Permaculture Opportunity in Dry Creek

Permaculture can be considered as a systematic way to integrate green and sustainable agriculture ideas. The ideas were fleshed out in Australia in the 1970’s, but much core thinking about permaculture is based on cultures that had long duration ecological success, like rice growers in Bali. One of the key principles is to observe your environment before taking action. Another is to work with what nature has provided rather than fighting against it.
There is a five acre permaculture project with almost thirty years of history in the hills overlooking Dry Creek Valley. The owner is devoted to sustainable development on the property and it shows the results of the decades of time invested.

One excellent example is water. There is an excellent well on the property and typical owners would just use the water from the well without a second thought. We all might do it that way, just because it’s easy and simple. The current owner, however, thinks deeply about the planet and his role in it, a key principle of permaculture. He decided that conserving and being smart with water use was an important aspect of resource use.
His water system now includes rain catchment from both sides of the roof. There are three ponds with significant water holding capacity. There is an extensive network of shaped furrows on the hillside to slow down rain water runoff and give it time to soak into the ground. Fast surface runoff has been slowed, diverted, and held on the property longer to give time for absorption. As a consequence, an old well on the property with declining production is now producing more water than ever before. His high production well sits idle most of the year, valuable back up for a future that could be much more dry than recent decades. That’s just the water. Other systems show a similar attention to detail.

He has multiple solar systems for powering everything from the house to the dome-studio-mediation-room to the circulation pump for the livestock water and the livestock fence. The home is heated partially with solar and partially with wood grown on the property. .
Another principle of Permaculture is to design with concentric zones starting with the house as the center in Zone 0. Working outward there are vegetable gardens and kitchen herbs in Zone 1. Zone 2 has fruit trees, berries, and other crops with less need for daily attention. Beyond that are chickens and llamas with their important contributions to soil fertility and pest control.
A life spent paying attention to nature isn’t everyone’s dream, but Sonoma County permaculture is well established with a significant population of people practicing and teaching permaculture and refining what it means to be a sustainable agricultural person in modern California.

I am fortunate to be able to offer this five acre permaculture project for sale. The owner prefers that I find buyers who will appreciate and continue the permaculture aspects of this property. His concern is that the property has such beautiful views and solitude that it would attract buyers who care only for a wine country lifestyle. He doesn’t mind good food and great wine. In fact, he has both table and wine grapes on the property. It’s just that his decades of development work deserve to be extended by appreciative new buyers who want a sustainable life for themselves.