Jerome Osentowski, known for his pioneer-level work in the permaculture world, recently accepted a lifetime achievement award at this past Dandelion Day celebration for his impacts in the Valley and beyond through his education efforts with students and community members from all over as founder of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute (CRMPI), located on the side of Basalt Mountain.
“Jerome is a visionary when it comes to creating ecosystems and long-term food production, especially in harsher climates with shorter growing seasons,” Dandelion Day organizer Kat Hardy stated.
Typically, Dandelion Day sees community members inducted into the “Order of the Dandelion” which highlights individuals dedicating themselves to initiatives that exemplify Earth stewardship and sustainability practices. This tradition was adapted due to the untimely loss of Casey Piscura, a friend to CRMPI and Dandelion Day who received mentorship from Osentowski.
“Innovative farming and Earth stewardship were passions of both Casey and Jerome,” Hardy elaborated. “Dandelion Day was the perfect opportunity to honor these men and educate the community on their work and vision. We have high hopes for the future of Dandelion Day continuing to anchor the agricultural community and foster sustainable living for generations to come.”
Having partnered with many nonprofit organizations in the Valley — including Lift-Up, the Aspen Center for Environmental Services and The Farm Collaborative — CRMPI also offers a variety of classes and workshops. As the year progresses, Osentowski will step back from a majority of his responsibilities at CRMPI while the organization undertakes a succession, financial and strategic planning process, involving the current board, staff and other stakeholders.
“I’m in the process of turning my whole place over to the next generation,” Osentowski said. “I’m creating these livelihoods, and people are taking over my operation and making a living.”
This was made possible thanks to Osentowski’s practices with the perennial economy, a concept wherein economic systems focus on long-term sustainability, resilience and stability, often involving perennial plants as their key element. Jerome shared some thoughts on this system, expressing his desire to remove limits for his students and agricultural workers.
“Capitalism is very limiting. It’s expensive to get into, with no cost sharing whatsoever. It’s just dog-eat-dog, and that’s no way to live,” he said. “I’m providing all the food, energy, housing and livelihoods at my place. It’s called the perennial economy, revolving around a farm — and it’s working. I have 20 different income sources coming into my one place, where most farmers have one or two. Over the years, I’ve figured out how to tap into various diverse income sources.”
With CRMPI Osentowski has cultivated an environment amenable to a myriad of food plants, such as pear trees, grapevines, as well as dates, dragonfruit and other exotic fruits which he sells to others to grow themselves. He also raises and sells meat rabbits and recycles food waste and other materials from local businesses.
Additionally, through his consulting business with Michael Thompson, Eco Systems Design, Osentowski and his collaborators have helped to build sustainable food and other agricultural services for the community at large. Additionally, some of the projects he’s done internationally form part of his retirement plan.
“I’ve done projects all over the world: Nicaragua, Mexico, Cuba, Europe. I helped jump-start the permaculture movement in Finland with my book [‘The Forest Garden Greenhouse’],” Osentowski recalled. “I’m planning to do permaculture on a sailboat, hopefully in New Zealand.”
Coming to the Valley in the ‘70s, Osentowski didn’t initially intend on building the compound he purchased in Basalt, which has grown exponentially over the past several decades.
“I bought the land just to build a cabin,” he said. “I wasn’t planning on doing permaculture, so it took 10 years before I even heard the word ‘permaculture.’ It was the cheapest land I could find. I sold my sailboat and I had $5,000 in my pocket, so I bought this land and started building a cabin from recycled material.”
The journey of this organization was not without its share of challenges. In 2007, a massive fire destroyed one of CRMPI’s greenhouses. Osentowski and his associates were able to clean up the damage and rebuild, but he later spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars fighting legal challenges with Eagle County over a zoning issue when he applied for a special use permit in 2021.
“I’m solvent again and moving on to a whole other perspective,” Osentowski expressed about that now resolved situation.
Although he will not be as intimately involved with operations as time passes, folks will still have opportunities to learn from him. Discussing the future of CRMPI and how the community can support the organization, he encouraged folks to volunteer their time, read his book and written works featured the website (www.crmpi.org) and to keep an eye out for a new book project he is working on, “The Perennial Economy.”
“Volunteering is a good way to stay involved. Folks can also support by taking our classes, buying the book and our products. There are all kinds of ways on our website that they can get involved, such as taking a workshop or taking a tour. It all just brings in resources and spreads the word,” Osentowski concluded.