Good Day! As of now..., we have cleared the land, put in lanes of fruit trees and bushes, established electricity and our well. However..., the economy in the Panhandle of Florida has slowed down to a creeping crawl. My hours have been cut from my job, and hubby has had only small projects to work on that just pay the bills. We need the foundation materials, trusses, some insulation, and drywall. We have started demoing the old house, but without the foundation we can not finish the project. I am looking for a second job, but with the economy the way it is here... they interview and you hear nothing. We have been working on preparing the ground, laying compost, hilling mounds, and planting plant cuttings to rather go in now due to their cold tolerance or working on the tropicals for greenhouse. Either way... we still are pounding dirt.

If you had a chance to move out of the United States, where would you go and why?

This community is not here just to listen to me talk. There are a lot of experienced permaculture people in this group. Growers. Builders. Designers. Homesteaders. People who have actually done the work. This is the place to post questions, share what’s working, show what’s failing, and help each other think through problems. I’m not a guru here. I’m a facilitator. I keep things moving, share what I know, and make sure the space stays useful and grounded. If you’ve got experience, use it.If you’re learning, ask.If you’re stuck, post. Communities only work when people participate. Lurking doesn’t build resilience. Conversation does. Start a thread. Reply to someone. Add value.

I keep coming back to this question and I want to hear real thoughts, not hot takes. Is 2026 the last relatively normal year before things start breaking in a visible way? Not apocalypse. Not end of the world. Just systems failing faster than they are being repaired. Jobs that look stable until they are not. Food and housing that keep getting more fragile. Debt that only works if nothing goes wrong. Institutions that assume compliance instead of trust. I am not saying this to scare anyone. I am saying it because I am watching people who did everything right still feel cornered. If 2026 is the last year where you can still move, still buy land, still learn real skills, still build community while the lights are on, that matters. So I am genuinely curious. Do you think we have more time than that Or less Or do you think nothing meaningful is coming at all Comment your take. I read them all.

I just released a new video documenting a full sauna build using an unconventional material: sawdust mixed with lime and cement (often called dustcrete). This wasn’t a weekend experiment. The build took about four months, and the video walks through what worked, what didn’t, and why the system functions the way it does. What the video covers - Why sawdust, lime, and cement work together - How the structure, bond beam, and walls interact - Thermal performance and moisture considerations - What I’d change if I built it again This is a detailed, real-world build — not a highlight reel or a quick how-to. If you’re experimenting with alternative materials or unconventional building methods, I think you’ll find this one useful. – Stefano If the button doesn’t work, copy/paste: https://youtu.be/SLBBcj23T6o