My Epic Garden

Hey everyone, about 8 years ago I started to understand the problems this world faces. I saw massive destruction of the environment and a lot of people being hurt by other people. My mother got tired of hearing about all the things I was learning because who wants to hear about all the ills of the world? She told me to tell her about the solutions rather than the problems. It wasn't long before I found some.






So I traveled and learned and traveled some more. One afternoon I found myself in an obscure underground bookstore in Austin TX there was a free lecture. I attended that lecture and it was about a practice known as permaculture.

The speaker was from an eco village in North Carolina called earth haven and I really enjoyed the lecture as it presented solutions to supply line needs.



The man encouraged me to start a permaculture project after the lecture but I had a list of excuses a mile long. A few years passed, I realized that my excuses shouldn't be enough to stop me and I finally started a project.

I decided to come back and do it in my home town because I've personally watched the destruction of the environment here and felt they needed to see something like this. After working on this project for about 4 years it is my belief that 100 percent of the food needed to feed the more than 77thousand people in this city could be produced in this city.  We would have enough excess to feed a good part of nearby cities also. I'd also feel from observation that those who eat well tend to have significantly less medical issues. Happy people make better decisions. People who eat well are typically more active also. The number one reason I hear a lot of people in this city and many others say that they don't eat healthy is cost.

Organic is more expensive but we could use organic practices to produce cheap or likely free food for everyone.  Producing food is only one aspect of my project, I also hope to show people how to meet other supply line needs in a garden as well. Last year I grew about 40 Lufa shower sponges for example. This project serves as a model of whats possible with no budget to speak of, aka the slow way. I've done fairly well with that but now I want to speed up the project so that I can continue on to the next. I hosted a traveler for a few months and he helped me get a lot done on this project. He went on his way but yesterday (over a year later) he came back and told me about gofundme. He suggested that I get on gofundme to fund the project. I love how everything just seems to fall into place at just the right time.




My goal is currently set to 33 thousand dollars




What the $ will be used for.

New roof (looking into green roofs)

Bicycle trailer - No longer needed! Bartered to have someone build me one. I'll post pictures when It's done. 

Electric bike. (sold my van about 2 years ago for a one way ticket to Montana! It was an epic trip and gets rid of that huge source of pollution. I have been cycling since then. )

Gutters for the landlords house to increase water catchment.

A new larger tank 10000 gal tank for water catchment.



Filter and plumbing for that 10000 gal tank so I can hook it up to the main house and take it off the grid water wise. Plumbing for re routing sink, shower, and bathtub drains into the yard with the option of having it go down the regular drain. This will water the food forest daily during normal house use.

Rent.

Camera (I get photos that friends take of the place but it would be nice to be able to take my own again)




video camera
$ to pay someone to professionally edit the documentary that I'd like to shoot.

$ to pay some workers to help me move mulch.

Mulch! This is my largest need. I get mulch for free by picking up the neighbors leaf mulch but with about half an acre of land it's really nowhere near enough. My landlord co owns a truck and brings in a load of free mulch from time to time but still nowhere near enough. It costs about 200 dollars for a dumptruck full last I checked and I think about 1000 should get enough mulch to complete that aspect of the project. Mulch will do a lot to hold the moisture in and increase the mycelium networks. Also helps hold nutrients which in this sandy poor soil really helps things.

(leaf mluch salvaged from the neighbors trash)

I'd also like to get a mulch making machine.

Sealing 3 ponds so I can raise Tilapia.

500 to 1000 tilapia fry (baby fish) to stock the ponds.

A 30+ ft ladder to make tree work way less risky

New chain saw

Solar panels to take me off the electric grid.

$1500 for a trip to Belize this summer to aid the sustainable revolution http://www.thesustainablerevolution.org/ in designing a 25 acre eco village project. I'll donate my time and knowledge of landscape design for maximizing resource use. Also the trip will double as an education as I'll get to explore green building practices. I haven't done much in the way of house construction from local materials but it would be a great chance to learn.




And a new hammock! Haha after all the work I'm sure I'll be tired.

 

That's the general idea. I'm 4 years in but there was a good bit of travel and a few injuries in the mix. I've worked out a lot of the learning curve and just want to speed this whole thing up. 




Much of the food produced here is given free of charge. I try to give particularly to people with financial struggles. Plants from this project have been given and occasionally sold to gardeners here and elsewhere. Once this food forest is established I intend to donate edible plants to the city, companies, and individuals. I''m sure I'll sell some of them too but I feel awareness will increase faster if most are gifts. When the project is complete I should be able to get 100 percent of my diet on site with plenty left over for feeding many others. Most my supply line needs will also be met in the garden. As is I already use papaya leaf stems for spoons and chopsticks and banana flower for bowls and sponges for everything people use those for. I also use the garden as a gym and sometimes install various obstacles to increase my balance among other things. I still plan to use some things, like a computer for example. Helps me link to the outside world and further my education.


I was hosting 2 guys from France and they started a signing wall at my place. I now have over 60 signatures by people who have come and seen what I'm doing and been inspired by it. By donating to my project you will have a part in creating a better tomorrow for a lot of folks. Thanks in advance!



If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.




Cheers to a better tomorrow!



Tarzan Yo is my jungle cat. .