Hello. I have just purchased twenty acres of second growth Oak/Hickory/Black Walnut forest in southwestern Missouri and am beginning to convert the entire acreage to Permaculature. I am Elected Principle/Medicine Chief of the Nemenhah Band and Native American Traditional Organization, and I would like to make Permaculture part of the Principles that I teach to all of our Members.
Welcome on board! We'd all love regular updates of how you are going with your forest. For simple folk like me who own a back yard in town it makes me green with envy to think of all the stuff you can do with twenty acres...
Chief, I agree with eco regarding regular updates, I am really interested to hear how you get along with your own place and how the others in your organisation respond. Welcome to the forum. Grahame
Peter Bane & Keith Johnson are doing PDC in Indiana: https://www.permacultureactivist.net/DesignCourse/PcSyllabus.htm The Quail Springs folks are doing a PDC with the Lakota on the Pine Ridge Res. might be relevant to your purpose: https://www.quailsprings.org/events All the best, Jonathan
I have identified twenty-two large Oaks to use as my "Farmer Trees." I was consistently told by all my neighbors that you jest kaint plant nothin under them damn trees - too acid. Oaks do contain a whole lot of tannin, but I've found that the duff under them, and the soil under that, is not acidic at all. I thinned limbs to let in light, threw up hugulkulture berms with the huge amount of compost I create out of fescue hulls at the dripline, and fishscale berms upon the gentle slope down toward the wash leading out of the property. Later, I plan to put in a pond there and use it for Temperate Zone Chinampas Aquaculture. Out at the dripline I planted Apples, Cherries, and Mulberries in one guild, and Peaches and Persimmons in another. Goumi and Siberian Pea Shrub serve as N-Fixers, as well as the native Redbud. My daughter and son have begun their own projects in Zone 1 to demonstrate Urban Permaculture by creating a swale to capture runoff from their cabins. Rachael has dug a small fish pond and installed a beautiful herb spiral. Jeshua has planted a Structural Banboo forest around his swale. Both are going great.
Hello Chief Cloupiler, sounds like a nice project you have going. I will be in Iowa in a couple of months teaching Permaculture at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield (SE IA). They have been reaching out to the tribes as 13 Grandmothers conference was held at the campus not so long ago. I am curious where you are at and if you would be interested in students from our University coming to visit and maybe even lending a had for a day or two? I too have Native American blood, while just a fraction now, i can still feel the Cherokee blood in my veins. I feel this is inherently where my love for the forests of the East comes from. I am in Shawnee country here in Ohio and have read much about the peoples who lived here before I did. I revere Tecumseh as a true inspiration and am glad elders like yourself are embracing permaculture. I truly hope we can work together someday in the future. Also above a few members mentioned regular updates and I could help you set up a blog site about your project and its growth. Mine is www.treeyopermaculture.wordpress.com I would be very happy to help you and your tribe as I think the fusion of permaculture is a great way to engage the youth of all nations and people across the globe.
Good to Meet You I would be very honored to meet you. We are right in the middle of everything, so we are not really to the "demonstration" point yet, but you are certainly welcome. Chief Cloudpiler
Progress I have been participating in the PRIs Permaculture Global Network Forum and have neglected updates here. I apologize. It's Spring at last and our projects are going forward apace. This month has been a busy one. A twenty X sixty foot hoophouse has gone up (all but the plastic) and last year's soil berms are now showing soil like I have never seen before. What a difference a year makes! We worked hard on the "Farmer Tree" berms to lay a good starting foundation and to set a pattern for the rest of the property. They are Hugul-hybrid berms and I can now dig with my hand to about eleven inches of supreme garden soil. I've planted the first guild (Apple and Cherry) and ringed the trees with comfrey and edible day lillies. From the central Oak all the way out to the berm I've planted beens and they are beginning to sprout. Melons will go on the outer edge of the berm so that the vines will trail out over cleared, sunny space. The inside of the berm will be planted in potatoes and sweet potatoes. The top of the berm between the trees is planted in Seaberries and Currants. The Timber Bamboo survived the unusually cold winter (actic blast) and are just losing their leaves in preparation for new vegetative growth. The Pallard Willows didn't do so well I fear, but I will still be watching them through the spring. The central stem still shows green under the bark, so I am hopeful.
New in Missouri Uhrrtaxwhere in Missouri ?I was born & raised in Sedalia where the Mo State Fair is every year & just moved to Otterville 12 miles East of Sedalia last week