I'd like to introduce myself, and get some advice form you knowledgeable folks.

Hello there, thanks for clicking on my introduction. My name's Ben and I'm pretty new to the world of Permaculture. I'm 30 years old, single with no kids. After being honorably discharged from the US Military, where I spent five years doing maritime search and rescue (I joined to help people, not shoot them), I educated myself in the profession of software engineering. I've specialized in software performance, trying to squeeze out optimal performance of whatever software system I was asked to evaluate. I'm debt free and make a relatively good income. You might be wondering what all that has to do with an interest in Permaculture. Long story short: about two years ago I decided to form my own opinion on the climate change debate I was hearing about. That quickly led me to realize the unsustainable environmental impacts of today's modern society. Which was a bummer, because I was really having a good time traveling, eating whatever food I wanted, and generally just being a negative drain on the environment. That's where my interest in Permaculture comes in.

I'm now 100% convinced that I need to get away from that model that's so unsustainable. I discovered Permaculture about 6 months ago and decided that's what I want to do with my life. Initially I planned on just buying land somewhere remote, and solely creating a Permaculture farm myself. I've been reading a lot, but admittedly I have close to no experience in Permaculture. I come from a family of hard workers, I'm considered a bright person, and able to pick up on things quickly, so I'm hoping a community would see value in someone like me.

Now, to where I'm in need of advice... I'm looking into the idea of joining a Permaculture COMMUNITY. I don't want to join a commune, or religious camp. I want to be able to buy my own land that is connected to a community of individuals involved in the Permaculture / sustainable lifestyle. I want to take a hard-science approach to Permaculture. I have so much experience making systems perform optimally, I know how to transfer those methods to any field, and I want to do it with Permaculture. I don't expect to make any earth shattering discoveries, but I have the analytical skills to know I'd be a valuable, contributing member to the movement. I'm not planning on pulling the trigger and moving to a community for another 2-4 years. But I would like to buy land within a year, and make several trips a year to the site to work the soil and prepare for my transition. Where would I go to find and contact communities like that?

It's my opinion that the entire industrialized world will eventually need to move to a more sustainable model of living, whether it's in 10 years, or 100. It'll definitely become a requirement eventually, and I think Permaculture is going to play a very large role in that societal shift. Thank you for reading, and any suggestions, advice or other comments are very welcome!

Welcome Ben. Check out everything you can find concerning Jeff Lawton, Sepp Holzer and our own Paul Wheaton. That should keep you busy for a while. Rocket Mass Heaters are big around here as well. Thumb through each section. If you click on "Hot Topics", a number of interesting topics will come up. Before you start a new thread, always check to see if something similar already exists. Sometimes you may not be sure what section to place a new idea in. Do your best and the moderators will change the location if they see fit. The most important thing to remember when creating a new thread, is to name it appropriately. Cute sounding names that mean nothing are a real pain. Your first title is great. I knew exactly what to expect.

If you find certain member's information very helpful, click on their name and you will see a menu which allows you to view their posts and topics that they created. Some have a specialty - John Elliott is a soil science guy, Ernie and Erica Wisner are the moderators of wood heating, Walter Jefferies raises free range pork, Fred Morgan is a tropical forester and plantation manager and Adam Klaus is a high altitude dairy farmer and vegetable producer.

Purple Moosages are basically private messages --- I sent you one about the use of the word "form" in the title, when I'm sure you meant "from". You can edit within 24 hours of posting, then it's too late without assistance.

Welcome to Permies, Ben. We're a spread out bunch, so it may be hard for you to find that "community" part of it, except for on-line. But I expect that to change as more people come to the enlightened conclusion that you have made. When the unsustainable system really starts cracking and leaving people in the lurch, then they will have to make that discovery. As of now, people are content to eat tilapia instead of swordfish steaks, never realizing that they had to make that change because large swordfish have been completely fished out. But wait until their is no tilapia in the freezer case at the local supermarket and they have to raise them in the back yard.

Buy land in a place that you are comfortable. If you start a permaculture farm, you may be the only one for miles around using those methods. But your neighbors will see your success and will want to know how it all works. And the community you seek will form around you.