Aussie permie in waiting!

Hi there, I'm a 41 year old Australian woman looking to connect with other like-minded permies for friendship and maybe even a relationship if I should be so lucky. I'm currently living in Sydney but I'll be making my escape in July/August 2013 I'm planning to spend 6-12 months travelling through Qld, NSW and Victoria (ideally the coast and hinterland areas), doing a mix of WWOOFing and house/farm sitting, and learning as much as I can about permaculture. I hope to do my PDC somewhere along the way. Ultimately, I'd like to find a nice community to settle in and live off the land. Longer term, I'd love to write about and teach permaculture and self-sufficiency skills.

I grew up on a sheep farm in the wilds of south western NSW (well, maybe not the wilds exactly!) and I'm hugely grateful that I had that start in life. I have a deep love of the land and nature and have spent many years working in the environment and nature conservation sectors. I'm very much a country girl, despite having lived in cities for the past 18 years or so. I can't wait to get back to my roots!

I'm fit and healthy and love being outdoors... camping, hiking through the bush, swimming in the ocean, kayaking, farming! ... anything that gets me outside close to nature. I'm a determined person and I don't give up easily on anything I set my mind to. I'm not afraid of hard work and getting my hands dirty. I have next to no interest in shopping these days, although I'm partial to a good book store and country op shops (where all the best bargains are found!). I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl mostly but every now and then I like to frock up and go out for a nice meal. I'm an honest, genuine and caring person who's kind to animals, children and old people... and most everyone else!

I know there aren't many Aussies on this site but I figure I have more chance of meeting like-minded souls here than I do in the bars and cafes of Sydney-town! While it would be fabulous to meet a potential partner, I'm also interested in developing friendships and sharing knowledge (when I get some knowledge that is!) with permies from around the globe, so please feel free to get in touch if you'd like to become a "pen pal" of sorts.

Well, Jodie, I wish you all the best. From your photos and your self-description you seem to be most attractive in all the good ways, and if I lived (way-y-y-y) over there, I would be begging you for a date right now. But.... here I am in a field of snow. LOL. Good luck on your path and may you always have at least a teeny bit of healthy soil hidden under your finger nail.

Hi Rick, thank you for your lovely feedback and encouragement. It's nice to get a response, even if it is from someone on the other side of the world! You know, there have been a few times this Summer when I would have gladly swapped places with you in your field of snow. We've had bad bushfires, cyclones, floods and the hottest temps ever recorded here in Oz this season. Climate change is starting to bite. It's not making it any easier to figure out where to settle!! Anyway, I hope the Winter isn't treating you to harshly over there. Thanks again for your message.

All the best
Jodie

P.S. There will always be a teeny bit of soil under my finger nail, figuratively if not literally

Hello jodie, I have a permaculture farm in Thailand and if your interested, perhaps we should talk? Feel free to email me at:
Sanctuarynaturalfarm@gmail.com
Thanks.
Randy

G'day Jodie,
what a Permaculture asset you'll be! You sound really well-skilled & experienced to add Permaculture quals to your collection.

We need more professionals from other environmental fields to bring in their knowledges to Permaculture, & take Permaculture design thinking back out in to other fields.

Which wild and woolly bit of SW NSW ?

I'm based back in Goulburn after picking up 2 degrees in social ecology at UWS Hawkesbury, & then 13 years in Canberra where I scored another 2 at the Uni of Canberra covering systems thinking, sustainability education, adult education & social change. while doing my research part-time, I was also lecturing & tutoring in a range of areas, mainly in environmental design, education, systems thinking & in a unit I co-wrote & co-convened "Sustainable Communities" ( essentially Permaculture design thinking from a community development & social change perspective).

As we have quite a few overlapping goals, please get in touch.

Nearly left out the good bit, that I've been doing Permaculture since the first book came out by Mollo & Holmgren in 78 & then did my PDC with Bill in 84, both significant life-changing events. It was realizing the need for Permaculture thinking to incorporated into government policy & the education system, then meeting Prof Richard Bawden (systems agriculture) at Hawkesbury, that sent me back to Uni full time in 92.

I particularly want to get back to teaching Intros & PDCs in the community amongst the other goals in my business plans.

Look forward to talking with you

Cheers
David

David Marsden-Ballard
Sacred Earth Works
- Social, Economic & Environmental Sustainability through
Science Advocacy Communication Research Education & Design

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