A raucous and rambling podcast conversation with the preeminent global exponent of the emergent discipline of Transition Engineering, Prof. Susan Krumdieck.

I recently spoke with founder and Editor-in-Chief Chris de Decker about the project from his solar powered apartment in Barcelona, Spain. It was a really enjoyable and edifying conversation - hope you like!

PS - Low Tech Mag’s recently published how-to guide for small solar power systems was a super helpful resource in designing an off-grid lighting system for our barn.

Of particular note are their “daylight drive” systems that use direct solar (PV) power to run household appliances and workshop tools.

We’re building a workshop at Magpie Hollow and I am thinking to utilize their solar/DC designs and have the workshop be mostly or totally off-grid. I want to gain some experience with these systems and then incorporate them with our water-sanitation projects abroad. LEF has partnered with grassroots groups in Jamaica and Puerto Rico to install decentralized energy systems and appliances - truly pioneering work!

Hope you enjoy the conversation with Alexis!

Tom recently retired from academia to pursue ecological and philosophical approaches to addressing the human predicament full-time. We caught up with him and recorded this thought-provoking conversation.

In this podcast conversation we deflect eco-modernist criticisms of agrarian visions laid out in author Chris Smaje’s recent books “A Small Farm Future” and “Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future.”

Specifically, we examine evidence for the claim that traditional/territorial food webs supply 70-80% of the nutrition people intake globally, and discuss what this means for the potential of small biodiverse farming to “feed the world.”

Reasons for dispute of this claim include that much food production in traditional local food webs is “invisibilized” to top-down technocrats using data collected of commodity crops produced for the industrial food chain. This is one of several blind spots we discuss that characterize elites’ and technocrats’ worldviews and partially explains why their prescriptions fail to deliver on promised sustainability and “equity” goals.

In this episode we ponder whether it’s worth it trying to persuade technocratic elites of their errors, or instead turn our attention and efforts to different natural constituencies better oriented to implementing diverse approaches to agrarian bioregionalism. We consider what barriers people may face to getting involved and how to overcome those barriers.

The whole conversation pivots on the notion of Bioregional Self-Provisioning as a method for securing resilience for affluent-but-fragile “developed” regions while alleviating ecosystem degradation and impoverishing exploitation on poor peripheral “underdeveloped” regions, facilitating their own self-provision from local resources.

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Brian Miller runs Winged Elm Farm with his wife Cindy and blogs at South Roane Agrarian.

He has recently published a book through Front Porch Republic that features a panoply of sensorial and spiritual experiences observed over 25 years of farming and animal husbandry.

Our conversation slaloms around Brian’s roots in anarchism and how these led him to an agrarian life, the need for renewed manual competency and appreciation for the practical arts particularly among the youth, gender relationships in the subsistence homestead, the judicious choice of firearms, and the quandaries implied by rural gentrification.

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I wanted to record a podcast conversation with Lexie and Luis while I was there to talk about the larger framework of agroecology and livelihood security projects they are doing with indigenous communities through Amisacho Restauracion and their partners at La Clinica Ambiental. But we were too busy during my visit to set aside time for a podcast recording. So we just did it once I was back home and I think it turned out great!

Check it out and let me know what you think -

Amisacho rescue parrot ‘Chimuelo’ (someone who has no teeth)

Chuck and Saundra Lewis operate Sheraton Park Farms – a 70-acre regenerative farming operation nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain of Wilkes County, NC.

Starting from a single chicken tractor with 25 broiler chickens in 2018, Chuck and Saundra have grown their operation to raising meat birds, egg layers, turkeys, pigs, and cows – and earning a respectable income.

In this fast-paced conversation, Josh and Chuck discuss economic, practical, and psychological barriers to getting more people involved in diverse, decentralized, small-scale regenerative ag, along with tools, tips, tricks, and ideas for overcoming those barriers. They talk about Chuck’s philosophy for utilizing social media and YouTube to promote an authentic experience for Sheraton Park’s customer to know their food and their farmers. They highlight challenges, weaknesses, pitfalls, and lessons learned for bootstrapping a small farm operation and cultivating a customer base willing to pay a premium for healthy, local, clean meat from ethically raised animals.

Jeff Paine is co-founder and co-owner with his wife Mel MacFarlane of the Austin, TX-based Break-It-Down - a food waste hauling, composting & creative resource recovery service.

Formed in 2009 out of the couples’ rented duplex to provide a yoga studio, a coffee shop, and a juice bar with a way to steer their compostable waste away from the landfill and into something ecologically friendly, Break-It-Down has grown into a business serving around 800 clients in the greater Austin area, and as far south as San Antonio and as far north as Waco.

In this conversation, Jeff and Josh sketch the history of Break-It-Down, the challenges they have faced, the successes they’ve attained, the quirks, the headaches, the lessons learned, and the creativity that goes into their innovative R&D processes for figuring out better things to do with food waste than entombing it in a landfill. In their schema, composting is the lowest rung on the resource recovery ladder. Their current food waste upcycling repertoire includes high-end dog food and treats [theconsciouspet.life], and nutrient-rich bonemeal fertilizer for gardeners and landscapers.

In this wide-ranging convo, Jeff and Josh talk about the advantages and disadvantages of an academic path in life compared with on-the-job training earned from developing a small business. And they talk about how this affects Jeff and Mel’s philosophy as parents, in particular how it informs their non-traditional approach to schooling for their two sons.

John Klar is an attorney, regenerative farmer, and author living in Vermont. He has just published the book “Small Farm Republic” (Chelsea Green). This book gallops through major themes describing the economic, environmental, political, and social unsustainability of industrial ag, and issues a passion-inflected call for a return to the land and small-to-mid-scale regenerative farming practices. Along the way, John acknowledges his influences and sources of inspiration through well-chosen quotes from luminaries including Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, Chris Smaje, Aldo Leopold, and EF Schumacher.

Klar’s writing penetrates complex issues of climate change, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, water overuse and pollution, reliance on fossil fuels and toxic agrichemicals, animal welfare, and human health. While many of these topics are stock-in-trade for those identified as progressives or on the political left, Klar makes a compelling case why self-identified conservatives must care about these challenges and take action. Ultimately his arguments transcend superficial left/right, liberal/conservative distinctions and point the way towards a common ground that humans can come together on to heal our communities, our economy, and the ecosphere.

In this jaunting conversation, Klar and Kearns talk about Klar’s Vermont farming experiences where he and his wife Jackie have currently or previously raised sheep cows, goats, and draft horses; developed a goat milk and cheese small business; fought for on-farm slaughter rights with VT state regulators; and raised children in an empowering and healthy environment. John’s writings on farming, politics, and culture can be found at or accessed through his Substack site: johnklar.substack.com

What naturally starts as an interesting dissection of the tragi-magic quality of Appalachian living turns inevitably into Sara Day's amazing work with Accelerating Appalachia, a nature-based business accelerator that connects innovative businesses, investors, and mentors who aligned with people, place, and prosperity. Oh, and SaraDay is Wendell Berry's niece-in-law!

Sara Day Evans is the Founding Director for Accelerating Appalachia and Co-Founder of Prosperity Collective. She's a sixth-generation Kentuckian and has worked with communities and small businesses across the southeast for over 20 years. She’s served over 300 communities and small businesses in economic development, entrepreneurship, and environmental protection and leveraged over $250M in funding in service to the southeast and Appalachian region. She was awarded a presidential commendation from Bill Clinton for her work in the health and livelihood of women living in Appalachian Kentucky through her clean water efforts.

With degrees in Geology/Hydrogeology and a background in water law, she was instrumental in developing Kentucky’s groundwater protection programs and later developed Kentucky’s first ongoing solid waste management fund, resulting in an 85% reduction in illegal dumping and a 25% increase in recycling. She served western North Carolina’s hardest-hit counties by developing sustainable economy plans that fit with the people and place of the region and created North Carolina’s Green Economy Resources Directory. She’s particularly proud of the program she developed and implemented to install clean energy systems on farms in western NC’s high-unemployment counties while also training high school and community college students in clean energy installation. In 2011, Sara Day co-founded the social enterprise Prosperity Collective inspired by the textile, farming, and forest products skills of the Appalachians, the expanding world of social entrepreneurs, and investing for good, she launched Accelerating Appalachia in 2012 to serve nature-based businesses in Appalachia and beyond.

Josh teams up with Ashley Colby to discuss potential low tech futures with Scott Johnson, the founder of the Low Tech Institute in Wisconsin.

Scott Johnson has been carrying out research into low tech since tried to build a catapult in 6th grade. He is a jack of all trades, but a master of none, including carpentry, gardening, electric, plumbing, beekeeping, brewing, butchery, baking, and more. His interest in past technologies led to a Ph.D. in anthropology (Tulane University, 2012), focusing on archaeology. He’s taught at universities across the US and Canada and led international field projects funded by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society. He is also the author of several books (Translating Maya Hieroglyphs, Why Did Ancient Civilizations Fail?). Today, he works at the Low Technology Institute and lives in the historic village of Cooksville, Wisconsin (just south of Madison), with his wife, kid, and dog. He enjoys a good cup of tea, aikido, running, and books.

Troy is the proprietor of thepasturedpig.com which is an incredible resource hub. He also has a fantastic youtube channel at RedToolHouse-Homestead.

Hope you enjoy our conversation!