Last week I sat down — over Zoom — with Sam Livingston and Darlene Jenkins from the Chester County Economic Development Council. They’re behind the New Business Champions – Agriculture Micro Grant Program, which helps small farms and ag startups get professional help — marketing, accounting, legal, business planning — the things most of us can’t quite afford while we’re still building fences and compost piles.
We talked for close to an hour about Sans Souci, permaculture, and the idea of rewilding as a legacy. Neither of them had much exposure to permaculture before, and it was fun watching the idea land — that you can actually design a place to work like nature instead of against it.
They loved the philosophy but, naturally, asked the big question: “So how is this a business?”
And that’s where I had to be honest. I don’t know yet.
I told them I’d rather grow something real before building something we can’t live up to.
I can envision a few directions — a Pennsylvania fig purveyor if our trees thrive, or a teaching site where other landowners can learn how to design their own permaculture systems. But right now, it’s about getting Zone 1 established, watching what survives, and proving the soil wants to cooperate. The business part will grow out of that — or it won’t.
Afterward, I sent a thank-you email, attached the master plan from Ancient Origins Permaculture (we’ve installed one of five zones), and shared links to the blog and Instagram.
Sam wrote back later that night — thoughtful, enthusiastic, clearly engaged. He said he’d gone through the plan, loved seeing Zone 1 coming to life, and appreciated what we’re trying to do here. They’ll be reviewing all the applicants soon, and I left the call feeling like Sans Souci was understood for what it really is: an idea in motion.
Even if the microgrant doesn’t materialize, I came away with something better — awareness. I had no idea how much the CCEDC has going for agriculture in this county. Their AgConnect team alone is a small ecosystem of advisors, educators, and partnerships dedicated to keeping farming viable here.
And in case you didn’t know: Chester County produces more than half of all mushrooms consumed in the United States. So yeah, it’s fertile ground.
FIELD NOTES
Speaking of mushrooms — Matt Smith (neighbor, fellow homesteader) and I just inoculated a batch of oak logs with Shiitake and Hen of the Woods spawn on his property. I tucked in some potatoes, sowed cover crop into the swales, and planted a few cut-rate perennials along the septic edge to keep vehicles off of it and on the road to the crops.
Work and township events have kept me busy, but I’m sketching plans for a greenhouse and starting to think ahead to Zones 2–5, including a pond system that will help with irrigation and biodiversity. Financing it all will take some creativity, but that’s part of the challenge — and the fun.
Permaculture teaches patience. It’s about building something that works because it belongs — not because it was forced. So we’ll keep planting, experimenting, and learning. Whether or not a microgrant helps push us forward, Sans Souci is already growing in the ways that matter most.
STAY CURIOUS!
PALM READER 