I am winding my time down on Dianne's farm as I prepare to leave next week. This has been an amazing adventure, culture shock, and wake up call. I have grown soooo much spiritually, emotionally and physically. In 7 short weeks I have witnessed and participated in a farm that IS becoming the change they want to see in the world: sustainable lifestyle, forest farming and permaculture being practiced and taught. Dianne and her family are a fast growing population all through world as they gear up to the 100 mile diet and post carbon world.
I hope I can write more often as I process what I have learned to pass on. My culture shocked brain could only absorb so much as literally everything is new to me!



My first lesson has been living in a permaculture environment:  Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and principles which can be used to establish, design, manage and improve all efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future. How that  shows up here is we recycle almost everything.  We took the trash to the dump yesterday and for a family of 5 of us we filled one tall kitchen trash bag (cornstarch plastic) for one month!!!  There is a no new plastic rule so when you buy at the market you take your own containers and refill using the bulk bins.  We don't buy anything that's not in a 100 mile circumfrence from here.
Her organic garden grows most of the food for the year.  We have been collecting seed for next year (Heritage), canning and freezing for winter.  She barters some of her food and medicinal herbs for local organic turkey and beef.  She does buy grains and dairy.  Her garden is grown in permaculture, forest farm style.  Forest farming is an agroforestry practice characterized by the four "I's"- Intentional, Integrated, Intensive and Interactive management of an existing forested ecosystem wherein forest health is of paramount concern. It is neither forestry nor farming in the traditional sense. Forest farm management principles constitute an ecological approach to forest management through efforts to find a balance between conservation of native biodiversity and wildlife habitat within the forest.  We wild craft into the forest for many medicinal plants and roots also.
If any of you have questions please email me!
 
Fare thee Well,
Janet