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  • From: Permaculture Cooperative <permaculturecoop@gmail.com>
  • To: pil-pc-oceania <pil-pc-oceania@lists.permacultureinternational.org>, permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: Permaculture TV - Permaculture relief and aid - Lessons from Aceh and Timor - Steve Cran
  • Date: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:33:01 +1100

Permaculture TV - Permaculture relief and aid - Lessons from Aceh and
Timor - Steve Cran <http://permaculture.tv>

<http://fusion.google.com/add?source=atgs&feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/permaculture/EHmn>
------------------------------

Permaculture relief and aid - Lessons from Aceh and Timor - Steve
Cran<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/permaculture/EHmn/~3/TZ0GtgE5K1s/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 06:15 PM PST

It’s been a year since I first stepped foot on the tsunami zone in Aceh,
Indonesia. What a year! This has certainly been one of the most difficult
projects I’ve done.

Source Steve Cran, Aceh Enjoys Permaculture Achievements,
Tagari<http://www.tagari.com/?p=85>

[image: steve cran]

Video Source: IDEPFoundation <http://www.youtube.com/user/idepfoundation>

Aceh has been troubled for many years. Before the tsunami, the Achenese were
struggling with general poverty, military conflict, pollution, corruption,
and the destruction of forests from illegal logging. After the tsunami the
military conflict ended but new problems arose. The flow on effect from the
broken infrastructure, missing people, loss of incomes of surviving families
and lack of services ruined the economies of many communities outside the
zone. The full impact of the tsunami is still not understood The December,
2004 tsunami was a low blow to people already down on their luck.

The influx of hundreds of charities and organizations rushing in to assist
the victims of the tsunami was a needed relief at first but as the months
rolled on and people stabilized, the shock wore away and the depressing
realities of being homeless in a harsh landscape set in.

On top of the difficulties of living in rough camps with poor sanitation,
aid- dependency began to take hold on the people. Survivors in the zone
became totally dependent on food handouts and other charity supplies to the
point where many people stopped struggling to rebuild with the misguided
belief that any day now , an NGO will come along and give them everything
they need.

*Survivors began to lose the will to help themselves. *

I’d seen this before in East Timor where I spent 5 years introducing
permaculture to the world’s newest nation .In Aceh, I was determined to
build a project which made people strong and independent, not turn them into
professional beggars.

Working in partnership with the Balinese NGO, IDEP ( Indonesian Development
Education and Permaculture) <http://www.idepfoundation.org> I began planning
the project needed. After my initial recon in February, 2005, I was able to
convince IDEP that the best way to help the Achenese was to build a
permaculture training centre in Aceh to assist the survivors to rebuild
their communities using permaculture best practice methods.

To make a project like this successful in the difficult conditions it had to
be a “lead from the field” project. This meant that the field (me mostly)
made all the decisions and the NGO administration supported them. This
system is effective in situations where rapid change is happening, there’s
poor communication, and the field team need to respond quickly in a
confusing environment. It’s a bit scary for an organization to let the field
make the decisions but IDEP rose to the challenge.

Source: *Steve Cran*, Aceh Enjoys Permaculture Achievements,
Tagari<http://www.tagari.com/?p=85>

*About Steve Cran*

*Steve Cran is a sustainable community development specialist. With 15 years
of constant field project experience Steve enjoys the challenge of assisting
people living on the edge of survival to rebuild their communities.
*

“There is a lot written about so called community development but in the
field it doesn’t work or it doesn’t last” says Steve. “ Permaculture gets
real results by helping the people restore their community using local
resources”.

Steve focuses on training the trainer from whatever community he’s working
with. Local people training local people by building working models to
inspire the rest of the community bring solid results. “The worlds problems
grow at an exponential rate so I design projects that solve problems at an
exponential rate”.

Steve worked for 5 years with rural Aboriginal communities in outback
Australia. In 1999 Steve went to East Timor and formed a Permaculture
training network which he developed over 5 years. This network continues to
grow.

Steve returned home to Maleny, Queensland, Australia in November 2004 for a
well earned rest. A month later the tsunami wiped out over 200,000 people in
several countries.

Steve’s field experience was called upon to set up a project in Aceh,
Indonesia. “This is a tricky project as we have earthquakes every week,
possible further tsunamis as well as a protracted guerilla war in our area,
not to mention the poverty that was here before the tsunami. The deck is
really stacked against these poor people here”, says Steve from Lamsujen, 45
kms Southwest of Banda Ache.

Steve has joined IDEP to build an “Greenhand Field
School<http://www.idepfoundation.org/GFS.html>”
in Ache, on of the worst affected areas hit by the tsunami. The Greenhand
Field School will be a training centre to train trainers in sustainable
community development best practice. The Greenhand Field School will focus
on food security, organic farming, community agro-forestry, appropriate
technology, and local solutions for the tsunami survivors. The trainers
being trained are mainly Achenese and the Greenhand Field School is designed
so the best trainers will run this facility within 2 years.

Source: Ecoteknik<http://eikonography.com/perma/08_project_team_01_steve.html>

Mobilizing a Permaculture Army - Scott
Pitman<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/permaculture/EHmn/~3/Jgh6o-M-XAk/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>

Posted: 17 Jan 2010 03:08 PM PST

*If we saw and approached earth changes and future environmental
catastrophes as we do with the urgency of a war we’d be mobilizing a new
army, a new air force a redefining what it means to be a warrior and a
global citizen.*

an eco — force to be implemented with the utmost speed and vision is
needed. We have to take a serious look at the possibility that it just maybe
to late, but if we strive to put this best foot forward we may be more
prepared to help save life, and to provide a more humane world for all.

Scott Pittman is a renowned permaculturist who does not shy away from
addressing the issues facing humanity, the urgency it calls for and an
introduction to permaculture, what it is and what it isn’t. Permaculture may
hold the key to our future.

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  • [permaculture] Fwd: Permaculture TV - Permaculture relief and aid - Lessons from Aceh and Timor - Steve Cran, Permaculture Cooperative, 01/18/2010

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