I am retired from a variety of careers but mostly construction and computers. I enjoy being outside and making things work which most of the time takes quite a bit of inventing. I love people and get my greatest joy in doing good.

I came across permaculture by reading-line on about Geoff Lawton's Greening the Desert effort back in 2002. I was so impressed by it that on returning to some property we already owned in California, I tried to emulate some of what he had done. I even sent an email to him about putting swales on hillsides and he replied (his caution was to not put them on hillsides where the ground could be unstable and cause mud slides)! Unfortunately, I got the swale idea ok but totally missed the contour concept since Geoff's site was on the flat. However, even the very humble work I did still had a major impact on the ground, turning the top soil from rocks and clay to about 6-12" of rich loamy soil, very impressive!

My wife and I took Geoff Lawton's on-line course last year. She got certified and then she gave me the course so I could also be a consultant/teacher. The cost was worth every penny even though it took savings to get it. Our whole outlook on the world, life, relationships, purpose and goals have changed dramatically. Before I was clueless about what to do with any ground, nothing made sense. Now everywhere I look I know exactly what to do. I don't have the resources yet to hire a tractor but I don't let that stop me, I dig swales by hand!