Rachel Kaplan - Permaculture from the Inside Out

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

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

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

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

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