Ann Soco

Mike H,
I admit that I see the "All About SKIP...." now that it is pointed out to me. There is just such a flood of information on the page that comes up, I didn't sort it all out.
Thanks for the comments.

I am glad I found this page because it answered a bunch of my questions. I do not know how I reached it because I did a bunch of searches and it did not show up. Then my computer did a strange "jump" and I was at this page. I do not know if the search fairies will be able to help me again.

The SKIP book says that at permies.com there are webpages for each of the sections that list the badges and badge bits but I cannot find this from the home page. Even clicking on "education", which seems like the intuitive route, does not lead to the webpages. Typing the names in the search bar yields many, sometimes conflicting pages.

The book says the requirements for the badges are subject to change. So how do I tell the most current requirements?

There is a mention that to advance, you much mentor or grade other badge bits but I do not see how to do this. Is this also a requirement of the program and, if so, how many are expected and how are the people who do the approving process supervised?

I am also thinking, based on this system, someone could do the program in reverse. For example, I run multiple busineses. With a few months of effort, I could do all the levels of Commerce sand badge through iron badge at the same time. The lists do not say how long you have to earn a specific income but I will assume over 6 to 12 months. I think I could sustain 6 income streams at $2000/month plus (iron) plus earn $20,000 selling recycled goods or training modules  (wood) plus have  2 other income streams bringing in $20 per month, getting $500 working over the Internet, sell $200 in goods and provide a homestead service for $500 (straw) and similar for the sand badge. I am talking about doing each items separately, not overlapping them. So would it be OK to simultaneously do all these instead of working through PEP1 then PEP2 then PEP3 where the first Iron badge is mentioned?  Could someone theortcially complete the program in reverse by doing 3 iron badges first, then back through the lower badges?

I appreciate any comments about my questions

I think I got more from 4 H than from school.

I have been looking through the protobook and it looks exciting and challenging. Clearly a lot of work has gone into it.

There are two areas that are not covered and, to me, they seem essential for homesteading. One is emergency and disaster preparations. People benefit from thinking out and planning for times when things go wrong. Things as simple as a laceration or as devastating as a wildfire.  The other area that I would include is a general topic of caring for others. How to contribute to the community and how to make the homestead able to adapt to people with disabilities, even if it is just for visiting family members. Maybe I am missing some of this because I did not read everything through all the advanced levels.

In general, I do not think the sand badges represent 5 hours of work in many of the areas unless that person is already very experienced in that topic. For someone starting out, it is likely to require many hours of learning and working. At least, when I look at the topics I know nothing about (like cutting trees) I suspect it would take a very long time for me to learn what to do. (Not even counting the time I worry that I might spend getting patched up from injuries acquired in such activities.)  Even the ones I am experienced in (like gardening and cooking) would take more than 5 hours even if I exclude cooking time and growing time. Maybe I'm just slow.

I am not saying this to ask for any changes, just to provide the perspective of someone who is approaching a lot of this as a newbie.

There is one area of generating income that is often overlooked. Many people think they need a job and they need someone to pay them the money the want. It helps to take responsibility for building an income on one's own instead of relying on someone else. Paul mentions passive income. One example is taking time to research a topic and create an article to sell that can generate income over and over. As he also says, try 100 things. I have tried many business opportunities over my life. Some have been successful enough to produce ongoing income. Others worked for a short time, then the world moved on and the opportunity was gone. Some were bad ideas from the start but they gave me experience that worked elsewhere. The important thing and the toughest thing is to take action, look at the outcome and formulate the next action. It also helps to avoid following the herd but still watch what the herd is doing- look for a way to use popular ideas in a different fashion

Unfortunately, you are in a group that is highly dysfunctional. In most cases it is easier to let things go and walk away than to try to fight it out. However, if you do leave, it can be helpful to take some time preparing, like waiting for your tree to go dormant.

There are a series of books on the Art of Verbal Self Defense. They have been around for years and they do a great job of teaching methods to deal with toxic personalities. This might be helpful.

I suspect your group has other members who are also assaulted verbally by these hostile members. It might help to figure out an alliance with them.

It might help to figure out exactly what you want from the people who are attacking you. Do you want them to just shut up? There are techniques that can help accomplish that but it depends on the circumstances.

Do the organizational rules have any rules that deal with this type of situation? That could be another method of dealing with with things.

The most important thing is to stay calm. I have found that the most aggressive person cannot deal with someone facing them with confidence, calmness and kindness. They expect either complete obedience to their demands or aggressiveness in return. They are prepared to cope with both of those but not a calm strong stance.

I also wonder if the members that have been there a long time might have early dementia. I have seen a number of cases where people with dementia become verbally aggressive and even combative years before they show obvious dementia. If this is the case, there might not be much you can do. It is just something to keep in mind. Even if they don't have dementia, imagining that they do might help you cope with them.

I hope you can get through this without too much emotional trauma. Good luck!

I am a family medicine physician and I am also trained in holistic medicine.

It looks to me like most of what is being focused on here is basic herbal medicine.

Natural medicine, in my mind, encompasses more than than just herbal treatments. Just like permaculture encompasses an approach to the entire environment, I see natural medicine is dong the same thing. It involves managing the internal flora and environment in harmony with the outer surroundings. A deeper philosophy than just deciding on diagnosis and picking a treatment.