ABOUT US
As a child, Marilene developed a deep reverence for the natural world, while running free in the forests foraging for wild medicine or gathering shellfish and sea vegetables on the beaches of the Pacific Northwest. She has fond memories of collecting fiddlehead ferns and catching smelt on the Skagit river with her mother and commercial fishing and crabbing with her father.
Marilene has been living and teaching homesteading skills for decades. She is a Master Gardener, Certified Permacutlure Designer and a State Livestock Advisor. She has been a speaker at Mother Earth News Fairs, Washington State University Extensions Country Living Expos, Permaculture Design Courses, Sky Valley Community Classes as well as running her own SongCroft Self-Sufficiency Skills School (now SongCroft Homestead School) founded in 2006. She was a contributing writer to the Herb Mentor and the North Puget Sound outreach coordinator for the Northwest Earth Institute. Marilene was also the founder of the Foundation for Sustainable Community which is the 501(c)3 for Farmer Frog. She has has also worked extensively on building intentional community
Marilene is a licensed massage therapist, registered hypnotherapist and wellness coach. She is a certified clinical herbalist with a background in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. She infuses her offerings with both western knowledge and that of Japanese culture.
Brian is a skilled electrician who has worked in commercial, residential and industrial settings. He loves carpentry and has an immense appreciation for custom woodwork. He was the general contractor when Brian and Marilene built their home and has a broad array of knowledge and skills in green building. He especially enjoys the creative side of projects including design and creative problem solving. He likes using salvaged materials and upcycling as well as assisting and seeing others’ dreams come to fruition. He is somewhat of a Mc Gyver and is really good at troubleshooting construction situations and coming up with solutions. He has experience in biodiesel and straight vegetable-oil conversions on diesel vehicles. All of these passions and skills mesh with Brian’s desire to work with local industry and community members as they continue to move towards more sustainable models of building and living.
Brian also has a variety of interests which include martial arts which he still practices and enjoys. He also dabbles in clay sculpture and is teaching himself to play guitar. Both Brian and Marilene enjoy hiking, dancing and adventurous travels..
Together they have lived in some form of intentional community or co-housing for the nearly 30 years that they have been together and have combined their passions to help others realize their potential and dreams.
OUR WHYS
There is a multitude reasons why we are offering these homesteading courses. We don’t do it for the recognition or to try and get rich.
We do it for YOU and because we love this way of life and acknowledge how fortunate we are. We want to help others achieve their dreams. We are concerned about the loss of skills. That has been happening over generations, as well as the soul-grounding experience of using them. In addition, we are aware of the need for safe spaces for people from different segments of the population to learn these too. We are also concerned about the lack of food equity as well as the rising cost of food.
Regenerative agriculture helps to heal our planet and reduces fossil fuel consumption. Also, by helping people develop a connection to the earth and the rhythm of the seasons, we have seen an improvement in community mental health, in regard to seasonal depression. We have also seen people develop a reverence for and a passion to protect the earth.
It is rewarding that we are making positive difference, even if it is one person at a time. We can’t tell you how manny times we have had people tell us. “I learned so much from you. I feel like I can do this!” To us, that is a gift and a life well lived. This is why we started SongCroft Homestead School, we hope you join us on this journey.
To learn more about Songcroft, and permaculture ethics, visit www.songcroft.com. Oh, and if you like what you read here, you will love our courses.
We aim to encourage people
including LGBTW and BIPOC Folks
to join in our courses.
“Holy chickens! We have learned so much this year at SongCroft! From permaculture design, animal husbandry, seed starting, building water catchment systems, sustainable building, using alternative energy, baking fresh homemade bread, making our own soap and laundry detergent, making jam and canning our own food, starting our own cottage industry, building community and more, this school is an amazing opportunity for the self-sufficiency aficionado in training! Marilene and Brian are fabulous teachers, and somehow they work their magic to make all of these topics easy and fun to learn. What’s even better is the community of kindred spirits here at SongCroft! We’ve gotten to know each other so well, and every class, we find ourselves laughing so hard! We are so fortunate to be a part of this community!” -Stef
MEDIA LINKS
What Others Have to Say
Marilene and Brian Richardson have been growing thier family's permaculture homestead for many years, all the while artfully weaving in apprentices to learn hands-on skills. Thier programs cover everything from cooperative community living/decision making to how to manage a profitable organic herbal products business. If you are keen to truly learn whole-systems strategies for abundance and resilience, and take a journey to a deeper exploration of what repository of knowledge you'd like to grow into yourself, you could not pick better guide and mentors than Marilene and Brian. Be prepared to cultivate rich soil literally and metaphorically, plant seeds of intention, and learn how to nurture those in synergistic ways - you will come away enriched and empowered.
Jenny Pell
Maui, USA
Marilene has been a trusted advisor, teacher and mentor for over a decade. The permaculture design of her yard and gardens, the sustainable building techniques of her home, and the educational programs she offered over the years inspired us to follow suit as we renovate an old family farmhouse in a similar fashion. As a result, we were prepared for the recent economic and health emergencies, shared an abundance of produce with our community, and gained strength from Marilene’s leadership on many levels throughout this challenging time. The authentic and ethical way she built her herbal, health and wellness business over the years also served as a model for our own enterprises, and we encourage anyone to jump at a chance to learn from Marilene whenever she offers a program to the public.
Chris and Kim Chisolm
Wolf Camp and School of Nature Science, Blue Skye Farm, Puyallup, USA
I love visiting Marilene at her homestead because she always works on fun and beautiful projects, building wonderful garden areas or animal housing or preparing tinctures and preserves for winter and for medicine.
Her skills are not merely making her own place a home but she shifts our world to me a better place for every single one of us. She loves. She loves Earth, she loves Nature, she loves people. We are all lucky because she lives.
Zsofia Pasztor
Farmer Frog, Everett, WA.
I deeply respect Marilene's depth and breath of knowledge. She presents this curriculum from many years of dirt time and offers mentoring that is both practical and soulful
Lindsay Heuttman
Plant Dorks, Snohomish, USA