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  • From: kevin s <k.skvorak@verizon.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Democratic solutions to Permacultures conflicts?
  • Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 07:51:58 -0400


From: toby@patternliteracy.com

I do think it's time for a national Pc organization in the US, ....

Questions need to be answered before the process can begin:

1. What is the function of the organization? To police teachers and enforce how the curriculum is taught, to get accreditation or other clout behind the certificate, to offer a clearing house for course resources, to raise money for Pc projects, or something else?


these sound like great goals to start. it seems to me further goals will emerge and be expressed by the membership as time goes on.


2. How will people find the time and money to begin the organizing process? We're all busy, so how do we make time to meet? And setting up a non-profit takes lawyers, a website, and other things that cost money. Do the original organizers just dig into their pockets and pay, and take time away from other projects that may be more promising than one more try at organizing? (I shelled out a couple hundred bucks of my own money for WPTA and it's simply gone.)

well, maybe a way to start is to collect a voluntary membership fee from everyone with a PDC that wants to be part of it. putting this anouncement out might generate enough money/interest to get started


3. Who gets to organize it? Even the creation of an interim board causes a certain amount of resentment among those not on the board. And how do you draw committed and talented people to the organizing committee who will stick with it? All it took to kill WPTA was for a couple of the organizers to get too busy to reply to a couple of critical emails, and the project stalled. You need those one or two people who will spearhead and drive something to its end no matter what. That really means giving up all your other projects. You must find someone willing to make that level of commitment.

yeah, this one seems to come down to whomever is willing to do it. you would hope an interim board could probably work out without too much hostility, if they manifest their work in a transparent way that is clearly serving the community at large


4. How are decisions made? As Jedd said, majority rule can mean 49% or more may disagree with a decision, and consensus done as a national (non-face-to-face) organization would be pretty time consuming.

well, i like those organizations that tend towards consensus building, using super-majoritiwes for any big decisions etc. it may mean that these organizations are less 'efficient' as it takes longer for decisions to get made, but in the long run hopefully are more sustainable in terms of community building

Another challenge may be a lack of understanding how (and why) to structure a grass-roots, fairly anarchic movement into a national organization. But I would support, and even aid, an effort to do so.

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com


is there a way to take a 'straw poll' on this? how does one determine a level of national interest? is this listserve even representative of all PDC grads? (my feelings have always been that it is not)

gratitude,
kevin




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