permaculture

[Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>]

Cory Brennan <cory8570(at)yahoo.com> wrote:
I think it's great to look at these things and discuss them. My personal 
experience is this: those people who are most responsible for the 
problems absolutely need to be reached with the concepts of permaculture 
such as "fair share", "people care" and "care for the earth."  These 
people, like many of us, were brought up in a culture that does not 
embody or transmit these values for the most part and is quite 
unconscious of them - in fact, it teaches the exact opposite in too many 
cases.

Having been involved with very successful programs to rehabilitate hard 
core criminals like murderers and rapists, I've found that criminals 
only become so because they have lost their self-respect and they have 
been brought up in an environment that has no workable ethics code. When 
they are presented with a workable code in a way that they can 
understand it, and told that they are not evil people inherently, but 
were misled, the lightbulb goes on and they want to try to do the right 
thing. Some of them become far more passionate and engaged about it than 
people who have not gone so far the other direction - they feel they 
have damage to make up, so they work hard at it.

How many of us have experienced something like that ourselves? Where we 
realize we've been blind, and now feel we need to make up for our former 
ignorant behavior?

Are we to assume that National Guardsmen are inherently evil and cannot 
possibly be touched by the beautiful and meaningful things about 
permaculture that we've all been touched so deeply by?  Many of these 
guys (even more so in the armed forces) are from minority races who 
signed up because they didn't feel they had other options.

In Haiti, I observed US Army guys and other armed forces guys truly 
traumatized and touched by the suffering going on there. One guy from 
the UN forces liaison got incredibly enthusiastic about compost toilets 
and immediatley got the concept of connection to food, water, circular 
systems, and went back to convince his fellows that was the way to go to 
truly help Haitians. What if he succeeds? Would it be worth it to take 
the time to explain these things to him, even though he "appeared" to be 
a totally indoctrinated armed forces type of guy, at first? This guy 
actually got that these things would make Haitians independent and 
resilient, and they could increase abundance for themselves, and he 
wanted that. He actually had a conscience about it and cared.

Many Army guys are from inner cities and know all about social 
injustice. They are not all so "lost" as to not be able to see the 
advantages of permaculture, and who knows how those ideas may infiltrate 
the armed forces if it spreads?  How about a "war, where nobody came?" 
Ideas are far more powerful than bullets, they can infiltrate even the 
tightest fortress, and bring it down. Don't underestimate the power of 
an idea, and how it can insinuate itself into people's worldviews, 
especially if it carries as much fundamental, practical, life affirming 
truth as principles of permaculture.
I believe we cannot afford to exclude anybody from the ideas of 
permaculture. If they truly think about them and observe them in action, 
they will not be able to continue their unethical activities with such 
unconsciousness. It is a unique type of challenge to find the entrance 
point into the reality of people who are far from seeing these things 
and to bring them along, closer and closer to seeing the big picture. 
Almost anybody has such an entrance point - I believe that only the most 
determinedly evil people may not and they are a small minority (based on 
my personal experience).

Who could do more for permaculture, worldwide?  A tribesmember in 
Afghanistan who will never travel beyond his tribe, or a US Army general 
who totally gets it, and speaks out internationally about the changes we 
must make to achieve real justice and quality of life? I'm not 
suggesting it is not worth it to reach tribesmen in Afghanistan, that is 
not my point at all! I am currently at Pine Ridge reservation doing a 
permaculture project, and have a project in Haiti as well. But if I have 
the opportunity to try to enlighten a US Army general on permaculture 
and in doing so, change his viewpoints and ways, you bet I will do so. 
It's been my experience that if they don't get it, they don't dwell on 
it or use it at all, not that they misrepresent it.

Best, Cory Brennan
permacultureguild.us


--- On Wed, 8/4/10, rafter sass <rafter@liberationecology.org> wrote:

From: rafter sass <rafter@liberationecology.org>
Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: On an ethics of permaculture...
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org, "Northeastern Permaculture (List)" 
<northeasternpermaculture@lists.riseup.net>
Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010, 5:42 PM
Hey folks,

I'm FWDing an email on from Kevin Skvorak, a good permie
who it appears has been banned from this list.

Kevin's original email below, then my response follows.


Begin forwarded message:

From: kevin skorak, regeneration CSA <regenerationcsa@gmail.com>
Date: August 4, 2010 7:26:06 PM EDT
To: "Northeastern Permaculture (List)" 
<northeasternpermaculture@lists.riseup.net>
Subject: On an ethics of permaculture...


Recently, Scott Pittman, director of the Permaculture
Institute taught some National Guardsmen on their way to
Afghanistan some Permaculture basics.  For me this very
tricky, if not perhaps untenable for a movement (for want of
a better word) that is espousing the values Permaculture
is.

***

rafter sass
Liberation Ecology Project
liberationecology.org
518-567-7407
skype: raughter