permaculture

[Scott Vlaun <scott@moosepondarts.com>]

Hello All,

I've been interested in all the postings regarding Afghanistan lately. While this thread has developed, I've been corresponding with a man named Brian Hartig who is involved with a startup organization that is planning to do some serious restoration work there. I've mentioned permaculture to him and although he hadn't heard of it, he's done some research and has become interested. I've copied some of the information that he sent me below. I'm sure he'd be delighted to be contacted by anyone with ideas as to how permaculture principles could be applied. If anyone would like to see their whole "backgrounder" with personel and more about their strategy, let me know and I'll email you the whole document which is around 15 pages. I'm hoping to go there in march to help with another project that Seeds4Afghanistan is doing and will certainly try to keep track of what these folks are able to get going, The country sure needs all the help it can get at this point.

You can contact Brian @ Brian J Hartig <bjh222@nyu.edu>

Regards to all, I really enjoy this list.

Scott Vlaun
Western Maine, USA


Mission:

The Global Partnership for Afghanistan is an international, people-to-people, capacity-building partnership with rural Afghan people who once farmed and are now attempting to rebuild their villages, their country and their economy through environmental renewal and sustainable development. By implementing agro-forestry projects, in partnership with other organizations and individuals, we seek to restore the natural environment by planting life-giving trees and to introduce new methodology and training, sustainable employment and cash-producing crops for legal sales and exports. These plantings will reduce and eventually alleviate the cycle of droughts and water depletion that plague Afghanistan.

Vision: 

Global Partnership for Afghanistan believes that the Afghan nation will be able to achieve self-sufficiency. To take its rightful place in the community of democratic nations, its natural environment and agricultural resources, deteriorated after 23 years of war, can and must be restored. With technical assistance from experts, support from people of good will in other countries and the expertise of Afghan nationals, reforestation and irrigation will reverse desertification and bring back land for the production of agricultural goods and timber. Overall, these efforts will restore the country’s damaged ecosystems. Such work will also lay the foundation for industries, training and sustainable employment of the Afghan people, the increased production of food for domestic use and foreign exchange from exports, and will, in the process, build capacity within the Afghan people to sustain these programs indefinitely. The Partnership exists to make that vision a reality.