I was born and raised in a very small, at the time, agricultural town in Alabama, coming of age in the 1970s. My parents were the age of most of my peers grandparents, my older siblings born on the farm. Growing up we raised a LARGE garden and I worked on uncles and cousins farms using traditional and chemical methods. In those days Alabama grew more than enough food to feed its people, not so today. After the USMC and engineering school I worked in construction and industry for a few decades.

My interest in permaculture has roots in my childhood. Although my family used chemical fertilizers and limited pesticides, many of the old ways were preserved and I was well acquainted with compost and caring for the land in a natural and sustainable fashion. In my maturation I find myself trying to insulate myself from the toxins permeating the environment and food supply and the permaculture philosophy presents itself as a return to the natural ways of my parents youth.

My present living conditions preclude experimentation on any significant scale as I live on contaminated ground surrounded by a commercial soy bean/corn/wheat field. I would like to work with others in the area and educate myself as well as contribute to the betterment of our lives as a whole, ultimately to position myself to live a self-sufficient life and provide for the community also.