Welcome to our family’s little corner of the World Wide Web.
Our website is essentially a story of a family in transition, using a design concept called Permaculture. A design pattern that encourages us to work with nature rather than against it and ourselves.
In our Blog
Permaculture will be a common thread in all articles. Here we will share our life experiences around family, animal husbandry, building resiliency, both personal and community, and garden trials and tribulations. Also look forward to articles on foraging, gardening, self-sufficiency, art, music, and craft. As we share our examples (good and bad) as we lovingly work to create “A nice place to live.” (Bill Mollison, when asked to describe Permaculture to children.)
We will also feature articles that celebrate the bits of our place, the “Flint River Watershed,” that spark our interests. Featuring the good works of people doing the hard work of building that “Nice Place to Live.” As well as most likely… but less often, some opinion articles, in which I vent my frustrations observing the socio-political status quo. These frustrations are often a pot stirred Permaculture thinking. Lastly, but most importantly, we aim to introduce our readers to the concept of Permaculture.
We hope our thoughts will inspire our readers to “Be the change they want to see in the world” and to discover insights, pathways, and patterns that support positive, regenerative creation.
Our Storefront- A Retrofit!
Our storefront will never include items for worldwide shipment. The internet surely doesn’t need another one of those! All items will be available only for local pickup and will focus on the needs of our local community. It is not my interest to earn the kind of currency that e-commerce platforms were designed to collect. But perhaps we can identify other ways use this tool to create value and reciprocity? Storing that capital in our neighborhoods and building local resilience. There is a bit of “Inlightened Self Interest” (David Holmgren) in building a strong, resilient community.
Using our storefront software in a different way than others.
It will host in-season produce if we are blessed, and live plants- the excesses of our production.
Our waste streams- stuff we don’t have use for, or things sitting around that could be borrowed, not for trade in dollars and cents, (I earn my fiat in a factory!) But for alternative capital, real currency.
- Social
- Time
- Plants
- Trades in valuable organic waste streams or useful hard items needed to enable my work (One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!)
- Experience and Knowledge
This list goes on, but the exchanges will never be quantifiable in dollars. And the reciprocity compounds without a need for a 401k
These transactions can only be made with interaction that is greater than a simple exchange of dollar bills.
So why did I install an e-commerce platform on my website in the first place if I’m not looking for conventional trade?
When we added the feature, its primary function was to find homes for collectibles, beer steins, collectible dolls, and odd knick-knacks. “The Stange Collection” that came to us through an estate. We wanted to find homes for these things with people who valued them as our parents did.
But to no avail, and we still have them. The content has been removed from the site because it received little attention.
I don’t know what I will do with all this stuff next, probably create with it. In the meantime, contact me if you are looking for these unique items. And there is much more to dig out.
Function Stacking on a Single-Use Product! “The eCommers Store Software”
Tinkering around with the software, attempting to sell the Stange Collection, and failing. I realized I had a powerful tool underutilized in my online garden. It was time to do a “Needs and Values Assessment.” What does it need? What do I need? What values does it have, and with some creative thought, can it be useful in my site plan? How do I make this NOT another piece of pollution in my digital waste stream?
The conclusion of that line of thinking was Advertising.
A kind of advertising that builds a garden of People and their entrepreneurial works. Locally focused and filled with perennials that serve valuable services in a thriving ecosystem. People who guide their work with ethical standards above the quality of merchandise, service, and the bottom line.
“Local Billboards” is an attempt to do that.
Using the software utility for something beyond selling a cheap little trinket shipped from unknown places. The goal is to connect Ethical Producers (and themselves) directly with Ethical Consumers who value ethically produced goods and services.
The software’s integration features make these “ads” visible across the website. Enable community feedback and discussion on a more intimate scale than popular social media platforms. As well as providing some integration, both automatic and intentional, through those same popular social media platforms to bring visitors here who have similar interests and values to our site, and grow more connections.
Our Billboards have been growing steadily, and we are looking for more people and businesses to partner with.
If you are here and feel there is value in this idea, I would love to begin the conversation.
“An attempt to build a good place to live”
Bill Mollison, when asked to describe Permaculture to a child
Blog posts about our website