Ted Schmidt, Island Inspired & Africa Permaculture Support Network
Whole-Systems Designer, Inventor, Permaculturist
Meet
, owner of Island Inspired and the founder of the Africa Permaculture Support Network, a Facebook group (view the page here) that has become a virtual home and meeting place for people in Africa and around the world to engage and participate in supporting permaculture activities in Africa. As stated in the “About” Section of the group, “We are a global village supporting people and projects in Africa that advance the cause of environmental sustainability and regenerative agriculture as embodied by the ethics of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share, in the spirit of Ubuntu.”I’m a newcomer to the “World of Ted”, but in the short time that I have known him, I have witnessed his tenacious compassion and steadfast empathy for the people in our Facebook group.
Ted has created a virtual environment that is welcoming, supportive, and enjoyable. The group is set up to encourage financial support and networking in favor of our permaculture friends in Africa, but the exchanges never feel one-sided. Everyone is encouraged to give of themselves and support others in whatever way they can.
Whether providing financial support, encouragement, advice, introductions to new networks, or invitations to collaborate, everyone is on equal footing and contributions are equally valued. That dynamic is owed entirely to Ted and his diplomatic and facile way of encouraging participation, facilitating conversation, and handling delicate conversations and situations with grace.
The Permaculture Flower
Ted is the quintessential RainMaker/ChangeMaker combo. He encourages, facilitates and helps pool a wide variety of financial and non-financial resources and support from dozens of people around the world for the benefit of dozens of African permaculture practitioners, who in turn impact the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people.
Ted’s Origin Story in a Nutshell
Ted was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1973, but spent his formative years on Kauai, Hawaii. His mother was an artist and his father a pioneering medical researcher: Director of the Hematology Division at CDC in Atlanta and founder of the International Health Resource Center at Wilcox Hospital in Kauai specializing in research on blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia. When Ted was in fourth grade, the family moved to San Francisco where his father took a professorship position at San Francisco State University. Ted never lost his deep connection to Kauai, returning there for summers and moving back after Hurricane Iniki damaged the family home in 1992.
Ted’s post-secondary education concentrated on Chemistry, Botany, and Environmental Studies; he received a BSc in the latter from University of Hawaii at Manoa. All throughout the 90’s, Ted’s interest in environmental issues deepened, specifically in the areas of native species conservation and sustainable technology development. He invented and designed a novel heat engine and founded an environmental club at Kauai Community College.
It was in 2000 when Ted met and began a mentorship relationship with Dr. John P. Craven, a marine engineer and physicist who specialized in novel heat engine technologies based on the temperature difference between cold deep ocean water and warm surface water. Craven was also an expert in related energy technologies such as fresh-water production, agriculture, aquaculture, and cooling. For the next five years, Ted was mentored by Craven while gaining work experience and conducting graduate-level research on sustainable deep ocean water systems.
As is the case for so many of us, Ted experienced a series of unexpected and disruptive life turns and twists. His work with Craven came to an end when Craven’s company diverged from Ted’s research interests. He got engaged and planned to move to Japan, but his employer went bankrupt before he even moved and his long-distance relationship unraveled and ended. He decided to stay in Hawaii, regroup, and start a small landscaping company called “Island Inspired.”
By 2011, Ted’s father’s health was failing after suffering a head injury in San Francisco. His father’s need for additional support and care drew Ted back to San Francisco. It was then that Ted started the next chapter of his life. He got married, landed a job as Gardener for the City and County of San Francisco and obtained a degree in Landscape Maintenance and Contracting from City College of San Francisco.
Through all of this change, he maintained his landscaping business “Island Inspired.” He also nurtured and grew what in retrospect what was really a life-long interest in whole-systems thinking and design.
Ted’s Entry into the World of Permaculture
I asked Ted how and when it was that he first came to learn about Permaculture (read here for more about Permaculture). Although Ted was not formally certified until 2016, he says he has always been a whole systems thinker, designer and practitioner of permaculture-like principles. As a child in his family’s Kauai garden and the vacant lot in Princeville they used to visit, Ted imagined growing fruit trees, designing ponds and streams, and raising animals. He had read Bill Mollison’s book in 1994, so was aware of permaculture and felt a natural affinity to its principles: “It aligned with and activated my natural creativity and imagination around whole systems thinking that I had always been drawn to,” he said.
When Ted moved from Kauai to San Francisco, he intuitively reached out to the permaculture community. He realized there had been an exciting movement in San Francisco towards sustainability during the time he had been living in Hawaii, but he had missed most of it.
Ted describes this realization and experience as being “like an archeologist. I was just discovering for the first time this amazing golden era that I had missed being a part of, and the people who were already moving on with their lives. Through dreams and intuition, I got connected to the essence of these past projects.”
He was formally initiated as a “permie” when he received his first Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) in 2016 under Jay Rosenberg, the Director of Hayes Valley Farm and the Bee Farm in San Francisco. The PDC was co-taught by
.
After 2016, Ted went back for a second bite at the Permaculture apple, attending his second PDC in 2017 with the San Francisco Urban Permaculture Institute.
It wasn’t long after receiving his PDCs that he started networking with other permaculture practitioners locally and worldwide through Facebook. Soon he found himself connecting with East African permaculturists like
of K-5 Village in Kenya, of Permo-Africa Centre in Kenya, and Patrick Harry of Kunyasa Dimba Eduplant Inspired Food Forest Garden in Malawi - all people who would become core members of the Africa Permaculture Support Network five years later.The Genesis of the Africa Permaculture Support Network
The Network was launched in January 2023. Ted had been struggling for several years on his own to provide the financial support his East African permaculture friends needed both to start and continue their operations and trainings. After one friend lost his home due to storm damage, Ted tried to help but found he was simply not able to. At that time, he also came across “The Well of Dreams,” the 2012 documentary (which can be viewed on Amazon Prime) of a now well-known Kenyan permaculture and sustainable agriculture trainer, Anne Okelo of
(visit her YouTube channel here). Coincidentally, Anne and Ted’s friend Paul were close friends. As Ted’s online network continued to grow, it seemed natural to create a Facebook group. He launched the Network with the the conviction that many hands make light work and that if more people around the world could get to know his friends and understand their impact and needs, more support and resources could be unlocked to their benefit.As an aside, it turns out that all these years between 2017 and 2024, I too knew Omito Abraham of K-5Village. I, too, was feeling alone and frustrated by not being able to do more for him and his efforts. While I fell into and then out of the permaculture supporter role by 2018, Ted stayed in, continuing to provide technical assistance, advice, moral support, and funding to this growing network of African permaculture practitioners and trainers. By the time I resurfaced in 2024, the Network was fully developed. Omito Abraham invited me into the Network and I was welcomed with open arms.
I asked Ted what his greatest joy has been of starting and being part of the Network.
His answer: “Throughout my own journey, as an inventor and an environmentalist with a mission to make the world a better place, I have often found myself limited by circumstances in what I'm able to achieve. And it makes me realize that in order to make progress, we have to give and receive help to other individuals who are working towards the same goal. The greatest joy I get is when I'm able to help my friends take steps to reach their own goals and dreams. I discovered that my own personality is most activated when I'm doing something of service to others.”
What are Ted’s plans for the Network going forward?
“I'm happy to see that my original vision for the group has already been achieved,” he said. “I think that the proof of concept has been achieved, and am ready to now work on expanding the group and making it better based on lessons learned”.
Ted still has a dream to fulfill Dr. Craven's and his vision for deep ocean water sustainable systems. “I'm working on the design and development of a sustainable habitat using deep ocean water for energy, fresh water, agriculture, aquaculture and cooling, which I call Island Oasis.”
Who is Ted’s ChangeMaker?
Ted named John P. Craven as the man who was the ChangeMaker in his life. “Having him as a mentor was like a golden ticket that opened up totally new and amazing experiences in my life, and hooked me on the feeling of working together as a team with a shared humanitarian goal.” Craven passed away in 2015.
Where in the World is Ted Schmidt?
As with the other RainMaker & ChangeMaker posts, it’s important that we give everyone a place on the map! Ted is located in the United States of America, on the west coast, in California. He lives in the northern half near San Francisco in the City of Pacifica, which as the name suggests is on the Pacific Ocean.
A note of gratitude
A final note of thanks. Ted, I hope you know how many people appreciate you and your efforts. Your leadership, friendship and the humble way in which you model how to be a human in the world is an inspiration to us all. Thank you for all that you do for our African permaculture friends. And, thank you for letting me draw you and help tell your story!
Ubuntu and Aloha!
 | A guest post by
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Thank you so much Emily for taking the time and care to learn about and tell my story, and to draw me. I am extremely honored and humbled (as only an introvert can be) and, more importantly, looking forward to future collaboration with you and others in the spirit of Ubuntu!