Hey! I’m Nick J, a permaculture designer, educator, and consultant based on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. TierraPermaculture.com is my website where I’ll demonstrate what I’m up to, share knowledge about soil and permaculture, and create a community of support for anyone trying to make their own part of the Earth a little bit better.
In case you’re thinking “perma-what-did-you-say?,” permaculture is a whole-systems design methodology grounded by three ethics: Earth Care, People Care, and Future Care. Permaculture goes beyond sustainability and focuses on how we as humans can help regenerate our local environments to the benefit of both humans and nature. More on that later…
I discovered permaculture by complete chance while backpacking through South Africa with my best friend Kyle in March of 2015. We participated in a work-trade at permaculture homestead for 3 weeks- who knew those weeks would change the trajectory of my life?! After learning the basics of permaculture and living the homestead lifestyle, I was hooked, and sought out information on permaculture every chance I got.
While living in Seattle in 2017, I received my Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) from Geoff Lawton. Since then, I’ve continued my education as a teaching assistant for Geoff’s online course while gaining hands on skills working for 21 Acres Center as the Lead Grounds Technician. I’ve also taken Elaine Ingham’s Soil Foodweb Foundations Courses to solidify my soil science knowledge, and learned about landscaping using a permaculture lens with Erik Ohlsen’s Eco-Landscape Mastery School.

Shortly after receiving my PDC in 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria slammed into my childhood home of Puerto Rico and essentially shut the island down for 6 months. My mom lives in Puerto Rico, so I booked the first flight I could to bring much needed supplies and help with the recovery for a few weeks. While visiting, I reconnected with the land I had known as a child- mi tierra natal in Spanish. To be clear- I’m not Puerto Rican, but I lived there during elementary school and think of PR when I think of childhood.
When I returned to Seattle, my amazing partner Katy embraced the idea of moving to the tropics and by the end of 2018 we were island based! My dream come true- mi Tierra! Tierra can translate to mean Earth, Land, or Soil- three perfect subjects to focus on in my permaculture work. So here we are.
On this site, I plan to share what I’ve learned, what I’m learning, and to hopefully make it faster and easier for you to take action towards a permaculture lifestyle yourself! Feel free to reach out with questions or comments on the contact page, and I’ll do what I can to help. Thanks for reading.