Hello everyone. This is my first post. I've lurked for a while, but I thought it would be nice to contribute to this thread.
There are a lot of good thoughts here! I've been interested in accessibility since getting involved in the autism self-advocacy movement when I was 14, so it's become very ingrained in how I look at the world. Especially as I got older and developed even more accessibility needs- around 16-18, my mental health began to decline, and it has only gotten worse; I have severe anxiety and depression, and now PTSD too, as well as things I have had since being a kid- a somewhat rare eating disorder, for example. Around 19, my physical health, which had never been great, began to worsen, and it has continued to decline for unknown, undiagnosed reasons ever since. I'm 23 now (my birthday is Saturday!) and still mostly undiagnosed, because healthcare in the US sucks, but I have worked hard to learn about adaptations and accommodations for chronic illness. Even with very different illnesses, many of us have similar needs. These needs can be quite different from those of people with mental or physical disabilities from other sources, and are often overlooked in discussions about accommodation.
I was pleased to see Joshua mention this: "You have people who are low energy, not healthy enough to push into the ratrace but well enough to work out in nature." This perfectly describes many of us folks with chronic illness! We are capable of doing much of the same work as anyone able bodied, but in much, much smaller increments, and frustratingly, often we are told that it isn't good enough. I lost many jobs because I had to take such frequent breaks- at the worst of it, about one 10-minute break per 15 minutes of work! No employer will tolerate that. But permaculturists really have no reason not to be ok with it! I may have to build my hugel beds in bits and pieces over several days, but who cares? It still gets done. That is one thing about permaculture that is automatically accessible.
Unfortunately though, if you work with people you may run into issues of people wanting you to move at their pace. I haven't applied to any courses or joined any real-life groups for this reason: I don't know if my lessened ability will be tolerated. I would love to help install a permie garden on public land, for example, but don't know if my tiny contribution of labor will be accepted. So that is one thing I'd like to see from permies: Up front, saying we will take all comers, it's ok if you have to work slowly and take breaks.
I have some slightly unusual conditions that bring unique accommodation challenges as well. I have a fairly mild case of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which is a fancy name for saying "when I stand up my heart beats too fast". In extreme cases, POTS sufferers have to stay lying down most of the time. I can stand and walk for up to about an hour, after which I need a long rest, which makes me lucky. The longer I stay up, the more sick I feel, and the higher I raise my heart, the worse I feel- so I can only stay up a ladder about 20 minutes! Raising my hands above my head and working like that is even worse, I can only take about 10 minutes. Going up and down rapidly is also a no-no. I don't have fruit trees yet, but when I do, I plan to 1. keep them small and 2. use picking-devices to help me avoid craning my neck, raising my arms too high, etc. In a group setting, there would be a few tasks I would simply have to sit out on.
I also have a blood sugar regulation problem, called reactive hypoglycemia, which I control by dramatically controlling my diet, and this causes one accessibility problem: I have to eat about every two hours. I either don't stray too far from house lest I be away when I need to eat, or I bring food with me. It's easy to get around, but the biggest problem happens when I'm with a group and they either 1. neglect to tell me we're going to be out and about for hours or 2. they assure me there will be food I can eat but in reality, the only food is something I can't eat. Of course no one can plan for every possible diet restriction (nowadays mine has become SO restricted I no longer even bother trying to eat things I haven't made myself) but I will say this- the more diverse your food offerings, the more likely it is that everyone can find something they can eat. The worst events are always the ones where literally only one food option exists. If you diversify, the chances I can find something go way, way up! Sure, I might end up with a plate of cantaloupe, cheese, and ice cream but it's better than nothing.
Diet also affects what I plant, so many suggestions people make end up involving a food crop I can't utilize, like tomatoes, or sunchokes. This is annoying, but I simply let people know I can't grow it. No way around that. If it has other non-food uses I might still grow it- I filled my ornamental bed with various alliums this year to deter deer and attract pollinators, even though I can't eat the tiniest bit of any allium without getting sick.
One last thing. Low energy brings with it one consideration people might not usually make. Typically a permaculture homestead has a series of "zones" and the further from the house you go, the less often you work the area. For me, a hypothetical homestead would have fewer, smaller zones, because by necessity, any task I do is probably going to take more than one trip! For example, thinning trees in zone 5 might be something I do every day for a whole month, because I can spend only a half hour to an hour on it at a time (including travel time). It therefore makes sense to have a smaller property and plan to manage everything a little more frequently, while still aiming for high-energy-efficiency design.
