Introduction
So here I go on my Capstone year of a Master’s program at Gaia University. Everything I’ve been doing up to know has brought me to this point. And this is the point where I take what I’ve gathered along my way and present it to the world in a big way. The permaculture demonstration site I’ve been helping to develop is still under development but there are many new additions to the site that will serve as educational examples of the possibilities for local sustainable design. I’m ready to revisit wholeheartedly branding my business for education, design and food production. Putting it out there for the world to see and connecting with those in my community that are eager for the services I offer. I want to get some more experience with permaculture design so I can become a better educator for permaculture as well as become a well-known resource for permaculture.
Goals
The goals I have for this year are broken up into the 3 P’s, Professional, Personal, and Project goals. Following is a list of those goals.
Professional goals-
-Refine my design process
-Gather best practices
-What do people need?
-What works well?
-Use SHCS greenhouse package as part of design- market it
- Re approach the design for the Love Creek Center for Permaculture
-Get more consulting jobs
- Do free designs to get more experience.
- Learn to market myself better, humbly boast
- Where and what is the market?
- Develop the confidence in skills to be able to tell people what they need and inspire implementation.
-Become a teacher/ workshop leader/ workshop organizer/ catalyst for sparking peoples interest
-Get the workshop series planned and advertise for it early and often
-Find collaborative workshop leaders.
-Finish Gaia U
Personal Goals for the year
-Have more free time!
-Self Care
-Do Yoga between 1 and 3 days per week
-Organize myself so I can call it before it’s too late.
-Be able to WALK AWAY before the day is over,
-Make dinner at a reasonable time, and chill
-Sleep early!
-Be more of a 9-5 with Saturday and Sunday off () kind of guy
-Be able to WALK AWAY before the day is over, make dinner at a reasonable time, and chill
-Recreation
-Camping,
-Backpacking, rafting, traveling
-Get some snowboard days in somewhere around 30
Project Goals
-Continue with seed saving projects
-Create an inventory list
-Build another greenhouse with subterranean heating and cooling system
-Work with other local landowners on producing farm fresh produce.
-Continue to refine the best crop choices for the Love Creek Center for Permaculture
- Ease of harvest
- Easy to grow
- Climatically appropriate
- Implementing more water storage capacity
- Continue to develop gravity fed water system
- Create more Hugelkultur beds.
- Calorie crop production
- 50 pounds of beans
- Grains
- Reggae in the Hills production team
Skills Assessment
Here is a list of skills that I intend to use or refine during my final year at Gaia University.
These skills are one’s that I will continue to use for some time so I would like to spend more time refining my understanding and use of each one. Some of these skills I have more experience with than others. It is my goal to become more familiar with all of these skills, especially the ones that I have little experience with. I am motivated to push myself to new heights on all of these skills. I will be searching out support from others through collaboration and mentors to develop these skills further.