My name is Glory. I am slowly taking over my family's flower business in rural madera county. My father started the business "Whole Systems Agriculture" in 1996. It is based on General Systems Theory as it was presented to the scientific community in the 1940s by Bertalanffy and popularized, by physicist-philosopher Fritjof Capra in his book, "The Turning Point." Dr. Capra is also author of "The Tao of Physics", a biography of Dr. Bertalanffy, and a work on systems ecology, "The Web of Life". In Whole Systems Agriculture, the model for a garden or farm is a complex living organism, compared to a human being or a human social community. The assembly line factory, as an example, serves as a model for more traditional scientific agriculture. It would follow then, that the Whole Systems garden or farm might enjoy advantages similar to the advantages human beings enjoy over machines. These advantages include the ability to self organize and grow, rather than just be constructed and then wear down.

When we first started working our small two acre property, the earth was hard and red. After about 15 years of using the permanent mulch/ minimal soil disturbance method inspired by Ruth Stout, our soil is now rich, dark, fluffy, and teeming with life. A real testament to what permaculture practices can do to soil ecology and structure. We are a hand-scale, no-till, operation with a goal of furthering self-reliance and sustainability. We vend cut flowers and live vegetable and herb plants at Fresno's Vineyard Farmer's Market. The revenues allow us to sustain our way of life and save up for projects that further our sustainability. My brother True has been a certified permaculture teacher since 2008. He is the one who exposed me to the concept. Although I have no certifications, I am self-educated and well-versed in the principles and pathways of the permaculture concept. In fact, my dad made a model of gardening that is quite similar to permaculture, without ever hearing of the concept. So really, I've been learning by doing for most of my life.