Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Your Permaculture Homestead

[Music] Hey you guys this is Josh with Homesteading family and welcome to this Week's episode of The Pantry chat Food For Thought this week I'm excited to Have Nicholas bertner here from the School of permaculture uh Nicholas has Been teaching permaculture Homestead Design for a whole lot of years and Really excited to bring him in and we're Just going to talk about permaculture Design and how to use permaculture and Specifically design on your homestead or Your property wherever you're at Anna Nicholas for those of you that don't Know him as the lead educator for the School of permaculture where he leads The education programs and directs Operations at both the farm and the Suburban demonstration sites for the School since 2012 he and his team have Worked in a large and varied number of Permaculture projects from farms ranches Suburban homesteads and even public Parks to apartment complexes and college Campuses so he's got a ton of experience All over the place and he's going to Have some good stuff that can help all Of you wherever you are at now Nicholas Received his permaculture Education and Training in person from the Co-originator of permanent culture Bill Mollison in Melbourne Australia I know He also studied uh under Jeff Lawton

Which is who I got my PDC from and aside From permaculture uh and ecologic Related activities Nicholas is a devoted Follower of Jesus Christ and a father he Believes that through the application of Permaculture people can find a more Meaningful and purposeful existence Nicholas it's so cool to be hanging out With you again and have you here today How are you Thanks for having me Josh as always I'm Doing great especially when I get to Talk with you I'm doing I'm doing really Good a lot better than I was you know This time last year uh but uh happy to Be here so thanks right on right on glad To hear that glad to have you here Um tell us a little bit about the school Of permaculture Oh what are you guys what are you doing Over there I mean just kind of a quick You know brief what's it all about Yeah so uh the school of permaculture uh And let me back up for a second so you Know I need to update my bio a couple of Things on there but one is yeah lead Educator but really I've changed my Title Um I'm now a professional learner right That's what I'm doing all the time I'm Learning all constantly Um yeah so so that's one part of the School is is the education part just Consistently learning then there's Aid

Work So for example a couple months ago I was Back in Iraq Um and there will be more in the future It was a refugee camp there for Kurt for Kurdish refugees which is a crazy Situation uh maybe sometime you know we Can talk about what's going on with the Kurds yeah and and then consultation so The school kind of does those three Things uh 501c3 non-profit that's why One of the reasons things can be heavily Discounted when it comes to education And so uh very welcoming to all people Of all walks of life really just goal Oriented to help people and obviously Help the planet through the tools of Permaculture Yeah yeah you're having a huge impact uh Not just locally but you know across the Globe and that's really great to see and I think uh so Nicholas and I actually Were hanging out for a week here just What four weeks ago uh we've got a we've Got a class we just released this in the School of traditional skills where Nicholas is teaching Homestead design And uh we were filming that and I think Nicholas you were telling me that you're Going to Costa Rica soon for a project Is that am I remembering that right yeah Um so one of the things I try to do Professional learner Um I I even though tons of students come

Through all the time one of the things I Really like to do is at least try to do Once a year continuing education for Myself and so there's some natural Building with going on there this Particular round I'm really going to try To focus in not only on Plastering but Waddle and Dobb um Construction Uh with with Um uh Rancho uh mastitol there in Costa Rica so I'm going to spend some time With them and and absorb and and and be The uh be a learner yeah there so come Back and uh probably utilize those Skills here in um two months So we can have some on-site natural Building classes here as well Um doing all types of you know anything From straw bale to Cobb Adobe bricks Waddle and uh you know so Um it it's it's continuing education in This particular this particular project Yeah well that's I mean you're you're an Inspiration in that as well because it's Just something we all need to always be Doing it's part of the homestead life is Not just doing out there but continuing To learn right continuing to learn new Methods new techniques and how to apply Things in our context yeah and and we've Talked before too I appreciate you Saying that but uh really I I kind of Get inspired by the guys who can pull All this together like yourself you and

Carolyn uh to be such a massive amount Of communication and getting people Together that's just hard to do man That's hard to do well thanks yeah That's we're blessed and we're blessed To be able to share in the way we do and You and really start to connect with Folks like you a lot more at this point And Um so I'm just excited to talk about Permaculture you know we're approaching It a little more from the homesteading Lens and applying permaculture and Sharing that with the world through the Homesteading lens and and Um and you've been an influence on that And on our Journeys oh gosh I don't know Um easily since 2007 I think and Um you know it's just it's just great to Throw ideas around and get to be here And share them with other people and and Getting helping folks see how valuable Permaculture is to their homesteading Journey wherever they're at and it's Valuable for everybody I think yeah I Mean when you said that what triggered In my in my thoughts were you know it I Was just at the mother's news Fair we Had a booth there And you see tons of homesteading things Happening right there's Um like Sean and Amy from crunchy Mama Farms were there and he's talking about Butchering

Um cattle And beef and you know there's medicine Making there's there's tinctures there's Herbs there's there's Garden there's all Types of skills like how to sew up uh if You have a cut you know how to sew for Animals and for humans like homesteading Skills kind of like School of Traditional skills right right Um and and it just I I don't maybe you can help me maybe You could help or or anybody listen to This can help me I have a hard time saying the truth Because it sounds so pompous it's like Yeah all these things that you're doing Here they kind of all fit Under the Umbrella of permaculture like you know What I'm saying Dang it's it's so valuable it's it's so It's so flexible I guess now that I've Said that it's it's such a flexible Set of tools that are continually being Added and subtracted to and evolving Right so whatever your context is you're Homesteading in an apartment or five Acre hobby Farm or whatever it is 5 000 Acre ranch it's it's this okay you're Gonna do these things well permaculture Comes in and glues all of that together For you and then shows you things that You probably weren't even thinking and Then connects them and then uses the Waste products of of some of those

Things and then the to the inputs of Others right I mean you know Josh you Get it but it's hard to have that Conversation from my point of view with Somebody who's just learning without Just coming across brash [Laughter] We're going to try to boil down a little Bit today to for people to make it Approachable because it can I mean some People think it's just gardening right And that some people think it's just you Know Far out environmentalism and you know That people get these different concepts Maybe wherever they've touched base with Permaculture however they've been Exposed to it and then and then if you Go which we'll get into in a minute to Some of the technical explanations of it There's all these principles and and Rules and they're valuable I I like to Think of it as a paradigm in a toolbox The way you put it is great it's a box Of tools it's a mental box of tools is Where it starts to me and it's a Paradigm that helps us design manage and Steward our resources I guess is kind of My thing to try to boil it down and then From there we can try to unpack it a Little bit Um and right you know with those Thoughts we're actually going right into The the first topic and that is there's

Going to be a lot of people here maybe That don't know what permaculture is or What it means and so I want to hand that Off to you and and just run with it to You explain to us what permaculture Means without without standing too Brash Or harsh Nicholas happy to try hard I'm Going to try hard the facts are facts Though [Laughter] No no uh well you know it's interesting Because I you know it has been said There is as many definitions to Permaculture as there are permaculturist And you just had one yourself right and It's my own right and and the the thing About permaculture is it is Decentralized so that's okay that you Have that you know and it was right it Wasn't anything wrong with it later on Though do clarify specifically for my Own curiosity like what do you mean by Paradigm but if I had to explain it like I I boil it down to a couple of ways to Like three like one it was kind of Already this the tool truck right so one Way to look at it is it's this tool Truck that like can shrink and and Expand it's an expandable tool truck and Then inside of it is tool boxes and tool Bags and so whatever you're working with You pull out the right tool bags you Know to do the job so if like you know If you're building a house and you can

Do plumbing and electrical and sewage And and and all that stuff you you're Not going to take out the the the copper Sweating equip equipment if you're Running electrical line right so it's Like you're pulling out the right the Right tool bags you know or even if You're working on a car you're not going To pull out the the con the 12-2 conduit For running wire through your walls So that's one way to look at it right if You're on a Suburban site and you're Probably probably if you're quarter acre Or less you're probably not pulling the Dairy cow tool bag out or the you know The 30-headed cattle but you probably Are doing small Greenhouse compost area Uh and things in the gardening aspect of It right so that's one way to look at it And then the other way is kind of Um Like University so like what you had Just said A lot of people they come to Permaculture and and we don't do Ourselves any favors I mean like if you Look at me I mean I I do look like one Of those radical environmentalists right But but I'm not and it's okay if you are Though too Uh but you a lot of people get get into Permaculture because they're thinking Oh my goodness I saw an herb spiral And sometimes that's that's worked to

The detriment I think of permaculture Because they get the idea of herb spiral And then they go do 20 acres in the Spiral and it's like wait that was that Was I was taking the concept Right that was like like taking a Scripture or taking one verse and it was Like wait it's out of context you got to Like read the whole thing like you know And so it's like okay well You get in one way and then you realize Like whoa this is a lot this there's a Lot going on so it's like University There's there's architecture right like I'm just today I was talking with Structural Engineers and architect for Um small Earthen buildings I want to Build Right how to utilize the natural Phenomena of the sun to heat and cool Your house with thermal mass and now You're constructing things out of Earth And that's a whole You know conglomerate of teaching that Like it's a specialty well that's one Part of permaculture right your your Gardens were you know just regular Gardening but then there's all these you Know keyholes and Pathways and then Running chicken systems and uh how to Feed your chickens in your garden with a Pond and and crawdad traps right and so It's a lot like that but all of that's Just one one thing you know and then

It's like wait a minute I've got I I I Could plant one tree in in x amount of Years I could have more flour from those Acorns than I can every year by planting You know two acres of Wheat and it's Like well okay well the perennial Systems and tree systems and hydrology Of landscape and then like well all that Fits into the climate that we're in What's the soil type you know what what Is the soil life like these are huge Huge things oh they're the anthropology What were the indigenous people doing Here prior to colonization which a Little tangent when I was in Iraq had The same thing I just said I was like You try to think about your landscape Like pre-civilization Not realizing that I was like at the Center of like the dawn of civilization Like how could I say like they had no Concept of like pre-human like you know It was a funny thing right what are you Talking about we've always been here Yeah we've always been here right so I Had actually restructure my teaching so It but but so that's another way to look At it it's and it's it's inspiring and It's and it's fascinating and it's fun And you'll never Master anything and You've got to be okay with that right Professional learner like we can all do That because you're never gonna get Everything perfect and and even when you

You feel good about a design you have Somebody like myself look over your Shoulder like yes attaboy had a girl Whatever When you install it it's not going to Look like how you think it is it's not Going to be managed how you think and That's okay right that's okay and then I'll sum this this up with Then the third ways is like you I have Words for a definition of permaculture And in It's not as exciting as like what I was Just saying with all these different Disciplines like University and and Whatnot but but it's easy to understand And it's a it's a design system Josh Right it's a design system that works With nature to help you provide all your Living needs yeah Yeah that boils it down real well I like I'm a builder as my background homes Remodels you know Custom Homes what I Used to do in a former life and I like Your analogy there and as you were Talking about the tool boxes and Different systems it made me think about A home and how a home comes together With all these systems working together And a lot of times we think about the Landscape and there's Gardens over here And the chickens are over there and the Cows are out there and the Orchards over Here and it's it's all separate pieces

Right yeah and and what Horticulture Does is kind of like that the way a House comes together with Integrated Systems it brings all those things Together to work together and which Which accentuates if you do it well each Of the systems and creates abundance and And you know less work at times Um so that was a fun that that was kind Of a new thought for me as you were Talking through that I really like it And can I add something to that just to Like is it as like a it's it's in there But I just want to I want to bring it Out it's like you know know to see it But then when you when you put all those Systems together in a house a good Architect will look at that and go okay What does the actual flow for a human Look like yeah right so you get all the Systems and they all work right the Light switch works but wait and back up Actually visualize yourself walking Through this thing or the thing or is The door in the right place you know Your your bedroom door next to the front Door are they going to cause issues when They open up right is your kitchen like In a u-shape where it's very efficient The way you can you know work that same Thing with the landscape right or you're From your house like the most efficient Garden here's a little like you know Pro Tip uh and I if I if I'm not mistaken I

Think I actually got this from my buddy In Santa Barbara Lauren lion Dyke Um so he he's like well look like the Most efficient Garden is you have your House and you have your car And if you park and you have to walk Through your garden like that's it right And and yeah that's what we're saying That flow right how do you day-to-day Walk and and in the class that that we Were doing here with the school of Traditional skills Help you like we help you like look at That like what does your actual life Look like and realistically because You're dreaming and that's okay to dream I dream every day uh not at night though Like you're dreaming and you have these Visions and and desires but then let's Let's take that dream and make it as Real as it can be and look at those Flows and kind of back out and like okay Now we have a house now we have a uh Landscape kind of what you're with what You're saying yeah but it works I mean That's powerful just that principle Right there putting that Garden in that Location where you see it every time you Come and go and because you see it Inherently gets the attention it needs Right or you get the Harvest out of it Those things can seem subtle but they're They're super super powerful so um let's Let's dive in a little bit and what are

The basic permaculture principles to Bring this down we're talking a lot of Theory and bigger concept a little bit So to start to bring it in a little bit Just what are what are the basic culture Principles Okay so uh Josh there are a number of Principles when I teach permaculture Design course actually I give you three Sets of principles uh two of those sets Can be found in the permaculture Designers manual And then one of the one of the sets is Found by David Holmgren you get a Permaculture principles.com and those Are like the official principles And as I was thinking about like as I Have thought about numerous times when I Start thinking about principles there's This like undercurrent of like what's Happening in all those principles and so I call them like like the core tenants You know and so and and and then I see I See one I see like okay this and it's Taken me some years to be able to see This first and foremost so and I don't Have them all but I I see like these are The underlying goals that are happening In like everything that you're doing in Permaculture right And think about the words like permanent Culture like how do you even have that Like permanent culture so one of those Kind of core tenants right core tenants

Is To produce resources for humans but That's that's that's one part There's something else that's also Happening that is a radical claim that Only permacultures make Um and it doesn't sound radical on the Surface but when you study history and You study civilizations and the collapse Of civilizations what I'm about to say It just doesn't line up so you're trying To produce resources which is a mining Operation it is extracting minerals Extracting nutrients from soil and Whatnot and then you're producing that But if you don't regenerate the soil Simultaneously At least to equilibrium then you're Always running in a deficit so Permaculture makes a radical claim To regenerate the soil enough to produce The resources for you and your family To have food and not deplete the soil That is a radical claim it is not all Agriculture today Even the regenerative agriculture which Is much better it is still running a Deficit especially a conventional Agriculture when you're when you're Spraying and then and then pulling the Uh the the crop off The only reason our Midwest is not just Completely desertified Is because of the technology of

Artificial fertilizers so we've created A drug habit for the Midwest all of our Farms have to have the drugs now they Have to have them to produce because Most of that topsoil is in the Gulf of Mexico so that's that's one of the core Values like produce resources While simultaneously building and Maintaining soil fertility Sounds simple it's extremely radical Hardly any civilizations have been able To do it a handful of sustainable Methods like like a chinampa or a Um Like rice paddy systems yeah And there's a Um they're names for it but they're not Correct the original slash and burn the Original concept is also sustainable but But the Civil those populations are very Small there's only a handful of them Right so permaculture is that coming Along saying well we can do that I mean It's kind of radical it's a big climb Yeah it's a big claim it's a big Especially since Nobody Does it and Civilizations end because of it right Yeah so that's that's like an undervalue Under under current uh core right you Know principal value tenant whatever you Want to call it Um the other one is the connectivity of Of of of things of thoughts of elements So

And this is going back to what you had Mentioned a minute ago so you have the House and so it's integrating the Systems and so an easy one especially if You're not aware of permaculture at all Is is you have the kitchen kitchen has Kitchen scraps kitchen scraps go into Your compost your compost can give food To your chickens but then it gives Fertilizer to the garden The garden grows food you then get more Um food for your kitchen kitchen scraps Go back in the compost the manure from The chickens who are eating the compost Now also goes into the compost The chickens themselves go into the Kitchen right so there's now it's the Connectivity you know pretty soon we'll Add a pond to that and now they're Working together they're integrated Right that's that's it that's it also Underlying like current the tenant value Principle of like permaculture the Connectivity of things and that is Permaculture that that is if you're not Doing that you're kind of just Uh just doing things like everybody does It right it's just not permaculture Right Um and another one I'm just going to do Three is the The idea of Perennial agriculture so I I mentioned Earlier so

There's an amazing tree let me give you An example called the Mulberry Tree Um Mulberry tree is it's a gives humans Food gives animals food It it only needs to be planted once and You can plant it by ripping a branch a New Branch off sticking it in the ground And you're like 50 chance it's going to Grow it's like the hardiest of all fruit Trees it's amazing and it also makes Clothes right And it doesn't disturb the soil year After year matter of fact it creates Soil by losing its leaves I don't know Of another tree who can bake clothes Give you food give animals food in two Ways and and then come back year after Year after year and it's so easy to grow You're not doing that with wheat Right right so you plant it think about It for a second you planted one tree And you took care of it when it was Really young and in Mulberry you Probably didn't even take care of it it Took care of itself said please stop Messing with me I got this let me go Yeah let me go And and what it does is it it you never Have to till the soil again and it Creates soil and it produces all these Things for you for years Where here we are where and don't get me Wrong let's break some bread like let's

Grow wheat and borrow it like this is This is fit like obviously we do this Remembrance of Jesus you know break Breaking the bread but If our whole society is based off this Heavily input driven thing this is not Sustainable at all If you're growing your own wheat which You can do Um Small grain raising is an amazing book To look at you know the amount of actual Rows and space you need for a family of Four or six small brain raising is that The title of the book it is and you know I say that it's been It's been five years since I read it so It's it might be called something else We'll I'll tell you later in just case Yeah we'll get a link down below our Team will put a link in the in the Thread down below it's an amazing book It's amazing book so if you want to Raise greens which I think you should Especially oats for your chickens um and Your other livestock don't worry about Eating the oats yourself um it's almost Worth buying them if you read the book You'll see why But um So but but if we're if we're just We have to have diesel then we have to Have a tractor the tractor needs Maintenance every year you're tilling

Then you're going back and you're Seating and then you have to go back With another machine uh to pull the Heads up you know a combine and it's Just that all of this input right all of This input all this input and then you Get these grains which are like nutrient Deficient Where you planted one tree yeah and it Gave you an abundance of food with very Little maintenance year after year after Year we like to work hard don't we Sometimes harder than we need to yeah Yeah We make it hard uh hard harder than it Has to be I think you're right we do we Do so so we have this Reliance on Building Systems in permaculture you can Say the word perennial agriculture That's great but it's not just that That's an illustration right not annual To this it's not just that it's Building Systems that run You you still have to work you know this Isn't a pipe dream but your amount of Work lessons great you're still going to Work by the sweat of your brow through The thorns and the thistles but it's Going to be more efficient it's going to Make a lot more sense and it's gonna It's gonna help through this through These tools you can help heal humans Animals plants and the soil yeah So a big part of applying these

Principles and permaculture is is Specifically in design and that's kind Of where we want to get to today a Little bit and that can help the average Person Um think about their own property and Applying some of these things and so how Does using permaculture design and that Like so I think of it in those Components like I was saying there's There's kind of Designing there's Managing you know they're stewarding Those are three of the big ones that I Think about but for the sake of the Conversation today how does design Benefit permaculture design benefit you Know the average Homesteader the average Person that's looking to you know grow More nutrient dense food Steward their Land well and you know contribute not Just to their family but maybe to their Community Um but but how does that design benefit The homestead the person doing these Things on the ground So it's a great question Um look at the three biggest Um Parts of your life that hurt when They're not done well You don't have any more time That's that's I think it's probably your Your your most valuable thing other than Relationships is time uh then you have

Money right energy and resources so by Not Um so so you could I do it too I get out There and just do it I have I I Recommend it right I think they just put A short together and like here I am Saying go out and make mistakes and I Still believe that I still believe it to A point To a point give yourself a cap right It's gonna cost you five grand To do something one time and you're Figuring it out and then you're like oh I guess that didn't work out right you Just ate five grand right all right and So so that's that's one massive benefit To design is like I've had student after student tell me Like this the When you learn permaculture you learn so Much you didn't know you're exposed to So much And you're able to make decisions that Lessen your your loss of money that's Like really big up there now if you're Like even if that's not an issue you're Like you know I've got an inheritance or Won the lottery or whatever you don't Have more time So here's something to think about Here's something to think about When when you first embark on your Journey into homesteading You may have lots of experience you may

Have none Here's a here's a real life example I've Got a call from a lady Two three weeks ago she said hey we just Bought seven acres And I know a lot but I realize I I don't Know what I don't know I have a degree In agriculture I worked on two ranches that you know Some in Ranch Country And here I am now about to set up my own Homestead And let me just pause right there What what just happened she has these Skills that are very valuable but are Almost useless on Seven Acres right so She just spent Four six seven eight years of her life Learning these skills I'm not gonna say She's never gonna use them that's not my Point I'm just saying well now when it Gets down to reality of your time Did she make the right decision to do That now the answer is probably Yes and no from the from the aspect of Just your your homestead that was a Waste of time From the aspect of learning agriculture Ranching you know having the skills to Do that it wasn't waste of time at all Right and who knows what her life could Be later But but in the in the in your context When you're first embarking on this you

Probably have dreams and desires that You want to do Well if you just go out and learn them By yourself right you know you want to Know everything about bees bees are Amazing I highly recommend you learn About bees but they're complex it bees Are actually in my opinion they're Harder than chickens right Um and they're not hard they're just Harder than chickens to kind of learn And maintain So you're spending time doing that but Then when you actually get to your Suburban Lobby if you get into a point Where you're not you don't actually have Bees Then it's a problem or if you get to Your landscape and you can have bees That was two years you spent Specializing in that Well what now you're going to spend Another two years specializing on one Thing at a time Well that's okay as long as you know What those things are in in the in the Reality of your homestead if you don't Know the reality of that Then you're just kind of spinning your Wheels and using your time up on things That you like but it might not actually Be valuable so I highly recommend Slowing down for a second and focus in The dreams

And then getting a realistic list of Like these are the things I need to Learn and praise the Lord Um Josh did a great thing by creating The Josh and Carolyn by creating the the School traditional skills so you can Learn those skills that you really need Right that you really need when you Realize what it is that you want Um so there's a lot there Josh yeah yeah I think and and Nicholas is Right Nicholas got a whole class with us over The school traditional skills that that Helps break this down and and put it Into a linear process to apply on the Homestead level but you know what I what I hear you saying and where you start Out talking about design and the Benefits of it and really it saves you Time You know which is so so valuable which Ultimately is going to help in your Relationships because otherwise you're Spending your time elsewhere it's it's Helping you use your resources wisely Whether that's the land or money uh or Whatnot to get to the goal doesn't mean You don't do and it doesn't mean you're Not going to make mistakes but I see Nicholas I'm sure you see this I see it All the time and I talk to people I was Having lunch with a guy here an older Gentleman here in town that teaches a Lot

Um of people permaculture gardening lots Of things and one of the common things We see is people and people that set out To Homestead are doers they want to get Out and do it and make it happen and That's great because you Niche that Strength of Will and motivation but Watch people burn themselves up and burn Up their resources and burn up their Time and sometimes burn up their Relationships and Um this this friend of mine was telling Me he gets people coming to him and it's It's sometimes it's too late it's just They've exhausted themselves they've Exhausted their resources and so Permaculture design gives you a pathway And some tools you still got to get out And do and you got to do and reflect and Learn but it gives you some tools to Help you make sure you're using your Time and your resource as well just like That Garden between the where the cars Parked in the house so that you're Actually seeing the garden regularly and Paying attention to it permaculture does That all over the place right Nicholas And and and I think really Um well nothing prevents mistakes and Failure and we need those because we Learn from those it uh it can Drastically yeah Um Make us more efficient help us learn

Better and help us do better Yeah that's great the doing of Homesteading I'm glad you got to you Know make that a little bit more clear What I was trying to say Yeah that's exactly right exactly right Well that's that's my goal to condense It down and and uh Spin it one way or another Um let's see here we're we got a little Bit of time left and and kind of this in In this my point in that is because it Leads into the next discussion topic and That is the mistakes that people make And that cause some of the challenges And so Um you know we got about about five Minutes or so what are some of the Common mistakes that you see people Implementing you know in in permaculture Design or Homestead design that are Avoidable Eating with your eyes You know eating with your eyes okay tell Us about that you you you exp and even After a permaculture design course too Right so this homesteading design course That that we did is is still you know Even take this after a permaculture Design course too uh and I talk about it About purple design course as well but It's now you're a little dangerous after A permaculture design course because you You're now aware of all of these things

Right and then it's just like you go Past a buffet table and you're looking At it and you're like yes yes yes yes Yes yes yes yes yes and then at the end Of the day you've got a you know food Baby named Marquis or something and then And then you're feeling terrible you're Feeling terrible so you're doing too Much too fast is what you're doing and So one thing to not do is Go get Homestead move in next week go Get cows pigs chickens dogs Cheap you just no no Um go plant a garden right out of your Back door This is from bill mullison says get that Under control maybe add chickens get That under control in your design right And then you know move on to the next Thing and the wisdom in that Is far more wise than it's give than we Give credit to What's said there without being said is Laughs Over time you may burn out Even if it's easy And if you do too much too fast you're Gonna be burning out really quick and Then you're going to go back to the Place that you came from because it's Familiar with you but you were dying to Leave that air that for 15 or 20 years This is going to be in a worse state Get into that place I think it's so

Important what you bring up because People have a lot of strong motivations Right now wisely so you know uh food Supply food cost it's going up you know Just the uncertainty whether it's Climate whether it's the social Political environment people have a lot Of motivations for taking the action That they're taking and Um and so it it ends up pushing people To do all these things you're talking About that you shouldn't do moving too Fast and so somewhere we've gotta take These things but move forward with a Measure of Faith and realize that going Too fast becomes counterproductive to Where you're trying to go and so I think What you're saying in that is just slow Down it's gonna be okay you're gonna do Better and you're gonna ultimately get There faster by slowing down a little Bit be in studious learning some of These design principles is what I would Say learn from homestead design learn Some permaculture design apply it yeah You're going to mess up it's okay you Know yeah yeah you do you know you come Up with a plan You observe you implement It step back observe all of that Um but yeah slow down it will be okay Okay not only will sorry yes you're Right not only will it be okay like also If I can add something like Spend some more time

Bringing your neighbor some eggs bake Them some cookies Like that is that in itself that Relationship yeah it's like there's just So much wisdom in that go be a good Neighbor go be a really good neighbor You'll be amazed at the doors that opens I've got so many stories and not enough Time two more things though is under Planning and just doing yes I kind of Talked about that earlier like if you Just do it you're gonna redo it and redo It and redo it but then the opposite Over planning where you got like Analysis paralysis where you don't do Anything right like so those are those Are also common Yeah yep gotta find the balance there Well we're we're running out of time and But there's a whole lot more resources For you guys as Nicholas has referred School of traditional skills Nicholas Did a class for us that is a it's almost A small subset of permaculture training It's kind of designing your homestead From a permaculture perspective but it's Just immersed with permaculture Perspective uh because that's just the Passion that Nicholas brings to that and Then Nicholas himself has got a great Platform and Educational Tools you can Get I believe in Nicholas you just tell Us I believe you can even go get your PDC your permaculture design certificate

If you want if you want to dive that Deep and a whole lot of other resources So as we're closing out Nicholas how can People find you where do you want people To go to get a hold of you to to you Know just get familiar with what you're Doing and your resources yeah well Please do obviously taking the school of Permaculture the school of traditional Skills Homestead design course and uh This is this is that material I've been Working on book for quite some time is Very valuable for for people who are Serious and to move into this and also Yeah go to schoolofpermaculture.com if You're liking that teaching it's way Deeper Um with all with the expansion like not Just the design portion like not just The design it's getting into the Techniques the methods from every spot In the world from dry lands to Tropics To the temperate climates from Architecture to working with people and Creating invisible systems like it's a Lot and it's fascinating and you will be Inspired by the by the content so yeah If you want your certification I have a Pathway for that and I also have a Pathway for just the content at Non-profit rates how about that cool Right on well thanks Nicholas for Hanging out with us thanks you guys for Coming we will get you links to all of

This in the read down below or the show Nuts show notes if you're listening on The podcast hope you all have a great Day and a great week and I will see you Soon [Music]