looking for southwest permie experience

so, i grew up in the negev in israel.
i think that inherently put a bug in my head that greening the desert is possible and good.
i also like the thought of facilitating the creation of an oasis.
i think permaculture is common sense, cheap, and proven to work beneficially.
therefore, my wife and i plan on purchasing land with obvious faults such as absent water, huge rocks, and erosion gullies. we will make it green.

but, thats all future talk, and not real life.

real life is that right now we are trucking around the usa working farm jobs and saving up 20 grand or so to start out our future plans.
ive watched every bill mollison/geoff lawton permaculture lecture on youtube and taken notes. i am reading the pdm and taking notes, i am going out and digging swales on public property wherever we go to see how they work off paper.

my point is i am not a fountain of knowledge.
the secondary point is that it would not be prudent to go off greening the desert with my notebooks and books and zero real life experience.

so, we are headed to new mexico/arizona/utah/colorado around december. i was thinking it would be cool to throw a line out and see if anyone is willing to give me a tour of their permaculture.
it would be cool to stay and help out, but if your not looking for a farm hand, thats ok. i can just park nearby and show up and look at your operation and see things in action.
if you know of anyone who needs help in exchange for money that would be cool too.

i am a fantastic grunt worker.

my wife and i have two cats and a small rv, we keep to ourselves mainly, arent felons, dont do drugs, eat anything people make for us, live frugally, do unto others, etc.

so send me a moosage if your down, and well figure something out.

i am interested in learning:

-about the local wildlife, plant and animal
-plant propagation
-alternative building methods
-permaculteral techniques, gabions, swales, dams, etc.
-animal husbandry
-bee keeping
-bushcrafting
-wild edible foraging
-rainwater collection
-alternative collection of atmospheric water. dew traps, transpiration, rock mulch, etc.
-driving large equipment
-becoming a better designer, seeing the larger picture, identifying patterns. using resources well and reusing them.

i could go on, but it would get vague and stupid if i did.

skills i have

-im a pretty descent forager where i come from, its hard to forage nomadically though.
-good with manual labour.
-eager to learn
-positive
-my wife is all these with the addition of being good with horses. really good with horses.
-i pick and grin, so if you havent someone to play with, i can kick it pretty good.


thank you for your time.

Hi Joel:

While I don't have your ideal situation, which sounds more rural, if you are passing through Phoenix, AZ I'd love to meet you. I've lived in several drylands including arid steppe and dry tropical (both in Africa) as well as in various parts of the SW USA.

I'm dedicated to urban, dryland permaculture. And I'm passionate about "working with what I've got" (I have a vision disability).

You can see some of the projects I'm involved with here:
My personal homestead in downtown Phoenix: http://permaculturenews.org/2013/03/20/working-with-what-youve-got-how-losing-my-vision-gave-me-perspective/
An urban green infrastructure project done by Watershed Management Group - Phoenix: http://permaculturenews.org/2013/05/18/one-desert-city-turns-stormwater-into-an-abundant-oasis-using-green-infrastructure-practices/
Additionally, if you're interested in dryland urban water harvesting, I would recommend you contact Watershed Management group: http://watershedmg.org/ They are urban watershed ROCK STARS and they've just managed to purchase a site to use as a demonstration site in Tucson. They may be interested in some trade for labor.

Best,
Jen

Hello Joel,

I am in the Albuquerque area and if you pass through can show you my suburban Permaculture experiment. I can also put you into contact with some people doing Permaculture, sustainable living and transition living. So far I've meet only a small group of people but I have only been looking for a short while.

Here are some links for you:
http://www.laabejaherbs.com/
This small farm also has horses

This group holds regular classes on sustainable living. Several of the members are willing to trade work (farm, super adobe, landscaping, etc.) in exchange for rent, education.
http://abqoldschool.com/


In neighboring Santa Fe (i have yet to visit any of them)
http://www.santafepermaculture.com/

http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/

I will send you a PM with my contact information.

Hey Joel,
I'm in the East Phoenix Area. The Bee Oasis [ find me at www.ic.org - bee oasis or on FB - Bee Oasis.] I have a lot of Permaculture elements because I'm a demonstration/teaching place. You are welcome to park up and enjoy the AZ Sun, share food and knowledge.
Don and Cris with kids - Jing and Lily

Joel - you should definitely check out Don's Bee Oasis. Don was my PDC instructor and his place is a great example of urban dryland permaculture.

@Don - about time you showed up here, my friend!

thanks everyone for all the helpful replies.

id like to update that we are currently staying with "back to the land project" a little south of mountain home arkansas. its a pretty cool project focused on helping neighbors lead a more production oriented lifestyle and less of a consumer oriented one. our duties vary and arent as many as wed like to have during the winter, but come spring gardening will be the main focus.
not too sure how long we will stay here, however i have no desire to stay in arkansas past october of this year.

so yea, happy new years everyone.

Hey Joel,

I live in Tucson, AZ and could hook you up with a few folks doing permaculture here. The most established one is probably Bean Tree Farms north of town. They focus on using local species, especially leguminous trees like acacia, mesquite, etc (hence the name). There is also a permaculture meet up group on Meetup.com. Just join the group online and you can look at all the profiles and see who is doing what. I joined them last year, but have been too busy to attend any more meetings so I'm kind of out of the loop with them. Feel free to contact me too, I'd be happy to meet with you and hook you up with what I know. I grew up here on a little organic farm/ranch so I have some experience in the field. I also have a nice compilation of sustainable resources on a word document that I'd be happy to give you. My em is stormcrow222@gmail.com if you wanna message me.

Cheers, Joe

I found this ad on craigslist today... Might be an opportunity - http://tucson.craigslist.org/grd/4230532365.html

If you're ever down in SW Texas - get in touch with us. We'd love to show you what we're doing out here at Timeless Ranch. We're only 10 months in and our knowledge is somewhat limited but we have come a long way and we love visitors. Everything is experimental at this point - we haven't even had a good rain since building our trincheras and ponds but the stuff is in place if you would like to check it out.

We're completely off-grid too and could show you our solar setup, rain catchment, building projects, etc.

We can be reached thru our blog anytime.

Cheers!

Hey Joel I'm headed to Arizona's Chino Valley area Near the Prescott National Park. Haven't landed yet, my partner and I are leaving Missouri in March. I would love to know how your adventures are going in the South West. Perhaps our paths will cross in the future.

My partner is going to have a baby in July with our child. I'm excited to be a father, and am excited to be returning to lands where I feel at peace. Two feelings I consider important in raising a child. Especially if I hope to have him/her carry on my studies. This is an interesting period in Gaia's history, rife with fear and doubt as much as it is filled with hope and vibrant beauty. It is my hope to contribute more of my life to that hope and experience more of it's mysteries. With so much information out there it's hard to narrow in on what will work best for my family, and I get the feeling you have a like mind. Of course, we're using the same forum.

You have a drive that I respect. And meeting you would be an honor. The last time I spoke with a man from Israel, I was in Hawaii.


Permaculture has been a very important part of my life for around three years. Unfortunately, my time here in Missouri has limited my opportunities to explore while leaving me with a thirst for more adventurous lands. No fault but my own. But, it's really cold here and my partner and I are eager to see richer landscapes. Something tells me you understand.

Please keep in touch.
~Calder, Permaskills@gmail.com