Sara’s yard is also a shining example of urban permaculture design. Starting off with just a concrete slab, her and her husband began cutting up the concrete to expose the soil and from there they have birthed an incredible example of what permaculture design can do. At their home they have 3 bee hives, a young food forest and veggie garden which together contain an amazing variety of plants, greenhouse (where they grew sub tropical plants such as okra and have an outdoor shower!), passive rainwater collection system, swales, wicking beds, cold frames, and more. When we came by to visit the yard for our first time in early April of 2012, we were amazed to see that Sara was already harvesting spinach and other greens from some of her cold frame gardens! She has done a great job of connecting with her neighbors through their garden project, and some of them even popped by to say hello while we were visiting. Sara also has a project called Apple Tree Sustainables which includes a blog, the documentation of her and her husbands’ yard transformation, and also natural body products which she makes and sells herself.

These two inspiring women show how permaculture design can foster hope for a better future, offer practical solutions and action steps, as well as help people take their skills or professional background and turn it into a small side business or full time entrepreneurial venture.