What is the hardest part about start of a permaculture journey after PDC?

Discussion in 'The big picture' started by mrselfsufficient, Jun 14, 2014.

  1. mrselfsufficient

    mrselfsufficient Junior Member

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    I'm about to embark on my own permaculture journey. I currently work full time job while building savings in a hope to make a transition to permaculture lifestyle after I finish my PDC. I was reading an article on Verge Permaculture about obstacles on starting a permaculture business and I plan to start a business in a hope that it will be able to sustain myself so I don't need a job to pay the bills. The PDC in itself is very informative but how to prepare for what comes after? What is the hardest part about keeping the ball roll forward?
     
  2. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    Hi mrselfsufficient : )

    If you add your location to your profile (so it appears alongside your user name on posts) it makes any questions you ask easier for others to answer : )

    eco's answer on your "What's stopping you from becoming self sufficient?" thread is a good answer here too.

    "Not having a village to do it in. I think it is impossible for one person to go it alone and be self sufficient. But that doesn't stop me from 'doing' permaculture to the best of my ability in suburbia.

    You may want to search the archives here on the term self-sufficiency as we have discussed before that this is probably the wrong end point to aim for. There is less 'self' in a permanent - culture. And how much is sufficient?
    "

    I agree with eco, &, for me, the hardest part of Pemaculture has most certainly been not having a village to do it in. I also agree that to be self sufficient alone is, if not impossible, then the next closest thing to it. It is utterly exhausting & ultimately unrewarding, & probably the antithesis of what permaculture was designed to achieve.

    So don't try & go it alone, & do stay connected with other like minded, focused, energetic people, & reap the rewards : ) Balls & (everything else that can move) are kept rolling forward by a team much more easily than by loners : )

    The PDC is only the very first step in becoming a designer & practitioner of permaculture. When you finish, go volunteer at as many different pc set-ups as you possibly can. The knowledge & experience you gain will be invaluable in developing a deeper understanding of the theory you have learned, & will help you refine & focus your own personal pc journey. (And you'll get to eat great food & meet some of the grooviest, most switched on people on the planet as a bonus.) : )
     
  3. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    I think the biggest obstacle is the lies we tell ourselves inside our heads. "It'll never work" "No one will spend money on this" "I'm not good / clever / strong / pretty / interesting enough" "Everything I do fails, this is no different"

    Get past that lot and the rest is easy….

    Like the approach to starting a garden - start small and with something that is most likely to succeed, but do it in a way that if it fails it isn't going to have huge tragic consequences. When that little thing works, do that again, plus something a little bit bigger and a bit less guaranteed. Find good mentors. They may not be permie people - but anyone who has something to teach you is useful.
     
  4. mrselfsufficient

    mrselfsufficient Junior Member

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    Thanks for your replies. I think like with any transition or change in life, one should believe that it's possible and always try to be around people who are supportive.

    Not being able to handle the financial uncertainty that comes with going from stable job to permaculture is the biggest obstacle for me at the moment.
     
  5. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    I was just discussing this very subject with my daughter on our walk tonight.
    It is imperative that the permaculture community find new ways of thinking about land ownership & land sharing, & find solutions to the (illusory) hurdles posed by the capitalist system.
    This is an exciting time to be alive & an awesome time to be a permaculturalist. The golden era of economic & social comfort is behind us. We are about to be shoved into a frightening new world - a world that that will force the mainstream to embrace change, or perish. The time is coming when the doors of opportunity will open for those to whom they were previously tightly closed. People who never could have managed to buy their own piece of private property are about to become hot property for those who need help from others to work their own : )

    "Not being able to handle the financial uncertainty that comes with going from stable job to permaculture is the biggest obstacle for me at the moment."

    I'm not sure this is going to be such an issue is it?
    For most, the choice is more likely to be between eating exorbitantly priced toxic food while living in a cramped space with others similarly challenged, barely making ends meet by working 3 part time jobs, or making a life, land sharing with groovy permaculture people, eating delicious, life enhancing food : )
     
  6. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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  7. mrselfsufficient

    mrselfsufficient Junior Member

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    Thx helenlee I'm going to that event but in Melbourne! I'm very interested in making my life more resilient and connecting with other like minded people is a step in right direction hence my posts here in PRI Forums.

    I'm currently living in Melbourne but I have a plan to get out of the city and I'm slowly working towards that goal. Joining some community while making a transition would be really helpful.
     
  8. helenlee

    helenlee Junior Member

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    That's awesome! I envy you : ) Enjoy : )

    Looking forward to following your transition via the forum : )
     
  9. bazman

    bazman Junior Member

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    I see permaculture as a set of tools, not a set of rules. Follow your own path in life and work/business and pick and choice the best tools from the permaculture tool box to suit your journey. I, like many other permies I have met, could not have progressed with out major inputs for their partners main stream wage. Take your time and follow a path you enjoy as this will reduce those hard days. The hardest part for me was moving 7 truck and dog loads of mulch into my food forest by wheelbarrow over 2 years.... =) These days I would just use/hire a Backhoe.
     

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