Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - [permaculture] Permacultures day in LA

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Raymond Cirirno <permaquest@yahoo.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Permacultures day in LA
  • Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:22:59 -0800 (PST)

Dear Permaculture heros,
Today was a great day in LA county as permaculture was introduced at Lawndale
charter eco-school. I was just thrown into a class and had to define it and
tell the sudents how we will be creating sustainable conditions on campus,
but with fun and adventure. It was so much fun with parents in the back of
the room listening to this new approach and how we'll be creating everything
from gray water to composting toilets without stinking permits. This model
will be designed to keep the students on the property playing and learning
after school and even come back on weekends to play. Here's the first project.
http://people.tribe.net/raycirino/photos/207b2283-e9d6-45dc-9346-4b9002a1b144

Anyone with a school grants let us know as we have the world to awaken.

Ray
Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>
wrote:
Hi Everyone-
We have received word from our friend Peter Murage, of Mount Kenya
Organic Farms (MOOF), that things are not going well in Kenya. The
last email we received from Peter was the end of January , we have
had no more email contact from him.

We had the privilege of meeting Peter, along with other delegates
from Africa, while attending the 8th International Permaculture
Conference (IPC8) in Brazil May 2007. Santa Barbara Permaculture
Network feels a special connection to this group, as we came together
with our community and held an Africa to Brazil fundraiser event to
help some of these delegates get to Brazil and the conference, with
the hope that they would be able to make a successful bid for the
next International Permaculture Conference in 2009. And they did!
We have never met a more committed and organized group. They
represented many different countries, but had a singular vision, how
to bring world focus on Africa and it's need for sustainable
livelihoods and agriculture for all its people, specifically through
Permaculture and this conference. They went home dedicated to
organizing a continent wide event, all inclusive.
We are very saddened to hear in the midst of this wonderful dream and
effort, that Kenya seems to be unraveling with political unrest and
violence. What began as localized trouble is spreading out across
the country and Peter recently asked us via email to "pray for Kenya".
Please join us as we keep Peter, MOOF, and Kenya in our hearts and
prayers. When we were unsure of how to support or do this ourselves,
Warren Brush of Quailsprings Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm
offered to lead us in a Sacred Fire tradition taught to him by Adowa elders.
Warren describes the ceremony briefly this way:
"I learned this form of ceremony from and Adowa Peacekeeper who uses the
fire to reach to the ancestors to support condolence of grief into
peace. It is both powerful and gentle in how it manifests our
intentions and brings us together in unity of cause. We will wrap our
spiritual beings around our brothers and sisters in Kenya with the
light of health and safety and balance".

The fire will be lit at sunset around 5:30 pm on Sunday, February
17th. The fire will last 24 hours, going until the sun sets on
Monday, February 18. We will take turns tending the fire during that
time and will have time to express our intentions for Kenyan friends.
You may join us at Quailsprings for the Fire Tending Ceremony , but
it requires an immediate RSVP via email to Santa Barbara Permaculture
Network (margie@sbpermaculture.org). More specific information about
the ceremony and directions will be given then. Warren suggests
others not able to attend may take those same two days and hold Kenya
in their thoughts and light a candle in support, using the small
candle fire to connect to the larger one.
Below is more information about Peter and the work he does. If
interested you can also read about the organizing of the upcoming
International Permaculture Conference to be held in Africa
at www.ipc9.org. We are all connected, permaculture and peace, may
they spread and grow around the world.

Margie Bushman
Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
"The holiest of all the spots on Earth, is where an ancient hatred
has become a present love" author unknown.




Mount Kenya Organic Farm (MOOF)

The founder of MOOF, Peter Murage, spent 10 months in the UK gaining
knowledge and experience in organic farming in 1997, including a
five-month internship at Garden Organic where strong links were
formed. Peter then returned to Kenya with the vision of a
community-based organic centre to promote farming practices that
would improve food security and livelihoods for farmers. MOOF was
established in 1998 and seeks to promote organic farming, and act as
a research, resource and training centre.

With failing rains across Kenya leading to failed crops, livestock
deaths and in some areas malnutrition and starvation, the
contribution of MOOF is increasingly vital. Those adopting organic
soil management practices are able to retain moisture in the soil and
see greater success with their crops. MOOF is playing a crucial role
in providing such essential information, advice and knowledge to
vulnerable farmers seeking to grow their own food without expensive
external inputs and without causing harm to their health or to the
environment.

Peter Murage, Programme Director, MOOF.AFRICA,
Nanyuki-Kenya










Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie@sbpermaculture.org
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in new directions, in
order to grow." - Anonymous




_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe or unsubscribe here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
Google command to search archives:
site:https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture searchstring





---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it
now.
>From toby@patternliteracy.com Fri Feb 22 13:34:56 2008
Return-Path: <toby@patternliteracy.com>
X-Original-To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Delivered-To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Received: by lists.ibiblio.org (Postfix, from userid 3002)
id 1B87F4C017; Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:34:56 -0500 (EST)
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.2.3 (2007-08-08) on malecky
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=disabled
version=3.2.3
Received: from mtiwmhc13.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc13.worldnet.att.net
[204.127.131.117])
by lists.ibiblio.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B5EFD4C015
for <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>;
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:34:52 -0500 (EST)
Received: from toby-hemenways-powerbook59.local
(h-67-101-2-85.sttnwaho.dynamic.covad.net[67.101.2.85])
by worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc13) with ESMTP
id <2008022218345111300k761me>; Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:34:51 +0000
Message-ID: <47BF15CA.2000400@patternliteracy.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:34:50 -0800
From: Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>
User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.9 (Macintosh/20071031)
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
References: <d65.202d347f.34e6efec@cs.com> <47B59EB7.2020302@gmail.com>
<47BA02B5.3050202@patternliteracy.com>
<47BA25AA.000015.02472@ATTRACTI-1A21F7>
<47BA68B6.1060900@patternliteracy.com>
<C950B6FE-7BD9-4F49-9546-D9DD33205222@moosepondarts.com>
<47BB32FE.2050206@patternliteracy.com>
<47BDC1E0.9070604@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <47BDC1E0.9070604@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Subject: Re: [permaculture] conservatism/food/references requested
X-BeenThere: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9
Precedence: list
Reply-To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Id: permaculture <permaculture.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture>,
<mailto:permaculture-request@lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture>
List-Post: <mailto:permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa@lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture>,
<mailto:permaculture-request@lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:34:56 -0000

Harmon Seaver wrote:

>
> I doubt we can draw any real conclusions from ancient history, since
> we really have little idea of what was actually going on, only what a
> few people thought they saw.
Historical and population records from Rome, Sumer, Greece, Crete, and
China are very good (meticulous tax and census records) and have
excellent correspondence with ecological and archaeological data.
Collapse undeniably occurred in the rural areas first, sometimes as much
as a century before that in cities. Read Tainter, Homer-Dixon, H T Odum,
John Perlin, Mumford, Jane Jacobs. If you want to deny them, well, okay.
>> The country is where some food comes from (there are plenty of cities
>> that grow 50-70% of their food)
> Where? Not in the US
The USDA says 30% of all US food is produced in metropolitan areas,
which really surprised me.
> You can forget about tools and machines coming from the cities in
> theUS. Most of the factories are closed down,
My city manufactures steel, railroad cars, clothing, packaged food,
small engines, bicycles, and thousands of other things. There is still
plenty of manufacturing in the US, and we'll see more as cheap imports
become scarce very soon. The point is: little but food is made in rural
areas. So who will get what goods remain? Who will replace your solar
batteries?

And all 14 families on our road commuted to far-away towns for work.
They won't do well. Plus, sheer distance and lot size means today's
rural life uses more resources than urban does.

When I lived in the country, the guy next door dealt meth and sold guns
(he's dead now). Next to him were two heavily armed fundamentalists who
shot at each other's cars. They knew I had the best garden for miles.
How safe was I? Gangs are in the country, too: we had them. But gangs
stay out of cohesive neighborhoods--that's why I don't buy the urban
terror scenario. Community is easier to create in cities.

The rural US was once cohesive--it is not anymore; it's a hodgepodge of
retirees, poor refugees from high-priced cities, affluent dabblers in
country life, the underemployed, and old-time locals angry at the
newcomers. Our town meetings were mayhem. Neighborhoods in cities are
homogeneous compared to rural ones, allowing community to happen. It was
those sorts of realizations (among other things) that made me leave the
country for the city. Rural people are farther from community,
distribution centers, knowledge pools, law enforcement, manufacturing,
food processing, power generation--everything but big acreage. The rural
US is woefully unprepared for collapse, and has fewer resources, in
terms of money, political power, education, skill sets, and neighborhood
cohesion. Their only money may come from feeding city people; we need
each other. Some individual rural people may do fine, but overall it
will be a mess. Rural real estate is already collapsing faster than in
cities. I would not take comfort from the Depression--things are very
different now.

I think our principal area of disagreement is that it sounds like you
believe collapse will be rapid, taking a few years or a decade or two. I
think that since our culture is an adaptive system at least as complex
as any ecosystem, it has a profound ability to adjust. I expect our
collapse will be like that of every other culture known: it will take a
couple of centuries, with plenty of nasty shocks along the way. But I
think the "we're gonna run out of everything soon" view is not grounded
in history, ecology, systems science, or any other rational study. It's
based on fear and our tendency to be drawn to the worst scenario. I have
a high opinion of human adaptability; it's our hallmark trait. That's
why collapse unfolds over centuries: you can't stop it, but smart people
can slow it down enormously.

Toby




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page