permaculture

[Mikal Jakubal <mjakubal@asis.com>]

Toby wrote:

>Permaculture has developed an overlay of New Age ideas like Zone 6
>because permaculture is practiced by many westerners with a New Age
>orientation. But I hope that Pc will not become explicitly New Age, because
>then it will never be adopted by that vast majority who have other beliefs.

For what it's worth, here's a bit of perspective on the above from someone
who's "new" to Permaculture. I've been aware of Pc for over a decade, but
always stayed away because of what I kept seeing whenever I'd go near it.
Namely, New Age mush-mindedness and a seeming lack of awareness/priority
about ecological restoration and native biodiversity. Having now scratched
a little deeper, it's obvious that I just got unlucky in my initial
contacts. Perhaps these various people I ran into over the years were not
Permies so much as Newage (pronounced like "sewage") freaks who claimed to
speak for Pc just because it was one more hip thing to glom on to. Either
way, it way turned me off. The material stands on its own, and will only be
sullied by getting mixed up with religion of whatever flavor. That said,
I've found the 00/6 Zone discussion fascinating. 
Thanks,
Mikal