This episode serves as an introduction to these ideas, and Nati’s background, as, similar to the conversation with Rhamis Kent and Islam, there is a great deal of ground to cover before getting to the conversation proper, because my understanding of Judaism, is very limited and I pepper the conversation with questions to get myself up to speed.

Regardless of your background, however, this is a good place to begin if understanding the cultural underpinnings for the rituals, customs, and beliefs that make up this modern world are part of your permaculture practice. This promises to be the start of something that leads to more practical practices stemming from Jewish teachings.

You can find out more about Nati and his work at Jewish Farm School.

Coming out of this, Nati’s closing notes grab hold of me and connect the thread of the faiths of Abraham—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—is the creation story from Genesis. That we come from the earth, made from the dirt, or clay. Those few inches of topsoil that cover the land allow crops to grow and animals to feed. Though the earth is covered by so much water and there are traditions of fisherman, it is still Earth from which we arise in these traditions; faiths that encompass more than half the world’s population.

From that it seems a natural fit, as a non-theologian, to tend to where we come from, whatever may happen in the next life. What we have is this world, this Eden, given to each of us by virtue of our birth. We are shepherds. Gardeners. Tenders of the wild.

If there is any way I can help you to explore these ideas of faith and earth care, get in touch. 

Continue the conversation by leaving a comment below. 

Resources:
Jewish Farm School
Institute for Social Ecology
The Teva Learning Center
Adamah Farm
Greener Partners
Eden Village Camp
The Shalom Center (Rabbi Arthur Waskow)

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

If you haven’t listened to the first two, you’ll want to begin there before hearing this show, or if you heard them originally and want a refresher. You’ll find those past episodes here: Islam, Ethics, and Earth Care with Rhamis Kent (Part 1) Faith and Earthcare: Islam with Rhamis Kent (Part 2) Much of the conversation in this episode is about being responsible for our own lives, and for having dignity and respect for others. I appreciate this discussion for the openness that Rhamis brought to the interview, and the space we created in which to hold the conversation. The topics aren’t easy, but they need to be talked about. Thankfully, Rhamis is a gifted speaker who brought patience and understanding to the interview, even as we spoke for many, many, hours. When putting the other episodes for this series together, I thought I would end with a long commentary to close out this three part interview with Rhamis. I don't, however, have a long commentary to end with, rather, this series stands on it's own. My final thoughts are this: to take care of one another, we must know each another. Sometimes that is easy, when we are with people like ourselves. Sometimes that is hard, when we don’t have the means to understand a person and their background, but through a dialogue, a conversation, we can begin down the road of knowing them. Until the next time, reach out and get to know someone better than you do already so that we can truly create the world we want to see. If there’s any way I can help you, let me know. Email: The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: RhamisKentThree)

Though the title of this episode is Faith and Environmental Education, and we spend part of the conversation discussing his work in that role as part of the Faith and Earthcare series, that is only a portion of what we cover. Much of the discussion is around how to engage children, and adults, in establishing a sense of place, getting people interested in exploring the world around them, and how to foster a care for the world through knowing the earth and the plants, animals, and other life that call this place home. If you are a parent, grandparent, or teacher of any kind, you should listen to how Todd's many years of experience can help you on your own path with children. Todd and I also talk about the role of the "Citizen Scientist". For that reason, I recommend you compliment the interview with Todd by listening to the one with Stephen Harrod Buhner. Mr. Buhner inspires the reawakening of the personal interest in understanding the world, and then sharing that information with others. The Citizen Scientist with Stephen Harrod Buhner 

You should check out part 1 before listening to this one if you haven't heard it already. You'll hear a good introduction to what follows in this episode. During this discussion we talk about mercy, grace, forgiveness, and faith, among so many other topics that arise. Whatever your background there are many moments of wisdom within this conversation. So join us by sitting, listening, and learning. You can reach out to Rhamis via his profile at Permaculture Global, and if you have comments for me feel free to reach out through the usual ways. E-Mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst Postal Mail: The Permaculture Podcast The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: RhamisKent2)

This episode is a continuation of the Faith and Earth Care series. This time, I speak with Kelly Ware, a permaculturist from Montana with one of the oldest known permaculture sites in the state. We talk about her thoughts on the idea of Permaculture and the Kingdom: bringing together the practices, and practitioners, of the Christian Faith with Permaculture. Whereas the first in this series, my conversation with Rhamis Kent, was a secular look at the elements of Earth Care in Islam, the conversation with Kelly is interwoven with her personal story of moving from a place of non-belief to one of faith and then to how we can do more to connect with others and build community. I enjoyed myself quite a bit in this conversation with Kelly and had a fun time talking about this topic from such a different perspective. We went to many different places in our conversation and I’m thankful that for all the sideline questions I asked things came together nicely in the end. You’ll find links with more information on how to connect with Kelly in the show notes. If you enjoy this interview, or any other episodes in the growing archive, help me reach the goal of releasing at least 75 episodes in 2014 by making a donation to the show. Your support is the only financial means of making that happen, and also support show related projects such as the Traveling Permaculture Library. Find out how to help at: www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/support. Also, if you haven’t heard them yet, I suggest you go back and listen to the interviews with Larry Santoyo and Dave Jacke. They both spoke about the engagement we as permaculture practitioners need in order to grow the so called “invisible structures” and make permaculture happen. With her personal experience with the community composed of the body of the I think that Kelly’s approach is incredibly useful to that end. Though I haven’t, and won’t, discuss my own faith tradition, or a lack there-of, I have applied many of the ideas that Kelly presented to engage like-minded organizations locally. Meeting people where they are at makes a huge difference. Find the common ground and talk in that space. The rest will follow. If you’d like to talk to me about our common ground, or even where we disagree, feel free to send me an email: The Permaculture Podcast or give me a call: . As this is part of the faith and earth care series, the next episode on this subject will be the second part of the conversation with Rhamis Kent about "Islam and Earth Care" on March 18th, 2014. Then my friend Paul Tomkiel, a Lutheran Vicar, will speak about the "Christian Theology of Earth Care" on April 8th, 2014. But, those are many weeks away. In the meantime I’ll be releasing a review of the book Regenerative Enterprise, and then the next interview will be with Dr. John Kitsteiner to discuss Permaculture and Our Health. I’ll be attending the A Gathering of Farmer’s conference on March 8th, 2014 at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA. and presenting a workshop on Permaculture 101. For that event the Keynote speaker is Brian Snyder the executive director of the Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Association. Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir are there as entertainment. Should be a good time, and I’m quite looking forward to it. Come by if you can. I look forward to seeing you there. Resources: Contact Kelly: permakel@gmail.com Permaculture and The Kingdom Thread (Permies Forum) Permaculture Montana Facebook Page Surviving Off Off-Grid by Michael Bunker The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer

My guest for this episode is Rhamis Kent, a permaculture teacher and designer originally from the United States who currently lives in the United Kingdom and teaches in Africa and the Middle East. He joins me today to begin the series on Faith and Earth Care. During this conversation we discuss his background, the ideas of law and ethics, the core tenants of Islam, and how these relate to our being stewards of the earth. We wrap things up by talking more about ethics and land care. Even though Rhamis is a practicing Muslim, we talk about Islam and faith in an academic and largely secular fashion, divorced from the geo-politics one might hear in the news. There is a great deal of value in this interview for anyone who wants to understand and engage others to build greater community and, in turn, a better world. This conversation is the first of at least two, possibly three, with Rhamis and serves as an introduction to what will follow. As Rhamis and I spent 6 hours talking over two different days the tone of this conversation is considerably more open and jovial than I have had in most of the previous interviews. That lead to a show that is quite different from the norm. Because of that you’ll hear two cuts in the middle where I removed a couple of minutes of me taking us on different tangents. The difference is that because of how long we spoke this first time I ran up against a hard deadline and had to stop the conversation a bit abruptly. If you enjoy this episode, consider making a donation to help keep this show going. Find out how at: www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/support. I don’t have a lot to add to the conversation at the moment, as I’ll do a longer breakdown after the end of these interviews with Rhamis, whether that is one more or two. However, I will remark that while listening to Rhamis I was reminded of the stories and teachings in my own childhood, and how similar people really are to one another. A desire for peace, kinship, kindness, and to be treated like a human being. I won’t say those ideas are universal, but I will say it is incredible how small the difference are that so often divide us. I’d rather focus on what brings us together. Wouldn’t you? Where ever you stand after listening to all of this, I’d like to hear from you. Email me: The Permaculture Podcast. Join in the discussions on Facebook: facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast. Or follow me on twitter where I am: @permaculturecst. Also, please feel free to call me if there is any way I can help you on your path with permaculture. A phone call is the easiest way to reach me, and often garners the quickest reply. I'm not always available to answer the phone, but will call you back as soon as possible. That number is: . The next episode of the show is a Q&A with Wilson Alvarez and Ben Weiss about tending the wild, expect that on Friday, January 24th. The next full interview is out on January 27th, with Eric Puro of The Poosh.org and that organization’s work to build sustainable projects around the world. Then will be Wayne Herring back for a Q&A about small scale farming on January 31st. You can find a full listing of upcoming shows, now plotted out through May 2014, by going to the Release Schedule. If you’ve missed anything from the past you can also check out the Show Archives. Resources: Rhamis Kent (Permaculture Global) Brethren of Purity (Wikipedia Entry) The Case of the Animals Versus Man Before the King of the Jinn from the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Oxford University Press) Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Oxford University Press) Ibn al-'Arabi by William C. Chittick (Available to read online) Collapse by Jared Diamond (English Wikipedia Entry) Dirt by David Montgomery (UC Press) Reconstruction by Way of the Soil by G.T. Wrench (Available to read online) Topsoil and Civilization by Carter and Dale (Link to Google Books, no ebook Available) (Episode 2014-004)