Permaculture Design Course (Living Mandala)

Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Living Mandala, Permaculture, Social Enterprise and Leadership Program: 7 Stages to Sustainability Permaculture Design Course

Kat Steele (Esalen, Urban Permaculture Guild)

Living Mandala -- in conjunction with Empowerment WORKS and a host of community leaders, social entrepreneurs, visionary organizations, and amazing educators -- presents a groundbreaking 7 Stages to Sustainability Permaculture Design Course starting in less than a week!

 

Of all the more than 100 courses, workshops, and events Living Mandala has co-produced over the last six years, this one is going to be exciting.

Looking for an exceptional, manageable, affordable, and accessible PDC? This is an amazing program to support getting projects, social enterprises, and long term goals off the ground from Vision to Impact. It is an amazing opportunity! See more at livingmandala.com/7SS

UPCOMING

7 Stages to Sustainability (7SS)
Permaculture Design Course:

Permaculture for International Sustainable Development and Social Entrepreneurship 

4 Modules, 13 Days

March  27-May 18, 2014
MA Center /GreenFriends Farm, Castro Valley, California

Regenerative Leadership: From Igniting Our Purpose to Cross-Sector Co-Creation
March 27-30, 2014
MA Center /GreenFriends Farm, Castro Valley, California

Ecological Design in Action: Appropriate Technology, Measurable Impact and What it Takes

April 10-13, 2014
MA Center /GreenFriends Farm, Castro Valley, California

Social Enterprise for Synergistic Partnerships and Resilient Communities: From Harvest to Market to Reinvesting the Surplus
May 1-4, 2014
MA Center /GreenFriends Farm, Castro Valley, California

The Soil Food Web Intensive, March 2014 (livingmandala.com)

How to eat well for $50 a year (video)

Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Lisa Cianci (crossbullranch.com)

This year the annual and sometimes biannual Conscious Life Expo began a "permaculture" (permanent agriculture utilizing natural, ecological, sustainable design principles and methods) lounge running concurrently with the expo along with a growing selection of Spanish language events. 

Just before the Institute of Urban Ecology's Rishi Kumar and the L.A. Arboretum's Albert Chang presented their topics, Lisa Cianci demonstrated how everyone in the USA can eat for a year for a mere $50 worth of ingredients. How is it possible? Sprouted legumes (bean seeds) and grains!

Lisa Cianci

Sprouting does not require soil or even light! All it takes is the right combination and cycling of air, water, and moisture. Then in 3-5 days we will have a bountiful harvest of nutrient dense, vitally charged, homegrown organic produce. After adding an inch of seed stock into glass jars, in a few days they will be growing out of the top! How's that for a green thumb? By sprouting grains, seeds, nuts, and beans before cooking, we are increasing their biomass (volume) up to 10 times, and the bio-availability (nutrient absorption potential) is rising up to 500%. Since the sprouting process naturally hydrates and softens them, they cook much more quickly and thoroughly. A pot of "sprout soup" is ready to eat in an amazing 10 minutes of boiling! Beyond the time savings, the real cost savings comes in when organic seed stock are bought in bulk. A 25 to 50 pound bag means big savings. There are local bulk suppliers so as to cut out the middleman. It also trains us to take responsibility for our family's food security. This way we will always have emergency back up food supplies at home.

Distribute the seeds in a sack, sprout them at home in glass jars with linen cloth, and prepare a digestible and delicious soup in addition to greens and whatever else one wishes. Sprouting is the secret, since it changes the chemistry, nutritive value, and digestibility with much higher enzyme levels. Cianci runs Cross Bull Ranch -- a private retreat, international healing center, and permaculture eco-village nestled in a sacred ancient oak grove in Topanga Canyon, California, above Malibu.
 

It hosts a variety of private healing, educational, family, organizational, and corporate events on the land. Check out the Event Calendar to see what's coming up next! Or book an event at the ranch by filling out the booking contact form. Or for any other inquiries, contact them!

Nepal: pregnant, working the fields (video)

Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Sonia Narang, The Ninth Month,  PRI's The World,  Feb. 23, 2014

Machermo Range reflected in Dudh Pokhari, Gokyo, Himalayas, Nepal (peterwestcarey/flickr)

VIDEO: She's seven months pregnant -- and still working in the fields in Nepal

 

Second most sacred peak (Amazing Nepal)

Januka Rasaeli lives in a rural village in officially Hindu (ethnically Buddhist) Nepal, where women do strenuous chores all day long (as in neighboring India and throughout much of Asia). Heavily pregnant, she worries her work will put her baby at risk. In recent years, Nepal has made a big push to improve the health of pregnant women, and the country has seen a drop in the number of women dying during childbirth. Yet, expectant mothers often do backbreaking work that can harm their health and that of their unborn children. As she toils all day, Januka Rasaeli, 28, shares her hopes and fears. VIDEO

Farming and tending animals in unspoiled, rural Nepal, which has five climactic zones.

Ordinary alcohol works like gas (petrol)

Wisdom Quarterly; David Blume (alcoholcanbeagas.org)

Running cars on alcohol is better than hydrogen or non-solar electricity (ACBAG)

 

Anyone can become energy independent with alcohol fuel. Reverse global warming. Survive the end of Peak Oil. Alcohol fuel is "liquid sunshine" not controlled by trans-national corporations.
 
Anyone can produce alcohol for less than $1.00 (1 USD) a gallon using a variety of plants and waste products from algae to stale donuts. It is a much better and cleaner fuel than gasoline.

Motors were invented before gasoline (petrol) was, originally using alcohol. That is what car engines were invented to use. It can go into cars right now! No adjustments or modifications are needed. But Big Oil has scare tactics and powerful lobbyists.

Alcohol can also generate electricity. Alcohol burns so cleanly that, by law, gasoline must be added before using it in cars. It must be denatured so that people will not drink it. Brazil already uses it widely in as high as a 90% mixture. Ethanol would be added in the US, but the petrochemical industry worries about how that would affect its bottom line.

Alcohol fuel production is ecologically sustainable, revitalizes farms and communities, and creates huge new opportunities for small-scale businesses. Its byproducts are clean and valuable. Alcohol has a proud history and a vital future.  Learn more with the 5-minute video "Alcohol Fuel Overview," or view the Two-Minute Summary, and see the Alcohol Can Be a Gas! book and DVD.