Reflections From Colton

Reflection Time...

So, why did we do this? We most certainly got to relax and enjoy ourselves in beautiful locales across multiple states, but it wasn't just a happy-go-lucky vacation.  We were privileged to witness some amazing projects, talk to inspiring people, and pick up a few life lessons along the way, and we could have written a small novel on all of our learnings. However, I will attempt to boil down this incredible learning experience into a few of my key personal reflections...

 

1.) Permaculture is just one term for something much larger...

Permaculture is just one of many terms out there that people use to describe progressive movements: “Organic Agriculture,” “Biological Farming,” “Eco-Friendly,” “Social Justice,” “The Triple Bottom Line,” “Sustainable,” “Transition,” etc...  I think that at their core though, they're all pointing towards the same thing. A future in which people demonstrate love and compassion for one another and for the Earth. Putting a name to this somewhat vague and intangible concept is difficult, but the bright side is that people are trying. The name for the movement might wear out (as evidenced by the “organic” movement and the near total devastation of the meaning of that word in the present day) but at least people are waking up and making an effort to change this world for the better.

 

2.) Permaculture is not just growing food, it's about RELATIONSHIPS...

I went into this with a focus on the food side of permaculture, which is clearly an important component, but I learned that there is far more to permaculture than just sustainable vegetable growing. We saw a creative example of sustainable construction from “Digital Permaculture,” we saw spectacular earthen architecture at Quail Springs, we met gifted healers and passionate social activists, and witnessed many other examples of what might be called sustainability that didn't necessarily have to do with food. However, the theme that Casey and I acknowledged during our trip was that the most important component of “permaculture,” and the one that is most often lacking, is RELATIONSHIPS!!! We saw this in our discussion with Russell Evans from Transition Lab, as he commented that attempts at sustainable communities, such as eco-villages, often fall apart due to a lack of social cohesion and communication. Casey has also commented to me that many permaculture sites he has visited are lacking in the category of community, and that this detracts from the experience even though many of the essential functions of a sustainable system are in place (shout out to Quail Springs though, which Casey has highlighted as one of the best examples of a site that also promotes a positive human community).

It's not just relationships with others that are essential though; sustainable communities are also heavily dependent on a healthy relationship with the self. Outer peace and cooperation are a reflection of inner peace, and it is therefore essential for people to develop the habits of introspection, meditation, and self awareness that calm the internal storms. Only once we have developed that healthy relationship with our selves can we begin to evolve into mindful and cooperative communities.

The only way to truly heal this world is to reconnect with ourselves, the people in our communities, and all of the living things that call this Earth home. It doesn't matter how much food we can grow, how much energy we can produce, and how sustainably we can live, if we can't live in peace with ourselves, our neighbors, and the planet. Building healthy communities that exemplify the ethics of permaculture (Care of Earth, Care of People, and Sharing the Abundance) is the way forward.

 

3.) The nature of the world is ABUNDANCE!!!

My favorite saying, which I first heard from Johnny Roos, is “We never left the garden.” The “Garden of Eden” has always been here; we have always been provided with the resources to live in abundance, and we simply have to reach out and accept the gift. I have often felt that our culture speaks in terms of scarcity and competition, but from what I've seen that's not how nature really works. The American Dream has taught us that we must be independent and self-reliant, but when we cooperate with one another and share our resources, there is always enough to go around. Take food for example. There is already enough food being produced to feed every person on the planet 3000 calories a day, but up to 40% of food produce in America goes uneaten, whether it is lost in distribution, left to spoil, or simply thrown off the plate! We haven't even tapped into the millions of acres of turf lawns that could be turned into edible gardens and food forests! We have been provided with everything we need to thrive as long as we respect the intelligence of Earth's design and share the abundance!

 

4.) Changing the world isn't about fighting “the man,” it's about being the solution...

It can't be sugar-coated, much of our society is dominated by corrupt organizations. Big ag, big pharma, and our government are generally not following the ethics of permaculture, but the path to saving ourselves and this planet is not simply fighting the powers that be. We are the answer we've been looking for, and grassroots problem-solving is the face of progress! Signing petitions against Monsanto is an important step in the right direction, but in order to reclaim our personal power and the power of our communities we must come up with solutions that offer a better way of life. It doesn't make sense to roll over and give in to corporate corruption and government abuse, but the only way out of our current predicament is to begin painting a picture of the society we want to have and developing the steps to get there. As human beings we tend towards the path of least resistance, and that path tends to be the status quo. However, if we can show our friends, co-workers, and neighbors that there is a better way of life, and then provide them the means to get there, that is how we will save the world.

 

On another note, Casey and I were able to finish off the road trip with a two day workshop hosted by the Bionutrient Food Association (http://bionutrient.org/), a wonderful group striving to bring the element of quality back to our food supply. The experience was absolutely mind-blowing for me, as I'm so new to this world of growing food, and I'm eager to share all of this incredible information with my friends and colleagues back in Fort Collins. The last several years have been a tremendous journey of personal and spiritual growth for me, and I have finally recognized that my calling is to heal people through growing good food. Bring on the growing season!

Thank you for humoring my philosophical ponderings. It's been a pleasure to share this journey of ours with all of you, and I hope that through this blog some of the important lessons of this journey have rubbed off on you.

Colton

PHOTOS!!!

Please enjoy our annotated photo album

First stop, picking some kumquats in one of CRMPI's legendary Climate Battery Greenhouses in Basalt, CO.

That's a big pepper.

Utilizing permaculture design by having worm composting in the pathways of the climate battery greenhouse.

                                      

A cow from the dairy at Sustainable Settings in Carbondale, CO.

CRMPI had a few surprises in store for us as we found 5-year-old pepper plants (yes, peppers are actually perennials) and key limes that turn orange when ripe (yes, limes get orange when fully ripe) in Basalt, CO.

 

Dang what a beautiful drive through Telluride, CO.

 

Check it out, Casey's in four states at once: NM, AZ, UT, and CO!

 

We got to wake up to this view of the sunrise coming over the Grand Canyon, AZ.

 

A beautiful desert hike accompanied by our healer friend Wayah and her dog Kaia in Phoenix, AZ.

 

Taking the 10 West to LA!

 

Took a quick pit stop at a sweet palm oasis in the Fringe-Toed Lizard preserve near Joshua Tree National Park, CA.

 

Goats n critters at Quail Spirings Permaculture in Ventura County, CA

 

Baby goats and Brenton, our guide for the day at Quail Springs.

 

Lounging on a bonafide, cob-made, rocket mass heater heated bench inside a yurt. This place was an artistic inspiration for cob builders.

 

Top o the watershed above Quail Springs.  

 

Driving through Ventura County, we stumbled upon an organic field.  It looked dry, crumbly, and dead.  Yes, we know organic is "better" than nothing, but it is a hard truth to swallow that organic does not equate to Earth friendly.  If you wish to know more, give us a shout. 

 

Chillen on the coast line of sunny Santa Barbara, CA.

 

Up a couple thousand feet above that coastline to watch the sun set over miles of the Central Coast at Gibraltar Rock, CA

 

So majestic!

 

Bus Collective!, working on a garden dig-in in South Los Angeles, CA

 

Educating the future with the Ron Finley project at the Coliseum, S Los Angeles, CA.

 

Home is where the bus is.

 

Yup, he's standing up in there Venice Beach, CA.

 

A lone Colorado turtle yearning for the ocean. 

 

Yes, this scene is in the middle of suburbia. Rishi has turned this typical home into a semi-tropical food forest titled The Growing Home in Diamond Bar, CA

  

We worked for the day building a system of berms and swales that will serve as a water catchment system, planting bed for papayas, and quail feeding ground. So integrated!

  

"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." Well said Mahatma Gandhi

 

Yes, the sign does say "Tree Collards." Those are not your average collard greens.

 

Rishi is in the process of implementing a wetland system that will use cattails to filter grey water from the kitchen sink to be returned to the garden.

 

Bet you've never seen a kale tree before.

 

In addition to The Growing Home, Rishi is managing a 1/2 acre farm. The system pictured above uses soil filled bags with plants growing in them as a retaining wall for the berm.

 

We're back!!! Thank you sign for welcoming us back to colorful Colorado.

Day 16, 17 and 18: Back on the Road and Gettin' Clean

Heyo, final adios coming through the fingers of Casey...

(BTW we have written all of these together, so if you thought that it was one or the other, nope.  We switched off who was typing each post; with one typing and the other offering grammatical and theatrical additions to the works.)

 

So the adventures of Synchronicity and The Bus Collective were coming to an end.  On day 16 we got to have a slow morning where we helped design a garden for the awesome folks out there in West LA.  This garden will be fed by the greywater coming from their laundry system.  In doing some research on detergents that can be used, I found that there is not much on the market that is healthy for the environment.  This leads to the conclusion that if you don’t make it yourself, you don’t really know.  This has been a theme for the whole trip.

We rounded up a few of the best oranges we have ever had (out of their backyard), said bye to all our new friends, and hit the road. 

Our plan was to make the drive back efficient, yet comfortable.  With that in mind we stopped, first, only a few hours east of LA in a sleepy little town called Apple Valley.  Colton has history here as his aunt and grandparents call this high desert home.   They are a group of adventurers, showing me a side of Colton I hadn’t really appreciated just yet. (This new found side also includes baby pics of Colton, so cute!)

We cruised through the rest of California, and then the lit up valley that holds the sprawling conglomerate called Las Vegas, with a very nice pace.  Happily, we were able to make it to Arizona and found a peaceful place to catch some healthy zzz’s.  This makes it our second time of this trip sleeping off the side of the highway in Arizona. 

 

Day 17, the next morning, had us trekking on through the human-less terrain known as eastern Utah.  What a gem this area is and I recommend to all you Coloradans to get your camping boots on and check out this wide-open playground. 

We took a brief stop in the far reaches of Eastern Colorado in a land known as The Trail Through Time.  As one graffiti artist had written on a sign post, “This place has dinosaurs (bones), hiking trails, scenery, and time traveling. The spot has got it all.”  We couldn’t agree more.

 

On day 18, we awoke at CRMPI for a quick pit stop (this was our landing destination the previous night).  It was a lot muddier (and warmer) than the time before, but our buddies John and Dave were still moving along bringing CRMPI into the next phase of its evolution by re-furbishing the current climate battery systems and introducing new ideas of automation and efficiency.  These guys are exploring a different avenue of permaculture by integrating ecologically centered practices with smart technology (such as open-source Arduinos), and are even pondering going into the business of designing fully automated green houses.

We finished our adventure up at CRMPI by getting a few fruit trees (woot! woot!) that Colton so generously wants to put up at the Red Feather Educational Site.  I am excited to one day eat from an apricot, a mulberry, a plum, a pear, and a black apricot which is a cross of a plum and an apricot. Food=Exciting!!

Anyhoo, we’re back in Denver area and we’re sad to sign off..... psych! We got one more blog post coming.  This weekend we are attending a BioNutrient Food Growing Workshop, and we would be happy to share our findings with you.  We also want to add some photos to the blog to give you some visual aid to our adventures.  So, stay tuned, we have more coming your way...

Thanks for the welcome back,
CColorado

PS Shower time!

Day 13, 14, and 15: Checkin’ the LA Scene and Livin’ the Permaculture Dream

This is your man C Piddy (Colton) rocking the keys.

Day 13 was filled with, well, not much. We took advantage of the down time to sleep in, chill with the bus collective, and make fun of the Super Bowl. We ironically spent a large part of the day bashing on the mass consumerism, mindless entertainment, and horrible food associated with this American holiday, and then subsequently watched the Super Bowl. However, we did break tradition and ate healthfully with artisan vegan pizzas, homemade salsa, and vegan chili.

 

Day 14 brought another day of rest and relaxation. I can’t speak for Casey, but I know that I felt physically sick from being in the city, so we took this opportunity to escape to Venice beach! We joined the bus collective for a day of building sand tunnels, twirling sand in our beards, and burying people alive (I was legitimately buried standing up; quite an impressive feat). The Venice Skate Park and boardwalk provided us with entertainment as well; quite a relaxing day at the beach. We even got a free souvenir, as we’ll be finding sand all over our bodies and in our gear for weeks to come.

 

On day 15, Casey and I had quite a novel experience. We parted ways. Casey’s neck has been hurting him throughout the trip, and today we were going to do some manual labor so he wisely opted to rest his neck. I teamed up with the rest of the bus collective to check out a site called The Growing Home and we offered our strong young backs for the day. We had come across this permaculture gem doing a simple search for Permaculture in LA, and it seemed pretty darn impressive from the website. We gave them a call and they said they would have some stuff to work on if we came on over.

We arrived at the address and for a second couldn’t tell if we were actually in the right place. The neighborhood couldn’t have been any more suburban, but you could tell that this house was set apart from the neighboring dwellings. We entered the backyard and the magic began to sink in; I don’t think I’ve ever seen a suburban home with so much green-ness. This typical home had been transformed into a veritable food forest with rich and beautiful soil through the use of sheet-mulching and terracing. They were growing various annuals and herbs, but the stars of the show were the several dozen varieties of trees. On this small plot you can find fig, papaya, “sweet lemon” (tastes like a lemon but isn’t sour), orange, tangerine, banana, cherimoya (if you haven’t tried it, put it on your bucket list; it tastes like cotton candy), pomegranate, autumn berry, curry leaf, kaffir lime, almond, mango, apple, guava, mulberry, jujube, and numerous other trees. A couple of the other stars were perennialized collard and broccoli trees. Yes, I said trees. These monsters were 8 feet tall and resembled something out of Dr. Seuss. He even had the components of the food forest labeled with painted signs, which you don’t get with too many of these types of operations.

The magic of this system, though, was the integration of different aspects of the house to make a true ecosystem. He had chickens and rabbits in the same cage, which provide meat, eggs, and fertilizer. There was an outdoor shower so that shower water could be reused, the greywater from the laundry was directed out to the garden, and he was even developing a micro-wetland system with cattails that he could put his kitchen sink water through. The cattails would clean out the water for later reuse in the garden. The Growing Home is a stunning example of how much food can be grown in a sustainable way on a typical suburban plot of land, and Rishi, the manager/expert on hand, shares his knowledge with others in the community through various workshops and classes hosted at the property. http://thegrowinghome.net/

That day, we were able to help out in the construction of an integrated system in the front yard to accomplish fertilization, water catchment, and quail feeding. We cleared an area, dug out a couple swales (or trenches), and then constructed berms (or raised mounds) by piling the soil on top of old logs, branches, and various organic matter. Rishi got permission to direct rainwater from the neighbor’s roof into the swales, which will soak in and water the raised beds (in which he will be planting papaya trees). The swales will also be used to plant ground cover that can serve as food for quails, as he has a “quail tractor” that can be pulled through the swales to provide the quails with food. This will provide the quails with food, but will also provide fertility to the soil that can feed the fruit trees! So much integration!

Thanks for listening to us geek out about permaculture. I thought it was pretty neat.

 

Casey and I reunited back at Synchronicity, the intentional living community that was kind enough to let us park in front of their place and join them for group meals. It was great connecting with this group of community-oriented individuals whilst making new friends. Speaking of friends, Casey invited his old buddy Nick (an LA resident) over to share about his life living on a bus. This bus comes around the corner, OPEN sign blaring, flat black paint gleaming, couch perched on the roof, purple lights lighting the ground below, and piano nestled on board in order to offer the perfect artists' safe haven. Theallnightdiner.com is a showcase for street musicians and other talent to come perform and talk about their experiences in a decked out school bus. Check it out, it truly is a novel idea and we wish him success.

Moving on to the home stretch,

C’s get degrees

Day 11 and 12: Cali Coast is Where We Now Dwell

 

Hello, everybody, Casey on the ones and twos and ... all the way to twenty-six (letters that is).

So we returned to Santa Barbara.  I am mostly from Alaska, but my Freudian years (age 1-6) were spent in this cornucopia of sunshine, as well as later teenage years attending Santa Barbara City College.  It was a treat to re-kindle that flame that I have with the ocean.  There is just something so... lovely about the beach, playing in the tide pools and feeling the massaging effects of the gentle sand.  I’ll get sappy about that another time.  She is amazing.

We actually went to SBCC to harvest some fruits from their ‘public’ garden.  Despite our findings that most things are not quite ripe or that we just missed their harvest, we did run into an old friend, Daniel, who has been working with soil and compost teas for the past few years.  He, along with other faculty, reduced water consumption by 70% on the campus lawns by implementing compost tea.  Compost (teas, extracts, raw food) is a critical element in restoration, maintenance, and development of land for agricultural purposes.  You, me, all humans would be dead shells if it wasn’t for probiotics.  The microbiology of the soil acts the same on the earth body and compost is how you grow them.

The night was topped off up atop Gibraltar Rock (say that aloud four times fast) in the foothills of Santa Barbara.  Our host guide for the day was the thoughtful Hannah who found a mild hike for us to stare over the ocean into the sunset.  Oh, Santa Barbara, you are too perfect.

Day 12 had us on our way to LA.  Los Angeles is a land of everything, and we were excited to hear there was a gardening movement beginning as well.  We first met up with the Bus Collective (all you FoCollians might know about them) at a garden dig-in being put on by LA Green Grounds.  They are connecting an eager-to-garden populace with yard spaces eager to be planted.  This emulates what our backyard mom n pop The Growing Project is doing in Fort Collins.  The home we arrived at had a front yard about 10 by 20ft that was being turned from a weed patch into a sweet garden space.  The new movement of gardening has inspired so many people down here that at least 30 people were in attendance for this pond of a garden.  So, it was time to put plan B in effect.

After limited contact, we got ahold of Ron Finley.  The star of his very own TED Talk and an inspiration for many in the local community.  When I got in touch with him on the phone it went,

“Hey this is Casey with Colton, we are on our permaculture road trip just seeing if you needed any help as we just got to LA.”

“Yeah, I’m at the colis... (something I can’t understand).”

“Um..... do you need two sets of hands for anything?”

“Yeah, we can find something for you to do.”

“Ok, where you at? What’s the address?”

“ I’m at the coliseum. I dunno the address. Figueroa and something... It’s the coliseum.”

“Okay, we’ll see you soon.”

That was the whole conversation.  So, we have no idea what any of that really means, but we’re on our way to the place the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the 1984 Olympics were held, to do something with a Ron Finley.

We arrive (again with no clue) to find a festival happening. Okay. Then, we realize the festival is called the Mindful Living Fest. Okay, that is cool, but where is this Ron guy and does he have anything to do with this fest?  Finally, we get word that he IS a part of the event and he is over near a main stage and we don’t have to pay for parking since we’re a part of the Ron Finley crew. Okay, starting to sound pretty good.

We get over to his area to find five gardens beds and a bunch of volunteers.  We’re pretty excited as we’re told our “job” is to teach kids how plant veggies and to tutor adults on how to build gardens!!  Like whaaat? To add to it, we were just about the only volunteers who have any experience so we were the resident experts teaching everyone.  What!!  To top it off, the coliseum is in south central LA, so this area needs this kind of education ASAP.  Wow, what a blessing and opportunity to teach, hands-on, about the magic of growing your own food.  We connected with many of the other volunteers as we later found out pretty much no one knew anyone else so we fit right in.  There was much appreciation by the community, Ron, and the other volunteers for our efforts.  It was truly beyond what we were hoping for.  We send gratitude and blessings to those involved with the project and inspiration to those hundreds that we were able to send off with a plant.

Afterward we met up with the bus collective (thebuscollective.com), which you can read their blog to see what their game plan entails, to stay the night.  We got some feelers out to make these last few days a continuation of the adventure.  Stay tight.

C is for Carbon

 

Day 8, 9, and 10: Woke up late, then all along the 10

Hey bro, coming at you from Cali town!

We spent all of day 8 traveling from Phoenix to Santa “Babylon” Barbara. Fairly straight-forward drive but we got to stop and hike around Coachella Valley Preserve. It was a unique palm oasis residing on top of the San Andreas Fault. It was a most beautiful scene and we highly recommend it if you’re ever cruising the 10 (it was just outside of Indio).

We crashed for the night in the hills of Santa Barbara and visited with Hannah, a most wonderful and cheerful human being who is an old friend of Casey’s from his Santa Barbara days. We finally got a chance to use the tent we brought along, gotta love warm weather!

On Day 9 we arose and set forth to the hidden permaculture gem of Quail Springs Permaculture. Tucked away in the mountains beyond Ojai, this site is a shining example of Earth stewardship and community where they have goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, spectacular adobe structures, village life, a wealth of knowledge, and lots of sand.  We were able to shadow Brenton, a tree of a man with a voracious appetite to teach and the brain power to back it up. We sat back and enjoyed a five-hour lesson on stream management, watershed dynamics, and geomorphology that blended cutting-edge geological science with a genuine love for the land he lives on. It was an experience reminiscent of drinking from a fire hydrant, but we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn from such a wise and knowledgeable man.

One thing we thought was very interesting was that the frequency at which a stream/river meanders can actually be predicted with relative accuracy. By taking into account a whole slew of factors, the physical length and quality of the sinusoidal path can be calculated. This is a valuable tool in stream restoration, because structures can be placed along the stream bed In order to increase the amount that the stream moves back and forth, thereby reducing the steepness and promoting a healthier ecosystem.

That night we dwelled in the guest home which was made up of sand, straw, and clay. This is called Cob (which is the same thing as adobe). The material looks beautiful, requires none of the nasty chemicals that are in our normal building structures, is resistant to earthquakes and fires, and is generally a great example of how elegant natural homes can be. This same building material can also be used to make other sweet structures including rocket-mass heaters, earthen ovens, banos secos (composting toilets), and basically any structure you want.

On day 10 we set out as intrepid explorers to the top of the watershed. It was a mildly sloped canyon adventure that led us to the beautiful views of Mount Pinos and the surrounding desert valley. A truly sacred and dry land. It was about 8 miles round trip though (and much of it barefoot) so it took up much of the day and we were pretty darn tired by the end.

The generous caretakers of Quail Springs shared with us some seeds to bring back to our Colorado homeland, and then we said our farewells and drove off into the sunset of the Los Padres.

COandCA

P.S. (Casey was super clever and came up with the above signature. CO and CA are the first letters of our names, but are also the abbreviations for Colorado and California. Mind blown...)

Day 6 and 7: Welcome to Phoenix and a Healing Heaven

Welcome back, well I mean forward, actually you are right there. Anyway you say it; you now know Casey is typing.

I do want to take a step back real quick.  Day 5 saw us finishing out in Phoenix.  Our host for the next few days would be none other than Wayah (or Alexis), a young heart who was excited to have us in her backyard for a little bonfire.  There were instruments, singing, good conversation, and back massages. (I even met someone who was born on my birthday… and the same year!) It was a bit of a shock coming from the near pristine wilderness into the fast-paced city life, but going into a warm community of healers and artists was refreshing.

The next morning Wayah invited us to her work.  This young healer has landed a job at a float spa.  The idea of floating comes from the 60’s, but essentially it is a bath with lots of Epsom salt that allows you to float and drift into a healthy state of relaxation and self-awareness.  It was truly a gift that we had this opportunity. 

Colton’s experience was one of well, just like going to sleep; although when I saw him after, it looked as if he had just woken up from hibernation where he was dreaming of a permaculture-fairy land.  It looked good. My machine didn’t work quite right (due to WIFI that I had dissed on the way in… oh the power of manifestation).  The experience was still genuine, although, it was a bit more of a bumpy ride.

In the evening, Wayah invited us to her second healing treat.  To be honest we didn’t know what to expect (and we liked it that way).  She said when we asked what we were going to do, “you get to listen to me play for an hour.”  With this we were satisfied as she is an amazing musician who has recorded on trip-hop and earth music, plays guitar, sings incredibly, and is developing an artist collective. 

So we arrived in middle of Scottsdale to a seemingly typical office building to find an oasis in the desert.  One of the rooms has been completely converted to host yoga, sound healing, and other healing modalities.  There was calming music, art, and in the center of the room sat sound bowls.  If you have never seen or heard these, I highly recommend.   The frequency that resonates when played matches up with certain chakras; opening, cleansing, and calming these energy centers in a truly pleasant way.  Wayah led us in a voice exercise, then we all laid down on yoga mats and blankets (almost a cuddle puddle, but not quite) while she played these enigmatic bowls, softly tapped the drum, sang to us a song from heaven, and generally used sound to heal us in ways that cannot be seen, but felt.

On day 7, we were able to sleep in peacefully.  Well, let me take it back a step, Wayah’s dog ate Colton’s chocolate the evening before which led it to run around barking during the night waking us up a few times and causing general wonderment as to how a dog can stay excited for so long.  It was an experience.

We were able to engage in some really good conversations with the roommates.  I talked with Taran, who is a singer, massage therapist, traveler, painter, and incredible cook.  We talked a lot about the nature of traveling and staying put.  It seems she, like me, is ready to put a few more roots down into the Earth.  I believe this might be a trend.  I am so grateful to have found Fort Collins and feel very blessed to have this be a home base for me.  Shout out to GAPS!

After a lovely afternoon, we went on a hike that was not too far out of town.  We did not realize that a genuine desert hike could be found a mere 15 minutes away.  This city has surprised us many times.

For Wayah’s final gift to our journey, we were invited to an event that included ‘digital permaculture.’  Whatever that was, we did not know, but Wayah felt it was a perfect fit for our plans.  It ended up being a little oasis in a tougher, working-class neighborhood in the middle of the city.  Before we even entered the house, there was a unique, very organic looking structure in the front yard that reminded me of Buckminster Fuller’s work (he invented the Geodesic Dome).  Then, as we entered, I was distracted by a 3d printer.  Oh, and she was pretty.  The future is here. I believe within 10 years, there will be as many 3d printers as there are households.  Truly, humanity is in for a bright technological future if we can first gain awareness of our relationships to our neighbor, our selves, and to mother Earth.

After moving through the house into the backyard, we encountered graffiti art, a fire (while it’s raining), and more of these structures.  It turns out Digital Permaculture has designed a software that can make the blueprints for any structure you can imagine.  They want to design structures for meetings, festivals, and eventually build a whole city. This is a potential for an architectural revolution.  I mean, have you looked at buildings being built today, they’re kinda boring. The work they are doing is really pretty amazing, and a different flavor of permaculture than the food systems approaches we have focused on thus far, so check them out http://www.digitalpermaculture.com/.

After this event, we headed over to my Aunty Robin’s house that I haven’t seen in 8 years (and oh what has happened in those 8 years).  I got to hang with my cousin who shares the same birthday as me (yep, another one).  I am happy to see that they are a very conscious family who are very about eating healthy, stopping chemtrails, and not having Wifi.   Way to go aunty.

Well, off to the next. Cali bound we are.

C to the Sea

Day 4 and 5: Digging up More and Loving the Ride

Please enjoy the artful keystrokes of Colton on this post...

So, the morning started off on quite an exciting note. Jerome had said he would move his car to let us get out, as he was parked behind my trusty Hyundai Tucson. He did not. However, Casey and I are totally radical so we put her in 4 wheel drive and reversed over a massive pile of snow to circumvent the red truck blocking our escape route. Quite an epic start to the day.

From there we stopped back at Sustainable Settings to say goodbye to the good folks there, and to our good fortune arrived the very moment a calf was entering the world! What a once in a life time treat to see a newly born calf being licked to life by its loving mother. Truly a magical moment, but it made us late for our next appointment. Oops.

The mountainous drive around Mt. Sopris was full of beautiful views, elk, rams, and cold mountain water, and eventually brought us through the lovely town of Paonia. We didn’t have much time to stop there, but Paonia is a major organic producer, particularly for fruits. Due to the recent closure of the nearby coal mine, which brought in a large portion of the towns income, land is dirt cheap (pun intended). For those of you interested in growing organic food, Paonia could be a good option for organic farmland at top-notch prices.

The next stop was in Montrose to meet up with Russell Evans, the founder of Transition Lab. Transition Lab is a revolutionary approach to education where enrolled students are matched with host families in Montrose and earn their rent by providing their skilled services to the household, whatever those skills might be. Through the program they learn about the necessary skills for “transitioning” out of a global economy. They are taught how to grow their own food, construction skills such as welding, tiny house construction, and even personal development practices such as vision quests and meditation. The icing on top is that they address conflict resolution and communication skills. The reason for this is that, according to Russell’s philosophy, no amount of practical skill is going to be helpful if you don’t have the basic competencies of working with and relating to the other people in your life; particularly if you are sharing living space with other people. This also promotes responsibility for one’s own actions, a skill not so well-taught in colleges today (or anywhere for that matter).

Russell is particularly keen on the concept of skilled residency, where people with talents who are looking for housing can offer those talents to people with extra space in their homes in exchange for rent. For instance, Russell had a resident in his home who was an organic cook and gardener, so the resident established a garden in the backyard and cooked meals for 15 hours a week in exchange for his rent. This system of skilled residency is an effective means of addressing the debt slavery so many in our country face today. By having a skilled resident, the hosts can reduce the amount of “around the house” work they are required to do in order to focus their efforts on their jobs or other pursuits. Similarly, the skilled resident can earn their living expenses in significantly less hours per week and devote the remainder of their time to tasks that help them pay off debt, build savings, promote self-growth, or generally make the world a better place. Especially for those with low-income, rent can be a crippling expense, but this model allows people to cover their basic needs doing things they are already good at.

We set out once again on the road for arguably the most scenic portion of the trip thus far. We caught the mountains of Telluride as the sun set for some breathtaking views of Aspen groves, frozen waterfalls, and snow-capped peaks. We then passed through four corners, completing a dream of Casey’s, and pushed on through Arizona to the Grand Canyon. It was dark and we couldn’t see much so we pulled over to the side of the road and spent a mildly chilly night in sleeping bags in the car. We’re so cool...

We had nothing to guide us the previous night except the stars and a sliver of moon, so we woke to find, to our grand surprise, the Grand Canyon a mere football field away from our makeshift campsite. We scrambled over to the edge of the gorge for a breathtaking view of the sun peaking over the horizon of the Arizona desert. Healing, chanting, and echo-locating occupied us as the sun warmed the desert night out of the land. It was a magical time, and the best part was that we never actually even entered the park, thereby avoiding the steep entrance price of $25 and all the tourists. So thrifty!

A quick jaunt through the Coconino Mountains brought us into the beautiful land of Sedona, an energetic hotspot brimming with aquamarine rivers, manzanita trees, red rock cliffs, and darn good vibes. The town itself was not quite our style; more of a tourist trap, but the surrounding land offered us good hikes, healing, and inspirational views.

We are now back in the city, and what a different environment it is. It’s a bit of a culture shock coming from the beautiful, untamed wilds of the Rocky Mountains and the open road to the socio-economic disparity of Phoenix. It’s sad to see an environment where when you say hello to a Hispanic man simply sitting on the bench in a grocery store, he automatically assumes you are a security guard (true story).

We have a real house to stay in tonight, for those of you who might be worried about our relative state of homelessness, and we will keep you posted on the adventures to come.

CnC

Day 3: So I see, you’re here hanging with your favorite C’s. Casey and Colton.

So, day 3 continued at CRMPI, I (Casey) woke up with some serious neck pain.  I believe it is a culmination of years of well, I don’t know what to call it, dark energy.  Colton worked with me in healing and it helped a lot.  This guy is quite a healer-man. 

So we moved some fruit trees into the new green house. Well, I chipped at the ice while they carried them inside. Apples, plums, and Mulberry’s were the treat of the day. They are a part of a nursery that CRMPI uses to economically sustain itself by selling the trees.  This is good. Money is still an element in our society and any level of sustainability will require this. 



On a side note, it is very interesting watching other people work when you are fully capable minus one element. Take care of your being, your whole being.  This will lead to ultimate health I believe.

So, Colton got a lesson in grafting (this is basically where all our apples come from, google for more details) and I listened to the signs to slow down.  Some of the interns made us fruit smoothies; building community is as simple as making food.

So CRMPI has been awesome and we will have some video snippets up here shortly, but this afternoon we made a move towards Sustainable Settings.  This is a 19 year old project which focuses on dairy and large scale agriculture.  A non-profit that is able to provide raw milk to local consumers (Its legal, but it’s a bit complicated to explain.  Just know this is a rare thing.)  and practice some of the most cutting edge farming techniques available.  We got to hang with a few of the farmers.  It was a real treat as we asked away about the world of cows.  Since one of the cows was in heat, we helped herd a bull into her field.  It went smooth, but we were armed with cattle pokers just in case.  The bull (who hasn’t mated yet) had troubles his first time as the female engaged him with her horns; he took off unable to handle this feisty cow.  Apparently, the farmers had never seen that before.  As you may have picked up on, at SS most of the cows keep their horns. This is part of a holistic approach to cattle that includes the effects of the moon and planets on the animals themselves.  The science has been documented so this is not hocus-pocus.

Have you seen a tide come in-and-out?  It is well known that this is due to the moon’s placement in the sky. Well, you are made up of 70%+ of water. Have you ever wondered what effects the moon may have on you?

It was great to learn about cattle farming from people who really care about their animals and their health.  They spare no expense in providing top quality food for themselves and the surrounding community.  The unfortunate reality is that due to factory farming, growth hormones, and cheap un-nutritious feed dictating the price people are used to paying at their grocery store; it is nearly impossible for SS to make a profit providing the highest quality milk.  Our food system has been hijacked by profiteers.  Brooke, one of the founders, believes that re-localizing food production and distribution can solve much of the worlds’ problems.

I’m gonna have ta agree.

We came back to CRMPI and engaged in conversation once more with younger interns looking for that new way of life outside the “American Dream” and with our buds John and Dave enjoying the new lease on life they never knew they needed.  My neck is doing a little better, and I cannot wait for the healing days to come. We’re off por la manana, en la manana a Arizona.

Til the Next,
C++

Day 2 Fun for us, and soon you too!

Day 2:

 

It is I, Colton, grabbing the reins on the typing tonight while Casey rides shotgun.

 

Dang, CRMPI is a pretty spectacular place. Our labors for the day primarily revolved around shoveling rabbit poop, so it wasn’t the most glamorous job but the rabbits sure are happy (and rabbit poop is an incredibly rich source of nitrogen so the compost was happy too). They have a pen with rabbits and chickens because animals are a crucial part of a permaculture approach, since they can recycle food scraps, provide fertilizer, provide food, mix up the soil, and sometimes be your friend J. The chicken is one of the most used animals in permaculture and helps out with virtually every aspect of food production.

We also got to meet a couple of cool cats named Dave and John who are working and living at CRMPI. Both had typical, boring jobs/lives and up and quit them to be closer to the land and learn how to grow food. What an inspiration! They are bettering themselves and learning valuable skills while also building community and helping out Jerome (the manager of CRMPI). If these guys could do it, then you can certainly do it. We have had all kinds of great conversations with them from conspiracy theories, to the prison of our economic and educational systems, to catastrophic geology theories, to astrology, to simply waking up and loving life.

Got to experience something pretty cool today, courtesy of Casey’s knowledge, which was the magic of Spilanthes. The flower of the plant can be chewed on and ingested, providing a whirlwind of different flavors and sensations (including numbing) that is reminiscent of Shnozberries (hopefully you have seen Willy Wonka). In any case, it is a powerful dental remedy that promotes healthy bacteria, destroys pathogenic bacteria, and generally promotes dental and gum health. Don’t expect to find this in your garden though, as this is a tropical plant.

We are going to create videos and post them to youtube at our earliest convenience with more information, but the magical part about this place is that they are growing tropical and Mediterranean plants year round in climate controlled greenhouses. Bet you never expected someone to be growing avocados, bananas, oranges, and figs in the middle of the Rocky Mountains at 8000 feet. We’ll include the video links later, which will show you how this alchemy is performed.

Casey and Colton signing off, stay tuned for CRMPI part deux...

 
Here’s some inspiration from past adventurers.

 

 

 

All those buckets are full of stuff from the bottom of the rabbit cages. That’s a lot of rabbit poop.











This here is a guide to one of the many permaculture “guilds” on the CRMPI property. These are edible/medicinal food forests that combine plants that benefit one another in symbiotic relationship and provide very little upkeep or maintenance, all the while providing plums, grapes, apples, berries, onions, bone/skin/stomach medicine, and food for the animals.

Day 1 of Fun

So, Casey here and Colton under the covers, but present. 

We would like to welcome you to the first blog of the first entry to that first blog.  But ohh its been a lifetime of lessons and good times. 

Said goodbye to our family's; it was good to see their smiling faces before we set off. Where, you ask? Well to find people changing the world like ourselves.  We are on a road trip that started in Fort Collins, CO and will lead us to the golden coast of southern California.  We plan on meeting up with a local gardening group out in south central LA where they have a project that needs assistance.. We sincerely hope it's setting up gardens, but we are ready for whatever comes our way. 

Don't get us wrong, though, the journey is the destination.  Along the way we will be stopping at various permaculture sites and community building projects, while engaging in healing adventures and offering our young buck services to projects that are in need of some January love.  We will fill you in as time goes on, but tonight we have arrived at CRMPI (Colorado Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute) in Basalt, CO.. and its a little chilly.


We're sleeping in a cabin of about 35degs.  As Colton mentioned, the wood burning stove is sorely missed.  However, we are staying warm with the burning fire of passion to save the world.  We're double wrapped in sleeping bags.  The car is stocked up with enough food to feed ourselves and anyone else we encounter on our trail (courtesy of Esh's in Loveland.. that's a name drop btw.. I mean they have 25cent coconut waters). The cherry on top, this is one of the longest-running permaculture sites in the U.S.A.

I'll tell you about that later. 

Tonight was filled with good conversation regarding the trickle of life.  In case you were wondering, there is an ebb and flow to life as it moves at a gentle pace.  We will try to move at a gentle, thoughtful pace as well.  Surely to encounter wondrous settings and inspirational humans along the way.  We hope to be an inspiration to you!!

Mucho Amor,
C Squared