I’m looking for ideas to develop 30 acres in the
Arkansas delta, transitioning from years of row crops to a functional
permaculture system. This would be a non-profit endeavor, aimed at providing a few
local jobs, engaging the public, and producing some offsetting cash flow streams from what the
land produces. Time isn’t of the essence, so I’m looking for something like a 5 year plan, which would allow some of the quicker growing
trees to be in play. Having
bees is a priority, and I’d like to stack systems to provide forage for the
bees as well as other harvestable output. I‘ve heard that
black locust honey is fine tasting, and an idea for a stacked revenue stream would be to manage a coppiced black locust lot for a woodworker (employee) to make things like
fence posts or broomsticks, since the
wood never rots. Or
fruit trees to make preserves. It would be wonderful to arrange the land such that there’s an abundance of flowers of all kinds at any given time, keeping bees on the property (and away from row crop pesticides) as much as possible.
I’d be thrilled for others to help throw ideas out to see what sticks. What would you do if this
project fell in your lap?? Thank you for reading and your thoughts!