I recently got an email from Eliot Kersgaard regarding an upcoming event that he thought would be of interest to Pulptown readers. Well, it was also of interest to me — who wouldn’t be excited to learn about permaculture, aka, living off the land and in alignment with nature?
I did some legwork for you and asked all the right questions (🤞I hope) — down below, you’ll hear from Caitlin Fogarty, Jeff Trapani and Eliot about the Orlando Permaculture community and an upcoming course that’ll teach you the fundamentals.
Pulptown: First things first, what is permaculture?
Eliot: Permaculture is a method of looking to the natural world as a guide when designing our lives, communities, and environments. It involves careful observation of ecological processes to learn how we can create relationships that are more regenerative and in alignment with the Earth, with a strong emphasis on the fundamental life support systems of food, water and energy. Permaculture designers are commonly involved with projects such as urban homesteads, large-scale farms, and social enterprises.
Why did Orlando Permaculture start?
Jeff: Orlando Permaculture started in 2014 with a group of friends sharing knowledge on growing food, exchanging recipes, and learning about topics such as rain collection, alternative cooking technologies, and other ways to become sustainable through connecting with nature. Eventually, our group grew so large that we decided to meet at a central location — Audubon Community Church.
Why should we care about learning permaculture?
Eliot: Everyone in the permaculture community has arrived via a different path. In general, people are inspired to learn about permaculture because they are frustrated with the extractive, exploitative and divisive systems that seem to dominate human society today and they wish to discover new ways of relating to one another and the world around them.
What is the goal of this upcoming course you originally reached out about?
Eliot: This course, Practical Permaculture Fundamentals, is designed to train a new cohort of permaculture thinkers to bring the principles and practices of permaculture into their lives and communities. It provides an in-depth look into the permaculture design thinking process and gives you the tools you need to begin designing and implementing permaculture projects at your own home or within your community.
