Bill thought that his new homestead was safe from contamination. It was built just for him and his family, and Sandy, his wife, had helped with the design to truly make this their Dream Home!
The creek ran through the back portion of the property, and was designed to not only provide the water for their 1,000 square foot garden, but also they built a small pond fed by the creek for fish and swimming. They had even had the water tested and followed the creek upstream 1 mile to make sure that it was safe.
There were many people that lived along the creek, and there had never been any problems in the past, so no problems were expected.
The first two years were Great! Life was good and they had received much food from the Garden, as well as had enough to share with their friends and family. But the third year crops did not seem to produce as much harvest for them. It had been a hard winter, with an excessive amount of runoff, so they thought it was just a fluke.
Their family seemed to have more colds and flu symptoms that fall, and their energy levels just seemed to not be what it use to be. The fish in the pond had been washed away the previous spring due to the high volume run off, and the newly planted fish died off a little at a time.
The pond had to be drained and cleaned, then refilled from the creek. The water still looked clean and after all, its water had been tested when they moved in. All tests originally came back as being healthy chemistry.
Their children continued to struggle with the colds and flu symptoms off and on. The doctors kept coming up with the same diagnosis, cold or flu. They were eating right, exercising and drinking lots of water. Still, slow to no recovery. You know how it is, doing everything you can to stay healthy, but something just doesn’t seem to be right physically?
Bill continued to try everything to help his family out, supplements from the health food store, putting water filters on his house water supply. There was some improvement in their energy level a few less colds. However, the symptoms never seemed to go away.
What would you do if you were Bill and Sandy? Not sick enough to keep you from living your life, but not feeling quite right either?
Finally, Bill and Sandy went to a holistic Naturopathic doctor that recommended having his home and surroundings checked for toxic contaminants. He recommended either the local county agriculture extension agent, or a private permaculturist.
A call to the local county agriculture extension agent proved to be somewhat helpful. Bill was given some advice on what samples to take and to bring into a local lab to test for toxins and contaminants. A site visit would be 1 to 2 months out due to the size of the workload of the inspector.
Bill and Sandy did not want to wait that long, so they went back to their Naturopath and sought some more help. The doctor started them on a cleansing/de-toxification diet, as well as had them contact a Permaculture expert that he knows.
The diet change helped with the majority of the symptoms that they had been dealing with. Once Dan, the permaculture guy, came they were surprised at all of the information that he had for them. He not only took samples from their home, but also soil from their garden, as well as water samples from their creek and their pond.
He also followed the creek up to its source, taking random samples along the way.
The Solution to their situation was as follows::
- Remove the garbage found unearthed during the large runoff the previous years, containing toxic chemicals that leached downstream to their property and beyond.
- Empty their pond and plant their garden with plants that will absorb the toxins, then dispose of those plants properly. Retest the soil after the cover crop is harvested and properly disposed of.
- Remove the liner from the pond, and either de-contaminate it or replace it once the water source path to it has been proven clean.
- Install a system to allow them to monitor water quality coming into their property prior to using the creek again as their water source.
- Periodically walk the banks of the creek and Eradicate any contaminants found.
This was just one example of how learning about Permaculture will help you manage and maintain your home. I will share more examples of how these practices has improved the lives of those using the principles, as well as those that live around them.
One way to ensure a healthy home, as well as provide your family with healthy foods is to practice ecological gardening.
Even if you live in a high rise condo or apartment, you too can benefit from growing your own herbs and vegetables.
What is in your environment that could possibly be affecting your health as well as that of your family and friends that come to visit?
So, what does Permaculture mean to you and why should you care?
Your family, friends, health and enjoyment of life are all integrated into your environment. In the Bible, God gave man dominion over all the Earth. Air, Land, Animals and Water. With the proper plan and implementation, your home on earth can become your own Garden of Eden! Check us out on Facebook to find out more about us!
Leave a comment below and tell us what you want to know about your home and the problems that you want to fix, and we will answer in one of our upcoming newsletters.
Turning Your Dreams into the Life of Your Dreams
Founder hisfarm.org and Ambassador of Natural News and Sustainable Living on How to Live on Purpose.com
