Vision

To help transition Japan to a peace promoting post-carbon country while enjoying every step of the process.
僕のビジョンは、祖国日本で、平和文化を育みポストカーボン(Post-Carbon) 社会を促進してゆく事です。
化石燃料や原子力に頼らず、他国の資源を取らない、
自給自足な国へのトランジションを実現させてゆきたいです。

Showing posts with label Week in Review 週の記録. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week in Review 週の記録. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Back at the Bullocks 2012 part 2

ここ数日のブロックス・パーマカルチャー生活。
日本語休憩中。
ソーリー

Another few amazing days at the Bullocks.


The Bullocks crew making earthen plaster. A mix of clay subsoil, sand, horse manure, chopped straw, wheat paste, and fresh cow manure. What a fantastic material! All ingredients are biodegradable, cheap and easy to access here. Its also a fun non-toxic process that kids can join in. Plus, it's a great work out, especially for your legs and hips during the stomp-mixing process. Best to have pumping music (live band if possible), fresh fruits, water, and sun.


Sam and skill-builder Charlie examining a leaking kitchen faucet. 
It's important to investigate problems and figure out how to fix it.
Learn how to be the expert by doing.


The duck enclosure. 
This area is a duck, pear, mint, rhubarb guild.
Umbrellas for shade and a pond-like area is provided to keep our ducks comfortable.
Bullocks talk about how ducks have helped keep the slug population low in the garden.
They also lay very tasty eggs and are awesome creatures to observe.
Four of them were recently harvested and we had delicious Peking duck and slow cooked roasted duck.


Wine making with champaign yeast and fruits from the property.
They recently got a champaign corker to make some serious champaign.
No messing around


Afternoon light shining on the root and fruit celler.
The structure is made with ferro-cement, and the frame for the roof is made from two metal satellite dishes.
The structure is shaded with edible plants to keep temperature low.
Not only is this a space for storage, it is also a productive space.

 Permaculture principles: obtain a yield, small-scale intensive systems, staking functions, 
use biological resources, energy planning


Charlie putting flashing on the boat shed.
He's a great one to have around.
Electrician, builder, scavenger, magic card enthusiast. 
Very important permaculture qualities.


Yuriko creating a sub-saharan Africa themed coop for the keets.
Madrona branches sets the scene and serves as a roosting branches.


Cuuuuute!
In Japanese we say kawaiiiiiiiii (very common phrase)


The amazing green house.
Made from many scavenged materials, this is a great element for learning about energy,
staking functions, and redundancy.


In addition to sun and humans, heat is also generated by the wood-stove shower and sauna.
We made dehydration racks, for herbs and fruits, that are used in the sauna.
During harvest time, the Fall, the sun sets earlier, the day becomes cooler, and solar dehydration becomes more difficult.
But, as it cools, we take more saunas, so there is extra heat to use for dehydration.
Connecting needs and yields.


Marsh weeds have been used more extensively on the garden beds as mulch.
Fresh grass clippings are also popular, as it is said to add nitrogen to the soil, discourage snails and slugs, and decompose quickly. We also produce quick a bit of it.
Using onsite resources.


Onions drying next to the ping pong table,
with the aloha lodge in the background.
The alders dominate this area but they will be replaced by chestnuts (succession).


Freshly harvested onions drying in the sunset.


Tonga sneaking out of the bushes with hunting eyes.
He was carrying a vole in his mouth garnished with an oregano flower.
All creatures at the Bullocks seem to be foodies.

Now for the weekly family dinner!


We begin with various beautiful farm salads, 2~3 days young pickles, and pasta.
Behind is a blueberry plant wrapped to keep birds and maybe kids away.

Reminds me of Christo (below)

(downloaded from www.fotopedia.com)


eat your veggies


Zucchini (aka corgette), eggplant (aka aubergene), and shiitake from logs.
veggie love!
I think we grilled lamb too.


We also enjoyed this beautiful corn called hookers blue. 
While the kernals are white-yellow it is very juicy and sweet,
then as it turns purple it becomes more starchy.
This one was a delightful cocktail of both flavors.
The skill-builders like to eat it raw.


Spending the evening together around a fire.
Story time.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

May in Pictures Part 2

The Magical Marsh of May

The fine ladies trellising peas in the main garden

Preparing a hoop house for tomatoes in the main garden

mmm....baking bread.
I love the intimacy of kneading.
It fascinates me that this process is about managing an ecology,
creating the right environment for a living culture.

Siobhan wheel-barreling with style.
Michael is in the back peering into the depths of the woodchips
after spraying plants with some suspicious liquid.

Your average meeting.
Standing, sitting, stretching and yoga.
The Bullocks are not known for their ability to sit still.

Cute little fig babies

Nectarine....mmm.....

Wednesday (the duck) eating our compost.

Josta babies

Cherry flowers
What better place to have tea in the Spring than under cherry blossoms.
I like to do informal Japanese tea ceremonies,
with maccha tea and wagashi (Japanese tea snack that is usually mochi and azuki based).

Gooseberries
So tasty and plump.
I hope they will grow wherever I end up settling in Japan.

Pizza party
Remember, when you plan your permaculture dreamstead,
design in enticements like a woodfired pizza oven, solar boom box with rims (spinning kind is best), and pizza dough. And, if you want to take it to the next level, sauna or hottub.
I think it'd be pretty likely you'll get a good amount of willing volunteers if you had those things. Thats how you build a barn or something for cheap.

Post-breakfast 5 minute dance party,
following a group tooth brushing and flossing session.
Adele is on heavy rotation.

Main path in bloom.
I wonder what it does to you psychologically and physiologically when you walk on a path like this as opposed to a sidewalk along a busy road surrounded by concrete buildings and neon lights.
Thats one of my fears of Tokyo living.
I imagine that the landscape you are surrounded with has a profound impact on our lives.
Speaking of which......

Manufactured Landscapes
Sam recommended a documentary called Manufactured Landscapes and I just watched it. What a overwhelmingly disturbing and fascinating reality. I highly highly recommend it. It was mind blowing. How can we apply permaculture to these landscapes?
for more info on that http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/ (click on film)

Newly grafted tree nursery
This is a way to save space and allow the tree to size-up.
Its amazing that these strange-looking sticks with tacky rubber bands wrapped around them,
are going to be a fruit tree with tasty fruits we chose.

Pears...yum...

Strawberries
Man, what an awesome berry.

Nature's beauty
A madrone expressing its naked beauty.
They grow in very peculiar shapes.

Homemade fruit wine.
Its alive!!!!!!

What a trippy world we live in.
This is a ceanothus flower just as it starts to bloom.
Makes me want to give the little blossoms a kiss.

Sam presents the dense entry way planting.
He's pointing to the Italian Stone Pine which is a cold hardy pine nut producer,
to the right in the shadows is an Incense Cedar known for its fragrant wood
and the tall tree with spreading branches is an European Beech that also produces edible nuts.
The grayish cone shaped tree behind Sam's left hand is an Atlas Cedar, native to the Atlas mountains of Algeria. Most of these are large trees so perhaps a few of them will be removed at some point.

Here is a relatively young chinampa bank/path way.
Its quite springy and occasionally your foot might puncture through and dip into the marsh.
What a cool pattern and use of resources.

Our ferrocement water tank half full.
The roof is a new addition from last year.
Pretty heavy duty roof capable of a snow load. the post was custom welded by a welder on the island.
Pretty important to live close to skilled crafts people.
There most likely be a day when cheap Chinese products will no longer be available.
Then where will you get your tools, materials, and products?

Jane, Simon, and Siobhan working on the plumbing for the ferrocement tank.

When you call Dave, this is the other end.
Its a fun image of someone calling from the concrete jungle of some city,
to Dave standing in the midst of an edible forest garden.
I'm so glad I don't have a cell phone....but Tokyo (aka Babylon) awaits.

The attack of the tent caterpillars.
We removed them semi-swiftly.
Looks like a party up there.

The beautiful bachlor's button.

Onion loving.
Our onions this year are really struggling.
It seems like birds are picking them out,
weathers been cool, and probably other factors.
But we love onions so much!
Next door, are garlics which also had some problems,
and it seems like a significant amount has molded.
NooooooooooooO!
I need a distraction.....

Ooo, the Sizzling Bliss Rangers in action.
If you're lonely, and need someone to fix your hoop house,
why not hire these guys.
The Bliss Rangers can stack some functions, if you know what i mean.

Looks like a futuristic plastic farm operation.
Plastic tarp, plastic liquid receptacles fashioned into hot caps, and plastic drip tape.
Such a unfortunately useful product.
Imagine a world without plastic.......
That will be a challenging transition for the human race.

Three little squashlings in a rich pocket of soil surrounded by black plastic
for weed suppression and heat.

The main garden.
Isn't this what life is about.....a garden of joy.

Canoe meeting with Nico on the marsh.
Nico and I have done some co-facilitating/teaching this year and it has been amazing.
We are both really interested in teaching and exploring social permaculture.
I think here, we are doing positives and improvables from our last session.

Professional permaculture designers at work.
The green house also serves as an office,
in addition to sauna, wood-fired shower, winter kitchen, etc.

Preview for my nextish entry about the Village Building Convergence in Portland.
This Singing Alive event that we landed on at Tryon Farm was a beautiful experience.
What an enchanting event, younger and older people sharing songs and everyone singing along.
I hope to live in a community that sings and dances regularly.
It nourishes my soul.