Ecological design for life
Established in 2005, we live and work in a productive permaculture food forest cultivated within a recovering clearcut. Success in ecology often comes through years of trial-and-error. Our years of experience raising animals, establishing gardens, and managing the recovery of the forest we call home have taught us many lessons.
North Mountain Permaculture puts our decades of hands-on experience to work for you, helping bring your dream project to life. We provide design and consultation services to help you better integrate the systems that sustain you into the wider ecosystem we’re a part of. We understand the power of Permaculture Design principles in guiding us in the creation human systems that place us in greater harmony with natural rhythms. Whether you’re looking to embark on a new venture, or take your existing project to the next level, contact us today to discuss how we can help.
What we offer
Permaculture Design
We preform multiple site assessments and work with you to develop and implement permacultural solutions to your design problem. We create research-backed, commercial and residential permaculture designs, built on a deep understanding of your goals and site.
Whether you’re looking to develop a small homestead or a large commercial operation, we know how to maximize your success while minimizing inputs by working in partnership with the wider ecosystem. We believe successful permaculture design pays for itself.
Passive Solar &
Natural Building Design
We design and build passive solar, earth-sheltered, sustainably-sourced timber frame homes. Our designs have stood the test of time, built to last and design to outperform traditional building techniques. Combining natural materials and permacultural principles, our custom home designs are low-impact, budget-friendly, and energy-efficient.
Contact us to learn more about our natural building system and to book a one-hour consultation today.
Site Assessment
If you’re looking to purchase a new property or are looking to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by a particular site, we can help. Or site assessment and property evaluation services are the first step in developing a comprehensive permaculture design plan for any project. Sun, wind exposure, hydrology, native biology and soil-quality are all assessed to determine appropriate land use – allowing us to recommend remediations to site challenges and advise on whether a site is compatible with a particular use-case.
Forest & Clearcut Remediation
North Mountain Permaculture manages over 200 acres of recovering clearcuts in various stages of remediation. We live and work in a young recovered forest we’ve nursed back to since being commercially logged in 2001. Today, the forest stands as testament to the effective permacultural techniques applied over that time. Critically damaged forests lands are an unfortunate legacy of the industrial era – and they don’t simply ‘grow back’ without proper management. This is why industrially damaged lands offer a valuable opportunity: we can help heal these ecosystems while also providing for our food, medicine, and shelter.
Looking to bring a patch of Earth back to life? We can help. Contact us to find out how a recovery plan can save you years of work and help speed the recovery.
Who we are
Deryk Eagles
Deryk studied architectural design at The International Academy of Design in Toronto and is a professional timber frame builder and market gardener. In 1990, he returned to his home-territory in Nova Scotia and began work building his first farm from the ground up. He has been active in natural building and permacultural farming ever since.
In 2004, Deryk established Eagles & Company, specializing in sustainably-sourced timber frame structures. Deryk is the founding member of Snow Lake Keep homesteading community where he currently lives and works teaching permacultural techniques for producing food, creating shelter, and living in healthy relationship to our forest ecosystem.
Adam Zinzan
Adam has a background in design and brings his 20-years of experience with the design process to homesteading and natural building. He has completed his Permaculture Design Certificate in 2010 while working with P3 Permaculture. He is an experienced timber frame builder, self-taught draftsperson, homesteader, and visual artist. Adam lives and works at Snow Lake Keep homesteading community.