J Kunkel

Mariamme,
Nothing to add to your insightful list, I've opened several of your links in 'new tabs' to check out just now.

What I would like to do with this post is simply give recognition and thanks for your taking the time to share this. It's been a few months since you posted, and over 300 of us have read it, and I'm sure that more than a few of the others on this site also appreciate your effort.

Have an awesome day!

Josh

I started wearing fire hose pants a few years ago. They hold up extremely well and are way more comfortable than any other work pants I've used. When a pair inadvertently got placed in a white load (laundry done for me at a work site in Alaska by someone who was new to the laundry job) one pair was bleached so heavily that it lost most of the color and weakened the fabric. Duluth Trading replaced those pants no questions asked. They are the only pants I will buy new. My preference is the button style pockets, the pants will long outlast the Velcro, but Velcro is relatively easy to replace at home. It would seem wasteful to me to return the pants for new Velcro... Although they are not a light fabric they seem to breath very well, requiring insulation under them from 20°F and lower, but have been comfortable to work in high temperatures where one would assume that shorts would be required, nice to have protection for your legs and not overheat.

Wow this is fantastic- just had a look at the Mango .pdf, there is more info than almost any dedicated tree book that I've found.

Thanks for the great resource-

I agree with Susan- what a great way to get a 'heads up' about available affordable land. It's nice that Rebecca knows the land and area and has shared the opportunity. If I was in the position to buy in Tennessee it is exactly what I would be looking for. Having a like minded neighbor who was farming using Permaculture methods means that:
1. The buyer would not have the concern of the adjoining property using chemical -cides.
2. Barter opportunities abound- share abundance and not have to plant 'everything' because you know your neighbor has extra to trade.
3. '2' was referring to planted abundance, but equipment of any nature could be shared (You borrow my cider press, I borrow your pigs to root out my stubborn stumps with drilled corn)
4. Information- watching how each others attempts at solving local problems work, and sharing suggestions.
5. Not being the only "them there peoples nice but a little different" on the block, having others live like you lends 'normalcy' to the lifestyle.

Maybe there's room on the forum for these posts?

J

I've been very concerned about this issue for a long time now- interesting article from research at Harvard University:

Harvard School of Public Health Use of Common Pesticide Linked to Bee Colony Collapse

Downloaded every available class of his on iTunes before leaving the US (and the unlimited high speed internet). This is a fantastic course, Will Hooker states in one of the early classes that this is not a PDC, the value is sitting in on a class with an extremely knowledgeable Professor who knows a lot of people who are active in Permaculture and lives a lifestyle that backs up what he teaches. I'm watching episodes evenings on my laptop while I'm in South Africa in between reading stacks of books on my Kindle. I've got several books that he recommends in his classes, every one of them has been a great recommendation. As suggested in a post above, I second that this course should help one approach a PDC.

Thanks for all your great work Prof Hooker!

My wife and I are renting a small home in South Africa while she does her Ph.D project in a nearby nature reserve. Wanting to eventually start a permaculture farm, I looked at our current situation and asked "what can I do right now to make a difference?" What I found was the outdoor hot water heater and pipes were not insulated. In the winter it can drop below freezing in the night, so we asked the landladies if they could supply the insulation. They came up with old, used insulation that had been stored for a few years in a chicken coop. I thought this was perfect- reusing instead of buying new. It did mean that there was a lot of custom fitting to be done, it does not look very 'professional' (I have insulated pipes on oil rigs which had to be held to a different standard) but I couldn't be any happier. We have also committed to buying local farmers' eggs and fruit from trees in season, but there are no local vegetable producers unfortunately.

Am on the lookout for whatever other changes we can do, the sum of the infinitesimal equals real change.

Hello all,

I'm interested in Certified Naturally Grown as a alternative to Organic certification. From their website it looks like they follow the Organic requirements but rename the certification. The reason for my interest in this is the prohibitive cost of Organic certification for a small grower, and the idea that Certified Naturally Grown can be personally explained to my customers in either a farmers' market or in person on the farm. If I ever grew my operation large enough to provide product to resellers then I could pursue Organic certification.

http://www.naturallygrown.org/

Has anyone had any experience with Certified Naturally Grown? Do you think my apprehension to the cost of full Organic certification is justified for a small operation?

First Post-
My name is Josh. Attending the 11 days with Sepp, but not only because of the amazing opportunity to learn from Sepp. Mr. Holzer is to be considered a force of nature in my opinion, but if one wants to really learn why the clouds dropped the rain it takes more than just watching the storm. I believe that I can learn from Sepp a number of things that cannot be envisioned now that will probably come as a surprise to me, but more important for the long run is inspiration to continue my efforts to start a farm. The energy of being in a place that is in the direction of becoming a Permaculture farm is the perfect setting to be in for this. The onus is strong to learn, network, and grow way beyond what 11 days can expose me to. I'd like to extend a greeting to those of you who will be there and those of you who will interact via this forum all of whom I hope will become my Permaculture contemporaries.

Personal Goals:
1. Establish a productive Permaculture farm within 5 years
2. Provide sustainable/ energy efficient/ food forested low-moderate income rental housing
3. Reduce my carbon footprint. (Living in South Africa and commuting to Alaska for seasonal work I have a lot to account for in regards to my carbon footprint)
4. If the Michael Pilarski PDC was not booked out then that would have been on my agenda also, working on making it happen in the future.

Looking forward to meeting you,
Josh