Today we’d like to introduce you to Taelor Monroe.
Hi Taelor, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have been passionate about regenerating our natural world for a long time. I began my journey with permaculture in 2011. I became roommates with two good friends of mine, Katie and Rachel, where we landed a house on 22 acres in downtown San Marcos, TX. The very first 6 weeks of our lease they went to a 6 week intensive Permaculture Design Course in Oregon at Aprovecho, a Permaculture Community learning center there. When they returned they wanted to turn our house and property into a permaculture ecovillage, with worktraders, front and back yard food forest, a humanure system, chickens, community events and workshops, etc. Even though they ended up leaving after the first few months, their beautiful vision came to reality in that space. And it initiated me, head first, deep into permaculture design culture. I managed and co-created that community space for 3 years. In that time I also began co-creating the Permablitz events here in Austin with my mentor Kirby Fry. At the same time, I also began organizing Permaculture Design Courses through Austin Permaculture Guild (APG). The Austin Permaculture Guild was in existence for 13 years before the reigns were handed over to me. I have continued organizing and teaching Permaculture Design Courses through APG as well as doing Permaculture Design/Install. With all the work I do, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with an expert as a mentor. In 2014 I mentored with Mike Wolfert, Founder of Symbiosis. He showed me the ropes of how to communicate with clients, how to do an on site consultation, and how to create estimates. He does some really amazing work with regenerating landscapes! With my clients I focus on building edible landscaping with edible perennials and medicinal herbs, food forests, and annual food gardens. I also work with the flow of water on the landscape to sink as much water as possible back into the soil. Slow it, spread it, sink it!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have definitely experienced obstacles along the way. This journey with Permaculture started 15 years ago so there have been many ups and downs. Starting as an entrepreneur with a unique business model was definitely a bit tricky at first. I am very grateful that I was given an existing business, with it’s own systems in place already. Although, I definitely ended up rebuilding the website myself, designing us a new logo, and added more services for permaculture design and install. While I was organizing the Permaculture Design Courses, before I started teaching myself, this work was only my ‘side gig’. I feel like its often necessary as someone starting their own business to have a slow ramp up like that, because its unlikely it will be successful immediately. To have my deep passion only as a side job and having other commitments made it hard to fully express myself. There was a lot I wanted to do, but needed to stay patient until I had the funds to offer this work full time. Once I began getting clients who wanted me to design their spaces with edible gardens and food forests, and then to install those for them, that is when things really took off financially. Interestingly enough, my very first install I did on my own (outside of my apprenticeship with Mike Wolfert of Symbiosis) was for Hamilton Pool Vineyards. It still is one of the largest designs and installs I’ve ever done! I created a permaculture design for their whole 65 acres and managed the install of a 1 acre keyline plowed organic farm there. The trickiest part was finding the good soil on site since it is in the hill country. But I managed to find a beautiful pocket of yummy soil. Another major struggle has been my work with my latest project, the Cosmos Ranch Foundation. I founded that project in 2023 when I purchased 40 acres with my previous romantic partner. I haven’t released info to the public yet about this, but that relationship ended in a really catastrophic way in February 2026. It has been the most challenging situation of my life thus far. I can’t say what will happen to the project at this moment, but it is definitely at a major pause at the time of this writing. The foundation is the culmination of my work in the world: a space for deep authentic connection and a center for permaculture education and practice. It’s been quite a difficult time choosing the next steps to take in the unfolding of this situation. I feel confident I will persevere and come out stronger and better for it. There is still a lot of healing to do, and plans to make, but I am optimistic in this moment of what will transpire. In the meantime, I am still deep in my work with my permaculture design and install clients, and my permaculture design course I offer.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Austin Permaculture Guild?
My business Austin Permaculture Guild is a platform offering education and design & install services. We have educational courses that are both online and in person. We have a range of courses that are free and a short commitment time, to our Permaculture Design Certificate Course that is 5 weeks and certifies you in permaculture design. We often partner with the Whole Life Learning Center for the hands-on in-person sections of our course. There is an established food forest on site, with fruit tree, medicinal herbs, and edible plants. There is also an apothecary on-site called Sacred Seed. We meet at other various location around Central Texas, like Festival Beach Food Forest and Shepard’s Flock Farm to name a few.
Within permaculture design, we teach about permaculture ethics-people care, earth care, and fair share, permaculture principles, design methods, patterns in nature, soil science and composting, companion planting, annual fruit and vegetable gardens, food forest design, perennial food and medicine production, fruit tree guilding, herbalism, fermentation, social systems, invisible structures, holistic animal systems, bees, natural building, water systems, grey water, black water/humanure, rain water catchment, berms & swales, ponds, garden building systems, etc. There is a huge wealth of information in how to recreate the broken systems we’ve been given, and transform them into cyclical system that give more back to nature than it takes, working in harmony with the natural world. There is so much connection in this practice both with the earth and the people who are working together to steward her.
I also offer services for consultations, permaculture design, and installation of those designs. I specialize in everything permaculture unique to Central Texas climate and conditions: food forests, edible annual gardens, edible landscaping, berms & swales, hugelkultur, composting systems, animal systems (chickens, goats, etc.), rain water catchment referrals, natural building recommendations, etc. You can fill out the form on my website, www.austinperm.com/#consultation. Consultations last about an hour and can helpful on it’s own if you are just looking for advice on something you intend to do yourself in your yard or on your property. If you want to go deeper than that, and receive a full to scale permaculture design of your property, I offer that as well. We would communicate about what your vision is and any questions you have during the consultation, and I would then create a full permaculture design for you, or I can also design out an area of your property as well. I do some landscaping but prefer to work with people who want to grow food and medicine or other build other regenerative elements on their property. Once the design process if completed, you can then hire me and my crew to build out elements on the design, such as a food forest, medicine garden, or companion planted veggie garden. I love making your dreams come true and see the beautiful transformation of your space unfold!
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is facilitating your dreams into reality, bringing your vision for a food or medicine garden to life. Our food system is so broken and unhealthy, our medical system is so disempowering and degenerative, that it is crucial for us to begin sustaining ourselves in a more connected way that nourishes our bodies, minds and souls on a profound level. Our earth is in dire need of some love and attention and it is our responsibility to restore her to her true glory.
Pricing:
- Free Workshops & Volunteer Opportunities
- $600-$2500 Permaculture Design Course
- $200 Permaculture Consultation
- $1500-$3000 Permaculture Design
- $10,000-$100,000 Permaculture Design Installation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.austinperm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austinpermacultureguild
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AustinPermacultureGuild/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYT7m2OVJDs
- Other: https://www.austinperm.com/#PDC
