Kink & Permaculture Pt. 2: Catch and Store Energy (Patreon)

As I mentioned in my last permaculture post, David Holmgren gets credit for encapsulating the essence of permaculture design into 12 principles. These principles are so deeply embedded in my systems thinking that they've unconsciously influenced both my approach to running Wicked Grounds and my overall kink ethics. This series of articles is an attempt for me to think about that approach a little more deliberately, and to make my approach to the kink world and Wicked Grounds' KINK 101 education series more transparent to other kinksters. 

Some of the principles are such a profound fit that the points seem obvious, and I'm already tinkering with several future articles. Others are . . . well, if obvious, certainly a little less sexy. That said, I'm convinced that there is a useful systems theory of kink, and that we can make connections for all of them. So, I'm making myself tackle them in the order Holmgren outlines them, even if that's not the easiest or sexiest order. 

Holmgren lays out the second principle this way: 

1. Catch and Store Energy – “Make hay while the sun shines." By developing systems that collect resources when they are abundant, we can use them in times of need.

In permaculture practice, there is a call to capture resources in the easiest yet most elegant way possible -- losing as little of the resource as possible through smart design. This could be as simple as placing rain barrels or cisterns around your property to catch rainwater to store for the future dry season, or as wickedly elegant as this person's gravity-fed compost bays, which use gravity to slowly tumble the compost in progress from a second floor kitchen to a ground floor garden. (Seriously, that's rad.) 

So, what energy do we kinksters have to capture and store? 

It might be quality time. If you're in a long-distance or secondary relationship, how do you make the most of time together to create memories and rituals to weather time apart? 

It might be time with specific friends or communities. How do you structure time at kink conferences or events to make the most of seeing old friends and play partners, and making new connections? 

It might be developing kink skills. Is there a class, or a conference, or a book on taking a kink skill to the next level? Or a chance to take a workshop and make your own toys? Perhaps a rainy day becomes a chance to listen to that great podcast you've been meaning to catch up with, or watch some movies to get inspired. 

It might even be planning ahead for your self-care. As we discussed in our most recent episode of Kinky Queer Revolution, it helps to know you're going to need down-time after a big event (like a play party, or Folsom, or a kinky weekend) and to line up what you'll need for aftercare long before you need it. 

Capturing energy while it's abundant means having it available later when it's needed. 

Speaking of which, it's time to get back in the backyard and turn those old coffee grounds into compost! 

xo

Mir