PEP 2 Certification - Apply, Boast, and Certify Here

PEP 2 Certification: 1 wood badge + 7 straw badges + 14 sand badges (a badge in all 22 aspects)

To apply, please have achieved:

  - 1 wood badge
  - 7 straw badges
  - 14 sand badges
  - Badge Bit Verification (BBV) count of 100


Confused? Start Here: https://permies.com/wiki/skip-pep-bb

I would like to officially apply for PEP2!  It's taken much longer than I thought due to about a million distractions. I keep learning new skills that I might have poo-pood in the past.  It has been a delightful journey and I'm glad I made it to the top of this mountain.  Thanks to everyone who's been certifying BBs and helping run the SKIP program - we couldn't do it without you!!!  

Please note that we have nice signatures badge icons that expand when you click on them (at the bottom of my post).  I also attached it as an image just in case.

Requirements:
1 Wood badge:   Oddball (I overdid it and got an iron badge in this aspect)
7 Straw badges: Tool Care, Food Prep, Gardening, Community, Plumbing, Foraging, and Homesteading (I overdid it and got a Wood badge in Homesteading)
14 Sand Badges: Roundwood wood working, Animal Care, Woodland care, Nat medicine, Dimensional woodworking, Nat building, Electricity, Metalworking, Nest, Textiles, Rocket, Willow feeders, Earthworks, and Commerce

100 BBVs: I have certified 2114 BBVs so far

AMAZING MIKE!!! You beat us :) good job, man!

I've been wanting to create a wood-burned sign with this design. I feel like it would be cool for us to have one, each, as we hit these big ranks.

Oh my!! Congratulations, Mike!!! Thanks for paving the way to PEP2 and making this program exist! hah!

Rebekah, I agree, it's nice to have something that feels meaningful! I see it in my coat hook that I made, the mallet that I use, the kindling cracker that I made (and use, but also, did I say made? lol), with the honorable harvest, and so many more things.

Cheers to you, Mike! Funny, I also saw your name in the PINA email this morning. So coincidental! You're so famous!

Thanks everyone!!!  It's been really neat to help develop the program and do a lot of these BBs for the first time.  I see the PEP3 mountain up ahead and, unsurprisingly, it's bigger than the PEP2 one was...

Sincere congratulations Mike. I am in awe of your skillset.  

Best wishes for PEP and PEM 3

Well done Mike!


source

Excellent job Sir!

Thank you all!!!  It's been a lot of work, with some frustration and lots of learning along the way.  For anyone who says "I've already done that BB, I don't want to do it again", I said that a few times and the opportunity soon arose to knock it out.  Replace a sink, I'm looking at you...  Stick with it and take all the darn pictures and you'll get there before you know it.  I think I had to make wine three times before I got all the right pics.

Wow! Congratulations on your hard & well earned title, Mike!! Truly impressive!!

Big congrats, Mike!! Way to go!

Congrats Mike!

Today's the day! Yippee!! I'd like to officially request my PEP2 badge!

Requirements:
1 Wood badge:   Rocket
7 Straw badges: Natural Medicine, Foraging, Food prep and preservation, homesteading, Community Living, Tool Care, Gardening,
14 Sand Badges: Woodland Care, Greywater, Animal Care, Metalworking, Earthworks, Dimensional Lumber, Textiles, Oddball, Nest, Round wood woodworking, Plumbing, Electricity, Natural Building, and Commerce.

100 BBVs: I have certified 102 BBvs to date

I quit my corporate job in March 2024 and committed to completing PEP2. At that time, I had 20 BBs that I had completed for fun but had previously given it up because suffering through an early rejection made it not fun. When I committed to completing PEP2, I knew that there would be many challenges that I'd have to get through. No matter what. There wasn't a choice to give up because my husband and kids were counting on me. Speaking of family, my husband and kids are the best. They have been my greatest supporters. They've literally rooted for me and helped me when things were challenging. They've hustled to get photos for me, read the requirements for me when my hands were full, and, honestly, countless other ways. My name is on here getting the glory but my husband and kids have been along there with me every step of the way. I think, in many ways, I wouldn't have made it this far without them to motivate me. The hope of getting to move to a homestead is a shared dream that we all have.

I've undertaken the PEP2 goal like it was my full-time job. Okay, maybe less like a job and more of an obsession since I also worked most evenings and weekends. I've kept metrics on my progress, assigned time estimates to completion, kept to my timelines, and created many smaller, achievable goals along the way. I've printed updates and posted it to our walls so that my family could also take part in celebrating every row that we crossed off! I've also declined many, many other opportunities so that I could stay focused and committed to this goal. I also want to point out that I have had the luxury of not having to worry about bills, feeding my kids, acquiring all of the tools and materials, travel costs, incidentals, etc. My husband and I have looked at this process as an investment for our future. I feel fortunate that I have the resources to expedite my journey to PEP2. I strategically picked my Straw and Wood level badges to expedite my timeline. I picked a path to PEP2 that prioritized my timeline and assessed feasibility. Going the rocket wood level route wasn't my first choice, I much prefer to garden and grow food but I prioritized timeline. As intimidating as it was to do the rocket wood badge, I also knew that it could give me and my family a pathway to a future livelihood. I hope to make rocket heating a family business in the future.

I can also say that my life has opened up new, unforeseen opportunities because of SKIP. It's forced me out of my comfort zone, connected me to new people I otherwise wouldn't have made connections with, given my family (and myself) new experiences, and so many more delightful outcomes. I committed to SKIP in part because I wanted to feel confident that this city gal had what it took to homestead. I feel that I've accomplished that goal and now feel certain that I'm ready to change our families' lifestyle. I'm excited, emotional, and hopeful for this next part of our family's journey. I hope it's lovely and that I can give back to those after me.

I'd be remiss to not also acknowledge all of the permies staff that have seen me through this journey. I'm grateful to each of you and the care that you have in other humans that you don't know and, even more than that, each of the individual parts you play in making the world just a little bit better. Many thanks!!

As much as I have looked forward to not doing SKIP any longer, it turns out that each of my kids plan to do SKIP when they grow up. I'm so proud of those little monsters I created. I think this is enough blubbering for now. I guess I'll be continuing to post the next parts of this SKIP journey

Congratulations, Alexandra!! Nicely done!!

Well done, well deserved!  

Alexandra Malecki wrote: maybe less like a job and more of an obsession since I also worked most evenings and weekends

I'm pretty sure Paul described the SKIP program as an alternative to a college course and working evenings and weekends does sound familiar.... I
think ​the fact that you have done a lot of badges outside your comfort zone will have developed you more as a person than if you had stuck to the slow and familiar route.

Congratulations and well done!

Congratulations Alexandra on your journey, focus and inspirational leadership.  For those who actually have doubts, You are the proof that family, motherhood, and PEP 2 are doable.
Best wished for finding a fabulous Otis.

Holy cow! Congratulations, Alexandra! Very impressive.

Wonderful achievement!  Congratulations!