Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] It's free on the web/ was question aboutPCDcourseprices

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Graham Burnett" <grahamburnett@blueyonder.co.uk>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] It's free on the web/ was question aboutPCDcourseprices
  • Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 20:15:41 +0100


> To put that in human terms: Writing and posting an article on my web site,
> even if I'm just rehashing someone else's ideas, takes my time and energy,
> the cost of my years of experience, plus a bit of cash to my web host,
some
> of my computer's cost, ISP, phone co., etc. So it's not free. I do it
> because I want the information to be out there, but also because I hope
> someone might notice my book or go to one of my workshops, which in turn
> will give me the cash to pay my mortgage so I can then write more articles
> in my home office. I could, I realize, live further down the food
> chain--live in a squat and do my writing at the library, etc, but who's
> funding the library? Why should the other taxpayers support me? I'd rather
> live in a way that allows me to see and pay for as much of the true cost
of
> my own lifestyle, rather than sucking resources out others as though they
> owed me; they don't. A resource is like right-of-way: it is offered, not
> forced out of someone. That would be called theft, yes?

May I also add that this is not sustainable in the long term and not good
people-care. Always giving away what we have for free, never getting
anything back, putting all our energies into surviving and scraping an
existance in a 'proper' job (I mean that ironically of course...) whist
offering our greatest skills and talents without anything being
reciprocated, leads inevitably to burn-out and exhaustion. It leads to poor
quality of information and poor quality of information transmission. If we
are making our living from permaculture (which we should all be doing- even
if we aren't directly earning from permaculture designing or teaching,
permaculture ethics and principles should mean that we always do our best to
make our way through life via 'right livlihood'), then we deserve the
support of those in our communities just as much as, say, the grower of high
quality organic vegetables or master carpenter. If we are supported and
earning an abundant and ethical living we will consequently give back far
higher quality permacultural offerings. Rember Maslow's hierachy of needs!

In my last post I mentioned the course I taught on for free that got
populated by free-loaders who would have been well able to pay their way
whilst I went home with empty pockets. I did it once and it was a learning
experience, but it's certainly not something I could do very often without
ending up very empty and bitter.

Cheers Graham


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.756 / Virus Database: 506 - Release Date: 08/09/2004





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page