January 31st, 2012 at 1:31 pm (the human path, texas outdoor education, herbology, field medicine, health and nutrition)
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Today, Sam Coffman welcomes Lisa Ganora to The Human Path podcast. Lisa will be the new owner and director of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism (NAIMH) in Boulder CO, starting in July, 2012. This school has one of the most well-rounded and intensive herbalism programs in the USA. Lisa is also the author of a wonderful and much-needed textbook in the study of plant medicine: “Herbal Constituents -Foundations of Phytochemistry”. |
Together, Sam and Lisa cover such topics as:
- What is Lisa’s book about and why is it necessary to learn about medicinal plants at a bio-chemical level?
- How does a bio-chemical approach to herbalism complement with a vitalistic approach to plant medicine?
- How does intuition play a role in plant medicine? How does reductionism play a role?
- How has the study of plant medicine evolved over the past 50 years? Is there a positive synergy achieved in combining different paradigms of healing?
- Can herbal treatments be as potent and effective as allopathic (western mainstream) treatments, even for serious conditions and injuries?
- How did Lisa get into herbalism?
- How do plants respond to human (social) culture?
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| Founded in 2003, the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism offers introductory, advanced, and clinical education in medical herbalism and nutrition in the Vitalist tradition. We offer classroom, clinical, field training, and distance learning formats. We are approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Private Occupational School Board. Our faculty members are certified herbalists with professional clinical experience and strong backgrounds in clinical nutrition. Each also has a professional background in education. |
| Lisa Ganora has been a traditional herbalist for more than 25 years and is also an expert on the properties of phytochemical constituents in medicinal foods and herbs. Lisa, who earned her biology degree with highest honors from the University of North Carolina, is currently the Adjunct Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and will become the Director of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in June, 2012. She is the author of the popular website, HerbalConstituents.com, several distance-learning courses, numerous visual curriculum materials, and the textbook Herbal Constituents. As a teacher, Lisa combines traditional wisdom and hands-on experience with easily accessible science for a uniquely holistic learning experience. |
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To find out more about the instructional programs at NAIMH please visit http://naimh.com/
To sign up for The Human Path herbalism classes, start with the Level 1 Herbology course here
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January 30th, 2012 at 6:09 pm (urban survival, the human path, permaculture, texas outdoor education, green homesteading, aquaponics, self sufficiency farming, self sustainability)
Melanie Jamison joins us today from Austin-area organization, Vajra Azaya. This is a non-profit group that focuses on practicing building, gardening and engineering methods of self-sustainability. They are currently constructing two communities that will be self-sufficient, along with community gardens and other local community events to share and train others in these methods. Today Sam Coffman and Melanie discuss:
- the purpose of the Vajra Azaya group, where they are located and the goals of these communities
- the East Austin community is breaking ground on 3 octadome living structures, a community center and surrounding produce gardens
- the Bastrop project which will include 4 to 5 living structures, a workshop, healing hut, gardens and accompanying overhead apartments
- how a dream inspired the quest to build self sustaining communities
- hugulkultur - what it is and what they are using it for
- current experiments underway with green engineering techniques: winter sowing, raised garden beds, tinfoil radios, clay pot fridges, and more
- learning how to design things that work without electricity
- the February workshops on welding and building earth bricks
- the February/March upcoming workshops on gardening topics from permaculture to aquaponics to wicking beds.
More about Vajra Azaya: Vajra Azaya was created as a non-profit entity to build self-reliant communities that include capacity for food, housing, community, and economic development. Vajra Azaya assists with the development of these communities while also providing educational opportunities for the public in the building methods and technologies used so that others can replicate our efforts.
To link for more information about Vajra Azaya: www.vajraazaya.org
To get involved in upcoming projects with affiliated communities join the meetup.com group at: http://www.meetup.com/Vajra-Azaya/
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January 27th, 2012 at 4:36 pm (survival skills, the human path, texas outdoor education, Outdoor Fitness and Self Defense, outdoor survival, disaster preparedness, readiness, power shortage, survival scenario, survival gear)
To follow up on yesterday's disaster scenario podcast, Sam Coffman goes through the situation and possibilities to consider when caught in dire circumstances. The scenario involved being stranded during a snowstorm with minimal gas, food and clothing resources. Followers were asked for feedback on how to handle being caught with a less than ideal outlook.
By using the 3 A's of survival, awareness, adaptability and attitude, and fully preparing for the worst case scenario; a bad situation can be dealt with more adeptly.
Listen to today's podcast for more.
Yesterday's podcast: Episode 091: Snowbound.
Don't be caught unprepared. Learn your skills.
Primitive Core Basic training, 5 Day Intensive, March 12 - 16th, online registration
Wilderness First Aid Certification, 16-hour training, April 28- 29th, online registration
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January 26th, 2012 at 1:56 pm (survival skills, the human path, texas outdoor education, outdoor survival, disaster preparedness, readiness, survival scenario, survival gear)
After watching a winter snowstorm sweep through the Pacific Northwest area, we wondered how our followers would deal with a survival situation in a winter blizzard after becoming stuck in their vehicle. Respond with what you would do in this potentially deadly scenario.
Here is the scenario: It is 1 pm. You are traveling with two other family members in an intense blizzard. After driving on a back road in a mountain area of the Cascade Mountains in your 2-wheel drive car, it becomes stuck on the road and can not move forward or back. Here are the items you have with you:
1/4 tank of gas, a spare tire, a tire rod, a liter of water, 2 granola bars and a ziploc bag of trail mix. There is a small amount of paper trash on the floor of the car. All three of you have cell phones, but all the batteries are low. There is no cell phone reception where you have become stuck and there is one phone charger in the car. You are all wearing 2 layers: cotton tshirts with a fleece sweatshirt and one with a cotton sweatshirt, jeans, cotton socks and tennis shoes.
The blizzard is anticipated to last at least one more day, but you are on a rural backroad which may not attract attention for several days. You don't know the rate that the snow is falling, but in the 30 minutes that you have been stuck, you realize that you can no longer see the dirt road ahead anymore and the car's tire tracks behind are gone.
What action do you take to keep yourself and your family members safe?
Post a comment on this podcast and we will give a reply by the end of the day.
Up tomorrow: What happens next.
Learn to protect yourself with limited resources: Primitive Core Basic training, 5 Day Intensive, March 12 - 16th, online registration
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January 25th, 2012 at 1:10 pm (survival skills, the human path, texas outdoor education, herbology, the combat medic, outdoor survival, trauma medicine, field medicine, disaster preparedness, readiness, health and nutrition)
In today’s podcast, Sam Coffman talks about field sanitation and first aid. Some of the points that Sam will cover include:
- Why suturing a laceration in the field is irresponsible and shouldn’t even be considered as an option
- What are the bare necessities needed to deal with field sanitation?
- What other natural options outside of soap exist to keep clean?
- What are some of the top anti-infective herbs for external wounds?
- What herbs help promote tissue-healing as well as being anti-infective?
- How do you use herbs externally and why is this better than the idea of suturing or closing a wound?
- How is charcoal useful as an anti-infective?
Image of Chaparral
If you are interested in learning more about herbs, consider taking the level 1 herbology course to learn a basic set of herbs (material medica) and their use, as well as hands-on experience learning to make preparations like tinctures, salves, poultices, cough syrups, etc.
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January 24th, 2012 at 5:41 pm (survival skills, the human path, texas outdoor education, outdoor survival, readiness, survival scenario, survival gear, pet survival)
Today, Sam Coffman talks about survival with dogs. You can find a short blog on this topic from a few years ago here: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/samcoffman/2010/09/survival-and-dogs/
In this podcast, Sam discusses:
- General common-sense topics of preparedness for pets
- Common things to think about in a bugout situation if you have dogs
- What is the most important thing you can do to prep with your dog(s)?
- What is the difference between being a dog-owner and being a pack alpha?
- How can you work with your dog(s) to achieve a harmonious pack that will go where you go?
- If you have no control over your dog other than with a leash, is the dog a help or a liability to you in a disaster situation?
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January 23rd, 2012 at 2:09 pm (survival skills, urban survival, the human path, permaculture, texas outdoor education, outdoor survival, green homesteading, self sufficiency farming, readiness, economic collapse, power shortage, self sustainability)
In today’s podcast, Sam Coffman and Mark Kirkwood discuss aquaponics, homesteading and off-grid power.
- What is necessary to set up your own aquaponics system?
- How much does it cost to get started on your own homestead?
- How much are the homestead lots selling for in the off-grid community that Biotechture is teaching and assisting with (south of Tyler on a lake)?
- Should you be concerned with local/county building codes when building off the grid? If so, what’s the best way to deal with them?
- What is a “ferro dome” and why is that an easy, strong and efficient roofing solution when combined with earthships?
- How much does it cost to build an earthship and how much work is it?
- What is the training class opportunity that Biotechture Training is offering – which is almost a free way to experience building an earthship, or have free labor for your own earthship?
- What is a vertical-axis turbine wind generator vs. a horizontal axis turbine? Why is this simper, cheaper and easier?
- How is a washing machine motor superior for DC power?
- How can you start preparing right now to eventually get yourself off the grid and work within a small, localized economy?
Visit Biotechturetraining.com for more information on upcoming homesteading, aquaponics and other classes!
Biotechture Training.
We are a non-profit organization. Our mission is to teach, as many people as are willing to learn, how to live sustainably, because no one should have to pay a cost just for living. To build Earthships which are off-grid, self-sustained homes that provide not only for all the basic human needs of shelter, food, water, and power; but also needs of comfort, safety, technology, and abundance. An Earthship can provide all that using technologies and resources available today. Earthships are radically sustainable buildings made with recycled materials. Earthships can be built in any part of the world, in any climate and still provide solar power, wind power, catchwater, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production through aquaponics farming.
On Monday, we will continue the second half of this podcast with a discussion between Mark and Sam about Aquaponics as part of the self-sustainability model.
Related Resources
Biotechturetraining.com website
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January 20th, 2012 at 1:46 pm (survival skills, the human path, texas outdoor education, green homesteading, long-term food storage, disaster preparedness, economic collapse, self sustainability)
Self-sustainability and eco-architecture are increasingly on the minds of many people looking to provide for themselves in event of societal and environmental changes. Today Sam Coffman speaks with Mark Kirkwood of Biotechture Training, about the earthship construction training program they are offering in East Texas. They discuss the following:
- What is the key to successful sustainability and survival?
- What is the most important aspect of building an earthship?
- How the training and tuition figure into building earthship homes for participating students
- How much it costs to build an earthship
- What is the most untapped resource on the planet now?
- An explanation of the new earthship designs and how they are different and improved
- Brief explanation of how multiple systems: thermo-mass rocket heaters, solar and wind power systems, play in important role in the Biotechture earthship building model
- Upcoming 2- week Aquaponics course
Biotechture Training.
We are a non-profit organization. Our mission is to teach, as many people as are willing to learn, how to live sustainably, because no one should have to pay a cost just for living. To build Earthships which are off-grid, self-sustained homes that provide not only for all the basic human needs of shelter, food, water, and power; but also needs of comfort, safety, technology, and abundance. An Earthship can provide all that using technologies and resources available today. Earthships are radically sustainable buildings made with recycled materials. Earthships can be built in any part of the world, in any climate and still provide solar power, wind power, catchwater, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production through aquaponics farming.
On Monday, we will continue the second half of this podcast with a discussion between Mark and Sam about Aquaponics as part of the self-sustainability model.
Related Resources
Biotechturetraining.com website
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January 19th, 2012 at 3:02 pm (survival skills, urban survival, fire-building, the human path, texas outdoor education, Outdoor Fitness and Self Defense, outdoor survival, green homesteading, aquaponics, long-term food storage, disaster preparedness, readiness, economic collapse, power shortage, survival scenario, self sustainability)
In today’s podcast, Sam Coffman discusses the Urban Core Basic course. This purpose of this course is to lay the groundwork for urban survival and community re-building. Sam covers the following points and more in his talk today:
- What is the Urban Core Basic and how does it differ from the Primitive Core Basic?
- Is there overlap between the two courses?
- What are the core courses vs. peripheral courses in The Human Path curriculum?
- How do Food, Water, Shelter, Fire and Security fit together in an urban environment?
- What are some of the hands-on exercises that students have to do in the Urban Core Basic?
- What kinds of subjects and scenarios will be run in the part 2 of the Urban Core Basic coming up in about 4 weeks?
- Can a person jump into Part 2 and finish Part 1 later?
- How many hours are the Core Basics, and why are they split up in 2 parts sometimes and in 1 long course other times?
Upcoming Related Courses
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January 17th, 2012 at 2:17 pm (survival skills, the human path, texas outdoor education, herbology, wild food sources, outdoor survival, self sufficiency farming, bushcraft, self sustainability)
In today's podcast, Sam Coffman discusses some of the plants sprouting up everywhere in Central and South Texas in January.
He talks about the general concept of eating wild food and things to consider with this. Sam then covers the following wild plants that are blooming in January:
- Thistles (Sow Thistle, Canada Thistle, Texas Thistle, Bull Thistle) - Cirsium, Carduus, and Sonchus genus
- Cleavers: (Galium aparine)
- Wood Sorrel: (Oxalis acetosella)
- Pennsylvania cucumber plant (Parietaria pennsylvanica)
- Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)
- Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album)
Upcoming Related Courses
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