I have no idea where to find a business that practices permaculture principles. Do you have any suggestions?
Some Permaculture systems can be installed by regular handypeople. However one of the most difficult area is in landscaping.
While you may have a great Permaculture plan getting a landscape company to not use their library of toxins is a difficult task. And even those that say they are environmentally friendly often use things like neem oil and other “organic” or “green” toxins that are incredibly bad for the environment. And because most homeowners _are_ interested in trying to be environmentally friendly there are quite a few businesses advertising green or environmental or natural or the like that are anything but. Snake oil salesman advertising turf removal who dump tons of toxic chemicals and then stick a few plants around that don’t have their tap roots 20 feet down and fill in the gaps with rocks. These landscapes then use just a hair less or in some cases more irrigation water then your grass did. Turf removal businesses that simply scatter gravel around your yard with a few plants actually promote the use of herbicides because of all the weeds coming up between the rocks. And all the rocks create a thermal heat well. Good idea in Southern California.
There are still several wonderful Permaculture businesses in San Diego and surrounding areas. Who can help you learn how to think about your property. And truly save water, resources, and the environment. Others, unfortunately have gone out of business because of the difficulty of operating in these trying economic times.
Diane Kennedy of Finch Frolic Garden in Fallbrook runs regular tours of her demonstration Garden. She does consultations, puts on an annual marketplace, and has gathered together some information at www.vegetariat.com/resources/
Alden and Ann Hough at Sky Mountain. Sky Mountain Institute is a nonprofit educational, research, and training center. They are in Escondido and regularly run programs on a variety of Permaculture methods www.skymountain.org
Both of the businesses above can help you generate a great plan.
And since 1994 almost 22 years at the date of this post. I have operated PuraVida Aquatic. There is no “s” on the end. I operate from San Diego to Los Angeles helping people enjoy non chemical water features, ponds, rain water catchment and chlorine free swimming pools. I also have a little blog where I gripe about _everything_ :-). www.PuraVidaAquatic.com
Marianne West who with a friend started a podcast and blog called the Sustainable Living Podcast
http://www.sustainablelivingpodcast.com/.
Marianne deserves an award for all the work that she has done for permaculture. I’m not sure that she would classify herself currently as a business but she is an incredibly valuable Permaculture resource.
Chris Meador
http://www.permasystems.org
Rain water catchment tanks.
Is Jacob Hatch still in business? Contact me
I am personally familiar with the people listed here. And the main reason I am familiar with these people is that they put more, and in some cases much more into permaculture than they take out. And isn’t that the core idea behind sustainability! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were putting more nutrients into our cropland then we are taking out. That should be part of the corn story
There are other organizations working with Permaculture concepts in this area that I am, unfortunately, not as familiar with. And I have not included local Permaculture farms.
If you have a Permaculture based business or farm in San Diego please, please, contact me www.puravidaaquatic.com/index.php/consulting/ and I would be happy to talk with you and understand more about what you do and possibly add you to this list.
I wish everyone an Alzheimer’s, autism, multiple sclerosis, ADHD, Parkinson’s, mad cow, etc., etc., _etc._, free world.
Bob