The Permaculture Vine

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We interview permaculture designers, practitioners and educators on how they discovered permaculture, and how they are doing in their permaculture careers and businesses. cormacharkin.substack.com

  1. Oct 3

    131. From PDC to Practice: Learning Permaculture by Doing It!

    In episode 131 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Lindsay Brandon of Permaculture Canada and Armagarden, and Harry Sealy, who is making the transition from environmental consultancy into permaculture. The conversation covered what a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) involves, Lindsay’s approach to delivering her own PDC, choosing between different courses, using a property as the basis for a PDC design, and what happens when a design begins to be implemented on the ground. The discussion also moved into ongoing education, current projects and the role of Indigenous and local knowledge. Who’s at the Table Lindsay Brandon joined from her school bus in an off-grid community in Golden, British Columbia, Canada. She is with Permaculture Canada and Armagarden and is currently developing a Permaculture Design Certification course, while living seasonally on the property and planning further work in Canada and Central America. Harry Sealy is based on the southwest coast of Ireland, around 400–500 metres from the Atlantic. His career has largely been in environmental consultancy and environmental impact assessment, including work in Ireland, the UK and the Middle East. After completing an online PDC with Geoff Lawton, he is now working on four acres near the coast that he hopes to develop as a permaculture demonstration site. What a Permaculture Design Course Covers The conversation began with what a PDC actually is and how Lindsay and Harry experienced their own courses. Lindsay described her PDC as a change in how she looked at land. The course brought together weather, geography, history, water movement, species, compaction and other observations of a site. She had already been involved in gardening, but found that the PDC extended beyond gardening into the relationships between different elements of a system. That included looking at how the people using a property interact with the land, what they need from it and how the different elements can be connected. Harry came to his PDC from a different background. He had already spent around 25 years working in environmental consultancy and initially expected much of the course material to be familiar. He said the patterning section in particular changed how he looked at the subject. He also discussed the accessibility of PDCs. In his experience, the course did not require a particular educational or professional background and introduced concepts from the beginning before building on them. The discussion also covered the range of subjects within permaculture. Lindsay noted that people can develop particular interests in areas such as soil, climate or topography rather than expecting to specialise in everything. Lindsay’s PDC Lindsay has been developing her own courses over several years. Her current plan begins with a basic Permaculture Design Certification, followed by an advanced designers course for people who want to take the work further and learn how to design and present projects digitally. The first PDC is planned as an online course running once a week on Wednesday evenings from mid-November to mid-February. Lindsay described this first version as a pilot programme that will help develop later in-person courses in Golden, British Columbia, and Mexico. One aim is to have participants from different climates involved rather than focusing entirely on a single climatic region. The course will therefore include discussion of different implementation practices in cold and tropical climates. Students will develop a design throughout the course. Each week’s topic feeds into homework and the final project rather than leaving the complete design until the end. After the main course, Lindsay plans to include additional question-and-answer and design mentoring sessions. Students will then have time to finalise their designs before presenting their projects at the end of March. The planned in-person versions will contain the same underlying material but allow more practical work. Lindsay discussed possibilities including earthworks, earthen building, ponds, food forests and working with the animals and existing infrastructure available at the locations. Choosing a PDC With many different PDCs now available, Harry asked how somebody new to permaculture could decide which course to take. Lindsay suggested researching both the organisation and the people delivering the course. She discussed looking at their existing work, videos and other material, as well as contacting them directly where possible. Communication was part of that consideration. She suggested seeing whether prospective students can speak with the people involved through email, a phone conversation, Zoom or another form of direct contact. Cormac compared this with his own experience completing Geoff Lawton’s online PDC as part of a much larger group. He liked having the course information released progressively, giving time to work through the volume of material, but said that if he were doing another PDC he would like to take one in person in Ireland and in his own climate. The conversation also compared large online cohorts with smaller groups and the amount of interaction different students may want. Harry highlighted the value of live questions and answers. Lindsay described her own experience of mentoring students and answering questions, including occasions when she did not know an answer and said so. The discussion acknowledged that the range of climates, plants and subjects involved means that nobody is going to know everything. Designing Your Own Property During a PDC The conversation then moved to whether a student should use their own property for their PDC design. Cormac had not designed his own property during his PDC because he considered it too small at the time and instead worked on a seven-acre site. Lindsay said that having regular access to the land provides opportunities to observe things that cannot necessarily be seen through aerial imagery or online tools. A student can return to an area, observe compaction, add material and see how it changes through the seasons. She also made clear that owning land is not a requirement. A student could work with somebody else’s property or another place they can regularly visit. People without land can still take the course, and not everyone completing a PDC needs to become a designer. Harry also chose not to use his own property for his PDC project. He worked on a property in the Balearic Islands, giving him experience with a semi-arid Mediterranean environment and a different planting palette. For his own property in Ireland, he later had the mainframe design completed by another permaculture designer. He wanted the initial structure of the site to be right before implementation began. Moving from Design to Implementation Harry’s four-acre property provided the main example of moving from a completed design into implementation. He described the process as learning by doing and has deliberately been putting elements in gradually. Current work includes a polytunnel, the planned location of a mandala garden, composting, a Three Sisters demonstration area and perennial vegetable beds. Around 900 mixed deciduous trees have been planted as a shelterbelt. Swales, fruit and berry hedges have also been established, with Harry estimating roughly one-and-a-half to two kilometres of planted hedgerow. The shelterbelt planted from saplings around two years ago is now reaching approximately three to four metres in places, with the canopy beginning to close. Larger projects remain further into the future. Harry discussed plans to explore pond-based or holistic aquaponics alongside conventional tank-based aquaponics, potentially involving a geodesic dome, a large pond and research with a local university. The cost of constructing the pond and the regulatory requirements around fisheries and possible escape into waterways mean that this part of the site remains a longer-term project. Designing a Temporary Off-Grid … Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    131. From PDC to Practice: Learning Permaculture by Doing It!

  2. Sep 26

    130. Food Forest Design, AI Systems and Off-Grid Communities

    In episode 130 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Travis Holzem, returning to the podcast after previously appearing in episode 88. The conversation covered Travis’s work with Food Forest Design Minnesota, the development of the Food Forest Design Network, his use of AI and automation within a food forest design business, and plans for Sovereign Acres, a proposed off-grid community in Minnesota. Who’s at the Table Travis Holzem is based in Minnesota and described himself as a former founder of Food Forest Abundance. After leaving that company, he started Food Forest Design Minnesota and has been developing a market for food forest designs and installations in the state. He is also developing the Food Forest Design Network and working on plans for Sovereign Acres. Cormac Harkin hosts The Permaculture Vine Podcast. During the conversation, Cormac drew on his own experience designing properties, including the time involved in researching sites and plants, and discussed his own use of AI for tasks such as turning podcast transcripts into articles. Rebuilding After Losing Access to Social Media Travis began by describing what had happened to his business over the previous year. He said he lost access for around three months to services connected to Facebook, including Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, WhatsApp and his Facebook pages. He estimated that this removed around 75% of his lead generation. It also affected existing projects because he had been using Facebook Marketplace to connect with vendors supplying trees and other materials for installations. When he eventually regained access, his advertising account was gone and he had also lost a Facebook group with around 25,000 members. Travis said the experience led him to make changes to his business and build systems that would be less dependent on the same platforms. He also described a more recent incident on TikTok, where a live video was stopped after automated moderation appeared to interpret him sitting in a stationary car as driving while livestreaming. In that case, Travis said he contacted TikTok through its feedback system and regained access to live video within a few days. Building the Food Forest Design Network The conversation then moved to the Food Forest Design Network. Travis described it as a nationwide network intended to connect food forest designers and installers with customers while also providing training, technology and business infrastructure. Food Forest Design Minnesota is the owner of the network, and Travis described his existing Minnesota business as the model he is using to develop the wider system. Part of the network is aimed at people who want to start a food forest design and installation business but do not yet have the business infrastructure in place. Travis said the system includes training alongside a website, customer relationship management system and lead-generation tools. His aim is to provide members with much of the infrastructure required to operate the business rather than requiring each designer to build those systems independently. AI and Business Administration A substantial part of the discussion focused on Travis’s use of AI within his business. He explained that installing food forests can mean spending eight, nine or ten hours working on a property before returning home to emails, telephone calls, direct messages and other administrative work. To reduce that workload, he has developed AI systems to handle parts of the lead-follow-up process. He described systems that can respond through voice, text, email and social media messages and continue following up with potential clients over an extended period. Cormac distinguished this kind of administrative use from some other uses of AI that he does not particularly like. The discussion also covered AI agents more generally, with Cormac describing them as systems trained to perform particular functions and pass information between different stages of a workflow. One example discussed was podcast production, where one agent could transcribe an episode and another could use that transcript to produce an article. An AI-Assisted Food Forest Design Process Travis has also been developing an AI-assisted food forest design system. He said the system begins by gathering information from the client about the property and what they want from it. Questions can cover what they want to grow, existing structures, utilities and issues such as standing water. That information can then be combined with property data including soil type, wind patterns, snowfall, rainfall and elevation. Travis said the system can also gather topographical information and use photographs supplied by the client. A further stage uses the collected information to help assemble the design, including plant choices appropriate to the location and combinations of plants within guilds. Cormac compared this with his own design experience, saying that the fastest he had completed a quarter-acre design was around ten days. Travis said his aim is for the AI-assisted process to reduce that type of design work to a day or two by reducing the amount of time spent gathering and processing information. Keeping the Designer in the Process The conversation also addressed where the human designer sits within that system. Cormac said he was particularly interested in using AI for scientific and site data but would be less comfortable with an AI conducting a business telephone call with him. He asked whether the design process would still involve human oversight. Travis said he was not removing the human element. The system is intended as a tool for the designer rather than a system that simply produces a finished design directly for the customer. Cormac also raised the value of designers learning through the slower process of researching plants and exploring possibilities themselves. In his own experience, searching through plants for different regions had led him to species he might otherwise not have encountered. The discussion therefore covered both the potential reduction in design time and the continuing role of designers in reviewing, understanding and explaining the resulting design. Visualising a Food Forest Over Time Another part of the system Travis is developing involves visual representations of how a food forest could change after planting. He described plans to produce images showing the property at planting and then at one, five, ten and twenty years. The intention is to give the property owner a visual representation of how the planting could develop. Travis is also researching drone technologies, including LiDAR, that could gather property information and contribute to a three-dimensional model of a site. Cormac noted that this could help customers visualise what the finished project is intended to look like and understand how it may change over time. Travis also said reducing the amount of labour involved in preparing a design could reduce its cost. He gave an example of designs that might currently cost a client between $2,500 and $3,500 when they require ten days to two weeks of design work. Sovereign Acres The conversation then moved from individual food forest properties to a much larger project. Travis described Sovereign Acres as a proposed flagship project in Minnesota, planned at around 150 to 200 acres. At the time of the conversation, he was looking for suitable properties and developing visuals to accompany the business plan. He described the project as an off-grid community that could later provide a model for other locations. Those locations would not necessarily need to be the same size, with Travis suggesting that smaller versions could occupy around 50 acres. The proposed Minnesota site would include residential lots, with Travis describing five-acre off-grid properties intended to provide food, water and energy. Homes, Food Production and Education Travis also described a range of smaller accommodation planned for Sovereign Acres, inc… Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    130. Food Forest Design, AI Systems and Off-Grid Communities

  3. Sep 18

    129. From Oil to Soil and Interdependence

    🌿 Interested in learning herbalism? Ecoversity’s 100-Hour Herbalism Program is a 6-month online programme covering herbal medicine, plant knowledge, medicine making and practical herbal skills, with live classes, recorded lessons and lifetime access to the course material. 👉 Find out more and enrol here:https://www.goinflektion.com/299ZXDG6/4WNR4Z/?uid=721 💰 Use code VINE at checkout for an additional 10% discount. This is an affiliate link. If you enrol through it, The Permaculture Vine may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Jon Sedore joins Cormac Harkin to discuss discovering permaculture in Alberta, growing food and composting, leaving corporate work, hempcrete, the Interdependence Works Summit, local economies and building stronger connections between people and communities. In episode 129 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Jon Sedore to talk about his route from the oil and gas industry into permaculture, growing food, composting, community involvement and hempcrete. The conversation also covered the Interdependence Works Summit that Jon is helping to organise, its five pillars, disagreement and political division, local economies, community participation, shared resources and some of the projects Jon hopes to develop after the summit. Who’s at the Table Jon Sedore lives in Alberta, Canada. He spent much of his working life in business, including oil and gas and logistics, before leaving his corporate job in 2022. He first became involved with permaculture in 2018 and has since spent time growing food, composting, learning about herbalism, working with community projects and building with hempcrete. Cormac Harkin hosts The Permaculture Vine Podcast. In this conversation, he shared examples from his own gardening and composting, discussed community and political division in Northern Ireland, and talked about his planned contribution to the Interdependence Works Summit around global conversations and local action. Discovering Permaculture Jon’s introduction to permaculture came through his partner at the time, who had become interested in gardening and began exploring permaculture. Jon said that before this he had never gardened and had given little thought to where his food came from. He joined her in taking a Permaculture Design Course through Verge Permaculture in Calgary. Jon described the course as changing his perspective, particularly around design, inputs and how different elements can work together. One concept that remained particularly prominent for him was stacking functions. He described continuing to apply the idea of having something perform more than one function, including when thinking about people working together. Growing Food and Learning About Soil After completing the course around the beginning of 2020, Jon started growing food in Calgary. He was living in a small urban property where he created two raised beds and an in-ground bed, growing crops including tomatoes and beans. He also joined a community garden. His growing interest in soil led him to take responsibility for its three-bin composting system, giving him more practical experience with compost and soil. Cormac discussed his own approach to composting, including cold compost, hot compost and using material from a chicken deep-bedding system. The conversation focused on the practical process of combining different materials and producing compost for the garden. Leaving Corporate Work Jon left his corporate job in 2022. He explained that although the job provided good pay and benefits, he had become uncomfortable exchanging his time for work that was ultimately contributing to somebody else’s creation. He did not leave with a plan to immediately establish a permaculture design business. Instead, he wanted practical experience. Jon spent time WWOOFing and visiting farms to see how other people approached organic farming. He moved from Calgary to British Columbia and later Saskatchewan, where he lived beside a lake in the boreal forest and learned more about mushrooms. He eventually returned to Alberta and settled in a small town. Community Work at the Arboretum After moving to Trochu, Jon became involved with the Trochu Arboretum, a long-established tree garden in the town. He joined the society and later became chair of its board. He described trying to introduce permaculture knowledge into the way the organisation operated and bringing facilitators into the community. The surrounding area includes conventional agriculture and ranching, and Jon discussed engaging younger people with different ideas around plants, soil and growing. Much of this work was voluntary. Building with Hempcrete Another major part of Jon’s recent work has been hempcrete. Jon and his partner Kat, who is a herbalist, have spent considerable time working with hemp. He described hempcrete as using hemp hurd mixed with lime and water to produce a building material. They have built three of their own buildings using the material, while Jon has also participated in other builds. Jon discussed growing hemp in Alberta, where the short growing season means one crop rather than two. He said it grows well in the local conditions and described plants in his front garden reaching more than 11 feet. The conversation also covered regulation of hemp and Jon’s interest in promoting its use as a building material. Cormac discussed the licensing requirements around growing hemp where he lives. The Interdependence Works Summit The conversation then moved to the Interdependence Works Summit, an online event Jon is helping to organise. Jon explained that the idea developed partly from conversations taking place in Alberta around independence, government and the relationship between Alberta and Canada. He described seeing political discussions creating division between people and said the summit was intended to focus instead on interdependence and bringing people into conversation. The event is organised around five pillars: sovereignty, belonging, vitality, regeneration and prosperity. Jon described sovereignty in terms of individual rights and free will without infringing on the rights of other people. Belonging covers human and communal systems and how people work together. Vitality introduces conversations around individual and societal health. Regeneration looks at moving beyond sustainability and discussing regenerative approaches across society, culture and agriculture. Prosperity focuses on local economies, producers and ways of keeping more economic activity within communities. Disagreement and Conversation A substantial part of the discussion focused on disagreement. Cormac and Jon discussed how political conversations can quickly become polarised. Cormac described the divisions around Northern Ireland’s constitutional position, while Jon discussed similar experiences in Canada. Jon said he did not expect everybody involved in the summit to agree. Instead, he described disagreement as something people need to be able to engage with while continuing to listen to each other. The conversation covered the effects Jon believes COVID had on relationships between families, friends and co-workers, and his view that people have become less comfortable discussing differences of opinion. Cormac described his podcast in similar terms: creating conversations where people can have different perspectives without the discussion becoming an argument. Taking Part in the Summit Jon explained several ways people can participate in Interdependence Works. The website includes a section called Voices, where people are being asked what interdependence means to them. Jon said these responses will be collected and used to identify recurring words and subjects. People can also apply to speak. Jon said the event is not being organised solely around recognised names and that people who have a perspective or experience they want to share can submit information about what they would like to discuss. The summit will contain multiple… Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    129. From Oil to Soil and Interdependence

  4. Sep 14

    128. Permaculture and Preparedness: Food, Water, Energy and Community

    Lindsay Brandon joins Cormac Harkin to discuss preparedness through permaculture design, including food and water storage, energy and heat, growing at different scales, off-grid systems, redundancy, skills and community interdependence. In episode 128 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Lindsay Brandon from Permaculture Canada. Lindsay joined the conversation from her school bus just north of Golden, British Columbia, where she is setting up her off-grid systems. The conversation covered preparedness through the lens of permaculture design, moving beyond storing supplies to look at food, water, energy, heat, waste, skills, property design and community. Who’s at the Table Lindsay Brandon is with Permaculture Canada and was speaking from her school bus just north of Golden, BC. She has recently moved from Calgary and is setting up her off-grid systems, including solar power, water, hot water, a humanure composting system and other infrastructure. Cormac Harkin hosts The Permaculture Vine Podcast. During the conversation, he discussed his own property and the systems he uses and is developing, including water, food growing, composting, chickens, a food forest and annual garden. Preparedness Beyond Food Storage The conversation began with government messaging around keeping additional food and supplies and preparing for extreme weather and possible supply-chain disruption. Cormac contrasted simply stockpiling food with using permaculture to consider how different systems work together. Lindsay added community resilience and interdependence to the discussion. Food and water storage were part of preparedness, but she also raised the importance of knowing the skills available among neighbours and knowing who could provide help in areas such as medical care. Cormac also raised the practical question of whether stored foods are foods people normally eat and know how to prepare. The discussion therefore moved from simply having supplies towards considering how those supplies would actually be used. Starting at Different Scales Space was one of the first practical constraints discussed. Cormac described his own property as one tenth of an acre and also raised the situations of people living in flats or apartments. Lindsay described the contrast between living inside a school bus and being surrounded by a much larger property. Rather than creating an individual garden beside the bus, she is participating in community growing systems already operating on the property. The conversation also covered balcony herbs, community gardens and finding unused land. Lindsay mentioned grants she had encountered in Canada for people willing to organise community gardens. She also referred to her recent trip to Iceland, where the range of crops that can be grown outdoors is more restricted, and raised indoor growing and hydroponics while noting their dependence on power. Using Permaculture Design for Preparedness Cormac framed permaculture design around food, energy, water and shelter rather than treating each one separately. Lindsay discussed the tools that might be available for extending food storage, including fermentation crocks, solar dryers and dehydrators. Those tools do not necessarily have to belong to one person. Lindsay described bringing people together for fermenting, with several people sharing the work of preparing kimchi, beet kraut and other preserved foods. Different people could bring different skills and equipment to the process. Cormac also discussed observing what is already available before beginning: skills, community, resources, money, food, water, electricity, heat, fuel and waste streams. Kitchen waste was used as an example of an output that could become an input for compost or chickens. Auditing Skills and Resources Lindsay described an exercise she is currently doing as she moves from city life to living off-grid. She is writing down her skills, resources and tools, including experience with soap making, fermenting, acting, music and dance. She described this as a needs-and-yields analysis that she is applying to herself so that people in the community can understand what she is able to contribute. Observation is also happening directly on the land. On the rainy day when the episode was recorded, Lindsay and Brian planned to walk the property and observe where water was moving and pooling and where ponds might be located. Water Storage and Supply When Cormac asked where someone should start, Lindsay initially identified water, followed by food and community. Cormac discussed calculating how much water a household requires, how much can be stored and whether more can be collected. In his own climate, rainwater can be collected throughout the year, although water intended for drinking would need to be treated. The conversation also covered storing water higher on a property where possible for gravity feeding, as well as considering both drought and flooding. For Lindsay, the current off-grid setup includes delivered water and access to a freshwater spring. Later in the conversation she also described plans for a Bunyip pump, which she compared with a ram pump, to move water uphill from the river without electricity. The property has two creeks running through it. Food Growing and Preservation Cormac described beginning food planning by asking what people actually eat before deciding what to grow. He discussed choosing crops and varieties suited to the local area and combining annual and perennial plants. Food resilience in the conversation also included buying food for preservation rather than necessarily growing everything yourself. Fermenting, canning and dehydrating were discussed alongside growing. Lindsay described Permaculture Canada’s design process as looking at the person, the property and what will thrive there, then considering food production, soil health, water storage, microclimates, preservation and plant propagation. She also described breaking implementation into stages according to budget and experience. Designing Around Climate and Environmental Threats The design discussion expanded into water catchment, composting, food forests, annual gardens, animal systems, kitchens and indoor environments. Lindsay also included rotational grazing where animals are present and eco-buffers or shelter belts. She described geography and climate as an early part of their design process, including identifying possible forest-fire, flood and landslide risks before moving into other parts of the design. A sector rose was mentioned as a way of identifying environmental influences and threats. The discussion included wind, neighbouring pollution or sprays, and the possibility of using snow fences to capture snow so that it later melts into ponds. Energy, Heat and Cooking Power cuts led into a discussion of what stops working when electricity is unavailable. Depending on the situation, that can extend beyond lights and electrical appliances to water and other services. Lindsay described her current solar setup, batteries, wind-up flashlights, candles and firewood. Her portable solar panels had blown over during the recording because of strong mountain winds, and she discussed needing to build a frame and secure them. Her cooler contains its own batteries and is charged from solar during the day. She also shuts down her power and internet systems at night. Cormac described keeping his cooking gas separate from the mains supply, with a spare bottle available when the first runs out. He also discussed his wood burner and alternative approaches to heating, including a simple solar air-heating system he had seen using cans, a small fan and a south-facing window. The conversation also covered reducing energy requirements before replacing energy supplies, including heating a smaller area rather than an entire house. Preparing Away From Home Preparedness was not limited to the property. Lindsay described a recent power outage along a stretch of highway in British Col… Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    128. Permaculture and Preparedness: Food, Water, Energy and Community

  5. Sep 2

    127. Digital Permaculture, Ethical IT and Open-Source Tools

    In episode 127 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Dominik Jais. The conversation covered Dominik’s introduction to permaculture, his diploma work, the development of his Finnish homestead, digital permaculture, artificial intelligence, open-source alternatives, his book Digital Permaculture and his work with the European Permaculture Network. Who’s at the Table Dominik Jais lives in Finland. He is a web developer, permaculture diploma tutor and lead of the European Permaculture Network’s software. He also runs the Beyond Buckthorns permaculture homestead and wrote the book Digital Permaculture. From Coding to Permaculture Dominik first encountered permaculture in New York in 2014 after meeting people involved in DIY biogas projects through a local hackspace. During the visit, he attended a final presentation connected with a Permaculture Design Certificate course and heard a permaculture project being presented. He continued learning through books, websites and videos before completing an intensive two-week PDC in Finland in 2018 with George Sobol. At the time, Dominik and his wife were already gardening and beginning to develop designs for their own property. Dominik later began his Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. His existing projects provided material for the diploma, including work on a barn and a communications design for the Finnish Permaculture Association. Beyond Buckthorns in Finland Dominik and his wife began developing Beyond Buckthorns after moving to their property in 2016. The project involves transforming the existing space into a permaculture homestead. The property includes several gardens and indoor growing areas. Dominik described an indoor food forest built into an old barn using reclaimed glass from a municipal building renovation in Tampere. The space is used mainly for perennial plants, with some annual crops such as tomatoes. The property also has a greenhouse and a recently completed partially sunken greenhouse. This was created from an old garage containing a working ditch below the frost line. Dominik plans to use it for trees that would otherwise struggle with the area’s winter temperatures. Their outdoor growing includes garlic, vegetables and a range of berries. They do not currently keep livestock, although they have a cat named Ms Sophie. Courses, Consultancy and Design Work Beyond Buckthorns hosts different forms of permaculture education. Dominik’s wife, Lumia, teaches an introduction to permaculture course in Finnish. Dominik has taught two PDCs in English and usually runs a biogas course every other year. They have also tested a regenerative energy course and different teaching formats. One format that has worked well is their design camp, which provides a direct and hands-on introduction to permaculture design. Dominik also undertakes occasional design and consultancy work. The projects vary according to what comes to them, with the largest consultancy project discussed covering approximately 12 hectares. Biogas in a Cold Climate The conversation included the biogas system Dominik installed inside the converted barn. He explained that methane production is highest at approximately 37°C and declines as the temperature falls. To operate the system in Finland, he placed it indoors and used approximately 40 centimetres of insulation. He combined it with a solar vacuum-tube collector, circulating hot water through the IBC containing the system. The barn now contains the biogas system, the indoor food forest and a teaching classroom. Applying Permaculture to Digital Systems Dominik distinguished between using digital tools for conventional permaculture work and applying permaculture design within a digital context. For property design, he uses QGIS along with graphics software including Inkscape, GIMP and Affinity. The choice depends on the requirements and complexity of the project. Dominik described digital permaculture as permaculture design conducted within a digital context. It still involves observation, ethics, principles, a design process and an assessment of available options. Cormac used his planned home server system as an example. The proposed system would store podcast files and family photographs while allowing files to be accessed and shared remotely. Dominik discussed examining whether a network-attached storage system was required, whether existing equipment could meet the need and whether open-source or proprietary software was appropriate. He also noted that a proprietary system might remain the practical choice if operating an open-source alternative placed excessive demands on the user. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Choices Cormac described using AI-generated elements inside Affinity to create visual representations of greenhouses and trees for property designs. Dominik raised the energy and hardware requirements associated with artificial intelligence, including mineral extraction and the production of computing equipment. He said that AI features can appear inside software without users making a conscious decision to adopt them. They also discussed AI-generated images and voices appearing in permaculture content and course promotion. Cormac described finding an AI-generated version of a speaker’s voice off-putting, while Dominik referred to the increasing presence of this material within the permaculture community. Platforms and Open-Source Alternatives The conversation examined the digital platforms used by permaculture organisations and individuals. Dominik questioned the reliance on large proprietary platforms and discussed alternatives including PeerTube, Mastodon and Signal. PeerTube was described as a decentralised and federated alternative to YouTube that can be operated through independent servers. Cormac discussed Nostr as a system through which a user can retain an identity and carry information between services. They also considered the difficulty of encouraging communities to move away from platforms where large numbers of people are already active. Messaging platforms were another part of the discussion. Dominik currently prefers Signal or Threema and does not use WhatsApp. He described open-source software as allowing its source code to be examined, while proprietary systems do not provide the same access. The Book Digital Permaculture Dominik’s book introduces digital permaculture and follows one complete digital permaculture design across approximately 200 pages. The design begins with observation and surveying. Dominik inventories the hardware and software he uses, evaluates those systems and considers possible alternatives. The book includes areas such as digital zones, hardware, software and messaging services. Dominik designed the book himself, including its fonts, layout and chapter presentation. It is distributed through a print-on-demand service and can be ordered through bookshops using its ISBN. The European Permaculture Network Dominik leads the software work for the European Permaculture Network. Its website is designed primarily for teachers and course organisers, allowing them to create profiles, list courses and share resources, books, links and funding opportunities. At the time of the conversation, Dominik said the website had approximately 230 members and around 2,500 visitors per month. The network also operates an assured-teacher process. A person must have completed a PDC, a Permaculture Teacher Training course and a diploma before becoming eligible. The process then includes a peer review with an assured teacher from another European country. The network has a core council, monthly meetings and an open-source community forum. Dominik described it as a growing project developing through voluntary participation. Permatalks, Dialogue Sessions and the Lync Project Dominik discussed the European Permaculture Network’s Permatalks series, which returns at the beginning of each year. The programme usually contains eight to ten sessions presented by different speaker… Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    127. Digital Permaculture, Ethical IT and Open-Source Tools

  6. Aug 27

    126. Off-Grid Living, Productive Gardens and Natural Building

    In episode 126 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Steven Golemboski-Byrne. The conversation covered Steven’s introduction to permaculture, the development of his property in County Down, food growing, off-grid energy, natural building, biogas and the permaculture gathering in Ireland. Who’s at the Table Steven Golemboski-Byrne is based in County Down, Northern Ireland. He has been involved in permaculture for 15 years and lives off-grid at Lackin Cottage Farm. His work includes providing power systems for people who cannot or do not want to connect to the electricity grid, alongside consultancy on buildings, heating systems, natural materials, greywater recycling and water treatment. An Introduction to Permaculture in Bangor Steven first encountered permaculture while working on a community farm project in Bangor. The farm’s owners wanted to develop community farming and social-prescribing activities, but the people involved did not yet have a clear plan for organising the site. Philip Allen delivered a one-day introduction to permaculture for the group. Steven said the course left him with more questions than he had beforehand, but it helped the project develop a long-term design. Work on that design was still continuing 15 years later. Steven subsequently visited projects in Wales, including Lammas Ecovillage, where he met Simon and Jasmine Dale. He was also part of a group attempting to establish another ecovillage in Wales. Although that project did not proceed, the group had already considered how permaculture could inform the design of a future site. Finding Land and Making an Initial Plan Steven and his family wanted to live off-grid and travelled to different projects to see how other people were doing it. Before finding land, they developed a list of things they might want to include and considered how they could earn a living. Their budget was a major factor when looking for a property. They eventually found land in County Down containing some woodland, along with ground that had previously been closely grazed by sheep. Once they had the property, they considered which parts of their earlier plans were suitable for that particular site. They produced an initial five-year plan and a first permaculture design for the property. Renovating the Cottage and Working Outwards When Steven and his family received the keys, the house was derelict. They had previously lived in a converted truck, which they brought to the new property. With Claire pregnant and their daughter Lyra due to be born, they had 14 weeks to make the cottage habitable. Their first priorities were shelter, heating, bathing and somewhere to sleep. Food was initially grown in bags and containers because there was no prepared growing area outside. Rubble from work on the cottage was used while putting infrastructure in place, and development gradually moved outwards from the house. Once they had enough dry ground, they established a route to the planned polytunnel, began improving the soil and started planting. They also planted large numbers of trees during the first few years so that the trees could begin growing without losing another season. Practical Work Before the PDC Steven did not complete a Permaculture Design Certificate until 2018, several years after arriving at the property in 2012. Before taking the course, he had already helped to organise gatherings, facilitated courses and contributed sessions about the work taking place on the farm. Hannah Moll taught courses at the property, including during its first year. Steven completed his PDC in Wicklow. He described the course as practical and hands-on, while also providing more detail about subjects including ponds, soil and the process of developing a design with other people. Food, Fuel and a Local Group of Households The property initially concentrated on producing food for Steven’s family rather than operating as a CSA. Steven described a loose local group of four or five families who grow food and keep different animals. Food and other resources are exchanged within the group, which also places wholefood orders through Suma. During lockdown, members worked together on larger jobs, including erecting polytunnels. They would work at one property before moving to the next. This arrangement has continued, although the group no longer meets for shared work as often. Lackin Cottage Farm has usually kept chickens, although it had no chickens at the time of the conversation. Steven also keeps horses. One of the horses can undertake field work, move materials and pull timber. The property grows much of its own fuel. Existing woodland has been supplemented by thousands of planted trees, coppice and double hedgerows. Adjusting the Amount of Food Being Grown The amount of food grown at the property has changed over time. Steven explained that the vegetable-growing operation became too large to maintain comfortably, even when the systems were designed to require less intervention. The family has since reduced the scale of production to a level that provides what they need. They also try to retain resources within the farm and the wider group of local households. A smaller garden immediately outside the conservatory is now used more intensively. Steven said that concentrating effort in this area has made it more productive than the larger growing area further from the house. Some other areas are left without regular intervention. Steven described allowing them to remain wild unless they begin affecting another part of the property. Greywater, Rainwater and Compost Toilets For the first four years, the property relied on compost toilets, including one inside the house. The indoor toilet was later replaced with a rainwater-flushed system, while compost toilets remain outside. The cottage also incorporates part of the water system associated with an Earthship design. Greywater from the bathroom passes into beds in the adjoining conservatory, where some food is grown. The water then moves into a small pond and can be pumped back to flush the toilet. Rainwater is stored in IBCs. In one building, the structure was positioned in front of the tanks because rock prevented them from being buried. Building with Natural and Recycled Materials Steven has built roundhouses, compost toilets and other structures at the property. The buildings include examples of load-bearing and non-load-bearing straw bale construction, sheep’s-wool insulation, earth plaster and a reciprocal-frame roof. One building uses a rammed-earth tyre foundation, a timber frame and straw-bale walls. Clay taken from a nearby hole was used for the earth plaster, while birch cut approximately 200 yards away provided the frame timber. The floor was reused from another building. Sawmill waste, silage plastic and soil were used in the roof, which is now covered by growth and is not readily visible from outside. Steven said the structure cost approximately £400 and took around four or five weeks to erect, although the plastering was completed over a much longer period. It now serves as his office and workshop and is heated with a small wood burner. Insulation and Moisture in Existing Buildings Cormac and Steven also discussed Cormac’s garage renovation. The garage was being stripped back to its brick walls and roof structure for use as a workshop, classroom, office and podcast-recording space. Steven discussed using wood-fibre insulation between and above the roof structure to reduce cold bridging. For the walls, he described a possible build-up involving wood fibre, a vapour-control membrane, battens and an internal board. They also discussed the need to consider where moisture might condense within an insulated wall. Steven noted that his suggestions were based on systems used successfully in his own buildings and were not a guarantee for another structure. Off-Grid Power Systems Living off-grid led people to ask Steven where he obtained his equipment and whether he could provide similar s… Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

  7. Aug 26

    125. School-Bus Living, Off-Grid Systems and Community Stewardship

    In episode 125 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Lindsay Brandon for a Permaculture Canada livestream covering her move from Calgary to an off-grid school bus in Golden, British Columbia. The conversation covered Lindsay’s move from Calgary to a school bus in Golden, British Columbia, the practical systems needed for living off-grid, joining an established community, shared food production, sociocracy, creative work, travel and the future use of the bus. Who’s at the Table Lindsay Brandon is moving from Calgary, Alberta, to Golden, British Columbia. Her work includes permaculture design, yoga instruction, music, illustration and sculpture. At the time of the conversation, she was preparing a camperized school bus for the move while continuing to undertake permaculture designs and planning upcoming travel to Iceland and Thailand. Cormac Harkin is the host of The Permaculture Vine Podcast. He joined Lindsay for this Permaculture Canada livestream and discussed her move, the bus conversion, off-grid systems, community arrangements and future plans. Leaving Calgary and Downsizing Lindsay had lived in Calgary while raising her children for 23 years. With her children now adults and out of the house, she decided to stop renting a three-bedroom property in the city and move into a school bus in Golden. The decision followed winter travel with her partner through six countries in Central America. They were looking for places where they might spend Canadian winters while retaining a home in Canada near family and their children. Maintaining a city house while travelling created considerable overhead. After returning to Calgary, Lindsay found that the house was larger than she needed. She wanted to move away from the noise and routines of the city and spend more time on the land. The move also required a significant reduction in belongings. Lindsay estimated that she sold around 70 per cent of what she owned. This took approximately three months of managing listings, calls, collections and negotiations through Facebook Marketplace. She retained her instruments, recording equipment, seasonal clothing and other belongings that she still needed. These are being stored in a rented 20-foot shipping container near the airport, allowing her to collect or exchange equipment and seasonal items when she returns to Calgary. Making Space for Creative Work Lindsay described the move as an opportunity to spend more time on music, songwriting, painting, illustration and sculpture. In Calgary, she had a large music studio but generally used it only occasionally in the evenings. On the land, she intends to create music with other artists, build sculptures in the woods and paint murals on the school bus and shipping containers. She also plans to use a virtual reality headset to transfer her illustrations onto larger surfaces. Drawings can be loaded into an application, enlarged to the required scale and viewed against the surface being painted. Lindsay intends to use this process to turn sketches into large murals on the bus and other structures. A future music studio may be housed in a yurt. She also discussed purchasing two shipping containers and using them as separate workshop spaces beneath a large covered structure. Stewarding Land Without Owning It The conversation considered the difference between purchasing land and entering an arrangement to inhabit and help steward land owned by someone else. Lindsay is exploring agreements based on the needs of both the landowners and the people living there. She mentioned bartering, trading and contributing skills as possible parts of these arrangements. She plans to spend a year living in the school bus on the property before deciding where to position it permanently. This will allow time to observe different parts of the land before choosing a longer-term location. Lindsay and her partner are also considering eventually building an earthship. She said they hoped to begin that process the following year, but the location had not yet been selected. The initial infrastructure may include two shipping containers with a Quonset-style roof between or above them. The containers would provide workshop space, while the covered area could be used to protect the school bus and other vehicles during the snowy Golden winters when Lindsay and her partner are travelling elsewhere. Preparing the School Bus The vehicle is a full-sized International school bus that had already been camperized. Lindsay thought it was approximately 25 feet long but was not certain of the measurement. At the time of the recording, the bus could not safely make the journey through the mountain pass to Golden. It needed a fuel pump and new tyres, so it was due to be transported on a flatbed. A diesel mechanic in the area would be able to work on it after it arrived. The bus already had plumbing, curtains, shelving and considerable storage. A friend removed part of the former bunk-bed structure and built a two-level workspace. Clothing bins fit on the lower level, while the upper level serves as a standing desk. Covered windows were also reopened to bring more natural light into the bus. Another friend built a new bed frame with storage underneath and repaired broken glass. An additional countertop was installed near the front to provide more food-preparation space. The existing full-sized refrigerator will not initially be operated because of its power demand. It will instead provide storage for dry food and dishes, with the option of selling it later. Water, Hot Water and Composting Toilets The bus has plumbed water, but the hot-water system had not yet arrived at the time of the conversation. Lindsay had ordered a propane on-demand unit, which remained on back order. Water will be obtained from the property, where there are creeks and wells. Lindsay plans to capture and store it in a larger container connected to the bus system. There is no fitted bathroom. The bus has an empty cubicle that could hold a bucket and toilet seat when going outside is impractical. One of Lindsay’s first jobs will be to build a three-stage composting system into which toilet buckets can be emptied. There was already a box and seat at one prospective location, and sawdust was readily available. A shelter would still be needed to keep the toilet covered during cold or wet weather. Until the on-demand hot-water unit arrives, Lindsay considered using a solar shower bag or black pipe placed on the roof. Cormac also described a compost-heated water arrangement in which pipe was routed through a compost heap, as well as the simpler option of using black pipe heated by the sun. Lindsay also mentioned the possibility of heating water using copper pipe around a fire made in a converted keg. Current fire restrictions limit the use of open flames, although she said propane fire pits were permitted under the restrictions she described. Building the Solar System The solar installation was still incomplete despite Lindsay allowing more than six weeks to assemble it. She and her partner already owned a Bluetti power bank that had been charged from the alternator of their truck. They had used it to run DJ turntables and other equipment during pop-up performances. For the bus, they ordered an expansion battery and 500-watt solar panels. The first expansion unit arrived cracked on both sides. Its replacement was then delivered to an address where Lindsay had lived two houses previously. Finding the correct cables also proved difficult. Some components came from different suppliers, while tariffs affected the practicality of ordering equipment from outside Canada. Once complete, Lindsay expected the system to take approximately six hours to charge and provide more power than she required. Her computer has a relatively low demand, and she does not expect to spend long periods inside using electrical equipment. The bus also has a conventional fuse box that could be used when connected to mains electricity at a camp… Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    125. School-Bus Living, Off-Grid Systems and Community Stewardship

  8. Aug 25

    124. Permaculture Projects, Off-Grid Living and Community Teams

    In episode 124 of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin was joined by Lindsay Brandon of Permaculture Canada and Neal Hegarty from Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. The conversation covered Lindsay’s current design projects and planned move into a school bus, approaches to managing human waste, Neal’s greywater work around Lake Atitlán, the selection of plants for riparian areas, and their experiences of building teams around permaculture projects. Who’s at the Table Lindsay Brandon joined from Calgary, where she had been based for 19 years. Through Permaculture Canada, she was working on projects with a First Nations community on Vancouver Island, an agricultural and guest accommodation property outside Calgary, and a women’s wellness retreat centre and residence in Oaxaca. She was also preparing to move into a school bus in British Columbia. Neal Hegarty joined from Lake Atitlán in Guatemala. He was working from his farm and collaborating with local people, farmers, nonprofit organisations and the municipality of San Pedro on greywater, planting and land regeneration projects. He was also running a training community connecting landowners with developing designers and teachers. Current Permaculture Canada Projects Lindsay described a First Nations project on Vancouver Island that began in May. The work involved meeting members of the community, discussing their vision for the future and exploring how permaculture could be incorporated into their communities. It also included conversations about ancestral knowledge and connections between elders and younger people. Outside Calgary, she was working on a small agricultural property that also operates as a luxury bed-and-breakfast rental with horses. The property includes an adobe house, and Lindsay was preparing to collect drone footage for the base maps she would use in the design. Her third main project was a women’s wellness retreat centre and residence on a site of just under five acres near Salchi and Zipolite in Oaxaca. She was collaborating with Scott Howard of Earth in Hand, who was expected to build earthen homes as part of the project. They had recently completed a site visit together. Preparing to Live in a School Bus Lindsay was preparing to leave Calgary and move into a converted school bus in the mountains of British Columbia. Although the bus had already been adapted for accommodation, she planned to remove bunk beds and create an office, music table and library area. A damaged bed frame also needed to be replaced because of concerns about water damage and air quality. The planned off-grid setup included solar panels, a Blue Eddy power unit with an additional battery, a solar-powered cooler and a propane on-demand water heater. The aim was to have enough stored power for approximately three days, depending on available sunlight. The bus was not running, despite attempts to identify a possible fuel-pump problem. Its tyres were also too worn for a journey through the Rocky Mountains. The immediate plan was therefore to transport it on a flatbed, while retaining the longer-term aim of getting it running so that it could be moved around the property. Lindsay was also considering whether to move the collection of fruit and support plants currently growing in her Calgary garden. The collection included cherries, haskaps, currants, gooseberries, grapes, hops and buffalo berry, with around 53 berry bushes planted in a small area. Toilets and Human-Waste Composting The school bus did not have a toilet system. Lindsay discussed beginning with either a simple bucket toilet and a three-stage composting arrangement or a pit toilet. She described the three-stage approach as filling one composting area, leaving it to rest and moving on to the next. This would allow the material to remain in place over a number of years before being used as compost. Cormac described several systems he had encountered. One directed solid waste into a large container containing composting worms, while urine was separated and passed through a reed bed. Another used replaceable wheelie bins beneath a raised toilet, with sawdust added after use. Full bins could then be moved aside and left to process while another bin was placed beneath the toilet. Lindsay had seen a wheelie-bin arrangement used at a gathering in Panama. She recalled that the toilets were continuously maintained, the bins were changed regularly and the system produced little smell. For her own site, she expected to use sawdust and said that protecting the surrounding watershed would be a primary consideration. Greywater Work at Lake Atitlán Neal described a kitchen greywater project that had been operating successfully before the work expanded into a larger collaboration with the municipality of San Pedro. The municipality had asked him to examine a beachfront area intended to become an eco-park. The site had large streams of dirty greywater entering a narrow section of beach. An existing proposal involved placing the water in a pipe and carrying it farther into the lake. Neal asked the municipality to consider alternatives. Working with Jeremy and others, he helped develop a riparian planting design intended to intercept and use the water before it entered the lake. Municipal representatives visited existing projects, including work completed through Water for Life, before deciding to support the approach. Public posts about the work brought offers of assistance. This led to the development of a volunteer programme in which visitors could help with local projects and learn while participating. The work included municipal projects, food forests created with Indigenous neighbours, and interception and irrigation systems on farms with greywater streams passing through them. Riparian Plants and Public Criticism Some public criticism focused on the use of a plant that was not endemic to the Lake Atitlán area. Neal said the plant was believed to have been brought there by the Aztecs and had been planted for several decades through programmes involving an Indigenous-led nonprofit and a government organisation. He described the plant as growing in shallow water along the shoreline, providing habitat and performing well near places where contaminated water entered the lake. The volunteer group participated in planting days organised by the local organisations rather than selecting and introducing the plant independently. The criticism expanded into broader claims about non-native plants, colonisation and gentrification. Neal responded publicly to some of the comments and acknowledged that his sarcastic responses increased the engagement around the dispute. Cormac and Neal also discussed the difference between removing established non-native plantings at once and changing them gradually. Neal referred to Brendan Guinan’s approach of thinning pine and cypress plantations over time, using the timber for construction and introducing cattle as more light became available. Travel, Design Work and Permaculture as a Lifestyle Lindsay was considering several forthcoming trips. She had been invited to speak at a conference in Thailand, although the cost and timing still needed to be assessed. She planned to travel to Brazil to study capoeira and was due to speak about permaculture and lifestyle at the Eclipse Festival in Iceland. She explained that frequent travel was one reason for leaving her rented home. Maintaining a house in Calgary no longer suited the amount of time she spent away, while the school bus offered lower overheads and a base that could accommodate her design work, podcasting, instruments and art supplies. Neal contrasted this with his current decision to remain at Lake Atitlán while his children were young. Staying in one place had allowed several of his projects, working relationships and training activities to begin operating together. Filming Soñado at Lake Atitlán Neal also spoke about appearing in a short film called Soñado. The filmmaker had previously attended a permaculture … Get full access to Cormac Harkin at cormacharkin.substack.com/subscribe

    124. Permaculture Projects, Off-Grid Living and Community Teams
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Ratings & Reviews

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About

We interview permaculture designers, practitioners and educators on how they discovered permaculture, and how they are doing in their permaculture careers and businesses. cormacharkin.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Cormac - The Permaculture Vine
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    127
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Cormac Harkin
  • Show Website
    The Permaculture Vine

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