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permaculture - Re: zone 6 & Aliens!!!

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  • From: Russ Grayson + Fiona Campbell <pacedge@magna.com.au>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: zone 6 & Aliens!!!
  • Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 13:25:07 +1200




Roger Ellison wrote:

> I say keep Permaculture within the physical verifiable world, and not open
> it to the vagaries of the spirit world and those who speak for it, for there
> interest are not always ours.

May I contribute the words of Bill Mollison to this discussion...

"The world we live in is more varied than the simplistic accounts of heavens
or hells
so far described for us, and far more livable and enjoyable... everyday
events are
more miraculous than either the esoteric secrets of sects or the
pseudo-miracles of
tricksters... Permaculture teachers seek to empower any person by practical
model-making and applied work or data based on verifible investigations."
(Mollison;
'Travels in Dreams').

I think that, with regard to Roger's assertion that permaculture be kept
within "the
physically verifiable world", Mollison's words about permaculture as a
"practical...
and applied work or data based on verifible investigations" support him. In
restricting itself to the physical world and verifiable outcomes,
permaculture in no
way denies or validates any spiritual belief. In fact, with a secular
approach,
permaculture becomes more acceptable to a greater number of people holding
particular
spiritual or religious beliefs.

>
>
> As Permaculture is practiced in more localities over a longer time period,
> its techniques will evolve to fit the land ever more harmoniously, as long
> as we keep the ability to observe, test, and evaluate. That would be a good
> discussion for this group: How do we know what we are doing is effective,
> What are some ways of testing an idea on the ground and getting a result
> that can be evaluated?

In response th Roger's questions about evaluating results, I believe that, in
many
cases, permaculture designers would do well to apply more rigorous assessment
of
design outcomes. The standard project management principles of monitoring and
evaluation are sufficient to do this. In planning permaculture projects, the
setting
of objectives and verifiable indicators to feedback progress towards the
achievement
of objectives help us understand how project components are performing. We
have
applied these ideas to village-scale agricultural aid work in the South
Pacific with
success.

...Russ Grayson

---------------------
PACIFIC EDGE
Permaculture & Media
Russ Grayson and Fiona Campbell

PO Box 446, Kogarah NSW 2217 AUSTRALIA
Phone/ fax 02-9588 6931 (IDD-61+2+9588 6931)
Email: pacedge@magna.com.au
WWW: http://www.magna.com.au/~pacedge/

PERMACULTURE/ COMMUNITY BASED ESD: permaculture education + Australian City
Farms and
Community Gardens Network (NSW contact) + organic gardening training +
overseas
development aid project services.
MEDIA: publication design + desktop publishing services + website design +
journalism/ photojournalism.


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