permaculture

[Fiona Campbell <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

On Tuesday, July 15, 2003, at 03:41  AM, Gaden@ziplip.com wrote:
> Excellent pioneer work is being done in Australia and New Zealand in 
> establishing the credibility of permaculture education within 
> mainstream accreditation practices.

True. We'll see how it goes.

> In part, their rewards will be good placement within a growing 
> industry.

I hope your optimism is correct. The fact is that there is no reliable 
indicator of trends in participation in permaculture as ether an 
industry or as an amateur practice in Australia. All there are are 
figures of for course enrollments held by individual teachers but 
never, to my knowledge, surveyed to build some picture of participation 
trends.

I have asked people about this and received disperate answers - some 
believe permaculture is growing, some say it is more or less stable, 
others say permaculture is shrinking. But your response depends upon 
whether you live immersed in some permaculture milieu or whether you 
are exposed for the most part to mainstream society; this can affect 
your perceptions. At best, all we can do is guesstimate.

My gut feeling is:

- that permaculture is stable or moderately growing at the level of the 
individual through access to Mollison's books in shops and libraries; 
at present I would guess it is stable

- as an industry earning income for teachers and others, my guess is 
that permaculture is less-used than previously.

My last statement is based on observations of permaculture over the 
past 20 years. I don't know how many 'Edible Landscapes' businesses I 
have seen come and go (at least three), for instance. I also believe 
that there are fewer teachers offering courses today than a decade ago. 
In part, this is as I have said before - that people working today as 
local government environmental and ESD (ecologically sustainable 
development) managers have been exposed to permaculture-like ideas in 
their tertiary studies and that permaculture training is not offering 
the right 'hook' to capture the imagination of youth (generalising, of 
course, and based on the obvservation of a friend).

> good placement within a growing industry

My understanding of the proposed accredited courses is that they will 
offer qualifications in horticulure/  permaculture - PIL may correct me 
if I am wrong. This will work to place graduates in land management 
positions, however I know from my work as a community garden advocate 
that the people who have made real incursions into communities are not 
horticulturists but are community workers. It is contact with these 
people, plus my own work, that has led me to propose that permaculture 
is suitable as a community development strategy rather than as a form 
or horticulture.

My point is that community work is a more strategic position from which 
to introduce permaculture because it operates at the policy level 
whereas horticulture does not. It all depends upon your approach to 
permaculture of course. People with the horticulture/ permaculture 
qualification would implement the policies set up by community workers 
through design and teaching, but they would be working within 
parameters set by community workers. It has much to do with how 
professions divide up territory.

> Permaculture has a depth within to fulfill the needs of people from 
> Turntable Falls to Toronto. Permaculture has long been a loving 
> provincial work of folksy tales of sustainability.

I take your point but "a loving provincial work of folksy tales" cuts 
no ice in mainstream society; it just paints a picture of dreamers and 
nostalgics.

> We all believe in the efficacy of permaculture to be, at least in 
> part, the answer to a wide range of personal, regional and world 
> issues. To deliver on that imbedded promise, it must move out of the 
> forests and into the marbled hallways of academia and corporate 
> boardrooms.

Agree with your sentiments. I think the likelihood of moving into 
"corporate boardrooms" is nonexistent as permaculture offers nothing to 
corporations in an era driven by short-term profits and a focus on 
shareholder profitability.

>  If permaculture is the powerful agent of change and restoration that 
> we feel it to be, it will happen anyway, with or without guiding > 
> hands.

Nothing happens by itself. It has to be driven and be relevant to 
contemporary needs.

> Crossovers must be found which both satisfy the needs and demands of 
> mainstream society while still preserving the social integrity of 
> permaculture ethics. Good working models of such crossovers already 
> exist. The fine work of Cameron Little's team at the Ecoliving Centre 
> in Sydney in retrofitting suburban homes.

This is a good example of permaculture in action.

> Living Machines Inc. providing biotech wastewater treatment solutions 
> for industries and townships.

These solutions are mainstream now. Kogarah Council, for instance, uses 
biofiltraion in a park in suburban Sydney.

...Russ Grayson