Pep1: Commerce

White Belt-
be able to bring in x amount of money during a growing season from selling produce
be able to bring in x dollars every month through residual income that involves permaculture
be paid to help teach a workshop relating to permaculture
sell 1,000 dollars worth of a value added product
be a paid employee on a project related to homesteading and/or permaculture



Green Belt-
be able to bring in 2x amount of money from produce in a growing season by selling to the public
be able to bring in x amount of money with passive income (e.g. customers come to your property for your U-pick operation, honor stand stocked with food from a hugel bed that requires little care)
sell 2,000 dollars worth of a value added product
be paid to teach a workshop on your own relating to permaculture
be a paid employee to run a project related to homesteading and/or permaculture


Black Belt-
be able to bring in 3x amount of money from produce in a growing season by selling to the public
be able to make 10,000 dollars in a year through projects directly related to permaculture, 2 years in a row
be paid to teach a workshop on your own relating to permaculture
sell 5,000 dollars worth of a value added product
make x amount of money through a permaculture consultation/consultations

jesse markowitz wrote:White Belt-
be able to bring in x amount of money during a growing season from selling produce...
be a paid employee on a project related to homesteading and/or permaculture

Your list seems very gardening focused. How about something like "reduce your monthly expenses by 10%", "invest in a local business", or "make a profit from a waste stream/product"...

Your list seems very gardening focused. How about something like "reduce your monthly expenses by 10%", "invest in a local business", or "make a profit from a waste stream/product"...

I initially had things on the list about developing an ability to save a percentage of your net income every year... "be able to keep 30% of your net income after food, shelter, heating, and personal transportation costs are taken care of." then 50%, then 65%. However Paul brought up a good point. He was saying how that he really doesn't care how people spend their money, and doesn't want to get into this thing where we'd actually be looking into what you're making and spending just to fulfill a badge requirement.

I think we can all agree that being able to develop an ability to be super frugal is crazy important. I'd even say that it could even be the most important skill for the average startup farmer to have. However the logistics of checking that would be too difficult and too messy.

I think we could put it back on the list in the future as a suggested goal.

I think it would definitely be an attractive thing for people to put on their Permies resume- "not only am I making 50,000 dollars a year off of my permaculture business, but I run it so well that almost all of that money is pure profit."

I think I'd rather hire a guy who makes 50 grand a year and keeps almost all of it over a guy who makes 100 grand a year and has to spend most of that on overhead. However I don't think its something we could or should make a requirement out of.

I like your other ideas. I'll try and get back to the list to see how I can incorporate them. Or, you could come up with some tasks to add as well!

Although others may use different definitions, my working definition of "permaculture" is: A Philosophy of Reducing Ongoing Inputs. So, I really like the like the idea of reducing monthly ongoing expenses. Perhaps it would be better to have one of the requirements be something like "reduce a recurring monthly expense with a one time project or purchase" instead of "reduce monthly expenses by 10%" even though the end results may be roughly the same.