Full disclosure. This Pondering Permie is a sales pitch. There. I said it.
It is also a Pondering Permie about whether a sales pitch can actually be permaculture.
So, you know, we're off to a perfectly normal start.
A few weeks ago, at our first South Shore Permaculture Book Club, one of our PDC alumni said something that has stayed with me.
When he signed up for the Permaculture Design Course, he thought permaculture was mostly about planting and gardening.
Much to his delight and surprise, he discovered it was so much more.
I smiled when he said it.
Because I think a whole great big bunch of us come to permaculture that way.
We want to grow some vegetables. Maybe plant some fruit trees.
Build healthier soil. Capture some rainwater. Get rid of some lawn.
And yes, permaculture can help us do all of those things.
But then something happens. We start learning to see differently.
It Was Never Just About the Garden
Permaculture teaches us to observe before we act.
To look for relationships.
To notice where energy comes from, where it goes, and where it gets lost.
To recognize waste as a resource in the wrong place.
To value diversity.
To work with natural patterns instead of constantly fighting against them.
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To ask whether the solution to one problem might accidentally create three more.
Those are pretty useful ideas in a garden.
Turns out they're pretty useful everywhere else, too.
Homes. Businesses. Communities. Relationships. Food systems. Energy systems.
Our use of time.
Even the way we decide what we buy.
Which brings me back to this sales pitch.
How Would Permaculture Sell Something?
Most marketing begins with a fairly simple question: How do we get someone to buy this?
But I'm not sure that's the question permaculture would ask.
Permaculture might ask: What does this person actually need?
Is what we're offering useful? Can this exchange benefit everyone involved?
Can we create a relationship before asking for a transaction?
Can we offer something valuable even if the person never buys anything?
Can we invite rather than convince? That's a very different way of thinking about sales.
It also feels much more like us.
I don't want to convince anyone that they need a Permaculture Design Course.
I would much rather show you what we've discovered, tell you what we're doing, invite you into the community and let you decide whether it belongs in the ecology of your life.
Maybe that's permaculture marketing.
The PDC Has Changed Us, Too
Our Permaculture Design Course continues to evolve.
Of course, we teach the foundations of permaculture design.
Students learn about soil, water, plants, food systems, patterns, site analysis, ecological design and the practical skills that help us create more resilient landscapes.
But increasingly, I think something else is happening. We're not simply teaching permaculture.
We're creating the conditions where people can discover it together.
Students bring their own knowledge, experiences, questions and ways of seeing the world.
Teachers bring theirs. Alumni come back. Friendships form. Ideas cross-pollinate.
Someone asks a question nobody expected. Someone else sees a connection we missed.
And slowly, what began as a course starts becoming a community. That matters to me. A lot.
Because permaculture isn't something we practice alone on our own little islands of land.
Earth Care. People Care. Fair Share. They're relationships. And relationships require other people.
Fall Is a Beginning, Too
October is an interesting time to begin talking about next year's PDC.
The gardens are slowing down. Leaves are falling. Annual plants are completing their cycles.
From one perspective, everything looks like it's ending.
But walk into a forest and look a little closer. Nothing is being wasted. Leaves become soil.
Plants become organic matter. Seeds wait. Nutrients move.
Energy changes form.
Next year's garden is already being created from what appears to be the ending of this year's.
Maybe that's why fall feels like the right time to begin gathering another group of students.
The growing season is winding down. The learning season is beginning.
So Yes, This Is a Sales Pitch
Did I forget to mention, forget to mention…
We're enrolling for the next South Shore Permaculture Design Course.
There it is.
But here's what I hope we've done before asking you to consider joining us: Given you something useful.
Maybe the next time an advertisement tries to convince you that something is missing from your life, you'll stop and ask whether that's actually true.
Maybe you'll think differently about what an exchange can be.
Maybe you'll notice where energy is flowing in your home, your garden or your community.
Maybe you'll simply look at those leaves piling up in your yard and realize you're standing beside next year's soil.
And maybe you've been curious about permaculture because you'd like to grow better vegetables.
Perfect.
That's a wonderful reason to begin.
Just don't be too surprised if somewhere along the way you discover that permaculture is about a whole great big bunch more than gardening.
Our alumnus did.
I did too.
And honestly, I think South Shore Permaculture is still discovering just how far these ideas can take us.
Because maybe the garden isn't only what we plant.
Maybe the garden is what we create between us.
With gratitude,
Todd
South Shore Permaculture
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