham’s CV
Soil Food Web
Environment Celebration Institute
Dr. Ingham's Online Classes
Ecological Monograph (1985 - PDF)
EcoThinkIt
Related Interviews
Dan Kittredge - Nutrient Dense Foods
Stephen Harrod Buhner - The Citizen Scientist
Elizabeth Farnsworth - GoBotany! and Citizen Science

During their time together they discuss what we can consider when we hear the phrase regenerative business; what the future holds as we transition to these models; how this emerging economy seeks to care for Earth, relationships, and human communities; and some of Kevin’s highlights from the first ReGen18 conference. Find out more about Kevin and his work on ReGen18 at regenecon.net.

After listening to this conversation with Kevin, what are your thoughts on regenerative economics? Regenerative business? The vision of a regenerative future? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Resources
ReGen18
SoCap - Social Capital Markets
Neighborhood Economics
@KevinDoyleJones on Medium
uBegin
EcoThinkIt.com

In this episode, we take our time to focus on the role of supporting one another in our lives and business, the importance of friends and family, ways we can make classes and more accessible, and the importance of low-tech building for global sustainability and personal stability. Find out more about them at mudgirls.ca. There you’ll find more information about their book, and so much more. Often in permaculture, as we spoke about today, we talk about meeting someone where they’re at, which is one of the things that stood out for me in this conversation with The Mudgirls. They are using the patterns they see in the world around them that make accessing meaningful work and ongoing education, and creating the details by ensuring all members receive an equal wage whether building or providing childcare for the others. This extends to their classes and workshops that allow families and single-parents to attend and learn together.

What patterns do you see hindering people from engaging in quality work or engaging workshops or classes? What details can we create from those? What patterns do you see hindering people from engaging in quality work or engaging workshops or classes? What details can we create from those?  Let me know by leaving a comment to share your thoughts and insights so that we can continue to make permaculture design and education more accessible and affordable for all.

Resources
Mudgirls Mudgirls Manifesto from New Society Publishers
Jen Gobby (Article in Dwell)
Becky Bee
Canelo Project
Peak Oil (Wiki)
Cob (Wiki)

Joel is the author of The Clean Money Revolution: Reinventing Power, Purpose, and Capitalism. That work, and Joel’s thoughts on what we can do to create a more equitable world, form the basis of his time with David as they look at what we can do to influence politics and economic systems today and into the future. Find out more about Joel, his book, his work, and legacy, at joelsolomon.org. 

What I like about this brief introduction to Joel and his ideas is that we have an imperative to take action. To not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but rather engage in the messy work of doing something, whether that means supporting from the sidelines, or getting into the game ourselves, both of which are common themes to recent episode of the podcast, and my own work in particular about finding our passions and stepping up to actively engage in part of the solutions. What are you doing to make a difference? Whether that is planting a garden and sharing food with your neighbors, organizing a community food forest, or running for elected office, I’d love to hear from you and know how you are working, each day, to create the world you want to live in.

Leave a comment below.

Our conversation today, however, comes from her second book, Craft Distilling, as we discuss what is involved with legally crafting our own booze at home. With that in mind, we about the lunacy of laws when everything we want to do at home or on our homestead is illegal and what we can do to bring about change, as well as a history of the role of distilling, liquor, and taxation in the founding days of the United States. This is the first of two conversations on distilling with Victoria. We recorded nearly two hours of audio together in a single session, so end here with some of my thoughts on this need for change and how we can engage. The other half of this, out in a few weeks, begins with Victoria walking us through an overview of the distilling process and then diving deeply in. You can find out more about Victoria, Craft Distilling and her other books at victoriaredhedmiller.com, or through her publisher, NewSociety.com. After listening to our discussion about working to make craft distilling legal, what issue matters enough that you would start making some phone calls and writing letters to engage in the political process as a private citizen with a passion for ecological and individual progress? I’d love to hear from you. Email: The Permaculture Podcast Write: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast From here, the next regular interview is a conversation with The Mudgirls, a women-owned and operation Natural Builders Collective in British Columbia, Canada, and the authors responsible for the upcoming Mudgirls Manifesto. Until then, spend each day creating the world you want to live in my getting involved and taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

Resources
Victoria Redhed Miller
Craft Distilling
New Society Publishers
Whiskey Rebellion (Wiki)
H.R.2903 - Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2015 - The bill we want to be passed! It includes a provision to exempt home distilleries from excise tax and bonding requirements when making liquor for personal or family use.

Stuart holds a Ph.D. in Complex Systems, a form of applied mathematics, from the University of California, Berkeley, and uses that background to look for the underlying principles needed to create regenerative economies across local bioregions all the way up to the global biosphere. Stuart explored this emergence in his role as the Director of Regenerative Development at The Capital Institute. David and Stuart use this time together to look at what is emerging from the R&D of The Capital Institute and other regenerative economic projects. Find out more about the work he and David discussed at capitalinstitute.org and in the Resources section below. With his interest in the intersection of business and permaculture, David plans to have a longer follow-up interview with Stuart and the other speakers he met at ReGen18 in the future so if you have any questions you would like to hear in one of those conversations, get in touch: Email: The Permaculture Podcast Or Write: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast From here, the next regular episode is a conversation with Victoria Redhed Miller on the legality of craft distilling, on May 27th for Patreon supporters, and May 30th around the world. Until then, spend each day creating the world you want to live in, by taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

Resources: 
Capital Institute
The Regenerative Framework
Beyond Sustainability: The Road to Regenerative Capitalism
John Fullerton: The Emergence of Regenerative Capitalism
Lopez Community Land Trust
The Democracy Collaborative Niagra Share
ReGen18 EcoThinkIt.com

To get this series started we begin by looking at what we can do to eliminate single use plastic and some of the strategies for slowing down, living more intentionally, and continuing to connect with one another and the world around us. We take a discussion of trash and waste and turn it into one of cleanup, care, and celebration. Learn more about Paul's regular work at FairFoodForager.com.au, and find the app in the iOS or Android app stores.

For more about his upcoming ride visit  PelotonAgainstPlastic.com. While you’re there, watch the intro video where you can see Paul and his riding partner Jamie Lepre of Environment-to-Be. 

Resources:
Fair Food Forager
Peloton Against Plastic
Intrepid Travel
The Last Plastic Straw
Plastic Pollution Coalition 
No Straw Please
Skip The Straw Day