Project Based Goals:
I have many interesting and exciting projects in the pipeline. Similar to the professional and personal, my project oriented self is not an isolated entity from the rest of myself. For example, I need to ensure that I have taken care of my personal self in order to be in the mindset to be able to get work done on projects. In addition, the abundance of leftover ‘scrap’ material at the yard where I work is a source of material based in my professional sphere that will serve as an excellent source of materials for the commencement and completion of personal projects. Another way to look at the intersection of the separate threads of myself is that I sometimes view each individual day as a personal project, to listen and communicate effectively, to work on my physical and mental fitness and to adjust myself according to each new situation as it arises.
In lieu of the fact that my project based goals are not independent entities; I do have many projects that I would like to design and implement. Some projects fall into the category of global/macro design schemes that could be adopted anywhere in the world and seem out-of-reach for my personal implementation. Other projects are better described as micro/personal designs, such as building furniture to fit the space of my apartment, creating a vertical grow wall on my patio, and to start a vermi-compost worm bin.
The output packets (OP) that I plan on creating embody elements of macro and micro designs. I have so many business ideas for integrating permaculture design techniques, that I realized that I had to enlarge the scope of a capstone output packet be on the over-arching topic of Net Zero Business Design, and have the content of the output packet show the intricacies of various strategic models of closed-loop businesses that could be very influential in bringing about drastic changes in lifestyles, transportation and/or energy usage. Each business design in this OP will be a separate project and business proposal, with research, spreadsheets and graphic design.
Now that I have an apartment, I am also able to apply permaculture strategies to my living space! I am excited to have started many seedlings indoors, as well as beans, mint, cucumber, and lemon thyme outside. More plans to apply permaculture to my living space include: utilizing waste resources from the yard at work to: a) build a vertical grow wall on the SW facing wall outside my front door, b) build a small-scale indoor aquaponics system, and c) improve my patio and front yard. I would also like to utilize worm composting in order to ecologically recycle my food waste, as well as use my coffee waste as a means to grow oyster mushrooms. In addition, I have been researching fermenting foods as well as brewing kombucha. There really is no limit to the applications of permaculture that I would like to create in my personal living space.
Many of the output packet ideas that I have presented fall into the category of ‘project-based goals.’ Here is an annotated list of some of the many projects that I would like to work on during this year:
*Build furniture and shelves for new living space in order to have furniture that fits the space and to be more intimate with my personal space.
*Finish Designer’s Manual: create wiki that can grow each theme with chapter quizzes and chapter reviews.
*Apply permaculture to my life:
*Create my own mini aquaponics system from used materials
*Vertical growing on patio
*Brew probiotic beverages and ferment foods.
*Worm compost
*Container gardening
*CSA
*Finish kickstarter photo-book project and have gallery opening.
*Design Solar Aquaponics system as a capstone collaborative project with Teryl Chapel.
*Building, solar and aquaponics projects on East Coast for a summer vacation!
*Re-design online photography portfolio.
*Create Aire Chip web page. Flex business skills to start career in the realm of home energy efficiency and optimization.
*Hone and Improve digital media skills, including: video editing software, camera equipment: microphone, lighting, and HD video.
*Use left-over materials from yard at work to build projects.
*Create Permaculture Design Business as a capstone output packet.
*Net-Zero Business Design Model: USA Transportation (earth-ship desolate gas stations to become employment/educational centers), Net-Zero Laundromat-to-Landscape, Solar-Aquaponics scaled for commercial and/or residential, Potato-to-Vehicle Transition Town Program, and Havasupai design.