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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.
The SKIP program, which stands for Skills to Inherit Property, is primarily facilitated through the online platform permies.com, a website dedicated to permaculture and sustainable living. Aspiring homesteaders, called "Skippers," engage with SKIP on permies.com by creating free accounts and choosing "Badge Bits" (BBs) to complete from the PEP (Permaculture Experience according to Paul) curriculum. These BBs are practical projects that demonstrate essential skills for sustainable living, and Skippers document their accomplishments by uploading photos and videos to permies.com. The documentation is then reviewed and verified by the permies.com community, ensuring quality and adherence to program standards. Skippers earn badges as they complete BBs, showcasing their progress and expertise in various skill areas. "Otis," the fictional representation of landowners seeking to pass on their properties, can then browse the profiles of Skippers on permies.com to find a suitable match. The permies.com forums provide a space for Skippers to connect, share experiences, and seek guidance, further supporting the SKIP program's community-driven approach.
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HUSP, an acronym for "Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas," represents an advanced, nature-centric agricultural system envisioned by Paul Wheaton. It goes beyond contemporary permaculture, envisioning a future where food production systems have undergone centuries of optimization, inspired by traditional Indigenous practices that existed before European colonization. HUSP posits a hypothetical United States of Pocahontas (USP), where agriculture prioritizes harmony with nature, rejecting environmentally harmful practices like plowing and the use of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. This system would not only produce abundant, nutritious food, but also lead to improved human health and a thriving health tourism industry within the USP. Achieving HUSP in the real world necessitates collaborative experimentation and knowledge exchange between permaculture, biodynamic farming, and native plant cultivation practitioners. This would involve a 2,000-acre plot divided into smaller sections, where experts can develop and refine HUSP principles, fostering innovation and leading to a future where food production systems are deeply integrated with natural ecosystems. Crucially, this project requires a supportive environment with minimal government regulation to encourage creativity and accelerate progress toward a truly sustainable agricultural future.