Hello Permaculture

Going from Reading to Doing

Our family took the big step of changing our lives completely and starting a Permaculture way of living. It was a decision that happened gradually, as we thought more and more about how we wanted to live as a family, to raise our kids, to spend our time. Eventually, it became clear that this is what we wanted to do, and it was a matter of time until we gathered enough courage and momentum until we turned it into action.

Giving notice at work, finding a new home, dealing with all the bureaucracy of leaving Switzerland, dealing with all the bureaucracy of settling in Portugal. Choosing what to bring, sorting out all the logistics. Assimilating the idea that we are not going to have a steady income for the foreseeable future. Saying goodbye to our surroundings. All of this during a pandemic, which made everything more emotional, and scary.

Now we are here and have already unpacked most of our boxes. The kids are used to this place already. We have water, energy, internet, and a plot to care for.

We have been reading a bunch of books and blogs on the topic, had discussions between us, talked to an expert and let our imagination wander. But it was still highly theoretical, passive. Reading, listening.

Which is a great start, but insufficient, when we have a piece of land that is wounded by years of abuse and neglect, and a family whose needs and dynamics keep morphing. It is time to get more practical, to fill the knowing-doing gap.

This happened regularly at our company. We were surrounded by highly intelligent people who would often understand a concept almost instantly and feel like they “knew it” but once it was time to actually do it, something was missing.

About the Milkwood Permaculture Living

And this is how we feel. To get us started on a more practical level, my husband found what looks like an amazing course: Milkwood Permaculture Living.

The course is organized into different modules and, on each of them, there will be different actions to choose from, and commit to.

So here we will be sharing which actions we picked and tracking progress. Maybe this will be useful to you in case you are curious about this way of farming/building/living.

Main Goals for the course

Guidance

Get some guidance on how to get started

How to measure: We want to finish the course with an Action Plan we can start executing on immediately

Practical Skills

Learn practical skills that add up

How to measure: each of us should feel there are at least three skills learned and that will be regularly used

Caring for a habit

Create habits around care for self, care for others, care for the environment

How to measure: at least one habit of each

Connecting

Connect with others on the same journey

How to measure: Post at last weekly once on the community, preferably joining an ongoing conversation

Meaningful dates

Do something grounding, meaningful and fun as a couple

How to measure: regular check-ins

Family Fun

Find activities / projects to do as a family with two small kids

How to measure: test at least three activities to do all together

Sharing

Share what we learn

How to measure: write at least one post per module. Share valuable insights and resources.

As you can see there are high expectations around this course. We will be glad to share our findings with you, as we start a new phase in our journey.