Henry Bjorklid

paul wheaton wrote:We use paypal as our payment processor.   But it should all be set up so that you do not have to have a paypal account - just the card. And I have no clue about a phone number - that is a new one on me!

Ok, I know how to fix this. :) Thank you for your answer.

Henry

Hi!
Yesterday I bought the 8 DVDs about Mass Heater with my MasterCard - everything vent perfect.
Today I wanted to buy the 'Oven-video', but there is a problem:
- I write all the numbers etc., but then the system wants me to pay through PayPal! I just emptied my PayPal-account and I have all the money on my MasterCard-account.
Anyway, I get more money to the PayPal account next month - just asking if there is away not to use PayPal?

Another thing: I do not have a telephone, so I just put some fake-numbers as I filed the different areas. Why is a telephone number even needed as I am the sender of the money?
I would understand that if I would apply for money, the system would even ask for my shoe number...
I live at the foot of Rhodopia mountains in Bulgaria, and here you can use a telephone as a sink as you fish in the river - that's all - no connections anywhere.

Henry

Tyler Ludens wrote:

paul wheaton wrote:
Better yet, what if Tyler made a list ....

Not sure I can make a list of things that Paul wants done with permaculture, as I'm not a mind-reader.  I have my own ongoing list of stuff I want done with permaculture.

Are you going to tell us about your list?
You show yours and I show mine.

Seriously: We should make a "list-thread".

Henry

Roberto pokachinni said:
"In the year 2000 I had never heard of a rocket stove let alone a rocket mass heater, and now I want more than one!  Most of the world had not heard of RMH or rocket stoves even 5 years ago, and now look at the youtube videos.  I couldn't find jack squat for examples of hugulkultur a few years ago, and search it now!  These things are happening, and taking off.  But they are seedlings still.  Give them time, Paul."

This is so true!
If the shit does not hit the fan in 10 years... I mean it can take ten more years, but so what? The battle at Hastings was year 1066. It was a very important battle, but was the year so important? If it would have been year 1076 instead...

OK that is a little bit long stretch, but you know that I waited more than 10 years to get some land. You can imagine how that felt for an eager beaver like me?
Long story short:
- As You can see I come from Finland. When I got my pension after being 12 years mostly unemployed, I moved to Greece. First year went quite well with my garden. Second year - the spring went, not so well, so I had to skip the season and I did not have enough money, yadda, yadda.
Three months ago a woman (she is married - nothing romantic to see here) said to me: "You can live in this house for free, free electricity, water and internet. Just do something/anything in the garden." It was Christmas time for me.

The house is in the Bulgarian mountains and a cowshed 100 meter from the garden. The pile of cow- and pig-manure is HUGE. It is a mountain of manure. And the farmers, when I told them that I buy all the straw-bales that they can't use... they said: "Just pay for the transport, if it is far away." (They are very keen to see what 'this Finn' will do with all the straw.
And Paul, all these years I have been reading your stuff and within some months I can order all the stuff I have been dreaming of. Yes, it took me fifty years to understand that the only place worth investing is between one's ears. So, I lost some forty years running after money and then waited some 10 years and now I am 67 years (young). I have a lot to catch up, but I will walk the walk You have walked, even if these hills here is quite steep.

Henry

I do like this:

Thesite is a slope/under the slope is some horisontal surface, where I aim to make a garden. The topsoil is very thin. I have not so many logs, but get more in March. I made tests about Hügelkultur-beds in Greece an nowI am in Bulgaria => almost three months without clouds - just sunshine (in Greece) - here is always now and then some rain.

First digging about three feet deep, four feet wide - filling with cardbords, soil, mulch - a lot of mulch. I am a big beliver in worms. They are the gardeners small helpers.
Also straw, then a layer of logs that will press the mulch down, then soil, mulch and straws across. the straw comes out from the sides.
A new layer of logs, soil, straw - a lot of straw - and repeting. from the both sides of the base, all topsoil on the 'pyramide', using twigs.
I water each layer and use wet straw, so that I get as much as possible packed.  Finally I cover everything with straw and fill both sides of the base that I have dug, with mulch and straw.

Need to use a lot of straw as protection, because of the sun.
I think that I can make some 35 - 40 degrees angels. The owner of the house has agreed that I can make tests like: giving some beds water,  and some with a little bit less water, some no water.
I will photograph everything and put the picks here.

Henry

You might try this:

https://www.workaway.info
Map of hosts in your area:



My story:
I am a Finn and I have lived in different countries. Now I moved from Greece (where I tested the Hügelkultur-options) to Bulgaria. Here I travel using the workaway-site as a guide where I can find hosts that are building different kinds of gardens and what not. It cost something to be a member.
(I think it is about 40 $ per year)
The normal situation is like this:
- You work 5 hours, 5 days a week - two days free
- You get three meals every day, also the weekends and a free accomodation.

For me, it means that I have no need to pay any electrical-, internet- or water-bills, rent or anything else and my small pension is intact and I can buy what I need for myself.
At the next place I will probably make some Hügelkultur-beds => The tractorist does the digging, I collect wooden material,leaves, mycoriza and such for the bed. I am 67 years old so i am not able to do any heavy work.

Hugelkultur:
https://permies.com/forums/jforum?module=search&action=search&forum_id=-1&search_keywords=hugelkultur&match_type=all&search_in=ALL&forum=117&groupByTopic=true&sort_by=time&sort_dir=DESC&search_date=ALL&member_number=&member_first_name=&member_last_name=&member_match_type=memberPosted

In the afternoon, we will probably study languges, watch DVDs and such. Thehost told me that wealso will study howto make 'moonshine' - not illegal in Bulgaria. We are from different countries: Great Britain, Russia, Finland, Germany and Bulgaria, so we have much to learn. And I have much to learn about gardening too.
I aim to spend 1 - 2 months with each host, there is about 30 - 40 (of 135 hosts) suitable for me in Bulgaria  alone. E.g. in France there is about 300 hosts suitable for me.

Henry

Poo is good.
Poo is a resource.

Poo-plan
I aim, whenever our village will be ready, to put a sign at the road "Poo at our place and you get a cup of coffee for free!" Of course I sell people some homebaked and get back the 5 - 10 cents a cup of coffee costs.
But that is not the plan.
The plan is that of course the authorities comes and tells me that this kind of "poo-ad" is not legal. I ask which law they refer to an fight back. Naturally the media hooks on this kind of story.
The plan is to get free advertisement. 

See, poo is a resource also outside your garden.

Nonprophet!
I got a permission from David to use his texts as i translate his texts to Finnish and also to use his photographs.


Henry

Nonprophet wrote:
Save your money and build your own!  I think it's outrageous how much money Sunmar et al charge for their composting toilets seeing as the molds were made 20 years ago and have seen little to no changes in design since then. 
<snip>

I went through your instructions. Very good.
I have one question about this, but let me first explain my own views on publishing this or that.

As I publish something, or my friends publish, we put them under the Creative Commons license found here:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/fi/deed.en_US
which means;
You are free to:
    * to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
    * to Remix — to adapt the work

Under the following conditions:
    *Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
    *Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
    *Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.



This we do, as we think that it is great to make a personal contribution for the mankind, in acting as sustainable as possible.
And, here is my point, it is even more giving to share the information, as then many other people has the chance, as they get the information how-to, to live a more sustainable life.

Needless to say, but we are all living on this same planet and there is no Planet B, nor "New Game"-button, when the final "Game Over"-sign has been lighted.
Well, as a matter of fact, I do not believe we ever come to that, but sometimes when I stand at a street-corner watching people and their behaviour in the light of all the commercial lights blinking in the city, I begin to wonder...

Anyhow, I would like to translate your texts to Finnish, maybe also to Swedish and publish them here: http://provillage.wordpress.com With your name and all that jazz.
I would also send you the PDF-files or in whatever form you want them, so that you could also publish these translations at your pages. Two is more than one. 

Anyway, thank you for your enlightening pages.

Henry

Hi Nonprophet!

I am also relatively new here.
I will write you more later, but I haven't slept yet and it is 7.36 AM here in Finland.
Just one question: Could you post some pictures of your yurt?
I have no idea how that kind is constructed.
P.S. I will write also in this thread:
https://permies.com/bb/index.php?topic=571.new;topicseen#new
Your compost design is very interesting and clearly written plus good photos. Thank you very much for that!

Henry

I am not an expert, but some comments:
- The poo does not smell very much if the pee is separated from it.
- Saw-dust takes the smell away within seconds, but I think that conferious wood, pine and spruce, is better, but I do not know how these woods with resin effects the end-product, the compost?
- I saw myself mainly birch, but has never had an opportunity to test birch saw-dust alone.
- In our country we will have a law about water-toilets 2014. Now the firms are selling all kind of gadgets and Gizmos that has got the approval. They cost between 7.000 - 14.000 € with the work done. Never mind my feelings about this kind of money thrown at the poo.

I have thought it could be solved like this:
- Making a 'pool' that is made of stones and lime. 70 cm high, 1,4 meter broad and the length of 3 - 4 meter. The pool does not leak if it is made properly.
- Put on the bottom all kind of scrapwood, saw-dust etc.
- In spring-time emptying the buckets (that are frozen in the winter and do not smell), into the basin/pool. Need a lot of buckets, but that will not be a problem as we have some painting industry that gives very big "buckets" for free. They are plastic and clean.
- When the basin is filled with poo that has a lot of saw-dust in it, then put there leaves and whatever is at hand. After that put some 10 - 15 cm of earth and the roses growing.

There is one problem: The mixture needs oxygen. I have thought I will construct a small windmill, with a pump, (found in old cars), and a hose that I have put on the bottom of tha basin.
The next summer I need to make a new basin, and maybe a third one, but then I have the garden levelled up 70 cm when I am old and can't bend myself so well.
And in my eyes, natural stone-walls are nice-looking too. The problem is with the lime; it is not so ecological as the industry use a lot of energy when they make it, but not so much as the cement industry use.

- I have to think a little bit more about this. Maybe I should make the masonry-work on the solid rock, and thus I can see if the basin is leaking?
- Then there is the question about getting rid of water before winter-time as the bottom part of the basin can break, if there is much water and the ice will damage my masonry. Probably I have to make a tap on the bottom, so that I can tap out the water?
- I like the thought of worms as well, but I think that they can't survive, if they can't go deep into the earth when the winter is coming? Or how do they live through winter in minus 20 C?


Henry