permaculture

["georg parlow" <georg@websuxxess.com>]

hi friends:

my recent correspondence with andreas keller regarding his plans
respectively my (limited) experience of working with indigenous people in
the tropics kept me pondering. below i present for discussion, criticism and
improvements my sketched ideas for a strategy to "infest" the members of a
local community in a less developed nation with permaculture. the szenario i
was thinking of is not one of acute crisis (like afghanistan, refugee camps
or the like), but rather the cronic and everincreasing crisis of global
kleptocracy infiltrating and brainwashing yet another "backwards" part of
this planet.

1. move there for good (which means: intend to stay there at least for
several years, and make all practical decisions as if you would intend to
stay there for the rest of your life). having in-laws or good friends might
help greatly.

2.
start your own pc system quietly (garden, rainwater-harvest, other short
term modules). when people ask about it early on, give brief answers,
emphasize the experimental character of what you are doing, be upfront about
your ignorance of local conditions and traditions and ask questions about
those.

work on becoming a respected member of the local community. in most places
this is done by
- respecting and following the local ethics and code of behaviour (i am
afraid this often also means attending weekly religious service if not daily
public prayers)
- carrying your own weight
- being generous (sharing your resources, giving away your surplus, maybe
throwing parties, etc)
- asking questions and listen well

3. find the most pressing local needs that involve the children (nutrition,
water, firewood-gathering is often childwork, dustrelated eye-complaints,
etc). pick one of them, where you feel confident that simple and affordable
pc measurements could create noticable relief within a year or less. find an
appropriate locally respected person (priest, clan-elder, chief, teacher,
you get the idea), and get them to understand that something can be done
about it, you would like to do it _if this is of general interest_, and you
are asking their judgement and advice. it shouldnt be too difficult to get
them to understand (without saying so outloud), that if it succeeds it is
their merit, and in case it fails it was your screwup.

4.
build on your successes.
answer questions in more detail.
get a pc-action group going (preferrably under the aegis of a local
honorary), and start building utopia...

---

looking forwards to any comments.

georg




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georg johann surya parlow

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         Info über Permakultur in Österreich
         http://websuxxess.com/permakultur
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