pcplantdb

[Stephanie Gerson <sgerson@stanfordalumni.org>]

Yes, hello again.

I know I’m sending lots of emails today, but there’s many things to 
discuss.  And this is one of them.

I mentioned in my funding update post that we weren’t ready for a SARE 
grant, but that there was incredible potential for cross-pollination 
between the Permaculture community and USDA agencies.  This is something 
I’d like to seriously discuss with yalls, because if we’re gonna go for a

SARE grant, we might have to modify the hg considerably (or, at least, 
collaborate with PDC instructors to ensure successful deployment of the 
resource) and network with ag professionals and extension agents.  This 
would be a significant effort on our part, so before initiating it, I 
wanted to hear your thoughts.

=>Background Information (quotes from www.sare.org) 
“Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) 
program has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, 
environmentally sound and good for communities through a nationwide 
research and education grants program. The program is part of USDA's 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, is managed 
in partnership with regional land grant hosts, and funds projects and 
conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.  To advance 
such knowledge nationwide, SARE administers a competitive grants program 
first funded by Congress in 1988. Grants are offered through four regions 
-- North Central, Northeast, South and West -- under the direction of 
councils that include farmers and ranchers along with representatives 
from universities, government, agribusiness and nonprofit organizations.”  

(Note: although they accept grants at the national level, we’d be 
applying for a grant in the Western region because the national level, 
according to the coordinator I spoke with, are INCREDIBLE competitive.  
National level means we’d have to have a relationship with USDA agencies 
in *every* state – versus regional level, where we’d only have to have 
relationships with a few in that region.  Plus, the coordinator I spoke 
with recommended that we start regional as proof-of-concept, and then 
move national if the project is successful.  I decided on the Western 
region because that’s where the majority of us seem to be located – Scott

and PI in New Mexico, Johns in Hawaii, and I’m in California.)
  
We’d be applying for a Professional Development Grant, which are intended 
spread the knowledge about sustainable concepts and practices, these 
projects educate Cooperative Extension Service staff and other ag 
professionals.  Sounds perfect for hg…um, except for the CES staff and ag 
professionals part.  And the grant proposal description stresses this 
point: “Target Audience: Extension, faculty, and field personnel of USDA 
agencies, such as NRCS (along with other federal, state or private 
agricultural professionals), must be the primary audiences targeted for 
training.”

Hmmm.  And what’s up with that “training” part?  Hg won’t be a
training, 
it will be an educational resources.  That’s where the PDC and 
Permaculture educators come in.  If we collaborated with PC educators, we 
could design a PDC specifically for “extension, faculty, and field 
personnel of USDA agencies” which incorporated the use of hg, leaving 
trainees with the tool to use and advertise to small farmers post-
training.

And perhaps you’re moaning, “Oh Steph, this isn’t worth it – let’s
just 
stick with the Permaculture community and not bother with this USDA 
mess.”  I understand.  But.  This could be an incredibly powerful way to 
truly assimilate Permaculture principles into our common agricultural 
practices.  Because think about it: the average small farmer looking to 
transition to organic agriculture for economic reasons is never going to 
turn to the Permaculture community, but he/she will turn to ag 
professionals and extension agents.  So it’s not about us trying to cater 
to the average small farmer, it’s about us giving appropriate information 
to the small farmer’s information source.  Teach the teachers of the 
masses if you really want to spread the message.  But there are more 
fundamental questions we must consider before going any further, which 
I’m sure you’re all pondering right about now.  Such questions include 
whether Permaculture is fundamentally incompatible with large-scale 
agriculture, whether Permaculture should be “institutionalized” (in the 
sense of introducing it to agricultural institutions), and whether 
there’s too much of a difference in value systems between the 
Permaculture community and USDA agencies for introduction of Permaculture 
principles to even be effective, among others.  All relevant concerns 
indeed.  Has the Permaculture community ever attempted to introduce 
Permaculture to USDA agencies in this way?  

Attached is an excerpt from our would-have-been grant proposal.  PLEASE 
KEEP THE AUDIENCE I WAS SPEAKING TO IN MIND.  I might have phrased things 
differently and been less explicit about stereotypes had I been writing 
for another audience.

I would really like to hear your thoughts about this – so I know if this 
is something I ought be actively pursuing.

awaiting your responses,
*Stephanie






+++++++++++++++
Stephanie Gerson
sgerson@stanfordalumni.org
(c) 415.871.5683


____________________________________________________________________

Attachment: SARE_excerpt.rtf
Description: RTF file