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Summary
part 2 of a 2 part podcast
Paul and Cat 2 continue from part 1, discussing how Paul got into permaculture.
Cat asks how Paul's first PDC changed the way he thinks.
Paul talks about Colorado potato beetles: a gardener or organic farmer will try to kill off the beetles to avoid losing all their potatoes, where a permaculture guy will have dozens of different plants growing and the loss of a few potato plants isn't such a big deal. Permaculture gives you a wider view.
The next question is about people and communities. Paul has lived or worked in many communities - Wheaton labs is an experiment in forming a community which he feels works better than many he's been part of, Cat feels it's successful because people are less egotistical. Paul cites taco tuesday as part of this. Everyone attends, and anyone can speak up about anything. They also return to this theme in a later question.
Would Paul have been a good boot?: Paul thinks he would have, partly due to his experience from growing up on his granddad's ranch. The boot program is self selecting because people choose to come and pay $100, so that filters them. It's designed to help people who want to do permie stuff but haven't got land or money, but most start with little knowledge or experience.
Cat asks if Paul would've gone into permaculture as a young man, if the kind of courses that are available now had been around then. Paul relates how at age 12 doing spring roundup with the cattle he got covered in cow shit. Then he got a micro computer and it turned out he had a knack for software. When he decided he wanted to get into permaculture he spent 3 years looking for land before deciding he had to make enough money from computing to buy it outright. He's basically now trying to reprogram the world.
The last question is about relationships. Paul says sometimes permaculture can split a relationship. Right now, he's more into his work and projects than he's bothered about relationships. They discuss how some permaculture enthusiasts never do anything but can be mean and nasty to those who actually do stuff. Paul notes that SKIP is intended to allow genuine permies to show what they are doing and have done.
Relevant Threads
Permaculture Communities forum
Wheaton Laboratory forum
Permaculture Bootcamp
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This podcast was made possible thanks to:
Dr. Hugh Gill Kultur
Kyle Neath
Bill Crim
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