SKIP Update: News & More

Earlier this month, I blogged about SKIP: Skills to Inherit Property.  

“The idea is to connect industrious people with no means of obtaining property, with people who have property that they want to see used for homesteading, farming, and permaculture.”

There were quite a few enthusiastic comments to that blog post, so I thought you might be interested in an update and more information. This post will be kinda long, so I’ll tell you upfront the points I’m going to cover.

• Who the SKIP Kickstarter is attracting
• SKIP is a free online program for learning homesteading and permaculture skills
• The Kickstarter incentives keep getting better and better.

Who the SKIP Kickstarter is attracting.

It would seem logical that this would attract the attention of people who have a desire for property but no means. Well, it is, but it’s also drawing people who have property and want to make sure it passes on to people who will love and nurture the land; to build on what the original landowners started. Quite a few of them have contacted the SKIP organizers about eventually finding qualified persons to pass their land on to. To me, that’s exciting news!

SKIP is a free online program for learning homesteading and permaculture skills.

The program has been in progress at Permies.com since last year, offering folks an opportunity to learn and document a variety of self-sufficiency skills. Once the requirements of a specific skill are completed, a merit-type badge is awarded. There 22 badges (aspects) that can be earned, and each aspect has four levels. 

I’m not looking to inherit land, but I’ve participated in the program to learn new skills. It’s challenging and fun. Anyone can participate. The only thing that’s required is to register for Permies.com. They are pretty respectful of privacy, so all you need to register is a valid email and a real-sounding name. Click here to read more about the SKIP program. 

The Kickstarter incentives keep getting better and better.

The SKIP Kickstarter will fund the publishing of the SKIP book, and also the SKIP program at Permies. Response has been fantastic, partly because of all the incentives that are being offered for the various donation levels.

For donating at least $1 by 2 pm Mountain Time on April 16, Kickstarter participants receive:

• Access to  Sepp Holzer’s Aquaculture documentary
• Round Pole Reciprocal Roof Framing with Tony Wrench eBook
• Erica Wisner’s “Rocket Canner, Fryer, and Forge” plans
• Joseph Lofthouse’s Landrace Gardening chapter on Promiscuous Pollination (beta version sneak peek)
• Thomas Elpel’s one hour “Botany in a Day” PDC presentation
• Joel Salatin’s keynote presentation “Fields of Farmers”
• “Hugelkultur” movie from the World Domination Gardening 3-movie set
• Brad Landcaster’s presentation “Principles, Practices, and Tips for Water-Harvesting Earthworks and Rain Gardens”
• Raven Ranson’s Clean With Cleaners You Can Eat eBook
• 2 chapters from David Pagan Butler’s Organic Pools DIY Manual: Bubble Pumps and Filters
• Living Woods Magazine 37th Issue (PDF)
• Leigh Tate’s Homesteading How-To ebook – Composting with Chickens
• Kate Downham’s Cookbook selections on jam, nettles, seaweed, and fermenting from A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen
• The gardening chapter (PDF) from Paul Wheaton’s Building a Better World in your Backyard 
• Michael Judd’s “Uncommon Fruit” chapter from Edible Landscaping 
• “How to card flax the easy way” from Raven Ranson’s Homegrown Linen  
• Rob Avis presentation “Starting a Permaculture Based Business”

Then there are the Stretch Goal rewards. New rewards are added for every $5000 reached and are available to everyone who donates $65 or more to the SKIP Kickstarter. Right now these include:

• The full movie “Desert or Paradise” with Sepp Holzer
• The full movie “Make a Natural Swimming Pool” with David Pagan Butler
• The eBook Wood Gasifier Builder’s Bible by Ben Peterson
• The eBook $50 and Up Underground House Book by Mike Oehler
• chance for 6 free tickets to the 2021 SKIP event
• 117 hours of video from Permaculture Voices 1, 2 and 3
• The eBook A Simple Roundhouse Manual by Tony Wrench
• Leigh Tate’s 5 Acres & A Dream The Book eBook
• The full movie “Abundance on Dry Land” by Green Planet Films
• chance for 6 free tickets to the 2021 Permaculture Technology Jamboree
• Michael Judd’s “Water Harvesting and Soil Building” webinar
• Living Woods Magazine – all 55 issues
• Robert Kourik’s Roots Demystified eBook