About Us
Our Mission and Impact
Since 2000, Waste Not Permaculture, Inc. has been making an incredible impact in every community we touch, from Brooklyn, NY, to Canton, NY, and even Selva Negra, Nicaragua! Thanks to our passionate members and enthusiastic volunteers, we're on a mission to create sustainable solutions that empower individuals and communities to truly thrive. Join us in this exciting journey!
Our Programs
Creating Lasting Change
Interviews
with Local Farmers
Bob Zufall and his family operate an organic, free range
dairy in the town of Lisbon NY. He milks about 70 cows
on about 700 acres of land. His milk is sold through
the Maple Hill Creamery cooperative and is available
throughout the Northeast. It is certified as organic and
grass fed by both this certifying agency and by the
cooperative. Bob says he gets about twice the price for
his milk that farmers get for regular milk, yet ironically
he has to do less work and has lower costs than regular
farmers!
Regular farmers cows are confined in barns and can't feed themselves.
Farmers have to haul food to their cows, which
often includes corn and waste from various food plants
in the vicinity. Bob's cows feed themselves on his grass.
Regular dairy farmers also have to
remove tons of manure from the barns while Bob's cows
deposit their manure directly on his fields to fertilize
his grass.
Bob grows virtually all of his feed on
his property and doesn't pay for any additional chemicals
for his cows or this land. Too good to be true? Listen to
the interview and find out!
Joel is the owner of Canton Apples, a producer of
apple cider and hard cider located in Canton NY.
Joel has operated this business since 2010 and
gradually increased the acres of apple trees
harvested to now include 23 acres. You can visit
his apple press and farm stand on US 310 just
north of Canton or buy his cider at Natures
Storehouse in Canton or the Potsdam Food Coop
Over the next few months, we plan on interviewing other local farmers about their experiences
Other interviews
with regenerative farmers
Link to Will Harris Interview with Joe Rogan
Link to Joel Salatin Interivew with Joe Rogan
Link to John Kempf interview about regenerative ag
on Amish farms
Link to Randy Clark interview about his 7,000 acre regenerative farm in Indiana
Link to interview with Christian Westbrook about manufactured food shortages
Permaculture
Courses
In February 2024, WNP sponsored its first permaculture design course. Taught by popular instructor Andrew Faust at the remarkable permaculture site Selva Negra in Nicaragua, we had six attendees.
We will be doing our next class February 7-14 2026. Check this site for more details soon. The cost in 2024 was $1,700 including seven days and nights lodging and three organic meals each day.
We expect the price to be similar in 2026.
For more about the class, click here.
Regenerative Agriculture Film Series
Beginning in the fall of 2024, Waste Not Perma has screened a series of five films at the Canton United Methodist Church. They were
Common Ground,
The Biggest Little Farm,
The Need To Grow,
Destination Regeneration 2024
Food Inc. 2.
The series will resume in the Fall of 2025. A variety of films are being considered. If you have any suggestions, please email us at greg@wastenotperma.org
Regenerative Agriculture Conference
September 2026
Waste Not Perma is now developing an in person conference to take place in Canton New York in September of 2026
We're looking at a line of up well known experts in all aspects of regenerative agriculture including
# industrial scale farming,
# high yield commercial vegetable farming,
# managed grazing,
# cover crop management,
# no till farming
and similar topics.
If you are interested in finding out more about how you might get involved either as a participant or a presenter, please click on this form.
Gallery of Photos from our Work
There may be no better way to communicate what we do than through images. As you browse our site, take a few moments to let your eyes linger here, and see if you can get a feel for what we're up to.
