The Sustainable Living Podcast

This week's podcast is a sustainable living update in which we discuss chicken feed, gardens, Jack Spirko, toys for toddlers, listener feedback and more. First, Marianne shares her latest experiences as a "day care" grandma.  She is letting her little grandson get into all kinds of things and in the process, he's having fun and learning! Who needs toys when everything around us is a potential toy to a toddler? We go on to talk about something very exciting that happened recently. On a recent episode of his podcast, The Survival Podcast, Jack Spirko mentioned that he listens to The Sustainable Living Podcast!  This was a very big deal to us. We share a little about our experiences with Jack and why you should consider checking out The Survival Podcast.  We both share a bit about what we've been doing in the garden.  I recently planted 24 berry bushes. Marianne is enjoying the fruits of her efforts as trees and bushes in her abundant forest garden begin to ripen.  As a newbie chicken mama, I am very interested

In this week's podcast, ecological consultant Ted Karfakis discusses what he is doing on the Greek island of Kalamos to fight industrial aquaculture and create more sustainable systems there. Currently, Greece is one of the most important places to be in Europe with respect to biological and environmental conservation as decreasing economic prosperity has led to significant environmental challenges and conflicts on both land and sea. On the Island of Kalamos  a place with several ecosystems (and in the heart of the Natura 2000 GR 2220003 conservation area), there is an ecosystem of significant biodiversity conservation value. Kalamos is one of the most important areas for the birds of Greece according to Birdlife International with several endangered species. The relatively small human population combined with large uninhabited areas of  wild and agricultural land have produced a range of habitats including a unique forest with important dead wood habitats . Through Terra Sylvestris, a Greek not for profit no

Darcy and Marianne are exploring the environmental footprint pets have and how we can make our pets more sustainable. Darcy researched many pets, from cats and dogs to fish and reptiles, rabbits and rats to birds and hamsters - and let's not forget about the pigs! She offers many tips on being not only a responsible pet owner, but also a sustainable one. No matter if you own a pet or if you are thinking of getting one, Darcy gives you lots to think about. Darcy also wrote a guest blog with many tips you can put in action right away to create a greener pet. Check it out at the Sustainable Living Podcast website Jenise and Marianne would love to hear from you. Please tell us what you think, what you liked or disliked about our show or what topics you want to hear. You can leave a comment, send us an email or engage with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Tsu. Also, if you like this podcast, please give us a 5 star rating and a review on I Tunes. Here is how: go to ITunes Store find our podcast: Sustainable Living Pod

Uwe Albrecht is a German Physician who, for many years now, has helped people to heal without using medication or complicated tests. His goal is to empower all who want to take their wellbeing into their own hands to do so. Uwe developed a method called Innerwise which allows participants to tap into their subconscious and maybe beyond to figure out action steps leading to well being. Those might be choices of food, medication, rest or exercise and so much more.  Uwe Albrecht believes that we need to stop treating the symptoms and rather develop the art of healing, addressing body, spirit and soul all at once. He compares treating symptoms to taking a hammer to a warning light, as for example the check oil light in a car. The light is gone and doesn't bother us any more, but before we know it, all the oil might be gone and the motor is kaputt. The same holds true for us. Our symptoms are warning signs telling us that we need to do something differently. Innerwise is helping us to figure out what and how. The

If you've been using social media for a while, chances are you've run into Chris Agnos' work via Sustainable Human. With a following of over 1.5 million people, Chris' Sustainable Human Facebook page  attempts to dive into the deep roots of our many sustainability crises. Like Sacred Economics author Charles Eisenstein, Chris believes the root of our unsustainable cultural system lies within the stories we tell ourselves. For example, the story that says humans are basically self-interested and that Nature exists solely so that we can exploit her resources tends to result in materialism and destruction of the planet. But the story that says humans are basically kind and generous and just one of many organisms living symbiotically with Mother Earth, can create something much more beneficial. That kind of thinking resulted in Chris' now famous viral video, How Wolves Change Rivers. Like many who saw it, I was touched by how well it illustrates the hidden yet profound effects that one animal can have on its envi

Jenise and Marianne Talk About Chicken, Yogurt, Sourdough,Energy, Bugs and More. When we started this podcast, we explored many topics together. Then, we started to reach out to people we thought had great information to share and got so excited about our interviews that our conversations fell to the wayside. Now, we are back with the intention to share with you on a regular basis what we are learning, exploring, doing and are exited about.   If you like this podcast, please give us a 5 star rating and a review on I Tunes. Here is how: go to ITunes Store find our podcast: Sustainable Living Podcast Click on Ratings and Reviews and follow instructions If you are subscribed to the podcast, the rating feature doesn't appear - at least not on my phone. Then, please take the extra step to unsubscribe, refresh, rate and review and subscribe again. THANK YOU! Also, if you shop on Amazon and like to support us without any extra cost to you, please use the Amazon button on our website before you do your shopping.

Teri Page writes about off-grid living, cooking, gardening, tiny house building, homeschooling and more on her popular blog, Homestead Honey. She has a wealth of valuable information to share with anyone interested in sustainable, self-reliant, self sufficient living. But it wasn't always that way. Back in the 1990's Teri was a love-struck college biology major who followed her boyfriend to a sustainable living skills center in Oregon.  There she was bitten by the gardening bug. Shortly afterward she and her husband rented a cabin in Oregon with acreage that allowed her do her own gardening. That led to chickens, ducks, goats, bees and pigs over the course of 13 years in the same location.  "We just learned by doing, " she says. The couple moved to Missouri in 2012 with their two young children.  They've been busy setting up their new homestead, complete with a tiny house they built themselves, ever since. In this interview, Teri shares her story and touches on some of the challenges she's faced as a homestea

Homelessness is a sad but inevitable consequence of modern living...or is it? While the statistics paint a very sobering picture, digging deep into the subject we find that homelessness isn't always what we think it is. Marianne and I welcome Brad Rowland to this important discussion to share his experiences working on behalf of homeless people in his local Colorado town. We learn that people find themselves without a home because of a variety of circumstances. Some are there as the result of violence in their home. Others are veterans having a difficult time re-integrating into civilian life.  Substance abuse can play a significant role.  Often the cause is merely a bad string of luck. But is homelessness, in fact, inevitable in today's society? Our discussion focused on envisioning a world where homelessness no longer exists and how we can all play a part in bringing this vision to life.

Willi Paul founded the Planet Shifter Magazine and has been working within the world of Transition and Permaculture for a long time. He sees himself as a teacher and a broadcaster of thought seeds. His videos, stories and interviews are intended to inspire people to think a little bit differently and become co-creators of the new story or a sustainable world. Willi Paul can be reached here http://www.planetshifter.com/

Matt Powers - His Early Years In this interview, Matt Powers, the creator of the Permaculture Student curriculum, tells much about his own life and what brought him to writing his Permaculture books. Matt grew up in a highly educated household and received much private education and coaching. His brothers were excellent skiers and his father had high hopes for Matt as well. He was racing downhill before he ever set a foot into a school. In third grade, Matt found himself classified as a special-ed student. He was given tests and was consequently accused of cheating. How was it possible for a third grade special-ed student to ace all these tests? A retake under strict supervision to eliminate any chance of cheating revealed that this special-ed student was very special indeed. He knew the answers way above his assigned age level because he had listened and learned from his older brothers. Another interesting fact Matt shared is that all his fellow special-ed students ended up as musicians.  Standard testing us

Like me, lots of folks sign up for a permaculture design course to improve their gardening techniques and learn about how to heal our planet. However students quickly learn that permaculture is actually a new way of solving problems - virtually all problems - by using nature-tested methodologies. Permaculture Magazine defines permaculture as:  Permaculture is an innovative framework for creating sustainable ways of living. It is a practical method of developing ecologically harmonious, efficient and productive systems that can be used by anyone, anywhere. In the course that I took, and recently completed, my teacher Larry Santoyo did his best to emphasize that: Permaculture is a collection of problem-solving and decision making protocols based on the observation of nature. That being said, you can imagine that students in a permaculture course learn a whole lot more than just how to garden.   If you're interested in: sustainable living; energy conservation; water harvesting; self-sufficiency and/or homestea

Andrew Millison is the creator of this free Intro to Permaculture course offered by Oregon State University as an online course. People from all over the world can participate. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Courses. They are free and cover a variety of topics. To sign up for the Free introduction to Permaculture course use this link http://open.oregonstate.edu/courses/permaculture/. It is best to register now - the course will begin in May 2016. All are encouraged to take advantage. There are no tests and one can just watch the videos without doing the exercises. This will give a good overview what all is possible and either provide hope that our planet has a bright future or at least help to understand the "crazy" neighbor better who composts, water harvests and keeps talking about that cool design system called Permaculture. Or, one can dive in deeply, do all the exercises, follow all the links given throughout the course and gain a whole lot of knowledge during the month of May 2016. Now is a good ti

Seed Swaps are important to preserve Heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. They are fun, bring the community together and are free! In this episode, Nathan Lou and Dale Tron are sharing how the first San Diego Seed Swap started and who will be part of the celebration. Joseph Simcox is one of the guest speakers and others are also coming from far away. This includes the seeds which will be available for free. Some are from India, others from Armenia and many other places. The main focus is to encourage all to start a seed swap, big or small, in their community.

The Food Forest Greenhouse is Permaculture Teacher Jerome Osentowski's new book. At 7200 feet elevation in Colorado, he grows tropical fruit year around without much outside energy input. At age 75, he is ready to leave his mountain paradise and reinvent himself. The plan is to create a permaculture sailboat and bring seeds, teachers and technology to islands which now depend on import for their survival - creating self sufficiency and sustainability. Jerome is my new role model! 

The life of a zero-wast minimalist seems completely out of reach for many of us. Rama Nayeri was certainly not sure it could work for her.  But a doctor's diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes got her thinking that maybe a drastic lifestyle change was in order. And so began the journey that she shares in Episode 28 of the podcast. Like others we've talked to, Rama's lifestyle change was predicated on a major life turning point.  Joel Zaslofsky shared that impending fatherhood sparked a re-assessment of his life that led him to embrace simple living. Vicki Hightower shared a similar self-analysis that led her to homesteading. My 50th birthday had me looking both to the past and the future. While I was proud of what I had accomplished in my life (my amazing kids who had grown into well-balanced, healthy adults; plenty of material comforts; a successful, if late blooming, career in content marketing) something was missing. I longed to live a life that was closer to nature and less dependent on a system that was destroyin

Zero waste proponents place much of the blame for the Earth's current woes on a "throw-away" society that values consumerism, resource commodification and materialism as necessary for human advancement.  But what if humans could shift away from this mindset? What if unlimited economic growth began to be seen the way we see unlimited growth in the body - a condition known as cancer? Would we then be able to reduce our yearly trash output so much that it fits into a quart-sized mason jar? And just what sorts of lifestyle changes would make this possible? Jenise and Marianne are joined by Brad Rowland of the blog Highly Uncivilized, to discuss the topic of zero waste.  They brainstorm about what a zero-waste world might look like and then share practical steps each one of us can take on the journey toward a trash-free lifestyle.  

What is simple living and why are so many folks ditching the traditional American dream in pursuit of it?  Joel Zaslofsky of Smart and Simple Matters podcast joins Jenise for a chat on the topic.  Joel shares about his transition from "working in the money industry purely for money" to embracing a simpler, more intentional life. He shares a bit about his average day now compared to then; his podcast, Smart and Simple Matters; and SimpleREV which helps people connect in-person about slowing down, being grateful, and nerding out about the simple life. And what is simple living all about?  Well according to Joel it's, "homesteading, sustainability, meditation, mindfulness, minimalism, yoga, transition towns, tiny houses, slow food, slow parenting and more.   "I think the thread that runs through it for all these people is they want to live a more intentional life; they want to be more grateful; they want to see the world as an abundant place as opposed to a scarce place; they want to show compassion and patience

When Greg Jensen and his wife and four boys moved to Guatemala to start a trail running business, they had no idea it would lead to building self-sufficiency in the local population. But now Mayan Eco Homestead is having a powerful impact in a place rated as the fourth highest chronically malnourished country in the world. In this interview, Greg shares his story with Marianne. Like so many of us, the Jensens had begun to find modern life unfulfilling. But taking a risk by moving so far away sparked new passions and a yearning to help their new neighbors. Learn how they found the life they were looking for, and in so doing, began helping others to lead healthier, more self-sufficient and empowering lives.

Maddie Wichman, a Feeding America Food Sourcing Department Volunteer and a Innerwise® coach and mentor shares how food which would go to waste is harvested by volunteers and distributed to the hungry and how energy work and food belong together.

Art from recyclable materials and things found in nature. Joan Green, owner of artlabs shares how and with whom she works,ideas for projects, and resources.