Pc Activist
t-shirts, hats,
& more

Essential Media for your Research  / Design Library

All items on this page can be purchased securely using Paypal.
You MUST "SELECT YOUR LOCATION" or your order will fail!!!
The Paypal prices include postage and handling chargeswhich vary depending on your location (US / Canada, or Elsewhere). Items are priced for solo shipment to the same address. If you reside outside the US & are ordering several titles, contact us for possible discounts on shipping.
You may send a check or money order (in US dollars... sorry, no credit cards, no phone payments... payable to
The Permaculture Activist, PO Box 5516, Bloomington, IN 47407 USA, Contact: 812-335-0383 or books@permacultureactivist.net
If ordering by mail with check, US & Canada Postage for Videos is US$4 for one, $7 for 2-3.
PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE  WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. WHILE WE WILL GLADLY REPLACE ANY DEFECTIVE ITEMS, NO RETURNS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION

* How forest gardens work
* Designing the forest garden
* A comprehensive directory of over 500 trees, shrubs and ground level plants suitable for the forest garden.
* Detailed advice on paths, windbreaks, harvesting, maintenance, wildlife and pests.

Creating a Forest Garden covers an exciting range of useful crops including bamboo shoots, goji berries and yams alongside more familiar fruits such as apples and raspberries.

The Woodland Year
by Ben Law
$49 $39, 2008, 176pp.
Review from PcA (PDF)

Packed with stunning colour photographs, The Woodland Year is an intimate month-by-month journey through Ben Law's yearly cycle of work, his naturally attuned lifestyle and his deep understanding of his woods. Each month also includes guest contributions from woodlanders in other parts of England and Wales. The Woodland Year provides a fascinating insight into every aspect of sustainable woodland management; the cycles of nature, seasonal tasks, wild food gathering,

wine making, mouthwatering and useful recipes, coppice crafts, round pole timber frame eco-building (pioneered by Ben in the UK), nature conservation, species diversity, tree profiles and the use of horses for woodland work. This is a profound book that is both practical and poetic. It describes a way of life that is economically and ecologically viable and sets a new standard for managing our woods in a low impact, sustainable way. As such, it holds some of the fundamental keys to how we can achieve a lower carbon society.

One of Ben Law's remarkable gifts, besides being arguably Britain's greatest living woodsman, is a knack for inspiring others. The Woodland Year is a month-by-month journey through Ben's woodland in the Sussex Weald, and a celebration of every aspect of sustainable woodland management. In words that are often lyrical but always ungilded, he describes a way of life that is both economically and ecologically viable. As such, it holds some of the fundamental keys to how we can achieve a more sustainable, lower carbon society. Ben is a true pioneer and is quite simply creating a woodland renaissance in Britain. Read this, and you will surely want to be part of it. --From the Foreword by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Essentially, edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodland-like patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. You can grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms,

About the Authors: Dave Jacke is the owner of Dynamics Ecological Design Associates and a longtime permaculture teacher and designer. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire. Eric Toensmeier is a plant researcher, agricultural educator, and permaculturist who lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Mycelium Running
by Paul Stamets   2005, 352pp.,$35

More mushrooms, less pollution! Yes, you heard right: growing more mushrooms may be the best thing we can do to save the environment. Microscopic cells called "mycelium"—the fruit of which are mushrooms —recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What fungi expert Paul Stamets has discovered is that mycelium also breaks down hydrocarbons —the base structure in many pollutants. So, for instance, when soil contaminated with diesel oil is inoculated with strains of oyster mushroom mycelia, the soil loses its toxicity in just eight weeks. In MYCELIUM RUNNING, Stamets discusses this

revolutionary trend in mushroom cultivation and provides tips for choosing the appropriate species of fungi for various environmental purposes.

"As a physician and practitioner of integrative medicine, I find this book exciting and optimistic because it suggests new, nonharmful possibilities for solving serious problems that affect our health and the health of our environment. Paul Stamets has come up with those possibilities by observing an area of the natural world most of us have ignored. He has directed his attention to mushrooms and mycelium and has used his unique intelligence and intuition to make discoveries of great practical import. I think you will find it hard not to share the enthusiasm and passion he brings to these pages." – From the foreword by Andrew Weil, MD, author of Eating Well for Optimum Health

"Stamets is a visionary emissary from the fungus kingdom to our world, and the message he's brought back in this book, about the possibilities fungi hold for healing the environment, will fill you with wonder and hope." – Michael Pollan, author of Botany of Desire

"Stamets has done a unique public service. This visionary and practical book should be an instant classic in the emerging science of how to use nature's wisdom and fecundity to rescue the earth and ourselves from the unwelcome consequences of human cleverness." – Amory B. Lovins, CEO, Rocky Mountain Institute

"A paradigm-changing book. Stamets' visionary insights are leading to a whole new understanding of how mushrooms, scarcely seen and rarely appreciated, regulate the earth's ecosystems." – John Todd, Ph.D., University of Vermont and John Todd Ecological Design

"The gospel of fungi containing crucial pragmatic solutions showing us how to work with nature in order to heal nature." – Kenny Ausubel, founder and co-executive director of Bioneers

NEW! Nature’s Garden
A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants
by Samuel Thayer
2010, 512pp., $25

A practical guide to all aspects of edible wild plants: finding and identifying them, their seasons of harvest, and their methods of collection and preparation. Each plant is discussed in great detail and accompanied by excellent color photographs. Includes an index, illustrated glossary, bibliography, and harvest calendar. The perfect guide for all experience levels.

Get the Forager's Harvest video here.

"It has become the go-to book for students at the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School. Nature’s Garden, builds upon the high standard set by The Foragers Harvest and establishes him as the leading authority and author on edible wild plants that has ever published. It isn’t slightly better than other books on the topic; it’s in a whole different league". Tim Smith, M.Ed. Founder and Director of The Jack Mountain Bushcraft School

Botany in a Day - The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
Thomas J. Elpel's Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families 5th Edition, 2004, 221pp., $30

Botany in a Day is changing the way people learn about plants! Tom's book has gained a nationwide audience almost exclusively by word-of-mouth. It is now used as a text and recommended by herbal and wilderness schools across North America. Instead of presenting individual plants, Botany in a Day unveils the patterns of identification and uses among related plants, giving readers simple tools to rapidly unlock the mysteries of the new species they encounter throughout the continent.

The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
by Kim Flottum 2005, 168pp, $25

This book isn't just a guide to beekeeping or a honey cookbook; it's both. No other book on the market provides an in-depth review of beekeeping and what honey is good for and how to use it. Beautifully illustrated, the Backyard Beekeeper is perfect for the health-conscious person who wants to sweeten up their life by saying no to processed sugars and yes to eating organic, healthy food.

This book is the complete "honey bee" resource with general information on bees; a how-to guide to the art of bee keeping and how to set up, care for, and harvest your own hives; as well as tons of fun facts and projects that are bee related. The second half of the book is the complete guide to honey. It reviews the different types of honey and their health effects as well as provides hundreds of ideas and recipes for using honey in recipes, cosmetically in facemasks and shampoos, and for medicinal uses.

About the Author
After receiving a degree in horticulture from UW Madison, Kim Flottum worked four years in the USDA Honey Bee Research Lab, studying pollination ecology. After that, he spent two years raising acres of fruits and vegetables, where bees played a large role. He brings this experience, plus nearly 20 years of writing and editing articles for beekeepers in the monthly magazine Bee Culture.

The various chemicals used in beekeeping have, for the past decades, held Varroa Destructor, a mite, and other major pests at bay, but chemical-resistance is building and evolution threatens to overtake the best that laboratory chemists have to offer. In fact, there is evidence that chemical treatments are making the problem worse. Natural Beekeeping flips the script on traditional approaches by proposing a program of selective breeding and natural hive management.

Conrad brings together the best organic and natural approaches to keeping honeybees healthy and productive here in one book. Readers will learn about nontoxic methods of controlling mites, eliminating American foulbrood disease (without the use of antibiotics), breeding strategies, and many other tips and techniques for maintaining healthy hives. Conrad's reservoir of knowledge comes from years of experience and a far-flung community of fellow beekeepers who are all interested in ecologically sustainable apiculture. Specific concepts and detailed management techniques are covered in a matter-of-fact, easy to implement way.

Natural Beekeeping describes opportunities for the seasoned professional to modify existing operations to improve the quality of hive products, increase profits, and eliminate the use of chemical treatments. Beginners will need no other book to guide them. Whether you are an experienced apiculturist looking for ideas to develop an Integrated Pest Management approach or someone who wants to sell honey at a premium price, this is the book you've been waiting for.