permaculture

[mIEKAL aND <dtv@mwt.net>]

On Thursday, September 16, 2004, at 02:03 AM, Michael Kramer wrote:

> As a decentralized movement, permaculture is a movement that survives 
> primarily on trust, because it is not controlled by anyone or any 
> organization, at least not in the States. People pay for the design 
> course experience and, upon graduation, they earn the right to call 
> themselves permaculturists and use this term in their work or life.

Here in southwest WI you hear a very high percentage of  back to the 
land organic homesteaders describing their activities as permaculture.  
Very few have ever attended a permaculture intensive & most that I know 
aren't able to attend such a course even if they wanted to because of 
the cost, & because most are on the land farming with animals or crops 
which don't allow them to take a 2 week chunk out of their lives.  Or 
they're working 3 jobs to get by.  Not surprisingly in the cold cold 
north, there are very few such courses in the middle of winter, & most 
including myself see very little reason to take a course out of our 
bioregion where specific information about species, resources, climate, 
& patterns have a much different profile.  Around here the technology 
of permaculture spreads by word of mouth, skill-sharing, & a lot of 
self-study.  It's the capital "P" vs small "p" thing that has been 
mentioned many times on this list.

~mIEKAL