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  • From: Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>
  • To: Jim <ashevillecurrencyproject@gmail.com>, Permaculture ibiblio <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>, openpermaculture <permaculture@openpermaculture.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Food Not Lawns book
  • Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:57:15 -0400



Jim wrote:
Hmmm. I've gotten some red flags when talking with Heather-- a little bit of spaciness that worried me.
I'm getting a review copy, courtesy of Michael Weaver. I hope I don't find the same thing as you, but have a nervousness that I might. Don't quote me.
Our impression was that she was very young and inexperienced, overly opinionated, and depended almost entirely on OTHER people's work. We all rest on the shoulders of those who have gone before, but....

To quote her, "...much of the Permaculture movement is based on a desire for personal gain, rather than a deep ecological altruism".

Also, " ...while Permaculture /teaches/ a whole-system approach that includes the larger ecological community, the permaculture I have seen in /practice/ tended to lack emphasis on taking designs beyond the suburban homestead."

Also, "...the term /permaculture/ has become something of a commodity, used to entice people into paying exorbitant prices for "certification courses" when such important information should be made accessible to any who would choose to learn it....most of those high-priced certificates are just photocopied pieces of paper, signed by the instructors themselves. "

Clearly she hasn't SEEN much permaculture. Like the folks Toby talked about, who, when they didn't see many annual vegetable gardens at the Pc Inst in Hawaii, and overlooked the hundreds of perennial food plants all around them, concluded that application of permaculture was failing.

And Toby endorsed the book! I wonder if he read those parts.

So, I ask you all, IS that all permaculture is? I don't think so.

Despite the rest of the book being useful and practical, even sounding like what Permaculture recommends, most is available elsewhere and already in print.
If the book is not up to snuff, then I'll withdraw my invite to her. It would be a shame if Chelsea chose the wrong author to invest their time and money with. Thanks for the heads up.
Have Chuck Marsh teach it, or one of the many good gardeners in Asheville.
Best,
Jim Barton

--
Keith Johnson
Permaculture Activist Magazine
PO Box 5516
Bloomington, IN 47408
(812) 335-0383
http://www.permacultureactivist.net
also Patterns for Abundance Design & Consulting
also APPLE-Bloomington (Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy)
It's a small world after oil.



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