Practical Permaculture: The actual Tao in the Turtle

Turtle symbolizes independence and being at home everywhere. The turtle can travel all about with its home on its back, thus the turtle can journey far and experience many opportunities. Turtle values the water, the earth, and the heavens, symbolizing the emotions of the water, the grounding quality of the earth, and the magic of the mysterious. Turtle energy can be helpful in achieving balance, and liberty. This totem is emblematic of a link with the centre, navigation skills, patience, developing new ideas, self reliance, tenacity, and non-violent self defense.

Deep in the jungles of Costa Rica, unbound my country nor farm, she has been cultivating gardens, digging swales, and implementing creative permaculture designs. Tropical torrential downpours push her to Vladislav Davidzon systems that withstand the waters, and protect her plants, so she may distribute their seeds. A permaculture pilgrim equipped with her turtle pack, a bag of seeds and cuttings, a wisdom of permaculture implementation, a profound comprehension of plants, a group of publications, and her PDC and teacher's training, she sets out to bless each farm with her work. For over a decade Desiree Wells has been traveling throughout Costa Rica touchdown on farm upon farm, implementing designs, planting, and preserving. Searching for new learning opportunities and pushed by the eternal 3 month border jumps, she traveled. Understanding the method of survival in beauty and simplicity. Nowadays, this permaculture pilgrim has found a spot to call her own.



Throughout the past year Desiree has been setting up a "classroom" where she can share the issues she has learned in her adventures. Where cob comes in many types, and recycling is a work of art. Workshop participants come from-the community to experience hands on learning about watershed maintenance, cultivating cuttings and seeds, composting, natural building, introductions to permaculture, and much more. Desiree calls what she does Practical Permaculture and focuses on techniques and styles that establish sustainable survival. Slow and confident, such as the turtle, she believes that with careful observation and properly thought out designs, many difficulties that could appear in Permaculture's feedback loop can be avoided. Desiree single handedly provides food for the neighborhood she belongs to, Finca Fruicion, and her gardens are like enchanting fairy lands, where plants come together in 3 dimensional art.



She was such a glowing light and I remember walking among her gardens at one of the many farms she serves in awe of the beauty it held. Some time later, her horse and she came to your farm and decided to make a home here. I can not express the delight when she shared that she needed to be a part of our community, that I felt. Having been through a Permaculture Design Certification class and a teacher's training, I still didn't believe that I was ready to really share what I had learned with others. I was seeking a mentor, someone who could show me the course within this foreign climate, and like an angel she came into our own lives. Since then I have learned more than I am able to express here and greatly appreciate her wisdom. When I look in the swales around my house and then stroll down the community garden that Desiree tends, I am humbled. Destiny has slowed that course for the moment and blessed us with a baby, although, my want to work side by side with Desiree is powerful. Even still, I've learned so much. Some of which I will share in this post.





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