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permaculture - Re: Zone 6

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Subject: permaculture

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  • From: Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Zone 6
  • Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 11:51:03 -0700

I guess it is the nature of the beast, permaculture, that there will be a wide diversity of people and ideas that want to attach to or amend the basic permaculture curriculum.  I am very much against that and believe that the success of permaculture around the world has been because it has remained a knowledge and data based design system.  If you look at recent successes in enrolling governmental projects into permaculture like Permaculture Research Institute working with the UN refugee program in Bosnia and with the US Army at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant designing a conversion of that facility into an ecological industrial park, or with the United Nations Development Program in Brazil which supported 18 permaculture courses last year then it is easy to understand that moving into zone 00 or  zone 6 would be met with glazed eyes and discomfort.

Permaculture has always left the metaphysical and psychological to other disciplines or teachers.  I think it has been with good reason since we are trying to convince people and institutions across the board that we offer a system of design that will restore and revitalize destroyed ecosystems as well as provide food and comfort to an ever expanding population of the underprivileged.  In these areas I have no doubt that permaculture has a very positive and lasting impact and that we can walk our talk.  Once we slide into radionics, crystal land healing, daevas, cloud busters, etc I fear we will lose most of our audience.  Working in cultures that have a very strong cultural tradition of magic and witchcraft like many African cultures you may be treading where you would rather not go.

Like others who have written on this subject I have nothing against people following whatever metaphysical path they find comforts them and works for them, I find that Animism is the path that I resonate with, but I would hope that people will keep their spiritual and political beliefs out of permaculture.  This can be done, as Marsha Hanzi points out, by using a different title or name for your teaching so that their is clear differentiation between ones personal belief system and permaculture. Just as some people have come to understand permaculture as a gardening system, which is a severe diminishment of permaculture, others may see it as a meditation system, or religious path which would severely restrict our audience and thereby the good that we might accomplish.

This conversation is at least fifteen years old and still evokes a lot of emotion whenever it comes up but for me this is because there is a basic misunderstanding that could easily be solved.  Permaculture, for me, is clearly laid out and defined in Permaculture A Designer's Manual anything outside of the general themes described in Bill's book needs to be carefully looked out before being added to the Permaculture Curriculum.  I know for a fact that Bill never intended to incorporate psychology, politics, or metaphysics into permaculture.  What is the problem with dealing with those items separate from permaculture?  If people who attend my classes want to talk about Feng Shui, or Geomancy I tell them I will meet them after class and we can talk about it then but that neither of the topics is part of the Permaculture Design Process.  This approach has never seemed to cause any problems with my students.

It seems that many who would like to expand permaculture to include the belief systems of the world take it very personally when they are met with resistance from more conservative and traditional permaculture teachers like me.  It is never a personal matter with me but a matter of keeping clear boundaries between what can be clearly demonstrated and replicated and those things that are a matter of faith or belief.

Scott


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