permaculture

["Golden Love" <goldenlove@cruzio.com>]

There are many successful intentional communities that have been around for
years and, of course, they ebb and flow like all of life. My sense is that
people are longing for community, especially in the U.S., where families
have become so separate. People are finding that the "hyperindividualist"
life style is not that much fun or enriching. One of the major reasons that
intentional communities break up is because they need to develop more
communication skills. My interest in forming an intentional community is
because I will get the wonderful opportunity everyday to connect more with
people, to learn how to listen, cooperate, and find common ground.

Golden

Golden Love
Love's Gardens
Creating and Maintaining Sustainable Urban Landscapes
California Licensed Contractor C27 363672
127 National St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone  (831) 471-9100
Fax  ( 831) 471-9200
goldenlove@cruzio.com
 

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Rain Tenaqiya
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 12:06 PM
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [permaculture] balancing public vs private

In the hyperindividualistic and isolating culture of Industrial Growth
Societies (IGS), many people go to the opposite extreme by supposing that
humuns used to live communaly and by trying to "recreate" such communities.
However, my understanding is that in most pre-industrial societies,
including foraging and horticultural cultures, the basic social unit is the
extended family.  While people may live relatively intimately in large
groups (50- 500), the extended family is the group primarily responsible for
procuring food, creating shelter, and bringing home fuel.  Even in places
like India, today, most people decide upon a career and a partner based upon
family networks and expectations and live in households with extended
family.  
 
In IGS cultures where the individual is superceding even the nuclear family
as the basic social unit, it is tempting to try to create a "tribe" and
expect that everyone will pitch in equally together and follow the motto
"from each according to one's ability, to each according to one's need."
However, we did not grow up with such an expanded sense of self, and with
all the choice and mobility of the dominant culture around us, there is
little pressure to truly develop such a sense of self.  Most alternative
communities don't last very long, or have very high turnover rates, partly
because of this situation.
 
It would be an interesting study to recreate the setting of the permaculture
design course that Toby Hemenway mentioned a couple weeks ago (where placing
names on tea cups determined whether or not they would be maintained) in
several different cultures to see how the tea cups were taken care of.  One
pattern that emerged among alternative communities in IGSs was for people
with caretaking personalities (usually womyn) to take over the maintenance
jobs, while others (often men) took care of the "important" things (such as
socializing and making decisions).  How would it be in rural Mexico, India,
or Cameroon?
 
There is no right way to organize cultures, but I believe that a balance
between communality and individuality is crucial, and will depend upon the
cultural backgrounds of the people involved.  The "tragedy of the commons"
occurs on a wide scale in societies where a culture that respects the
commons has broken down.  On the other hand, numerous "communist" states and
intentional communities have demonstrated the problems created when
individuals or families do not have some kind of "ownership" of materials,
space, jobs, or whatever, that enables them to express choice, initiative,
diverse methods, and responsibility and the ability to reap the rewards for
their stewardship.  Humuns are not cows or sheep.  We need to be able to
express our individuality in the wider context of belonging to society.
 
Rain



                
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