Permaculture: Redesigning How we Live with Nature in Mind
by Paul Beich
Have you noticed, as I have, that the way we live our lives is incredibly complicated and inefficient? Oil from the Middle East, cars from Japan, food from New Zealand, Chile and California--our modern way of life depends upon resources that come from all over the world. The systems of resource extraction and production that make our current lives possible are vast to the point of being unknowable. And though most of us like our modern conveniences, many of us suspect that the long-term environmental cost of this way of living ismore than our Earth can continue to bear.
“Permaculture” is the idea that we can redesign the way we live so that our human needs are met in a way that is harmonious with the needs of the Earth and all the other forms of life that also live here. At this point, our lives not to become no only “sustainable” but regenerative (i.e., “healing”) for the environment. Permaculture offers us a way to undo the mess we’ve created by observing the regenerative systems in Nature, and redesigning our lives to work with thosesystems so we don’t wind up working against Her.
Though “permaculture” originally referred to the design of food systems that regenerate themselves (“permaculture” is a contraction of “permanent agriculture”), the term has come to encompass the possibility of transforming all aspects of how we live--energy, housing, transportation, water, etc.--with two skills: 1) observing and learning from Nature, and 2) intelligently designing our lives according to what we learn from Nature.
Some people feel that many pre-modern indigenous peoples had truly mastered “permaculture” as a way of life--and of course, without calling it that. I would agree. So, do we really need a new word for a set of ideas that seem so basic and common-sense? I would say “yes", butonly because the complexity and irrationality of modern life require that we spell these ideas out as something that we can rediscover.
Perhaps we need this “new concept” as a way to build a bridge back toward the deep wisdom of the indigenous ancestors that all of us descend from. Regardless of our heritage, we all descend from people who were indigenous to some place on the Earth, and who knew very well how to live from and with that place in a very natural way.
In permaculture, we can find a way to redesign our way back to a very natural, beautiful and healing way of life that will in many ways be more aligned with the ancient human nature that still lives in us than the modern lives to which we’ve become accustomed.
If you are interested in learning more about permaculture, I hope you will join me and my partner Rebeca at Just Fruits on Sunday, November 6 from 10am-noon for an “Introduction to Permaculture”. Please pre-register if you are interested, as the class size is limited to 15 people.
Harvest Notes...
Picking and Home Curing Olives
Marinated Arbequina Olives
Here’s a simple recipe that you can use to cure your Arbequina olives. It’s easily done with very little equipment, and the olives can be processed in small batches. Olives stored in oil will keep for several months in the refrigerator, and develop a rich and spicy flavor within a week or two.When you have finished eating all the olives, the leftover oil is wonderful served on bruschetta, or to use in salad dressings.
PICKING YOUR OLIVES
Olives, picked right off the tree, contain a bitter compound called oleuropein. Harvested olives must be cured to be palatable. The olives used in this recipe should be half to fully ripe. Pick them when the color is half black or fully black. Avoid fruit that is bruised or has spots, as these can cause rot, and will not store properly. Fresh olives should be processed as soon as possible after harvest. If unable to gather enough olives to process in a picking, store the gathered olives in the refrigerator until you have enough to process. Be sure to process within a week of harvest. READ MORE.......
Sunday October 30th
Frost Protection for Fruit and Vegetable Gardens
with Ted Cowley-Gilbert
Winter is just around the corner, and it’s time to prepare your young tender citrus, figs and pomegranates trees for the upcoming freezes. Join us in the orchard for a workshop how to build effect frost protectionstructures around trees. We’ll talk about creating micro climates, when to cover and what materials work best. The workshop will end at our vegetable production house, with a talk on building low cost greenhouses.
Workshop held 10:00 to 11:30 in case of rain it will be postponed to a later date.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6th
INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE
with Paul Beich and Rebeka Siplak
If you've been curious as to what permaculture is or want to learn some basic techniques to apply to your homestead here is a good chance to learn more about it. Paul Beich and Rebeca Siplak will teach a basic introduction to permaculture as well as talk about theTransition Towns movement. Paul earned his Permaculture Design Certificate from the Regenerative Design Institute in California and Rebeca Siplak has a BS in Horticulture at Oregon State University plus 20 years of farming experience and training in sustainable organic agriculture. These two local permaculture activists are passionate about their life work and are starting “Edible Landscaping” a local based company.
Class size is limited to 15 people $10.00 charge. Register by calling or emailing the nursery