After having studied and applied Permaculture for over a decade, I decided to take the leap towards earning my design certificate through RDI's Permaculture Design Course.

Upon returning home to the Sierra Nevada foothills, I established the Sierra Permaculture Guild to provide a networking venue for individuals interested in learning about and implementing Permaculture concepts within the Sierra Nevada bioregion. The model I used for the guild was based upon those that have been used throughout Central and Southern California over the past decade. I kick-started it with an email listserv and then later added a website, sierrapermaculture.org, to help increase public visibility for the guild. The effort even got a mention in the local paper, which helped to further public awareness of Permaculture. Meetings are held monthly, and a variety of speakers on various topics are invited to share their knowledge with Guild members.

After a strong desire for local permaculture education was ascertained, guild member Cathe' Fish planned a two-day Introduction to Practical Permaculture course in early November of 2007. The course attracted 20 students and I got my first shot at teaching permaculture as a certified designer. Due to popular demand, a second course was offered in March of '08, and this class attracted even more students! Now, a two-week Permaculture Design Course is in the works and planned for the summer of 2008. Permaculture is definitely rockin' in the Sierra Nevada!

With my Permaculture Design Certificate in hand, I decided to venture out as a professional design consultant in January of 2008. I now offer my Permaculture design and consulting services to homesteaders, ranchers, farmers, and organizations under the banner of Sierra Permaculture Design. You can visit my website at SierraPermaculture.com

My current personal project is installing a food forest and main crop garden at my family's 13-acre homestead within the Yuba watershed. View photos of the progress!

Paul can be contacted at paul@sierrapermaculture.com.