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(These are outline notes I wrote up for a permaculture group tour a few weeks ago. Probably won’t make much sense, mainly just for my own reference but some of you might find it useful especially if you’ve been following my content for a while.)

Starshine House / Trailhead 501 tour

This house is the 3-d embodiment of a manifesto I’ve developed over the years regarding money, occupational freedom, community, and life.

A physical hub for Daytona Beach Permaculture Guild

Permaculture design principles: Mollison book, Holmgren book

A bit about me, my background. How I came to study Permaculture.

Categories of basic human needs: food; water; shelter; transportation; energy; community. A lot of people focus on food because of course it’s important. I mean, we all have to eat. But by focusing on food and the nuclear household, at the expense of all else, we create massive energy drains and also cognitive drains.

Also: A pattern language, Last child in the woods, TEK indigenous wisdom, Vanilla Beans, Iban of Sarawak etc. Sharon Astyk, Riot for Austerity. Homegrown national park. The Non-Consumer Advocate group 152.8k members!

House has 2 missions/purposes: 1) experimental lab for low-footprint living; 2) support people in disengaging from conventional economy, dependence on “a job.”

Ecological urgency; economic hardships; outages from increasingly severe weather + disasters

Living/visiting here

Creative and occupational freedom. Right livelihood; “reduce your need to earn”. Creating a tiny wedge to spring ourselves.

Importance of joy & creativity

Examples of potential livelihoods/income streams from this one tiny 1/10 acre

Hurricane evac of 2017. I had presold enough copies of my book to make the rent, so I used my phone to send the PDF to the people who had ordered the book. This was in a room where I was staying at a friend’s house for hurricane evac.

Eric Brown author, crush one of the categories. Transportation, housing, food, health costs, debt.

Porous property: Little Free Library, benches etc

Mini reading room

Passive cooling & heating. Trade-offs between shade, airflow, privacy. Noise buffer and light buffer etc.

Offering a counter alternative to violent and intrusive landscaping. “Neatness disease.” GROW FOOD. Also learn what grows wild locally. Free food and medicine. Try to get people to see the value in growing and foraging food. Local passionfruit vine, loquat trees etc. Beachside ecosystem. Oaks, saw palmetto, etc. We build the store and buffer. Promote the beauty of traditional saw palmetto yard along the beach where you can barely see the house.

Also: food desert cuisine. Learn to make something with what’s available in walking distance.

Solar cooking, retained-heat cooking (haybox), twig-fired stove etc.

Preparing a basic hurricane toilet kit.

Rainwater harvesting. Brad Lancaster etc. “Minimum Viable Product” concept from entrepreneur/startup community. Every single place I’ve lived from desert to semi tropics has the same issues, flooding plus drought.

Work (manual tasks such as scooping water out of barrels etc.) “Obtain a yield.”

Laundry – a whole subject right there. And dishes and other traditional conventional housework tasks that can take over a person’s life and suck resources.

Move many tasks outdoors. Laundry, dishes, etc. Hand-wash stations also can be used for rinsing toothbrush after brushing teeth.

Reducing/eliminating: corporate detergents, purpose-specific household cleaning products, shampoos. Use homemade or local.

Occupations that wouldn’t be a full job in the conventional economy but support a household. And potentially enable home-based livelihoods. Clothespins & corks; keeping machines in repair.

Exploring patterns for house-sharing. Flexible stay, visitors, longterm residents. Some useful simple protocols for sharing space. Small areas for private space; most areas are common-use.

Collapse, doomerism — Parallels with end-of-life; hospice

Collapse is now. When does it become not a dress rehearsal anymore. When we make it now.

Practicing doing without things. Making it real.

Being local, neighborhood-based

Permaculture as a decolonization movement

Centralized top-down systems are not easing up. If anything many are doubling down. An adaptive response is to keep building our own parallel systems that reduce our dependence on the main systems and minimize feeding them. And we need to do this in a community way, not just as individuals or households.

Reducing dependence on electricity & personal automobile is huge.

Withhold our labor and purchasing power from corrupt, unhealthy, harmful systems. This is a group task and one that we must help everybody navigate. No person left behind. What we do with our wealth and our labor is of paramount importance.

Special manifesto for fellow white Boomers & older.

Definition of a civilized society. Superior culture. I would say a superior culture is one that loves and values and takes care of all of its members.

Use your talents, humor, creativity. So many things you know and are good at — all needed front and center.

Community resilience.

When we really simplify, we can end up having what seems like a lot of time. Like maybe even an abnormal unhealthy amount of time on one’s hands. But I think this reaction is an artifact of our hyper-busy culture. There is value in sitting with the stillness and seeing what emerges. Or even just noticing that you can’t deal with stillness. If that happens, notice what your impulse is. What do you try to replace that stillness with.

Reinforcing the sense of abnormality is that the world around us is still going on about its fast-paced frantic motions. This is another reason why it’s important to find likeminded people, even if it’s only online at first. Don’t worry, you’ll start finding them in real life too if you haven’t already. By showing up and stepping into an alternative way of being, we set an example and create space for others.

While learning to slow down and live quieter, we can also at the same time be using our freed up time and energy as a surplus to benefit our communities. “Share surplus.”

Action steps/movements. Riot for Austerity. Homegrown national park. The Non-Consumer Advocate group 152.8k members! Bryan Hummel – beaver biomimicry, sponge-building. Chris Searles trickle-watering experiments. Aprovecho Technology center; Kerr-Cole sustainability center.

Fiz Harwood – Solomon Islanders. Amazon tribesman “I store meat in the belly of my brother.” Flows vs stocks. Everything is perishable — even money, that thing we invented to surmount perishability. There’s more resilience in building flows.

Being community guardians/nurturers and agents of change, while at the same time relinquishing and letting go of control in more & more ways.

I know I’ve said this before – and it’s the whole message of my book and many of my talks – but it bears repeating:

Consumer spending is the backbone of the economy. In the USA it’s something like 70%.

We the everyday people can either choose to exercise the power of our wallets, or we can continue to be dependent on mountains of “stuff” from large distant corporations that don’t care about us or the planet.

It’s a lot of fun to get creative about reuse and upcycling. It’s also really fun to support our neighbors and local businesses.

Non-consumerism also helps undermine the war machine.

Photos of our little porch, and part of our rainwater harvesting setup, for the i’ll geaux rhythm!!

Our rainwater collection system just got augmented with the addition of a barrel. Perfect since we have been having such extra juicy weather lately! (A couple days in a row I woke up to find 3 inches of rain in the rain gauge. One or 2 inches on multiple other days recently.)

I also moved a couple of the mini tubs from up front to stack them here in back as supplemental catchment. The front side of the house, water runs downhill (away from the house, and into the poofy voluminous sponge of native plants & trees), whereas the backside is the place where water needs to be caught and managed. Mini tubs in front are not strictly needed.

This is the first year I had thought of doing this. Noticing that the rainfall oscillations seem to be getting more extreme, and that therefore additional capacity is needed in the rainy season on the “rain side” of the house.

When dry season comes, I’ll put those couple of mini tubs back in the front where they come in handy for collecting water in case it gets super dry and even the native plants could use a refresher.

#Rainwater #heatmitigation #floodcontrol #Skyjuice — And our skin loves rainwater!

See pix here. BTW I will be covering the barrel with the same black mesh that covers the others that aren’t already black. For both aesthetic reasons and also to cut down on algae.

It may seem small, but every product we can make out of used stuff instead of buying new, helps the planet & our wallets.

Some of the best dish scrubby’s have been ones that I made from cloth, or from these plastic mesh vegetable bags. I can’t remember if I found this red mesh bag on the beach or if one of my housemates brought it home from the grocery store. But I espied it in my “upcycle department” of my garage this morning, right when I was wanting a new dish scrubby.

The kite string I found discarded on the beach.

In addition to helping the planet and our wallets, finding ways to create everyday household items by DIY upcycle also helps us feel less vulnerable, less dependent on distant corporations.

And also can become the basis of a small local cottage industry. I knew a lady who sold scrubby’s that she had crocheted out of materials that were otherwise destined for landfill.

Description: Red mesh produce bag, which probably contained something small like garlic or new potatoes. Bag is folded over multiple times, and then the layers are bound together by crocheting with kite string. The ends of the kite string are extremely prone to fraying so they are sealed with flame from a lighter.

#HomeEc #upcycle #BeachTrash

Pix here on my DEEP GREEN Facebook page.

This post on the Facebook page prompted the question: “What’s your stance on microplastics?” I responded:

My stance? They are damaging to the environment and to people and ecosystems. (It’s especially disgusting to me that the self-indulgent trash of a tiny, spoiled rich minority of the world population ends up washing up on faraway shores, afflicting poor communities all over the planet.)

However, I feel like we in the rich industrialized world can help offset the damage by at least upcycling plastics to the extent possible. And to the extent that we are willing. Not everyone is willing. But many many of us are very very much into it. And from what I can tell, the number is growing.

And for those who are not willing to tangle hands-on with upcycling as a way to deal with the devastating impact of single-use plastic, you might look into purchasing a Terracycle box with your school, church, neighborhood, or other community. Supposedly just about anything can be recycled.

Sure I would love it if companies would stop producing this stuff. And if the manufacturers and retailers would stop shoving it down our throats.

And I have been pushing for that for many decades now.

However, the stuff still exists.

Despite the fact that I will not drink bottled water ever (well one time in 2020 volunteering at an event I got dehydrated and could not find a faucet so I accepted a bottle of bottled water even though I felt terrible about it), despite the fact that I never accept plastic bags at the store etc. (and never accept paper bags for that matter). A person can only do what a person can do.

That said, We make a mistake if we limit our efforts to the individual and personal. All of us can make a difference even if it’s just by sharing a social media post or a comment in the neighborhood group. Myself, as a career eco activist I have been engaged in extensive education and outreach efforts through my book, blog, public talks, classes, and more.

BTW I recommend Annie Leonard’s series “the story of stuff” if you haven’t checked it out already. She has a book now too apparently.

Back to the sponge – I probably would not have thought to make this if I had not come across a discarded mesh bag, and discarded kite string. I tend to use cloths, or my bare hand and baking soda etc.

But some of the people who share my home with me like a dish-scrubbie, and this actually at least helps them not have to buy a new one. Which helps the planet also.

PS. If you know of any movements or initiatives that seem to be making progress eliminating the production of plastics and micro plastics, please feel free to share them here.

A question that popped up on my social media. Some people answered that they can’t even afford to move across town, let alone move countries.

Some people said they have a sense of caring and responsibility and not wanting to abandon their communities.

I said:

1) Plus, I’m sorry, if too many of us (esp us Boomers) move to any other country, we’re going to wreck that country’s culture and ecosystems in short order. We actually already have, a bunch of countries.

2) And yeah, how about that sense of caring and responsibility and not wanting to abandon! Let’s have some more of that. Especially us boomers and older.

3) And, if anyone moving overseas is just thinking they’re going to casually jetset back-and-forth (as opposed to probably never seeing your family again, like so many refugees), then hey, guess what, you’re obviously not actually in danger! Plus you’re obviously wealthy. So stay put and help the people who need help.

At this house, we have a top-priority mission of supporting people to achieve their dreams and goals. Be it freeing themself from a “job” and making a deeper livelihood, working on a health goal, doing some inner work, using the quiet pared-down atmosphere to recharge, or whatever.

There is no work requirement here; a person’s “job” is to move forward with their own stated goals and dreams, intentions, plans. That is what we are here to support.

That said, oftentimes people do want to help with daily chores or special projects, and it can be beneficial to the person as well as to the house. In my previous post I made a list of the most repetitive tasks around our house that anyone can do.

Here, I’m starting a list of our household tasks that require a little bit more knowledge and practice.

• The main extremely repetitive task is managing the rainbarrels and tubs. The rainwater is used in various ways around the yard, including watering plants and also putting water on concrete for evaporative cooling. In the wet season, water needs to be used steadily and deliberately in order to make room in the barrels and tubs for more rainfall. In the dry season, water needs to be stewarded carefully in order to tide us over til the rains come. In general, I like taking care of this. It’s good exercise and allows me to keep a handle on the quality and quantity of our water supplies. But there are times when help would be great.

• Another repetitive task is trimming vines and other vegetation around the perimeter of the property so as to avoid encroaching on the sidewalk.

• Setting out the solar oven, turning it to noontime sun position.

• Melting down old candle pieces and making into new candles w fresh wick.

• Repairing/replacing bamboo lattice, outdoor shower walls, and other outdoor privacy structures.

• Refilling outdoor hand-wash / foot-wash stations with fresh rainwater.

• Sweeping and mopping the house’s beautiful, easy-care white tile floors is a steady daily thing (and in winter, shaking out and airing the scatter-rugs we put down for warmth), but (other than appreciating help with keeping the entryway halls swept and entryway rugs shaken out), I like taking care of that myself because it’s good exercise and allows me to check on things in each room that might need attention.

• Keeping the books arranged neatly on the Little Free Library shelves. And helping to stock new books (books are available for free or cheap at the public library, some local bookstores, and some thrift stores).

I’ll add others as I think of them.

It can be useful, if you are in a communal living situation, to create a list of really basic simple repetitive house tasks. Not only to reduce the workload of the person “in charge,” but also because people genuinely want to help and contribute.

Now, first and foremost: At this house, we have a top-priority mission of supporting people to achieve their dreams and goals. Be it starting a business, working on a health goal, doing some inner work, or whatever. There is no work requirement here; a person’s “job” is to move forward with their own stated goals and dreams, intentions, plans. That is what we are here to support.

That said, sometimes people genuinely want to help, and it is genuinely beneficial not only to the house but also to the person. Accordingly, here’s a list of some of the most frequent repetitive tasks around our house. Most are very simple and can be done by anyone. In a later post, I’ll also be sharing a list of a more difficult tier of tasks that some residents might be willing to — or even actually want to — get involved in.

BASIC DAILY REPETITIVE TASKS at Starshine House / Trailhead 501

• Rinse out bottles for recycling bin. It should only take a couple ounces of water. Could be rainwater or well water if available. Put it in and swish it around and then turn the container upside down and let it dry in the recycling bin. Put the lid, if there is one, on top of the upside-down container. It’s particularly important to rinse out milk bottles, as they get smelly and the presence of solid matter reduces the likelihood that the container will get recycled. In the case of juice bottles and soda cans, turning them upside down in the bin is usually enough; the ants will find them and clean them out.

• For cans and jars that have sticky matter such as peanut butter residue, beans, etc., turn them upside down in the designated organic cleaning area and let the ants and other friends clean them out. This happens surprisingly quickly, like within 24 hours a lot of the time. Once they are clean, stick them in the recycling bin. I also remove the paper labels and put those in the area of the garden where we put paper trash.

• Keep the well-pump primed. Usually this happens naturally if somebody uses well water at least once every 24 hours, but that doesn’t always happen so we need to check it. If you test the pump and it’s not pumping, pour some water into the pump – it should only take a few ounces – and then try again. It should suction properly and dispense water without much difficulty.

• Paper and cardboard trash (pizza boxes etc.): Tear into smaller pieces and put it into the designated area of the garden where we put paper trash. Usually this is a large planter container.

• On extra hot sunny days in summer, draw the shades on the patio to avoid allowing sun into the house. Usually around eight or 830 is a good time. Once the sun has passed, usually around 10:30 or 10:45, open the shades again.

• Toilet: minimal maintenance is required, as we do not put toilet paper into the toilet unless we are immediately flushing it down.

• Bathroom sink: If people are using it for shaving, periodic maintenance may be necessary. (Pouring hot water down the drain every few weeks; cleaning the gunk out of the drain trap with a square of TP and putting it in the trash, etc.) Otherwise not much water is going down that drain other than when we wash our hands.

• Kitchen sink: This is used only for refilling water bottles and kettles, adding water to a cookpot, etc. And sometimes a quick wash of the hands. Since we don’t do dishes indoors, minimal water goes down the drain. Very occasional maintenance may be required. The sponge in the sink is there for scrubbing the sink and keeping it clean, dry, and not attractive to bugs. For doing dishes, there is a dishpan and water sources outdoors. Use your sponge, brush, or other cleaning implement of choice. Dishwater is dumped in designated areas of the garden.

• Mail: Check mail — It usually comes in the afternoon.

• Refrigerator: When the cloth used to absorb water drips gets saturated, swap it out for a dry one. You’ll find the dry cloth either on the line, or already dried and folded up on top of the fridge. Hang the wet cloth outside on the line. Sometimes water pools below the vegetable crisping area. Use rags to soak it up, then dry them on the line.

• Keeping entryways clean: Take entryway mats outside and shake them out. Sweep up any sand, leaves, or other debris from the entry area, and empty the dustpan outside or into one of the little indoor trash cans.

As you can tell, none of these tasks are urgent (except maybe rinsing out the milk bottles, because of the smell and spoilage); they are simply constant and repetitive. However, they are a great contribution to reducing the workload, and any willingness to help is much appreciated. Performing these routine tasks on a daily basis reduces the likelihood that urgent situations will occur.