permaculture

[John Schinnerer <JohnS@STLabs.com>]

Aloha,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jack Rowe [SMTP:jackrowe@compuserve.com]
        >Both. . .

        Thanks, Jack, for a much more eloquent expression of my intent.
I cannot miss "the" point of permaculture design because for me there
are countless "points." 

        As to my choice of words, I explain what I sometimes do as
"designing" (when it is, anyhow :-).  I personally avoid using a
"problem-solution" manner of explaining because I see a dominant culture
implicitly operating in a myopic problem-solving/creating mode and I
offer "designing" as a possible preferred alternative.  I think of
design as asking "what do you (I, we) want?" rather than "what's wrong?"
- and I prefer (well, sometimes :-) to ask the former sort of question.
Both are good to keep in mind.

        So as I look around at existing systems, I quite often see
design opportunities.  Same planet; different observers and thus
different manners of explaining.

>Don't let the reductionists co-opt your language and prevent you from
>expressing what needs to be done.

        By inviting people to inquire into what might constitute
"designing" (and design cultures, cultures of design, etc.), I may
sidestep any such semantic struggles.   Or not...I'll see.  "Design"
carries cultural implicits of its own...  There are countless ways to
express "what needs to be done" - at least one for every person alive!
This has been a little bit of mine... :-)

        John Schinnerer