Becoming Resilient Lee and Amanda Borden LongleafBreeze.com

What We’re Talking About Moving toward subsistence Using as little energy as possible Gradually reducing our need to spend money off the farm

Timetable This presentation should take about 30 minutes Should be lots of time left when we finish to answer questions So get’em ready!

Topics We’ll Cover Why we’re doing this The elements that make up our strategy Our plans for the future

Why We’re Doing This Amanda’s perspective – stepping gently on the planet Lee’s perspective – prepare for difficult times ahead Our common ground

The Elements of Our Strategy Three Principles We are approaching but will never reach subsistence It’s gotta be fun while we’re doing it We don’t make allness statements Growing more of our own food Using as little energy as possible Building in redundancy Becoming part of the gift economy Getting on the right side of money arbitrage

Growing More of Our Own Food Amanda focuses on veg Lee focuses on fruits and nuts Increasing emphasis on perennials Increasing emphasis on open-pollinated varieties and seed-saving Almost no chemicals, not even organic chemicals

The Way We Do It Organic no-till Drip irrigation Keep something growing year-round Solarization for weeds Always planting, always tending, always harvesting Relatively little canning Instead, harvest fresh year-round We freeze a lot of vegetable soups and stews

Using As Little Energy As Possible The two biggies for energy use are climate control (air conditioning and heating) and transportation

Climate Control We live in 600 square foot apartment in the pole barn. Small size helps! Winter warmth is trivial with wood stove. Staying cool in summer is the challenge Light-colored metal roof that reflects much of the sun’s heat Complete separation of roof system from living space Runs bead-on East and West South facing windows with a 2-foot overhang – drink in the winter sun but reject the summer sun

Climate Control (cont) Strategic placement of porches Casement windows rather than double hung Stack window in the ceiling constantly exhausts the warmest air in the room Lots of ceiling fans Replicating all this in the lodge we’re building up the hill from the barn Most important: get used to it

Okay, how’s our time running?

Transportation: the Other Energy Hog Careful to locate close to a small town (Tallassee) – easy bicycle range Also reasonably close to Montgomery Consolidate trips

One other thing about energy . . . We almost never use the clothes dryer.

Building In Redundancy No monoculture! Many ways to cook (a dozen to be exact) Many ways to get fresh water Many ways to travel Many ways to get electricity

Becoming Part of the Gift Economy Based on relationships instead of money Different from barter We give out of our abundance; others give out of theirs Help out in times of need We’re reaping the benefits RIGHT NOW Much more stable and resilient than the money economy, and more local

Getting On the Right Side of Money Arbitrage We work to make money off the farm (fast), and spend it on the farm (slow) Sometimes, we get caught and do it the other way around!

Projects on the Board Laying hens in chicken tractors Pond culture Water management Rainwater harvesting PV powered pumping & gravity-fed storage Drawing from the pond for drip Solar thermal water heating in the barn Photovoltaic panels (about 5k) Honeybees

Okay, ready with those questions? Lee and Amanda Borden LongleafBreeze.com