I first heard about
permaculture about 2 years ago in (probably the best) training session as part of in-country technical training as a Natural Resources Conservation
volunteer. I was blown away by the way the discipline so neatly encompasses pretty much every job I have ever considered - landscape architecture, ethnobotony, ecological restoration, forestry, etc. I had never really considered being a farmer, but after reading about restoration agriculture, I am really excited to own some acreage!
My wife and I took advantage of living in Ecuador to start
gardening and raising
chickens. It has been amazing what we can accomplish in 2 years on a tiny chunk of
land where the soil started as washed out sand with 0% organic matter, and with only a few minutes' work each day. The things that we learn in our own
yard we share with the people that we serve in our community. We have done workshops on urine-diverting dry toilets, biodigestors, reforestation, and
gardening. I will be going out tomorrow with a friend who is considering buying 4 hectares to discuss its potential for integrated, restoration agriculture.
We will be wrapping up our Peace Corps service in a few months and moving back to the USA (looking at MN, WI, and ID mostly). I hope that I will be able to continue learning about
permaculture and use it in my career, perhaps with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (I would be happy to hear anyone's opinion on the work they do, from a
permaculture perspective). We will surely do some small-scale gardening and
chickens wherever we land, but we plan to buy 10-20 acres in the next five years and do much more extensive planning and production. If God blesses our labor, perhaps we will eventually look into making some money from agriculture.
I appreciate all of the information I have gotten so far from this community, and look forward to getting to know you all!
