Agustin Magnus

Hello Jesse and Carol-Anne,

I have been busy working a normal job-type-job and planning a way to get out and lurking here off and on for a while and saw your post. I don't want to waste your time but if you are still looking for something just let me know. The permaculture model I am looking to start is thus:

1. Sell my house and purchase a certain piece of land(1.5 hours from home) next spring. Western WA.
2. Start immediately during vacations etc. to develop the land. Access, water, structures...do it smart and slow w/o debt.
3. Invite a few good folks to live and work there and develop their own enterprises on the land while helping me to develop my own. Enterprises should be complementary and non-competetive. Profit sharing, rent for work, I am open to many creative and equitable scenarios with the emphasis on equitable. Your time and experience is valuable, but I won't have money at least for a while...
4. Start a farm business and slowly(within a few years) transition out of my current work into what I SHOULD be doing. Current work will finance much of the infrastructure/improvements.

Things I'd like to do: Market garden, harvest forest resources, mushrooms, perhaps chickens or goats, bike repair(bet you could show me some things Jesse!)...

Tell me, what would YOU TWO like to do? What kind of enterprise would fulfill you or get you up in the morning?

About me: 40m, single with a ladyfriend, engineer/scientist, tired of the city, cyclist, hiker...very handy, creative, probably a bit cerebral, earnest, hardworking, probably some anarchist leanings in there...hahaha.
Studied anthropology, spanish, botany, chemistry, electronics, engineering, wilderness medicine, forestry...yip, I'm a geek.

I would be able to offer, for example, a stable, quiet, fertile piece of land in a pretty spot with good market access where you could develop your skills, make a living, be part of a (yet formed) community, where we build a workshop, house, guest house(your house!) and associated buildings/infrastructure from the ground up. Save money from your own enterprise/s without too much financial risk, establish yourselves as businesspersons...

Ya know, something like that.

I also invite others to contact me as just having more friends and connections would be great. Perhaps there is a place for you too...
FYI - everything would be written out, agreed upon beforehand in a normal business manner where all of our interests are respected and protected.

fixie

Sorry, I forgot about your PV question. Not worth buying with the $$ you have right now. I've built several PV systems for autonomous platforms in one of the worst parts of the continental US(for insolation) and even when we oversize the system capacity by 4-5 times we still work in a deficit for much of the winter. Usually that means turning off some things for a time. Again, start with your usage.

Hello,

I guess my advice is a hybrid of what many others are suggesting. Don't beat yourself up about being "sustainable" or adhering to a green purity test...just connect to the grid with the $$ you have right now. Work first toward lowering your need for electrons to the lowest absolute level. Buy yourself a Kilawatt meter(http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU) to get data on all the devices you use. What can you live without? What behaviors can you change without too much fuss? What natural forces can you take advantage of to perform the same tasks as your electronic gear?
You mention building an earthen structure. These are perfect for your climate. Use earth for the house, use earth and water to cool it. ANY evaporation will cool a surface, even in humid AL. Don't go out and buy a swamp cooler. Soil is usually wet in Alabama, no? When you build your home, bury a cooling tube that will pull air through it over a long distance. This air travels into the home on those blazing Alabama summer days/nights, losing heat as it goes. The hot air in the home "wants" to rise and expand, so let it do that by opening a skylight or vent at the top of the structure. Be sure to put a drain and caps/valves in your cooling tubes. I bet you can find examples to both heat and cool your new home this way. Look into how aboriginal peoples cooled their structures in similar climates. Size your new HVAC system to the home by putting in more tubes...
Lastly, when you've built your cool new home, turn the bus into a lumber drying kiln or...
I hope that helps some and best wishes...

Hello Ben,

I have been actively researching farming in the PNW(WA and OR) for quite some time, and have lived here for about 15 years. I came here with $1000 and 2 boxes of belongings, but have found many opportunities here through the years. I'm sorta kinda planning making "the jump" in the next 2 years. The summers here just can't be beat, and I have found the winters to be ok as long as I stay active and don't let the rain stop me. Get some muck boots and decent raingear and you're good! Also, PNW beer is very hearty, strong, and deliciously hoppy! The major obstacles to making the jump for me so far are regulatory agencies(just learning all of the codes and regulations I must comply with and the fees!), OR's water regulations appear more strict, generally, than those of WA. If you cannot find a place with water/irrigation rights, in either state, do not despair. There are perfectly legal and creative methods, conservation measures etc. discussed elsewhere supported by both states. One other obstacle, obviously, is access to decent agricultural land. I think OR beats out WA (at least in the Western portions) in this respect. WA glacial soils can be tricky to deal with so permie practices are perfect around here.
Populations of both states are highly educated, and, at least in Seattle where I live, there seem to be plenty of people with plenty of money, and willing to spend it on quality food/natural/local products. Even the PhD barista types spend their money on good food. Oregon seems to have more resources, and certainly more "permaculture-type" people, in my opinion. I can't wait until we vote for GMO labeling next week in WA though!
Lastly, I'd personally avoid areas with large military bases/populations. Also there are areas of the PNW where large coal terminals are being proposed, like near Bellingham(love Bellingham!) Longview, maybe Coos Bay OR so keep that in mind.

Best of luck and keep us posted...The PNW is a wonderful place to live and we need more people like you here.

Hello there,

my suggestion would be to find a place as high in the landscape as possible where the water behaves like this. Preferably above the garden area to be irrigated. Dig a hole such as that pictured, but deeper with vertical sides. Place a quality AC or DC(with solar!) submersible pump like a sump pump with a float switch attached into the hole once it is well and filled. Be sure to write down the volume per unit time of the pump(ie GPH). Turn the pump on and pump to a vessel of a known volume. Write down how long it takes to fill the vessel AND how long it takes to empty the hole until the switch turns off and record those values. Next, take the pump out and put a few inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole. Then place a bucket with lots of holes in it(say 0.25 inches), or one of those commercial spring boxes with holes into the hole and put the pump in. Back-fill the hole around the pump box and cover the hole with something handy like a piece of plywood or get fancy if you want.
Now you have a working system either to pump to your gardens, or my second suggestion, which is to a large reservoir like a bushman tank or something. If you pump to a high tank you can increase system pressure by tapping that tank for your irrigation...

salud

Hello everyone,

just wanted to finally stop lurking and introduce myself. Still figuring out how the forums work etc. I see quite a few people are from this biome or want to come here, which is great!

cheers,

fixie