permaculture

[<ktho@comcast.net>]

Larry said:

That is so true. I hope this list will help as many as possible retain 
that knowledgebase, how to farm, diversified farm. "lost in a 
generation" (or 1.5) is exactly what happened to the Russians. 
After half a century of 
communism and the apathy it generated amongst Russia's best farmers, now 
noone knows how to farm productively. 

During the Communist era almost *all* of the food on the Soviet black
markets was grown on the small peasant allotments  - not the big
collectives. And those small allotments put out a *lot* of food. It wasn't
just that people had a stake in their own (small) land and had control of
their own production, but also they farmed those small plots intensively and
put back everything they had into the soil. They had to in order to keep it
fertile. It's what they ate off of.

Larry said:

Same folks that decimated the Indians and the ruthless industrialists 
who virtually enslaved and abused American workers; shipped that 
offshore to the Chinese and Indians now, soon Africa.

Yup - the bastards keep reincarnating.

Larry said:

This is what the Russian people need. It could mean a lot to millions of 
Russians struggling to survive, keep them on their land and in their 
towns, villages and communities. Stimulate new small scale and cottage 
industry. Keep the younger generations at home, on the farm and away 
from industrialized cities. 

Have you seen Berea College? Except for the heavy Christianity, it is a
work-study college - no tuition. It's the work-study model I think could
work for trade schools for farmers. Sterling College in VT is another good
example.

Kathleen