Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Anguiano.
Hi Mia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always been passionate about the earth, plants, and local ecosystems. I would host plant walks around the neighborhood and local parks, teach mini-classes at my sons’ homeschool groups, hold meet-ups at home to discuss plants in my gardens, etc.
I accepted an invitation to walk a property with a group and do a nature talk. Afterward, people sat and picked my brain for hours about land management, plants, ecosystems, etc. The owner of the property, and a good friend of mine, turned to me and said, “Why isn’t this something you do for a living?’ I had been asked this many times over the years and gave the same reply ‘People should know these things; it’s readily available knowledge!’ ‘That you should be providing!’
A few weeks later, I would complete my certification coursework in permaculture design at the Austin Permaculture Guild under Caroline Riley and Taylor Monroe.
When the pandemic hit, I had to quit my line of work (alternative education provider). I taught the kids outdoor skills, how to grow and tend to plants, care for the natural world, explorative creative arts, music, etc. Naturally, I couldn’t have a dozen kids running around my house 3x a week anymore.
My friend’s words earlier that year came back to me. I was a newly single mom, out of a job, completely out of financial resources, and searching for what to do next. What if I could provide information, tools, know-how, and labor to people looking to change their relationship with the land they live on, no matter how small? Could I turn my life’s passion and love into a career? Should I, even?
I started talking about it everywhere, to anyone who would listen; my passion and drive excited people, and they believed in me for whatever reason. I began designing and tearing out friends’ front and side yards, installing tiny ponds, mini orchards, and whatever they had the space or interest in. Then larger projects started rolling in from people I had never met but had somehow heard of me and our work. We were having so much fun, and I couldn’t believe people were paying me to do what ultimately felt like play.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My largest obstacle has been being young/female-identifying and getting people to respect my opinion and knowledge. I get a lot of respect for doing what I do, but I have had quite a few run-ins with older folks thinking my ideas are unnecessary and “Why reinvent the wheel?” The funny thing is, we’re just trying to put the wheel back where it goes!
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
A family of creatives raised me. As a small child, music, art, expression, and creativity were all around. I also grew up on a parcel of land within the city (Dallas, TX), so I experienced the integration of nature within a huge, bustling city.
I live in the city with my son and my partner, and we have converted most of our home yards into test gardens for our customers. We have ponds, raised beds, fruit trees, butterfly gardens, tropical plants, etc. What better way to know what grows well in your area than to live there and grow it yourself?
Largely, I am not a landscape designer; what we do is art. We’re artists! I can draw out a design and figure out where every last thing will go down to the letter, but if on the day it doesn’t look or seem right, we’ll change it. We want it to look natural, elegant, and almost imperfect. Because nature is imperfect in its perfections, you can only have things lined up and spaced out equally. It won’t look like nature.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Walk with confidence. Everyone is scared. We all wake up and think we can’t get it done; maybe we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Shake it off, and make them think you woke up this way.
Pricing:
- Consultation : 75$ PH
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fullcirclepermaculture.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullcircleurbanpermaculture
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/fullcircleurbanpermaculture/_saved/
Image Credits
All photos by Mia Anguiano and Jason Wierzbicki
