This episode is a continuation of the Faith and Earth Care series. This time, I speak with Kelly Ware, a permaculturist from Montana with one of the oldest known permaculture sites in the state. We talk about her thoughts on the idea of Permaculture and the Kingdom: bringing together the practices, and practitioners, of the Christian Faith with Permaculture. Whereas the first in this series, my conversation with Rhamis Kent, was a secular look at the elements of Earth Care in Islam, the conversation with Kelly is interwoven with her personal story of moving from a place of non-belief to one of faith and then to how we can do more to connect with others and build community. I enjoyed myself quite a bit in this conversation with Kelly and had a fun time talking about this topic from such a different perspective. We went to many different places in our conversation and I’m thankful that for all the sideline questions I asked things came together nicely in the end. You’ll find links with more information on how to connect with Kelly in the show notes. If you enjoy this interview, or any other episodes in the growing archive, help me reach the goal of releasing at least 75 episodes in 2014 by making a donation to the show. Your support is the only financial means of making that happen, and also support show related projects such as the Traveling Permaculture Library. Find out how to help at: www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/support. Also, if you haven’t heard them yet, I suggest you go back and listen to the interviews with Larry Santoyo and Dave Jacke. They both spoke about the engagement we as permaculture practitioners need in order to grow the so called “invisible structures” and make permaculture happen. With her personal experience with the community composed of the body of the I think that Kelly’s approach is incredibly useful to that end. Though I haven’t, and won’t, discuss my own faith tradition, or a lack there-of, I have applied many of the ideas that Kelly presented to engage like-minded organizations locally. Meeting people where they are at makes a huge difference. Find the common ground and talk in that space. The rest will follow. If you’d like to talk to me about our common ground, or even where we disagree, feel free to send me an email: The Permaculture Podcast or give me a call: . As this is part of the faith and earth care series, the next episode on this subject will be the second part of the conversation with Rhamis Kent about "Islam and Earth Care" on March 18th, 2014. Then my friend Paul Tomkiel, a Lutheran Vicar, will speak about the "Christian Theology of Earth Care" on April 8th, 2014. But, those are many weeks away. In the meantime I’ll be releasing a review of the book Regenerative Enterprise, and then the next interview will be with Dr. John Kitsteiner to discuss Permaculture and Our Health. I’ll be attending the A Gathering of Farmer’s conference on March 8th, 2014 at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA. and presenting a workshop on Permaculture 101. For that event the Keynote speaker is Brian Snyder the executive director of the Pennsylvania Sustainable Agriculture Association. Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir are there as entertainment. Should be a good time, and I’m quite looking forward to it. Come by if you can. I look forward to seeing you there. Resources: Contact Kelly: permakel@gmail.com Permaculture and The Kingdom Thread (Permies Forum) Permaculture Montana Facebook Page Surviving Off Off-Grid by Michael Bunker The Love Revolution by Joyce Meyer
