Regenerative Skills

Zach and I on my porch in Tzununa I don’t always have the pleasure of interviewing my guests in person but I was fortunate this time to be able to sit down with Zach Loeks, permaculture teachers and author of the book “The Permaculture Market Garden” last week while he’s down here in Guatemala co-teaching a PDC with Abundant Edge and Atitlan Organics. In this episode we had the chance to talk about a lot of subjects we missed on my first interview with him back in season one. We explore the topics of putting “culture” back in permaculture and finding ways of sharing and communicating in other forms such as art and music. Zach talks about the challenges and advantages of the high tropical climate we have and how some of the difficulties might be managed creatively. For anyone looking to get to know Zach better you can hear more about him and his background in our first interview on market gardening from season one. So lets jump back now to my little porch overlooking the lake and catch up with Zach Resources: Zach Loeks on Facebook Zach Loeks on Instagram MC Ecology on Instagram

Hey everyone! We're back with another regenerative round table with the whole Abundant Edge team to fill you in on the projects, challenges, and of course goats here on our regenerative homestead in Guatemala. In this session we talk about the work we've been doing on the landscape and the house over the last month, but also break down a few key concepts that have to be considered in any design such as the nuances of your climate. Neal and I talk about training new members of the team from our local community, and Jeremy breaks down why you should start a nursery as soon as possible and the many benefits of living fences. We also get into other topics like build project planning, planning for the seasons with your goats, answer listener questions, and much more. Don't forget to send your own questions to our team at "The Abundant Edge" facebook page and we'll do our best to answer them for you in upcoming episodes of the podcast.

The world of honey bees has always been a mystery to me. I feel confident taking care of plants, animals, building and even fungi, but bees? In todays interview I spoke with one of the most outspoken advocates of beekeeping Christy Hemenway, found of Gold Star Honey Bees and author of the book “The Thinking Beekeeper: a guide to natural beekeeping in top bar hives.” In this interview Christy introduced me to the way that bees have been managed at an industrial level and some of the many nuanced causes of colony collapse disorder. She also goes in depth about the many benefits that bees have for our environment and agriculture that go far beyond honey production, and wraps up by giving some invaluable advice on how to start and manage your own home scale hive. Christy has tons of great resources including a great TEDx talk she gave a few years back Resources: Get the book, "The Thinking Beekeeper" Christy's TEDx talk goldstarhoneybees.com

My guest today is Kelly Hart, author of Earthbag building which is part of the “essentials series on natural building put out by New Society Publishers. He is also the founder of greenhomebuilding.com, dreamgreenhomes.com, earthbagbuilding.com, and a few others. Today we tackle one of the most constant questions that I get asked as a natural builder and that I hear the most debate over in online forums and that’s the subject of domes and their advantages and disadvantages. Kelly shares wonderful insights from building earthbag domes and living in one for many years. We both share our own stories of successes and challenges in building and living in domes and Kelly gives sound advice on how to avoid leaks and other problems. We also get into the topic of how living in a natural home can have a profound effect on your lifestyle and some of the simple habits that you can change to make the biggest positive impact towards a regenerative lifestyle. Resources: Green Building Directory Essential Earthbag Construction Hartworks.com Dream Green Homes website Earthbag building website Green Homebuilding website

In keeping with my kick on finding new and unique ways to implement permaculture principles and design techniques in ways outside of just land management and natural building I’ve got an excellent guest for you today. You probably know Scott Mann as the host of “The Permaculture Podcast” the longest running podcast on permaculture which has been going strong for more than seven years now. In that time he has gained remarkable insights from some of the most prominent leaders and changemakers in the regenerative economy. Today I’ll be asking Scott about the changes that he’s made in his own lifestyle through his consumer habits, his daily routines and behavior, as well as his interactions with his community and environment. We talk in depth about how abandoning society and moving to the country is often not as effective a form of living regeneratively as you might think. We discuss how to avoid the burnout that can come from too many ethical dilemmas which arise from living in a destructive social system and a few of the many steps that you can use to overcome the stress. We also touch on some practical advice on how to make your money count in a consumer environment with so many destructive options. This is a great episode for those of you listeners who love your locations and jobs, but want to take steps towards healthier, more holistic living, without a huge upheaval and abandoning everything. Resources: The Permaculture Podcast

Welcome to this month's regenerative round table. In this session we talk about our newest additions to the family, the GOATS! Neal and Oliver go into the details behind the goat pen design, and Jeremy talks about mushroom production and the extension of the water and irrigation systems. We also discuss the importance of getting your hands dirty and the reality of implementing your designs. All that and more as we give you a direct window into the development of our regenerative homestead model. If you would like your own questions answered by the AE team, you can write to us on The Abundant Edge Podcast facebook page either in a message or by publishing on the wall and we'll do our best to answer you on our monthly round table sessions. Resources: The Abundant Edge FB Page

Let me introduce you today to one of my favorite gurus of natural building. Conrad Rogue is the founder of “house alive” and has been pioneering cob building for many years and is the author of “house of earth: a complete handbook for earthen construction.” For over 15 years House Alive has taught more than 1000 students how earthen building materials can enhance and uplift our built environment in a simple and elegant way. I reached out to Conrad initially to commend him for an article he wrote called “cob speed” which beautifully deconstructs the comparisons between industrial and earthen buildings and how the expectations of natural buildings are often very skewed. In this interview I asked Conrad about the fundamental differences between “green” and “natural” building. We go in depth about why it’s essential to incorporate appropriate technology into natural buildings in order to make them perform optimally, and we go over the ever-important process of passing your plans for building through the permitting process and how to get the authorities to open up to progressive building ideas. Resources: House Alive Website "Cob Speed" Article

I’ve become really passionate about finding unconventional applications for permaculture design principles and today is a perfect example of someone who is exploring the ways that permaculture can be used to create stronger social and interpersonal structures. Isabelle Fortier is the founder of egoeco.ca whose mission is to inspire people to move towards a higher sense of well-being, to live differently and more in line with their values, all the while contributing to the development of an ecologically responsible society. For nearly 10 years, Isabelle acted as a spiritual life and community involvement facilitator at a CEGEP where she offered several training programs related to relationship counseling, stress management, conflict management, bereavement and intercultural relations. In this interview Isabella talks about the internal changes that we need to make before we can be effective change makers out in the world through a combination of both personal work and group work in ecologically minded communities. Now since my good friend and colleague, Neal Hegarty, had just finished taking Isabella’s three-day course on social permaculture, I gave the mic over to him to conduct the interview. So here’s Neal and Isabelle in our first on a series of alternative applications for permaculture. Hope you are as inspired by these concepts as I am. Resources: EgoEco.ca

Today’s guest, Ted Brinegar, is pushing the boundaries of natural and regenerative low-cost housing with his non-profit organization called “foxhole homes.” These earthship-inspired homes are designed to serve the needs of homeless veterans, but also to help redefine what kind of lifestyle that’s possible on a very limited income. Foxhole homes are designed to be entirely off grid and to produce much of their own food too. In this interview Ted explains the inspiration behind the holistically regenerative design of the structures, with a whole slew of low cost appropriate technology working to make the most of every resource and bit of energy as well. We get into how they keep costs down by salvaging and recycling materials, and we talk about the larger vision for complete communities in the future as well. Ted is a very inspiring speaker who unloads a ton of practical information in this session so grab your notebooks and let’s dive in Resources: Foxhole.org

Welcome to the first "Regenerative Round Table" with the Abundant Edge team. In this new segment we got together at the AE demonstration homestead to have one of our regular evening chats, but this time we turned the mics on and gave it a bit of structure. In this episode we talk about the design and implementation strategy for the site, the apprentice and volunteer program that we're in the middle of, and we also answer listener questions from the facebook page about biochar production and plant propagation. This is our first time recording our discussions, so bear with us as we get a bit of a slow start in the episode, but pick up the pace and the laughs real quickly. If you would like your own questions answered by the AE team, you can write to us on The Abundant Edge Podcast facebook page either in a message or by publishing on the wall and we'll do our best to answer you on our monthly round table sessions. Resources: The Abundant Edge FB Page