What's going well?
I have several projects on the go at the minute, and I'm making at least some progress on all of them.
Moving house
When I started the diploma, moving house was more of a long term vision than a project, but we've now decided to make it a reality. Looking back at my three month review I can see I was feeling overwhelmed by how much there was to do, but we've made good progress since then. Some jobs we're tackling ourselves, and I'm learning new skills in tiling, plastering, and painting, which I'm sure will come in useful in the future. I still haven't found a reliable, trustworthy roofer though - definitely a gap in the market!
We've been to see a few houses, and looked at plenty more on the internet, and we're building a good picture of what we'd both like. I reckon it'll take another six months of work here, and then we'll be ready to put this house on the market and look seriously.
Research project
A chance conversation over dinner at the national diploma gathering last November has led to a joint design with another apprentice for a research project, exploring why people embark on their diploma journeys when they do. My fellow researcher, Barry, started his soon after his permaculture design course, but I waited 13 years. What do other people do, and could we use that to market the diploma differently?
So far this has led us down a fascinating path of reviewing other diploma websites, meeting with Chris, the research coordinator and others at the Permaculture Association, and experimenting with online survey tools. We're trialling the permaculture research handbook to guide us through the process and we plan to present our findings at the coming international permaculture convergence in September.
I've made soap a few times now using olive and coconut oils (recipe and instructions here), and I got to wondering whether it was possible to make it with oils that were grown in the UK. After a fair bit of investigating, I couldn't find a single recipe using only UK-grown oils, so I'm experimenting with making my own. It seems that many UK oils make a very soft soap which melts quickly - possibly why nobody has bothered doing it before! I'm not yet ready to go down the route of using animal fat, so I'll be exploring for a little longer. Today I'm turning a failed, flaky batch into liquid soap - no waste produced here!
This is not a time consuming project, but it's quite spread out, as each batch takes around eight weeks to cure before it's ready for use.
Events and inspiration
Last autumn I went to both the convergence and the national diploma gathering. I love immersing myself with like minded people for a few days. I very much enjoyed watching people's diploma presentations at both events - I love seeing how other people have done things and they were all so very different. I managed to squeeze in a tutorial with my own tutor, Jo Holleran, and also a design support tutorial with Nicole Vosper too.
This year there's no national diploma gathering but I'll be going to the international permaculture convergence in September. Must remember to book a ticket!
Writing
I love writing, but I'm not putting the time aside to write up my diploma projects as I go along, and I haven't been regularly writing on this blog as I'd planned. However, I've now shifted this over to Weebly, which should make the process of having a separate page for each design a lot easier. Watch this space!
Balance
Interestingly, I identified this as a challenge at my three month review too. Things have got even more out of balance lately. Work has been stressful, voluntary projects have felt like work, and with the house in chaos and some exuberant new neighbours, I've found it hard to relax. I've stopped exercising, I'm not eating well, I didn't take any holidays from work in February or March, and have now been forced to accept this isn't sustainable.
So I've taken some time off, and I'm reacquainting myself with the things I love to do, that nourish and relax me. I'm walking more, and doing a 10k race with my sister tomorrow. I'm starting to cook again. I've taken a few days off work, and that in itself has given me the headspace I need to take a step back.
I'm still hankering after a house with enough room for chickens. We've refined our vision to also include a workshop (for making, saving, pottering), and a separate music room for my partner. After much searching we think this is actually possible, but it will involve some compromise in terms of travel. I accept that my journey to work might be even more inconvenient for a while, but longer term I'm aiming for a more patchwork life and not being tied to this one job anyway.
What are my next achievable steps?
- Keep working on the house: we'd like it to be ready to sell in six months - so by the start of November. I'm not sure that's a good time for selling houses, but it gives us something to aim for!
- Research project: we plan to have the survey online this week, and as we're presenting at the convergence in September we've got quite a short deadline...
- Writing: I said it at my three month review, but I'd like to create a new blog post each week, and to get a page set up on this website for each of my current designs.
I've enjoyed this little amble through the last few months. I can't believe I've been doing this diploma for nearly a year already!