Permaculture: the Love Story of the Land: Part 1

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When we came to this land, bright eyed and tender handed, we came with a dream of farming, of raising our food and our families in a sustainable way, and we saw permaculture as part of that way. Unlike the buzzword ‘sustainability’ that has been co-opted by corporate media, permaculture offers a very clear set of principles to follow, including a code of ethics.  Why does this practice appeal to me and my friends, and to an emergent culture of these last few generations? What permaculture offers is a blueprint for how to relate not only to land, but to each other.

Permaculture encourages us to observe, explore, and interact with our natural environment- a practice that has been undervalued as more and more of our society had to leave the farm and take industrial jobs in the city. Observation, observation, observation you will often see in permaculture texts.  You must know the territory before expecting to know how to work with it.  And when you do interact, you receive valuable feedback, which helps you understand even more deeply.  Working with, rather than making something work for you; creating relationships that lead to greater health within the entire system, rather than just extracting or taking what you need and leaving the system to repair itself (or not) is a fundamental shift from the way industrial systems operate.

These very same principles are what we long for in our human relationships.  Just as we have rejected the archaic idea that children are just blank slates to be filled with our knowledge and ideas, it becomes unethical to just ‘do what ever you want’ to the land.  Our land has a deep history, stories to tell of the animals, humans, water, fire, and geology that has shaped it.

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That’s me, Eden, observing and interacting with our land here at Full Bloom

We long for true intimacy with our land and with each other.  We want to know another for who they are, not just our idea of who we think they are.  We are done with the fairy tale ideas of boy-meets-girl and happily-ever-after for we see they are bound to fail; they work only as longs as everyone involved does what they are supposed to, and we all know how well that turns out with humans.  True relationship that allows all humans involved to flourish, that leads to mutual benefits, is based on non-coercive interactions and deep honoring of what is true and present for each individual.  …part 2 to come…

“It is our collective responsibility to protect and nurture the global family, to support its weaker members and to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live”
The Dalai Lama

Yoga at Full Bloom

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Embodiment practices are a key piece of the Vision here at Full Bloom.  In order take good care of each other, the land and to thrive we need to take good care of our bodies.  I know few practices that are better at creating a noble and calmly energized sense of being in one’s body than Yoga.

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Full Bloom Yogis workin’ da Prana!

Personally yoga has been invaluable in my journey towards freeing myself from chronic pain and depression.  To me a big part of Yoga is to simply join with others in the vulnerable process of breathing into all those places in the body that are contracted, blocked and to bring compassionate presence to them, helping them release so that we can feel more whole, more full of life energy.   Its not always easy, that’s why its a blessing to do it with others.

I feel very grateful that our former land-mate Cassidy Geppert has offered to teach weekly classes in the Farm house on the land.   We clear the floor every Friday AM and practice together and it is and extremely nourishing way to begin the morning.  At some point in the near future we will have a somatic arts space for such classes, but until them we are using the space we have to explore and cultivate our sense of embodiment together.

 

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Cassidy after our Friday morning class in the farm house

“Yoga is not a religion. It is a science, science of well-being, science of youthfulness, science of integrating body, mind and soul.”
― Amit Ray, Yoga and Vipassana: An Integrated Life Style

The Art of Simplicity

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As I sit in meditation in the morning I look out my window which captures a panorama of the heart of the community: the central garden, the community building, the chicken coops, the bathhouse and a cascade of to do’s and anxieties often floods me.  There’s just so much to do and think about!  I close my eyes and come back to just this moment: my breath, the sound of a vehicle, the mild ache in my back and I can rest in the simplicity of what’s just actually happening right here and now.  I’ve come to realizing that I need to rest in that simplicity otherwise I go crazy with the never ending lists of projects that come with being land steward, a husband, a human being. I originally thought that moving out to the country and starting an intentional community would be a simple life, living in harmony with natural cycles and deep in a supportive web of like minded companions.  I can now see that to truly experience simplicity requires a deliberate cultivation of perception    It doesn’t just come about with circumstances (human beings have the magical powers to turn any situation into a circus of craziness).  It requires the deliberate cultivation of perception, the refinement of how I choose to perceive myself, others and the things of the world.  Becoming mindful of the story I am telling myself and choosing to tell a story that is coherent, inspiring and not too complex (e.g. simple). For example:  I could sit here on this beautiful morning on the farm and let my mind go wild painting a chaotic picture of all the things I “should do” or that could go wrong and that go out the door putting out fires and generally running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  Or I could choose to take some time to really get in touch with the elements of my life that are truly most important to me, that I can be pretty sure will make fill my heart with the good stuff (satisfaction, joy, connection, pride) then proceed to craft a day or week that reflects that orientation. My sincere wish for Full Bloom is that it becomes ever more supportive for individuals to stay connected with the peace and inspiration that comes from living as an artist, an intentional story teller. “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” ― Joan Didion, The White Album

Potluck and Sauna Night…..Yumminess on many levels

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After the completion of the community sauna we established what is fast becoming one of the highlights of the week here at Full Bloom: Potluck and Sauna night.   Its a night where we put out an invitation to our broader community to come and join us for a meal, catch up on the valley happenings, and then go for a nice sweat.  This past Friday we were blessed with some seriously talented and fun musicians who busted into a music jam and sing along. Singing, playing instruments, and dancing is such a natural thing to do at a gathering and yet there’s part of me that’s still getting used to it.  I just didn’t grow up with it.   When it happens here I’m so grateful and reminded that I want to build it into our lives here more often.  I believe it to be foundational to the long-term viability of an intentional community to have plenty of singing, dancing, and music creation happening.  Its the ultimate soul food and part of us begins to starve without it..  We are wired to spend time together in “musical communion”, its one of the most powerful ways of breaking the trance of separation, of our neurosis.

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Last Friday night’s sauna was the first time we took a sauna with the tile work and entryway mosaic completed.  As you can imagine its a wonderful image to just be absorbed by while in a sauna.

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“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.“

Winter Camp Winding Down…..

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The Consensus on the land here is that the inaugural Social Forestry Winter Camp at Full Bloom was a success!  (To be transparent: that’s not an official consensus, but I haven’t seen much in the way of sour faces or complaints either from the winter campers or the Full Bloom residents).   Yesterday was their “open camp” and they gave a tour or the their community and some of the forest tending they have down.  Very impressive.  What was a dense thicket of fir and cedar is now a spacious forest with a lot more breathing room and a lot less fuel for potential forest fires.

To know that this was all done within the context of a group singing songs about the land, having daily check-ins, and generally imbedding themselves in the forest ecosystem fills me with reverence as I move through the “treated” forest.

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An Oak woodlawn treated by Winter Camp

Winter camp was also successful in doing a small controlled understory  burn of an Oak woodlawn.   Periodic, if not annual, burning was an essential practice of the Native Americans who lived in this bioregion to maintain the fertility of the Oak Forests (a.k.a Acorn Food Forest).  Modern controlled burning has to be done in a different way as the amount of understory fuel has built up through years of fire suppression, clear cuts, and general lack of integral forest management.

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“But I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.“
Alan Watts

A reflection on our New Vision Statement: Recovering from a Culture of Separation…..

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“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed down-stairs one step at a time.”
― Mark Twain

Last Week the four land partners of Full Bloom:  Myself, my wife Eden, Jo Ferneau and Rosie Demmin collaborated on a new vision statement with the intention of having the statement be something we could read at the beginning of any meeting or gathering to remind us why we do what we do, to awaken our deeper purpose behind all the myriad things we do to keep Full Bloom growing.   I’m finding that one of the lines has been really working on me ever since we nailed it down:  “We are recovering from a culture of separation and disembodiment, rediscovering what it means to have a sacred relationship with the mundane”.

I find that uttering that line leaves me with a sense of relief.  I believe it has something to do with the admittance that I am in the process of recovering from certain patterns and conditioning that have led me to feel separate and either ambivalent towards our downright disrespectful of my body and the earth body.  This shows up in pushing my body to just do one more thing regardless of what its telling me through back pain or fatigue, or buying the new shiny thing rather than repurposing what I already have.  These habits disturb me, or not in alignment with the kind of person I want to be.

But rather than expecting myself to not feel separate, to feel deeply connected to my body, to always be a model eco-citizen this statement allows me to say: “I’m working on it, I’m doing my best to remember that this earth, this body, this food is sacred and not separate from me and to relate with it accordingly.”

Over the years I’ve frequently fallen into a state of guilt or shame around the habits I have that place my needs above the earth, other people.  Habits of mind that turn me into an island to defend and bolster rather than a node in a web of relationships to enjoy and honor.   Bit by bit I’m intentionally shifting those Habits and giving up the tendency to try to “fling them out the window”.  Patience, acceptance, self-compassion are virtues that are becoming my refuge as I mature.

All I know is it is of utmost importance to me to have companions to explore these difficult issues.  Friends in recovery from patterns that don’t support life of deep connection to the earth and all living beings.  Friends who can offer that gentle reminder of why I’m here and what really matters.

Below is the Vision Statement in its entirety:

We are a community weaving a web of heart intelligence so that every being we interact with is inspired to thrive.

We are in recovery from a culture of separation and disembodiment, rediscovering what it means to be in sacred relationship with the mundane.

We are committed to deep connection and radical care with ourselves, each other and the earth.

Thank you all for reading and please post any feedback and/or thoughts about this post.

Ryan

The Great Potato Harvest……

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There’s something undeniably satisfying about getting on your hands and knees and digging in the earth in search of large tubers that will later become rosemary home fries, creamy mashed potatoes, and other comforting fall and winter foods.  Over the weekend we harvested the Full Bloom potato crop which amounted to over 800lbs of potatoes and it didn’t really feel like work, it felt like a treasure hunt in the dirt.

 

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Several Full Bloomers on the hunt for taters.

 

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Mica (a current resident) and myself showing off some of the harvest

As Fall transitions to winter it becomes essential to store properly all the abundance from the growing season so that it can be consumed through the winter and on into the spring.  With proper storage there can be a continued sense of connection to the land as the prime source of one’s life rather than the supermarket.   That’s not to say there isn’t still a lot of food being brought to Full Bloom from off-site, it’s to emphasize the importance of cultivating a deep sense of place.  As we open this place to more and more visitors in the years to come, I hope that sense of place can be enjoyed by all who come.

“It is easy to think of potatoes, and fortunately for men who have not much money it is easy to think of them with a certain safety. Potatoes are one of the last things to disappear, in times of war, which is probably why they should not be forgotten in times of peace.” 
― M.F.K. Fisher, How to Cook a Wolf

Our First Permaculture Design Course at Full Bloom

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We recently facilitated a permaculture design course on the land through the Siskiyou Permaculture Insititute (http://siskiyoupermaculture.com/).  Some of you may not have heard of the term so let’s look at wikipedia’s definition:

Permaculture design emphasizes patterns of landscape, function, and species assemblies. It determines where these elements should be placed so they can provide maximum benefit to the local environment. The central concept of permaculture is maximizing useful connections between components and synergy of the final design. The focus of permaculture, therefore, is not on each separate element, but rather on the relationships created among elements by the way they are placed together; the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts. Permaculture design therefore seeks to minimize waste, human labor, and energy input by building systems with maximal benefits between design elements to achieve a high level of synergy.

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Tom Ward on a site walk at Full Bloom with design course students.

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Class time in the Full Bloom farmhouse with co-teacher Karen and Tom Ward on the Right

The course was geared for experienced permaculturalists and focused primarily on doing design work for Full Bloom (rather than going over general permaculture principles).  It was taught primarily by Tom Ward who has been designing farms and properties in Southern Oregon for several decades now and is an absolute treasure trove of information and lore of the area.

It was a joy to participate in the course and take in so many differing perspectives of the land here, as well as to recieve some really creative design possibilities such as changing the way people drive onto the land so that we don’t have a road through the central area.  It was also very humbling to recognize how little I really know about all the natural systems that surround me here (geological, hydrological, wind, etc.).

I am excited to continue to hold courses so that we all can be come more literate about how we as humans affect our local environment, and how we can make that affect a positive and regenerative one.

“From where we stand the rain seems random. If we could stand somewhere else, we would see the order in it.”
― Tony Hillerman, Coyote Waits

 

 

 

Community Fun Time

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We made a recent decision as a community to have one of our weekly Tuesday afternoon meetings be for fun instead of logistics.  We realized that sometimes there’s a need to schedule fun, and a postpone the endless “issues” that come from living in community. Currently we have one afternoon a month for the whole gaggle of us to do something like play in the pond together, go picnicking on the river, or roller skating in town.  It all depends on who volunteers to lead the fun time and we end up being at their mercy so to speak.

This past fun time we were led up to the pond for a tug of war contest over the pond with the losers being dragged into the pond.  After that there was contest to see who could stand on the old pond surfboard the longest.  Ocean is pictured below as she stands resolutely for over one minute.  The closest any of the adults got to her was 4 seconds.

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Sky, Ocean’s sister, displaying her unadorned cuteness with the siskiyou crest as a backdrop.

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Like a Zen Master on top of a 40 ft pole, Ocean stands with unwavering resolve on her surfboard in the middle of the pond.

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Contest Onlookers hangin’ pond side.

I think we could definitely increase the fun to work ratio around here, but it’s certainly a good start.

“It’s the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they’re gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it’s my turn to leave.“
Tupac Shakur

 

 

Successful Fundraiser at Full Bloom

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This past Saturday Full Bloom hosted a fundraiser for the non-profit Speak for the Trees (www.speakforthetreesoregon.org) that was formed to protect 120 acres of our watershed from being clear-cut by a timber company.  The organization hopes to raise enough money to buy the land from the timber company and put it into a land trust to protect for generations to come.

It was an incredibly fun event with a silent auction full of donated items like massages, hand made black walnut cutting boards, and hand-knitted caps.  Rise Up! Artisan Breads (Owned and operated by Full Bloom members Jo Ferneau and Rosie Demmin) brought out there wood fired pizza oven and were serving the over 200 guests with delicious pizza all night.

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Rise Up! pizza oven

Several musicians played on our stage over the course of the evening.

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Trever Jones Rockin’ his “punk americana” on the Full Bloom stage

It always fills my heart to witness all the community connections that are nourished and created at an event like this.  Amidst the stresses and complexity of our lives it becomes essential to gather together in celebration and in care for our watershed.

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I’m looking forward to more and more gatherings that reminded us about what’s important and that feed our community literally and figuratively.

Ryan