The Importance of Good Neighbors in a Permaculture Ecosystem
About two weeks ago we had around 10 people to our homestead to help with a very important task - the task of turning trees into woodchips!
Wood chipping Party at Mountain Jewel!
There never seem to be enough wood chips around the homestead. We use them for so many things- chief among them being mulch. With all of the trees we're planting (and putting cardboard and mulch down around to suppress weeds, retain moisture and encouraging microbes and mycelium), we need a lot of it!
ONE group with our huge woodchip pile made that day!
Permaculture has 3 guiding ethics: earth care, people care, fair share, which means spreading the surplus of our abundant earth.
We talk a lot about practical ways to implement permaculture, but the people care aspect and how we come together is equally as important.
That's why I was so happy to have the ONE - Ozark Neighborly Exchange - group come to our homestead with the wood chipper they procured through a local grant!
Tough Old Birds
One of the things that most impressed me about this gathering is that everyone was older than us - most by 25-40 years! We worked for 5 solid hours and this team didn't miss a beat! A lot of these "tough old birds" have been at this lifestyle for a long time and are very hard and strong workers. We were impressed! It's in drastic contrast with our aging culture that has the notion that once you've retired you're made for a life of relaxation or that once you grow old, you can't do anything anymore.
The importance of good neighbors cannot be overstressed.
Through it all, we need each other.
10 humans with 20 hands can get a lot more done than just Ini and I on the homestead. In fact, it was amazing to see what many hands making light work could do that day!
And it is about reciprocity. This group is a type of assurance that we'll be there for one another. Not only when times are rough, but for all the times. That we show up for one another, lend a hand and later sit down for a good bowl of soup. It's fun to work with others on a beautiful day!
Transforming Biomass
The field you see above is a very special place. When we first moved to our land, the soil here seemed lusher and more fertile than others. Early on we dubbed it "The Orchard" and it has always held a notable position in our visions. As many of you know, we procured a grant to plant fruit and nut trees and we are in year 3 of that planting.
We've planted 2.5 acres in the past 2 years and this year we are planting out The Orchard! We are also building a Straw Bale house this year within this space!
Needless to say, there is a hum in the air when we are over here. It slopes toward the creek and faces South / Soutwest so we get the best sunsets over here and it's generally a gorgeous lay of the land. Ini and I have been steadily clearing the land of scrub & brush and he cut down some large red oaks, cedars and 1 walnut (a tough decision to be sure!) as they were shading out too much of the area. The land is filled with persimmon and we'll be coppicing these and grafting asian and improved american varieties on them.
We'll also be planting Paw Paws, Gingko, Wild Plum, Chestnut, Lavender, Basketry Willow, Apples, Pears, Thornless Honey Locust, to name a few!
And to implement our vision, we need lots of wood chips! This machine was awesome in expediting the process! At Mountain Jewel, we don't have many machines and while we aren't opposed to them (they do have their place), we usually choose the slow and hand-held approach. In instances like this, however, a machine makes perfect sense.
The Day
The crew arrived around 10.30 AM and we watched a safety video for the chipper. We then positioned the chipper and got to work! Ini had already bucked up a lot of the large pieces and we dragged the tree tops and smaller branches to the loading site. 2 people stood to the side of the machine while Lisa, the badass farmer who procured this machine for the ONE group, womaned the machine and kept an eye out for anyone not following the safety rules!
Soon enough we were humming. Tom, the owner of the cool old truck, went off and brought truckloads of tops and branches from the farther reaching parts and kept us in a steady supply of wood. That machine chewed up wood for hours without fail! And it was beyond amazing to see all that biomass pile up on our homestead! We transformed the biomass and sped up the process of decomposition so it will be more readily available for our purposes.
Ini and I intermittently giggled with joy as we saw the pile grow! And I was sooooo impressed with how the group got along so well together. Age wasn't a thing and it was so nice to be humming as a part of a hive. By the end of the day, we had 1 ginormous pile (perhaps 3 tons worth of wood chips) and 2 smaller piles that stretched down the road.
The next day Ini and I started moving it around and putting it on some apple trees in The Orchard! We made quite a dent and it was such a celebration and testament to the power of good neighbors! We'll be sure to be at the next ONE work party.
To us, homesteading isn't about making our space in this big wide world and reaping the benefits by ourselves.
It is about creating a fruitful haven, a place many people can benefit from the abundance of the earth that we've set in motion and remember what is possible.
So often we humans live by a scarcity model where there isn't enough or we have to work most of our lives away paying for our survival. We want to live out a different model, one in which there is more than enough and it tastes really good & is full of beauty! We are 3.5 years into such a model and we're starting to reap fruits! What would all this abundance be good for if there weren't other people to share it with - the good and the bad, the hard work and relaxing days of fruition? We hope to teach, learn from and share life with many over the years!
In lieu of this, we're hosting an internship this summer, so come build and grow with us!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.ozarkmountainjewel.com/2019/03/26/the-importance-of-good-neighbors-in-a-permaculture-ecosystem/
That's a beautiful sight. We need one of them badass chipper here too. And what great folks to have around you!
Might try to find a group similar to ONE around here in OK.
such a beautiful sight!! I hope you can find a similar group! Best wishes :)
You don't need to have machines, all you need is access to machines, whenever you need them. And that way you'll have a good reason to throw a work-party. I mean, sure, you could also just invite people to have tea together, but creating something with others like in this event sounds so much more fun!
So much more fun yessss and so true what you say! Owning machines can be a headache- much better to borrow them :)
how wonderful @mountainjewel! We've been on the lookout for a used woodchipper for the same reason, mulch is always in high demand. I am so eager to see all of your plans progress - an exciting year!
mulch mulch mulch! never enough :) best wishes finding one! <3 an exciting year indeed, eeek, also a lot on the plate. one bite at a time!
This is a really nice thing, to have your community come together and help. I do love seeing the elders in the farming/homesteading communities set a strong, healthy tone for the younger generations! You are doing great!! Wow so busy with straw bale construction and planting an orchard :) Great work!!
yes, well put! thanks for your words of encouragement <3 <3 <3
I love it! What a blessing to have COMMUNITY! Mulch!! So much work done in such a small space of time. I bet that soup tasted amazing after a hard day of work. Your orchard looks so promising, so much will be happening in this year oxox
Community and mulch for the win! Xoxo can’t wait to have you over for some tasty juicy fruits and juice 🥰🥰🥰
What a heartwarming experience and account of it. I do miss the coming together of the community that we're somewhat isolated from here in suburbia. I've shared this post in the Homesteaders - Living Naturally, newsletter.
Posted using Partiko Android
yes, the coming together is so nourishing. i hope you can find something, even in the suburbs! thanks for sharing our post :)
You are so lucky to have this community around you. Sure wish we did here...
so so blessed indeed! glad we're finally making connections with some of these groups. i hope you can find some things near you <3
Yay woodchips and mulch! I love it in Spring when everything is fresh and new and you can get mulch and chips down before the weeds start. I always try to clear a new little area and start chipping/mulching it. We have 3 acres and it's mostly in a state of weed and bramble so I can only do a bit each year, but as a gardener, patience is a virture eh @mountainjewel Good luck and congrats on all the chips!
yes yes yes! slow and steady, that's the way :) i love how you're literally chipping away (heh!) at this section of your land! thanks, dear <3!
Congratulations @mountainjewel! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!
Thank you so much for participating in the Partiko Delegation Plan Round 1! We really appreciate your support! As part of the delegation benefits, we just gave you a 3.00% upvote! Together, let’s change the world!