Kat Ousley

Hello!

I am going to be moving to Butte at the beginning of December and am looking to connect with any like minded individuals and make new friends. Anyone interested in permaculture topics, outdoor activities, rock climbing (I would love a climbing partner), Buddhism, running, homesteading skills, gardening, and beer brewing I would love to meet. I'm moving there to be with my partner and will definitely be in need of new friends so I thought this would be a good place to start. I'm a pretty chill person with a wide array of interests, looking for like minded folks to chill and do things with (also 420 friendly). I'm in my mid twenties if that's relevant, but I don't particularly care about age in my friends. Feel free to reply on here or message me if you'd be interested in talking or meeting up.

Hello!

I am going to be moving to Butte at the beginning of December and am looking to connect with any like minded individuals and make new friends. Anyone interested in permaculture topics, outdoor activities, rock climbing (I would love a climbing partner), Buddhism, running, homesteading skills, gardening, and beer brewing I would love to meet. I'm moving there to be with my partner and will definitely be in need of new friends so I thought this would be a good place to start. I'm a pretty chill person with a wide array of interests, looking for like minded folks to chill and do things with (also 420 friendly). I'm in my mid twenties if that's relevant, but I don't particularly care about age in my friends. Feel free to reply on here or message me if you'd be interested in talking or meeting up.

Hello!

I will be moving to Butte in a couple of weeks and am looking to get involved with any projects or farms involving permaculture, natural building, bio dynamic farming, etc.. I have done a lot of research on my own and have been to many workshops but have not been able to afford an official PDC course or anything of the like. Ideally I would be able to find paid work or a paid internship/apprenticeship. However, I will consider all possibilities that involve knowledge transfer and skills building of some sort. I have posted an ad on the local Craigslist as well and have gotten a couple of promising replies but would still like to cast my net to this audience. If anyone is looking for some help around the farm in exchange for some/little pay and a learning opportunity please contact me. I am interested in anything anyone can offer. I will arrive at the beginning of December so I understand if there are not many opportunities during the winter, but please still let me know if you would be interested in something like this once it gets warmer. I will be willing to travel to surrounding areas as far as Missoula. I hope to hear from some of you! Thanks!

I'm not expecting to get a WWOOF job that pays, although something like you mentioned would be an amazing opportunity. Where is your farm located? I was more thinking along the lines of working on a WWOOF farm in the mornings and then finding a part time job to do in the evenings/weekends.

Hello,

I'm fairly new to these forums but am loving this community already. I posted once about pursuing a career in permaculture while also having to pay off student loan debt and got a lot of really great feedback. Stemming from that conversation I was curious how many people have taken WWOOF opportunities and also gotten a part time job simultaneously? I really really want to be able to travel and WWOOF or similar experiences so am wondering about the feasibility of also getting a part time job while WWOOFing so that I'll be able to take care of my student loan payments as well. Anyone have experience with this? Or also interested in this kind of arrangement? Any tips or stories would be helpful. Thanks!

Also, as for where I plan to move after AK: I'm not sure yet. I'm really flexible and want to move around a lot. I'm only 24 so I really don't want to settle down in one spot yet. Places I would like to live include the PNW, Colorado, SoCal, Hawaii, the Carolinas, New Zealand, many other places abroad.

Thank you so much for all of your replies! I really appreciate all of the input.

I am basically trying to make myself be okay with working a job that I am not super passionate about for a few years so that I can pay off my debt and save for future ventures/adventures. It's just really hard to come to terms with since up until my Americorps job I have only worked jobs solely for the money and felt really unsatisfied and disillusioned with life, even while volunteering and pursuing passion projects on the side. I do definitely see the value in "toiling" away for a few years so that I'm not naive about the struggles of life and will feel like I truly earned my dream once I get there though. I guess I'm still trying to hold onto hope that I will stumble across an opportunity that will allow me to afford my debt and that will inspire my passions. I have found a few scattered opportunities involving urban gardening and environmental education that could be promising. I just want to be a farmer, and it's hard to be patient when that's the only thing I can imagine myself being happy doing right now. Thank you so much for the help and encouragement though. I guess I'll sit down and draw out a plan assuming I don't find an inspiring job and figure out a way to pursue my permaculture desires in my spare time. Please do continue with the shared stories and any other advice you may have though!

Hello fellow permies!

I'm so glad to have found this site. I have been interested in permaculture/sustainable living/farming for a few years and have gone to workshops here and there and researched/read endlessly on the topics. However, I feel stuck. I am getting ready to finish up a year with Americorps in Alaska and am trying to decide what I want to do next with my life. I have a bachelor's degree in Anthropology and would really love a career that somehow combined my love of the earth and permaculture living with my passion for creating social change. My long term goal would be to start my own non-profit that would somehow incorporate the two in an urban/semi-urban setting to address environmental education, hunger, and poverty. That's long term though. My situation right now is that I can't think of many career/job options to pursue after Americorps that will allow me to fulfill those long term goals as well as take care of my student loan debt. Ideally, I would love to travel through WWOOF and similar opportunities or take an unpaid internship/apprenticeship on a farm somewhere. So I'm in a tough situation where the things I really want to do, and the things that could lead me down the path to where I want to be in 10-15 years, aren't exactly practical options since I have to make monthly payments on my debt. I am not at all a materialistic person, and would be blissfully happy living on a farm and only earning what I need to survive. Which makes it really disheartening to be burdened with debt from an education that I was pressured into pursuing before I was aware of alternatives. So I guess what I am asking for is any advice/alternatives/opportunities that anyone can think of, or stories of similar situations, that could help give me some direction and clarity in my process of trying to pursue this kind of life. Has anyone else successfully pursued a career in permaculture/sustainable farming while also having to worry about lots of debt? I know there isn't one simple answer to this situation, I'm just looking for some brainstorming help. Thanks! And Happy Earth Day!

Kat