| The Permaculture Podcast

Scott

Ecolonomics with Dr. Wayne Dorband

Jun 182013

My guest for this episode is Dr. Wayne Dorband, a member of the board of the Institute of Ecolonomics. He joins me to discuss what ecolonomics is, and how he and his colleagues are growing this idea, as well as how you can be a part of the process.

Dr. Dorband joined me several months ago to discuss the green hacker space he opened in Colorado as a place for individuals with ideas on how to build technology that leads to a better world can incubate and grow their concepts while also socializing with other like minded people. Today we take that underlying ethos of creativity and making to begin to understand how we can combine ecology and economics to make a living while improving the earth.

The audio on this episode wound up a little fuzzy, and thank you to Jay for letting me know this happened with some other recent episode. I did the best I could with the source audio to put this together, which also resulted in some changes behind the scenes to my software so future interviews, hopefully, don’t suffer from this same issue. Your feedback is always important for helping to improve the quality of these podcast and I appreciate it.

Also, for those of you interested in the online PDC+, which begins July 1st, there are still a few seats open. You can register by going to: thepermaculturepodcast.com/pdc-registration/

What impresses me about Dr. Dorband and this work is that here is an organization designed to advance human creativity and technology while also investing in the people who make the sustainable and renewable solutions. For me, that’s a pretty powerful place to find ourselves in as we work to move through many of the large hurdles ahead of us. As I’ve said with Eric Toensmeier before, I like civilization and being able to turn the lights on. Let’s work together to find ways to keep that a possibility while lifting others up, and applying permaculture to make the landscape, and our lives, more resilient.

If you are interested in helping myself and Dr. Dorband develop this on-line maker’s forum to investigate ideas, please let me know. Leave a comment here, send me an email, or call me. You can also find Dr. Dorband’s contact information at the Institute of Ecolonomics, and reach out to him about this concept, if you’d like to help expand on any of the other projects he’s working on, such as your own local green hacker space or business accelerator, or if you have an idea of your own and would like to apply for the best of the best.

Whatever road we find ourselves on, together we are part of the solution for a better and brighter future.

Resources:
Institute of Ecolonomics

Olive Jones and The Tyranny of Structurelessness

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 132013

After the interview with Adam Brock on Invisible Structures, I went looking for more information about Jo Freeman’s “The Tyranny of Structurelessness” article, which Adam mentioned. Doing a search on that subject lead me to a series of videos by the same name featuring an interview Olive Jones about the history of Renaissance, a commune in New Zealand which she helped found, and how the lack of structure impacted the reality of the communal living arrangement.

Of interest for me when it comes to invisible structures and these videos is how public welfare changed the group, the role of community, the struggles of a lack of structure and the successes for some of the core members, and the need for a shared focus to bind the group together. These provide places to understand as we move forward and re-shape the world we live in to a smaller and more local scale.

The need for human connection that Olive touches on near the end of the final video is a message that resonates with me as I move forward and connect with more people in the permaculture community and begin investing in the relationships that hold the most meaning for me. There’s the sentiment that “it takes a village to raise a child”, which I agree with, but I also think it takes a village, a community, to help individuals be complete and well-rounded.

Also, I highly recommend checking out all the videos by RedPharmacist. Lots of great interviews and other media.

World Stove with Nathaniel Mulcahy

Interview 1 Response »

Jun 112013

Click here to download the episode.

My guest for this episode of Nathaniel Mulcahy, owner and founder of World Stove, a company that produces and distributes pyrolytic gasification stoves all around the world. These stoves are tailored to fit the specific needs of each culture and community that uses them.

Brent Verrill, a listener to the show and a contributor to conversations on the facebook page for the show, facebook.com/thepermaculturepodcast, suggested Mr. Mulcahy, and linked to an article on the Huffington post detailing the work of Worldstove.

After looking over that material, viewing the World Stove website, and recently returning from my experience at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) sponsored workshop on Charcoal and Biochar, I wanted to interview Nathaniel. The elegance of the system and ability to turn what would otherwise be waste products into fuel is an enticing prospect.

During this interview we discuss his background and how he came to create World Stove, which was an even more interesting route than how many of us come to permaculture. We also talk about the World Stove mission to create local jobs, improve local economies, and insure that waste biomass is used as a fuel, all while reducing emissions, sequester carbon, and building soil.

May you enjoy this time with Nathaniel as much as I did.

Resources:
World Stove
World Stove YouTube Channel

Introduction to Permaculture Reading List

Question and Answer, Resources 2 Responses »

Jun 052013

Recently, Will from Australia contacted me asking what books I would read as an introduction to permaculture. That lead to these thoughts.

Peace,

-Scott

—

If I were starting over again, knowing what I know now, my reading list would be, in this order:

Masanobu Fukuoka The One-Straw Revolution
Rosemary Morrow Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture 2nd Ed.
David Holmgren Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability

Fukuoka provides a philosophy and mindset that prepares you for the later material from Holmgren, with the former being much easier to read than the latter. Fukuoka was an influence on Permaculture as a whole which makes this a good place to begin.

I like Morrow’s book as an introduction to design over some of the others because her experience as a teacher makes the material more accessible. The format reminds me more of a workbook where you are actively teaching yourself something than passively reading along. Also, Rob Allsop’s line drawings are both functionally beautiful and sometimes whimsical, while relaying all the necessary information.

Holmgren’s work concentrates on the principles as a framework to expand on the overarching themes of permaculture, and it’s obvious he thinks about this a great deal, which is reflected even more when you listen to the interview with him. Fukuoka and Morrow lay the groundwork to read Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.

—

I recommend purchasing books directly from the publisher or author whenever possible. Though you may pay more this way than through a large book store, buying directly puts more of our resources into the hands of those people who will use it to produce more of these important works. Again, to me, the third ethic of permaculture in practice.

The One-Straw Revolution from New York Review Books.
Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture from Chelsea Green.
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability from Chelsea Green.

Starting a Sustainable Family Farm with Wayne Herring

Interview No Responses »

Jun 042013

Click here to download the episode.

My guest for the episode is Wayne Herring, owner, along with his wife Katherine and fellow family member Michael, of Herring’s Green Grass Farm.

Wayne spent the last several years growing his pasture based meat operation while also being a steward of the land. This has not been an easy path, as you’ll hear, because, like some other farmers, he works off-the-farm during the week and returns to home each night to continue tending his animals.

Wayne also happens to be my wife’s cousin, so I got to speak with him about his farming and sample some chicken at a family event. Ever since then I’ve wanted to interview him because he’s doing the work of starting a stewardship farm from the ground up in the best way he can.

In our conversation we cover the early days and inspiration that bring us to this moment, and what it’s like to continue the transition to farm full time. Along the way we also talk about his inspiration to become a farmer, the truth of profit and loss in farming, and the role of community in getting started and continuing to grow.

As with all of my guests, I’m thankful for his candor in this conversation, his willingness to share the ups and downs of what he’s doing, and what the life of a new farmer is like.

Community support holds a great deal of meaning to me as I look beyond the visible structures of permaculture and to the invisible ones. While putting together this show I received Wayne’s newsletter and in there he offered support, and recommended his customers attend, a local farmer’s market to help bolster the beginnings of the market. Throughout the independent and small scale producers I see this mutual aid occurring. As we take care of the earth and ourselves, doing what is matters to us, raise ourselves up Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”, and fulfill the first two ethics of permaculture, it becomes easier to have a surplus to share, and with it to help share our surplus and help the needs of others. We then offer a hand-up through our knowledge, experience, and gifts, that teaches someone how to grow food and live a better life.

As we share the surplus, it’s easier to limit consumption. You can make better choices that aren’t drastic or hasty, and in turn care for the Earth in a better way. Care for you self and your family and friends in a better way, freeing up more resources to share with others. Once this ball gets rolling down the hill it becomes ever more self sustaining, which is important because it’s easy to teach and understand the physical sides of permaculture, but those invisible ones, being intangible, are hard to grasp. I think the roots of the invisible rest most firmly in the ethics of permaculture.

Resources:
Herring’s Green Grass Farm
Herring’s Green Grass Farm Facebook Page

American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA)
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)
Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms

Interested in the Online PDC+? Register Here.

Whole Systems Design and the Resilient Farm with Ben Falk

Interview No Responses »

May 282013

Click here to download the episode.

My guest for this episode is Ben Falk, owner of Whole Systems Design, LLC, and author of the forthcoming book The Resilient Farm and Homestead.

He and I talk about his route to permaculture, the work of Whole Systems Design, the book, and his 10 acre farm, where he performed the research for the book. Along the way we talk about how and where design happens, the design process, the role of active versus passive observation, and some of the 75 patterns and principles that emerged from his work that makes it into the book.

I’d heard of Ben but didn’t know what he’s been doing, though a friend of mine in the local permaculture community thinks highly of his very active research into resilient systems. Then a listener suggested I contact Ben for an interview, with some others seconding the recommendation, so I knew this was someone I needed to speak with.

And I’m thankful that I did. Ben has a firm grasp of the design process and the experience necessary to make implementation happen through his role as a professional designer. Also, he’s walking the road necessary to expand the community’s knowledge of what does and doesn’t work while paying attention to the unique needs of someone living in the North-Eastern United States.

If you are interested in his book, you can see the table of contents on his website. When purchasing the book, please consider buying it directly from Ben or the publisher, Chelsea Green.

Resources:
The Resilient Farm and Homestead (Chelsea Green)
About The Resilient Farm and Homestead (Whole Systems Design)

Ben Falk
Ben Falk on Vimeo

Whole Systems Design, LLC.
Permaculture Design Courses with Ben and Whole Systems Design.
Whole Systems Design (Facebook Page)
Whole Systems Design (Youtube Channel)

Dr. John Todd
National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

Joshua Farm: Urban Agriculture with Kirsten Reinford

Interview No Responses »

May 222013

Click here to download the episode.

My guest for this episode is Kirsten Reinford, the founder of Joshua Farm, an organic urban farm in the city of Harrisburg.

This is the second of the series on beginning farming. If you’d like to hear the first episode on this topic check out my interview with Erin Harvey.

I wanted to speak with Kirsten on this subject because of her candor in some of our conversations about what it’s like to run a farm, yet I didn’t know her story or that of Joshua Farm.

We’ve shared lunch at a farm tour and spoke about broader issues involving urban farming in Harrisburg, our state capital. We’ve attended the same meetings involving local initiatives where Kirsten asked pointed questions and provided personal insights. In many ways she is a mainstay of the regional sustainable farming community, and I’m thankful she’s here. Her passion for farming and devotion to this work is ever-present. I found this out when, during the interview, her doorbell rang. I paused the conversation as she answered the door, and there was a customer to pick up their CSA share. At nearly 9 o’clock at night.

That Kirsten contemplates her role as a farmer and the role of Joshua Farm is also apparent. I say that because I think is the least I’ve spoken during an interview. Each time I was ready to interject and ask a question, her narrative continued in the direction I planned to take us, and the unspoken question was answered.

Lastly among my many reasons for interviewing Kirsten is that I visited Joshua Farm. Being local, this site provided a place I could go to in order to learn and in turn provide a more useful interview.

After the interview wrapped there were some things Kirsten wanted to add that didn’t make it into the interview proper.

One of those is “SPIN Farming”, which is a program designed to get a small scale farm up and running, profitably, in a short amount of time. Though Kirsten doesn’t agree with everything in this method, there are some pieces that you may find useful. There is some information on the website, though most of the content appears to be made available through purchased PDF downloads or books, at various price points, with the total package running several hundred dollars. I can’t speak to the content or value of this product, and am not endorsing it in any way, but you can find out more by going to spinfarming.com and taking a look around. There is a mix of freely available content to get you started, and see if you might be interested.

Her other recommendation I noted was Growing for Market magazine, which offers numerous resources for farmer’s who grow to sell. I’m not familiar with it beyond Kirsten’s mention, but when I went to the main page of the website, there was Richard Wiswall with a recommendation for the magazine.

I mention Richard Wiswall because Kirsten recommended his book The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook. For the number of times I’ve heard his name and this book mentioned, it seems like the perfect place to start your research into the business of starting your own farm.

Looking into Agsquared farm planning software the current feature set includes:

Interactive Farm Map.
Crop Planner.
Planting Calculators.
Daily Calendar.
Smart Scheduling.
Farm Journal.
Spreadsheet Importer.

This is all supported with extensive training materials and email support, but does not include harvest tracking. I think that’s probably where the Spreadsheet Importer comes in. You can check out a free 30 day trial at Agsquared.com. Should you choose to purchase, the price is $60 a year. As a technology person I like that this is accessible across many mediums including computer, tablet, and smart phone.

Resources:
Joshua Farm
The Joshua Group

Agsquared
Growing for Market
Richard Wiswall

Farms:
Goldfinch Farm CSA
Greensgrow Farms
Mildred’s Daughter

Older Entries