Subject: Seeking permission and guidance for an Orb × Permies learning-support idea
Hello Permies community,
I’m building Orb, a small app intended to help beginners find supportive guidance as they learn practical homesteading, food-growing, natural building, and energy skills.
What draws me to Permies is the learning-by-doing approach behind PEP, Badge Bits, and SKIP. Many newcomers, including me, can learn from articles and videos but still need encouragement, feedback, and a community to help us turn knowledge into real projects.
Before building anything based on Permies materials, I want to ask for permission and guidance.
My early idea is for Orb to provide:
a place for learners to find voluntary mentors or paid one-to-one guidance;
project checklists and learning pathways that may link to official Permies/PEP resources;
a way for learners to document work they complete;
clear links back to Permies for official Badge Bit and badge requirements and submissions.
I do not want to copy material, use Permies branding, imply an official partnership, or represent that Orb can award Permies credentials without explicit approval. Any official PEP/BB recognition would remain entirely under Permies’ existing process and review.
If the community and site owners are open to discussing this, could you advise:
Who is the right person to speak with about permissions or a possible partnership?
Whether links, excerpts, or adapted learning pathways would be acceptable—and under what terms?
Whether there is a respectful way for qualified Permies members to opt in as Orb “guardians” or mentors?
What model of attribution, referral, revenue sharing, or other support would be appropriate if Orb eventually earns revenue from this work?
I would be grateful for candid feedback, including if this is not a good fit. My goal is to help more people participate in the Permies learning ecosystem while respecting the community’s work and ownership.
Thank you for this opportunity. I hope all people can find the goodness that you've offered through Orb.
Grace
grace@grace-consult.com
Orb:
https://orb.18benedict.com
