Ryan M Miller

Chris Vee wrote:What’s your end goal? livestock, apples, etc.? What do you want to do?

I’d say take your main interest & dive-in.

My main interest is selective plant breeding. I've been trying to breed squash for a few years now, but I was not allowed sufficient land or time to do this project during my farm internship earlier this year. Also, my current job after I ended my farm internship is leaving me too drained to write research grants for SARE or the USDA.

Cole Tyler wrote:My reply comes a bit late in the season, but seek out all the farmer's markets in the area and ask the vendors if they need help over winter or starting next spring.

I have already taken this step during the month of August this year. I will be sending out emails and phonecalls again in the beginning of December.

On a separate thread on this forum (Here: https://permies.com/t/151320/permaculture-approach-managing-treating-autism#2060816) a member said that her husband found that doing hand-work helped minimize the more debilitating symptoms of his autism diagnosis.

In the hope that pursuing training in a skilled artistan trade may also help improve my own mental health, I have also been looking into opportunities to learn a skilled artistan trade as a method to support myself financially: something more like blacksmithing, shoe repair, or leatherworking rather than plumbing or electrical work. Still, I've been encountering problems trying to find a place to get training for such a craft. Since I live in the United States, would I have to move yet again to a new town just to learn a trade or be forced to pay tuition for classes while still working an emotionally draining job full-time? I have yet to see any reasonable solutions for me to get any training in a skilled artistan trade.

Isabella Binder wrote:My partner is in the autistic spectrum and he needed to quit his stressful job and move to the country side to find some peace of mind. Doing something with his hands is definitely working for him. The most he likes working with wood (chopping, sawing, building) and electrics. Anything he can be exact and precise.

I didn't know this was still an option. I got frustrated the last time I attempted to look for an apprenticeship opportunity for a traditional artistan trade. I could use the extra revenue outside of the growing season and the extra labor and physical activity would help me avoid being sedentary during the Winter months to help minimize my more debilitating symptoms during this part of the year. If this is still an option for me to pursue, maybe I should start a separate thread on pursuing a traditional artistan trade to supplement farm income.

Kathleen Sanderson wrote:I posted on this thread two years ago, and just have this to add:  We (autistic daughter and I) have been experimenting with the carnivore diet for almost a year, primarily because of our autoimmune diseases (multiple for both of us).  Recently I made the commitment to go strict carnivore (meat, salt, and water, NOTHING else), and my daughter is doing better than I've ever seen her -- WITHOUT any of her medications!  Carnivore is also known to help people with things like bi-polar and schizophrenia.  As long as this keeps working, we are in it for the long haul.  I LOVE having her happy and 'present.'  We've been through some really bad spells over the last six or seven years; there were times when she was like a zombie (except, a screaming shrieking zombie), and there have been times when I really thought I was going to lose her, she was so sick.  Doctors did all kinds of tests and couldn't come up with anything.  The AIP (Auto Immune Protocol) diet helped somewhat, and keeping our sugar and carb consumption low helped somewhat, but it seems like most plant foods, even small amounts of seasonings such as garlic powder, cause problems for her.  Also, chicken eggs and cow dairy products cause problems for her.  I'm hopeful that duck egg yolks will be okay, and yogurt or kefir made from goat milk (unsweetened); we'll find out next spring on that.  But definitely strict or 'clean' carnivore really does work.

This sounds similar to the traditional Mongolian diet eaten by nomadic pastoralists on the Mongolian steppe. Their diet consists solely of fermented dairy and cooked animal flesh (including as many of the internal organs as possible). This diet is naturally ketogenic and I suspect it might also be beneficial for treating type-2 diabetes.

s. lowe wrote:The GAPS diet is a diet based approach to treating autism. Focuses heavily on bone broth and fermented dairy and veggies.

I also have heard about the GAPS diet. All explanations I've seen on this diet have been needlessly complicated so I might have to find an easier to understand guide somewhere.

My symptoms have worsened over the past three months after starting a new job. Farm internships don't open up again in December for the local farms in my area, especially through OEFFA. In the meantime, I still need to find some kind of work until February for me to pay rent since I don't want to have to move back in with my parents.

I'm glad I found this thread and I'm hoping someone here can share what non-medication based therapy options he's found to treat debilitating autism symptoms (Shutdowns, emotional instability, insomnia, catatonia)

Green Deane has an excellent article on Timothy hay on his blog on wild edibles. I'm curious if this grass would taste any good if juiced like wheatgrass. Hopefully I can find a smaller batch of timothy hay seeds to sprout like wheatgrass so I can juice it.
https://www.eattheweeds.com/can-we-eat-grass/

Anne Miller wrote:Sorry, I missed the information about Park Hills, Kentucky.

With that area being close to Cincinnati, Ohio what region is that? Appalachia? Midwest or both?

Park Hills is a Suburb of Cincinnati in Kenton County Kentucky. It is a 12 minute drive from the center of Cincinnati.

Anne Miller wrote:Have you thought about a Boot or an Ant at Wheaton Labs?

https://permies.com/wiki/800/59706/permaculture-bootcamp-learn-permaculture-hard

Have you tried reviewing the ads in the Experiences Forum?

https://permies.com/c/experiences

Especially the ones here:

https://permies.com/f/272/wwoof-hosts

https://permies.com/f/271/volunteer-offerings

If I have to travel to Montana then it wouldn't be convenient for me at the moment since I don't have any contacts in that area of the country in case of emergencies.

As of August 3, 2023, I've finished a two month farm internship in the Cincinnati area at a local urban farm within the city limits. At the moment, I'm trying to figure out how I can gain future experience so that I can actually gain the credibility needed before attempting to ask for donations to buy land or attempt to apply for a loan. Without any farming experience, I'm considered a "high-risk" borrower or investment opportunity if I attempt to start a business right now so I'm less likely to get money than someone who already has experience farming of more than five years.

I'm currently still living in the general area of Cincinnati, so I'm looking for any place that can offer an educational opportunity for me within a 20 minute drive of my lodging in Park Hills Kentucky.

I'm already a payed member of an organization called OEFFA that offers help to small organic farmers in the area of Ohio and I know about the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute, but I want to know if there are any other resources available.