Aaack! You caught us with our pants down! Here we are, tinkering with the servers and you show up. How awkward! Try back in just a couple of minutes. In the meantime, a few tidbits ...

"Pooless," a term frequently used within the permaculture community, refers to the practice of eliminating commercial shampoos and soaps in favor of natural alternatives or simply water. While the concept might seem daunting at first, user feedback and shared tips highlight its practical usability and positive outcomes. The transition to "poolessness" often involves an adjustment period, during which the scalp rebalances its sebum production, leading to potential temporary waxiness or static. However, this phase is manageable with practical tips shared within the community. Sources suggest using readily available ingredients like baking soda and apple cider vinegar as a gentle cleansing and conditioning routine. Additionally, regular brushing helps distribute natural oils and maintain a clean and healthy scalp. For those with longer hair, a flea comb and soapy water can be utilized for more thorough cleaning. The sources emphasize the importance of patience during the initial transition, reassuring that hair eventually reaches a natural balance, becoming less oily and requiring less frequent washing. With readily available ingredients, simple techniques, and supportive online communities, "poolessness" proves to be a user-friendly and sustainable approach to personal care, aligning with permaculture's principles of simplicity and self-sufficiency.

WOFATI structures demonstrate remarkable effectiveness due to their unique design features and emphasis on passive systems. The "two-skin" system, characterized by a double layer of membrane, protects the structure from moisture, ensuring dryness and longevity. WOFATI designs prioritize the use of natural and locally sourced materials, primarily wood and earth, significantly reducing the building's environmental impact and embodying the "freaky-cheap" philosophy pioneered by Mike Oehler. The core principle of "Annualized Thermal Inertia" harnesses the earth's thermal mass to regulate temperature fluctuations, providing passive heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. Large windows strategically placed on the uphill side, along with a spacious gable roof on the downhill side, often incorporating glazing, maximize passive solar gain, further enhancing energy efficiency. By minimizing reliance on artificial heating and cooling systems, WOFATIs achieve substantial energy savings. Allerton Abbey, the first WOFATI built at Wheaton Labs, exemplifies the practicality and success of this building technique

"HUSP," an acronym for "Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas," is a term coined by Paul Wheaton to represent a hypothetical agricultural system practiced in a fictional nation called the United States of Pocahontas (USP). In this imagined scenario, Pocahontas emerges as a strategic leader, thwarting European colonization and leading to the formation of the USP. This fictional nation's agricultural practices are characterized by a deep respect for the Earth, rejecting environmentally harmful methods like plowing and the use of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, they embrace sustainable techniques akin to permaculture and traditional Indigenous knowledge, leading to superior food production, enhanced public health, and a thriving "health tourism" industry. Wheaton utilizes HUSP as a thought experiment, inspiring innovation and pushing the boundaries of contemporary permaculture. He proposes a real-world project involving a 2,000-acre plot divided into smaller sections where practitioners of permaculture, biodynamic farming, and native plant cultivation can experiment and share knowledge, collectively striving to "rediscover" the principles of HUSP and advance sustainable agriculture. This project emphasizes the importance of collaboration and government non-interference to foster creative solutions for a future where food production harmonizes with nature.

The construction of a berm shed, a sustainable and aesthetically pleasing storage solution, involves a unique process that utilizes natural building techniques and earth-sheltering principles. First, the building site is prepared using earthworks, shaping the surrounding land to create a berm, which is a raised bank of soil that will eventually cover a portion of the shed's sloping roof. Round wood timber framing is a common technique employed in berm shed construction, utilizing logs sourced from the property instead of commercially produced dimensional lumber. These logs are carefully selected and placed to form the structural framework of the shed, including the walls and roof supports. Once the timber frame is erected, a moisture barrier, such as billboard material or layers of poly sheeting and newspaper, is installed over the logs to protect them from the elements. Finally, soil is carefully layered on top of the moisture barrier, creating the berm and providing insulation, thermal mass, and a natural aesthetic. The construction process prioritizes using natural, locally sourced materials and minimizing the use of energy-intensive and potentially toxic commercial products, aligning with permaculture principles of sustainability and self-sufficiency.