This is a topic that I think interests a lot of permie folks and that is "what would be a sound financial strategy to start a
permaculture farm from scratch?"
The strategy I have been envisioning is to save a lot of money while working on a day job and learning about
permaculture in my spare time. When my savings are substantial enough, the next step would be to buy
land. I think the first step once on the land would be to start establishing the earth works and food forest system while creating cash flow with animals. I like Joel Salatin's fast money turn around strategy with the
chickens, but for some
political reasons (quotas on poultry and eggs), this would not be possible in Canada without a substantial investment. So I think I would turn towards grazing animals and pigs. I think the important thing at this point would be to keep expenses low so that the required cash flow would not have to be too big.
However, I have a few concerns with this strategy:
1- The price of land is getting pretty high in warmer parts of Canada and my savings would have to be significant to avoid a large
mortgage;
2- I assume that my family and I would like the rural lifestyle, but it might not be the case; and
3- I don't have the required knowledge set when I start.
Any thoughts on this strategy or suggestions for a different one?I think my second and third concerns could be addressed by working on a
permaculture site before hand, but that means