Consultations
For site walk-throughs I recommend:
Two of us, I'll bring a permaculture friend or colleague to come with me. You'll get more from watching us agree and disagree, and why, than you'll get from one person's recommendations.
Have some kind of base map, or pay a bit extra for me to make one and bring copies for all of us to write on
Spirit of goodwill, if we want the consultation because of a disagreement between spouses, or we learn that you want to harm the ecosystem, we're not going to make you feel better
Our primary client is the earth
The longer we have to work on the design, the less I might say on the first walk-through. In many cases, the best design might be from me sitting alone at the site watching, and asking you to do the same!
Some questions we'll ask:
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What is your (or your family/community's) relationship with the site right now? How often do you work or enjoy the landscape and what kind of things do you do?
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What is your relationship with the site as you would like it to be? What do you see yourself (or your family or community) doing and how often?
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What is your wish list and why do you want those things?
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What are your time/money/community constraints and opportunities?
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What are the important ecological processes that categorize the site? (Is it habitat-rich? Does it flood? How well do plants grow? Has the land had a history of abuse?)
Pricing:
$35/hr for off-site work, like making a map, research, follow-up
$70/hr total on-site consultation time (usually two of us, we'll split it)
$35/hr travel to your site one-way, highly subjective based on location
If price is a barrier, there are some options:
Please Ask Anyway!
I may be able to work it into other travel
Feed us, including my kid. What mom doesn't want a break from that?
Plan a "Dine & Design" where you make a big meal, maybe some adult beverage, and we make it an event with lots of other permaculturists catching up with each other, writing ideas all over your base map, starting fist fights about swales, etc. It will be fun!