Eleven Permie Things...

Eleven Permie Things I would Love to do, but probably never will, or just cannot do, for various reasons.

1. Travel around the country, helping Permies on their farms for no money, two weeks at a time. I would just ask for food and lodging, as meager as the latter might be, and just enough money to go to the next Permie far, to “rinse and repeat”. (Cant: Because I am married, and have 4 daughters that require me to be home)

2. Travel to peoples Permie Farms as a paid consultant to help them figure out long term farm plans, both financially, and operationally. (Can’t: Because I have no formal education in anything)

3. Design and make blueprints for low cost farm implements that people could buy (just the plans) so they could build it themselves, or have someone local build it for them so awesome Permie people do not have to go into debt paying high prices to equipment dealers to do what they love. (Can’t: I lack the money to build prototypes to ensure my designs would work)

4. To meet, and shake the hand in respect of as many Permie Forum Members as possible, but especially Paul, Elle, Pearl, Nicole, TJ and R Ranson (Can’t: these people (and more) bless the USA and Canada which is widely spread over the map making travelling to them difficult)

5. Show how valuable sheep can be on a homestead, far more convincingly then I do now. (Can’t: Ineffective in communication, and I can be opinioned).

6. Design a pull-behind, or 3 point hitch implement that builds a properly shaped swale in one pass so more swales will be built world wide (Can’t: this would require something working within a lot of constraints; size, power, stability, etc)

7. Build a cabin on my farm, just so people could come here, to meet me (they would have to be desperate I know), and just relax.(Can’t: a lack of money to build one)

8. Have some attraction at my farms “Rock the Flock” event so that more Permie people come here, to meet up, and just enjoy this part of Maine in concert, and friendship. (Can’t: a lack of money to fund an interesting agenda)

9. Build off-grid homesteads on 20 acre lots, with home, barn, fencing and fields that were affordable so that more people wishing to homestead, could (Can’t: I am no longer physically able to do again what I did on this farm)

10. And the most frustrating: Convince Permie People that they CAN do this, that they CAN succeed, that agriculture is not so super-sophisticated that they cannot do it. (Can’t: 3500 posts and I am still striving to instill confidence in people since I lack communication skills)

11. Finish writing and publish my book on taking a Hobby Farm to full-time farm status so other Permies People wil have some resourses to learn from. (Can’t: finding time to write, and find a publisher, for my book)


This is my list, and the reasons why I cannot do them, but should you feel compelled, feel free to add what you would like to do, and probably won’t, or cannot do Permie wise. Dating Tiffany Amber Theisen, or Brad Pitt does no count).

Hey Travis, your list is awesome!!
Number one is the exact same idea I've had! no joke. maybe amazing as a team effort too, 6 people meet up and form a crew at a site and pull off some epic shit... (might be a way to tackle #4)
Number four, I wish for this to happen. Oh! the distances!! I figure I live literally 5 streets away from Paul, now one of those roads is 2600 miles long, mind you...but just 5 streets! 5!
Number seven. W.T.F.?! two weeks ago, I'm on vacation in NH wondering how long it would take to drive to Maine to meet you. That's not creepy is it? I mean it's less creepy now that you've invited desperate people to your imaginary cabin...
(It turns out getting anywhere east-west across NH or ME, it's just about as fast to begin back in Boston.)

Number eleven. Yes you can. You've already begun. Paul had a post or a podcast that was basically "write a bunch of articles, or a bunch of posts on Permies, and before you know it, you've got the makings of a book".
Isn't Number 10 covered by number 11?
Same with Number 5... and opinionated? so what!? that's the reason why someone wants your book!
Someone else can help you organize it, or polish it up, but you have to get your ideas and knowledge written down first.

Number eight. Maybe people would pay to come to workshops that begin or end with RTF concert? Felling trees and sawing into lumber? Build your imaginary cabin? add a rocket mass heater to it? learn to fabricate a piece of equipment? make a rocket oven and serve pizzas at the concert?

Travis Johnson wrote:
5. Show how valuable sheep can be on a homestead, far more convincingly then I do now. (Can’t: Ineffective in communication, and I can be opinioned).

I must say, you and Raven have got me hooked on the idea of eventually having sheep. So, you've definitely shown at least one person how valuable sheep can be!

11. Finish writing and publish my book on taking a Hobby Farm to full-time farm status so other Permies People wil have some resourses to learn from. (Can’t: finding time to write, and find a publisher, for my book)

Looking at just how successful Raven's book was, and she self-published, I think you could be mighty successful as well!

4. To meet, and shake the hand in respect of as many Permie Forum Members as possible, but especially Paul, Elle, Pearl, Nicole, TJ and R Ranson (Can’t: these people (and more) bless the USA and Canada which is widely spread over the map making travelling to them difficult)

We are all too far apart! Thankfully, permies gives us a great way to meet like-minded people in a virtual sense, but it sure would be fun to see each other in person. Why must everyone live so far away!?

I can't be young again. We are all sitting on health related time bombs,  as you know more than most.

But we can all be immortal through our children, and it doesn't matter if we gave birth to them. Rebecca has probably impacted more young lives than most ever will. Whatever we accomplish, will be continued by them.

Kenneth Elwell wrote:Hey Travis, your list is awesome!!
Number one is the exact same idea I've had! no joke. maybe amazing as a team effort too, 6 people meet up and form a crew at a site and pull off some epic shit... (might be a way to tackle #4)
Number four, I wish for this to happen. Oh! the distances!! I figure I live literally 5 streets away from Paul, now one of those roads is 2600 miles long, mind you...but just 5 streets! 5!
Number seven. W.T.F.?! two weeks ago, I'm on vacation in NH wondering how long it would take to drive to Maine to meet you. That's not creepy is it? I mean it's less creepy now that you've invited desperate people to your imaginary cabin...
(It turns out getting anywhere east-west across NH or ME, it's just about as fast to begin back in Boston.)

Number eleven. Yes you can. You've already begun. Paul had a post or a podcast that was basically "write a bunch of articles, or a bunch of posts on Permies, and before you know it, you've got the makings of a book".
Isn't Number 10 covered by number 11?
Same with Number 5... and opinionated? so what!? that's the reason why someone wants your book!
Someone else can help you organize it, or polish it up, but you have to get your ideas and knowledge written down first.

Number eight. Maybe people would pay to come to workshops that begin or end with RTF concert? Felling trees and sawing into lumber? Build your imaginary cabin? add a rocket mass heater to it? learn to fabricate a piece of equipment? make a rocket oven and serve pizzas at the concert?

Hey thanks...

I am not surprised that another permie thought about helping Permie Homesteaders by doing free work. I think one thing that has caued me to gravitate to permicultue is the low cost of it all. I know to be Permie there is a sense of Organic Farming, but to me it is difference. The oranic People here in Maine tend to have gobs of money, and buy their way into certification, and farming, and then try and use that certification to leverage justification for their high prices for food. To me, Permie People have little money and just want to go back to farming basics; I am on board with that, and would love to help them out without gouging them financially.

But permie people are nice...like you...so it does not suprise me that my sense of helping other charitably is shared by others on here. And yes, I bet a bunch of likeminded Permie Farm Chairty Gypsies would do some amazing projects.

As for my book, I think I bite off way too much. I could write a book on just getting grants and low interest loans, but in my book it was just a few chapters. Of course the book is only half done and it is over 250 pages. But I envision it being a reference book for many homesteaders wanting to turn their farms to full-farms. Basically it explains what Lean Farming is, and then how to go about doing it.

Neat list Travis! And I'm honored to be on it!! :D
#6 interests me, I have thought on that too. We need a thread to brainstorm what it could be... before I derail this thread with three point hitches :) So I started one..   Designing a swale builder tractor tool

And as I made that thread, I came up with words for you, Travis... If we can group source design things like that, how many of the things on your list that you are not physically able to do could have the muscle work done by others? I have told you before, you know a LOT of stuff, and can teach it, and I'd love to see you shift your focus from "I DO all of this" to "I teach people how to do all of this."

Would be awesome cool to do a weekend workshop that designed and built a swale builder thing. Not at your place, that puts all the physical work on you, who else has space, welding equipment and the desire to do this? Not me, not you, but the group mind here has a LOT of resources between us.

And it's not just the three point thing. How much could we make happen in the world if we could figure out how to engage the group mind here, and the group muscles here? I have health/strength issues, but I have lots of weird skills and incredible amounts of ideas and designs that I just am not healthy/strong enough to do, or that I don't need on my property.

#1 - Totally understandable & honorable - both the wish, and the why not - but, maybe after your little ones are grown?
#2 - I've no idea what the educational requirements would be, but your why not for #1 kinda goes here, too, yes?
#3 - I believe the solution word you're looking for here is: Collaboration
#4 - This is one of the nicest, sweetest things, a person can say.
#5 - They say a picture is worth a thousand words - maybe your camera (even just a smart phone camera) can do most of the talking? But... Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with your communication skills.
6 - See Pearl
#7 - Nah. I think they'd just like to meet they great guy & potential friend that you are. Guest houses are nice - but seasonally, a tent would work too, yes?
#8 - See #7 ;)
#9 - See #1
#10 - Hmmm.... it feels like there might be something about horses & water? But, I think the real thing isn't about you, at all, but is instead a distinct lack of confidence &/or wherewithal that seems to permeate today's society. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with your communication skills.
#11 - See r. ranson...

You've a lot of great dreams, here. I know you have health issues (many of us here, do), but I'm not sure to what extent they affect your daily life. Often, mine get me down, and I begin to wonder wth I was thinking, going into buying this place. Then, sometimes quickly, sometimes days later, I remember that other than things that need to be done in a specific season, how I do things, and how long it takes me to accomplish them don't really matter, in the long run. There is no law saying that my gardens have to be in any specific level of progress, right this minute. It's going to take me years, and I just might never get them exactly how I want them. What I can't do, for whatever reason, this perfect-for-it season, just might have to wait until they next perfect-for-it season. Example: hubs & I swore up and down, that as early in the spring as we could, we would buy a chainsaw, and start cutting up the deadfall, and whatever else it took, to set ourselves up for this winter's fireplace fodder, so we wouldn't have to depend on the expensive & often scarce bundles from the grocery stores & gas stations. These bundles run about $5@, and only last a few hours, in our fireplace - and last year, they were sometimes our only heat source. (We were in the 6month process of moving almost 500miles from the old state to this one, and being here for a delivery proved pretty much impossible). Wulllll... it didn't happen. We *STILL* don't have a chainsaw. We DO, however, have the phone number of a guy from whom we plan to buy a couple cords of seasoned hardwood. Not even close to the progress we wanted to make - but, it's still progress. Please don't give up on your awesome dreams, Travis....