posted 1 week ago
I think I have moved into a space that is just too crazy for permaculture professionals.
I stopped by a montana "resort" a couple of weeks ago. The air was so full of smoke I couldn't bear to be outside. I remember that the sun came out, so I went outside to get some sun, and ended up coming back in within seconds because the smoke was too much. I know that the owners of the "resort" had a PDC there because they are so keen on permaculture. Here it is, years later, and they are burning brush "to make it look nice". It is "cheaper" than having that organic matter hauled to the dump. In the meantime, the rooms are heated with electric resistance heat, and everywhere I see that the grounds are mulched with commercial compost.
Of course, I know that if I can find somebody that cares and I point this out, then they are gonna think that I am suggesting a chipper. I am not suggesting a chipper. I am suggesting that there are dozens of things to be done with that "waste" instead of burning it.
The "gardens" all looked sad to me. Their practices had transformed their soil into dirt. And they were attempting to mitigate that with commercial products, like commercial compost which imports persistent herbicides.
...
I talked to a permaculture guy yesterday that is putting something together about wildfire mitigation. He showed me a list of all sorts of big name permaculture peeps that are going to talk about different angles on all of this. And while looking at the topics and the structure and the solutions that this guy was excited about ... I tried to talk about my position ... and I realized that my angle is way too weird for even the experts to not wince.
Forestry has evolved into one forester managing 20,000 acres from a hundred miles away. And the focus is on extracting dollars via conifer based timber.
I tried to suggest something where there is a permie for every two acres. And the permie is gonna take out the conifers because the conifers to not offer enough value. And instead grow a variety of deciduous trees, plus shrubs and other growies. The permie will build the soil. Eventually, the driest part of august arrives and nearby forest fires dump floating embers onto the two acres, but nothing ignites.
The permie has a symbiotic relationship with the woodland. The permie gets food, shelter and heat from the woodland.
The event coordinator I talked to started coming up with all sorts of rules and requirements for each permie ... my mind reeled with how that isn't gonna work, but the sentiment is right. After all, the permies at the resort came to to poor conclusion. As they burn brush they probably sing some permaculture songs.
And then came the next part that made me cringe: the jobs that these people would have to earn money so they can eat. And then there was the idea of how much of a drive would there be to get stuff and to possibly work ...
I was thinking it would be a permie every couple of acres. And 95% of their food would come from the land. And they would each be gerting it - sorta retired.
Gardening gardeners. Maybe 40 acres would have 20 people.
I am reminded of how the average american spends 70% or more on housing.
The mentality I am facing with all of this is that the people are not gonna do it unless they are paid a lot. And who makes money from hiring all of these people. So then they need grants?
I try to explain gardening gardeners. Rather than living in the rat race, there can be hundreds of thousands of homesteads, and people can become a gardener at a homestead with a GG program. They spend their days gardening, building (natural building), homesteading, etc. Elbow-to-elbow with other gardeners. In time, the best take on leadership roles and eventually get a humble home and a large garden of their own. Any income would entirely be tiny side hustles - probably very aligned with permaculture. And the total coin for fun stuff, at the end of the year, is more than the total coin for fun stuff at the end of the year harvested from the rat race.
I feel like if somebody spends four years as a gardener in a GG program, then homesteaders that want to get a GG program started, would hire such a person for decent coin.
And, of course, SKIP is in there too.
Mix into all of that the whole upcoming AI thing and how I think people should not go to college now. Instead, save up all the coin they can while learning about how to live humbly, learning about gardening, learning about how-to-gert.
I want people to not burn brush. That organic matter is a brutally valuable resource. Transform that material into hugelkultur, rocket mass heater fuel, mulch (but without a chipper), junk pole fence ... there are dozens of good uses. Better uses.
Worky jobs, the economy, how all that works is, I think, about to change dramatically. Contemplate how to prepare. I suggest contemplating a humble home and a large garden.
Wildfires are caused by growing too many conifers, and by removing organic matter from forests via logging and burning brush. A permie every two acres, trying to grow food, will make different decisions than a forester every 20,000 acres trying to profit from conifer lumber.
Our current community models have a failure rate that is too high. And there are groups of people where they have a high success rate. The core poison to the community models is our societal push to encourage personal independence. Pay for your own apartment and food with money from your own job. Focus on how to get more money so you can get a better apartment, better food and a better car. In time, you can buy a great home (debt), and become a world traveler. The only solutions people can here are solutions that optimize this path.
So everything I advocate sounds crazy. Even to professional permies.
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Here's my examples : https://permies.com/t/264888/Brush-pile-garden-bed-creation and there's a BB for that: https://permies.com/wiki/108150/pep-animal-care/Brush-Pile-PEP-BB-animal#884510
