permaculture

[swrpi@igc.apc.org]

Gene Monaco wrote 10/24/97 and Scott Pittman replies 10/24/97
>Folks, I agree that perhaps this discussion has gotten out of hand
>emotionally, but I think there are serious issues here nevertheless.  The
>issue of accrediation has come up before.  There are many folks working in
>the kingdoms of corporatia or officia (read government) that can get
>reimbursment for courses that are accrediated.  This would help struggling
>consultants.

The PRIMARY reason for accreditation is because some of the permaculture
graduates want degrees, for whatever reason!  Some think they will have a
better crack at changing corporate practices if they carry equivalent degree
certification as the corporate people they are talking to.  Some think it
gives them more credibility in the mainstream culture, I happen to agree
that it opens doors but once in the door you have to perform and a degree is
no guarantee of performance.  Some hope that they will be able to make a
better living with an MS or PhD tacked to their names, I wish them luck.

>Everybody knows that that accrediation was created to weed out the
>charlatans, and that in that proces, some slip through the cracks and
>others get left out.  I think many of us agree that permaculturists have
>been left out.  
>
I think that the charlatans get in no matter what you do.  I don't think a
degree guarantees that one is not a charlatans.  Have a look at all the
degrees in Congress!!

>Once someone steps up and claims to be the holder of the keys to the
>standards, it will cause riffs among the other pioneers who are around. 
>And pioneers aren't likely to give up ground any more than they do in
>nature; but succession persists nevertheless.

Noone to my knowlege is claiming to hold keys to standards.  The standards
as they exist now are pretty much what they have been from the first
permaculture course, and are encapsulated in "Permaculture A Designer's
Manual".  I have attended more courses than I can recall and I have seen
very little that is new as far as standards are concerned.  New information
is added as it is made available by students, teachers, designers, other
scientists, etc. but basically we are still working from the original course
outline.  I also find this true internationally.  The few courses I have
seen that claimed to be "a new curriculum" were concerned with divas,
fairies, self help, meditation techniques, etc. the usual "new age" cop out
from doing the grunt work necessary to heal the planet and our culture.
Curriculum as we have looked at it from the point of view of the
Permaculture Academy and accreditation has been using the designer's manual
as well as trying to find comparable texts for history, math, English, and
other "required subjects".  

Given a chance we will involve as many people as want to be but first we
have to have a structure in place to receive this information and criticism.
This must be one of the most paranoid cultures anywhere - everyone is afraid
that they are somehow so critical to any process that they take potshots
before anything happens!  The Permaculture Academy is not the Permaculture
Institute is not Permaculture Drylands, etc. got it?  
  
>Perhaps its time for the P.Institute to extend an invitation to those
>previously left out of the process, kinda like they did in Philadelphia
>200-some years ago.  I think we'd all be the better off for it all.

When the Permaculture Institute is finally funded and can afford postage
stamps and has someone to man the phone, computer, and letters then we can
invite others to the party.  Until then we are a few permaculture people
with a few ideas and if they are good ideas they will grow and find people
who will participate, if they are bad ideas they will soon be forgotten.  I
have faith in this process of attrition or survival of the most well thought
out. 

I have tried to design by a committee of twenty or thirty and find out that
I never get anything done and spend a hell of a lot of time massaging egos.
No thanks!

Having said all of this I think if we, as permaculture teachers, designers,
practitioners are to be successful in the short term, which to my mind is
the only term we have, we will have to organize ourselves to work as a
national and international entity.  As Bill says we are an elephant acting
like a mouse. I am open to any help we can get in trying to set up some kind
of unified front organization/s, but I am not interested in collecting
points in a debating club.

 

  

Scott Pittman <swrpi@igc.apc.org>
Ingenio Patet Campus