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The SKIP program, an acronym for Skills to Inherit Property, enables individuals to "skip the rat race" and acquire land for sustainable living by demonstrating practical skills through the completion of "Badge Bits" (BBs). To join the program, aspiring homesteaders, referred to as "Skippers," create free accounts on permies.com and select BBs they wish to complete from the PEP (Permaculture Experience according to Paul) curriculum. BBs encompass a wide range of permaculture-related skills, such as gardening, natural building, and food preservation. Skippers document their completion of each BB with pictures and videos, which are then reviewed and verified by the permies.com community. As Skippers complete BBs, they earn badges that reflect increasing levels of competency, starting with the Sand badge and progressing through Straw, Wood, and Iron. These badges, displayed on their profiles, serve as evidence of their skills and dedication to potential "Otisies" – landowners seeking worthy successors for their properties. The permies.com forums provide a space for Skippers to interact, share experiences, and seek guidance, fostering a supportive community within the SKIP program.

Hugelkultur, meaning "hill culture" in German, is a sustainable gardening method that involves creating raised garden beds by burying wood under soil. This technique, described as "soil on wood," uses logs, branches, twigs, and even whole trees, which decompose and act as "a sponge to hold water". The decomposition process attracts beneficial microorganisms, creates air pockets, and releases nutrients, resulting in fertile soil that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation and fertilization. Hugelkultur is a versatile technique that can be implemented on a small scale or on a large scale, even spanning nearly a kilometer. By utilizing wood that would otherwise be discarded, hugelkultur promotes environmental sustainability and aligns with permaculture principles, allowing gardeners to "grow a typical garden without irrigation or fertilization"

A berm shed is an innovative, earth-sheltered structure designed for storage, blending seamlessly into the landscape while offering practical benefits. This natural building technique utilizes readily available materials like logs and earth, minimizing environmental impact and cost. The berm shed's design, as described in the sources, features a sloping roof covered with soil, creating a natural berm that provides insulation and helps regulate temperature. The round wood timber framing techniques used in its construction, relying on logs rather than dimensional lumber, further enhance its sustainability and aesthetic appeal. The berm shed is often incorporated into permaculture designs, serving as a visual and sound barrier, enhancing privacy, and creating a microclimate for plant growth. Its construction involves earthworks, carefully shaping the surrounding landscape to create the berm and ensure proper drainage. The berm shed's unique design, combining natural materials and earth-sheltering principles, offers a durable, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing storage solution that integrates harmoniously with the surrounding environment.

Made of ancient diatom skeletons, diatomaceous earth is edible to mammals but deadly to insects. De scratches through a bug's waxy exoskeleton coating turning their innards to teeny tiny bug jerky.