The Permaculture Vine

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 TableTravis 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 MediaTravis 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 NetworkThe 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 AdministrationA 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 ProcessTravis 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 ProcessThe 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 TimeAnother 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 AcresThe 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 EducationTravis also described a range of smaller accommodation planned for Sovereign Acres, including shipping-container homes, yurts and geodesic domes.Some accommodation could be used seasonally, while other lots could be purchased for permanent residence. He also discussed shorter stays similar to an Airbnb arrangement.The wider site is planned to include food forests, a community centre, fitness and wellness facilities, greenhouses for year-round growing and a nursery supplying trees and berry bushes.Education is also part of the proposal. Travis described accommodation that could house permaculture designers while they undertake a PDC, work on the land and gain practical experience.The nursery would also supply plants for food forest projects being installed for clients elsewhere in Minnesota.Funding and Developing the PropertyCormac asked how Travis planned to move from the concept to acquiring the land.Travis described the project in phases. The initial stage involves raising capital and forming a board. The next stage would involve identifying and acquiring suitable land, including bringing in advisers to assess potential properties.Once a property had been acquired, a later phase could involve selling residential lots. Travis said the money generated through those lot sales could return part of the initial investment capital.At the time of the conversation, the project remained at the stage of seeking property and preparing the plans and visuals.Governance and Living in CommunityCormac raised previous podcast conversations about intentional communities and asked how Travis was approaching governance and agreements between residents.Travis referred to another off-grid community that he has been looking to for guidance. He described an approach in which residents bring different skills and help each other with projects.As an example, he described a situation where a message might go out asking residents to help with a concrete pour, resulting in dozens of people arriving to complete the work together.For Sovereign Acres, Travis said residents would cont

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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 TableJon 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 PermacultureJon’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 SoilAfter 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 WorkJon 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 ArboretumAfter 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 HempcreteAnother 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 SummitThe 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 ConversationA 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 SummitJon 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 conversations around the five pillars. Some selected conversations will be available publicly, while ticket holders will have access to the wider conference, recordings and opportunities to participate in discussions and Q&A sessions.Jon also discussed plans for an online space following the summit where people could continue networking and communicating without advertising.Hempcrete and Local Systems After the SummitWhen Cormac asked what Jon planned to work on after the summit, hempcrete remained one of his main areas of interest.Jon also discussed developing systems for people to work together locally. He referred to ideas he has encountered through One Small Town, sociocracy, WWOOFing and Young Agrarians.His interest is in exploring ways people within towns, churches, sports clubs and other organisations could contribute work and skills and create forms of exchange around that participation.Jon has also been developing software and described using AI to help him create code and systems despite not previously knowing programming languages such as JavaScript.Local Economies and Shared ResourcesThe discussion returned repeatedly to the relationship between individuals, local producers and larger economic systems.Cormac discussed the difficulties regulations can create for small producers selling across different markets. Jon described similar concerns among farmers and producers in Canada, particularly where producers have limited control over how products reach markets.They also discussed the amount of equipment individually owned within communities.Jon used lawnmowers as a simple example, questioning why every household needs to purchase equipment that is only used occasionally. Tool libraries and shared equipment were discussed as alternatives where resources can move between people.This connected with a broader discussion about people becoming less accustomed to asking neighbours for help or sharing resources.Food, Dependence and Local ProductionTowards the end of

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 TableLindsay 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 StorageThe 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 ScalesSpace 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 PreparednessCormac 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 ResourcesLindsay 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 SupplyWhen 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 PreservationCormac 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 ThreatsThe 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 CookingPower 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 HomePreparedness was not limited to the property. Lindsay described a recent power outage along a stretch of highway in British Columbia. Shops without power closed, fuel was unavailable and one organic food store with a generator remained open.She also described keeping water and food in her vehicle when travelling through the Rocky Mountains. When her car broke down, those supplies meant she had food and water while waiting four hours for a tow truck.Both Lindsay and Cormac discussed keeping additional winter clothing or sleeping equipment in vehicles in case of breakdowns during cold weather.Tools, Skills and Asking for HelpCommunity returned throughout the conversation. Lindsay discussed examining not only what she can do herself but where she needs help, including work on the school bus that requires tools or skills she does not have.Cormac described belonging to a tool library for £30 a year, allowing him to borrow equipment rather than purchase everything himself. Lindsay described skill exchanges within her current community, including exchanging yoga classes, massage and other skills.Lindsay also described her current experience of integrating into a new community and learning to ask for help. Her personal audit therefore includes identifying what she can contribute, what she lacks and who she could approach when she needs assistance.Community and InterdependenceThe discussion returned to the difference between trying to provide everything individually and knowing what exists within a wider community.Cormac suggested auditing community resources in much the same way as personal resources. Lindsay discussed identifying skills, resources and gaps, and considering who could provide help.Near the end of the episode, Lindsay also discussed the upcoming online Interdependence.Works conference. She described five areas of conversation: sovereignty, belonging, vitality, regeneration and prosperity. The event brings together people with different skills around the subject of interdependence and community.RedundancyWhen Cormac asked for a final thought, Lindsay returned to redundancy: when one so

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 TableDominik 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 PermacultureDominik 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 FinlandDominik 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 WorkBeyond 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 ClimateThe 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 SystemsDominik 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 ChoicesCormac 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 AlternativesThe 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 PermacultureDominik’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 NetworkDominik 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 ProjectDominik 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 speakers.For the programme discussed in the episode, the network was adding dialogue sessions. Members selected areas of experience through their network profiles, and people with shared areas of knowledge were invited to take part in conversations together.The planned subjects included PDCs, introductory courses, online permaculture education and teaching at homesteads.The Permatalks programme was also connected with the Erasmus Plus-funded Lync project. The planned online convention included several sessions each day, alongside permaculture talks and networking.Moving the Permaculture CoLab from SlackDominik is part of the Permaculture CoLab’s digital circle. The group spent a year researching an alternative to Slack.The CoLab subsequently moved from Slack to Discourse, an open-source forum platform. Dominik noted that the two systems operate differently: Slack is primarily a chat platform, while Discourse is organised as a forum.The decision involved evaluating alternatives and listening to members who wanted to contribute to the process.Sensors and Remote MonitoringDominik also uses small digital systems around his property. Temperature and humidity sensors send data using MQTT, while sensors located farther away use LoRa.The monitoring includes greenhouse temperatures and the water line entering the house. Winter temperatures can reach approximately −25°C, so the water line has an electric heating cable connected to an MQTT-controlled plug that can be activated remotely.Dominik has also added a sensor to the washing machine so that it can indicate when a cycle has finished. For basic temperature monitoring, he uses smaller devices rather than running a complete Raspberry Pi system.ClosingThis episode covered Dominik’s route from web development into permaculture, the development of Beyond Buckthorns in Finland, biogas and indoor growing, the application of permaculture design to digital systems, open-source platforms and the work of the European Permaculture Network. G

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 TableSteven 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 BangorSteven 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 PlanSteven 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 OutwardsWhen 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 PDCSteven 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 HouseholdsThe 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 GrownThe 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 ToiletsFor 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 MaterialsSteven 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 BuildingsCormac 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 SystemsLiving off-grid led people to ask Steven where he obtained his equipment and whether he could provide similar systems for them. During the pandemic, this work developed into a separate business.Steven provides power systems for people who cannot connect to the electricity grid or who do not want to connect. The work combines customer installation, DIY involvement and Steven commissioning the technical parts of each system.He does not install solar panels on roofs. Many of the systems he works with use ground-mounted panels, while some customers already have photovoltaic panels and want to move from an on-grid arrangement to an off-grid system.Steven said solar panels were among the least expensive parts of an off-grid installation. Battery storage remained more costly, with shipping disruption and availability affecting prices at the time of the conversation.Heating a Biogas DigesterThe property has also used a biogas digester to turn food waste into cooking gas.Steven described two possible ways to maintain the temperature of a digester. A passive option is to place an IBC digester behind glass or inside a greenhouse.At Lackin Cottage Farm, the digester was positioned near the house. A coil of plastic pipe was placed inside the IBC and connected to the return from the heating system. Water returning to the boiler transferred enough heat to keep digestion operating.Steven said the optimum temperature was approximately 37–38°C. At temperatures in the twenties, the system produced enough gas to cook once a day. He was preparing to move the digester and test a greenhouse-based arrangement.Retrofitting an Existing CottageA second cottage at the property is used as guest accommodation. Steven described it as an old building retrofitted with readily available materials rather than a new, highly insulated modular structure.The cottage does not use oil or gas, provides its own power and has very low bills. Steven also uses the property to demonstrate different building materials, heating systems and resource-management arrangements.People considering an off-grid property can stay in