Dancing TreePeople Farm

Future Farmers

2011-09-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Niall Gateley and his friend Chad Rizzo will be joining us at Dancing TreePeople farm for the month of October to help with farm chores and the harvest. Niall and Chad are from Erie, PA.

Both are interested in learning more about permaculture and organic farming methods. Welcome Niall and Chad!

Niall is not a newbie to Dancing TreePeople Farm... here are pictures of Niall (ad Loretta) a few summers ago:

Denise Rushing's Book: Tending the Soul's Garden

2011-09-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Dancing TreePeople Farm is featured in Denise Rushing's new book entitled Tending the Soul's Garden: Permaculture as a Way Forward in Difficult Times. This is a book about applied ecological design: from garden to farm to invisable structures such as community and the human spirit.

or order via Amazon.com:

or buy the ebook here:

HumanPeople of Dancing TreePeople Farm

2008-01-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

We at Dancing TreePeople strive to live sustainably, grow our crops in a way that regenerates the health of the land, and share that knowledge with others. Our mission is to embody and demonstrate the principles of regenerative design and ecological living (permaculture): Care of the Earth, Care of the people and Return the Surplus. In addition to our growing operation, we offer sustainable living workshops and tours of our orchard/garden.

Who we are...

Denise Rushing
Profile: About Denise
Denise's Website: www.deniserushing.com

Loretta McCarthy
Profile: About Loretta

John McCarthy
Profile: About John
John's Website: www.people4motherearth.net

Reducing Waste from Mail Order Catalogs

2007-11-21T18:06:00.000-08:00

I invite you to join me on Catalog Choice. Catalog Choice is an easy, free service that allows you to decline unsolicited catalogs, reducing the number of catalogs in your mailbox and lessening your footprint on the environment.

Join me by clicking the link below:

http://www.catalogchoice.org/signup

Thanks for all you do!

SolFest and Natural Building

2007-08-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

A couple of announcements:

Be sure to catch SolFest at the Solar Living Institute in Hopland August 18th and August 19th this year.

In September, I plan to host a natural plasters work party and will announce it soon as the date gets closer.

Here is a collage of our progress on the natural building at the orchard in Upper Lake so far. Most of the early photos are from last summer, though we are starting in again with a new crew this week and will get some significant work done in preparation for September plaster parties. Enjoy:

Ecologicial Footprint

2007-04-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

As promised, in honor of Earth Day, here are a couple of good sources for calculating your ecological footprint:

American Forests Climate Change Calculator

Ecological Footprint

The Choice is Ours

2006-10-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

As predicited, humanity reached Peak Oil production in December 2005. At the same time, it is now clear that the fossil fuel we have already burned has affected our atmosphere and created a climate crisis. What this means is that worldwide production of oil will never be greater than is was in 2005. Therefore, the world economy can no longer grow and even if it could, the choice to burn other fossil fuels as we have been will only create further climate crisis.

Think about this. All that our current culture depends upon is about to change. In fact, over time, we cannot sustain our current lifestyles.

All by itself, reaching Peak Oil is a profound event. We in the U.S. may not feel the effects immediately because our government is willing to take energy and resources from others by force and is unwilling to level with us about the fact that our very lifestyles are unsustainable. However, an even more significant event is yet to come: the consequence of dumping eons and eons of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Global warming is here. It is real. And it affects all of us.

The good news: (1) We know how to solve this problem (2) This planet has faced great crises before and has overcome them through creativity and will. and (3) Most of the more significant actions to solve this one are PERSONAL and LOCAL

In the days and months ahead, I will write about what I am doing personally and what I believe our local communities and groups need to do to prepare themselves. We need to have a plan. The sooner we begin the better. We have little time to lose.

I have already begun working on my personal plan. A summary:

(1) Drive less. Ideally, we can avoid auto trips and/or live in such a way that we do not have to use a car every day in order to eat, shop and work. There are two options I considered: live in a walk-able city with a thriving local merchants or live in a rural area with locally grown food and town centers for gathering, trading, and shopping. I chose the latter because I also require rural beauty to sustain me spirtually.

(2) Reduce Energy Use. Personally, I am evaluating how I use energy and either eliminating energy use, or finding sustainable substitutes. This is a tough one, no matter what it involves tradeoffs and/or cash.

(3) Support Local Economy. Personally, I begin by growing my own food and shopping locally. This is a lot of work and I am hoping to find others who will join me in this effort. Farmers markets and community supported gardens would help here.

(4) Live Locally. Over time, find a local vocation--one that requires little or no travel (except perhaps to local markets). build community, take care of those in our midst.

(5) Simplify. There are two ways to create wealth--make more or desire less. A good economy doesn't have to be all about buying more new stuff to store in mini-storage units and ultimately landfill. Really! I am a recovering consumer. Buy used, re-use, barter and trade.

Fortunately, Lake County is beautiful, rural and has potential for the necessities of food and water and solar energy as well as potential for a thriving local community that can be bonded to place. In a sense, Lake County already has less distance to fall, it has not been overrun with sprawling development (yet) and has historic community centers.

As for the communities, the plan will need to include not buying into the corporate box stores, with all their cheap plastic stuff, as well as avoiding out-of-area markets and sprawl. Our local communities must further develop their town centers, creating core communities that are alive and thriving. We must create and discover local markets, particularly for our food, perhaps sponsoring local farmers markets and community supported agriculture. Local communities must look at securing local energy (bio-diesel, solar) and water sources, developing local economy --trading and barter systems, and most importantly, preserving our natural resources and beauty. We must not allow these to be sacrificed and stolen by the desperate outside interests, especially as the economy inevitably begins its descent. We must not sell our soul on false promises.

Both individuals and communities need to ask ourselves: How will we invest our wealth (what little we have) now, for a time when we are not awash in easy and inexpensive energy? That time is nearly upon us.

I see the decades ahead as difficult, yet in some strange way hopeful, too. To become more bonded to place, to community, and to become more more local, is our way forward.

How will this all turn out? Will we value beauty and quality of life more than our consumptive lifestyles? In practical terms, this means living with smaller homes and less stuff, but on a spiritual level it is a conflict between possesions(money) and life itself. The choice is ours.

Local Future

2005-10-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I spoke at the local sustainability forum sponsored by the Sierra Club Lake group. There was a fairly large group there for our rural area (over 100, I think) and the discussion seemed to focus on the changes folks see and what can be done about living within our means: becoming more sustainable as individuals and as a community. I invited folks to continue the dialog by joining LakeFuture--a forum to explore and discuss both individual and community transformation to a more sustainable and local economy in Lake County, CA. You can join the yahoo group by sending an email to lakefuture-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

For my part, I try to focus on the hopeful--that humans are a part of the community of life and we have a role. We are called, I believe, to not just live sustainably, but to restore and renew ravaged places and to protect the living places that remain. When we work in this way, we find that our way of thinking changes and indeed, our way of being is transformed.

To embrace this transition, as I have been chronicling here for myself, is not easy, but it is a far more satisfying way of life. And yet, I've learned that I cannot work alone... the vision of such a life is a difficult one with just too much sheer work and a myriad of skills that no one person can acquire or afford. It is only through community that we create the momentum, energy and hope to find our way to the future.

One Straw Revolution

2005-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

"Ultimately, it is not the growing technique which is the most important factor, but rather the state of mind of the farmer. " --Masanobu Fukuoka, The One Straw Revolution

Each day, I am discovering more of what Dr. Fukuoka meant by that statement.... my state of mind dictates my approach to the land and over the course of days weeks and seasons I am discovering there is a rhythm to the work. I need to keep this in mind, especially now, as we start harvesting walnuts.

We experienced a setback this season--in addition to there being a very poor walnut crop, some of the walnuts are bad due to a pest called husk fly. Apparently both the low crop yield and the huskfly infestation this year were exacerbated by the late spring/summer rains. I have been told there is an effective organic-approved mollases-based spray that works for husk fly (next season). For now, we will live with the reduced crop and the frustration.

Autumn is a busy time in the orchard and garden. Harvesting, sowing cover crops and spreading straw mulch.

The straw is important. In The One Straw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka says that the spreading of straw is critical to soil fetility and allows you to farm without tilling the soil (thus saving the topsoil). I find it to be contemplative and life-giving--for the land and for me.

Ideally, I would grow everything I need right here--and that would be the way of it if we were sustainable today. I would like to grow straw myself, but the land needs mulch before I can seed, so I am buying someone else's straw this season. My hope is that next year I can sow some barley, oats and alfalfa between the walnut trees and then allow the animals to graze it directly. By grazing, the goats and sheep will keep down the weeds and will enrich the soil. The remainder, I will scythe, dry and store for the winter. That's the plan.

And today I worked. (WORK by it's purest definition: Force times Distance) I moved 50 bales of hay from the shed to the orchard where I plan to place it in the form of a labyrinth. (My neighbors may already think I am nuts, this will likely confirm their suspicions. ) In any case, this hay is unsuitable for feed, with too many stems and weeds, and too little nutritionaly value, so I am ordering from another source. Because the hay has too many weed seeds to spread, I will allow it to compost in the bale. I figure--why not walk a labyrinth while I wait? My state of mind will definitely improve, and thus perhaps my farming ability as well.

One step at a time.

Earth Regeneration

2005-09-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

I have been camping in the Cazadero Hills the past couple of weeks, participating in a course in regenerative ecological design (permaculture) with an amazing group of people. I can honestly say that this process of ecological design is one of the most hopeful things I have encountered. This is beyond sustainability, this is about our human capacity and responsibility to renew depleted and ravaged places. Its about bringing fertility to depleted soils and creating better human communities in the process.

I will be integrating what I have learned over the next weeks and months and years and will share my insights as appropriate. For now, I am re-entering life at Dancing Tree People orchard and garden and need to begin building winter housing for the animals... with natural materials, of course.

With so much destruction afoot in our world, it feels quite empowering to obtain new skills in self-sufficiency and community-building.

If you would like to learn more about this course, go to the E.A.T. website.

Cultivating the Real Gifts

2005-08-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

When I embarked on this journey toward sustainability, I fully engaged the most scientific and rational part of myself. Slap a few solar panels on the roof, recycle waste, use a solar oven and grow a few organic crops and I would be well on the path, right?

What I have learned is much deeper. It is difficult to put into words, but I will attempt to do so.

It is this:

If one wants to live in harmony with the planet, to accept ones position as a part of nature rather than a consumer (taker) of Earth's gifts, then an internal shift is required.

This is a change in a way of BEING. Much of what I have been taught about myself--how to be happy, how to survive, how to relate--must change. Despite what i have been taught by popular culture since infancy, I do not need more things to make me happy (in fact paradoxically, the more I have, the more elusive happiness becomes). And despite the fact that heros are rewarded and individualism is worshiped in our culture, the most important gifts in the next few decades may well be relationships with neighbors and the cultivation of local community.

Why do I say this? Because one cannot possibly have all the skills, or resources, or tools, or creativity or time to be fully sustainable on their own. Even if you could afford it, you would not have the time or strength working alone. And, more importantly, the vision of such a life is unappealing. One needs a life-giving and sustaining vision, a spiritual sustenance, in order to let go of the false promises ingrained so deeply within us.

As it turns out, our ability to forge relationships and our own creativity are probably our most important individual gifts.

As I harvest the first of our organic vegetables and contemplate the season ahead, I drink in the beauty of the landscape around me here in Lake County...., I am grateful for all I have been given. From the land and trees, to the community of life, and the community of people here. We have all that we need for the times ahead. May we accept that which is entrusted to us and make it better for our community in the generations to come.

It's About the Soil!

2005-03-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

I just finished a two day intro to permaculture course from the solar living center in Hopland and I am so jazzed. I was one of the oldest people in the course--most of the folks were under 30--many from all over the world, mostly the western U.S. There will come a day when these permaculture skills and philosopies will be critical for survival (both physically and spiritually). For the young, corporate jobs will become more scarce--and far less satisfying. We learned skills--NOT just for sustainability, but for regenerating our soils and our depleted Earth.

"The ultimate end to a growth economy is the same as an analagous growth: cancer. But for national economies, the victims are nature, soils, forests, people, water, and quality of life. There is one, and only one, solution,and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing the natural world,and train all our young people to help. They want to. We need to give them this last chance to create forests, soils, clean waters, clean energies, secure communities, stable regions,and to know how to do it from hands-on experience" --Bill Mollison

The sacredness of preparing the beds and creating the soil for life became SO apparent. At our place in Upper Lake, I am finding that my two resources that most matter are (1) time and (2) soil. I am just beginning the soil-building and permaculture process here... and have such a long way to go for the place to be thriving and healthy and teaming with lush and abundant food. I find that the act of engaging in this process is centering and creates tremendous hope and transformation of spirit. Earth can regenerate, Earth can heal, and I can be a part of it.

I have decided to get educated. The courses I am taking will lead to a "Permaculture Certificate," which will enable me to teach others. Permaculture is based upon 3 ethics: (1) Earth Care--the land, soil, water and wildlife (2) People Care--Care for oneself and others and (3) Return the Surplus (Take only your fair share)

In this, I find energy and hope--in real action.

About Permaculture

2004-01-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

Permaculture

Permaculture, or Ecological Agriculture, (permanent agriculture) allows us to change or relationship with the land by observing and imitating nature--using and integrating natural systems and methods rather than fighting with them. Permaculture ethics, intentions and principles are those of nature herself... and can be applied to the garden, the farm, and indeed any living system including human structures.

The Prime Directive of Permaculture:

The most significant ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. Make it now.

The Ethical Intention of Permaculture:

Care of Earth: Allowing provisions and resources for all life systems to continue and thrive.

Care of People: Allowing provisions or people to access those resources necessary for their existence.

Return the Surplus: Setting limits to consumption by governing our own needs so that we can set resources aside for earth and others.

Roots of Permaculture Practice:

THOUGHTFUL AND PROTRACTED OBSERVATION : observation that takes place over an extended period of time with thoughtful intention to our interaction with elemental forces, patterns and cycles of the natural world.

START SMALL THEN EXPAND--Avoid unrecoverable regrettable major errors by testing and small scale implementation first. Implement in phases and with the understandings of your actions. being aware of scale and scope of a project. Remember that every action causes a reaction.

WHOLE SYSTEMS THINKING . Everything is connected to everything else in some way, shape or form.

Permaculture Principles :

WORK WITH NATURE rather than against natural elements, forces, processes, agencies and evolutions, so that we can assist rather than impede natural developments. Examples: use natural biological elements, gravity, use the sun and wind, encourage native species, etc.

PROBLEM = OPPORTUNITY --Everything works both ways. It is only how we look at things that makes them advantageous or not. Everything can be a positive resource. Within each problem, are the seeds of opportunity.

LEAST CHANGE FOR THE GREATEST EFFECT Make work a source and not a sink of your energy. leverage energies for the most positive effect. Every element is placed for energy efficiency.

RELINQUISHING POWER --The role of beneficial authority is to return function and responsibility to life and people.

RELATIVE LOCATION in the placement of elements: interconnectedness is the key to good design.

FUNCTIONAL DESIGN: EACH ELEMENT PERFORMS MANY FUNCTIONS-- elements are carefully chosen and placed so that it performs as many functions as possible.

EACH IMPORTANT FUNCTION IS SUPPORTED BY MANY ELEMENTS--important basic needs such as water, food, energy and fire protection should be designed to be supported in two or more ways.

ENERGY CYCLING--Good design uses incoming natural energies with those generated on-site to ensure a complete energy cycle. Permaculture systems seek to stop the flow of nutrient and energy off the site and instead turn them into cycles so that for instance: laws of thermodynamics

SYSTEM STABILITY IS ACHIEVED THROUGH DIVERSITY--Diversity is related to stability. It is not, however, the number of diverse elements you can pack into a system, but rather the useful connections you can make between these elements.

ACCELERATE THE SUCCESSION OF EVOLUTION--Acceleration of natural processes to hasten the development of a sustainable, ecologically diverse, and abundant systems. Each cycle is an opportunity for more abundance.

EDGE EFFECTS--Use natural patterns as the basis of design. In nature, the creation of greater edge provides us with a greater surface area, therefore giving us greater production, increased aspect, zone dividers and microclimates.

INFORMATION AS A RESOURCE --Information is the critical potential resource. Bad information can result in poor design. Good information increases opportunity for good design.

THE YIELD OF THE SYSTEM IS THEORETICALLY UNLIMITED --The only limit on the number of possible uses of a resource within a system is the limit of information and the imagination of the designer.

UNKNOWN GOOD BENEFIT --if we start with good ethical intention, other good things follow.

Credit: Above based upon a Permaculture Document compiled by Benjamin Fahrer