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  • From: "Eugene F. Monaco" <efmonaco@comcast.net>
  • To: "'permaculture'" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Cults & Fetishes (was: Hierarchies and certification..)
  • Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 11:47:52 -0400

To me, this idea of certification is cultism; and the desire to obtain the piece of paper is a fetish.

History is full of certified professionals who espoused nonsense and said things such as it is impossible for devices heavier than air to get off the ground.  I have had so-called agricultural experts tell me that permaculture can’t work while they choke on their own poisons.  Why then would we want to waste time seeking the blessings of their sacred institutions, and imitating their hierarchical structures?  Permaculture itself is in part about decentralization, experimentation (guild associations), and evolution of what works – and most importantly – where and when it works, not to mention how and why.

As soon as we start worshiping the certificate or the degree rather than the ecology of the co-inhabitants (and the Creator that set it all in motion), we head down the path of having a fetish about the certificate or the book.  We need look no further than modern religion to see this in motion.

 “Concerning the accumulated fetish writings which various religionists hold as sacred books, it is not only believed that what is in the book is true, but also that every truth is contained in the book. If one of these sacred books happens to speak of the earth as being flat, then, for long generations, otherwise sane men and women will refuse to accept positive evidence that the planet is round.”  (From the Urantia Book 88.2.7)

Mollison is right about this: The bad teachers will weed themselves out.  A slick marketing presentation might get a teacher a bunch of students once, maybe twice, but never will it be sustained.  Moreover, unless the principles are developed and put into practice the draw will be short-lived.  The teacher teaching principles that do not work will soon be overshadowed by the body of evidence to the contrary, although it may take some time.  Heaven forbid that one of these wrong ideas makes it way into the official Royal Societe de Permaculture.

Don’t you think the day will come when nobody believes that there are no evolutionary forces at work, and that the layers of the Grand Canyon are there just to test our faith in the one true book that states the world was in fact created in 6 days?

Just do what works and tell your story.  And don’t waste your time trying to change the minds of entrenched academics.

 

 

____________________________

Eugene F. Monaco

Herb Specialist

by appt. or  tel: (865) 609-9025

418 Woodlawn Pike, Knoxville, TN

http://www.knoxherbs.com

Nothing else has as wide a healing impact as SomaLife visit: http://asomaworld.net/ginsengshopfineherbs 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Marsha Hanzi
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2003 6:48 AM
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [permaculture] Hierarchies and certification..

 

The dilemma is how to guarantee quality witout at the same time creating a hierarchy? It seems to me that now that Bill is moving out of the scene there is a certain maneuvering to  see "who will be at the top now that he is gone"...I think this is well-intentioned, based on the fear of the movement "losing quality".

But the spirit of Permaculture at its founding was that of local and personal empowerment, and that must also mean including material from our own experience and lives, and not just slavishly repeating Bill´s manual ( and having to shell out to someone who may not even know our work...)

(An aside-  Ianto Evans once said that in Bill´s manual it is difficult to distiniguish material which is just"good ideas" from material which has actually been tested.  With time I have found this to be true...)

The probelm arises when this body of information- a design system- needs to be transformed into  a recognized profession, or even a recognized course within a professional context...

In my experience , if the person teaching Permaculture has some sort of academic accreditation ( like a Masters in anthropology etc...) that somehow validates their Permaculture course in the academic world...It´s not necessarily fair, but it functions...

Here in Brazil there is a new window of opportunity in that the ministry of Education is now validating two-year technical courses at the university level ( before there were only highschool-level technical courses).  We see this as a perfect scenario for inserting Permaculture as a profession in the academic scene... As soon as I get my roots down in my new place, we should be developing this proposal... I think most Permaculture Institutes would have enough academically-qualified people to develop such a course ( agronomists, educators, etc.),  while incorporating those professionals who don´t have the academic status but do have practical skills and experience . IPEC, a PC Institue near Brasilia, has started a "Ecoversity" which is a similar proposal of a long-term course.  I am not sure whether they have actually got it academically accredited or not.  I believe not, but am not sure..

Marsha Hanzi

Instituto de Permacultura da Bahia

www.permacultura-bahia.org.br

 


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