permaculture

["graham" <gburnett@unisonfree.net>]

>     In todays monetary world, the individual is extremely isolated from
the
> processes of life, and  his neighbors! how do we reverse this?  Maybe by
> organizing LOCAL barter networks.  Many today are financial slaves, in
debt
> and unable to express who God made tham to be --  uniquely gifted
> individuals with something to GIVE.  I know I would opperate differently
if
> I could spend more of my time doing what  love, instead of  paying the
> mortgage!

This is an issue I have been giving thought to, ie, money and
permaculture... I've been developing a session for a forthcoming PCDC on
'Community Economics', in which I explore what 'money' is (ie, at the end of
the day, it's a representation of ENERGY) and how money behaves- in our
current capitalist, monocultural system, when a pound or dollar is spent at
the supermarket or mall chain store, 80 pence or cents goes straight out of
the community, swallowed up by costs of packaging, transport, advertising,
or straight into the coffers of the multinationals, whilst 20 pence or cents
cycles back to the community in the form of wages, etc, etc.

Conversely, in a locally based economy, the same pound or dollar will tend
to cycle around, being used many times between source and sink- the small
greengrocer will buy her/his supplies from the local organic smallholder,
who will have her/his shed and frames built by the local carpenter, who will
source her/his timber from the local woodsman, who will get her/his dodgy
back fixed by the local therapist, who will buy her/his veg from the local
greengrocer....... and so on- of course there will still be 'bleed' from the
system, fuel for vehicles, specialist equipment that can't be made locally,
etc, etc, but hopefully this would be on a 80:20 ratio of energy retained
rather than lost from the system...

When I presented this session as a 'dry run' at a permaculture techaer's
training weekend, I drew the various local trades/services as points on a
big piece of paper, the particpants then thought of ways these could
interconnect- I was struck by the finished page and it's close resemblence
to a diagram of a woodland foodweb/ecosystem, and from this could be brought
out all sorts of illustartions of permaculture principles and ethics,
especially when contrasted against the earlier 'monoculture' diagram, a
linear sytem where money (or energy) goes straight in then straight out
again...

Of course the above is something of a simplification, but hopefully does
illustrate that permaculture ethics and principles have important
applications in economic/community systems as well as garden and land
systems....

>     Barter is a method of exchange that values the individual's unique
> contribution, AND it emphasises process.  That is to say I get more out of
> trading carrots to my friend who makes wool sweaters, than I would  if I
had
> to BUY the sweater.  This opperates on so many levels of good I cannot
even
> think of them all here, but one is that of true value for true value. Call
> it our own little tax revolt, but not a penny goes toward supporting
> programs that are morally and environmentally reprehensible!
>     We CAN build community this way, and slowly, one person at a time,
reach
> others with the message of hope that is ours to claim by working together.

LETS systems are a more sophisticated system of barter (barter is all very
well assuming that the person who provides something you want also wants
something that you provide), in that it creates an interest free,
non-transferable community currency which can be imeadiatly 'invested' in
goods or services on a wider level- here in South east Essex, UK, we call
our LETS currency 'piers' (after Southend Pier, a major landmark in this
area, which also gives our currency local distinctiveness, another important
element of LETS), and works something like this; I dig your garden over for
you- you pay me 20 piers. I then pay a plumber 20 piers to fix my guttering.
She then pays you 10 piers for a massage, and keeps 10 piers to spend later-
and so on.... Basically it's the perfect permaculture money system
(potentially at least!!!)!

You can find out more about LETS by checking out the South East Essex LETS
link in my sig line. I'm still a member of SEELETS, though no longer active
in the core group/admin these days..

Cheers for now,

Graham Burnett
35 Rayleigh Avenue
Westcliff On Sea
Essex
SS0 7DS
-------------------------------------------------------------
Land & Liberty http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/landlib/
My artwork http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/landlibpic/
Our Garden http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/Garden/
South East Essex Organic Gardeners
http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/SEEOG/
Permaculture- a Beginner's Guide http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/Perma/
South East Essex LETS http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/
Robert Hart's Forest Garden http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/Forest/



> PS anyone with  working barter networks out there?
>
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to permaculture as: gburnett@unisonfree.net
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
leave-permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu
> Get the list FAQ at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/documents/permaculture.faq
>