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This episode marks 10 years of The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann, the longest-running English language podcast dedicated to the breadth and depth of permaculture.

To celebrate a decade of the show, the following interview is a personal one for me. In 2015, I interviewed Taj Scicluna, The Perma Pixie, and the two conversations we released were ones that transformed my personal perspective of permaculture. As Dave Jacke, Larry Santoyo, and Mark Lakeman moved my thoughts from permaculture as a land-based practice to a larger, holistic system applicable to most human needs for design, Taj’s thoughts on a fourth ethic, of transition, gave me an understanding of the precarious place we find ourselves in as we create the designs that lead to a more bountiful world for all life on Earth. Given all the issues we face from landscape degradation to economic programs that require our participation in systems we don’t agree with to politics and policies we have little individual control over, there is room to be gentle with ourselves and others as we find a way to navigate our own path through these dynamically changing times.  

Until the next time, spend each day exploring your passion and sharing your unique story, while taking care of Earth, yourself, and each other.

Gregory Bateson - Steps to an Ecology of Mind (Wiki)

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Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast

Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? 

This episode marks 10 years of The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann, the longest-running English language podcast dedicated to the breadth and depth of permaculture.

Learn More

Online: via PayPal

Venmo: @permaculturepodcast

A common refrain in permaculture is about our need to develop a sense of place. To have an understanding of where we currently live, where we come from, and to find a connection to the land under our feet or where we call home.

For those of us within the anglosphere, we have a Nation that encompasses our state or province, and from there the city or town that defines our address. Those determine our polities within our biosphere. Many of us are fortunate enough to decide where we will live and how we will relate to these places by choosing earth, human, or bio-centric lenses to view the world. 

As a result of colonial disruption, however—whether the conquest of Latin and South America by the Portuguese and Spanish, by the American drive West, by Dutch colonization throughout sub-Saharan Africa, or by British expansion into India and Australia—many native, First Nation, and Aboriginal peoples lost access to the traditional territories where their language developed and their ceremonies and cultures connected them to land.

To help understand how this affects the people whose land many of us now inhabit and to continue the conversation about how we as Permaculture practitioners can decolonize our actions and be better allies when asked, I’m joined today by Michele Van Every and Steve Henhawk, members of the Gayogohono tribe. Together they share their work to repatriate the traditional tribal lands in upstate New York, around the Seneca Falls region, and revitalize their community by continuing to teach their customs and culture to future generations through the Gayogohono language and community gardening in order to return the native people and plants back to the land.

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/cominghome

If the Gofund Me is closed by the time you read this, you can also mail a tax-deductible donation to Neto Hatinakwe Onkwehowe, Inc. a  Goyogo̱hó:nǫʼ-led 501(c)3 that supports Native arts and culture. Mail a donation with the memo "Coming Home" to:

Cultural Revitalization Fund

For me, the ethics of permaculture encompass the whole earth, including the people and their connections to the land. Whether we find our way through a cultural identity, religious traditions, or an inherent love of life, if our practices are to create permanent culture through permanent agriculture, we need to know and acknowledge those who came before us and the efforts of their still-living descendants. As Michelle and Steve shared these are not peoples lost to history, but often displaced rich and vibrant cultures alive all around us. All we need to do is look, stop, and listen. If they are open to inviting us in, we can then ask how we can be an ally to their cause, and continue our work to care for all people.

But, those are just my thoughts at the moment. What are yours? Leave a comment below.

The Summer to Fall Fundraiser continues for a few more weeks, so if you would like to see me add video tours of permaculture sites and projects, as well as in-person interviews to the offerings from the podcast in the future, please donate today. 

As a thank you to anyone who donates $50 or more, I’ll send you a USB drive with every episode from the first 10 years of the podcast, from my first tentative steps right after completing my permaculture design course in 2010, through to the 10th-anniversary episode, a conversation with Taj Scicluna, the Perma Pixie, out on October 10th of this year.

This is also a great way to get every episode of the show and explore the breadth of all Permaculture has to offer, as this Fall, in order to better manage the server where everything is stored, I’m going to start removing the first few years of the podcast from the website. For most folks who download the show through iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you find the podcast, you probably haven’t seen these in your feed for a long time, but they have been available for direct download through the individual show notes pages at thepermaculturepodcast.com.

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market

Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast

Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? 

A common refrain in permaculture is about our need to develop a sense of place. To have an understanding of where we currently live, where we come from, and to find a connection to the land under our feet or where we call home.

Learn More

Online: via PayPal

Venmo: @permaculturepodcast

Permaculture practices begin in the landscape, with the training of a permaculture design course focusing on how to design in a way that restores soil, grows food and creates spaces for human needs, and cares for Earth, in ever-expanding zones. During our time in that class, we may spend some of the conversations on alternative economics and governance if the course uses Bill Mollison’s Designers’ Manual for the curriculum and discusses the material found in Chapter 14. Outside the PDC, many authors and practitioners have added to how to have an impact in our day to day lives as we apply design and systems thinking to where we live, work, and play.

That’s where books like Building a Better World in Your Back Yard, co-authored by my guest Shawn Klassen-Koop, fill a gap between those spaces. He and Paul Wheaton worked together to provide a book that gives inspiration and action for all of us. Through their insightful analysis and long-running knowledge of permaculture, they share ways we can achieve more than the latest green trends.

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Stepping away from this interview and looking through the book, I think this is a great introduction to the concepts of permaculture and turning our energy into steps we can take each day to achieve our goals. In doing so, we can practice David Holmgren’s first principle of permaculture, Observe and Interact, every day by deeply considering our place and space, and making small, meaningful consistent changes.

But, those are just my thoughts. After hearing this conversation with Shawn, and especially if you’ve read the book already, what do you think? How will you use what you’ve learned to change your permaculture practices and design? Let me know.

Leave a comment below.

Until the next day, build a better world in your own backyard while taking care of Earth, your self, and each other.

Visit Our Sponsor: Foraged.Market

Donate Directly: via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcast

Want to listen to more conversations about Permaculture? 

Permaculture practices begin in the landscape, with the training of a permaculture design course focusing on how to design in a way that restores soil, grows food and creates spaces for human needs, and cares for Earth, in ever-expanding zones. During our time in that class, we may spend some of the conversations on alternative economics and governance if the course uses Bill Mollison’s Designers’ Manual for the curriculum and discusses the material found in Chapter 14. Outside the PDC, many authors and practitioners have added to how to have an impact in our day to day lives as we apply design and systems thinking to where we live, work, and play.

As more and more of us, myself included, live in cities with little or no access to land or control over our living space—while others dream of returning to the countryside—we each have so many ways to practice permaculture.

Learn More