Earthcraft Design LLC
Earthcraft Design LLC specialize in the design and installation of regenerative foodscapes and ecological restoration.
Our Mission & Vision
We create systems where each element serves multiple functions and each function is supported by multiple elements. By putting ecological components in right relation to each other, with humans as the keystone species, we are able to build dynamic and resilient systems that feed the community and the soil.
Our designs and installations transform lawns, homesteads, farms, businesses and community spaces. A primary emphasis of our designs is the rapid production of biomass in the form of food, fuel, fodder, fiber and medicine (herbs), as well as soil and mulch. We create highly productive systems that are largely self-fertilizing, that hydrate the soil, sequester carbon and increase native habitat.
​
​
Earthcraft Design is not a landscaping service. We can take the place of a conventional landscaping service, but this requires changing the landscape patterns that are familiar. It requires working with the regenerative capacity of living systems with an aim towards creating abundance.
​
Many of our designs integrate both the planted and built environments. Our built structures serve the function of supporting community food access, from garden sheds and barns, to arbors, pergolas, raised garden beds and water catchment systems. Our structures are built of the same types of agroforestry systems that we design. We build with local lumber, primarily pine, hemlock, black locust and white cedar and use the regionally traditional method of timber framing when appropriate. We are also experienced in traditional lime, straw, clay and slate construction.
​​
We have been designing and installing systems based on permaculture principles and practices for over 20 years, previously under the name of Village Roots Permaculture. Village Roots is still our farm business and handles tree sales, and other farm products, including pasture raised meats. Village Roots has been based on the Orchard Hill Community in Alstead, NH since 2003 and offers permaculture classes and workshops on site and throughout the region on a semiregular basis.
​
​
Marty Castriotta
Owner, Principal Designer
Marty has been developing his farm and homestead at Village Roots since 2007 with his wife Ellen, where they ran a CSA (first veggies and then pastured meat) for 18 years. All the while, he was also developing his understanding of ecological systems and interactions. He started teaching Permaculture Design Certifications on the Orchard Hill Community (home of Village Roots) and elsewhere in 2013. This is also when he began consulting on regenerative design strategies for local farms, homeowners and businesses.
​
Marty is devoted to the concept of regional food sovereignty and the advancement of agroforestry practices and processing to that end.
Marty comes to farming and design with a background and education in engineering, ecology and construction. He is currently involved with Radically Rural, as a Land and Community track leader and works in an advisory capacity for Wellspring Commons. He teaches classes in Agroforestry and Permaculture Design at Keene State College and is currently working on two books, Emerging Patterns of Resilience: A Northeast Permaculture Perspective and a book of poetry.
Phone
(603) 477-5533
