Regenerative Skills

How to build and plan a profitable permaculture farm with Shad Qudsi of Aititlan Organics

I first met Shad Qudsi when I assisted on a natural building workshop with Liz Johndrow in November of 2016. Shad's farm "Atitlan Organics" hosted the workshop in which we built a new kitchen area for the farm. Since then he and I have worked on a few projects together and he continues to be a wealth of knowledge and experience, not only about permaculture, but about the local culture here in Guatemala and about regenerative business advice as well. Shad is originally from New Jersey, but resettled in Tzununa on Lake Atitlan nearly a decade ago with his wife. Together they run one of the most diverse and abundant permaculture farms I've ever visited as well as the "bambu hotel," an incredible example of bamboo framing and bajareke walls built by Charlie Rendall (one of my natural building mentors). In this interview Shad shares his unique insights about initial steps in developing a permaculture farm, how to grow a complete diet, why he disagrees with the modern environmental movement, and much more. As promised in the intro, there's also a bonus audio here in the "resources" section in which Shad gives invaluable business advice on how to manage multiple operations in a regenerative business, so don't forget to check that out.  
As always, these episodes are meant to be a dialogue and conversation starter more than a lecture series. Especially in these early days of getting the podcast up and running I really appreciate feedback, comments, ideas, whatever. You can even e-mail me directly at info(at)abundantedge.com. I want to hear from you! If you enjoyed this episode please share it with your friends or others who you think might benefit from the information and insights in these episodes. I'm looking forward to making these as useful and informative for everyone looking to make the world and our environment a better place.
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaQhzvfsGGDZvs4ufEZmJmw This is the link to the youtube channel for Atitlan Organics. Here you'll find a ton of entertaining and educational videos about permaculture and farm skills. 

How to save huge on your heating costs and other innovative experiments with Paul Wheaton of “Permies” and “Richsoil.com:” 003

Paul Wheaton is easily one of the biggest personalities and voices in the permaculture world today with his sites Permies and Richsoil attracting thousands of visitors daily to the articles and forums. Paul has made waves in the past with his controversial opinions and advice on energy saving methods and techniques for growing a permaculture business. In this marathon interview he goes in depth about his most important experiments, defends his positions on incandescent light bulbs, shares stories from meeting Sepp Holzer and much much more. 
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_7I-hgtQo4 This is a link for Paul's TED Talk all about ways to save energy in heating your home and busting the myth of florescent light bulbs
https://richsoil.com/wood-heat.jsp This is the link to Paul's DVD series on how to build a rocket mass heater

Getting around the codes and permits for natural buildings with Patrick Hennebery of Cobworks: 004

In this episode I got to interview one of my biggest heroes in the natural building world! Patrick Hennebery is one of the most prolific natural builders in North America having built more than 50 cob structures with his company cobworks, and 20 conventional homes. He's a completely self taught carpenter/builder who studied with Ianto Evans and the Cob Cottage Company in the early days when they were just starting the cob revival. He's especially passionate about teaching others to live more simply, buy less junk, and build their own shelter. In this interview Patrick talks about how he got interested in natural building and why he made the switch from industrial building, how you can get started learning to build for yourself, and many stories from his projects in Mexico as well as creative ways in which he got through the permitting process on this cob builds.
As always, these episodes are meant to be a dialogue and conversation starter more than a lecture series. Especially in these early days of getting the podcast up and running I really appreciate feedback, comments, ideas, whatever. You can even e-mail me directly at info(at)abundantedge.com. I want to hear from you! If you enjoyed this episode please share it with your friends or others who you think might benefit from the information and insights in these episodes. I'm looking forward to making these as useful and informative for everyone looking to make the world and our environment a better place.

Making the transition to a permaculture lifestyle with William Horvath of “Permaculture Apprentice:” 002

Welcome to the very first interview on "The Abundant Edge." In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with William Horvath, founder of "Permaculture Apprentice." William studied permaculture in Australia before quitting his job as a geologist for the mining industry there and moved with his wife back to Croatia where he is from originally. For years now he's been developing his own permaculture paradise and writing and educating about his experiences on his site permacultureapprentice.com. He has also begun teaching permaculture courses for people looking to start their own farms and transition to a regenerative lifestyle. I particularly recommend his series of webinars at the Ecolonomic Action Team here.
Resources:
https://permacultureapprentice.com/
https://www.eatcommunity.com/products/eat-free-team/categories/188834 This is the link to William's webinar series on starting a permaculture farm

Introducing the Abundant Edge with host Oliver M Goshey: 001

Welcome to the very first episode of "The Abundant Edge." In this introductory episode I'll introduce the concept and motivation behind starting the podcast and introduce myself, Oliver Goshey, by explaining how I got interested in regenerative living practices and the journey I've gone through to get where I am as a natural builder and permaculture designer. 
As always, these episodes are meant to be a dialogue and conversation starter more than a lecture series. Especially in these early days of getting the podcast up and running I really appreciate feedback, comments, ideas, whatever. I want to hear from you! If you enjoyed this episode please share it with your friends or others who you think might benefit from the information and insights in these episodes. I'm looking forward to making these as useful and informative for everyone looking to make the world and our environment a better place.