permaculture

["askpv" <askpv@ozemail.com.au>]

About a short-fall of students:
In our office there are more and more students each month.
we don't have any short-fall, in fact i worry about maintaining the quality
of the
teaching project so i limit our exposure rather than have to turn students
away.

what is really booming for us is providing our course notes to University
Lecturers
and group facilitators.  It enables people to learn permaculture at a
reasonable fee
and encourages them to form a support group.  though i don't believe price
has
much to do with them enrolling.
Information has to be accessible.  We must never underestimate the power of
the
Global Gardener Video and now that it is off the air, I wish someone would
produce another, more up-to-date video reflecting today's attitudes and
needs.

The teaching has to be flexible, we are serving a market that is sometimes
employed,
most of the time over-worked, and generally tired.  (the working poor)
Everything people do has to be researched, they even work hard working out
and pricing
their holiday plans!!

Few people can afford to go to courses for a two-week period unless it
is going to guarantee them a market-edge.  even the aquaculture workshops
for farmers
that i have been interested in, are only one-weekend courses.
Farmers are often working during the week as well.
(but then farmers are the least frequent enrolments in our books -
permaculture has not hit the great farming belt of Australia yet.
Permaculture is hard to
prove commercial viability (it is still the 'poor little idealist' - but
still, i argue the family has to eat! and
why get in your truck to go to town when you could pick fresher food at your
door.)

There seems to be a big growth for permaculture in Canada more than any
other country.
[something is happening in B.C. Canada that is causing quite a bit of
excitement.  Anyone know what it is?]

I am very grateful that much has become 'institutionalised'.  from
insitutionalisation we have a benchmark,
a place to push forward.

For example: we finally, have a set of course notes that are adequate, that
are not just
bit and pieces of different texts and magazines.  So, From this position the
course has grown, has responded to student needs and questioned relevance
and not once have i found the PDC topcis lacking,
in fact it is probably more like a two-year course.  this is a good example
of dynamic design.
it is the quality loop - start with a solution, document it
(standardise/institutionalise) then re-design, improve,
the standardise again.

Another example is the introduction of the world quality standard: ISO1400
Finally the world has a means of measuring companies, helping them set new
ideals and work
towards them.  the community has something to challenge the company into
compliance and can support those
companies that meet their standard, from this we can getting tighter control
on pollution and in the end,
more efficient industry.



April
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-----Original Message-----
From: Marsha Hanzi [mailto:hanzibra@svn.com.br]
Sent: Saturday, 27 May 2000 11:14
To: permaculture
Subject: Permacualture today- its unique contribution


Thank you for taking the time to make such a thoughtful analysis of the
present situation.

There are two important areas of Permaculture which you do not mention here,
but which I see as being  among its most important contributions.  These are
not concrete areas,  as community gardens are, but , at least here in Brazil
( where Permaculture is booming and very well integrated with other ,
similar, movements...) these seem to me to be unique contributions, not
covered by other organizations or institutions:

1) Cross-disciplinary work.  We are in a privileged point for very efficient
networking, which ties together people and movements which otherwise would
never meet.
2) Creative solutions- All the  answers exist, but I don't see other
movements teaching people to analyse situations and create solutions for
these situations as well as it is done in Permaculture.

So maybe  , on one hand, we can add our forces to all the other  parallel
iniciatives which are happening ( such as community gardening, ecological
housing, etc.) and, on the other hand , make our unique contribution to
helping people think in a transdisciplinary, creative way about their
situations...

As I said in a recent post, I work with hungry people in the semi-arid who
often have the solution under their own noses but have not perceived it...
The techniques are simple, but what is important is that the person gains
autonomy in  evaluating a situation and  knowing which technique to apply,
or even creating a new technique ... So , to combat hunger, one of the
first, most fundamental , steps is creative problem-solving( creating new
strategies)... That is something very well taught  through Permaculture.

Marsha Hanzi
Instituto de Permacultura da Bahia
Brazil
http://www.geocities.com/oliarte

Next event open to the English-speaking public:
Bio-construction: the Eco - Inn.
One week practical hands-on of building and designing  ecological lodging in
Campina Community, Bahia.  7 - 13 August. US$ 100 (  camping). US$200
 bed-and-breakfast).



----- Original Message -----
From: Pacific Edge Permaculture <pacedge@magna.com.au>
To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2000 4:48 AM
Subject: Permaculture conference Australia


> In her recent email announcement of this August¹s Permaculture Designer¹s
> Gathering at Djanbung Gardens, Nimbin, Robyn Francis writes: "You are
> encouraged to use the time until the gathering to commence dialogue on
> important issues via the net".
>
> I would like to kick off that process by raising for discussion issues
which
> I believe are pertinent to the future of permaculture.
>
> It would be beneficial, I believe, were others in Australia who are
planning
> to come to the conference to do the same. Then we could gain some idea of
> where this thing called permaculture is headed.
>
> A FUTURE FOR PERMACULTURE?
> I found it interesting that, in her email, Robyn writes "Meanwhile, the
> years roll by, things change, the world around us changesS".
>
> Robyn says that the gathering will "S look at where permaculture stands as
a
> movement and develop strategies to meet the challenges of the year 2000
and
> beyond".
>
> What Robyn seems to have in mind is a three day think tank on the future
of
> permaculture. I think it is time for such a venture.
>
> The future of permaculture has been a point of discussion among a number
of
> permaculture people. From that discussion, I have distilled three points
> which I propose for discussion:
>
> 1. IS PERMACULTUTE STILL RELEVANT?
> Is permaculture still a relevant methodology in today¹s circumstances?
>
> The world has changed. Australia is fully a part of the global economic
> system, a fact which has brought social, environmental, political and
> economic change over the past twenty years. These changes have been
> discussed by, among others, social analyst Hugh Mackay (Mackay Research),
> who has identified:
>
> - a persistent rate of unemployment
> - underemployment (30% of the Australian workforce has been Ocasualised¹
in
> part-time, unreliable work)
> - an increasing polarisation of wealth and increased poverty
> - a persistent social ambience of insecurity
> - changed gender relations
> - changed working lives
> - reduction of government services at the same time as increasing
regulation
> of life
> - fear of the future mixed with a belief that things will improve.
>
> This is the social milieu in which permaculture must operate. And to
operate
> successfully ­ with relevance to the daily life of people ­ permaculture
> activists must address the issues.
>
> I propose that any discussion on the future of permaculture includes:
>
> - how does permaculture propose we learn to cope with the factors which
now
> influence how we live?
>
> - what constructive ideas to do this can we come up with?
>
> - how can we use the new economic, social and political relationships as
the
> starting point of strategy development?
>
>
> 2. ARE PERMACULTURE IDEAS MAINSTREAMED?
> Much of what permaculture designers and educators have proposed in PDCs
and
> elsewhere is now Omainstreamed¹ - that is, it has become
institutionalised.
>
> This of course is good, but it means that permaculture has moved from the
> Ocutting edge¹ of new ideas.
>
> For example, energy efficient housing is now covered in local government
> development control plans in some areas. The Sustainable Energy
Development
> Authority, a NSW government body, actively promotes energy and resource
> efficient building design. Energy authorities operate Ogreen grid¹ systems
> to buy back the energy produced by rooftop photovoltaic systems and remote
> area power systems are promoted for rural areas.
>
> All of these ideas have been promoted in permaculture since its beginning.
> While they have become institutionalised, however, they are still far from
> widespread. Is our role as permaculture activists now to educate the
public
> about them and to lobby local government for their adoption?
>
> While educating local government and the interested public is no doubt a
> core activity in permaculture, where do we find the new cutting edge, the
> new ideas not yet institutionalised?
>
> 3. PERMACULTURE IN DECLINE?
> Permaculture, some people point out, is in decline when compared to
earlier
> years. Others say the opposite is true.
>
> What has become clear is that the practice of permaculture is like a
mosaic.
> There are areas of success, areas in decline and areas in statis. The
> development of ecovillages, for example, is an area of progress, while
some
> community-based permaculture organisations are in statis.
>
> A number of permaculture teachers in Australia report a shortfall of
> students. Does this indicate falling interest in permaculture or is it
> simply a function of market economics? Is it a case of temporary
oversupply
> and underdemand or is it indicative of a longer term downward trend in
> permaculture?
>
> MOSAIC OF DEVELOPMENT
> In some areas, permaculture is doing well:
>
> - permaculture has promoted home gardening, but, useful that this practice
> is, it is becoming less relevant in the cities where more and more people
> choose to live in apartments and medium density developments; perhaps the
> clue is to do what Bill Mollison suggested and look at community food
> strategies rather than home gardening
>
> - permaculture design plays a part in the development of ecovillages;
> judging by a turnout to hear Western Australian ecovillage developer,
> Warwick Rowell, in Sydney recently, ecovillage development is an area with
> appeal to the popular imagination
>
> - permaculture continues to fulfil an inspirational role for overseas
> development aid workers; however, according to some commentators, there is
a
> need for more specific training and preparation of aid workers coming
> through the permaculture education system and a need to tone down the well
> intentioned but sometimes damaging Opermaculture missionaries¹ who are
> empowered more by zeal than skills and knowledge; there is also a need for
> greater cross-fertilisation of ideas between the development aid industry
> and permaculture development workers, with a greater appreciation of
> permaculture flowing to the aid industry and participatory and project
> management skills flowing back into permaculture
>
> - permaculture continues to have a positive role in ethical investment, an
> area it pioneered in Australia; yet, many people of Ogreen¹ persuasion,
even
> may permaculture people, continue to put their funds into banks and
> conventional investment opportunities; does this indicate a lack of
> confidence in the ethical investment sector or are people just too lazy to
> change their investment practices?
>
> - community garden development in Australia is another area where
> permaculture is strong; the movement is spearheading Bill Mollison¹s
> proposal to return food production to the cities; community gardening also
> accomplishes a number of things home gardening cannot, like rebuilding
> communities by providing safe places for social activity and serving as
> learning venues
>
> - agricultural biodiversity preservation ­ inspired by the Seed Savers
> Network in NSW, permaculture people participate in the saving of the seeds
> of heirloom and traditional food crop varieties, either for their personal
> use of to exchange with others.
>
> WHAT OUTCOME?
> A beneficial outcome of Robyn's proposed gathering would be to develop a
> picture of the situation regarding the practice of permaculture today ­ a
> Osituation report¹ or the like.
>
> Then, on the basis of this, to identify some ideas which could be used in
> the development of strategies to reinvigorate the practice of permaculture
> in the changed social, technological, economic and political landscape of
> contemporary times.
>
> ADAPTION NECESSARY
> For those who are not at home with change, all I can offer is the
suggestion
> that, like any living organism, permaculture too has to evolve and adapt.
>
> Failure to do so leads down the road to irrelevance, marginalisation and
> extinction.
>
> Grasping the challenges of the times, developing workable strategies to
deal
> with them, even to take advantage of them, can only move us along the road
> to renewed relevancy, progress and sustainability.
>
> It¹s all up to us. Nobody else. I can do no better than repeat the advice
> from the back page of the Whole Earth Catalog ­ interestingly, the same
> advice which appeared on the 1968 edition and on the Millenium edition of
> the book - Live smart. Think for Yourself. Transform the future.
>
>
> ---------------------
> 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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