I was raised on a small farm outside a small town in NE Michigan, but now live SC. I have worked a variety of jobs, mostly outdoors, and have skills ranging from animal husbandry, to construction, to gardening and beyond. Job experience includes everything from farm and factory work to my current "job" as a massage therapist. I put the "" around job because when I hear other people talk about their job it is usually to complain. I love my "job" and would do it for free. Sometimes I already do.
My experience with permaculture all started because I am sick of living with my mother-in-law (and sometimes my husband for that matter j/k) and I kept seeing on the news stations and in the papers that the housing market is terrible and property prices very low. I had one of those moments where you somehow solve everything, or at least find the thing that leads to the solution to everything. I immediately started looking for land on the internet originally intending to find a few acres with owner financing. I ended up with .3 of an acre but I paid cash. 7-2-12 was the closing date. While working to put the money together I started looking into ways to build my own home for really cheap. I started seeing tiny homes built by individuals, families, and communities. The natural homes really stuck out in my mind so I started exploring it more. The more I read the more I started thinking about what other things I could do to live better with less money and also have less of a negative impact on the world and on my little plot of land. I learned about colony collapse disorder so I studied beekeeping. I learned more about chemicals and GMOs so I studied growing food. I liked the idea of building my home with the help of family and friends so I studied architecture. I liked the idea of going off the grid so I studied sustainable energy. All of those things led me to permaculture.
I am currently working on a project to turn my .3 of an acre into a sustainable micro system with workshops along the way to teach people how to grow food (including both plants and small livestock like chickens), build from natural and salvaged materials, and generally become more self reliant. Basically, I plan to transition from a fairly "normal" lifestyle into a good lifestyle and start a non-profit so I can teach people and then actually take everything to their home and help them make their own. I also want to let people spent time helping me out in the garden and such for massages and fresh produce. I'm also a member of the Charleston Permaculture Guild and the Lowcountry Fruit Growers Society (I'm going to be drawing up their logo...so excited!!!) Treasurer of Charleston Community Bee Gardens (not official name yet, just officers meetings so far really).