Regenerative Skills

My guest today is Tamara Dean, the author of the book “the Human Powered Home: choosing muscles over motors” which is an in depth look into the history, advancement, and modern applications of human powered machines. Having just finished reading this I can honestly say that I was immediately inspired to start building and using these machines myself. It covers the full range of people powered devices from treadle sewing machines, prisoner powered treadmills and cotton gins, to bicycles, see-saw water pumps and pedal generators. In later chapters, Tamara profiles people and organizations that are applying human powered devices to appropriate technologies that stimulate economies in developing regions, empower people to take on new projects on their own steam, and even just improve your health and fitness. In this interview Tamara talks about her inspiration to write “the human powered home” and some of the machines she built herself while researching for the book. She also gives advice on some of the most efficient and less efficient tasks to power on your own, some of which are based on her own successes and failures. For "The Abundant Edge" listeners only, you can now get 50% off your digital subscriptions to Permaculture Magazine North America by entering the code PMNA50abedge at checkout. Get your subscription today and dive deep into the local and global solutions that go beyond sustainability. Resources: Pedal Powered Prime Mover Plans http://www.mayapedal.org/ http://tamaradean.media/ https://www.newsociety.com/Books/H/The-Human-Powered-Home

My guest today is Tim O'Hara who's the owner and founder of Rancho Mastatal sustainability and education center, one of the premier sustainable living education sites in the world. For more than 15 years Rancho Mastatal has been leading the way in permaculture, natural building, and regenerative living skills such as fermentation, bio gas digestion, soap making, and much more. Tim started out with a degree in agricultural economics and first began working in corporate agro business before becoming disillusioned with that world and joining the peace corps where he worked for two years in Uraguay and there met his wife. After another short stint working in agro business, Tim was ready for a big change. Through a friend of his from the peace corps Tim then found the land in Mastatal Costa Rica where the dream of the ranch came together. In this interview, Tim shares invaluable insights on how to integrate with your local community as an outsider, how their demonstration site has had a positive impact on their community at large, and he goes over some of the biggest hurdles he and his team have had to overcome to get to where they are today. This is a great episode for anyone who dreams of starting their own training or educational site one day. Resources: http://ranchomastatal.com/

My guest today is Neal Spackman, Neal is best known for his work on the Al Baydah project in Saudi Arabia, and as the co-founder of the Sustainable Design Masterclass. Neal has been working for nearly a decade in one of the most arid regions of the world in a severely desertified region of saudi arabia to regenerate the landscape there through permaculture methods focusing on water harvesting techniques. As a former student of Geoff Lawton, Neal began work on the project with no prior experience with either permaculture or dryland restoration, but in a remarkably short time he and his team have completely transformed the way the land both sequesters water and builds topsoil, and has even reached the point where the trees no longer need any water from drip irrigation in a desert that receives only a few centimeters of rainfall a year. In this interview Neal talks in detail about the intricacies and challenges that they face on his land restoration project, the social and economic factors that add a human element to the designs, and how he went from a complete beginner to running one of the most prominent and successful desert restoration projects in the world. We also talk about the incredible information and interviews that he hosts through the Sustainable Design Masterclass and the inspirational stories of people who are running profitable businesses by regenerating the earth. Resources: http://www.albaydha.org/ https://www.sustainabledesignmasterclass.com/

My guest today is Scott Gallant who is a resident farm manager at Rancho Mastatal which is a permaculture and natural building design and teaching site in Costa Rica. Scott grew up in a little town in Ohio outside of Cincinnati spending most of his childhood playing in the neighboring farmland. He later went to a small liberal arts school in Indiana called Wabash college where he studied economics and rhetoric. After that he was on the track to get a job in finances but instead took a detour when he decided to take some time off and head out west to work for a conservation crew. There he met his partner Laura and she convinced him to hitch-hike through Mexico with her to learn Spanish. Long story short, he says, we ended up at Rancho Mastatal in Costa Rica where he soon began running the farm, teaching permaculture, and eventually doing consulting work. Since then Scott has been featured on Permaculture Voices with Diego Footer, on the recent USDA “Inside Agroforestry Beginning Farmers” newsletter, and has written many articles for the Permaculture Research Institute. In this episode Scott talks in detail about his role managing the farm on one of the premier regenerative living sites in the world and the journey that got him to that point. He also gives advice to beginners who might be looking to get involved in land management and regeneration projects themselves. Resources: http://ranchomastatal.com/

My guest today is an outspoken advocate for freeing yourself from the shackles of the rat race by making lifestyle changes that help you regain your freedom. Chris Mcclellan is affectionately known as Uncle Mud and runs a website by the same name where you can find resources on how to learn to build with cob and other natural materials. In this episode Chris goes in depth on the different ways that you can slash your monthly bills with natural building retrofits. How instead of paying upwards of 1k a month to heat his house he now only pays $75 a year using a wood stove he built with mud and recycled materials, and why you should look to your back yard before for building supplies before heading to home depot.

My interview today is with one of the designers and change makers that has most influenced my own approach to professional projects and regenerative landscape development. Darren Doherty is the founder of Regrarians Ltd. Based in Bendigo Australia and he has extensive experience in project design, development, management and training. He's worked on 6 continents and nearly 50 countries in mostly broad-acre agricultural applications. The Regrarian's purpose that he promotes is to provide the potential for people to be informed about the regenerative economy, whether it involves their work in agriculture, land management, corporate life, domestic services, manufacturing or other activities that are within the reasonable domain of humans. In this episode Darren talks extensively about the innovative platform and ethics that his organization promotes, how he got started as a landscape designer and began teaching with Bill Mollison the co founder of permaculture, and he gives essential advice on how to build soils that are counter intuitive to how many people have learned with mulch and compost. This is another really in depth interview and I'd advise having a note book on hand as Darren goes into detail about a lot of the science behind soil building and carbon sequestering in a regenerative landscape.

My guest today is Bill Steen, who along with his wife Athena is one of the early innovators and promoters of straw bale building in the American Southwest through their company “the Canelo Project.” Bill was born in Tucson, AZ and attended the university of AZ where he studied cultural anthropology. Out of college he ran a yoga ashram in NM for 12 years. He took a couple years off after that experience and moved to Canelo, AZ 33 years ago where he and his wife Athena quickly started the Canelo project which is dedicated to connecting people, culture and nature. He describes himself as someone who never lost the dreams he had that were born in the 60s in terms of more enlightened ways of living, whether it was spirituality or through sustainable ways of living on this earth. In this interview Bill opens up about how he an Athena started the Canelo Project and wrote their essential work “the straw bale house” and “ the beauty of strawbale homes.” Bill also shares some off the most important tips and tricks he's learned in building through his extensive experience, how the aesthetics and natural building techniques of the SW have influenced him, and much more. Resources: https://www.facebook.com/The-Canelo-Project-131628036916687/ http://www.caneloproject.com/ Upcoming Workshops with Bill Steen and the Canelo Project http://www.caneloproject.com/workshops/england-clay-plaster-workshop/ http://www.caneloproject.com/workshops/earth-floor-and-plaster-workshop-france/ http://www.caneloproject.com/workshops/artistry-with-clay-lime/

My guest today has been one of my most inspiring forces in creating this podcast and working towards sharing my learning experiences with the larger community. His name is Diego Footer and he's the founder of Permaculture Voices. Through his business he puts out a world class podcast and youtube channel by the same name and sells books and online courses through the website. His broadcasts focus on his own journey in creating a permaculture landscape and garden on his property outside of San Diego CA, and wisdom he gains through the process. In our interview, Diego opens up about some of the early failures he had when first starting his business, what he learned from the experience, and some invaluable advice for entrepreneurs following a similar path. He also shed's light on some of the overlooked realities of developing businesses and permaculture landscapes that are often the reasons why people quit early. Grab your notebook for this one because there is enough information in our chat to fill a book. Resources: http://www.permaculturevoices.com/

Todays guest is a good friend of mine who has recently become a member of the Abundant Edge team. His name is Neal Hegerty and he's the volunteer coordinator and co-teacher at Atitlan Organics here in Tzununa, Guatemala. Neal grew up in Ireland and spent a lot of time around his uncle's dairy farm when he was young. He went on to study agriculture in science and began to learn more about alternative methods of farming during his travels and volunteering on wwoof farms. He later went on to get his masters in agriculture and development studies. In this session we talk about many progressive agricultural techniques such as holistic land management, silvopasture, strip grazing and more. Neal also shares his experiences from managing volunteers from all over the world, and how cattle farming can actually be good for the environment. Resources: http://imapermaculture.org/ http://www.atitlanorganics.com/

In this interview with my good friend Max Benjamin, we talk about his journey over the past three years to build a sustainable permaculture enterprise in a little town on Lake Atitlan Guatemala. Max is a great example of where many of our listeners are at in their transition to a regenerative lifestyle and here he shares stories about the challenges and successes he's had over the last three years in developing a diversified farm, with different value added products and side ventures in order to create his own permaculture paradise. While the specifics of his situation might be completely different for your own, I have no doubt that anyone on the journey towards a more regenerative life would find commonalities and resonate with his story.  Resources https://www.facebook.com/max.benjamin.161 https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/jocotel/ https://www.facebook.com/eljocotel/