During the discussion Adam and I get straight to the point and talk about the contents of the issue he is editing, the process of contacting authors to collect articles, the importance of magazines as current sources of information, and how this assignment as an editor is accessible for anyone with an interest in writing, permaculture, or both. You can find out more about his work at thegrowhaus.org. If you would like to contact John Wages and propose a subject for an issue you would like to edit, email editor@permaculturedesignmagazine.com. After Adam and I wrapped up the episode, he wanted me to share an article with you that is currently available, and he is republishing in the issue on Decolonizing Permaculture. That piece is Towards a Racially Inclusive Permaculture Community. One of the things that initially attracted me to permaculture was the broad range of voices from so many different people around the world who, as we’ve heard time and time again when I ask for it, come from backgrounds that do not readily seem like they should intersect. Perhaps the only tenet that ties us all together is a spark that rose up and caused us to care enough for the world we live in to seek a different way, and in our search we found permaculture. It could have been anything else, but this was it. With permaculture we found a home and a community. Wherever you come from, whatever you’ve known, whatever you do, you can practice permaculture. In that process, and through the path that you are on, you’ve learned something that matters and can make a difference in someone else’s life, and that of the community and the world, by sharing it. You can write articles for Permaculture Design Magazine. If you are comfortable with the idea, you can guest edit an issue. All you need to do is take that first step: contact John Wages and let him know your interest. Along the way, if you have something you’d like to share with me or via the podcast, get in touch. Email: The Permaculture Podcast . If you leave a message with a question or comment, I can include it in an upcoming episode of the podcast. Or, if you’d like to you can even send me a letter or postcard in the mail. The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast Two final notes as I draw this to a close. First, the show depends on listener support, particularly ongoing monthly contributions that allow the space and time to go do live recordings like the recent trip to talk with Eric and Victoria of Charm City Farms, or the round-table discussion with Charles Eisenstein, Dave Jacke, and Ben Weiss. Sign up at Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast for $5 a month and enjoy unique benefits including patron only episodes, and discounts to permaculture oriented businesses, including 25% off at Chelsea Green publishing, and 10% at Field and Forest Products, my favorite retailer for all things mushroom spawn. Second, It’s nearly August and that means my journey to Radicle Gathering in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is getting closer. I’ll be there for all four days of the event, August 20 - 23, with a discussion on Friday, workshop on Saturday, and the Saturday keynote address on building community. Eric Puro and ThePOOSH will be there as well, as Eric is the Friday night keynote. I look forward to seeing you there, and you can find out more at radiclegathering.com. Until the next time, take care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

During the conversation today we open by talking about the development of a quarter acre food forest in Clifton Park, and the requirement for grant funding and organizing volunteers in order to be successful with the project, and the permaculture and primitives skills classes they offer. The second half we dig into one of those courses in detail, The Forager’s Apprentice program Victoria is running, which leads to a discussion about the role of blending academic rigour with hands on experiences. Throughout this conversation we move between the practical and the philosophical and how both play an important role in practicing permaculture and creating deep experiences. You can find out more about what they are doing, including the Food Forest Journal at CharmCityFarms.org. If you are in the area I recommend getting in touch with Eric and Victoria and going to visit the food forest when they are having one of the regularly Friday field days. If you can take a class with them, including The Forager’s Apprentice when it re--opens next year, I highly recommend it. You’ll find a complete listing of the different kinds of classes they offer in the show notes. If the course you are interested in isn’t listed on their website get in touch and let them know. Also sign up for their newsletter so you can see what is happening when. I’ve known Eric for sometime through email exchanges and following his work through the Charm City Farms website. Knowing that he had a viable project going was why I wanted to sit down and interview him in person. After going down and spending a day with Victoria and Eric I was left with a positive impression of both Victoria and Eric, as well as what it is they are doing and the authenticity of their work. The food forest is in really good shape and as we walked through they were naming the various plants using both the common name and latin binomial. They also pointed out not only the successes, but also the failures. They raised questions about why one plant did well as an outlier, but then did not thrive in what should be, by all accounts, the ideal space for that same species and cultivar. When questioned about community engagement, it came with a humility and understanding of the difficulties of coming in as an apparent outsider and the need to integrate into a place to find out who the real leaders in a given neighborhood are in order to get the right buy-in. I asked about population and demographics and Eric was able to answer them immediately and in great detail. We talked about organizations and people and various initiatives in the city that went well beyond what you heard in the interview and what Victoria and Eric could bring to bear while we were casually walking around and discussing the two sites they are working with was encyclopedic. They’ve done the groundwork and really integrated themselves into what they are doing and taken on the roles they’ve decided for themselves and continue to look for ways to make the changes necessary to be more effective, including considering buying and renovating a home in the community near the second site they are looking to develop, where the red brick barn is located so they can be close to the space and also members of the community. We all find inspiration in different places for the work we do. I know Ethan Hughes is an inspiration for many as he and his community are able to live within the gift economy, without gas or electricity. In conversations I’ve had with Ethan off the air he knows, however, that the Possibility Alliance model isn’t something that most people can do. It is too radical of a shift to accomplish in one lifetime. What Eric and Victoria are doing in the city, in place, is a path many many more can follow. I’m reminded of Bob Theis and his comment, which I’ll paraphrase, that there are plenty of good places we can repair and restore that already exist, rather than inflicting ourselves on some place that doesn’t need us. Now that worldwide the majority of people live in cities and metropolitan areas, urban permaculture practitioners are more vital than ever. If you are in a place that needs you and we can work together to build the place you want to live, let me know. Get in touch. Email: The Permaculture Podcast Send me a letter: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast Up next week is Adam Brock to discuss the role of a guest editor with Permaculture Design Magazine. Until then, take care of Earth, yourself, and each other. Charm City Farms Classes and Workshops Permaculture Design Certification Course (72 Hours) Wild Plant Food & Medicine (30 Hours) Wild Edibles Workshops Forage Report Forage Plant ID Botany for Foragers Mushroom ID 101 Wild Edibles Cooking Demo Wild Tea Party Woodscraft Friction Fire I - Bow Drill Friction Fire II - Hand Drill Tracking 101 Working With Bone Utility Plant Walk Cordage from Plant Fiber Fresh Materials Vine Basket Mugwort: Craft, Medicine, Food, Smoke Cooking + Poison: Milkweed, Pokeweed, and Bamboo Traditional Bow Making Kids Programs Primitive Skills & Nature Studies Hunter Gatherer Summer Wild Ones Nature Exploration Farm and/or Homestead Tree Grafting Holistic Orchard Management Integrated Forest Garden Design Cubic Inch Food Garden Intensive Mushroom Log Inoculation Homeskills Herb, Fruit and Flower Wines Fathers Day Ale Making Cheese Making Class Round One Cheese Making Class Round Two Bread Making Soap Making Personal Care Products Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies Salves, Syrups, and Tinctures Canning Demystified Knife Sharpening 101 Rabbit Processing Basic Vehicle Repair Resources Foragers of Baltimore (Meetup Group) Baltimore Orchard Project Charm City Farms (Meetup Group) Baltimore Green Space Olivia Fite (Clinical Herbalist)

This is something that David has worked on for 50 years in various forms before coming to examine how rites of passage and initiatory experiences influence education and community, and how reintroducing these ideas paired with indigenous wisdom and ways of knowing and scientific understanding can create a new narrative. Jen has been adapting these ideas and applying them to education design through her work and how to use them to develop new models for raising children in a way that includes care for the earth, care for ourselves, and care for others. If you enjoy this episode or any others in the archives stretching back to 2010, I need your support to keep things going. I can’t do this without the help of each and every listener, and that includes you. Take two minutes and go over to Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast and sign up to become an ongoing listener-patron. Depending on the level you select you can receive a number of unique benefits including early access to episodes, patron only podcasts, and a discounts to different vendors. The latest providing a discount is Chelsea Green press, who are offering 25% off your order. Should you prefer to make a one time contribution you can do so via the Donate button on the right hand side of this page. You can find more of David and his work at Rope.org, and Jen is at Permiekids.com. I also recommend checking out the recent video I posted that provides an overview of this work on rites of passage and what David and Jen are collaborating on. This is a great way to share this idea with people you know interested in children, education, and community building to help spread the word about their project to return rite of passage and initiatory experiences to education, living, and growing up in community. You can find more information about the course David and Jen are offering this fall from the link below. If I’m able to, with everything else going on, I am planning to participate in that course as I am able in order to examine and apply these ideas to secondary education. https://www.permiekids.com/oursharedstory/ With all that written, one of the things that really stood out to me is when David said that this work is “the confluence of the sacred and the profane” and the blending of traditional indigenous wisdom and ways of knowing with the scientific way in order to create a new narrative and educational system for children that come together to develop our communities. Part of that is because it touches on the need for informal, yet rigorous, education. To begin telling stories that weave together more than just the facts, that include the emotions and cultural touchstones of the things we and others around us connect with. I like this approach because it provides a big picture for a number of related though disparate parts I’ve been mulling over and working on the past few months when it comes to my own work of establishing a sense of place for myself and my children, and how that influences my understanding of self and my permaculture practices, teaching, and creating a community. One of the biggest influences on my perspective when it comes to permaculture and the other parts comes from the environmental education field and the writings of David Orr and David Sobel. Both work heavily around the idea of establishing a Sense of Place that roots each of us into a given biome. This is then used as both the classroom and as a teaching tool by connecting students with resources that further integrate them into the community by using examples that are close at hand to discuss various disciplines from math to science to history to language. Once a certain core proficiency is established, such as being able to read, write, and do basic math, students progress in a non-homogenized way through their further studies by integrating things such as the local biota, climate, and geology into history classes about biology or earth science. History includes conversations about how the place where one lives fits within the greater context of national or world events. An example of that might be how during WWII the Enola Yard, a local rail yard, was receiving shipments from all over the allied territories, including the USSR, because of the risk of transport via ships to Europe. We can use examples from sports played in the area to teach math and physics. Around here most children play soccer, baseball, or softball. It makes more sense to ask them, “If Monique runs at 30 feet per second, how long does it take her to round the bases of a baseball field, a total distance of 360 ft.?” Yes it is a word problem and what is being asked for is abstract, but it’s something that can be seen. Then during recess or a gym class children can go run the bases and be timed, seeing if they can beat Monique’s time, or find out that she runs fast. As adults this sense of place provides a community for us to get involved in. To be active in politics and be on planning commissions or various advisory boards. We can go and have our voices heard. We can work with business owners, people we can get to know, to bring permaculture into their lives, or contract with a landscape design firm if we are designers, or teach after school programs through local organizations such as the boy and girl scouts or a boys and girls club, or if one is so inclined through a church, mosque, or synagogue. Taking this back to what David and Jen shared here, this also allows us to begin to recreate those rites of passage and initatory experiences as a community that help children and the people they call their friends and neighbors to develop the connections needed to increase the yields of all kinds to create the world we want to live in. Together we can look beyond the immediacy of the now and the fear and separation that is fed to us every day and cast off that wrong story and have the space to create the right one. The beautiful this is that we don’t have to do this alone. We can do this in community. Start with the virtual camp fires and those people near you. Get to know people who are your allies, wherever they are, and use what you learn through these processes to start applying it where you live. Create conversations and dialogs to change the narrative, provide space for others to self-empower and find productive rites of passage and initiatory experiences, including and especially for children. Throughout your journey if I can assist you in your efforts, let me know. Give me a call: or email: The Permaculture Podcast You can also follow in the conversations at facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast, or see what I’m up to with short form updates via twitter where I am @permaculturecst. With all these shout-outs and ways to connect, I’ve begun moving the podcast to soundcloud as part of a move to a new website and server later this year. Soundcloud.com/permaculturepodcast. Next week is an interview with Victoria and Eric of Charm City Farms about their work establishing an urban food forest in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, and after that is Adam Brock talking about the role of a guest editor with Permaculture Design Magazine in case anyone listening here would like to assist John Wages by doing so in the future. Until the next time do something each day to create the world you want to live in by taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

My guest for this episode is David Bollier, author of numerous books about the commons. This is a topic that initially was a little hard for me to wrap my head around, so rather than try to define it here, I’ll let David’s description a few minutes into the conversation do this subject proper justice. In addition to defining what the commons are we also discuss property and property rights, the role we have in managing shared resources both finite and renewable, and how permaculture practitioners can work to create mainstream change through grassroots efforts and alliances. One thing I bring up during the interview is The Tragedy of The Commons, an article written by Garrett Hardin in the 1960s, which was my first named introduction to this idea of commons, what they are, how they can be damaged, and what we can do to protect them. I recommend reading that article because of the impact it has had on several generations of conservationists, land managers, environmentalists, and ultimately permaculture practitioners. When you do read it don’t hold on to what is written in that piece too tightly, however, as things change pretty quickly in this conversation with David. As we get started if you enjoy this podcast become a listener-member on Patreon. Your support is vital to the continuation of this program. You will find more about David's work and a series of articles at his website, Bollier.org. While you are there you can also see his of books on The Commons and pick some up to expand your understanding of all the resources we share together and should manage in community with one another. Before heading to my thoughts and other announcements, a reminder that Dave Jacke is teaching a 9 day intensive course on Forest Garden Design from October 2 - 11, 2015 at Feathered Pipe Ranch, near Helena Montana. This is the first time in three years that this course has been offered in the United States. This all inclusive class allows students to learn how to mimic forest ecosystems that include a number of valuable characteristics including stability and resilience. As with the recent interviews with Dave this have expressed, you can also expect this course to explore the human side of design including the social and economic elements. Participants will also have the opportunity to design multiple forest garden, including one for the course site as well as for the 6th Ward Forest Garden Park to be installed in Helena. During the last several weeks I’ve been combing through my library and getting back into reading some of the books I consider classics in preparation for working my way through some new to me material on permaculture, the environment, and education. It is in that last place that I was brought back to David Orr’s writing in Earth in Mind, a collection of essays that focus, “On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect.” If you’ve never read it, though it’s been over 20 years since the first edition, I recommend getting a copy. Mr. Orr looks at a variety of issues using education as the common language, similar to permaculture using the landscape, but what really frames the various pieces are the environment and communities, that human element. At one point David Orr looks at how, just as David Bollier points out, the industrial revolution changed our interactions with the environment, one another, and the connections that we share by being in community. Though we’ve always used resources as a species the last several hundred years have changed the scope and scale of our ability to extract materials from the environment and in turn to change the world around us. What once took generations can now be accomplished in less than a human lifetime. Where before we had to rely on one another, the culture we live in now allows us to disconnect as much as we can afford to do so. We don’t have to build long-term relationships with Earth or the people near us, we can take from some far off place or hire the service and skills of anyone willing to do the work and feel insulated, and isolated, in our personal castle, whatever the form it takes. With that many of us also have the social and economic mobility to pick up and go somewhere else if the place we currently inhabit doesn’t suit us any longer. But based on this conversation with David Bollier, and re-reading David Orr, I’m reminded that there are no externalities, as much as that phrase may get used to label pollution and other unaccounted for costs of industrial production, and it is our disconnection from place and each other that allows for so much environmental and ecological devastation. Society and culture move forward at a scale that still sees the world as infinite and allows ongoing extraction of resources and economic subjugation of others, so that the resources we care about go unmanaged for the rest of us and the dirty work of developed society can be cast off to those less fortunate by virtue of forces they have no control over simply by being born in a different situation. There is a systemic roadblock that leads to mountain tops being removed to extract coal, giant strip mines being sunk into the land creating scars on the landscape, water being polluted or sequestered for hydraulic fracturing, and waste being dumped in foreign lands or indigenous cultures being forced to change by economic forces. All in the name of market forces and capitalism, which creates a narrative hegemony as the story we are told and accept is the only way, yet feel very deeply that something isn’t right. We as permaculture practitioners have a way to show the world what can be done to make a world where all can live and thrive, abundantly and more locally. We know the land and the landscape. That’s a part of the initial attraction for many to permaculture. That’s great. Let’s keep that up for those of you who are good at getting your hands into the earth and producing food. But there are so many other places for us to plug-in. The community organizers can go and begin forging alliances with our neighboring and related movements. Pull in the transition towners, the slow foodies, the slow money investors. The engineers and architects can design systems that have life cycles that make . Doctors and nurses, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, how can caring for our health be made more accessible, and use less non-renewable resources. I ask because a recent new reports on local talk radio addressed how many plastics and disposables are used in healthcare. What about sterilizing and recycling after use? Lawyers, how can we create laws and systems that allow permaculture to be practiced more readily and to make the things we want to do legal? Where are the leverage points where we can work outside the system without risking everything we have? For those who work in service sectors, from food to entertainment, how can the work you do be made to fall more in line with the ethics of this system of design? As a community of practitioners we are not alone in our practices and have a wide variety of talents, skills, backgrounds, and experiences to pull from, but we cannot do this as individuals. Together, however, we have the ability to elevate this work into a broader grassroots movement that can change the world for the betterment of all life and Earth. Join me. Let’s do this. Get in touch. . Email: The Permaculture Podcast As I prepare to end this episode, a few announcements. First, I’m moving the regular release day for the show to Thursdays rather than Wednesdays, with “Best Of,” permabytes, and other supplementary material appearing on Mondays. Second, I am heading to Baltimore on July 11 to record an interview with Victoria of Charm City Farms to discuss the work she and her partner are doing to bring Permaculture to Baltimore. July 13 I sit down with Adam Brock as a follow up to the recent interview with John Wages about Permaculture Design Magazine and to talk about Adam’s role as a guest editor. July 29th, Toby Hemenway and I are scheduled to talk about his latest book, The Permaculture City. If you have any questions for these upcoming guests let me know by the usual ways. Finally, August 20 - 23 I’ll be at Radicle Gathering in Bowling Green, Kentucky, running a Permaculture question and answer session on Friday afternoon, a community vision workshop on Saturday morning, and delivering the Saturday night keynote address. Eric Puro of ThePOOSH will also be there as the Friday night Keynote speaker. If you are in the area come out and join in the fun of workshops, live music, and a whole bunch of people coming together to explore how to build resilient communities. radiclegathering.org. Up next week in a two-person interview are Dr. David Blumenkrantz with Jen Mendez of PermieKids to discuss Rites of Passage and Initiatory Experiences in community development and education. Until then, take care of Earth, your self, and each other.

With issue # 96 the long running American permaculture digest Permaculture Activist became Permaculture Design and with that John Wages took over the role as the editor from Peter Bane. During the conversation today John shares with us how he became involved with the magazine, the name change, what we can expect in the near future, and his long-term plans including improved digital content, moving to a full-color format, the desire for a more frequent publication schedule, and even the possibility of additional magazines to cater to different permaculture audiences. If you would like to get in touch with John you can reach him directly by emailing editor@permaculturedesignmagazine.com If you’d prefer to send a letter, that address is: Permaculture Design Magazine P.O. Box 60669 Sunnyvale, California 94088 Or visiting the website permaculturedesignmagazine.com, which is up and running beautifully with plenty of great content. If this is your first time hearing about this publication, definitely pick up an issue and see what a wealth of information is available and why I got so effusive with John over my love for this staple permaculture publication. A subscription is worth much much more than the cost. As John indicated he is also looking for people to assist in a variety of ways with the magazine. I know a number of you listening have experience with writing, publishing, advertising, graphic design, and a whole host of other skills. If you are in a place to lend a hand get in touch. Email John and let him know. From here things behind the scenes are busy at the podcast. I spent this past weekend, if you get this show when it comes out, in Brooklyn at the teacher training lead by Jude Hobbs and had a blast with the facilitators and students. For everyone who was there may my non-linear lecture on sense of place and the role of dialog better prepare you to set down roots and be able to meet people where they are at. All my best to each and everyone of the new Teacher Training graduates. Research into building a permaculture center and community continues and the Facebook group for that effort is looking into methods of governance while I arrange for a site visit with the realtor. I’m heading to Baltimore on July 10th for a tour and to record an interview with Victoria and Eric, the folks at Charm City Farms. August 20-23 I’ll be in Bowling Green, Kentucky at the Radicle Gathering. Friday I’m leading a Q&A on permaculture, Saturday is a community visioning workshop, and Saturday night I’ll be delivering the final keynote address of the weekend, with Eric Puro, of The Poosh being the Friday night keynote speaker. Eric and the crew will be onsite doing demonstrations and workshops as well, so come on out for a great time sharing music and knowledge in community with others. Find out more at radiclegathering.com. More details on upcoming events, including a round-table recording near Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and the Urban Permaculture Conference in New York, as we get closer to those dates. In nearly every episode I share how to contact me if there is any way that my experiences and broad network can be of any service to you. The best way to get in touch is to call me. , but if that doesn’t work because of schedules or timezones, send over an email: The Permaculture Podcast. Something that I really enjoy, and will admit it is a pleasure of mine, is to receive a handwritten letter. That address is: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast Next up, on July 8th, is an interview with David Bollier and we’ll be discussing the commons and the role we permaculture practitioners have in protecting that space and forming in new alliances. Until then spend each day making the world into the place where you want to live by taking care of Earth, your self, and each other.

You can find out more about the panelists from this session at their respective websites. susquehannapc.com for Ben, and edibleforestgardens.com for Dave. If you would like to study with Dave he is teaching a 9 day intensive course on Forest Garden Design from October 2 - 11, 2015 at Feathered Pipe Ranch, near Helena Montana. This is the first time in three years that this course has been offered in the United States. This all inclusive class allows students to learn how to mimic forest ecosystems that include a number of valuable characteristics including stability and resilience. As with the recent interviews with Dave this have expressed, you can also expect this course to explore the human side of design including the social and economic elements. Participants will also have the opportunity to design multiple forest garden, including one for the course site as well as for the 6th Ward Forest Garden Park to be installed in Helena. Find out more about this course at insideedgedesign.com/upcoming-events, or via the link in the show notes. So, I’ve been resting on any kind of extended commentary about all of this until after the second half, this piece, came out, which included brevity with the ending for the conversation with Penny Livingston-Stark, because all three dealt a great deal with that personal or inner landscape work. My personal work in that direction has lead me to understand more fully my personal niche and role. As much as I may desire to be a certain type of person, as indicated in this conversation, I’m not. At the end of the day I’m your friendly neighborhood podcast host, teacher, and network builder. It’s funny how hard it was to come to terms with that, but the more I do so the easier this work is. The three hours or so of material, and conversations held with others in the time since, left me in a place where the answers to the questions at hand lead to more questions and more conversations. Alexis’ interest in building community in Reading. My interest in right livelihood and turning the podcast into a full-time career. Ethical purity, and the imagery Charles set forth about being a good person at the end of the the first round table segment.Then two days after this I had a big conversation with Wil and Eli and Jono in-person and we talked about many of the things covered in the last few podcast episodes and what it means to live right with yourself, to be honest, and to make it all work, which in turn moved us towards community. I looked back through the responses to the listener poll I posted a while back, and recurring themes that advertisers are okay by you if that means that I can keep doing this, and that people were looking for more than a podcast to be a part of, but for a larger project. The anger you heard me express at the beginning of this conversation, after years of it being something consuming in my youth, is now a source of creativity and energy. Coming out of this I’m approaching certain individuals within the community searching for appropriate sponsors to turn the podcast into something more. I’m also working with a number of retailers and others in order to add more value for recurring Patreon members. Currently there are 10% discounts available at Field and Forest Products, and PermieKids for folks who join that service at $5 or more per month. But that is just about the show. The more interesting part comes with a different project. One way or another I am building a permaculture center and community that can focus on education and research in a completely legal manner, that in turn become an incubator and model for other such projects, and locate it in an area near other cities and communities where there are ordinances and zoning issues that need to be resolved in order to be created, to solve some of the underlying problems when everything we want to do is illegal and there are structures in place that keep us from living in community with one another. At the moment there is a piece of property in my township that is currently available for purchase that is nearly perfect for this purpose. Over 15 acres with a portion is zoned commercial with several buildings including a house, and the rest is high-density residential. It is near multiple interstates and highways, an international airport, a train depot, and bus station. It is within day-trip distance from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Balitmore, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and New York City. I am also already involved in local politics as I sit on the Parks and Recreation Board for the township, know many of the gatekeepers, and have been involved in changing ordinances. I’ve already begun working with my law firm to investigate the possibility, and working with others in the Susquehanna Permaculture community to keep the energy going while I work on some of the nuts and bolts details. I’ve reached out to The Possibility Alliance and ThePOOSH as a sort of sanity check to see if this is a reasonable thing to do and the feedback they shared was that this is the kind of example site that is needed because it exists where people are. Community leaders from throughout the region can be invited to drop in when it is convenient and see what is happening. Multiple perspectives and thoughts can be shared from the individuals and families working and, in the long term, living onsite. But I can’t do this alone and need the broader permaculture community to raise the funds to make this happen. Being me, of course, I want to do it a different way and not run a go-fund me or other electronic crowdfunding campaign. Let’s use a low-tech, high-touch approach. If you are in a place to assist with this launch call people you know and tell them you are in support of a project that can help to create the world you want to live in and you are asking the person on the other end of that call if they can give in support of the same. Or write them a letter expressing your desire to see something like this come forth into the world. Give them the The Permaculture Podcast address if they can send something via PayPal, or the mailing address for the show if they want to give by post: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast Spread the word and let people know what’s happening, what we are doing here together. Join in the permaculture center and community conversation here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/410645555797232/ If you have any questions about this call: or email: The Permaculture Podcast. From here I’ll be a guest instructor at Jude Hobb’s Teacher Training, in cooperation with Beyond Organic Design, the evening of Sunday June 28, 2015, at the Commons in Brooklyn. I believe that evening is open to the public so if you are in the area and want to stop by my lecture is from 730pm to 9pm. More information about that is at beyondorganicdesign.org. August 20 - 23 I’ll be at Radicle Gathering in Bowling Green, Kentucky, running a Permaculture question and answer session on Friday afternoon, a community vision workshop on Saturday morning, and delivering the Saturday night keynote address. Eric Puro of ThePOOSH will also be there as the Friday night Keynote speaker. If you are in the area come out and join in the fun of workshops, live music, and a whole bunch of people coming together to explore how to build resilient communities. radiclegathering.org. September 12, 2015 I’ll be at the RiversideProject recording a live permaculture round table. September 18 I’m looking to return to the Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania to check out this year’s event. More details on those two as I get closer to those events. I am also in touch with the organizers of the Urban Permaculture Conference, being held in NY, NY from October 23-25 about covering and presenting at the event. If you are an organizer who would like me to come cover or speak at your event, drop me a line through the usual means. Until the next time take care of earth, your self, and each other.

RDI is located at the 17-acre Commonweal Garden. I’ve been aware of Penny and her work since I started formally studying permaculture five years ago, and she has remained one of the most suggested guests for the show, often by her former students who have themselves appeared on the podcast. I think I’ve talked to more people who have studied with her than of any other permaculture instructor thus far. When this interview was originally scheduled Penny and I talked about using her work in international permaculture as a focus for our discussion, but instead turned towards the idea of peacemaking. Drawing from her experiences using permaculture and ceremony for conflict resolution we discuss the need for inner landscape work in order to build community and move the practice of permaculture forward. Or, to put it another way, how we have to get right with ourselves so that we can better our use of the ethics and principles to create lasting change that cares for this planet we call home and all the inhabitants. She is clear to point out, however, that permaculture as a design system is not a metaphysical one, nor does she include those ideas in her teaching, rather that a deep exploration into natural systems invites a further examination of our connection to the world around us and the nature of life and other living beings. These ideas set the overall tone for our conversation, but we also discuss the need for experimentation and the cultivation of useful skills. This interview, though not planned as such, serves as a buffer and connection about the discussion of right livelihood embodied in the two segments of the recent round table conversation recorded at Seppi Garrett’s, of which the next piece is out on June 24, 2015. My only regret is that in this recording there is a bit of noise at some points, but they do not detract from the breadth or meaning of what Penny shares with us. You can find out more about Penny Livingston-Stark, the Regenerative Design Institute, and Commonweal Garden at regenerativedesign.org and commonweal.org. If you are interested in the Permaculture Institute of North America, that website is at pina.in. Penny also wanted me to share with you that she has an upcoming Permaculture Design Course that will be taught in cooperation with The Kul Kul Farm at The Green School in Bali from August 7 - 23, 2015. So that you might learn more about The Green School site, I’ve included a pair of videos below including one from John Hardy, a co-founder of this organization, and one from his daughter, Elora. https://kulkulfarmbali.com/bali-permaculture-design-course/ I’m still mulling over this conversation with Penny and the round table with Ben Weiss, Dave Jacke, and Charles Eisenstein. There is a thread here that touches on some of my own challenges as a changemaker, but there is still more to hear on this before I share my thoughts about everything at the end of next week’s show. Until then get in touch and let me know about your journey and where you are. or email: The Permaculture Podcast. Coming up I’ll be a guest instructor at Jude Hobb’s Teacher Training, in cooperation with Beyond Organic Design, the evening of Sunday June 28, 2015, at the Commons in Brooklyn. There are still spaces available for this class that runs from June 24 - 30, 2015. More information about that is at beyondorganicdesign.org. August 20 - 23 I’ll be at Radicle Gathering in Bowling Green, Kentucky, running a Permaculture question and answer session on Friday afternoon, a community vision workshop on Saturday morning, and delivering the Saturday night keynote address. If you are in the area come out and join in the fun of workshops, live music, and a whole bunch of people coming together to explore how to build resilient communities. radiclegathering.org. September 12, 2015 I’ll be at the Riverside Project recording a live permaculture round table. September 18 I return to the Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania to check out this year’s event and hang out with Tradd Cotter. More details on those two as I get closer to those events. If you are an organizer who would like me to come cover or speak at your event, drop me a line through the usual means. That gonna wrap this episode. I’ll join you next week to close up that round table. Until then, take care of earth, your self, and each other. John Hardy's Ted Talk: My green school dream

Elora Hardy's Ted Talk: Magical houses, made of bamboo

This episode is a Susquehanna Permaculture round-table discussion recorded at my friend Seppi Garrett’s on June 3, 2015 in front of a live audience. The panel for the conversation were Ben Weiss, Dave Jacke, and Charles Eisenstein. Ostensibly the conversation was framed around the idea of how to achieve a right livelihood, but as you might imagine with these three voices in a room together the bounds of the conversation pushed in every direction and touched on much much more. For regular listeners who have heard Ben and Dave in the past, the conversation was also candid in ways that you won’t hear elsewhere. This piece is part one of two recorded that day, as Charles was with us for only a short time. The second half, with Ben, Dave, and various audience members, will be released on June 24, with more round tables like this in the works. If you enjoy this episode become an ongoing podcast patron at Patreon.com/permaculturepodcast, or with a one-time donation via the PayPal link on the right hand side of the podcast page. Your support is how I keep the show on the air and am able to arrange the time to facilitate the conversation you are about to hear and others like it. You can find out more about Ben at susquehannapc.com. Dave’s website is edibleforestgardens.com and Charles’ is at charleseisenstein.net. I'd also like to thank Shauna Yorty for taking pictures of the event, including the one of the three panelists I used here. I’m going to hold my commentary on this until the release of part two on June 24. In the meantime, I want to let you know that I will be a guest instructor at Jude Hobbs’ upcoming Teacher Training, in cooperation with Beyond Organic Design, on June 28 at The Commons in Brooklyn, New York. You can find out more at beyondorganicdesign.com. After that I’ll be a keynote speaker on Friday, August 21, 2015, talking about building resilient communities at the Radicle Gathering in Bowling Green, Kentucky. That is a four-day event of music and workshops that runs from August 20-23, 2015. The website for that festival is radiclegathering.com.I’m also recording another round table discussion on September 12, 2015 at The Riverside Project in West Virginia. If you have an event you’d like me to come to, or to serve as a panelist or speaker, let me know. email: show@thepermacutlurepodcast.com Write: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast I’ll join you next week with an interview from Penny Livingston-Stark. Until then, take care of Earth, your self, and each other.

This show is a best of featuring the two interviews with Ethan Hughes combined into a single episode with a running time of over two hours. The first half was originally released September 14, 2012, and was titled Radical Possibilities. The second came out on November 26, 2013, and was called Practical Possibilities. Listening to both of these together, in preparation for this new release, I got caught on Ethan’s words that his lifestyle is a “Necessary Simplicity,” which lead to the current title. Of all the material I’ve recorded and produced in the nearly five years of creating this podcast, Ethan’s time with me, totalling about four hours over two different days before being brought down to what you will hear today, stands as the most popular and influential thus far. If you are new to the podcast, listen and hear the possibilities in Ethan’s words and know why that is the case. If you have heard these before, enjoy them in this new way, and be inspired to make even greater change. After listening to this share it with others. Get the word out about all the incredible possibilities, radical and necessary, that are open to us if we begin to truly embody what we believe in. Until the next time, take care of Earth, your self, and each other. Learn more about The Possibility Handbook, a book Ethan and I are writing together. Contact Ethan The Possibility Alliance 85 Edgecomb Road Belfast, ME 04915 207-338-5719

My guest for this episode Jude Hobbs. Jude runs Cascadia Permaculture, located in Cottage Grove, Oregon, and is a long time permaculture designer and teacher. 2015 is her 15th year offering a Permaculture Teacher Training, and that class forms the basis of our conversation. She shares with us what the course is like, the materials covered, the importance of set and setting, and walks us through the class. As a graduate of this course in 2011 I share some of my memories and how that event, and Jude’s tutelage, influenced my path. Using that as a point of reflection she shares how the class has changed in the four years since, as this is an ever evolving program that expands based on her experiences and new writings on experiential education. Jude is also a founding member of PINA: Permaculture Institute of North America. We spend some time at the end of this interview discussing what PINA is, the ways we as permaculture practitioners can benefit from this grass roots oriented professional organization, and how you can connect to learn more or become a member. If you would like to take a Teacher Training with Jude there is an upcoming class being offered in cooperation with Beyond Organic Design at The Commons in Brooklyn, New York, from June 24 to June 30, 2015. I am scheduled to be a guest instructor the evening of Sunday June 28. The course is limited to 15 participants and my understanding is that they are reaching capacity quickly so if you are interested sign up now via this link: Advanced Course in Permaculture Teacher Training with Jude Hobbs You can find out more about Jude and her work at cascadiapermaculture.com. Though many years have passed since I took my Teacher Training course with Jude, Andrew, and Rico, the impact of my time spent with them at Jude’s home in 2011 still sits with me. This class lead to the path I am on now with The Plan and seeking to formally study and understand the ways in which to better teach through informal and experiential learning. The course also helped me understand that though I am a kinesthetic learner I prefer to present through conversation with only necessary graphics, and generally abhor PowerPoint unless it is absolutely necessary. That changes the way I teach. Rather than mimicking the styles of others, I found a personal approach that I am comfortable with, balanced by knowing and understanding it is not an approach that reaches everyone and requires that I adjust my approach as needed to the audience. This course also gave me enough successes to continue to put myself out into the world and start with those small presentations at the local library and see them expand to discussions at the monthly meeting of the county master gardeners, and to set-up an informational table on rain-barrels and vermicomposting at a local nature center and later return there to give an afternoon demonstration on how worms can eat our garbage. This last one really drew in the children and made their parents a bit squeamish, but was still a really fun time. Those opportunities continue to grow, and I count my Teacher Training as one of the transition points to begin really pushing my personal boundaries. I left the course confident enough to do, to put myself out there, and to be more to myself and the permaculture community than I thought was possible. Though quite a bit dated at this point, I’ve included a link to my original review of the teacher training in the show notes that you can listen to my first impressions shortly after completing the class. If there is any way I can help you with your permaculture education, please let me know how I can be of service. Email: The Permaculture Podcast Write: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast You can also follow the show on Twitter, @permaculturecst, and join in the discussions on Facebook. I want to get information about permculture to as many people as possible and need you to help do it. You can help the show grow in a few ways by taking a few minutes of your time. Review the show on iTunes or your preferred podcast site. Listen to the show with friends or family members. Post a link to your favorite episode on your blog, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, or wherever else you get social with media. Make a one time donation by mail or via the PayPal link on the right hand side of this page or become a member via Patreon. If you are a teacher and want to include the podcast in your course material, please do, I just ask that you let people know where the podcast came from so your students can connect with me and the show. If you run a permaculture study group listen to an episode together, discuss it, and let me know how it went. If you’d like to me to come speak with your group, or Skype in for a discussion, those are options too, contact me for more details. Until the next time, take care of Earth, your self, and each other.