Hello fellow permies,

My name is Kali. I grew up, a bit of a wild child, in Ontario, Canada. I became hooked on natural living when, at the age of seven, I lived outdoors for several months while my father built our house in the forest. Moments that marked me: watching my father studying the clouds in order to determine when to sow seeds in the vegetable garden. I learned how to anticipate rain cycles instead of wasting well water. I did not know at the time that he was teaching me about observation and conservation. It was just how we did things and it seemed obvious enough not to waste resources!

Fast forward to ten years ago. After obtaining degrees in Natural Medicine and Interdisciplinary Studies at the California Institute of Integrative Studies, I moved to the southwest of France, where I met my husband, a Tibetan scholar. Together we built an eco-house out of an old stone ruin. As we neared completion of the house, I began feeling that I needed to devote more of my energy to helping my family and local community move towards self-sufficiency. It was then that I began to immerse myself in books and documentaries on low-impact living, organic gardening, and the Transition Initiative. And since one could almost say "All roads lead to permaculture," I finally discovered this wonderful set of design principles and way of life, whose underlying philosophy suits my sensibilities perfectly!

After much study, observation and reflection, we are slowly turning our 10 acres of dry, sloping land into a lush and fertile home-scale permaculture farm. We have transformed thin, fast-draining calcareous topsoil into deep, water-retentive humus by establishing a system of hugelkultur berms and swales.

Our shitake mushroom production is already underway and this autumn we plan to focus on establishing a food forest. In the coming years, we will be developing a community supported market garden by continuing to add more berms to our hugelkultur system.

For more info or to learn how you can get involved, visit: www.livingforestfarm.com