Michael Jordan, The Bee Whisperer, joins me to talk about bees and bee keeping.

Michael is a holistic bee keeper who is doing beekeeping the right way. He has worked tirelessly to promote sustainable bee keeping, that respects, not exploits the bees, and gets the youth involved. You can find out more about Michael via A Bee Friendly Company.

I tried to keep this episode on the positive side. How can we work beneficially with bees in a way that is sustainable? There is so much talk out there about bad bee practices, I really wanted to try to focus on the positive side of things, instead of just talking about the problems that are out there. BEEcause the way I see it if did things the right way in the first place then we wouldn't be having all of these problems with the bees.

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/42

John Pugliano of Investable Wealth joins me to talk about navigating the fear of leaving one job and starting a fresh career.

One key theme that I hear from a lot of people is that they want to transition from their job doing X into doing Y (something related to permaculture). But that desire to make the transition is often overshadowed by fear, fear of the the unknown.

Common fears include:
How can I afford my mortgage, insurance, food for my kids, etc.
What if my business fails. I will be financially ruined.
I have too much debt, so I can't afford to quit my job.

These are some of the many reasons that John and I have heard from people when it comes from giving up income 'certainty' for the unknown income volatility that comes with being self employed. These reasons, may or may not be justified. Often times these are just quick excuses that someone comes up with for why they really don't want to do do what they say they are going to do.

That's all totally fine. Follow your own path But if things really seem scary, then take some time to run the numbers, ask the tough questions, and figure out a way to de-risk things. Maybe it really isn't as bad as you first thought..

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/41

Ben Falk and Grant Schultz join me to talk about permaculture as a survival preparedness strategy. How can we use whole systems design to create systems that work passively to increase our resiliency. In our modern day world we are quick to throw money at technological, mechanical systems that are complicated and brittle. In an emergency situation you could have a generator, but if that breaks or you run out of fuel, you are out of luck. If you have a wood fuel based system, it is going to work no matter what, it's bulletproof.

Ben and Grant are both a wealth of knowledge when it comes to homestead technology, both simple and complex. They are living the lifestyle. Using and building the systems that they talk about. They are both builders and tinkerers, therefor they understand how these systems work, and can break down. You will learn how important it is to buy high quality tool that will last a lifetime (and the tools to service the tools); often times those tools were built 80 years ago and can be bought on the cheap. They have an appreciation for good quality tools and things you can craft by hand. Simple is beautiful, simple is resilient.

This isn't typical prepper talk of buying generators, storing fuel, and MREs. This is all about designing systems that will work before and after SHTF.

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/40

Mark Shepard of Forest Agriculture Enterprises joins me to talk about the future of agriculture.

Mark has a pretty clear view on how he thinks the future of agriculture could be.. restoration agriculture style farms dotting the landscape with animals roaming through grasslands dappled with trees, a perennial polyculture system that builds soil instead of destroying it, a system that sequesters carbon instead of volatilizing it, a system that utilizes all of the water that falls on a piece of land, a system restores the land, and importantly a system provides nutrient dense food on scale - bulk calories and makes money doing it allowing a farmer to earn a decent living in the process. These systems could restore the land and rural America. I think it is totally possible, and when you hear Mark speak I think you will feel the same way. This is the future of agriculture.

This is probably one of those episodes that you will need to listen to a few times to get every little juicy nugget out of it. Whether you want to farm broadacre or not, this episode is busting at the seems with knowledge and wisdom.

Show Notes: www.permaculturevoices.com/39

Bob Hamberg of Omega-Alpha Recycling Systems and Dragon Husbandry joins me to talk about anaerobic digestion and biogas. How we can use "waste" to close the loop and get beneficial by-products in the process. The anaerobic digesters can be integrated into permaculture and homestead systems by incorporating them within greenhouses and tying them into pond systems.

As for "waste disposal," we've got two mis-defined terms resulting in an abominable oxymoron. In nature there is no such thing as waste. All residues serve as resources for further growth - there is nothing to be disposed of. Nothing is thrown away. Indeed, there is no "away". Everything must go somewhere. The misconception of waste disposal must be superseded by the concept of residue management.

Show Notes:  www.permaculturevoices.com/38