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  • From: Scott Vlaun <scott@moosepondarts.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] what does a permaculture based politics look like?
  • Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 22:35:51 -0400

Right on Kevin!

It seems to me that every move we make regarding permaculture engages our community which by its nature is political. We too have worked (but probably not as hard as you have!) to supply some food via our local coop, which is nothing if not a political beast. We also are involved in the land trust movement around here, (more local politics!) and see that as a hopeful way to keep land available for sustainable practices and out of the hands of developers. We are also planning a local sustainability conference for '08 and are bracing for the politics in the community around that. You can continue on up the political food chain and see how decisions made at the state and national level can have serious implications for the permaculture movement. Maine's energy efficiency policy and upcoming U.S. farm bill come to mind. Certainly, local political movements to ban GMO's are integral to the movement and in some cases are led by permies. When I interview Mollison, he made no bones about delving straight into politics. A small decision at those highest levels can have more impact than a lot of hard work on the ground by a lot of people. One only need to look at Cuba to see what can happen when a political establishment embraces pemaculture principles. Food growing everywhere!

Keep up the great work.

Will you be attending the Northeast Summer Convergence? Maybe we can catch up there. I'd love to hear more about what you're doing.

In solidarity,

Scott Vlaun
Moose Pond Arts+Ecology
Design Solutions for a Sustainable Future

450 Main St. Studio 2
Norway, Maine 04270
207-739-2409 Studio
207-890-4099 Cell
http://www.moosepondarts.com



On Jun 13, 2007, at 9:30 PM, kevin s wrote:

hi all,

i have a habit of following, with some curiosity, the various threads
about "politics" on this list when they pop up. usually they sputter
out, often in a similar way, with people finally telling others to
"keep the politics off the list..." or other less polite things

i, for one at least, am regularly a little surprised and
disappointed that these conversations don't go deeper in the
Permaculture community. Of course it is obvious that the current
global "political", social, and economic relationships and (visible
and invisible) power structures will require huge transformations if
we are to achieve a sustainable human presence on the planet (of any
population size). i think all Permaculturalists agree on this.

The same Political struggles look the same all over the world: so
called Democratic institutions are under the attack, or complete
control of corporate, capitalist forces. The media, the global
military complex, the food supply, financial institutions, etc all
under the dominant control (or in the few free areas left, under
severe attack) by the same power structures.

There is a global war going on, on more levels and on more fronts
than just the "middle" east.

This is our global reality.

And, at the same time we have all over the world the most
sophisticated, organized, knowledgable, and committed social
movements human society has yet developed. Led by indigenous
activists, farmers, poor people, anarchists....

Where is Permacultures place in these growing social movements?

In the face of all of this, one would think that these clearly
"political" issues and opportunities would and should be on the
forefront of Permaculturalists lives and practice....

and yet, some 30 years into the Permaculture "movement" it still too
often appears that there remains some quaint (often white, often
male, often priviledged) idea that "Politics is not part of
Permaculture"

????

is it only me that feels some disturbing disconnect in this?

In any case i am wondering, in the spirit of positive example, what
are the ways that folks are incorporating their values and
Permaculture practice into their "political" lives right now?

Are there real examples out there that people can offer as models?

I'll start. We are working our butts off for the last couple of
seasons growing food for people using a CSA model based in
Permaculture practices. We use lots and lots of sheet mulch beds, and
so far we are growing a good amount of vegetables. It remains to be
seen whether we can be economically viable, growing real food for
real people, in competition with all the tractor farmers out there,
organic and conventional.

We don't own land yet, and are not particularly interested in
engaging in "investing" in land, where our debt only goes to fund the
same international financial corporations running this destructive
machine. So we are starting a Community Land Trust to hopefully
engage in a more healthy community based relationship with the land,
that has the added benefits, for instance, of allowing those
residents of the CLT land to create sustainable livelyhoods for
themselves and even do war tax resistance if they so desire because
they are not burdened with the fear and insecurity that comes with
"ownership". (they can't take it away from you if you don't "own" it)

It is a start anyway.

Lately I see more and more politically active folks drawn to, and
then become disappointed by the Permaculture "movement", as they
come to see it rightly or wrongly as strictly aligned with
libertarian or green capitalist or other seemingly "selfish"
political and social orientations and motives. and it seems true
that there is not often a lot in Permaculture circles for people to
connect their higher needs for community, cooperations, etc with yet.

and yet there is a lot of change going on, in Permaculture circles
just as there is everywhere else, and this list, i feel, doesn't
always represent the full range of Permaculture expression going
on....

anyway, thanks for the time,

eager, in the true permaculture spirit, for positive solutions

kevin
Regeneration CSA in High Falls NY







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