Japanese Urban Permaculture Guidebook is published!!!!

本が遂にできました〜！！！

東京アーバンパーマカルチャーのブログに

今から詳細を書く予定。

FINALLY

Tokyo Urban Permaculture's first book is out!!!

!WoW!

This experiment in permaculture designing an urban permaculture book was an amazing success. The design challenge was how to make a Japanese urban permaculture book without actually writing it! And how to design a situation where people would share their gifts freely, and receive joy from it. This book was a way to put my experiences from permaculture, nonviolent communication, and gift economics to practice. I don't fully understand how it all happened but now there is an amazing book, crowd-sourced, crowd-funded, and exceptionally beautiful. A glorified zine!

Over 20 professional editors, writers, and illustrators were involved in this project, many who gifted their work, and about 380 people funded this project. It is a 400 person book project. And, while the book is self-published, my friends at MM books are leveraging their social capital to place our books at sympathetic (empathetic?) stores! Not only that, we are asking the stores to buy the books from us, meaning before its on the shelves, we've already sold them! I don't even know who is involved and doing what anymore. Its a project that keeps giving. And isn't that the world we want to live in? To plant seeds and harvest abundance? Thats the world I want to live in.

I hope this will revolutionize the Japanese permaculture movement, and transform the urban cultural landscape. The party continues....

PS If you want to learn about my ideas on gift economy and giftivism click here

PPS I'm doing an impromptu book release party in the Bay Area at the beginning of February 2015. I'm bringing about 15 copies.

(R)evolution

 Picture from my first book publishing party at a straw-bale temple

that will be one of the many examples for Japanese urban permaculture.

Here are some samples from the book.

*there are a total of 184 pages.....Wow!

Illustration by fellow Bullocks intern Paul Kearsley from Terra Phoenix Design

Below is what I wrote on 11/11/2014 in the midst of the crowd-funding campaign for my/our book. It gives some context about what this was all about. 

Hi all,
this is one of my most exciting projects that I have embarked on. A crowd-sourced, crowd-funded, gift economy style urban permaculture book. The main goal was to create a book through permaculture design about urban permaculture and cultural change. As co-existence revolutionary (my title in Japanese), I'm really trying to find ways to inspire people to live compassionately and creatively so that we can care for all beings. I want to present it attractively, I want it to be oozing with FUN, and I want people to know that its happening!!!

The chapters are EDIBLE, DIY, EDGE, GIFT, STOP. These are the hot topics of my work and what I see in the sphere of global activism. From guerrilla seed planting to burning man to meditation flash mobs. All the fun but deeply meaningful sprouts of hope that I see all over the world. I want to share it far and wide, and I'm starting with Japanese in urban contexts. Its such an untapped resource!

If you want to support me to make this book happen, we are currently trying to raise 2,000,000 yen, roughly $20,000, to self-publish. We reached our first goal of 1,500,000 yen a couple of weeks ago (woohoo!), but realized that the total cost is closer to 2,000,000 yen (thats why it says we are beyond 100% of our goal). Just a week left to go!!!

The crowd-funding site unfortunately has no easy way for non-Japanese contributions so if you want to support me, please send me a donation via paypal. If you would like to contribute to the  and receive a book, please send me $35+ and your address! I'll send it by mid-Febuary.

TOKYO URBAN PERMACULTURE BOOK PROJECT

-over 30 people involved, most are professional gifting their time and skills
-includes all the solutions that I'm spreading, permaculture, mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication, gift economy, and political activism
-conversations with leading activists in each of those fields in Japan
-we will self-publish with the support of crowd-funders to make this a people's project and keep the gifts flowing. 

Book Intro 

(the actual book is in Japanese)

This book is an invitation to change the world that we live in. It was not created to merely be a consumable product, but designed as a tool to inspire compassionate action.  I want you to join me, and the millions of people around the world, who are dedicating their lives to practicing compassion for all beings. Our goal is to co-create a future where all people and all life matters—a world that is ecologically sustainable, socially just, and spiritually fulfilling.  I want each reader to know that you are invited on this exciting adventure, and that your diverse gifts are essential for this movement of love to flourish. And, we’re going to have fun!

The following pages are a collection of “seeds” with an enormous amount of potential to grow. In order to unleash that potential, the seeds need to planted, the sprouts to be watered, and the fruits to be celebrated. It’s all experimental and if things don’t go exactly as expected, let’s harvest the learning! This process of cultivating our consciousness is at the heart of our (r)evolution.  

CROWDFUNDING FOR MY 
URBAN PERMACULTURE BOOK

official site for the crowd funding in Japanese
https://motion-gallery.net/projects/TUPcrowdfunding


*click above to see sample pages

GIFTS for support (aka perks)
500 yen : electronic updates

3000 yen : + The Book

5000 yen : + a special message thanks card

10,000 yen : + select seed pack and invitation to the publishing party (Jan 2015)!

30,000 yen : + your name in the book as honorary supporters

50,000 yen : + personal 1h workshop / consultation via Skype (permaculture, NVC, gift economy)

150,000 yen : + full workshop or presentation (*venue and transportation costs must be provided)
  and 5 recommended book set

300,000 yen : + Tomohiko Murakami's limited edition designer book case

漫画で読むマルクスの資本論

やっとマルクス関係の物を読むようになった。
昔から興味がちょっとあったものの、
勝手な固定観念があった上に、
読むのが苦手という言い訳で
今年まで何も知らなかった。

まだ、ちょっとしか読んでいないけど、
マルクスは鋭い！資本主義を上手に分析してる！
と思いながら実は文章の半分位は理解できていない僕。
もっと頭が良かったらな〜社会貢献が上手にきるのに。。。

現在はマルクス系社会学・地理学者のデヴィッドハーヴェイの
記事を読んでいる。地理学の分野では
世界で最も論文が引用されている人らしい。
彼の資本主義の批判には共感できる点が多いし、
youtubeに分かりやすい解説も載せている。


マルクス系を読み始めたのは東大の先輩で
マルクス系の地理学者である博士課程の学生と仲良くなったから。
彼がお勧めしてくれたものはハーヴェイ、グラムシ、
柄谷公人（東大卒）などと、難しそうな内容ばかり。
こういうの向いてないんだよな〜。
畑でシンプルに生命と幸せを育む方がずっと分かりやすい！
でも大学にいる事だし、社会を新しい観点から
理解して作戦を練るチャンスなのでがんばりたい。


という事で、読んでてもよく分からないから漫画を読む事にした。
因に、昔はドラゴンボールでさえ文字を読まずに絵だけを見てた。

以下はすっごく分かりやすくマルクス（とエンゲルズ）の
傑作「資本論」を漫画化したもの。
分かりやすくしすぎていて内容はぺらぺらだけど、
とりあえずマルクスの考えと資本主義入門としてはいいと思う。
すぐ読み終わるよ。
僕みたいな馬鹿でも頑張ればできるのじゃ！

以下はアマゾン（資本主義の勝者）より。

19世紀前後に起こった産業革命以後、工業化により商品の大量供給が可能になったが、貧富の差はますます広がり、人々の生活は豊かになるどころか苦しくなるばかり。労働者を酷使する生産過程の中で新たな価値を生み出す「搾取」のシステムが明らかになる…。資本主義社会に生涯をかけて立ち向かった革命家・マルクスの代表作を漫画化。

産業革命以降、さまざまな商品で溢れかえる現代社会。経済バランスが崩れることが予想されるとしても、なお利益を追求する資本主義社会が抱える矛盾とは?なぜ不況が起こるのか?なぜ失業者が増え、貧富の格差が広がるのか…?『資本論』第1部をベースにした『まんがで読破資本論』の続編として第2部・第3部を漫画化。

Natural Farming the Miracle Apple 奇跡の林檎

The two most well-known and revolutionary Japanese natural farmers alive today are probably Kazuichi Kawaguchi and Akinori Kimura. I've written a bit about Kazuichi in the past and hopefully I will write more soon, but this entry is about Akinori and his "Miracle Apples."

奇跡の林檎という本を読んだ事がありますか？

なければ是非読んでみてください。

とても感動的なお話で、

サステナビリティー革命のための大切なヒントが秘められていると思います。

不可能を可能にすること。

だれもが無理だと思う事に挑戦し、

どんどん実現させて生きましょう。

【不可能】とは想像力の欠如なのです。

みんなでやれば木村さんの様に

孤独に苦しむ必要もありません。

木村さんの努力と自然に感謝！

因にオノ・ヨーコさんが感動のあまり、

英語の翻訳を依頼して、

ネットに公開しています。

リンクは記事の一番下です。

Above is the bestseller book that introduced me to this amazing man.
Later, I watched a TV show that made him even more famous
and reignited the consciousness of the Japanese masses about chemical-free foods.
It is "common sense" that you can't grow fruits without chemicals in mainstream Japan.

Especially apples.

That's why its called the miracle apple.

I remember doing a presentation about natural farming at the PDC this year, and Doug Bullock having a hard time believing the apple story. Not an unusual response as the growing season in Japan is rainy and hot, which is an ideal environment for pests like bugs and fungi to flourish. From the book,

Research in Japan suggests that if pesticides are not used, apple yields decline by at least 90 per cent due to damage caused by pests....

[Apple trees are] subject to major damage which results in a reduction in yield to 10 per cent or less of annual average yield cannot produce blossom the following year. Without blossom, there will of course be no fruit. In other words, if pesticides are not used for two continuous years, the apple crop will almost certainly drop to zero. Unless pesticides are used, this situation cannot be turned around....

Attacks by huge swarms of destructive insects, diseases spreading like wildfire … the history of apple growing is also one of the futile battles against insects and disease. One ray of light illuminating the battlefield was pesticides. Had pesticides not been developed, apple growing would have disappeared in Aomori Prefecture ages ago. The idea of growing apples without pesticides is nothing but nonsense. All apple farmers are convinced of this. The question is, why was Kimura [not] taken in by it?

Whether it be Akinori or Masanobu Fukuoka, what strikes me is their relentless curiosity and exceptional observation skills. Deep observation seems to be the key element for succeeding in natural farming....and in any of life's tasks for that matter. Seeing reality for what it is.

Pests, diseases, and weeds are indicators of ecological balance and plant health. Instead of seeing these as "enemies" to fight against, we can appreciate them as information about our environment, and receive them as a challenging opportunity to look deeply into root causes. Same with people and their actions. If we really understand the unmet needs of ourselves and others, we can come up with better strategies to meet those needs.

A common experience that these natural farming pioneers went through is intense hardship. To be a farmer and have no harvest is devastating in itself. But to be ostracized by your community and at times threatened, in addition to shaming your family because they were attempting something new must have been excruciating.

Anyways, this book is very touching and entertaining, and the two Japanese women I lent it to cried while reading it. Very touching story. Its one man's quest to attempt the impossible, and is filled with interesting stories of Japanese culture, and even aliens!

Unfortunately, it's in Japanese.......

But, after reading the book on a flight from Japan to NYC, Yoko Ono was deeply moved. She had it translated and posted the text on the web for all to enjoy! Many thanks to Yoko, the original author, and of course Akinori, who almost commit suicide after six years of failing in his attempts and suffering immensely along with his family.

If there's a will, there's a way.

Here is the book in full
http://imaginepeace.com/miracleapples/

Insights from "Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update" 「成長の限界」（改訂新版）

　　　　　

A continuation from my last entry.

Below are sections from the Chapter "Tools for the Transition to Sustainability" in the book, Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update.

最近日本語をまた怠ってしまっています。

東京に帰ってきたから日本語頑張らなあかんな〜。

以下は2004年に出版された「成長の限界」の改訂新版からの引用です。

まず本の簡単なまとめをアマゾンより

【資源の消費と環境汚染によって、世界経済は限界に突き当たると指摘した「成長の限界」から30年余り。2作目の「限界を超えて」に続き、同じ著者がシリーズ3作目として記したのが本書だ．．．シリーズ3作はいずれも、コンピューター・モデルを使い、世界の発展に関する複数のシナリオを示しているが、本書は悲観的なシナリオが最も多い．．．資源を巡る衝突、廃棄物の問題など、昨今の世界事情・国内事情を考えれば、「地球の供給源と吸収源に関わるコストが増大し、成長に影響を及ぼす」という本書の指摘は、非常に説得力がある．．．著者は本書で「二一世紀に実際に何が起こるかという予測をするために本書を書いたのではない。二一世紀がどのように展開しうるか、一〇通りの絵を示しているのだ。そうすることで、読者が学び、振り返り、自分自身の選択をしてほしい、と願っている」と述べています。】

社会をシステムとして見て、

どうシステムを巧妙に変えられるかを考えてみよう！

　　Firstly…information is the key to transformation. That does not necessarily mean more information…It means relevant, compelling, select, powerful, timely, accurate information flowing in new ways to new recipients, carrying new content, suggesting new rules and goals. When its infomation flows are changed, any system will behave differently.

社会改革を起こす為に必要なのは【情報】です。

しかし、ただ情報量を増やすのではなく、適切で、説得力があり、

選び出された強力でタイムリーで正確な情報が

必要だと著者は主張しています。

新しい形で新しいオーディエンスにこの情報が流れなければ行けません。

情報の流れが変われば

システムの動きが変わります。

　　Secondly, systems strongly resist changes in their infomation flows, especially in their rules and goals. It is not surprising that those who benefit from the current system actively oppose such revision. Entrenched political, economic, and religious cliques can constrain almost entirely the attempts of an individual or small group to operate by different rules or to attain goals different from those sanctioned by the system. Innovators can be ignored, marginalised, ridiculed, denied promotions or resources or public voices... they can be literally or figuratively snuffed out.

システムというものは情報の流れの変化に抵抗します。

特にルールや目的への変化。

現在のシステムで有利な人達（強力な政治、経済、宗教関係者の派閥など）は変化を妨げます。

革新者は無視されたり、過小評価されたり、馬鹿にされたり、

昇格や資源や自由に考えを表明する事を拒まれるのです。

社会から消されたりもします。

　　Only innovators, however - by perceiving the need for new info, rules, and goals, communicating about them, and trying them out - can make the changes that transform systems…Margret Mead, "Never deny the power of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed that is the only thing that ever has."

しかし、現代に必要な新しい情報、ルール、ゴールに気付いた革新者達が

情報を広め、実践する事によりシステムを変える事ができるのです。

ミード・マーガレット氏はこういいました、「人数が少ないからといって世界を変える力はないと侮ってはいけません。世界を変えてきたのはまさしく少数の力なのです。」

　　We have learned the hard way that it is difficult to live a life of material moderation within a system that expects, exhorts, and rewards consumption...

私たちは、消費を期待し、勧告し、報酬するシステムの中で、

物質的な節度を実践する難しさを身をもって学なんできました。

　　Above all, it is difficult to put forth new info in a system that is structured to hear only old info. Just try, sometime, to question in public the value of more growth, or even to make a distinction between growth and development, and you will see what we mean. It takes courage and clarity to challenge an established system. But it can be done.

何よりも、今までと同じ情報しか受け入れないシステムに

新しい情報を提示するのは難しいのです。

確立したシステムに立ち向かうためには、

勇気と精神的な明晰さが必要です。

しかし、やればできます。

At the very end of the book they explain the following essential tools for the revolution: visioning, networking, truth-telling, learning, and loving.

When I read systems science literature, I keep thinking about how much change could happen if we had the same determination, resources, and commitment to sustainability as marketers have to selling us unnecessary stuff (aka thneeds), or those who worked tirelessly to manifest the second Iraq invasion in 2003 (the neo-conservatives?). Those guys must work hard and effectively to achieve their goals. Very impressive...and disastrously tragic.

Time to plant more weeds of peace and happiness.

本の最後に革命に必要な【道具】について説明があります。

それらは：ビジョンニング、ネットワーキング、真実を語る事、学ぶ事

そして愛する事。

*copied from http://www.flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/4460258790/ on 8.24.11

PDC library パーマカルチャーミニ図書館

This is the 3rd (final) week of the permaculture design course,

and its been a bewildering amount of information.

Above is the mini-library that Dave sets up every year.

A wealth of knowledge.

You can see what kinds of books are stocked for the course by

clicking the picture to see an enlarged image.

Where will you get your info if (when) the internet goes down?

今はパーマカルチャー・デザイン・コースの三週間目です。

とてつもない情報量が朝の９時から夜の１０時頃まで週六日放射されます。

上はコースの為に選ばれたパーマカルチャー関係の本です。

コース中に良くレファレンスされる本は：

Permaculture Designer's Manual　パーマカルチャー・デザインナーズ・マニュアル

Introduction to Permaculture 　パーマカルチャー農的暮らしの永久デザイン

Edible Forest Gardens 1 & 2 　食べ物の森ガーデン　１と２

Gaia's Garden　ガイアのガーデン

（ブロックスの友達トビーが書いた郊外パーマカルチャー作法の本）

A Pattern Language パターン言語

等など．．．

Flower: Patterns of Nature お花：自然のデザイン

Grafting 接ぎ木

*いつものごとく日本語訳は少々お待ちください。

Have you heard of grafting?

Do you know how to graft?

If you don't, this is an invitation to check it out.

Its so easy and enables you to do so much with fruit, nut, and all kinds of trees.

Imagine you have a volunteer tree in your backyard, and you want it to have fruits. You just might be able to transform it into a fruit producing tree. Even trees along roads in the city might be graft opportunities, like ornamental plum trees. Imagine that, walking back home on a hot summer day and picking a ripe juicy plum off a tree along the sidewalk (don't think about the car exhaust and other pollution, its irrelevant to my point). Fresh local free. Or buying an apple tree and grafting 3 more varieties on, so that you have different flavoured apples that ripen at different months for a longer harvest season. Maybe you don't like the variety you bought and want to replace it with a tastier fruit, you can do that!

You can even graft between certain species!

Yes you can!

Getting ready for a serious grafting session.

The foreground are potted rootstock and on the table are bunches of scion wood.

Since we have so many varieties to graft and we have so many grafters,we need a system to keep track of what we graft and how many.

A few people keep assign and keep track of the grafting,while the grafters perform plant surgery for several hours straight.

Productive and organised permies (not always the case).

The grafters hard at work.

We used a series of potted and bareroot plants as rootstock.

A few practiced on freshly pruned fruit tree wood.

If you are going to do a bunch,

having a good setup is crucial.

Since its easy to mix things up,

the rule is once you are done with any plant material,

throw it on the ground.

Here is the list of scion wood we have.

Varieties of European and Asian plums and pears, cherry, peach, apple, shipova, and seabuckthorn.

The potentials are so exciting!

What varieties does your mouth crave?

Conference pear, hosui asian pear, hakutou Japanese juicy white tender peach

are some of my favorite fruit.

I recommend checking out a fruit tree catalogue and reading the descriptions.

Its arousing and addictive.

Check out the Raintree catalogue for starters: http://www.raintreenursery.com/RT_2011.pdf

The set up:

Snips, double blade grafting knife, alcohol to sanitise tools,

rubber band to tighten rootstock-scion wood bond,

and grafting wax (we use bee's wax mixed with lin seed oil).

The pot contains the rootstock with the top snipped off for my cleft graft.

At the top center is the omega grafter.

I've never used it but its an easy way to graft,

and it looks really cool too.

I prefer the grafting knife though,

seems more reliable and flexible.

The left is the rootstock (see the roots) and the right is the scion wood.

Above the blade is where I grafted the scion wood onto the rootstock.

Doesn't it look like one piece?

Thats the idea.

Well, actually what's important is the cambium to cambium connection,

not necessarily trying to make it look like one piece.

Here Timbah is brushing bee's wax onto the graft union and any fresh cuts.

He top grafted pear onto a volunteer hawthorn.

What an awesome opportunity to graft onto something that has established roots in the soil.

The hawthorn, with its long spikes and tendency to bush out, is capable of keeping deer from munching the pear leaves.

There are a lot of resources for grafting which is why I didn't explain much about it.

A fellow bliss ranger James has a youtube up on how to graft:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hkMlx-1yWY

*I recommend not using the ACE can of funkiness and instead using natural stuff

Here's a bark graft demo by a professional for nectarines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTtXmBVsolY

At the end he tells you that its illegal to graft patented varieties if you have no license.

What a trippy world we live in.

Books that I've seen in our library, and that have been recommended by our teachers:

1.American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques (1999)

2.The Grafter's Handbook (2003)

The Energy Tour

Energy. So much of life is about energy.........from electricity, fossil fuels, heat, food, hybrid, to vibrations, Qi, exercise, ecstasy, good health, etc. Its one of those things that we use a lot of without really knowing what it is, where it comes from, and what happens to it.

What is energy for you?
How do you engage with "energy"?
When you design for energy, what are key considerations?

I like the approach taken by my Tai Chi teacher in England. As we flow through the movements he questioned us, "what can we do less of?" We would explore how we can use less energy to do the same moves. Similarly in tea ceremony practice, the movements are about beauty and efficiency with as little waste as possible. Then there is aikido where I learned about how to redirect violent energy toward a constructive compassionate direction. I think these are important lessons for me, as I bring awareness of my daily movements and how I design my physical environment.

Below are some pictures and simple explanations from the energy tour that Doug and Sam Bullock ran during the PDC. I did not include our solar showers and various PV systems in this entry. Enjoy:)

The energy tour started with our beloved solar (boom) cart. I think this was a previous Pc (permaculture) Design Course project to give participants a basic understanding of the home solar electrical system. Free energy is captured on the solar panels and flows through a charge controller, volts/amps meter, a car-battery that runs a car stereo and speakers. All you need to do is plug your mp3 player or computer and bump that music.

We use the boom cart when we work in the gardens, in the kitchen, in the Aloha lodge for dance parties and movie nights. We are hoping to make a smaller and lighter version.....what else can we stack onto a solar boom cart? Maybe a mini fridge with beers and ice-cream? Switch that into a tea-water boiler for the winter. And some moving laser lights for late-nite dance parties.

Next on the tour is the solar dehydrator made of an old fridge painted black with a home-made solar heat collector. Air is sucked into the solar heat collector through vents on the bottom, then heated in a box painted black with a sealed glass lid. The hot air continues to rise to the bottom of the fridge unit and moves up until it exits through the chimney. It is essential to have the solar heat collector to be lower than the dehydrator in this type of design. There is a lot of resources online for you.

Our greenhouse is an excellent space for examples of energy use. Heat is an essential element in a green house and winter is the challenge/design opportunity in the Pacific North West. The gravel on the floor of the greenhouse acts as thermal mass that will absorb heat when the sun is out and radiate heat as the greenhouse cools. For the winter, we move our kitchen back into the greenhouse, so we are able to generate heat from our bodies, propane stove, and on-demand water heater for the sink. The sauna annexed to the greenhouse and the rocket stove water heater Doug is standing next to (for heating shower water), both release quite a bit of heat into the greenhouse. We are also making dehydrator racks for the sauna, so in the Fall when we have abundance of produce and much desire for the sauna, we can sauna then with the excess heat dry food.

The rocket stove above consists of two cylinders with water between (aka water jacket). The black color helps to heat water when the sun is out too. The silver object to the top left of the rocket stove is a hot water tank (with silver bubble wrap insulation). Its critical to locate the hot water tank above the rocket stove for the thermosiphon to work effectively.

Here is a brief description of rocket stoves,
"a rocket stove achieves efficient combustion of the fuel at a high temperature by ensuring that there is a good air draft into the fire, controlled use of fuel, complete combustion of volatiles, and efficient use of the resultant heat. It has been used for cooking purposes in many third-world locales (notably Rwandan refugee camps) as well as for space and water heating." (wikipedia) See below for a cob rocket stove for cooking.


Here is a demonstration of a thermosiphon, "a method of passive heat exchange based on natural convection which circulates liquid without the necessity of a mechanical pump." (wikipedia). The sun heats the water inside the black pipe (not covered by the tarp) that then flows into the top of the water tank as cool water exits the bottom of the water tank and travels down the slope to heat and recirculate. This is the mechanism for our 3 passive solar heated showers, rocket stove water heater, and solar dehydrator.

Think about how much these simple systems can save you on energy bills, and more importantly our consumption of fossil fuels that keep us dependent on some of the worst human rights abusing democracy-subverting organizations of the world.....energy corporations. Particularly the 6 oil supermajors: ExxonMobil (US), Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands/UK), BP (UK), Chevron Corp.(US), Total SA (France), ConocoPhillips (US).

Large-scale energy independence is not only an essential step to restoring our life support system (the ecosystem), it would also be a great leap for building true democracy in a political system that continues to be manipulated by financially and politically wealthy corporations.

Yeah, thermosiphoning passive solar water heaters for democracy!
.......anybody?

One of the books that heavily influenced my perspective and direction in life is "The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies" by Richard Heinberg. He writes very simply but with extensive research on extremely pertinent issues related to energy and ecology. From understanding the basics of what energy is, what electricity is, what the laws of thermodynamics are and why they matter in our everyday life, to how our energy use and production has evolved through human history. I really enjoyed his brief exploration of Western history looking at the rise and fall of empires through the lens of energy. He also does a sobering examination of alternative energies in context of our modern society and industry attempts to maintain control through centralized systems. It makes so much sense that by consuming less energy we would solve so many problems that plague us today, but then again consuming substantially less in a consumer culture is a big leap for many.

Energy independence is a revolutionary act.

Here's a demo of how much electricity this set of PV panels are producing. There are several sets of PV systems on the homestead that either keep our water pumps going or run our electricity demanding appliances, power tools, and charge batteries . I might go more in depth of the PV systems later but my understanding right now is quite basic.

For anybody wanting a project to learn about PV systems, you might start with an all DC solar music unit.

BONUS: a few more energy related technologies we use.

Cob rocket stove made from clay harvested from the site. Cob is basically a mix of clay, sand, straw, and water. We have 2 rockets stoves, a pizza/bread oven, and a bath shell made of cob on-site. Rocket stoves are easy to make, materials are cheap or free, you can use small-diameter fuel (e.g. twigs and wood scraps), and it produces efficient concentrated heat. There are lots of variations of this and its up to your imagination what you can do. For example, http://small-scale.net/yearofmud/2009/04/27/building-a-rocket-stove-part-2-cob-bed-and-bench/

The hay (Yeah!) box. This is an amazing technology that can be easily made. Its basically an insulated box that utilizes the heat of the food that is being cooked to continue the cooking process. Like grains and beans. Just bring to a boil and throw it in the box overnight and if you did it right, you will have hot cooked food by morning. We also make yogurt in the hay box.

This one looks like a plywood shell, a cardboard inner box, with random pieces of wool stuffed in between. The lid (top left) is heavy and is probably insulated in a similar fashion. We stuff an old wool sweater around the pot or yogurt jars and put a cotton cushion on top before closing the lid. The more insulation the longer the heat will be retained. As an added bonus, pressure cookers can also save energy by cooking food much faster.

More about energy in the future. On a final note for today, it is important to be aware of embodied energy, the energy consumed to produce, transport the product, and the energy costs to retire them. Basically accounting for energy needed for the entire life cycle of a product.

E=MC2