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  • From: Robyn Francis <erda@nor.com.au>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] alternatives to Poppies
  • Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:55:21 +1100

I wholeheartedly agree with what you say Scott and thanks for the excellent
summary of the situation, which more than anything is a political problem.

The Taliban has been urging farmers to grow opium poppies as part of the
holy war against the west - to destroy their youth with heroin - but the
more likely truth is for raising revenue for armaments.
At the same time the Taliban banned the growing and use of cannabis, a very
ancient tradition in Afghanistan (they used to produce the best hashish on
the planet, which was consumed culturally in much the same way that we share
a beer or glass of wine with friends and guests), so in a way it was the
lurking outraged rebel in me that suggested hemp as an option. However
suggesting any kind of replacement crop is a simplistic approach to a
complex problem.
Ciao
Robyn

On 18/12/07 11:10 AM, "Scott Pittman" <scott@permaculture.org> wrote:

> I have always had difficulty with "export" as a solution to third world
> problems; it is to my mind "a one step solution to a two step ditch".
>
> In Afghanistan the farmers are living in what is essentially a feudal system
> under tribal headmen. The headmen get the big payoff while the farmers are
> basically getting by. The wealth accumulates in the hands of a few brutal
> strongmen and makes its way to organizational despots like the Taliban, who
> maintain a climate of repression in the name of Allah.
>
> I don't think that a crop different from poppies (the precursor of heroin)
> is going to change much without a major change in the system. Afghan
> president Kharsai, is part of that system and is as reluctant to change it
> as are the Taliban. It seems what is needed are some models of
> sustainability to point the way for farmers that it is possible for them to
> determine their own fate and prosper without the traditional leaders riding
> on their shoulders.
>
> Of course this is an extremely difficult thing to do in a climate of terror,
> when villagers are sandwiched between the violence of NATO on the one hand
> and the Taliban on the other. I don't see that there is any realistic
> solution until the climate of fear and violence is somehow ended. It is
> great that people are concerned and want to find alternatives but I just
> don't think that it is another commodity crop.
>
> These are the kinds of situations that are a real challenge to a
> permaculture designer and without actually going there and meeting with the
> people and understanding their situation I don't think we can come up with
> anything realistic. Perhaps we should be offering permaculture courses to
> the soldiers who are participating in this tragedy.
>
> One promising model was initiated by the King of Thailand in Northwester
> Thailand with the hill people near the Cambodian border. He walked from
> village to village asking the people what they needed in order to stop
> growing opium poppies. His concern was with the massive deforestation
> taking place to grow the poppies and for the wellbeing of the people. He
> managed to enroll 150,000 tribesmen into a reforestation program along with
> tropical fruit production to create an income and better nutrition. I don't
> see any way that this could have happened if the area was a battlefield as
> it is in Afghanistan.
>
> I realize I haven't come up with anything useful for the Lieutenant
> returning to Afghanistan but I also wouldn't want to lead him down a path of
> disappointment.
>
> Scott Pittman
> Director
> Permaculture Institute
> www.permaculture.org
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Robyn Francis [mailto:erda@nor.com.au]
> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:32 PM
> To: permaculture
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] alternatives to Poppies
>
> The obvious crop, which has an ancient tradition in Aghanistan and was wiped
> out by the Taliban, is hemp. There's a world shortage of hemp fibre,
> fabrics, hempseed oil - as well as raw primary product there's potential for
> village/cottage scale value adding to improve income from this crop. Somehow
> I don't see the US military supporting growing of fibre hemp.
>
> The problem for the farmers is they earn more from poppies than any food
> crops that can be grown - the raw opium is harvested in the field, is not
> bulky for transporting and earns well, which from the farmers perspective
> make it an ideal crop especially for remote areas. The challenge is finding
> crops that can be easily value added to reduce bulk and increase income.
>
> Ciao
> Robyn
>
>
> On 18/12/07 3:30 AM, "roxann" <roxann@ancientearthwisdom.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Do any of you have suggestions as to what kinds of plants Afgans and
> Iraqis
>> can grow that will provide an income comparable to poppies? Someone from
> the
>> US military has asked me to do some research and see if there are herbs
> they
>> can help them get started growing with. He was interested in ginseng, but
> that
>> won't grow there. It has too specific a requirement and the profit in
> growing
>> it comes from the Chinese demand for wild or wild appearing US roots and
> the
>> demand won't be the same for ginseng grown in fields. I am not familiar
> with
>> the growing conditions of that region of the world. Will the Indian
> Ayurvedic
>> herbs grow there? They want to grow something they can export to the
> global
>> market, I believe.
>>
>> Suggestions, information of any sort is welcome. If you would like to be
>> listed as a contact (for consulting/info) in the packet of information I
> send
>> this Lieutenant, send me that as well.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Roxann, NW AR
>> http://blog.ancientearthwisdom.com
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