Kevin Danaher is a well rounded individual. In addition to the topics of
business models and green jobs Kevin also taught us lessons from history,
nature and human interactions. I even learned what the true function of
Testosterone is!

As a student studying energy management, it was very beneficial for me to
learn about opportunities in the green job market. I was also happy to hear
that green jobs in the U.S. grew twice as fast as the overall job market
between 1998 and 2008! After listening to Kevin, I feel more aware of green
job opportunities and more prepared to enter into the energy management
field.

Craig Chalquist, a professor at JFK University with a PhD in psychology,
talked to us today about Eco psychology and gave us some mental health
lesson from the garden. For example, gardening can teach us to �abandon
perfectionism� simply because there is no perfect garden. As gardeners, we
must learn to live with what cannot be controlled such as plants that won�t
grow or ones that are eaten. I learned how helpful gardening and nature can
be for *everyone*, not just people suffering from mental illnesses.

Today we learned about non-violent communication and handling conflict from
Saundra. It�s important to learn these things in a permaculture design
course because no matter where we decide to use permaculture, we will
undoubtedly be working with other people. NVC�s motive is not about avoiding
conflict but it is about wanting to understand where someone is coming from.
We did an in class exercise which helped us to identify someone�s needs
based on what they were feeling. I am very happy I learned non-violent
communication and conflict resolution from Saundra today because I know I
can use these skills everyday!

I really enjoyed the layout of the natural building class this week as it was ideal for learning – process and observe information in the morning while exploring hands on applications in the afternoon. Once again, if we hadn’t seen how clay plasters were made or the process for making a clay oven I think I would have felt too intimidated to dabble in the subject until I took another course specifically on natural building. After Saturday’s class I definitely feel confident in exploring natural building on my own. Along with my cob oven, I hope to expierement with clay plasters and cob by building a bench and other simple structures in my yard and the yards of friends.

I thought that Sasha did a great job of describing and showing great examples of natural building from today as well as from hundreds of years ago. The examples from past use and other cultural uses of natural building really demonstrated that the process is not that foreign to our society and that these structures really are safe, durable and sustainable. I also found it very interesting to learn that straw bale houses are somewhat mainstream in so that there are already building codes regarding their use. Its absolutely fantastic that more and more people are using these techniques in mainstream building…hopefully that means that a permaculture based society isn’t too far off!

*Ninth Class*

*This is the ninth class/workshop in a series of twelve.*

*Samuel Morales-Cotto*

*
*

Although there are still such pockets of productivity left in the developing
world, the modern need for more commercial�pushed food-growing beyond the
outskirts and into the distant countryside. (B. Mollison)**

The main topics for this class were: Differences between Rural and Urban
Farming, Remediation, Nursery, Seed Saving, Animals, Natural Pest Management
and Microclimate. Each of the topics spins around the fact that most of the
course emphasis is creating a urban space that provide all the necessities
to live a healthy life, and some ways in which urban and community
self-reliance can be accomplished.

Not only talking about agriculture, horticulture, gardening or any method of
production urban permaculture is the meaning of the self-sustained
human. Urban
Permaculture is the sustainability in a city living environment. The human
by condition is a communal organism, from hominoids (early stage of homo
sapiens) live in groups� form of two or more families. The Homo sapiens, a
well know nomad and gatherer, just moved to regions were gathering was
comfortable and living was undemanding. Following the history of the modern
human organism great cities were constructed in order to maintain many
slaves (workers) and merchandisers, traders and immigrants. The
merchandisers many were farmers producing in excess to maintain other
families or trade them. Small cities or big cities all permanent
settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no
agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English
language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or
historical status based on local law. Before the 1900 every city contained
farms and orchards within the city. Although there are still such pockets
of productivity left in the developing world, the modern need for more
commercial�pushed food-growing beyond the outskirts and into the distant
countryside.

Some differences between the rural and the urban scenarios are the
contamination levels of the environment were air and soil raise a big
concern, microclimates created by the built environment characterize by
strong winds and a dry-burning-summers; different laws and the negativity of
the urban community towards noise animals. In definitive the main difference
is the space and the availability of a space for wild life. Limited space
creates a need for consulting a neighbor or a community before implementing
anything, this sometimes creates a better bond and a space for
interaction�but sometimes creates conflict and a reason to move to another
place.

Some ideas for integrating animals is raising small, quiet animals like
small birds and mammals. Using every possible space and been creative are
keys to success in designing for an urban environment that provides you with
all the things you may need: good food, a creative atmosphere, and all the
clean air that you can breath. In definitive small is better, but small is
not a limitation.

Lead is a poisonous metal that can damage nervous connections (especially in
young children) and cause blood and brain disorders; Lead is used in
building construction, which means that we are surrounded by lead all
around, this raise a big concern in terms raising plants in a soil
contaminated by lead. A first step in addressing this contaminant is
knowing is having the soil test and some methods that can be use to
remediate contaminated soils are adding compost, and using mushrooms
(mycoremediation), planting big trees that allocate the contaminates and or
ornamental plants.

�Seeds are baby plants�, that�s what I always say to the preschoolers I
teach gardening. And babies need tons of attention; a nursery is the
essential environment for young and fragile plants. Locate in Zone 1 or as
part of the house, Zone 0, nursery should be under constant observation. A
nursery provides a regulated and control temperature and humidity.

A plant cost around one dollar and packet of seeds with more that 20 future
plants cost around three dollars, from one plant is possible to harvest
between five to more than a hundred seeds. With just this simple
calculation should be more than enough to have all humans collecting seeds.
Saving seed helps us preserving specific varieties of plants and making a
statement against big corporations. Seeds can serve as trade currency and a
way to make new friends.

Natural Pest management is addressing problems that your plant may
experience do to the facts of overgrowth of organisms without harming the
environment. There are many products and methods that can be apply and they
all depend in the specific problem and space and budget of the gardener. The
best way to prevent any possible problem with your plant is having a healthy
plant.

It’s so amazing every time I think about how many issues and feedback systems are enwrapped in our food production system. Just today on NPR I heard a piece about how horrible the chemicals are that are sprayed on conventional strawberries in California. So buying organic strawberries (or simply growing your own) is supporting the environment and fair treatment for farm workers (the statistics on miscarriages and health problems for people who work in conventional strawberry fields in California is terrifying). I found it really insightful the quote that Saundra shared from Thomas Jefferson regarding the importance of having most of our country be independent farmers in order to preserve a true democracy and thrive as a nation. It really is scary how far we have diverged from these important and rational ideas for how our food system and country are structured. And to think that corporations now have the right to donate to political elections openly…we seem far from a place where people and the environment are the main focus.

The second part of this week’s class exploring herbal remedies and propagation was a fun addition to the class. I really appreciate, especially when we have guest speakers not only the personal knowledge they share, but also the resources that they recommend. All of the resources that I have received through this class have been excellent and have really helped me enrich my knowledge outside of class since it is such a limited time. Although I don’t know if I will be making any extracts of my own any time soon, I do know that I will be gardening and plan on getting the “gardening by the moon” calendar to make sure that I am on top of when to plant all of my delicious produce.

I really enjoyed the chance be able to get a tour of the ecohouse in Berkeley. Although the presenter talked about permaculture in general for the first 40 minutes or so, I actually found it very refreshing. Its great to get other people’s experience with permaculture and to have concepts repeated from a different persective so that the ideas stick. It was wonderful to hear him talk about how he stumbled upon permaculture and how it changed his life. I will always remember the quote from Karl Lynn that he shared with us : “Ask forgiveness, not permission.” Similar to the folks with City Repair in Portland working on reclaiming intersections and Karl Lynn working to turn city brownfields into community gardens, sometimes you just need to be a leader and go out an make the change and hope that the society will follow. It was a wonderful reminder that we have be the change that we want to see. The rest of the time spent at the ecohouse was incredible. I could not believe that the food forest on the property was less than 8 years old! The fruit trees were producing so much, I imagined they must have been there for over 20 years. I also really enjoyed seeing the greywater wetland they had constructed. I look forward to attending one of their classes to learn more specifically about the building process for the wetland and also the living roof. One of the best things about the Berkeley Ecohouse was the fact that it wasn’t an over the top, expensive remodel – it was a modest simple house practicing all of the principles we have learned about.

Today Sacha Verbean was our guest speaker and she came to talk about Natural
Building. She is one of the founders of Vertical Clay Construction. First
she talked about the bigger picture like, for example, she showed us
different pictures of villages, towns, and cities and we were asked to
determine how the different environments might influence how the people
interact and live. Some of the things that Sacha likes to bring into the
process of natural building is to get kids involved, change people�s
expectations and to do it in places where people aren�t expecting it, like
making adobe blocks in the parking lot at a Chevron Gas Station. Materials
used in natural building are ones that we can identify such as clay, fiber,
stone or wood. The appropriate building materials are the least refined,
least processed materials that is strong enough to do the job. Then we
learned about the different types of materials from sand to cob, and how and
where to use them. With cob for example you use clay soil, an aggregate to
keep clay from cracking like sand or gravel and fiber like straw and the
advantage of cob would be that you use it while it�s wet and that it is
actually more structurally sound than adobe because it�s used as one big
piece. It was interesting to know what materials you would use in certain
situations or projects. Sacha showed us a lot of examples of construction
projects that she�s personally worked. I especially liked the strawbale
buildings and cob ovens. I would love to have a Strawbale house someday! After
we broke for lunch, we met at Berkeley Tech High School where Sacha has been
building a cob oven with the kids there. There was still a lot left to be
done so she showed us how to make earthenware plaster to spread onto the
surface of the oven. We used clay soil, sand, straw and water. It was a lot
of fun to make and to get our hands dirty. I realize now that natural
building is something everyone can do and that it really brings people
together. One of the things I like best about the cob oven is that even
when, after five to ten years, it cracks and degrades, it�s made out of
natural materials so it won�t be damaging to the surrounding environment. I
plan on learning more about natural building in the future and would love to
be a part of more projects.

Samuel Morales-Cotto

The main topics covered in this lesson were Soil and Mushrooms. Our morning
began with a really simple and enjoyable activity: everyone had to share one
silly thing from their memories; many mentioned their childhood silliness
while others pulled from a time more contemporary. The workshop offered an
extensive view into the fascinating world of mushrooms; we cover Fungi
Basics, Life Cycle, Main Types and Characteristics and Possible Uses. We
covered all aspects of soil, soil structure and composition, from how to
build an �ideal� soil to how to maintain and integrate the rest of the
system to the soil. We covered Soil Characteristics, Soil Testing,
Composting, Worm Bins, Compost Tea, Sheet Mulching and Cover cropping.

Mushrooms are a type of fungi; mushrooms are the fleshy,
spore-bearing
fruiting body of a fungus , typically produced above ground on soil or on
its food source. A fungus is a member of a large group of
eukaryoticorganisms that includes micro-organisms such as yeasts and
molds,as well as the more familiar
mushrooms .
Fungi are classified as a kingdom that is separate from plants, animals and
bacteria . Their main role in the
natural ecosystem is to be decomposers. It is said that fungi broke down
the Earth�s original structure into the World that we have today.
Something that I find really fascinating is that the mushrooms Kingdom is
genetically closest to animals, a good example of this is the material that
composed their flesh is similar to the material in animals flesh. Out of
the more than 1 million species humans consume and use less than 100. A few
examples of this species are the classic Saprophytic Fruiting Fungus, like
the Shiitake and the Oyster. The Saprophytic are really good in breaking
down hydrocarbon-based material, and sometimes you can even find them in
your compost, especially compost high in leaves and woody parts. Another
Fruiting fungus use in the organic agricultural sector and an important
component of soil life and soil chemistry is Mycorrhyzal, it creates a
symbiotic (generally mutualistic, but occasionally weakly pathogenic)
association between a fungus and the roots of a plant. In a mycorrhizal
association, the fungus colonizes the host plants’ roots. A few tasty
examples of Mycorrhyzal are the Chantrelles and Boletes, and the famous
Amanita a potent psycoactiv and use for the psychedelic powers. The other
two Fruiting funguses are Endophytic and Parasitic. Mushrooms could be use
in reforestation (restoring natural cycles in nature), Filtration (cleaning
or catching contaminants, like pollutants in water), and as pesticides (to
control agricultural and house common pest with out the need of chemicals.

With the concepts of Permaculture always in mind we define the soil as a
living organizing, the human contact with the soil most be made in harmony.
Soil is the foundation of our planet and our home; in many ancestral
cultural traditions the soil plays an important role. In the Chinese
tradition of Wu Xing or Five Movements, the Soil represents one of the five
elements: metal, fire, water, wood and soil; the tradition refers to the
Fire as the creator of Soil and the Soil plays the role of bearing Metal.
In the Japanese concept of the five elements or the five great, heavily
influenced by Buddhism, the soil represents the hard solid objects of the
world.

Soil composition is mainly minerals and water (45% and 30%), and the rest is
air and organic matter (20% and 5%). But organic matter is essential in the
development of a healthy plant. To add more organic matter in our soil we
can reuse all our food scraps or anything that has lived to make a rich in
nutrients dark soil call compost. Simple�s ways to determing the structure
of your soil is a jar test and a rope test.

I really enjoyed the two videos that we watched in class – how inspiring to hear about the infinite possibilities of what permaculture principals can present. I particularly liked learning more about how permaculture is not that “far off” since at one point in history we embraced this lifestyle. The information and history that was presented really made an excellent case for permaculture and regenerative living. I also really appreciated and thought it was terrific for the growth of permaculture that both gentlemen in the videos were presented as relatively “mainstream”, clean-cut and logical. Although it is unfortunate, I think that how information is presented is so important in our society. If people feel like they can somewhat relate to the presenter they are more likely to be open-minded.

It was also terrific to get out in the dirt and do some manual labor for the second half of the class. Perhaps the best part of the afternoon though was having the chance to talk with other members of the class in an informal setting. Great information and stories were exchanged while working. It’s really inspiring how much diversity and fabulous knowledge everyone brings to the group. We shared information on co-ops in the Bay Area, the best place to get a garden plot, local permaculture resources, etc. The investment in hands-on activities and opportunities to build community in the class are really important I think to facilitating action outside of the class. Now having experience learning how to plant a tree the right way, I’m not intimidated anymore by the idea (even though I might be a little bit if I had only read about it).