permaculture

[wmthake <assocbabel@lavabit.com>]

   I guess you could say I've come here looking for guidence.
   You could also say that I am a novice.
   You could also say that I have big plans.
   My plan is to plant as many sustainable forest gardens as I can, by
   whatever means necessary.
   I think the earth needs it, animals need it, and humans need it.

   I live in Italy. I went on Google Earth to take a cursory look at  
the
   situation. It's not good.
   I got really depressed when I could see the forest being eaten away,
   you just see the jagged square lines of plowed fields.
   Anyway, I'm back on the horse now and ready to get moving.

   My experience is very limited. I got a degree in the humanities. I
   can't tell an oak from a maple. But something tells me that this is
   what I need to do. Thinking about creating forests makes me happy.
   Doing it will probably make me even happier.

   I'm currently reading a long book on reforestation efforts in Italy.
   It's a little sad, because you can see the preference for pine and
   eucalyptis and the lack of biodiversity. After I finish the book,  
I'm
   planning on contacting the author. He's a professor at a university
   nearby. In the future, I'd like to enroll in an internship at the
   Colorado Institute (crmpi.org), since they seem to have a large  
forest  garden at high altitudes.

   As for the plan:
   I'd like to create a non-profit that funds the creation of forest
   gardens. I'd also like land-owners to donate unused land to grow the
   forests on. I'm not sure how much of a pipe-dream this is. Italians
   are not necessarily known for donating generously, especially when  
it
   comes to land. To put it bluntly, when I called about buying a
   farmer's straw, she said "it's ours" and hung up on me. I'm hoping
   there are other, better people out there that could make this work.

   Another dream is to access EU or government funding for re- 
forestation
   and do it using permaculture design.

   So, if anyone has some friendly advice or some general thoughts on  
the
   subject, I'm all ears. I would also be interested in groups or  
people
   who would be worth looking into or speaking with.

   I've put far too much effort into things that destroy the world  
and my
   own spirit.

   Thanks for listening,
   William