Good response! Also, you can find on pages
19, 20 that Heather embraces Permaculture principles while rejecting the "exorbitant" certification
process.
I don't think I would like Heather
personally, but I do admire the very strong advocacy she practices. Just
as I admire Paul for all he does.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, March 30, 2007 10:36
PM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Food Not
Lawns
Permaculture aside, Paul, it is a start, teaching people to
tear out their lawns thereby reducing the need for so much wasted water
usage, teaching them organic methods of growing thereby reducing the usage
of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and whatever else "icide"
can only add benefit to the environment particularly on a local basis.
Besides, it is a process of ongoing consciousness raising...you have heard
that term I am sure from the '70's. One small thing can bring another
awareness and then another. Gandhi said, "Whatever you do will be
insignificant and it is very important that you do it." I think I have
heard that Emelia Hazelip also didn't find the permaculture way was
workable because people didn't know how to form that type of community. I
agree with her. I think Gloria could add to that too. But I do not think
that the Food Not Lawns idea is dabbling. We have to start somewhere with
people and hopefully as they become aware of how their own behavior impacts
their own environment they will begin to broaden their horizons. I think
the fees being paid for the permaculture workshops and seminars is a really
big rip off. But I can't even get our permaculture community to consider
giving free workshops, forming teams to go out and help people reclaim
their lawns and paved driveways and put in things that are easier and
healthier. I have no disagreement with the underlying things that you are
talking about, we are on the same page, just that I think that as well as
tackling the larger problems fighting the powers that be, we have to
meet people where they are and get them to change and then we
will make more allies to help us in our fight against industrial farming,
both agricultural and animal factory farming. At the very least should peak
oil, or whatever, hit us maybe more people will be able to sustain
themselves with their own gardens and perhaps supply a few neighbors too. I
don't think we should minimize the impact that the person can make, however
small, because it is really only individuals multiplied that will change
things.
And the permaculture group here, although they aren't reaching
out for the "civilian," are indeed growing gardens in sustainable fashions
to feed themselves. A large sector is really a back to basic, simplify
community. The idea of Food Not Lawns is important. If someone wants to tag
it to the permacultural movement and side step it I think they are missing
out on a one important aspect to a disastrous problem that is already upon
us at this very moment. It isn't a disaster that is out there, years down
the line, but something that is in the here and now. It is literally in our
faces. linda linda's organic gardens: http://photos.yahoo.com/womyn47
-----
Original Message ----- From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>> I
just sent the link on. Others may disagree of course, but to me the
whole > lawn garden thing based on permaculture, so called, strikes me
as useless > dabbling in something they treat as a trendy hobby. Sincere
people read > those books but seldom realize they're just paying money
for a philosophy > instead of learning the nuts and bolts of survival
growing. I mean survival > growing is the broadest sense. Sustainably
growing in a lawn for food is no > different from growing for market,
if done efficiently. We're heading off a > cliff with fresh water,
soil loss, fuel, and industrially farmed food. Any > number of informed
sources warn us with irrefutable evidence we're using up > our
resources, and we won't have to wait for our children's generation to >
feel the crunch. It's almost upon us. Permaculture is an idealistic >
philosophy that has little to do with sustainably feeding the world
right > now. Feel good seminars are bogus. > > I won't read
it (and certainly not Hemenway's book) so let us know your > impressions
when you're finished. But I'll maintain that one person alone > can't
turn a neighborhood into a community. Not any neighborhood
I've heard > of. > > paul tradingpost@lobo.net > >
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** > > On 3/30/2007 at
5:56 PM linda wrote: > > >Ah, yes, this I know about! H.C.
Flores recently published a book called, > >"Food Not Lawns: How to
turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood > >into a
Community" with a forward by Toby Hemenway, another wonderful >
>author. > >Heather (that is for the H.) lives right here in the
same town as I. > >Getting > >people to turn their lawns
into food production systems is a high > priority. > >I have
her book, but haven't finished reading it. I have scanned it and >
>thought it good enough to buy. If I remember I will have a comment on
it > >when I am done. > >linda > >linda's organic
gardens: http://photos.yahoo.com/womyn47 >
> > >----- Original Message ----- > >From:
"TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net> >
>> Food Not Lawns is a loosely affiliated cluster of grassroots
gardeners > in > >> and around the Willamette Valley, just
West of the Oregon Cascades. We > >work > >> together
toward an ecologically, socially, and perpetually thriving > >>
bioregion, using theories and techniques derived from permaculture, >
>kinship > >> gardening, ecological design, and biodynamics. We
also develop and test > >our > >> own ideas, and offer a
wide range of educational, organizational, and > >> hands-on
services > > >
>_______________________________________________ >
>Livingontheland mailing list >
>Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org >
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland > > > > >
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mailing list > Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org >
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