My Favorite Permaculture Resources

These last few weeks have been REALLY busy and filled with camping, traveling, and emotional highs and lows.

Even though, I haven’t posted a blog in ONE MONTH (never again), I have still been getting my permaculture fix through our own homestead and help from lots of other sustainable-thinking minds!! So, I decided that it was time to share my favorite permaculture-focused resources with you!

Getting started:

1. Bill Mollison. Of course, you should start with one of the man often called, “The Father of Permaculture”. Mollison is a prolific researcher, scientist, biologist, author, and teacher from Australia. He has authored many books, which I am sure are all wonderful, but the book that Danny and I have thoroughly enjoyed is, “Permaculture:  A Designer’s Manual”.  
2. Mark Shepard. I met this gentleman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, when I was taking a summer course called, “Food, Meaning and Spirituality”. It was a super interesting course, and he was a guest speaker. After talking with him briefly about our newly found interest in permaculture, he gifted his book “Restoration Agriculture” to me! It is an amazing book for anyone new to the philosophy and process of permaculture. He lives on an runs a beautiful 106 acre farm in Wisconsin, and he is a wealth of information!  He is also a great resource if you are looking to tour a working and successful, sustainable farm!
3. Justin Rhodes.  I hear Justin’s voice on a daily basis! My husband LOVES watching this guy, on his Youtube Channel, here.  He is genuine, silly, and full of great information!! He is especially our go-to guy for chicken information, and his wife has great natural recipes!
4. Jack Spirko. *Sigh* I have to include Jack here! Even though, I, myself, am not a subscriber to the “Survival Podcast”, he has truly influenced my husband in his entrepreneurial, anarchist, permaculture journey, and I am grateful for his advice and encouragement. Jack covers a variety of social, environmental, and political topics, which some may argue do not align with the “permaculture” model. However, overall, his desire to live a more sustainable life, with greater personal autonomy is absolutely a goal we admire and support.  He also has a Youtube channel, which is where we met Nick Ferguson, you’ll read about him below. 🙂 Jack is often part of our dinner table/drive time discussions, and he has a German Shepherd, so he must be a pretty good guy. 🙂 I also got my husband a membership in his “Member’s Support Brigade”, and he gets a lot of great information and benefits from that!
5. Permaculture Voices.  I REALLY love this podcast! Diego, hosts a variety of guests and always has enlightening topics. I skip episodes that talk about issues of farming that do not apply to me, specifically the ones on raising pigs, cows and poultry for food…we are vegetarian, so they don’t apply! But, besides those episodes, I really love hearing about different farmers, writers, and homesteaders from across the nation. He recently had a few interviews with Ben Hewitt, author of “Home Grown”, and I loved the conversations and perspectives shared. Diego does a fantastic job of sharing the broad scope of what permaculture can cover. It is not just about sustainable land masses and gardening, but seeking a better life socially, environmentally, politically, and spiritually. If we look to the way nature does it, and likewise, the way our Creator does it, we can find true peace and success.
6. Geoff Lawton. My husband took the “Permaculture Design Course” from Geoff’s Permaculture Research Institute, almost 2 years ago, and he still references his videos and notes, to this day. Geoff Lawton is probably one of the most famous names in permaculture, especially due to his Tedx talk.  He is Australian and oozing with fantastic information!! You can check out some of his great videos, for FREE on youtube.  
7. Nick Ferguson. This is a newer name to our household, but within the last year my husband has really found his video tutorials helpful. My husband recently purchased his “Plant propagation” course, and he finds that Nick is a superstar when it comes to plants and forestry education.
8. Danny Thompson. Call me biased, but I get some of my greatest permaculture/sustainable living lessons from my very own husband! He is constantly reading about, watching, and living out this lifestyle. He is the type of person that educates himself, and then goes out to put it into action! I have loved watching him garden, graft trees, build chicken coops, and design permaculture systems for our property and others! His knowledge is vast and he shares it without hesitation. I am grateful for this journey, and I am learning so much as we go! Check him out on our Youtube Channel!