『123. Permaculture Design, Herbal Medicine and Building a Design Business with Maria McKenty』のカバーアート

123. Permaculture Design, Herbal Medicine and Building a Design Business with Maria McKenty

123. Permaculture Design, Herbal Medicine and Building a Design Business with Maria McKenty

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In this episode of The Permaculture Vine Podcast, host Cormac Harkin is joined by Maria McKenty of Permaculture Canada. Maria has been working with permaculture for more than 30 years and currently runs her own design and build company on the west coast of British Columbia.The conversation covers Maria’s introduction to permaculture, her early training and design work, the practicalities of running a design and installation business, continued education after a PDC, herbal medicine gardens, her work with Permaculture Canada, and current community projects on Cortes Island.Who’s at the TableMaria McKenty is based in British Columbia, Canada, and lives on the small island of Cortes. She is part of the Permaculture Canada team with Lindsay Brandon and runs her own design and build company. She has been doing design work since her early twenties and has recently been working on design and build projects around Vancouver Island and Cortes.Cormac Harkin hosts The Permaculture Vine Podcast. During the conversation, Cormac also discusses his own work around site observation and helping people at the early stages of considering what they want to do with their properties.Discovering Permaculture and Taking a PDCMaria first encountered permaculture at 16 when she saw the cover of the original Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual. Two years later, she completed her PDC with Lee Harrison in New Mexico. After returning home, she began drawing designs for people and, around three years later, started earning an income through landscaping work.The PDC was residential and was organised primarily as a women-only course. Maria described studying in a straw-bale barn and completing practice designs for the people hosting the course. After returning to British Columbia, she continued training to become more familiar with applying what she had learned in a temperate climate.Over the following years, Maria attended training and workshops with a number of people working in different areas. She spoke about encounters and training involving Larry Santoyo, Amelia Hazelip, Michael Pilarski and others, as well as attending a Bioneers conference where Bill Mollison was among the speakers.From Early Designs to Paid ProjectsMaria’s first substantial project developed while she was working as a housekeeper for a family at a resort. When a house was moved onto the property, she suggested turning the resulting pile of soil around it into terraces and gardens.The idea was initially demonstrated as a small model made in a sandbox. The family liked it, and Maria was subsequently asked to direct the bulldozer working on the site.The project developed into rock terraces around the house with imported soil and a productive garden. Maria said the first-year garden produced more food than the family could use.She continued working on smaller projects and later restarted her business several times as she moved between different places. Her most recent restart was after moving to Victoria in 2015, where she worked for five years and completed full-yard projects.Running a Permaculture Design and Build BusinessLooking back at starting and restarting her business, Maria said business coaching would have been useful. She discussed bookkeeping, backend systems, tools, contracts and the other practical elements involved in operating a design and installation business.Maria generally works as a one-person business and hires crews according to the size and requirements of individual projects rather than maintaining a permanent large crew.For larger installations, she discussed the importance of clients understanding the likely costs before work begins. Materials, plants, labour, machinery and specialist trades can quickly increase the price of a full-yard installation. In British Columbia, she has also experienced rising labour and material costs, while island projects can involve substantial shipping costs because supplies may need to travel on two ferries.Maria also gives clients the option of participating in the work themselves. In those cases, she can teach them while they work together rather than hiring a larger crew to complete everything.For people wanting to make larger installation projects part of their business, Maria recommended getting help with the business side through mentoring or coaching.Continuing to Learn After a PDCThe conversation returned to the training Maria pursued after completing her PDC. She distinguished between completing the course, gaining practical experience by putting designs on the ground, and learning from people who had accumulated experience in particular areas.After returning to British Columbia, Maria trained with several other designers and encountered different specialties and approaches. She also described learning about winter greenhouse design, including sun angles, insulation and minimally heated greenhouses in temperate climates.Maria began with gardens and smaller projects before moving towards ...
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