Sites for folks to go, for spreading Permacultural Ideas?

Hi All.  I spend a bunch of time on Permies in the winter time, and most of the rest of my time online is spent on activist issues and their related sites, and... well I don't venture much further than that.   Paul Wheaton recently mentioned a great list of ideas that could really use spreading on other sites... and what I'm needing now is a list of sites that I can pop over to, where I might be able to pollinate permacultural practices into  peoples potential!  Any ideas?  

I guess I have to learn how, and where!, to post on Reddit (it's mostly greek to me), to start pushing permaculture out to the world ;)  Anybody have any tips, etc.?  And I'll be looking for those other 'launching sites' :)  Thanks Roberto :)

I would suggest any gardening or homesteading forum would be good.  I don't belong to any of them but I found one called Homesteadingtoday.com while trying to find an easy way to open a canning jar.  Dave's garden has a good forum,too.

I like this forum and prefer not to venture too far, in part in support for Paul Wheaton, and because I have been treated with respect here.

BUT...the Ag Commissioner of Maine spoke to us at an annual banquet a few weeks ago and implored us to "share our knowledge". I took it to heart, started sharing more on here, but put feet to my words as well. Honestly I probably live in the center of Maine Permie Culture. We used to farm the land that the Maine Organic Farmers and Garden Association bought from us, and one of the premier environmental colleges is only 10 miles away. Anyway at this same banquet a Professor from that college spoke briefly, and as I was the keynote speaker, we chatted afterwards. The long and short of it is that after Christmas break there is a strong possibility that I will speak to some classes at that college regarding farming and low impact forestry. My family has been here for 10 generations (1746) and we have done some good things, as well as bad things along the way. Telling people the truth is what is important....not just the good. But tenure shows doing the right thing (mostly) pays off in the end.

So that is putting feet to what I say and physically getting out there.

I also am working with a non-profit here basically writing a book for them regarding the vast mining and quarrying history that happened in this county. You do not think of Maine as a mining state, but it has its history believe it or not. Now that may not seem like Permie stuff, but keep in mind, everything from a hand dug well my ancestors managed to put into the ground, to well casings sunk in today with machine; is potential contamination for our aquifer. It is vital that people know the past, to guard for the future. That is a pretty big project too, but I hope it will lead to more speaking opportunities, to convey my points and promote a non-profit that is dedicated to environmental stewardship.

Again, not online stuff, but physically getting out there.

I mean this in no disregard to anyone else, but in this day of being online, physical presence matters.

Roberto pokachinni wrote: Paul Wheaton recently mentioned a great list of ideas that could really use spreading on other sites... and what I'm needing now is a list of sites that I can pop over to, where I might be able to pollinate permacultural practices into  peoples potential!  Any ideas?  

Robert, I remember reading that list but can't find it now.  Can you post it here?

Travis, I feel you are doing what Paul wants.  Spread the info about permaculture by talking to people.

I think this could be a great place to list what (and where) we are DOING (planning on doing?) to get the word out to the NON-choir... which is where it is needed.  And I find that reporting back really encourages me :)  Might turn into Paul's favorite thread!

(Thx Tyler... got some good GF recipes ;)

My only social life is on the internet, so the only spreading I can do is on a crafting messageboards which has gardening and cooking forums http://www.craftster.org/

I post about my permaculture projects there.  The other boards I visit are about movies, so spamming permaculture there would be super off-topic....

Pinterest is the main place I spam permies stuff to.

You can use google to search for related topics on all kinds of blogs. Find articles and go to the comment section. Post your related answer and leave a link to the permies forum. This will engage a) the blog owner to check out permies b) leave information for others to see.

If those blogs come up on the first page for any of your google searches, they must be pretty good sites to use - because they have a good ranking to begin with.

Tyler Ludens wrote:https://www.pinterest.com/

Tyler, I read your post on the solutions thread.

I have never been able to figure out pinterest as it seem like just a place for folks to post a bunch of pictures of things they like.  The pictures of recipes were nice but I could not find the recipes. I quit going there when my dh wanted to know why he was getting a bunch of email from this place called pinterest.  What am I missing and do they still send out a bunch of emails?

Hi Anne;

Robert, I remember reading that list but can't find it now.  Can you post it here?

Maybe once a day, everybody reading this can spend 45 seconds expanding horizons:  Hugelkultur, sepp holzer, poo-less-ness, diatomaceous earth,  CCD solutions, cast iron, dandelions, ruth stout, mullein, greening deserts, fukuoka, natural swimming pools, willie smits, palm oil, the man who planted trees, stinging nettles, paddock shift systems, berms, ben law, grey water, polyculture, jean pain, mason bees, wildcrafting ....

I think we can easily double this list in this thread.

edited for spelling and edit to add: Paul's list, I think, are things that he has written articles about, or has some link specifically in mind for.  We can still, double the list.

Travis, I feel you are doing what Paul wants.  Spread the info about permaculture by talking to people.

 Yes I think this is true.  I think Paul is trying to get us to focus on spreading the word online where we can do this more rapidly and with a larger audience.  I do like Travis' methods since I really like the local aspect doing things.

As I stated in another thread, and as Paul Wheaton has said, sometimes people need to just plain admit they are wrong. After rereading this thread, I believe I was wrong. Not in the first part, but it would have been more wise of me I think, not to include the last line of text.

"I mean this in no disregard to anyone else, but in this day of being online, physical presence matters."

It is not that physical presence does not matter...it is proven that a face to face conversation will result 350% more times in a yes if you ask in person...it is just that it was out of context in what your originally asked Roberto. Please forgive me for that lapse of judgement.

One thing to keep in mind is, I am kind of an outsider looking in, and about a year ago I joined Permies due entirely to learning about rocket stoves, and was drawn in for the other aspects like sheep, alternative energy, etc.  But at that time I was merely an injured shipyard worker who had to endure 6 months of therapy for a major injury at work. As Thelka McDaniels said, I "broke the golden handcuffs" (a lucrative, steady job) and went to full-time farming on May 27th 2016. On that date...EVERYTHING changed. So I was forced to change. I feel being here has changed me for the better, and while I will not say I am a Permaculturalist yet, I feel I am being drawn into better decision-making for my family and my farm.

Thank You; and the regulars on here should feel good about that. It is the changing of a farm, but sadly only one. So onto itself, this website alone is succeeding.

The challenge I have is that I am not new to farming, and some of the the things we have always done you do likewise, but call it a different name. Still some of the things Permiculture does is radically different. Which one is which? It is not as easy to discern as you think. I once spent a day or so researching keyline farming as something new until I realized we have been doing that for 80 years. Still regarding other aspects, it is hard to teach a new dog new tricks, but with patience I am slowly learning. I am just grateful to people like Thelka McDaniels, Roberto, Anne Miller, Paul Wheaton, Destiny Hagest, R Ranson and a ton of others who are articulate and have been patient with me. I wish they lived next door, walked around this farm and said, "you know, if you changed this..." and so maybe my family would not struggle so much.

I have said enough, so thank you, be encouraged, you are making a difference right here even if it is with one family farm, and apologies for that line that was out of context.

"I mean this in no disregard to anyone else, but in this day of being online, physical presence matters."

 I think that both have their place, and would not have you do it any other way if it's effective and worth your time.  The purpose of this thread is to get the word out there.  The ways and means are up to us, as individuals.  Paul laid out a pretty simple plan of attack.  Lets do it for permaculture, for us, and for Paul too.  

One thing to keep in mind is, I am kind of an outsider looking in, and about a year ago I joined Permies due entirely to learning about rocket stoves, and was drawn in for the other aspects like sheep, alternative energy, etc.  

 I do not have a PDC, and although I am interested and have been interested in Permaculture for a long time, I am first and foremost a person who is striving to do better in life.  You are not an outsider, Travis, you are a person looking to do things better, to get better design so that systems function better on your farm, to cut costs, cut labor, improve life.  There are many on Permies, perhaps the majority, who are also in the same space.   I think that there are many who can learn from you.  We are all just helping each other out.  This is a very inclusive place, and I hope that nobody feels like an outsider.  ... that said, I lurked for a while before I posted, and I posted on other threads for a while before I created my own.  It all takes time to develop a comfort zone.  I'm just saying that you are valued here, and shouldn't feel outside of anything.  

Travis Johnson wrote:The challenge I have is that I am not new to farming, and some of the the things we have always done you do likewise, but call it a different name. Still some of the things Permiculture does is radically different. Which one is which? It is not as easy to discern as you think. I once spent a day or so researching keyline farming as something new until I realized we have been doing that for 80 years. Still regarding other aspects, it is hard to teach a new dog new tricks, but with patience I am slowly learning. I am just grateful to people like Thelka McDaniels, Roberto, Anne Miller, Paul Wheaton, Destiny Hagest, R Ranson and a ton of others who are articulate and have been patient with me. I wish they lived next door, walked around this farm and said, "you know, if you changed this..." and so maybe my family would not struggle so much.

Travis, thank you for the compliment.  I wish you lived next door, if so I wouldn't be saying "You need to change this ..."  I would be saying something like "That's a great idea, you need to show that to [someone]"


Everyone, something that I thought of is maybe we could post links to permies threads that you feel would be great to share on other sites, like this one:  

https://permies.com/t/17877/Humanure-flushing-toilets-worm-farms

and when folks advertise their blogs or you tubes on permies, maybe we should ask them to share permies.com on their sites.

Just posted the thread and screen shot on my instagram @permaculture _life

Roberto pokachinni wrote:

One thing to keep in mind is, I am kind of an outsider looking in, and about a year ago I joined Permies due entirely to learning about rocket stoves, and was drawn in for the other aspects like sheep, alternative energy, etc.  

 I do not have a PDC, and although I am interested and have been interested in Permaculture for a long time, I am first and foremost a person who is striving to do better in life.  You are not an outsider, Travis, you are a person looking to do things better, to get better design so that systems function better on your farm, to cut costs, cut labor, improve life.  There are many on Permies, perhaps the majority, who are also in the same space.   I think that there are many who can learn from you.  We are all just helping each other out.  This is a very inclusive place, and I hope that nobody feels like an outsider.  ... that said, I lurked for a while before I posted, and I posted on other threads for a while before I created my own.  It all takes time to develop a comfort zone.  I'm just saying that you are valued here, and shouldn't feel outside of anything.  

I think a lot of it is perspective. I never really looked at myself as being on the inside, though now as I think aloud, I sort of am. I have land, I farm full-time, I do SOME permiculture things. Without Question, Thelka McDaniel's statement is true, I was able to break the golden handcuffs of a lucrative job, but I also want people to know that this is NOT a glamorous life we live. We struggle, but we do it.

This is a case in point just so everyone knows kind of what happens on "the other side". We started out this week with $20. Since we are cash only here, when I say we had $20, we had a 20 dollar bill. I am throughly embarrassed about that, but it was just the way the trucking worked on some wood, and the way that sawmill sends out its checks; we had to get by without weeks on any incoming money. But we watched what we did and got by, knowing we would get paid for that load of wood on Friday. A sale on a kitchen table fell through yesterday, (no $425), but a guy ordered 49 cord of firewood so now we are ahead by a little bit. I just don't want people to think this life is easy or glamorous, I would feel as if I was lying to everyone if I conveyed that.

What I really hope does not happen, is that other people come to Permies and feel everything is such a science that they will never learn, nor fit in. I just want to put my hand on their shoulder and say, "mankind has been raising sheep for 9000 years, its okay, you will do just fine", and even if they make mistakes (I certainly did), maybe they will learn from some of us who have screwed up and save themselves a few losses. Either way, newcomers, enjoy the journey; it is going to be a fun ride, it has been for me these last 42 years.

https://www.permaculturedesignmagazine.com/
Old site: http://www.permacultureactivist.net/

Was Paul referring to spreading the ideas across  Permaculture communities or to the broader population? It makes a difference. If the latter, then targeting groups like future farmers of America, 4-H, gardening forums, forestry forums, climate change forums, and specific "value-added" niches that typically are grown as monocultures (e.g. wine producers, peanut farmers, herb gardeners, etc.) might be a good place to start.

Might I suggest http://www.care2.com/

Care2 was founded in 1998 with a simple mission: to help make the world a better place. Today, Care2 is a highly-engaged social network of 38 million citizen activists standing together for good and making extraordinary impact- locally, nationally and internationally- by starting petitions and supporting each other’s campaigns.

The goal of the site is to connect activists from around the world with other individuals, organizations and responsible businesses making an impact.

Care2 members create an online identity by filling out a profile with personal information, as in most social networking sites, but Care2 also asks for more information about its members' personal lives and involvement in activism. The social interactions on Care2 revolve around groups that connect people who care about similar political and environmental issues. Members also often participate in internet petitions and news articles posted by others.

Sadly permaculture is under represented on the site. Which is rather odd considering the type of site it is. It is also a site where you can help make a difference through petitions and a click to donate system. Getting the advertisers to donate to causes through your clicks. You also get butterfly rewards for different things like posting info in groups, signing petitions, posting news stories, etc.. These butterfly rewards then can be turned in for further actions like off setting carbon, planting trees, ethical raising of livestock, etc..

The unfortunate thing of care2, is like Myspace it has a lot of abandoned profiles. People who just stopped using the site but still have accounts there. Care2 used to have a free email service also, but could not afford to keep it. I think a lot of people used this email and when that ended stopped visiting the site.

However I suspect that many permies could make a positive impact on the site if they joined and started sharing info there. It could get a lot of people to hear of permaculture who are already interested in environmental ideas. Thus reaching people who are willing and ready to hear the message of permaculture rather than trying to fight against people who are resistant to such ideas.

I have been spending a lot of time on Backyard Chickens, and there seems to be an active subculture there that is using fermented feed and practicing more holistically based techniques like deep litter and benign pest control, although you need to sift for it.  Also, there is a strong interest in a lot of the newly introduced land race breeds making their way here from Europe, South America, and Asia.
   They could use more information about food forest and perennial feed ideas, and in general more introduction to the idea of permaculture.