Permaculture at the Esalen Institute

I recently finished up my Permaculture Design Course at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California with Benjamin Fahrer, an inspiring long-time permaculture activist.

Taking the permaculture course of a period of two months gave me the time to integrate the ethics and principles into my life in a meaningful way. We had a collection of passionate and enthusiastic guest speakers throughout the course.

Two guests from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center gave us some great information about Starting and Sustaining a Residential Intentional Community. Another great topic from the folks at OAEC was about the process of decision making in groups, a useful discussion for anyone who wants to be more effective in making truly democratic decisions.
We also had a great discussion on the uses of herbs and salve making with naturopathic Dr. Natalie Metz.
Trathen Heckman of Daily Acts gave us an enthusiastic lecture on the role of community placemaking. His suggestion and take-home message encouraged us all to "find your highest light, schedule it, and live it.... then find your community's highest light, and share it!"
Erik Ohlsen of Permaculture Earth Artisans talked to us about the benefits of growing perennial polyculture systems of food forests. Erik's campaign is Food Forests Across America!

We also managed to complete several projects, including a cob bench made for the Gazebo Preschool.
The course ended with presentations on projects that we completed in design teams. My group came up with an idea about the farm and garden at Esalen and how we could make it more sustainable and productive. Our theme was Restoring the Roots of Esalen. We thought it was important to incorporate more wild natives in order to restore the site while educating people about the cultural and natural history of the land.

There is something to be said for surrounding myself with inspiring, passionate, creative individuals. If anything it gives me the motivation to continue on an ecologically minded path with the people who share the same ethics and vision for our future on this beautiful planet.



Now I'm in Portland Oregon for the Village Building Convergence, where I'm busy getting involved in some permaculture projects in the urban environment. I've been posting photos of all my adventures on my flickr account, as usual. I'm just trying to keep the permaculture vibe alive and growing. For me, permaculture is about finding the simple, natural solutions to issues we face everyday in the world. As Starhawk talked to us about last night, the time for action is NOW.