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SKIP, or Skills to Inherit Property, is a free program designed to connect aspiring homesteaders, called "Skippers," with aging landowners, known as "Otisies," seeking successors for their properties. The program's core is a curriculum of over 1,400 practical projects, each referred to as a "Badge Bit" (BB). These BBs span a wide range of skills essential for sustainable living, including gardening, natural building, animal care, food preservation, and tool maintenance. Skippers choose and complete these BBs at their own pace, documenting their progress with pictures and videos as evidence of their skills and dedication. The program utilizes a tiered certification system. PEP (Permaculture Experience according to Paul) is the primary certification track within SKIP, with levels ranging from PEP1 to PEP4, representing increasing levels of expertise. Each PEP level requires the completion of a specific number of BBs, starting with approximately 80 BBs for PEP1. The documentation submitted for each BB is reviewed and verified by other members of the SKIP community. While the program encourages individual effort, tasks requiring assistance, such as lifting heavy objects, can be completed with help, but the Skipper must still perform the primary skill being assessed. SKIP is entirely free to participate in, and Skippers can engage with the program at their own pace and location.

Hugelkultur, is an advanced permaculture technique that utilizes decomposing wood to create self-sustaining raised garden beds. Hugelkultur beds can be built in various shapes and sizes, using a variety of wood materials, from twigs and branches to logs and even whole trees. The wood, buried under a layer of soil, acts "like a sponge to hold water," creating "parking spaces for water and nutrients," and reducing the need for irrigation. The decomposing wood attracts beneficial microorganisms and releases nutrients, resulting in a rich "soil on wood" environment that reduces or eliminates the need for fertilizers. Over time, the wood shrinks, creating air pockets, making hugelkultur beds "self-tilling". The decomposition process also slightly warms the soil in the first few years, extending the growing season. This technique, which works in diverse climates, allows gardeners to harness natural processes to create thriving, self-sufficient garden ecosystems, embodying permaculture principles

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

Hugelkultur, is a permaculture garden bed technique where wood is buried under the soil. It can be built in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can be used for growing a variety of "garden plants". The decomposing wood acts "like a sponge to hold water", making hugelkultur ideal for areas that receive little rainfall. Over time, the wood shrinks and creates air pockets, resulting in a self-tilling garden bed. This "soil on wood" technique helps to retain moisture and nutrients in the soil, which benefits the plants. Hugelkultur is an environmentally sustainable gardening technique because it uses wood that might otherwise be discarded.

The berm shed, a hallmark of permaculture design, is an eco-friendly, earth-sheltered structure renowned for its unique construction techniques. Earthworks are fundamental to its creation, as the surrounding landscape is carefully shaped to form the berm that will encase a portion of the shed's sloping roof. This berm serves a dual purpose, acting as both a natural insulator and a source of thermal mass, effectively regulating the internal temperature. The structural framework of the berm shed is often built using round wood timber framing, a technique that prioritizes using logs instead of conventional dimensional lumber, further enhancing its sustainable appeal. However, the longevity of these logs, especially when in contact with soil, is a crucial consideration. The sources recommend peeling the bark from posts before burying them, a technique born from experience and aimed at minimizing the risk of rot. Another technique for ensuring the durability of the structure involves incorporating gravel into the post holes. The gravel facilitates drainage, preventing water from pooling around the base of the posts and contributing to premature decay. These carefully considered details, combined with the innovative "attic" cell design at the termination ends of the shed, as described in source, showcase a commitment to sustainable building practices that go beyond mere functionality, exemplifying the core principles of permaculture.