Podcast 283 - Permaculture Voices

Such a great review! It was an excellent way to go back over my own experiences at the conference. Hearing the driving directions during the podcast was pretty funny, too. Thank you for clearing up some of my questions on the venue choice. Again, Jocelyn, the conversation we had regarding my work in Stamford, CT was so uplifting for me. I hope it didn't come off like I was just bitching! Support from people in the movement and some good ideas on how to move forward was by far the best part of this conference for me. The networking potential at PV1 was just unreal and empowering. I think maybe next year there ought to be some more specifically designated time just to let people connect with one another when they are not running from one session to the next. I kind of got the hint that Paul was getting overloaded with questions and people, so I was glad to hear that I understood that correctly and respected his space when he needed it. No one likes being badgered. I am sure I will get another opportunity to connect with Paul when the time is right. Glad to be on the forums now at least.

A bit more about the schedule/food: You touched on it some, and I know you all had your spot in the 20 person house, and may not have much more to say on this front. Many people at the conference were saying that they did not have enough time for lunch, did not know where to go, and were looking for something a bit more formal to be set up next year. Having catered events like this, I realize the amount of money and effort that would have to go into such a project. I wonder if we can start a conversation for how to mitigate some of these struggles for PV2? I ended up finding a pretty good grocery store, and brought some snacks so I could not try to run around in that 1 hour break. Others were a little more frustrated. Also, I would love to find a way to set up more 20 person houses.

Can't wait to finish the second half of this podcast and hear about all the presentations.

Sam Billings wrote:Hearing the driving directions during the podcast was pretty funny, too.

lol @ 51:24. It wasn't until moving to OC and experienced the close-the-gap-when-blinker-goes-on phenomenon that I got serious about bike commuting.

Most socal drivers have more than their 10K hours behind the wheel, so they're pretty intolerant of mass-transit-using n00bs (like myself), but are good about not running over rogue cyclists...

Granted, bikes are a less viable option if you all have trunk full of fermented swag or are trying to record a podcast en route.

So did anyone get a photo of Paul sunbathing at the beach in his dungarees?

That really was one of the best audio quality podcasts yet. Don't know if it was Bart or something else, but it really was deep, clear and understandable with extremely limited background noise considering the conditions.

Paul's podcasts always have content of character, but they can be hard to understand sometimes--especially for the slightly deaf like me trying to listen with background noise in my location as well.

Yup, Bart is the one who recorded the podcast. I think this is the best audio quality for a podcast recorded in a car.

So the "permie" ( think oscar only shaped like pie) for best audio quality for a podcast recorded in a car , goes to Bart !

Awesome review, thanks guys! I wasn't even there, just followed it on twitter, and I can feel that the effects of this conference will be felt for years.

My two cents here is a bit off-topic and should perhaps be in a thread called "How To Make Permaculture More Mainstream?", but here goes:

Paul, if one of your long-haul aims is to get as many people as possible to know about permaculture and act on that knowledge, I think your circle of influence and interest needs to expand into familiarity with more mainstream things such as Halal tradition.

To me, that you hadn't heard about halal before 2014, despite North America having a huge muslim population and being deeply tied to the muslim world - at the very least since 2001! - is like a huge warning flag that you're missing out on some basic but crucial general knowledge to reach out to people who are not already permie geeks. I got a flashback of Geoff Lawton in your recent Q&A podcasts with him, when he mentions being somewhat shocked that students show up at a PDC not understanding what is meant by "level" or "on contour". It's like "How can you be here now and not know about this!?"

I don't want this comment to be a flogging; you rock the house very nicely, sir, and have enlightened more than your fair share of strangers I'm sure, and have my admiration for a variety of other reasons. Y'all need to go have a beer and a chat with locals on another continent a bit more often, is all.

I had a lot of fun. I got three pies and a bag of kale chips.

I wish to make it clear that I did not get paid to go. So my payment is when people just ask to shake my hand and say "thanks". Not only do I really like that, but it also makes me look awesome in front of Jocelyn .

Most of the questions people had were really good. There were a few where I kinda felt like "I wrote an enormous article just to convey all of the rich details on that, maybe you should read that first." I like the questions I get where it is clear they are familiar with my articles, videos and podcasts. I especially like it when people come to my presentations early and we can do earlybird questions.

I want to thank Julia and Jocelyn for setting up the 20 person house thing. I know that Jocelyn got pretty stressed handling a bunch of details. But from my perspective it was really excellent. I also want to throw in extra thanks to Chef Seth who made so much excellent food and helped me with my presentation. I hope that for all future things we go to, to do that again (but with less stress for Jocelyn).

close-the-gap-when-blinker-goes-on

In missoula, 19 out of 20 people will make room and wave you in.

Missoula is awesome.

- - -

beach: i wore my overalls and rolled up the legs a whole bunch.

Hey Paul,
I just wanted to write and apologize for not speaking to you until the closing dinner party at the permies house. I wish I had more to say but didn't want to be a star struck bumbling idiot. Not to mention that by the last day I was especially drained. Also, I was always afraid I was going to be interrupting when you were in conversation with others. I humbly apologize for not spending more time being assertive. I really felt somewhat intimidated talking to you and other stars. I think part of that was just from trying to relate on something other than permaculture for conversation's sake.

While not as valuable as a handshake and a face to face thank-you, I do want to humbly thank you for all your efforts to this great work we call permacultre that the people, and the earth needs. Thank-you.

I hope all is well in Montana,
-J.D.