permaculture

[Cory Brennan <cory8570@yahoo.com>]

Kathyann, 

I hear you. When I teach permaculture in places like Haiti and Pine Ridge, I 
take it upon myself to address the issues you bring up with those I share 
knowledge with (and would do the same with the military).  Permaculture 
includes a number of fundamental truths about how living systems work which 
transcend politics. These truths, when used, change systems.  Period.  Any 
system, moved toward a more sustainable model, will become more sustainable. 
One can then move it even closer to that ideal.  Etc.  It is easier to reform 
or even dismantle an army that has a little bit of consciousness than one 
that has none. Right? 

It is easier for grass roots activists to implement solutions that are more 
resistent to oppression when they understand the natural laws of how that 
works, right? 

I worked as a human rights activist for years before permaculture and felt 
like I was beating my head against the wall on certain issues inherent in 
sexual and child slavery, abuse of women, disenfranchisement of minority men, 
etc. But permaculture offers local solutions to those issues that can be 
implemented with existing resources, and this opened doors for me so that I 
felt "unsolvable" issues could be much more easily solved. Believe me, plenty 
of other people see this as well - villages can plan to counteract any 
non-sustainable bureaucratic nonsense that comes down from some "enforced" 
plan of permaculture from larger authorities if they understand the 
principles. On the other hand, sometimes large organizations have been able 
to transform ecosystems for the better much faster than local populations 
might (like the Loess Plateau in China - I would have designed that one 
differently, but it is an improvement over what it was, and local populations
 now have more resources and knowledge to evolve their own systems). 

Cory

--- On Wed, 8/11/10, Kathyann <knat@sprintmail.com> wrote:

> From: Kathyann <knat@sprintmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] on an ethics of Mr Pittman (and the US military)
> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 7:12 AM
>  On 8/11/2010 9:33 AM, Cory Brennan
> wrote:
> > The thing that Nicholas and others are missing the
> boat on completely is that permaculture, as a design
> science, TRANSFORMS SYSTEMS.  Which means that if
> permaculture were truly applied to the US military, it would
> transform it into something completely different. It would
> no longer exist as it exists right now.
> I don't think they are missing that, but addressing a
> concern that "permaculture methods" forced as a formula
> (which is traditionally how our military has structured
> their actions) can have an unfortunate effect of inoculating
> the populous against the ideas behind the methods. There is
> much experience in the invasion by religious missionaries
> into cultures to draw that concern. I, too, think we need to
> give credit to the recipients to discern and acknowledge the
> next view will be a combination of what is offered, what is
> given, what is utilized, and what is self-generated.
> In this forum, we think of design including the knowledge
> of the people who live with an area as permaculture. Design
> from afar, imposed on an area, no matter how benevolent the
> overlord, is unduly influenced by antibody reaction. So a
> "method" introduction with techniques rather than design
> empowerment seems not only limited but prone to
> misunderstanding.
> Goals of reestablishment are at odds. Within a culture
> still without peak oil lifeview is not the same as postpeak
> US. The US has depleted our supplies and if their citizenry
> rebuild in our likeness they will, in a few short years, be
> settled to consume rather than export their supply and we
> will not have had time to retool without oil.
> I think it is a fine ideal that we structure our help in
> rebuilding to be a model of globally appropriate scale (if
> we ourselves are similarly required to that model.) Yet, the
> question remains, can one who has come into an area to force
> a change, ever actually make the change or is the system too
> caught up in fighting the invasion to heal with the invader
> still present. Permaculture does give rise to an interesting
> thought of forced symbiosis. Hard to picture the US military
> being aware enough for accepting the compromises necessary.
> But it would be interesting. Tree grafters have ideas?
> (scuse me if I don't call on the gene-splicers right now.)
> 
> Kathyann
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