[careinke]

Thanks for the website! My husband was really excited about it. We've been sort of flying blind, but seem to be doing the right thing so far. Yesterday we cut up a fallen tree and traded it for a load of manure. We're zoned residential so we can't have livestock. We compost our pea vines, cornstalks and other garden waste, and work them in. When we started four years ago there wasn't a single earthworm to be seen, but now just turn over the soil and you get a handful. We're so grateful for the information. We plan to be around a long time and to hand the farm on to our kids, so this permiculture information means so much to us. Thank you again! By the way, my husband's grandfather was Cyrus Swope, one of the original organic farmers. You can read about him on the internet. But all his kids (he had fourteen) rejected his methods and went for big tractors, pesticide and chemical fertilizers. My husband wishes he had paid attention to Grandpa when he was growing up! We're glad someone preserved this life saving information.

Just because it is zoned residential, you might still be able to raise some chickens. Seattle for instance lets you keep up to seven hens. Chickens work much better than the garbage disposal in your sink, and you get eggs! Check with your county conservation person.

Today, I am going over to my sisters place (urban), to show them how to harvest their roosters prior to them starting to crow. They bought 15 straight run chicks (Sussex), to start their flock. They can only keep four. So, I get the excess hens, and one rooster to replace mine, Today we show them how to kill and prep the other roosters for the freezer.

[PrestonSturges]

with only 72 hours of instruction and the right motivation.

I'm waiting for the 72 minute version that instructs you where to place yourself in a horizontal position in the landscape so that the falling nuts and fruits fall right into your mouth. Designed in such a way that you don't even have to get up because when you pee your piss will flow through your pineapples and your poop will roll down next to the dung beetle bin where the scarabs will roll your poop into balls and carry them down to the roots of the kentucky blue stem grass which will grow a roof over your head.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
There's a land that's fair and bright,
Where the handouts grow on bushes
And you sleep out every night.
Where the boxcars all are empty
And the sun shines every day
And the birds and the bees
And the cigarette trees
The lemonade springs
Where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
All the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth
And the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmers' trees are full of fruit
And the barns are full of hay
Oh I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall
The winds don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.

[Shaved Monkey]

here's some good film clips on creating a paradise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... wI9Arel9tQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Q31rUk#t=2

[Quinny]

My village currently has a population of about 800, in the1850's it had about 2800 residents and it's population peaked in 1911 at nearly 4000 residents. It's current population density is approx 30 people/sq mile the village still has all essential services, but most people travel to nearby towns for major shopping. Only 40 years ago the village was pretty self sufficient and even more recently people rarely left except for very special occasions. Less than 30 years ago the village (and included surrounding hamlets) had over 30 bars. I live in the house that had a workshop making clogs for locals and surrounding areas. It's an aging population, but there are some descendants returning because of employment difficulties. Life is physically more strenuous than I have been used to, but although the locals initially laugh at some of my permie ideas they lsiten and some have copied some of my ideas. Community is IMHO the essential element to sustainability.

Permanent-Culture requires a diverse community as well as personal self-reliance. Every home site has unique soils, water, topography, and solar access and so may be optimized for different community functions. No one family or homestead is capable of sustenance by themselves. An important component of local self-reliance will be new, inventive, and highly-complex tightly-coupled systems for optimizing natural capital (energy flows, resources, special human talents) and recycling nutritional/agriculture nutrients as well as legacy resources. Post-peak we will reorganize/simplify complex mass-market industrial systems for increased local production.

There is no need to return to a pre-industrial levels with limited energy, rather we will re-envision the energy we will still have. Specialization will always be useful, division of labor to manage and produce complex agricultural systems. My wife's family's farm town in Pennsylvania had a tannery, timber and a grain mills, and general store for supplies. Farmer might not have the time, tools, or expertise to maintain a hybrid (or true-breeding heirloom) seed/starts collection. The Commons becomes necessary and shared tool and land use is more efficient than private ownership in some case. But not all. So for instance, a neighbor herd is allowed into a corn field at the right time. And corn grain may be fed to the neighor herd during the winter snows.

[Shaved Monkey]

Here's some more inspiration for those in the northern climate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3riW_yiCN5E#t=199

[careinke]

Here is the first Free online Permaculture course, no catches.

http://www.permaculturedesigntraining.com/

Welcome to the World’s First Free Online Permaculture Design Course. The complete 72+ hour permaculture design course curriculum is now available completely without charge together with some amazing interviews on sustainable living and intentional community design from some of the world’s greatest educators. There is no catch here — the course is completely free. Just enter your name and e-mail address above, and click start course button.

This is the same permaculture design course curriculum that is taught for thousands of dollars around the world, now available to you without charge. Our goal is to take permaculture mainstream, which requires making the knowledge available to people around the world without barriers. Many thousands of people have signed up since this course has been launched and we are continuing to fine-tune and release content.

So if you are interested, no more excuses. Enjoy!

[careinke]

Permanent-Culture requires a diverse community as well as personal self-reliance. Every home site has unique soils, water, topography, and solar access and so may be optimized for different community functions. No one family or homestead is capable of sustenance by themselves. An important component of local self-reliance will be new, inventive, and highly-complex tightly-coupled systems for optimizing natural capital (energy flows, resources, special human talents) and recycling nutritional/agriculture nutrients as well as legacy resources. Post-peak we will reorganize/simplify complex mass-market industrial systems for increased local production.

There is no need to return to a pre-industrial levels with limited energy, rather we will re-envision the energy we will still have. Specialization will always be useful, division of labor to manage and produce complex agricultural systems. My wife's family's farm town in Pennsylvania had a tannery, timber and a grain mills, and general store for supplies. Farmer might not have the time, tools, or expertise to maintain a hybrid (or true-breeding heirloom) seed/starts collection. The Commons becomes necessary and shared tool and land use is more efficient than private ownership in some case. But not all. So for instance, a neighbor herd is allowed into a corn field at the right time. And corn grain may be fed to the neighor herd during the winter snows.

Excellent comments Pstarr. Although I believe my wife and I could probably go it alone, it would be3 a lot easier with an additional 20 people on our place. You also need some other like minded people to trade with, especially seeds.

[Quinny]

Many thanks

[Shaved Monkey]

A video doco on a permaculture suburb in California that is 30 years old
you may need to sign in but its free.
http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/60356-foo ... suburb?r=y