Curtis Stone of Green City Acres joins me to talk about his experience as a SPIN Farmer.

SPIN Farming is a methodology to grown a lot of produce on very little land. It provides you with a plan to get started now so you can get cash flow going, gain experience and skills. It breaks down the big barriers to farming, being owning land the access to capital. SPIN teaches you how to start farming with very little start-up cost and how to get a quick return on your investment.Typical start-up costs are around $10,000 and you can make $20,000 in your first year.

When Curtis started SPIN Farming he put $7000 into the business and made $22000 his first year. His main start-up costs included a rototiller, a walk in cooler, garden tools, and his irrigation supplies. Every year since they Curtis has grown his business and his earnings.

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/26

John Kitsteiner of Temperate Climate Permaculture joins me to discuss his series of blog posts, The Myth of the Perfect Job.

So many of us are stuck in the rat race. We want to be farmers, homesteaders, or something else that involves working closer to home, and not for the man. But we never end up doing that. Why? I think people are either afraid to take a risk and start, or they don't know where to start.

This podcast should start to address both of those issues and at least get you thinking.

Key Takeaways from this Episode:

Be careful of the danger of just pursuing your passion. At the end of the day you have to make a living and get some sort of yield for your work.

Balance: Biological, physical, social, spiritual health. Most people focus on one or two areas, not all. Consider this when pursuing a career path.

Start looking for a career where your passion and skills overlap. Then start adding in what does the world need (will they pay for it) and does it have meaning to your own life.

Think about if a new career is sustainable. Could you do it every day all day for the next 1, 2, 5, 10 years? Along with all of the side baggage that goes with it - accounting, marketing, legal, etc..

A lot of marketing is driven to you to consume more stuff. Often times that consumption is fueled by debt and is filling a void to pursue happiness.

Forcing kids into careers. How many people were "forced" down a career path by parents, counselors, and teachers because it "was a good career path." And the you could parlay that career into a life of "success with a big house, nice car, and a whole bunch of bills.

Embrace the idea of having a few primary careers, and multiple secondary careers. That creates resiliency and helps to eliminate boredom and burnout. Permie examples - think: Paul Wheaton, Joel Salatin, Darren Doherty, Rob Avis.

Permaculture Principle 10: Use and value diversity. "Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which is resides." [permacultureprinciples.com] Apply this thought to careers and finances. Embrace the diversity to meet your needs and become more resilient.

Money is the excuse, but fear it the reality. It doesn't take a lot to get our needs met. But it takes courage to step away from the rat race.

Show Notes: permaculturevoices.com/25

Owen Hablutzel joins me to talk about patterns in permaculture and the power of setting a goal.

Key Takeaways from this Episode:

Patterns are the shorthand of nature. They take a large complex system of forces and processes and simplifies it down.

What is the long term vision of the project? A lot of designs fall apart on the social impact side of the project.

Take the time to set and write down a goal. That process greatly increases the likelihood that something will happen in the direction of your goal.

Think about setting a Holistic Goal.

"If you can understand patterns and what causes them to become the way they are, you can tell an awful lot about the processes that created it. And if you understand that, then you can create a design pattern that is going to best work with those forces."

"Begin with the end in mind."

"Without a goal it's tough to know exactly what you are designing for."

"If it's not written down then it is not likely to happen, or much less likely to happen."

"Don't buy the suit to match the tie."

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/24

This is replay of the webinar that was recorded on December 5, 2013 with Rebecca Krassnoski. Attendees submitted their questions about raising hogs and Rebecca answered them.

the b reels: episodes of the Permaculture Voices podcast that just weren't a fit for the main weekly show. This is content that I have that is worth sharing, but it will be a little more raw, unedited, and no show notes. The b reels can come out at anytime, while the main weekly interview based version of the podcast will always come out on Friday.

These episodes are part experiment, so hopefully they give you as the listener some valuable information. Especially for the listener who just can't get enough permaculture in their life. Enjoy the show, and go out and be a part of the positive change.

And let me know what you think, I would love to hear from you. Thanks for listening and thanks for support us, and permaculture.

www.permaculturevoices.com

Joey Delia of Tipuana Farm joins me to talk about overstory trees in permaculture systems.

We touch on species of overstory trees that grow in our area and the benefits of those trees to a system. Dealing with too much shade. Finding fast growing species and other thoughts that we have on the subject.

the b reels: episodes of the Permaculture Voices podcast that just weren't a fit for the main weekly show. This is content that I have that is worth sharing, but it will be a little more raw, unedited, and no show notes. The b reels can come out at anytime, while the main weekly interview based version of the podcast will always come out on Friday.

These episodes are part experiment, so hopefully they give you as the listener some valuable information. Especially for the listener who just can't get enough permaculture in their life. Enjoy the show, and go out and be a part of the positive change.

And let me know what you think, I would love to hear from you. Thanks for listening and thanks for support us, and permaculture.

www.permaculturevoices.com

Michael Pollan joins me to talk about GMOs, organic food, the industrial agriculture, and his new book Cooked.

Points we hit on:

What will it take to ultimately get GMOs labelled in the US? And what affect will that labeling have.

Rewarding farmers for embracing sustainable practices.

Getting changes in agriculture from the grassroots, corporate and government level.

Getting representation for eaters on the government agriculture committees which are currently dominated by lightly populated corn belt states.

The importance of being able to demonstrate scientifically that we can do what we say we can do - relating to permaculture, sustainable agriculture.

The importance of cooking your own food and the trickle down effects. If you are cooking your own food then you have the ability to shop from local farmers, farmers markets, and CSAs. Fast food supports industrial agriculture.

10% of the food dollar goes to the farmer. The longer the food chain the less the farmer gets. Even the packaging manufacturers make more than the farmers.

By diversifying as a farmer and having more than a single crop you are able to being more of a price maker than a price taker in the commodity system.

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/23