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Getting started in high, dry, hilly AK

 
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I didn't know ANYTHING about permaculture until just a couple days ago I was shown Sepp Holzers videos on youtube and LOVED them! Now I want to do something like that on our land, but I haven't the foggiest idea where to start!

Our land is virgin, untouched land in central AK. We are amongst the first people to "settle" in this area. Our land is hilly, and at high elevation, although I don't know any of the specifics. The whole land is boreal forest. Covered in birch and willow trees with a spruce tree here and there. The undergrowth is rich with wild roses, currants, raspberries, wild rhubarb, grasses, mushrooms, etc. The land is alive and thriving and I definitely do not want to stop that! All we have done so far is build a road up to the property and clear out a small clearing for our cabin, which is only partially started.

I am so excited because I think this is the year we will get up there to live, and while my husband is busy building the cabin, I want to be working and planning how we will care for our herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats, the garden, and any other "livestock" (chickens etc) we will eventually get.

One of the biggest problems is water, which we have a natural occurring gully on the property and my brother is working out a plan to make a pond system much like Sepp Holzers. Otherwise we would be dependent on hauling our water over 40 miles year round until we could afford to drill several hundred feet for a well.

I just don't know how to get started! My brother loaned Sepp Holzers books from a friend and I will probably read those as well, but looking for ideas from here as well.
Thanks!
Shepherdess
 
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I recommend you get a good beginner's book on permaculture, such as "Gaia's Garden" by Toby Hemenway, which will help you with planning your homestead. Also, since water is an issue, I recommend Brad Lancaster's book "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Volume 2" which is about how to capture and use any rain that falls on your land (even if you don't live in drylands).

http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/
 
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