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Talking Shit about Paul Wheaton… My PDC Experience
I didn’t even know what a PDC was when I signed up for a Permaculture Design Course at The Place Of Gathering in Dayton, Montana in the spring of 2012. I just knew I wanted to commit to learning more about permaculture because it seemed to encompass all the fields of study I found myself drawn to.
I discovered the permaculture world because I was studying homesteading techniques from my small-town Texas home. I wanted to get the hell outa dodge with my family to the mountains. I wanted to live off the land and start over. I wanted to teach my kids about the value of our most precious resource, water. I just wanted to give up trying to sustain the rat race any longer. You know the one. Homesteading studies (and many others) naturally lead you to permaculture techniques. Permaculture was a great fit for me, my brain already stacked functions. I knew I was in.
After our first winter of homesteading in the Inland Northwest mountains, I googled what was going on in my general area for permaculture courses. The PDC was full by the time I found it, but my name went on a waiting list. Within days I received a call, they were making room for more participants. Right place, right time, life changing.
I’m always curious about that place where business meets passion, so I’m sure I asked the PDC organizers lots of questions about how and why this event was organized, because I left the event with the story of how this particular PDC came to pass. Please forgive me (Paul and all those involved) if I butcher this story. It’s been a while.
To keep it brief, Paul and Kathrina Hirsch, the land owner, are friends. Kathrina’s land is on the Flathead Reservation, home of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The land had been marred by a previous owner with some thoughtless earthworks; it actually looked like they’d built a landing strip through the wetlands. As a result, the runoff coming down from the mountains no longer passed through the land, it just died there. The water had no signs of life, no fish, no frogs, nada.
I imagine Paul Wheaton having some kind of epiphany here, a moment of inspiration. Wheaton makes no bones about being a Sepp Holzer fan and supporter. Paul Wheaton’s mission seems to be about spreading the permaculture wealth, and this particular plot of land was in dire need. I imagine the moment when this duo knew they would reach out to Sepp to do this massive job. They knew of his interest in working with the indigenous people and tribal lands. I imagine they realized they could fix the land, heal the water, spread permaculture knowledge in a master workshop, create a model for the indigenous community, and make money to do more amazing things. A function stacking, permaculture win-win.
Wheaton also realized he could organize a PDC before Holzer arrived to work his magic. He could bring in a fantastic permaculture teacher, initiate another generation of permaculturists, change the world, you know the drill. Wheaton reached out to the infamous Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski, who’d taught Wheaton’s PDC years before. Pilarski put together a lovely course, collaborating with Marisha Auerbach and others. It was everything I could have ever wanted in a PDC experience. I love this team and I learned so much.
Jump back to the moment I meet Paul Wheaton. The tents and classroom are all set up. Everyone’s settling in; classes start the next day. I walk into the main tent where everyone’s hanging out waiting for dinner to be served. People are mingling and getting to know each other, just the type of thing this introvert tries to avoid, so I scan the room for a safe place on the edges where I can hang back and observe. I spot an empty seat on a couch next to a man who seemed to be sticking to himself.
Paul and I ended up in a great permaculture conversation. I’m sure I asked what he did, and what brought him to the PDC, because I vaguely remember him telling me he ran the largest permaculture site in the states, or maybe on the planet at that time, I don’t remember exactly. I heard the word hugelkultur for the first time in that conversation, and Paul educated me on a practice I now use everywhere. He told me about a Montana farm he’d owned and how his experimental farming practices lead him into the permaculture world. He was a totally approachable man with farming overalls and colorful language. I was right at home.
Class began the next day, and each of the many participants took a turn explaining what brought them to Montana to study Permaculture and how they found this particular PDC. There were a couple interesting threads running through most of the introductions. First, many of the fledgling students had found permaculture after giving up on their life of activism and fighting in the rat race on some level or another. Using permaculture to create change felt like a more tangible means to do something positive in the world. That was my story, too.
The second similarity was that most of the people had found their way to the PDC from Paul Wheaton’s podcast and Permies community. Who the hell was this Paul Wheaton character? What was this permies community? It didn’t take me long to realize Wheaton was a sort of permacuture celebrity. He played it cool, don’t get me wrong, but he had fans at this event. Fans that brought him homemade mountain huckleberry pie to show him love. He ate it up, the love and the pie.
Jump forward. The PDC was a great success. We ate like permaculture royalty. We learned a massive amount of information from Skeeter and his crew, enough to make you realize you’ll be studying for the rest of your life. We designed systems for various plots of land gaining real hands-on design experience. We left with our permaculture design certificates and just enough knowledge to make our heads explode.
Sepp Holzer showed up for week three, and seemingly within hours, had broken ground with a massive plan for reparative earthworks in the dead marsh. By the time Holzer left, the marsh was alive again with beautiful Ponds and flowing water. There were massive hugelkultur beds planted with enough annual and perennial foods to feed the local tribe for decades. I hear the fish and frogs moved back in and brought the place to life. Massive win for the ecosystem. It was such an honor to watch that man work. He doesn’t mess around.
Sometime after my return home, I dug into Paul Wheaton’s world a bit, curious about this character I’d witnessed at the PDC. He’d been recording podcasts during the whole event with my fellow students and I wanted to listen in on what he was creating. There’s so much to learn in this community, it’s just a wealth of knowledge. Practically any permaculture-related question you ask the google, you’ll find yourself on a Permies forum reading a conversation posted from dedicated permaculturists, intent on sharing the knowledge they’ve accumulated in their practice.
In my research, I’ve acquired a real respect for the business and community connecting skills of Paul Wheaton. I admire that place in him where smart business meets his passion to make a difference in the world. He’s a connector of projects and people, resources and knowledge. He has a vision of what he wants the world to look like in the future and he fearlessly takes steps to make it happen. He doesn’t mess around.
When you attend a permaculture design course, you’ll leave with a grasp of permaculture and just enough knowledge to make you a danger to the current system we’re all protesting. You know the one. You’ll also know you have years of permaculture related studies ahead of you. Here’s another thing that you’ll leave with that you may or may not have considered. You’ll find a community of like-minded, ass kicking individuals with one common goal. Taking back the game.
I’m Heather of Greenbelt.
We’ll be in touch.
Comments
7 responses to “Talking Shit about Paul Wheaton… My PDC Experience”
Excellent review of Paul Wheaton’s project. I appreciate the insight, Heather.
Thanks, Don! We need as many soldiers as possible to join the ranks in the permaculture movement. We’re building an armada!
Great insight, Heather – thank you 🙂
Excellent article and quite the summary. I too was there, and witnessed Paul in all his “glory”., even recorded a podcast with him some time later. He and I share many aspects of life, and he does have quite the business mind, yet spreads as much good as possible. Look up his Spoon Theory.
I visited The Place of Gathering two or so years ago, to see everything that changed, and I was very very impressed! Water now flows through property, when the neighbor isn’t irrigating, and everything is just pure loveliness! Even the energy feels great!
Richard! Thanks for the update on the Place of Gathering. Safe travels to you.
Why is this titled talking shit on Paul Wheaton. Seems you never had a bad thing to say. Only praise.. not poop. Porque?
It’s a joke. Paul has a strong personality and a sarcastic sense of humor. We’re teasing him 🙂
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