Jonathan Clay built The Kalos Project to close Houston's local food gap using permaculture design. The same principles guide how he leads his team.

In this episode of Land Language, hosts Brit Sastrawidjaya and Bethany Rydmark sit down with Jonathan and explore how permaculture's closed-loop principles translate to team leadership, what it takes to create a safe container for conflict on a job site, and the platform Jonathan is building to transform Houston's local food economy.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:34 Meet Jonathan Clay

04:05 Handling Conflict On Teams

07:37 Boundaries And Timing

10:19 Making Space For Quiet Voices

16:50 Permaculture As Leadership

21:05 Team Goals And KPIs

25:59 Right Fit For The Role

28:14 Ground Zero Resources

29:06 Profitability Not Woo Woo

31:44 Why Kalos Project

33:02 Volunteer Powered Food Hubs

35:16 How To Follow Kalos

35:57 Closing Thoughts

References:

- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz

- The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer

Follow Jonathan:

Website: https://kalosproject.earth/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalosproject.earth

Follow Land Language:

Land Language Website: https://www.landlanguage.org/

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandlanguage/

Connect with Us:

Got questions? Ideas for future guests? DM us on Instagram or visit our website to share your thoughts. We're building this together.

About Land Language:

Land Language is a podcast for landscape professionals, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to build regeneratively. Hosted by contractor/designer Brit Sastrawidjaya and designer Bethany Rydmark, each episode brings you expert insights, practical tools, and honest conversations about transforming the landscape industry from the ground up.

$14 trillion in small business assets will change hands in the next decade. If you own a trades business, this conversation is for you.

David Hori has spent his career where people and business overlap. From HR to startup operations to building and exiting pro.com (acquired by Opendoor), he now coaches business owners on how to build, prepare, and thoughtfully pass on what they've created. Brit and Bethany talk with David about what it actually means to build a healthy business, whether you're planning to sell or not.

Chapters:

00:00 Start

00:34 Meet David

02:48 Why He Buys

06:02 Retention Playbook

11:12 Building To Sell

13:22 Red Flags Green Flags

14:29 First Buyer Call

16:32 What Makes Buyable

18:29 Sustainable Growth

22:29 Local Legacy Mission

24:08 Coaching Owners

26:13 Culture Needs Weeding

26:58 Loyalty Versus Fit

28:22 KPIs With Compassion

32:11 Incentives Beyond Pay

35:01 Stewardship Over Recklessness

38:04 Coaching That Drives Change

41:52 AI Agents For Leads

44:28 Using AI To Free Time

46:36 Closing Thoughts

Brit and Bethany help bring in the regenerative lens. A business with 90% of its revenue in one customer is like a landscape with 90% of one species. One bad season and it's gone. This conversation goes where most business podcasts don't: into what it means to care for what you've built, and leave it better than you found it.

Follow David:

Web: toplineops.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/iamdavidhori

Instagram: @thedavidhori

Follow Land Language:

Website: https://www.landlanguage.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandlanguage/

Connect with Us:

Got questions? Ideas for future guests? DM us on Instagram or visit our website to share your thoughts. We're building this together.

About Land Language:

Land Language is a podcast for landscape professionals, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to build regeneratively. Hosted by contractor/designer Brit Sastrawidjaya and designer Bethany Rydmark, each episode brings you expert insights, practical tools, and honest conversations about transforming the landscape industry from the ground up.

The landscape industry is still building its catalog of case studies for regenerative work. Every project that gets built is an example. Every conversation that shifts a client's understanding is a seed. We're all relearning methods of cultivation that were once just daily life, and we're doing it together.

In this episode:

• Why the first question in any deck project isn't about materials, it's about purpose
• Extruded aluminum framing + juniper decking as the most ecologically sound Pacific Northwest deck choice
• The lifetime cost of cheap composite vs. the permanence of a well-built deck
• How to bring a client from lawn loyalty to meadow conviction: root depth, carbon, wildlife, morning routines
• A real 2025 Portland front yard: native garden, willow play structure, brass auto-shutoff faucet, reflecting bowl, wildlife habitat directory
• Designing for children from toddlers to teenagers: splash zones, nooks, and getaways

This is the season wrap. Season 2 is coming soon.

Follow Land Language:

Land Language Website: https://www.landlanguage.org/

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandlanguage/

Connect with Us:

Got questions? Ideas for future guests? DM us on Instagram or visit our website to share your thoughts. We're building this together.

About Land Language:

Land Language is a podcast for landscape professionals, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to build regeneratively. Hosted by contractor/designer Brit Sastrawidjaya and designer Bethany Rydmark, each episode brings you expert insights, practical tools, and honest conversations about transforming the landscape industry from the ground up.