I had the opportunity to write an article for Taproot Magazine www.taproot.com, a beautiful, full color, ad-free, paper magazine put out by homesteaders living in the Northeast. This magazine has no significant on-line presence: they really want you to get the object, live with it, read it, love it. I suggested one piece about water and one about "eco-somatics", my personal blend of ecological … [Read more...] about Living with Roses
Culture Repair
Root Simple podcast
I had the chance to talk with Erik Knutsen, co-author of The Urban Homestead and co-steward of the dynamic blog site Root Simple, about the work we're up to with the 13Moon CoLab, Permaculture from the Inside Out. Our permaculture course privileges the voices and expertise of women in a(nother) overwhelmingly male-dominated field, and we focus on the third, and perhaps most difficult permaculture … [Read more...] about Root Simple podcast
Sustainable World Radio podcast with Rachel Kaplan and Delia Carroll
Last week, my 13Moon CoLab collaborator Delia Carroll and I had the chance to talk with Jill Cloutier, sourthern California permaculturist and community organizer on the Sustainable World Radio show she has been hosting for some years. Our conversation ranged from "permaculture from the inside out" to personal repair, to city repair, to urban and suburban permaculture strategies. Check it … [Read more...] about Sustainable World Radio podcast with Rachel Kaplan and Delia Carroll
Permaculture — Peace with Creation
An act of war brought me to permaculture. On September 11, 2001, I had been a mother for little more than three weeks. I was immersed in the care and feeding of my tiny, vulnerable, perfect baby girl. There was milk dripping from my breasts and I was tender in all ways. As I sat and watched the towers fall, holding my baby in my arms, I knew that the world was going to change, and probably get … [Read more...] about Permaculture — Peace with Creation
Where’s the Water?
This week, gardener divine Wendy Krupnick and I penned a letter (to anyone who would listen) about the scarcity of water in our county. The Press Democrat picked it up, and hopefully a few others will as well. County Supervisors are responding as well. To: Sonoma County Supervisors and Water Agency Re: Drought leadership needed The driest year in California’s recorded history is about to come … [Read more...] about Where’s the Water?
Governance in the Long Emergency
I recently read a great article about governance during the "long emergency". It addresses questions of true participatory democracy, and how we might conduct ourselves in a civic way in the presence of ongoing resource shortages, economic hardship, corporate predation, et al. While not filled with simple solutions, it does clearly point in the direction of urban homesteading, and other DIY … [Read more...] about Governance in the Long Emergency
Am I My Chicken’s Keeper?
This story has its roots in my degenerate relationship with my neighbors who let their chickens wander throughout the neighborhood, into my gardens, and never really seem to feel much remorse or need to change the situation. "Degenerate" because one year I swooped up one of the chickens committing mayhem in the yard and stashed her with my own flock til my neighbor discovered the crime. Check … [Read more...] about Am I My Chicken’s Keeper?
Repair the Future
Remarks from Sustainability Fair, Fort Collins, CO September 17, 2012 Repair the Future I am an urban homesteader and I am here to testify for the urban homesteading movement that is growing and spreading so beautifully throughout our country. We are everywhere! I speak as a homesteader, but also a therapist, a teacher, and a mother about a way of life my family has adopted that works for us on … [Read more...] about Repair the Future