So, we lived on a friend's organic pastured beef farm in Lancaster for about a year and were very thankful for that hospitality, but we decided growing food for sale is probably not what interests us. It is taking a long time to become part of the community here in Kentucky, and working strictly from home was not bringing in the cash flow we needed to get back on our feet, so it was back off to the computer world for my husband.

However, we're moving forward with our permaculture training, and slowly but surely we are finding individuals nearby who are interested in or practicing permaculture. Doug Crouch of TreeYo Permaculture in Cincinnati, OH, is mentoring me as I prepare to go toward a diploma in permaculture from the Permaculture Institute in the U.S. Alongside that, I am at the tailend of Geoff Lawton's first online PDC, so I'm getting more confident all the time. It has also been a great way of finding other people in Kentucky who are interested in permaculture, as so many people have signed up from all over the world. There is a decent community of conversation by location, and I have met a couple of people from the class in person this past month.

Pike Valley Farm in Lancaster, KY, has agreed to let me do a practice design for their farm, and I will also be designing the property our family is purchasing soon. Recently, we attended the Whippoorwill Festival hosted by Homegrown Hideaways and found some other people close-by who are practicing permaculture. Susana from Salamander Springs Farm has a ton of experience, and I look forward to becoming more acquainted with her work in the future. 

We also made a really long weekend drive to Wisconsin to visit Mark Shepard's New Forest Farm, who authored Restoration Agriculture. It was an information packed experience. Slowly but surely, we're getting our feet on the ground again.

We keep hearing from all sides that there is more to be seen in the town of Berea, but we have yet to come across it. I did find a meet-up in Louisville where the moderator was very friendly, helpful, and welcoming and told me about an ecovillage up in Cincinnati where I might be able to see some things in practice.

Our friends and projects on Hispaniola are not forgotten; the projects are just on hold. We still get calls monthly wanting us to come back for a visit, and the piece of dryland we were given stewardship over in the DR is still waiting. Here's to pressing onward!