permaculture

["John Cropper" <j.cropper@trinidad.net>]

I applaud anyone who considers providing help to the suffering people of
Afganistan. But allow me to pose an alternative view.

As I understand it, the people of Afganistan have been living there,
sustainably, for many many generations - feeding themselves in very tough
conditions, while fighting among themselves and with numerous invading
armies. Thats a tribute to their resilience and their deep understanding of
local
conditions. Acute problems with food supply have arisen due to horrendous
drought conditions over three years, worsened by endemic political turmoil.

I noted in a news article that many of the people who were leaving Kabul and
other urban centres since September 11 were not appearing on the Pakistan
border, but were rather returning to their ancestral villages.

All of this tells me that these people are well-versed in basic pc wisdom

Any aid that can get there should seem to have two objectives:
- meeting the immediate needs of hungry/starving people
- preserving indigenous planting material and indigenous knowledge
in order to allow the people to get back as quickly as possible to doing
what they know best - feeding themselves.

Lets not introduce yet another form of neo-colonialism, however
well-intentioned.

John Cropper