permaculture

[Permaculture Cooperative <permaculturecoop@gmail.com>]

Hi Juergen & Permaculture List Folks,

I would like to see much movement toward Gaia (planetary-scale) Permaculture
in my lifetime, and am encouraged by the Radical Routes folks, by the
Mondragon triumphs, by the 10,000 trees folks, and many others, that this
will happen.

Nick and I have been researching models for Gaia Permaculture for 9 months
now.  Our investigations have revealed much promise, but we have been forced
to acknowledge some hard truths, foremost among them the concerns about how
cooperatives can survive embedded in a mercenary economic environment, and
the concerns about inequities observed and reported at numerous Permaculture
installations worldwide.

In my view, because they are lacking the infrastructural support that
society provides "normal" communities, the Permaculture Pioneer generation
has been forced to fend for themselves, and this can and has resulted in
hierarchical inequities at their installations.

In cases of large Permaculture installations where there is familial
support, such as with David Holmgren and Darren Doherty, and at small
Pemaculture installations, there doesn't seem to be a problem.  In cases
where there is not familial or institutional support, an exploitative status
quo seems to develop at the pioneer institution.

This is not to criticize any of the Pioneers in any way -- I am deeply
grateful to all of them and believe that we are profoundly indebted to them.
We needed these brave individuals to embark on their chosen paths to move
our society forward.  Instead, this is to acknowledge weaknesses in the
system so that the current and future generations of Permaculturists can
address the weaknesses and be an improvement on the previous generation.

In solidarity, with sunshine, and toward gaia permaculture,
Kirstie


On Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 5:42 AM, Juergen Botz <jurgen@botz.org> wrote:

> On 11/04/2009 03:26 PM, Permaculture Cooperative wrote:
> > Our hopes for a global permaculture cooperative have been tempered
> > by [...] our observations of the dysfunctional hierarchical
> > relationships which predominate at established Permaculture farms in
> > Australia
>
> You don't give any further details about your observations of these
> dysfuncational hierarchical relationships.  I'm curious to know more...
> how are they hierarchical, and how are they dysfunctional?
>
> :j
>
>


-- 
Nicholas Roberts & Kirstie Stramler

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