Hi everyone, welcome to my blog page. I've wanted to create a place where I can share about my business, and anything related that I think can bring value and benefit to the subject of soil and the environment. I will also share news and announcements about whats happening with my business to keep you up to date, so in essence this will be a place where I can communicate and educate.
To kick off my first post I would like to start by thanking everyone who has donated to me in order to support my business. Learning about soil has become a real passion and I find the subject so exciting. In some ways the subject of soil is very simple, yet it can also become so intricate and very complex, but I found that with the complexity comes learning and 'figuring out' systems and I find it super fascinating how all these systems all relate to each other and humans.
Leonardo da Vinci once said: “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” And from what I gather this statement is still true today. FYI, there are billions of microbes in a tea spoon of healthy soil.
Donations, appreciation and aspirations
In terms of donations, instead of me 'charging' for my work, the idea is that myself and my business will become totally supported from receiving donations. I know this is not a standard practice by most businesses so I thank you for supporting me in this way I really appreciate it.
The idea is that I can offer my services free of charge to everyone, and base all my interactions and business endeavours on 'desire' and 'gift giving'.
So far, I have mainly received donations directly from clients who have received soil sample assessments. I also received a donation to help with the cost of my microscope right at the beginning of my business, and I have just recently received a donation of 40 reclaimed plastic buckets which will be used towards making living compost recipes, so a big thank you to those individuals, and thank you to my clients for your donations, its really appreciated.
Assessing the biology in soil samples is actually quite intense work. Although its a sedentary job, the focus and concentration that it takes to count and assess the morphology of the organisms using the microscope and laptop can be quite draining on the eyes, and the work cannot be rushed for it has to be thorough and precise in order to get the most accurate results. I will make a blog post soon on the processes of assessing soil samples so you get to understand whats involved and why its valuable.
If I based a full time work week (about 40 hours) solely offering soil assessments, logistically and realistically, I think I could offer 12/14 assessments a week, that feels like a comfortable amount were I can assess samples without rushing, also giving me time to respond to emails and create educational content.
Thank you and continued education
I also want to thank Dr. Elaine Ingham for her incredible life's work, and her school 'The Soil Food School' . I am not sure if I would be doing what I am doing today if it wasn't for her passion for this subject along with her steadfast desire to bring this knowledge to the masses. I am truly grateful that she designed the courses for us to learn and share our passion for soil in our own unique way, I am not sure where I would be with out the course. Dr.Elaine, and the school have been a great source of education and inspiration for me.
With that being said, I happy to announce that I am starting the final part of the soil food web education, which is the 'consultant' program. I want to dedicate a whole post about this course, however, here is a brief summery.
So far I am certified from the schools 'foundation' and 'lab technician' courses. Passing these courses has given me the accreditation needed to provide the services I currently offer.
The consultancy course will give me even more opportunity to help clients with their soil. Below I will share a brief description of the course content.
The course is split into 3 stages
In Stage 1 your mentor will guide you as you work towards mastering the art of making BioComplete™ compost using the techniques you have studied in the Foundation Courses.
In Stage 2 you will produce BioComplete™ extracts and teas using the techniques studied in the Foundation Courses. You may be required to purchase some equipment in order to complete these tasks, depending on the scale of your project. There are also a number of advanced classes to be taken in Stage 2.
Stage 3 - In the final project you will be required to regenerate the soil on a small plot of land. You will begin by producing a site assessment and subsequently a biological plan. Once this has been approved, you will proceed by treating the soil with the BioComplete™ amendments which you made in Stages 1 & 2. You will then monitor the soil biology and other metrics, submitting samples to your mentor for verification at key stages. Upon successful completion of Stage 3, you will be awarded a completion certificate.
I have found a project close to my home to complete my consulting program. A small group of people are working towards a community land regeneration project called 'Barefoot Farm' which started in June 2022. I will explain much much more about this project in future posts, but I wanted to say thank you to this group for allowing me to create my living compost experiments and further education on their land. If all goes well I should be able to complete my consulting program by the end of next years growing season, although I get 3 years to complete the course.
As a part of my learning and sharing of education, I am going to document all my experiments here on this blog, so look out for future posts or subscribe to the blog if you would like to receive this information.
So far I spend donations on living expenses, course fees and equipment. I've spent around £5700 on the education, and around £1000 on equipment to complete the all the courses, equipment like a microscope, camera, test tubes etc and lens cleaning equipment. Soon I will buy more equipment that is needed for the land regeneration project. I also need a lap top, which I already bought a few years ago, and there will also be re-certification fees once a year, so it all adds up.
As well as receiving donations for my business, I also have a full time job as an organic gardener, growing vegetables for the plant based restaurant 'Farmacy' in London, this allows me to support myself until there comes a point that I can financially go full time solely with my soil work and receiving donations.
If you would like to support my work by gifting donations you can do so by clicking this link.
If you would like the biology of your soil profile assessed in order to help your projects or growing desires, then please feel free to get in touch through my website and for a full list of the services I offer please click this link
Thank you again to everyone and I will be posting more soon.
Perry
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