Jake Steele

Yep Anne, seems like we are on the same page then

It seems like a lot of work for sure Jane compared to just cooking them (though this is an advantage against pests who also won’t bother eating through all that water and fiber for the starch), but I don’t think it would be all that bad once you grate them up. After that it’s just time for settling in the water. And then you have a super calorie store that never degrades or goes bad! Idk, the idea is just super neat to me.

Thanks Anne. What’s special about these is that they are hybrids of Queensland arrowroot, canna edulis, and a few other species. They have lots of vigor and adaptability to various climates. I’m trying to get more of them now while they are still in the F1 and F2 generations.

Jane, if you do get your hands on some be sure to try out processing them for flour. That’s why they are so exciting to me, the idea of a tuber crop that can survive drought, wildfire, whatever and just keep growing away year after year… and then the starch will store for literally ever, and is twice as energy dense as grain! Sorry, nerding out a bit haha. I really think they could be a staple crop of the future.

https://zeroinputagriculture.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/tools-and-techniques-canna-flour/

https://zeroinputagriculture.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/plant-profile-canna/#:~:text=Canna%20has%20a%20mere%2010,for%20transportation%20and%20storage%20space.

This is the old blog, he’s on substack now, but really useful overview of the process.

I really like this guy’s hybrid canna crop, and the idea of a novel climate-resilient staple for extracting pure starch, but it’s really hard to find anyone with the seeds outside of Australia.

I did find someone who was growing it here in the US and got some mailed to me, but was curious if there was anyone else growing it? I would appreciate a greater amount of seed diversity.

We all have different ways of expressing these things perhaps, both as cultures and as individuals. It is definitely interesting and a more than a little daunting how much things have changed and the weight of what’s keeping it that way.

I agree, mindfulness is useful for all kinds of things. I mean more that there is a sort of ‘suffering savior’ undercurrent in western society that is easy to fall into for those *who are into* mindfulness. This is more or less echoed by Buddhism too, after all. My point is that one can end up denying the self, and things like healthy boundaries etc, in pursuit of ideals of transcendence and/or a higher self.

Maieshe Ljin, I often find that those in the mindfulness and metta circles tend to ‘fall on their sword’ a lot and try to be very self-sacrificing for their ideals (speaking from experience, here). Having good boundaries and assertiveness is also important to cultivate, and doesn’t go against anything taught in any eastern traditions (in fact I’d say it’s quite ‘middle path’). Just my thoughts. It’s easier to be loving and kind when you also can assert yourself and set boundaries on behavior.

And yes, like an above commenter mentioned about Samoan culture, extended families and kin groups making up communities was much more important in pre-industrial society. In fact, the story of state society is essentially breaking down these extended family units to increase dependence on the central authority, culminating in the nuclear family and now even that has given way to solely individuals. The story of state society and in particular recent dominant economic models also entails a fair bit of trauma and toxic/abusive cycles as well.

Reversing this dynamic, hunter-gatherers and early agrarians have/had ‘mythic kinship’, where clans are tied together by fictive descent from a mythological ancestor, in essence extending the biological feelings towards your kin to unrelated ‘strangers’. They would also do this with non-human relations, establishing mythical kinship with local animal and plant species with their own entailed rules and obligations for reciprocal interaction. So again, the expansion of state society can be seen as the breaking down and simplification of a once wide web of relationships.

(Mods, posted this in southern US forum but seems like eastern US forum is where all the NC/VA posts are. If I’m not allowed to make duplicate posts like this, pease feel free to remove the southern one).

Hey all! I’ve been posting on this site for a few years now and really enjoy it. Super unique and informative place, with nice helpful users.

My wife and I are natives to the South, met in the military and now have two little ones in tow, and looking to settle down and start our own permaculture homestead somewhere in the Piedmont Region.

We are in an interracial marriage, my wife is black and I am white, which unfortunately has presented some challenges in different parts of the rural US. We’ve had mostly pleasant experiences everywhere we’ve lived, from the PNW to a few states across the Southeast, but also some decidedly unpleasant ones. Enough to make me cautious about where to put down roots and raise my children.

We are in the Triad of NC right now and really enjoy it here, the cities and people are friendly and thriving, and there is plenty to do and see. But there is also a lot of development and urban sprawl unfortunately. I’m primarily hoping two things:

1) any permies on here in the Piedmont that can recommend an area that would be good for permaculture people, and homesteading in general? I’d of course prefer a region with likeminded counterculturists like on here, but would just be happy for a spot I knew was not going to be developed anytime soon.

2) if anyone knows, if they could recommend a rural area that has good diversity or they know has good race relations?

3) And finally, any specific recommendations for NC in those regards? And if anyone knows about it, maybe Caswell County or adjacent?

We were looking at Southside VA originally, specifically in Halifax County VA. We had good experiences, seems like a really diverse and well mixed area, but I realized it’s more realistic to look for a place close to where we live and work now instead of making elaborate plans to move out to BFE and swap who has a career etc, when we could just get started now instead.

I’ve been looking at Caswell County NC because of this. I currently live in Guilford and work in Forsyth, so it’s about as far as I could realistically commute. It seems both diverse and rural/remote on paper, but I know nothing about the reality on the ground.

I’ve also considered south to Alamance, but it looks like that’s getting into development and urbanization?

Would love to hear from any Piedmont permies, and hopefully anyone has some knowledge about my questions as well! Thanks to anyone taking the time to read this and respond.

Hey all! I’ve been posting on this site for a few years now and really enjoy it. Super unique and informative place, with nice helpful users.

My wife and I are natives to the South, met in the military and now have two little ones in tow, and looking to settle down and start our own permaculture homestead somewhere in the Piedmont Region.

We are in an interracial marriage, my wife is black and I am white, which unfortunately has presented some challenges in different parts of the rural US. We’ve had mostly pleasant experiences everywhere we’ve lived, from the PNW to a few states across the Southeast, but also some decidedly unpleasant ones. Enough to make me cautious about where to put down roots and raise my children.

We are in the Triad of NC right now and really enjoy it here, the cities and people are friendly and thriving, and there is plenty to do and see. But there is also a lot of development and urban sprawl unfortunately. I’m primarily hoping two things:

1) any permies on here in the Piedmont that can recommend an area that would be good for permaculture people, and homesteading in general? I’d of course prefer a region with likeminded counterculturists like on here, but would just be happy for a spot I knew was not going to be developed anytime soon.

2) if anyone knows, if they could recommend a rural area that has good diversity or they know has good race relations?

3) And finally, any specific recommendations for NC in those regards? And if anyone knows about it, maybe Caswell County or adjacent?

We were looking at Southside VA originally, specifically in Halifax County VA. We had good experiences, seems like a really diverse and well mixed area, but I realized it’s more realistic to look for a place close to where we live and work now instead of making elaborate plans to move out to BFE and swap who has a career etc, when we could just get started now instead.

I’ve been looking at Caswell County NC because of this. I currently live in Guilford and work in Forsyth, so it’s about as far as I could realistically commute. It seems both diverse and rural/remote on paper, but I know nothing about the reality on the ground.

I’ve also considered south to Alamance, but it looks like that’s getting into development and urbanization?

Would love to hear from any Piedmont permies, and hopefully anyone has some knowledge about my questions as well! Thanks to anyone taking the time to read this and respond.

Larry, we love Lunenburg and the whole Southside area for sure. My hope is mainly that there is something kind of like Southside VA in terms of ruralness and diversity, but closer to where we are in NC. Caswell seems okay on paper, but it's hard to tell reality from a Wikipedia article haha. If we can't find anything, we will default back to our 'move in a few years' plan and wind up somewhere in Southside.

Hey all! I’ve been posting on this site for a few years now (one time Paul even gave me an Apple) but only now getting around to a proper intro.

First off I want to say that I love this forum. A real wealth of information anytime I am curious about a topic or just want to go down a permaculture rabbithole. I really don’t think there’s anywhere else like it, and I’m glad it’s still stayed a really informative and genuine place with helpful nice people over the years.

Anyway, about us! We’re a family of 4 looking to settle down and start our own permaculture homestead. My wife and I are natives to the South, met in the military and now have two little ones in tow. We are in an interracial marriage, wife is black and I am white, which unfortunately has presented some challenges in different parts of the rural US. The service took us from the West Coast through most of the Southeast, and after rejoining civilian life we’ve finally landed in central NC.

We really enjoy it here, the cities and people are friendly and thriving, but there is quite a lot of development and urban sprawl unfortunately. I’m primarily hoping two things:

1) any permies on here in the Piedmont that can recommend an area that would be good for permaculture people, and homesteading in general? I’d of course prefer a region with likeminded counterculturists like on here, but would just be happy for a spot I knew was not going to be developed anytime soon.

2) if anyone knows, if they could recommend a rural area that has good diversity or they know has good race relations?

We were looking at Southside VA originally, specifically in Halifax County VA. We had good experiences, seems like a really diverse and well mixed area, but I realized it’s more realistic to look for a place close to where we live and work now instead of making elaborate plans to move out to BFE and swap who has a career etc, when we could just get started now instead.

So now I’ve been looking at Caswell County NC, if anyone is familiar? It seems both diverse and rural/remote, but I know nothing about the reality on the ground. I currently live in Guilford and work in Forsyth, so it’s about as far as I could realistically commute. I’ve also considered south to Alamance, but that’s getting into development and urbanization it looks like.

Would love to hear from any Piedmont permies, and hopefully anyone has some knowledge about my questions as well! Thanks to anyone taking the time to read this and respond.

Wow. Still a fascinating idea though, even if it wouldn’t work out. Creative thinking! Similarly, I’ve read that fermenting sunchokes reduces all of the gas/inulin.