Learn how the influence of ramps has built relationships within human and nonhuman communities. … Discover the Wild Leek (Ramps)Read More ..read more

What is a composting toilet? A composting toilet is a waterless toilet that works by digesting waste through composting by encouraging aerobic bacteria to break solids down. This type of toilet is a practical option for an outhouse in a structured camping situation. Here are the DIY steps for how we built the composting toilet system for the cabin and campsites on the CSC property and how we solved one of the biggest concerns… the smell. Completely Minimize the Odors...! After doing much of the same research that many of you have probably done, and after working with a half-dozen differen ..read more

Here is the latest presentation and virtual tour of how our residential property has evolved over the last 15 years. This is a live presentation given during one of our recent (2022) online PDC courses. Plenty of before and after photos with quite detailed explanations. Includes candid questions from our students.  … Design and Tour of MWP Home ResidenceRead More ..read more

Spring is here at Midwest Permaculture.  It’s time for the annual harvest from the bottom of our cold compost pile. Along with beautiful compost, we are always pleasantly surprised by another yield uncovered. We started this area as a hugelkultur bed with a moat on three sides to retain water. Once filled with logs, sticks, and covered in soil, we planted the bed with Jerusalem artichokes and other plants for quite a few years before it was eventually repurposed into our cold compost space. As we trim bushes, branches, and other rigid/reedy materials from our yard throughout the year, we ..read more

Update: March 2024 To all our friends from Simple Mills and Elsewhere… Here is the story of how we met Katlin and what hit home for her while going through the Permaculture Course. This Exact Training is Now Available Online! Work at Your Own Speed, from Home. Thoughts that Katlin left for us in Google Reviews:  “Straight up incredible. Even as someone who was less than familiar with agriculture and has never spent time on a farm, I found it incredibly valuable. Bill is a remarkable teacher, probably one of the most gifted teachers I’ve ever come across. I had no idea how impactful ..read more

Picture Summary: Clay-slip Straw Cabin Build The cabin is available for overnight stays through our HipCamp listing. Enjoy the cabin and visit this Midwest Permaculture design site at CSC in Stelle, IL. Tours available. Our First Cabin is Done – Completed 2020 We guided the design and construction of the first of several cabins on the CSC’s 8.7 acre design project. The cabins are part of a long-term sustainability plan for this land. Why is it called an ‘Earth Shelter?’  Because it is made from the earth right beneath our feet here, just 50′ from the cabin. The goal of the CSC permacultur ..read more

Jas showing fellow students propagation techniques This past June of 2021, we presented our first in-person PDC in over a year. It was an intimate course of 8 compared to the 24 person online courses we had been administering over the winter and spring. The change of pace was wonderful. We had the joy of hosting this course at Bending Oak Permaculture Farm, and I think the functionally and beautifully designed environment there made the experience even more impactful. … Bending Oak PDC Picture SummaryRead More ..read more

Building Raised Beds on Contour When our community pond became stagnant from silt runoff and the build-up of plant detritus over 40 years, it needed some serious rehabilitation and excavation. In 2018 we hired a contractor to help us with the job (a nearby friend and neighbor of the community) but what to do with all of the muck?  Not knowing how much muck there would be we marked off two long contour lines in the field above the pond and had them dump truck-load after truck-load along side of our markers. The goal? To build raised beds on contour.  Even though the trucks dumped the ..read more

We recently visited a long-term project of ours, Bending Oak Permaculture farm in Youngstown, Ohio. We have been designing and implementing for this demonstrative site for over seven years, and to see it transform from a plot of barren land into an abundant, regenerative ecosystem has been incredibly rewarding. To help share what we are creating and learning with others, we set up an 18-Stop Self-guided Tour with posters like this at each point. Here is a quick look at the map you will find at the Welcome Center at Bending Oak, Youngstown, OH. Check out the Bending Oak website to learn about ..read more

Another Experiment at Midwest Permaculture How one can attractively store woody brush to give it time to break down. Hello permaculture friends. We wanted to give something a try. We have not seen this exact design in the literature or on YouTube (although it certainly could be out there) but the idea is to use our yard brush while also building a sturdy fence. We wanted a fence that could be made from easily available willow, allow time for the finer brush from our yard that we packed inside to cold-compost in place thus fertilizing the plants near it, while also having something that looks ..read more