[Sdpg] Montana Permaculture Design Course September 23 to October 7 Hot Springs, Montana 2006

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

Montana Permaculture Design Course
September 23 to October 7
Hot Springs, Montana
http://www.friendsofthetrees.net/2006_montana_permaculture.html

Instructors:
Michael Pilarski
Michael Holchek (sp?)
and many guest speakers.

Montana is a rich and beautiful place. It is a paradox that one of the most 
resource rich states in the US is also one of the states with the lowest 
per capita income. This course is about creating vibrant, local economies 
based on sustainable use of natural resources. Montana was 70% food 
self-sufficient in 1970 (?-check out AERO statistics) and is now only 
15-20%. This course is about how Montana could become 90% food 
self-sufficient. We have set a goal that 90% of the food we serve at the 
course will be Montana-grown. Permaculture stresses systems producing high 
yields with little fossil fuel and outside inputs. Food security at the 
state, county, local, and family levels. The course teaches ecological 
land-use. It includes restoration of degraded ecosystems to higher levels 
of health, productivity and biodiversity. In a sense, permaculture is a 
marriage between restoration and production.

Food and energy are two of the most critical issues facing Montana in a 
post peak-oil world. As has been recently deonstrated, prices of 
Montana-produced oil will go up with every world crisis. AERO's Montana 
Energy Strategy which is being produce in early 2006 is a great blueprint 
for a sustainable energy strategy. During this permaculture course, we will 
incorporate the AERO strategies into a permaculture framework. The course 
will also look at geothermal energy systems since Alameda Motel has 
geothermal water capability.

Montana has a lot to learn from its tribal people on the topic of living 
sustainably in Montana. Living sustainably on local resources was their 
specialty. Ethnoecology is the study of how tribal peoples affected their 
environments. It is becoming ever clearer that Montana tribal peoples 
consciously helped create landscapes that were richer in food and game 
resources then would have been there naturally. They co-created the rich 
ecosystems that were here when the white people arrived. The course will 
include information on these ethnoecological practices, the uses of native 
plants and ecosystem restoration. The goal is not to deplete ecosystems of 
what beneficial plants remain, but rather to help co-create more productive 
ecosystems all around us. We will describe pre-industrialization strategies 
and techniques from Northwest tribes and cultures around the world. The 
course welcomes the participation of tribal people, both students and 
teachers. Scholarships for tribal people are available.

Alameda Motel is a 25-unit motel which sits on a city block on the edge of 
Hot Springs, Montana. Alameda is in the process of becoming an educational 
retreat center. During this course we will help design a permaculture plan 
for this transformation. Alameda owns a vacant lot (most of a block) across 
the street where they plan a demonstration garden. The lot will be the site 
of the first year of a Hot Springs Farmers Market in 2006. Participants 
will divide into small teams which will make designs for these and other 
sites in/near town. Everyone will learn by participating in a design 
process for a real-life place. These reports are presented to the whole 
group and some of the ideas will be implemented.

We need to redefine our definition of 'wealth' from quantity of possessions 
to quality of life. Quality of life is the key to true happiness. Quality 
of life includes healthful food, clean air, clean water, beautiful 
surroundings, healthy ecosystems, meaningful work, and loving social 
contact. Building communities of supportive friends is important. 
Permaculture addresses all these concerns.

Montana has a greater opportunity then other states to be a national leader 
in sustainable economies.
Most residents take pride in being a Montanan and are interested of 
preserving or improving quality of life.
There is still a natural resource base of soils, forests, water (even 
though they have been drastically depleted and there is a huge backlog of 
restoration work).
Local and state-wide leadership like AERO.
Montana people as a whole are closer to the land and land-based skills then 
most parts of the US.

Two excellent resources for Montana are the "Buy Fresh - Buy Local" 
campaign and the "Grow Montana" policy group. Check with AERO for details.

This is a certificate permaculture course and graduates will be allowed to 
use the name permaculture in teaching, consulting and design.

Bio: Michael Pilarski has lived and worked in the Interior Northwest for 34 
years, mostly in north-central Washington. He is very much at home in 
douglas fir, ponderosa pine, bunchgrass and sagebrush ecosystems. Pilarski 
is the foremost permaculture teacher working in the Interior Northwest and 
has taught widely around the region. Michael has lived on the Idaho/Montana 
border between Moyie Springs and Troy and has taught around northwest 
Montana. He is the founder of the Montana Herb Gathering which was held 
annually from 1998 to 2003. His specialties include organic farming, 
horticulture, gardening, agroforestry, forestry, medicinal herbs, native 
plant uses, restoration, ethnobotany and ethnoecology. He started the 
Okanogan Barter Faire in 1974 and Friends of the Trees Society in 1978.

Contact Anaisa at ana_starr at yahoo.com