Hi Michael,
As of November 2012 I will be taking up again where I left off, to develop a Permaculture-type homestead in the Trans-pecos region of West Texas, somewhat South of El Paso. I very much look forward to the challenge. I think the country is beautiful out there...beautiful and challenging....
--my name is Michael as well, and I have presently three properties which I fortuitously grabbed during the recent "West Texas Land buyup.." there are still some properties out there still and they come up often because people buy with romatic notions but when they encounter 110 degree temperatures in the Summertime and start cracking through the caliche beneath their feet, some people become a little less romantic.... but I am offering some interesting options which I will describe. First I
should say that I began a
Permaculture approach to one small property I own just SW of Midland Texas in 2003 and learned
alot but also learned that some of my preconceptions were dead wrong...and the great wisdom from that was that just because a particular technique works in one place, does not guarantee success in another....but the universal concepts of swales,
water catchment, appropriate species selection, mimmicking the habits of desert plants and animals, all are foundation concepts.
First I am offering a sort of competition which will allow someone a couple of acres of their own if they undertake to build a subterranian version of the Earthship with emphasis on maximum comfort and
sustainability in all areas. Please write for details on that. I can be reached at
mikeeeebx@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Secondly, I have really looked at a number of issues relating to bioremediation of a larger 23 acre property a couple of hours South of Midland. It has been a complicated journey to decide what to do out there, and though it is not a traditional
Permaculture idea, I have decided that I would like to re-green it with a variety of desert plants from deserts around the globe, because the
native flora I have projected can not come back..the causes are multiple, and in part politically-oriented to the region, but partly that the climate in that part of the world has changed radically over the last 200 years, the region is drying and heating and the trend is not abating, it seems to be increasing. Additionally, feral burros which are federally protected and other introduced large game species from North Africa prevent the start unattended greenery in that part of the world. Commerical boundaries and residential obstructions which promise only to increase and not diminish have disturbed the fragile grazing patterns of such native species as Western Antelope. However all is not lost, here are opportunities and eco-responsible ones as well, if the goals can be reimagined with some creativity.
I am presently interested in creating a double living
fence of desert
trees around the property and greening the interior chiefly with shade, mulch and fodder producing desert trees including African and Australian Acacias,
Honey Locusts, Mimosas, Carobs, Jujube, Figs, Tagasate and a variety of hardy high-in-protein halophytes. This greenery will be used as a protected habitat to house breeding programs for threatened or delicate large vertebrate species. I have a belief that with the complicated environmental, water and economic issues facing the Trans-pecos region, that eco-tourism is the sustainable way of the future and landowners who would like to join together to emphasize this economic and environmental approach will be doing themselves and their neighbors a very good turn.
I could use an intern or 5 who would like to help me with stage 1 which is the greening of this property and the start of this liviing
fence of desert trees. I am open to all sorts of compensation ideas, particularly those who are seeking their own land, but who are cash-poor. I could really use some assistance with this. I am able to show the properties I have discussed in Mid November and any weekend in December 2012 and would be willing to discuss a number of different arrangements.
Permaculture, I do believe, is best as a team event......
Thanks for reading...Mike L.
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