I grew up in East Texas spending a lot of time with my Grandparents who always had two gardens. One large one away from the house and a smaller one (not really very small though) closer to the house.

I remember how wonderful the food tasted and how much I loved my Grandmother's cooking. They always had their store room filled with canned goods from the year before.

They grew up during the depression and knew they needed to fend for themselves and save up for a rainy day.

I remember my Grandmother saying that you just make do with what you have.

I have never been well off financially and have had my share of hard times come my way. I learned first hand what my Grandmother meant about making do and I have been interested in making it so that I am not dependent on any outside supplies of anything that I need (wants are different, of course) for a long time.

With an affinity for my Native American Ancestor's ways and choosing to identify with their ways more than my predominant Caucasian/mutt lineage, the permaculture way is a natural next step in my journey.

My wife and I had been contemplating starting an Intentional Community when we met Terri Jensen who later organized a class on permaculture.

We eventually decided that we definitely want to start an intentional community and that is where we are at now.

We are implementing concepts that we learned from the permaculture design class led by Nick Burtner in Greenville into our Intentional Community.

With the combination of life experiences and what I have learned, I expect that we will be able to provide for all of our needs without any difficulty within a year.