Still Kickin'

Time for an update! I am in fact, still alive.

I finished up the Permaculture Design Course two weeks ago, and am now the proud possessor of a certificate saying that I have the ability and theoretical background to put together a sustainable design for a property.

Since the course finished, I’ve been working in the demonstration garden/food forest mulching, building raised beds, transplanting, cleaning, and trying to avoid killing too many plants (jury is still out on how well I’m doing with that). Occasionally I get such fun diversions like moving mountains of rocks from one place to another in an effort to reduce damage that rainy season floods do to the property, sifting sand and gravel, digging out pits for new compost toilets.

I finish the day covered in dirt, and always with at least one more splinter, blister, or scrape, all of them honorably earned.

I’ve been picking up bits of knowledge and skills as I go, and one of the ones I’m most proud of is my new-found ability to wield a machete like a champ. Just don’t ask any of the locals how I do with it… having used a machete their whole lives, they’re less than impressed with how far I’ve come in such a short time.

I took a quick trip to Arba Minch, the land of forty springs, for my rest day, so I have better, cheaper internet access and a whole list of posts that just need to be typed up and scheduled. Keep checking back!