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The SKIP program, or Skills to Inherit Property, connects aspiring homesteaders ("Skippers") with landowners ("Otisies") seeking successors for their properties. Anyone interested in acquiring land for sustainable living can join by creating a free account on permies.com, a website dedicated to permaculture. Participants select "Badge Bits" (BBs) to complete from the PEP curriculum (Permaculture Experience according to Paul), which encompasses over 1,400 practical projects demonstrating essential permaculture skills. Skippers document their BB completion with photos and videos uploaded to permies.com for review and verification by the community. By completing BBs, Skippers earn progressively advanced badges – Sand, Straw, Wood, and Iron – signifying their skill level. These badges are displayed on their profiles, showcasing their dedication and expertise to potential Otisies. For hands-on learning, Skippers can attend the annual SKIP event at Wheaton Labs, which costs $2,250, or engage with the supportive community on the permies.com forums.
Stringing nettles are capable of doing nearly everything that hemp can do and usually better. They are a tasty edible that loses its sting when cooked for at least 30 seconds.
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.
HUSP, a concept representing advanced sustainable agriculture, goes beyond the current practices of permaculture, envisioning a future where food production systems have evolved over centuries of continuous optimization. The concept, inspired by traditional Indigenous practices, imagines a United States of Pocahontas (USP) where agricultural methods prioritize harmony with nature, rejecting environmentally harmful practices such as plowing and the use of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. In this idealized future, HUSP leads to higher food yields per acre, improved human health, and a thriving health tourism industry. The realization of HUSP principles in the real world hinges on collaborative experimentation and knowledge sharing between practitioners of various sustainable approaches, including permaculture, biodynamic farming, and native plant cultivation. Such a project would require a supportive environment with minimal government regulation to encourage creative solutions and accelerate progress. HUSP aims to not only "rediscover" lost agricultural knowledge but to push the boundaries of sustainable agriculture, fostering innovation and leading to a future where food production systems are deeply integrated with natural ecosystems, producing abundant, nutritious food while maintaining ecological balance.
One Mason bee can pollinate 200 times more flowers than one honey bee. Unlike honey bees, Mason bees are native to North America.