permaculture

[Claude Genest <genest@together.net>]

Hi Steve,

I just gave a one hour talk to Organic Farmers on Saturday....

Pictures are definitely worth a thousand words....

I got a good reaction on the subject of water bioremediation - specifically
the PC notion of turning wastes into resources. ( willows and their uses
figured prominently here - biotecture etc,)

- Food forestry

- the use of clover as a living much on a broad scale

- Zonation and the fact the farm is but a component of a PC design

- Sun traps and wind breaks

- Ethics and principles ( based on forest model)

 When talking to a group of farmers about permaculture
> on the farm, what are the key points that tie permaculture
> to the broadscale level vs backyard level. What makes
> permaculture interesting to farmers?  How can they use it?

I began my talk by outlinign the history of our reductionistic thinking and
pulling things apart as a precursor to NOT merely giving them a bunch of
"techniques" and to introduce the benfits of putting things together and
thinking holistically...
> 
> If you are a farmer who has to survive on proceeds from the land,
> what would you like to know about Permaculture, how will it make
> your farm more environmentally and economically sustainable?

I'd like to know that I can transition slowly; that I can "stack the
functions" and by so doing get so much more bang for my buck than I might
have otherwise thought (e.g fedge/windbreak/nuts and timber in zone 4)
> 

Break a leg !

Claude