permaculture

[KSantoyo <kathryn@earthflow.com>]

In response to Isabel's original post- not sure what the problem is?!
People buying up land and wanting to create a place where people can
come learn about growing and living together- ohmigosh- that's
horrible!

So what if they don't have the skill sets yet...it sounds like they
know enough to seek help from people who know more than they
do...Isn't that what this whole process is about -education? Learning
so that one can become more capable and able to better contribute to
the health of the whole?

What a resource these new landowners are offering to those who wish
they had a place to go get some hands-on experience, or simply
practice their passion and skills...

As Trudie alludes to, imagine roving bands of skilled permaculturists-
permaculture gypsies!- moving from site to site, living for a while in
the community, and helping people get their systems properly set up-
seems like that would be a good thing...

to the good green road,

Kathryn Santoyo
earthflow.com


-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Udan Farm
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 10:17 AM
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [permaculture] Trends in America

Hi Everyone,

I admit, I do not keep up with this list nearly as much as I would like
to, but I'd like to start a discussion about a trend I see, and perhaps
how to alter it, or harness it, or ???

I live in a southern state, so we are fairly far behind in Permaculture,
as in, classes being taught, and interest in general.
I am a new Permaculture teacher, trying to get the word out, and my
partner and I will be student teaching our first design course this
winter.

What I have noticed here in our southern state is a trend of fairly
wealthy couples, or single middle aged women, who "decide" to start a
farm, eco-village, or other farm related business, with little prior
knowledge. They go buy the land with little realization of what to look
for, realize that it's a lot of work, and then want someone to come
"assess" their land. Most of them want to host a class (mainly because
they are too busy to leave the farm) and hope that it will include lots
of people planting trees for them. In other words, they want someone to
come "DO" permaculture to their farm, and hope it won't cost much.
Generally they also hold down jobs in another town or they live part
time in another place. They had enough money to create the beginning of
the dream but no clue how to sustain it or build it.

I don't want to come off sounding like a whiner here. But this is
happening over, and over and over here in my state. You can pretty much
map them out, about 100 miles apart.
We are feeling very much pulled by every little wind as permaculture
teachers, so we are having to be very selective about what we do.

What I was wondering-I don't mean to just crab about it- is are any
other Permaculture Teachers out there experiencing this, and what do you
tell folks, and how could we get them all together? Mind you it's a 5
hour drive from one end of the state to another


"
This is really, in my opinion, an indicator of our larger American
society in general. We have enough money to go off in our little corner
and live, and we want others to "work for us", as we have come to
expect. (I don't think that, but I think American society in general-or
at least upper and upper-middle class society does.)

Granted the tide seems to have turned, and people may be more serious
and honest about wanting to live simply and sustainably...

but I just wondered what my fellow Perm. folks out there are
experiencing, and how they are turning THE PROBLEM INTO THE SOLUTION.

Peace,
Isabel