permaculture

[Lawrence London - Personal Account <london@mercury.interpath.com>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 01:06:30 +0700
From: william thornton <wjta@hooked.net>
To: london@mercury.interpath.com
Subject: Re: 161_Masanuba_Fukoukas_Natural_

>Exactly, as the last poster points out, Fukuoka does not
>want farmers from dawn to dusk, slaving away, quite the
>opposite.
>In fact, Fukuoka
>and his system is similar to Permaculture.

I remember how offensive I first found Fukuoka when I first encountered his
ideas.  It went against everything I had learned and seemed very arrogant.
He seemed to be giving up and seemed completely unrealistic.  After ten
years of wasting my energy fighting nature, I find his ideas much more
palatable.  Now, how can I get a copy of his book?  More to the point,
where can I visit rice farms using his methods?  Does anyone know the
whereabouts of the organic rice farm of Khun Boonchand of Northeast
Thailand, referred to in the magazine "Turning Wheel" of the Buddhist Peace
Fellowship?  Khun Boonchand apparently had some success converting a whole
village to Fukokoka's methods of farming, but has apparently gone off to
Italy with an Italian wife.  How far are the Lundgren brothers in Northern
California from the "one-straw revolution?" I tend to be in the San
Francisco Bay Area or Thailand, but could easily stop over in Hawaii or
(more expensively, I suppose) Japan.

Is Fukuoka alive and receiving visitors? From the tone of his writing I
imagined him like the Taoist sages that hurled rocks at visitors to
preserve their solitude.  I guess this ties into the Privacy, Peace, and
Permaculture issue that I confess I did not see the relevance of until just
now!  Perhaps I've missed learning the protocols required to keep one's
teeth in one's head when visiting permaculture demonstration sites?  The
old Hindu sages were always approached with branches of wood in hand,
ostensibly to offer on the altar fire, but possibly also useful to fend off
projectiles hurled by the irritated rishis!  Perhaps nowadays, sheets of
cardboard might be a more ecologically correct offering and defense!  A
little awkward to carry in a high wind, however!

Regards,  William Thornton (wjta@mail.hooked.net)