Hi i'm Chris. Im 33 and from Vernon, BC. After graduating at 18, I spent five years at the University of Alberta studying the sciences and majoring in Genetics. During some ethics courses I was exposed to the horrors of our industrial agricultural system and where our corporate food  system was taking us. I set off to travel for a year, and ended up a nomad for almost 9 years. During that 9 years, I was further exposed and blessed to meet some of the people whose lives had been directly and negatively affected by this very system. All around the world, our food was being produced by people, many living in slavery or paid next to nothing, wearing hazmat suits if they were lucky, poisoning the earth they themselves lived off of. Eventually I was exposed to the world of permaculture and was slowly infected by its proactive approach to solving life's problems. It seemed so practical. A permanent culture means that you have a strong, resilient community around with you, capable of providing all of life's necessities within a short distance. From Australia to Argentina, I worked on farms and in communities that were 100% self sufficient or close to, and usually only because they consciously decide to use fossil fuels to make life easier or for a bit of pleasure. Knowing how to grow and raise 100% of your food, knowing how to purify water, how to build your shelter, how to dispose of your waste naturally, and how to love and live fully every moment were the only things that seemed to matter anymore, the rest so insignificant. The last leg of my journey I spent being inspired by the world of permaculture in Australia, and came back ready to start the journey towards self sufficiency, and excited about the possibility of inspiring, encouraging, and teaching others to do the same. In the end, removing myself from the corrupted and self serving economic system and helping others do the same was the only form of protest that made any sense, and in a world of depleting resources that is constantly being filled up with toxic chemicals, there's nothing more valuable or rewarding than producing my own food, helping others to do the same and being surrounded by good people and a clean environment.