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permaculture - Re: What Bill says

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

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  • From: <permed@nor.com.au>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: What Bill says
  • Date: Mon, 23 Jul 01 12:35:18 -0000


Marcus wrote:
>Once/if trademarking takes place:
>1. Will PDC teachers have to submit course curriculum to Bill's
>Institute for approval (both PDC courses and short specific courses)?

They are already doing this (since Sept 2000) if you apply for Pc Inst
PDC certificates and charging a fee (initially was $45 but I've been
informed it's now gone up to over $100)
The teachers curriculum outline is compared to a checklist comprised of
the list of contents of the designers manual and if enough boxes are
ticked off you're in otherwise you're out - the teachers course outline
is subject to the interpretation of the assessor as to how narrowly or
broadly subject areas are defined. Appeals re unfair 'judgement' are
ignored.
The whole process is quite unsound and out of step in terms of
contemporary education philosophy and basic concepts of social justice
and equity.

>7. What is the future of the Institute - will (or is) it be democratic
>and open in its activities?
>
The institute was not set up to be democratic - Bill scorns democratic
organisation or the concept of advisory boards or any form of peer review
& monitoring. There was an informal 'democracy' of the graduates meeting
together at convergences and making policy but those decisions were held
to be binding only on those who made them - Bill always firmly stated
that no one had the right to make decisions on behalf of others (himself
being the obvious exception)

>As someone who was told during my PDC course (like many others) that
>the ownership of "permaculture" was vested in the holders of the PDC
>and that we were able to use that term in the process of our work, I
>have invested a lot of time, money and energy in developing a
>not-for-profit business around 'permaculture'.
There are many of us in this situation sharing the same concerns

>The basis for starting a 'permaculture' business was my belief that
>permaculture was a generic term. This may now be subject to trademark
>infringement.
Not unless this application is successful which I think is unlikely but
there's no room for complacency


Robyn




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