SUMMERTIME Throwbacks - Kirsten Bradley of Milkwood Permaculture

Summer is for going slow with your people. We're making the most of this too here at FS HQ. But don't worry,  we've created a short & sexy summer season  of thought provocation by delving  into the archives & reloading some of the best conversations we've recorded over the last two years.

Kirsten Bradley has dedicated the last 13 years (in cahoots with partner Nick Ritar and a host of thinkers and doers) to helping people learn permaculture skills for living like it matters. We’re referring to Milkwood, of course. And today we get a backstage pass to the brain of its co-creator; a joyous conversation indeed. Kirsten has a knack for distilling big ideas into bite size words of wisdom, bringing decades of lived experience to our cuppa-tea-with-a-mate interview that will leave you feeling affirmed and hopeful. She shares her trajectory from inner-city artist to iconic permaculture educator, author and champion of back-to-basics living. Her thoughts on long-term renting, community sufficiency, ways of stewarding land (that don’t necessarily involve buying a massive property), how to bypass hypocrisy and why to get comfy with shades of grey. Post-episode, you’ll probably want to knock on your neighbour’s door and offer them surplus garden greens - because, according to Kirsten, community connection is the bedrock of a better life (and planet). Listen, absorb, enjoy.

SHOW NOTESLiving in Tassie  - autonomy and community sufficiency. Insights from their trials of different ways of living (including family farming, community living, homesteading, share houses).Alternative ways to steward land (other than ownership)Actions to consider now foro a better future: 1. Growing food, anywhere/anyhow. 2. Community involvement - get enmeshed, get involved. 3. Figure out your greatest skills and what you can contribute to and learn from your community.Reframing life towards what mattersWhy helping people reclaim lost skills is the most incredible life path she could have chosen.Bypassing the guilt of hypocrisy and embracing good habits.The value of seeking out ‘wild spaces’.Why getting to know your ecosystem is fundamental to living a good life (your watershed, the First Nations title for the land you reside on, your climate, your seasons)The evolution of thought and practical outcomes which has come from living in different environments and communities.Accepting shades of grey over black and white.Stepping past the one family/one house concept.The tension between tenancy, tenure, community values, land use/management and ownership.How disasters crystallise community bedrock.Why they'd rather steward less land, not more.LINKS YOU'LL LOVERebecca Solnit - “Hope In The Dark”Melliodora PublishingMilkwood - Real Skills for Down-To-Earth Living

Thanks to our podcast partners: Wwoof Australia

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