Re-engineering my lifestyle to be sustainable and resilient
This is about changing focus my from working in big corporate business to finding a way of living more sustainably.
It started at the end of 2013 after deciding to take a year off from running my consulting business Task Management UK Ltd where I spent most of my time working long hour and being away from home five nights a week.
During 2014 I became more involved with the various local Transition projects taking an active interest in the Fracking issues that could impact our local environment especially possible pollution of our aquifer that supplies our drinking water.
To keep busy I started designing and building Aquaponics Systems and took various courses to expand my knowlage on such food growing systems, and then that led me over the next few years to eventually being asked to teach theory and practice on Aquaponics courses up to advanced level.
Also in 2014 I went on an intensive immersion course to gained my Permaculture Design Certificate, and am now working towards getting the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design via the Permaculture Association.
Permaculture can also be seen as a tool-kit that you can use to make a positive difference to the world around you.
For example, you can use permaculture design for renovating your home, growing food in an urban garden, improving the air quality in your home, or improving collaboration on an industrial site. I've also used it when mentoring business startups.
Any permaculture design will aim to meet the three ethics of earth care, people care and fair shares.
So permaculture isn't just food growing and self sufficiency; rather, it seeks to find solutions to the many challenges and problems we increasingly face today.
Yet I believe I’ve been utilising permaculture type methods for well over 30 years without knowing it, both in business and home life, following the many and very practical ways my father and grandfathers taught me from an early age. So to me permaculture is more than just land based and is mostly organised common-sense.
Our family home is in Cheshire where we’ve 2 acres of mixed woodland that I’m lucky enough to be able to use for experimenting on all things permaculture.
My current interests and activities are in:
- Urban permaculture combined with Aquaponics;
- Enabling youngsters to be actively involved in permaculture;
- Teaching permaculture related subjects and mentoring business start-ups;
- Developing various ways to enable people to have truly sustainable incomes;
- Finding way to boost local resilience and sustainability.
I now see myself as a change agent, coach and mentor of small business start-ups, and managing implementation of local sustainability and resilience using permaculture methods.
So to that end I'm using the principles of Permaculture to re-engineer my lifestyle to be sustainable and resilient to coming changes, and to help me achieve more work life balance and inner satisfaction.