EcoSomatic Action

Leaning into our collective unraveling through communal practices, education and deep listening.

Urban Homesteading

Gardening in Drought Times

Here in California we are grappling with how to continue to garden when the rain is not falling from the sky in adequate quantities--i.e., barely ever, and certainly not enough to sustain all the human and other life in our vast state. Here's some tips for gardening in dry times and dry climates:When facing serious drought, we can be water-wise and successful growing a food garden. Here are … [Read more...] about Gardening in Drought Times

Who’s Got the Time?

A dear friend of mine just wrote a spontaneous meditation on time entitled “A Curious Loss of Time”, which is all about how life is speeding up, how we are run by a linear, clockwork kind of time which colonizes our minds and our bodies and makes us inward slaves to an outward illusory master. It’s been a provocative read which, quite honestly, I haven’t had the time to finish… So when the alarm … [Read more...] about Who’s Got the Time?

Paradise Lot, Book review

Paradise Lot: Two Plant Geeks, One-Tenth of an Acre and The Making of an Edible Garden Oasis in the City I’ve been aware of Eric Toenmeier’s work for some time – he authored a compendium on perennial vegetables (http://perennialvegetables.org/about/) as well as co-authored, with Dave Jacke, a simply gigantic book  called Edible Forest Gardens (http://www.edibleforestgardens.com/) which is the … [Read more...] about Paradise Lot, Book review

Living with Roses

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

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