The Great Unravelling: Why I’m Transitioning from Husbandry to Livelihood Strategy
For over a decade, my life has been defined by the tactile rhythms of the soil at Eight Acres Permaculture. I’ve hosted workshops on the granular mechanics of self-reliance: teaching the art of the perfect preserve, the science of soil, and the quiet dignity of milking a goat at dawn. But as the just-in-time supply chains of our hyper-interconnected world begin to stutter, I’ve realised that the time for hobbyism has passed. We are no longer preparing for a hypothetical rainy day; we are navigating a systemic atmospheric shift.
I am officially retiring the "Doomster" moniker. To watch a collapse is a luxury we can no longer afford. Instead, I have stepped into the role of a Resilience Strategist.
The Data of Decay: Why "Normal" is a Ghost
We have been conditioned to believe that human progress is a linear upward trajectory. However, the dashboard of global indicators tells a far more harrowing story. Since 2016, the Human Development Index (HDI) (the big daddy of humanity's statistics measuring health, education, and standard of living) has entered a period of global plateauing and, in many regions, a precipitous decline.
This is what scholars call the uncementing of society. It is the slow-motion fracturing of the legal, commercial, and political ties that bind us. We see it in the 27% surge in natural gas prices and the 15% hike in animal feed that we feel on our patch every morning. These aren't just line items on a spreadsheet; they are the early warning signals of a catabolic collapse: a downward spiral where a civilisation begins to devour its own infrastructure just to keep the lights on.
Beyond the Perimeter: From Workshops to Operating Systems
At Eight Acres, my live events and workshops were designed to teach you how to exist within the system while leaning slightly away from it. But the current economic turbulence suggests that the system itself is an asset being strip-mined by a global money-power that prioritises debt-servicing over human flourishing.
If the household is the smallest unit of production, then it must be managed with the same ruthless strategic focus as a high-value business. This is why I have transitioned this platform into The Resilience Brief (TRB). This is my "book" in real-time. A repository of high-value insights designed to help you think critically about the world, and perhaps look at the systems and structures behind how society operates. I've construct a Resilience Operating System (ROS) for my family, and am now doing the same for others.
The foundational skills I’ve taught for years, the husbandry, the harvesting, the hand-tooling, are no longer just pleasant pastimes. They are the real wealth in a world of digital abstractions. As I noted in my recent briefing on the Dependency Trap and the Cost of Living, convenience is a predatory service that trades your sovereignty for a subscription.
The Strategy of the Village
We cannot survive this unravelling in isolation. The ecology of freedom suggests that human societies have always been at their most resilient when they are fluid, collaborative, and unburdened by the rigid hierarchies of Imperial Modernity.
This is the genesis of The Resilience Village. It is our Living Room - a space where over 400 families+ are currently exchanging more than just tips; we are building the social capital, knowledge and skills required to weather the storm.
In this publication, you will find:
- The Library: A public archive of the foundational skills which I've written about via Eight Acres Permaculture. It's a great place to start if you are curious and are starting to sense the fracture.
- The Briefing: Subscribers intelligence reports for those ready to stop coping and start strategically managing their transition with eyes wide open.
- Foundations of Resilience: The program where we move from theory to the actual implementation of your household’s ROS. You can access this via The Resilience Village.
A Call to the Periphery
The Strong Leaders of the world are currently occupied with elite panic. Developing draconian strategies for pre-emptive conflict to maintain battle-winning capabilities in a collapsing world. They are not coming to save you with their technology!
It is time to humble ourselves enough to fall down to the earth and listen differently. So, grab your hat. We have the maps, the skills, and the community. It’s time to get to work.
