E6 Futuresteading Shortie : Moments of joy + Placemaking

04/26/20 • 17 min

What are your moments of joy? What makes you feel at home? Where's the "best" place to live with respect for the future?
Join Jade and Catie for a Futuresteading Shortie: a bite-sized convo where we share our everyday moments of joy, why to put roots down, what makes us guffaw and where the "best" place to live really is.
This wee episode is the perfect accompaniment to pulling weeds, shelling walnuts, wandering up the street or sunning your legs on the verandah.
Thanks so much for joining us.

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E4 Brenna Quinlan: Permaculture Creative

If you’re looking for reasons to be hopeful, this conversation with Brenna Quinlan will provide a lifetime’s worth.

You probably know her as “that permaculture illustrator” - and boy, can she communicate complex environmental and social ideas with a few deft flicks of her paintbrush!

But did you know that Brenna is also a brilliant thinker, permaculture educator and tiny-hut-dwelling resident of Melliodora?

Yep. Brenna is a breath of fresh air and optimism, with oodles (of positive stuff!) to share about where humanity’s headed - and how we can make the transition altogether more joyful.
Listen in. Smile big. Draw a (hopeful) picture.
SHOW NOTES

Brenna’s early love of art and “crashing” adult art classes.
Her story of riding across the Americans in her early 20s, learning about farming and community.
How she was “the right sized piece of the puzzle” when she fell into illustrating Retrosuburbia... and making creativity her career.
Why she didn't stress about "using her uni degrees" and instead let creativity and opportunities germinate where they may.
How and why to be part of a greater movement, rather than going it alone.
The importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people.
Her simple daily rituals and joyful pleasures featuring: goats, uphill bike rides, library books.
Why cycles of day and night, the seasons and and end-of-day gratitude practice are essential parts of her existence.
Why ‘alternative living’ is an opportunity to connect more with others, rather than persisting with unfettered individualism (the death of community?).
How her life at Mellidora works: rent for work exchange, living alongside others, zero waste, a permie bubble.
Why taking a leap of faith into a different life = nothing to lose.
How she channels her environmental grief into positive forward motion.
How to find what makes you come alive - and go for it!

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE

Website: Brenna Quinlan @brenna_quinlan
Book: Retrosuburbia: The Downshifters Guide to a Resilient Future - David Holmgren
Book: On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal - Naomi Klein

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Ep 7 The Perma Pixie : Reciprocity, Relationships & Plants

If you've never met a Perma Pixie, prepare to be delighted.

Taj, aka. The Perma Pixie, is bringing a little old school witchcraft and spades of permaculture wisdom to Melbourne - and now, to you.

This chick beats to a drum of ‘reciprocity’, a philosophy that acknowledges that we’re part of a cycle that should give as much as it takes.
She’s been delivering permaculture education courses for over a decade (not bad for a young sprout!) and has recently started clinical work as a qualified herbalist. Social patterns and interactions are her greatest love, equal to her fascination with plants and their healing capacity.

This conversation is a must for anyone interested in natural medicine, staying grounded in the fray, the freedoms - and struggles - of running a small business, how to balance impassioned action with self care, and how to be regenerative within a culture programmed to run us dry.

Her deeply felt connection to the seasons, and life steeped in reciprocity and relationship, will either resonate deeply or sow seeds in the garden of your mind.

Enjoy!
SHOW NOTES

How her early ADHD diagnosis encouraged her to seek calm in the natural world.
Taking a circular approach to living in reciprocity with nature.
The power of seasonal acknowledgement; combining the ‘doing’ with the ‘sensing’.
Having the courage to trust your instincts to follow the path of the heart.
Finding balance in the juxtaposition of being an anti-capitalist while running a small business.
Reframing financial stability.
How being an extrovert has enabled her to build a network of nourishers.
Ways to create nurturing community hubs and nodes, which in turn create valid community connection.
Why it's worth summoning the gumption to talk to total strangers and be open to spontaneous interactions.
The fundamental need to have a relationship with our own bodies to take ownership and responsibility of our most important asset - and avoid being a ‘baseline’ human.
Actively avoiding a sedentary body and mind.
Her permaculture and herbal medicine journey - and how it led her to the plants which nourish her.
Why a world filled with sharing is better than a life lived alone.
How she calms the voice urging her to "do more".
Finding balance as a one-woman show when her greatest desire is to be outside - not behind a screen.
Why to do a "needs analysis": What are your needs and what can you offer?
Why relationships are what fundamentally give her hope.

LINKS YOU'LL LOVE