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  • From: Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Challenging the Green Revolution in Africa #26 English
  • Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:39:41 -0700




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Alternatives to the Green Revolution in Africa Newsletter # 26

PART ONE: PROFITTING FROM AID:
MONSANTO IN GATES' CLOTHING? THE EMPEROR'S NEW GMOS
August 26, 2010
By Eric Holt-Giménez, Food First

If you had any doubts about where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is really placing its bets, AGRA Watch's recent announcement of the Foundation's investment of $23.1 million in 500,000 shares of Monsanto stock should put them to rest. Genetic engineering: full speed ahead.

If you are one of those people who believes the axiom that Monsanto is the farmer's friend (and the corollary, that its climate-ready, bio-fortified GMOs can save the world from hunger) you will not be surprised, disappointed, or find any conflict of interest in this investment.

But if you are part of the growing population who gets their information about GMOs from scientists who are not beholden to corporate funding, has a problem with anti-trust issues, or is getting queasy about the increasing monopoly power of philanthropy capitalŠ it's time to say the Emperor has no clothes.

Under the guise of "sustainability" the Foundation has been spearheading a multi-billion dollar effort to transform African into a GMO-friendly continent. The public relations flagship for this effort is the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a massive Green Revolution project. Up to now AGRA spokespeople have been slippery, and frankly, contradictory about their stance on GMOs.

<http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/3080>Read Full Article

LA VIA CAMPESINA DENOUNCES GATES FOUNDATION PURCHASE OF MONSANTO COMPANY
SHARES
Monday, 13 September 2010
Glendive, Montana. La Via Campesina (www.viacampesina.org), a global peasant movement representing small farmers, landless workers, fisherfolk, rural women, youth and indigenous peoples, with 150 member organizations from 70 countries on five continents, has denounced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust's recent acquisition of Monsanto Company shares. Š The Foundation channels hundreds of millions of dollars into projects that encourage peasants and farmers to use Monsanto's genetically-engineered (GE) seed and agrochemicals. In August the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which manages the $33.5 billion asset trust endowment that funds the Foundation's philanthropic projects (and to which Bill & Melinda are trustees) disclosed that it purchased 500,000 shares of Monsanto shares for just over $23 million.(1)

According to Dena Hoff, a diversified family farmer in Glendive, Montana and North American coordinator of La Via Campesina, "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust's purchase of Monsanto shares indicates that the Gates Foundation's interest in promoting the company's seed is less about philanthropy than about profit-making. The Foundation is helping to open new markets for Monsanto, which is already the largest seed company in the world."

(Š) The Gates Foundation continues to push Monsanto's products on the poor, despite mounting evidence of the ecological, economic and physical dangers of producing and consuming GE crops and agrochemicals. In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monsanto Co. vs. Geertson Seed Farms, its first case about a GE crop. The Court recognized that genetic contamination of non-GE crops from transgene flow of DNA from GE crops, which occurs through the spread of pollen by wind and bees, is harmful and onerous to the environment and farmers. According to the web site of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "AGRA and its partners have released more than 100 new varieties of improved seed across the [African] continent."(10)

<http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=943:la-via-campesina-denounces-gates-foundation-purchase-of-monsanto-company-shares&catid=49:stop-transnational-corporations&Itemid=76>Read Full Article

SOYA-GATES FOUNDATION & CARGILL PAPER
<http://www.biosafetyafrica.net/index.html/index.php/Biosafety-in-Africa/menu-id-100025.html>Biosafety in Africa - <http://www.biosafetyafrica.net/index.html/index.php/Briefing-Papers/menu-id-100025.html>Briefing Papers
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a new project to develop the soya value chain in Africa in partnership with American NGO, TechnoServe and agricultural commodity trading giant Cargill. The US$8 million project will be implemented as a four year pilot in Mozambique and Zambia with the intention of spreading the model to other regions in the future.

The Gates Foundation continues to back agricultural strategies that open new markets for strong corporate interests while assisting in the creation of policy environments to support foreign agribusiness' interests. The programme will yoke African farmers into the soya value chain and open the door for major agribusiness players such as Cargill, while displacing African agricultural practices and traditional crops. In addition, there is a very real threat that this project could be a foot in the door for the introduction of genetically modified soya onto the Continent.

Š The United States, Argentina and Brazil are the three major producers of soya in the world. The aggressive expansion of soya monocrops in Latin America has wreaked socio-economic and environmental disaster - in 2008 over 30 million hectares of soya was grown in Brazil and Argentina, where soya monocrops are notorious for displacing rural populations and causing mass deforestation. In April 2006, Greenpeace announced that in the 2004/2005 growing season, 1.2 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest was deforested as a consequence of soya expansion.

The vast majority of global soya crops are genetically modified to withstand applications of herbicides. (Approximately 93% of soya production in the USA is GM, 98.9% in Argentina and 70.7% in Brazil). The introduction of herbicide tolerant soya has created a sharp increase in the use of highly toxic herbicides - in the USA the use of herbicides has increased by 382.6 million pounds over the past 13 years, with herbicide tolerant soya beans accounting for 92% of that increase.

<http://www.biosafetyafrica.net/index.html/index.php/20100901330/Soya-Gates-Foundation-Cargill-Paper/menu-id-100025.html>Read Full Article

GATES FOUNDATION AWARDS $5.6 MILLION TO FOR-PROFIT WATER FOR PEOPLE
September 01, 2010

Water for People, a Denver-based nonprofit that works with communities in the developing world to build and maintain safe drinking water resources and sanitation facilities, has announced a four-year, $5.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand its Sanitation as a Business program.

Š"Identifying profitable business models that engage local communities is critical to creating safe and sustainable sanitation systems," said Rachel Cardone, program officer for water, sanitation, and hygiene at the Gates Foundation. "Water for People is developing and testing these kinds of models, which have the potential to scale-up across regions and improve the health, economic, and social conditions of millions of poor people."

COMMENT: Clearly, clean water is a welcome resource for healthy communities. However, the Gates Foundation's increasing application of the for-profit model, which gleans scarce income from rural peasants, stretches the definition of philanthropy.

<http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=307200006>Read Full Article


GUARDIAN IS GATES' LATEST ADVOCATE
Clay Holtzman, Puget Sound Business Journal
September 14, 2010

One of London's biggest newspapers has published a comprehensive package of stories detailing humanitarian work closely aligned with the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

But the new global development website full of stories published by The Guardian newspaper isn't some tabloid-style take-down of the world's largest philanthropy. It is the product of a partnership with the Gates Foundation that is aimed at closely covering global development, the fastest-growing area of Gates Foundation program spending.

According to a Guardian news release, the Gates Foundation is partially funding the website (I was not able to find the grant itemized on the foundation's website), and it was launched to "help focus the world's attention on global development."

Š Last week, the foundation disclosed that it spent more than $365 million in 2009 on policy and advocacy efforts. The largest portion was related to global health, but it did spend $41 million on global development.

COMMENT: The Guardian Newspaper has been a reliable independent voice for poor African farmers. Is Gates buying positive publicity from an adversary? Is the Guardian losing its bite?

<http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2010/09/guardian_is_gates_latest_advocate.html>Read Full Article

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development>GUARDIAN/GATES WEBSITE

PART TWO: ALTERNATIVES TO THE FOR-PROFIT AID MODEL IN AFRICA:

HARVESTING WATER TO SAVE CROPS AND LIVES
Isaiah Esipisu: 10 September 2010

[A] new report released on Sep. 6 by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) warns that [due to global warming] the changes in weather and climatic conditions may get even worse. It says that the erratic rainfall related to climate change will further threaten the food security and economies of many countries, particularly in Africa and Asia.

While the Agricultural Market Development Trust (an organisation that works with farmers in Kenya at grass-root level) has advised farmers to prepare for planting earlier in the month due to changing rainfall patterns Š this may not be a long-term solution.

The remedy, the report states, is that countries, organisations and individuals must increase their investment in diverse forms of water storage.

"Just as modern consumers diversify their financial holdings to reduce risk, smallholder farmers need a wide array of 'water accounts' to provide a buffer against climate change impacts," said Matthew McCartney, the lead author of the report, in a press statement released alongside the report.

"That way, if one water source goes dry, they'll have others to fall back on," added McCartney, also a hydrologist at IWMI.

IWMI is a scientific research organisation focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in agriculture, for the benefit of poor people in developing countries. The organisation is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
<http://allafrica.com/stories/201009130080.html>Read Full Article

Who's Really Fighting Hunger?
ActionAid's HungerFREE Scorecard Investigates why a Billion People are Hungry
Over one billion people - a sixth of humanity - don't have enough to eat. Almost a third of the world's children are growing up malnourished. This is perhaps one of the most shameful achievements of recent history, since there is no good reason for anyone to go hungry in today's world.
Even before the food and financial crises, the number of people facing chronic malnutrition was extremely high, and falling extremely slowly. Since 2005, it has jumped by 20 percent. An extra 170 million people have been pushed into hunger - equivalent to the populations of Germany, France and Canada combined.
Without concerted action by world leaders, the worst is yet to come. Food prices remain stubbornly high in developing countries;3 the global recession is hitting jobs and incomes; and climate change is battering rain-fed agriculture.
(Š) Our indicators are based on the actions that the UN has identified as most critical to reverse growing global hunger, most recently in its 2008 Comprehensive Framework for Action. Developing countries have been graded on four indicators: their legal commitment to the right to food, their investment in agriculture and social protection, and their performance on hunger and child nutrition. Developed countries have been ranked on their aid to agriculture and social protection; and their commitment to sustainable agriculture and tackling climate change.
<http://www.actionaid.org/docs/hungerfree_scorecards.pdf>Full Report (pdf)

ECOWAS to Empower Roppa

Officials of the ECOWAS [Economic Community of Western African States] Commission on Tuesday, 10th August 2010 met with representatives of the Network of Farmers and Agricultural Producers' Organisation of West Africa (ROPPA) during which the Commission reaffirmed its commitment to appoint ROPPA as the Regional Correspondent for the ECOBIZ system.

ECOBIZ system is an online data base management system provided by the ECOWAS
Commission to facilitate the automatic processing and dissemination of business information generated from data collected in Member States. It is used as a tool for boosting intra-community trade in West Africa as well as assist the Community private sector to harness business opportunities in the ECOWAS region and the global market.

In a message from the Vice-President of the Commission, Mr. Jean de Dieu Somda, delivered by the Director of the Community Computer Centre, Dr. Monisoye Afolabi, the Commission said it has become necessary to enhance the rhythm and growth of businesses within the Community by taking advantage of ROPPA's network for the collection of business data from farmers and agricultural producers within the region.

He said that when the Regional Correspondent status comes into effect, ROPPA will have access to the ECOBIZ data base in order update the system within the specified terms of the operational convention which will formalize the proposed status of ROPPA as a Regional Correspondent.

<http://news.ecowas.int/presseshow.php?nb=129&lang=en&annee=2010>Full Announcement

Non-State Actors Warn Against Unequal Partnership
Economic Community of West African States
Abuja, 4, September 2010

Abuja - Nigeria - Representatives of the West African Civil Society and Private Sector organisations on Friday, 3rd August, 2010 advised against signing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) without building the capacities of the region to avail itself of its benefits and cope with the challenges.

This was one of the outcomes of the second phase of a stakeholder workshop designed to apprise the region's stakeholders of the status of the process and involve representatives of the region's civil society and the private sector in the process. West Africa is insisting on the significant contribution of the EU to an EPA Development Programme (EPADP), a fund that will enable it deal with the adjustment costs for the implementation of the impending EPA through the improvements in regional infrastructure and other related facilities.

Participants noted the importance of dealing with the development dimension of the impending agreement which would enable the region improve its competitiveness and better integrate into the global economy. They therefore appealed to the region's negotiators to ensure that additional resources are forthcoming from the EU for the financing of the EPADP. The focus on the EPADP as part of the on-going negotiation of an EPA, which was launched in 2003, is intended to provide a coherent reference framework for the implementation of priority activities in order to take advantage of the opening of the market with the EU. The participants applauded the region's negotiators for doing well considering the stands they have taken to ensure the best interests of the region and then urged them to take necessary steps to ensure that the Community and Solidarity Levies are not scrapped. Community Levies are used to fund the activities of ECOWAS and the sister West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).

Comment: Economic Partnership Agreements have historically been weighted towards the powerful Northern Industrialized countries. By banding together into a single economic community, the ECOWAS countries have shown the benefits of solidarity in the face of global economic imbalances.
<http://allafrica.com/stories/201009070904.html>Read Full Article


Raj Patel: Food rebellion -- Mozambique's Food Riots Are the True Face of Global Warming
On September 8, Democracy Now! spoke to Raj Patel about the protests in Mozambique and the floods in Pakistan.
By Raj Patel
September 4, 2010 -- It has been a summer of record temperatures - Japan had its hottest summer on record. Same with south Florida and New York. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Niger are flooded, and the eastern US is mopping up after Hurricane Earl. None of these individual events can definitively be attributed to global warming, as any climatologist will tell you. But to see how climate change will play out in the 21st century, you needn't look to the <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Met_Office>Met Office. Look instead to the deaths and burning tyres in Mozambique's early September "food riots" to see what happens when extreme natural phenomena interact with our unjust social and economic systems.

The immediate causes of the protests and in Mozambique's capital, Maputo, and Chimoio about 500 miles north, are a 30% price increase for bread, compounding a recent double-digit increase for water and energy. When nearly three-quarters of the household budget is spent on food, that's a hike few Mozambicans can afford. So far, the death toll hovers around 10, including two children. The police claim that they had to use live ammunition against protesters because "they ran out of rubber bullets".

<http:// http://links.org.au/node/1878>Read Full Article

<http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/8/raj_patel_mozambiques_food_riots_are>FULL RAJ PATEL DEMOCRACY NOW INTERVIEW

Addendum to original Raj Patel article-Mozambique responds to the unrest:
* * *STOP PRESS: Price rises reversed* * *
September 7, 2010 -- MOZAMBIQUE News reports & clippings mailing list -- Price rises which triggered the riots last week have been reversed, the government announced September 7 after an emergency cabinet meeting. Wheat will be subsidised to bring bread prices back to what they were before the demonstration that began on September 1. Prices had gone up by 18% to 33%. Small loaves rose from 4.5 to 5.5 meticais (12 US cents to 15¢) and rolls from 1.5 to 2 meticais (4¢ to 6¢). The government also reversed the electricity and water prices rises on "social tariffs" for small consumers. Electricity consumers who use less than 100 kilowatt-hours a month will not pay more. For those who use between 100 and 300 kilowatt-hours a month, the price increase is reduced from 13.4% to 7%. Richer consumers, who used more than 300 kilowatt-hours a month, will pay the full increase. Households that use less than five cubic metres of water a month will continue to pay 150 meticais a month. Prices for urban electricity and water connections have also been cut. The price of low grade rice will be cut by 7.5% by removing an import duty. The surtax on imported sugar will be also temporarily removed. Subsidies for urban passenger transport will be "maintained and guaranteed". The government also announced austerity measures, including a freeze on wages and allowances of all senior state figures (who include members of the government itself) and all members of the boards of public companies and companies where the state is the major shareholder. These wages must be paid in meticais, and not in foreign currency. The government also promises to rationalise its own expenditure on air travel (particularly in business class), fuel, lubricants and communications


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Hi Toby,
This is a good point to discuss further.
The wording on the certificate can vary.
I am delighted that this is finally coming to light.

The one I received from OAEC says that I completed a Permaculture
Consultant''s Design Course.
My second one (issued by IIEA) says I completed a Permaculture Design Consultant course. I have given certificates that say "Certificate for the successful completion of an Urban Permaculture Design Course".
I don't feel that most people are ready to consult after they leave my
course. They need to practice, first.

The guideline I received from Scott Pittman when I inquired a few years ago
did allow people to use the word permaculture in their work, following a
course.
"Receiving the Permaculture Design Certificate confers on the recipient the right
to use the word permaculture in pursuit of livelihood, such as teaching design, or
consulting."

My experience is that a few people understand the material well enough to
make this a useful and good rule to follow.
My message to students is that the certificate means that they are ready to
begin practicing permaculture.

All this confusion makes it clear why the diploma system is a great next step
for American permaculture.
How to sort out who is truly qualified and how to administrate a hierarchy is
a tangled web.

To venture out onto a limb:
Does anyone ever deny a certificate to a student who has paid their fee and
attended all of the classes, simply because they appear unable to understand
the principles?

We have a lot of tricky territory to cover.
Permaculture has grown past its infancy and into adult responsibilities.
How we structure our professional organizations is the element in play, now.
Toby, I respect your leadership and support a standardized system that we can
all recognize.
It will be our choice whether to participate or not and (at least) a
recognized body of thought will exist to lure the academic field.

And one comment in support of the seedball approach - throwing out
information and not knowing how it will be applied is something I think most
teachers have experienced.


With respect and gratitude,
Claudia




On Oct 22, 2010, at 11:42 PM, permaculture-request@lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

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Today's Topics:

1. Re: Permaculture Design Course in Darjeeling Nov 14-28th!
(Toby Hemenway)
2. Re: Permaculture Design Course in Darjeeling Nov 14-28th!
(Lawrence F. London, Jr.)
3. official certification (paul wheaton)
4. Re: official certification (Cory Brennan)
5. Re: official certification (Dick Pierce)
6. Re: official certification (Killian O'Brien)
7. Re: official certification (Cory)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:45:55 -0700
From: Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Permaculture Design Course in Darjeeling
Nov 14-28th!
Message-ID: <B37BEF55-61DA-41DB-849C-3603AD88FC04@patternliteracy.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Beeja and everyone,

A note of clarification: Taking a PDC does not make you a "certified permaculture
designer." It's an introductory course. I urge people not to say that, as it's a false
claim. My PDC certificate from Mollison says that I was now a "permaculture design
trainee," and that's what the certificate means. It is the first step toward becoming a
designer, which, in the system BIll set up, meant that after two years of additional, full-time
work or its equivalent in design under a mentor, you could then receive a diploma in permaculture
design, and then maybe call yourself a designer.

The PDC, at 72-100 hours or so of class, is roughly the same amount of class
time as two college courses. If you took chemistry 101 and 102, you would
never call yourself a chemist, right? (Ka-BOOM!) Same goes for the PDC.

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this list--there was no attachment.
Good luck with the course, at any rate!

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified Permaculture Designer, we
are hosting another course this November in Darjeeling on 14th -28th. This
is the longest running PDC course happening in India for the last 7 years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards,
Ameli
...
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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:48:36 -0400
From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@bellsouth.net>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Permaculture Design Course in Darjeeling
Nov 14-28th!
Message-ID: <4CC206B4.1090007@bellsouth.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

On 10/22/2010 2:45 PM, Toby Hemenway wrote:
Beeja and everyone,

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this list--there was no attachment.

On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified Permaculture Designer, we
are hosting another course this
November in Darjeeling on 14th -28th. This is the longest running PDC course
happening in India for the last 7
years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.


Use the list's blog to post attachments. Register and log in then I will
upgrade the user's status so he can post to the blog. At present comments are
public.

For this reason I plan to set up an accompanying webforum also, wherein new
users can post
with attachments and upload documents and pictures.

So, all connected:
list, blog, webforum

Permaculture Mailing List Blog
Permaculture Mailing List Blog http://permaculturelist.blogspot.com


------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:47:07 -0600
From: paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [permaculture] official certification
Message-ID:
<AANLkTikXkukM_3JEJJ5LWFQOqz4wqYpfv3Mep7ThDuAN@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

The awkward part of all this is that there are PDCs that are billed as
becoming a certified permaculture designer. Like the one I took.
Before attending the PDC I told people I was taking it to become a
certified permaculture designer. And afterward I told people that I
was now a certified permaculture designer.

A couple of years ago I mentioned this on this list and heard this
same thing: "no - taking a PDC does not make you a certified
permaculture designer." So I double checked: the ad was still up
for the class I took and it still said I would be a certified
permaculture designer.

I can see the need for more levels of certification. I would really
like to support that. And I think that if you stick to saying that
completing a PDC does not equate to a CPD then you will punish the
people that are in the know and reward the people that are not.

So I hope I'm not pissing anybody off by saying that I'm going to
assume that if somebody says "I'm a certified permaculture designer"
I'm going to assume that they have completed a PDC and nothing formal
beyond that.

As for the bit about two college classes vs. a degree: Well, in the
java world we have a SCJP (Sun Certified Java Programmer) and there
are a bunch of one week courses (typically less than 40 hours)
designed to get you to pass the exam. And this is considered one of
the toughest exams. And then they have other, more advanced, exams
for stuff like "Sun Certified Java Architect" and the like.

To move forward, I would like to make the suggestion of embracing the
flaw that has occurred and building on it with things that are a bit
more clear.

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Toby Hemenway
<toby@patternliteracy.com> wrote:
Beeja and everyone,

A note of clarification: Taking a PDC does not make you a "certified permaculture
designer." It's an introductory course. I urge people not to say that, as it's a false
claim. My PDC certificate from Mollison says that I was now a "permaculture design
trainee," and that's what the certificate means. It is the first step toward becoming a
designer, which, in the system BIll set up, meant that after two years of additional, full-time
work or its equivalent in design under a mentor, you could then receive a diploma in permaculture
design, and then maybe call yourself a designer.

The PDC, at 72-100 hours or so of class, is roughly the same amount of class
time as two college courses. If you took chemistry 101 and 102, you would
never call yourself a chemist, right? (Ka-BOOM!) Same goes for the PDC.

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this list--there was no attachment.
Good luck with the course, at any rate!

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified Permaculture Designer, we
are hosting another course this November in Darjeeling on 14th -28th. This
is the longest running PDC course happening in India for the last 7 years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards,
Ameli
...
_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user configuration here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
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https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture
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brackets)]
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List contact: permacultureforum@gmail.com

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List contact: permacultureforum@gmail.com



------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:24:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cory Brennan <cory8570@yahoo.com>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] official certification
Message-ID: <2040.52127.qm@web52608.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Every PDC I know of gives a certificate at the end of the course saying "Permaculture Design Course" and none of them say "trainee."? I was told by my teacher that I should apprentice for minimum two years to become a teacher, but not a designer. I personally felt I needed to apprentice longer than that before I took on teaching a full design course. But I did some designs well before I finished the two year apprenticeship and did pretty good. I knew when to go to people more expert than me if I had a question about something. I also had a pretty good idea of what I didn't know, and boned up and reviewed it, etc. I feel that jumping out there and starting to design increased my learning rate tremendously because I had to deal with real world situations and see what failed and what worked.
I tell my students that they get the certificate when the course is done but that is only the beginning of their training.? I try to make clear what they still don't know at the end of the course and I try to make it real to them throughout the course that permaculture is a science that embraces many specialty sciences such as climatology, biology, etc, etc, etc. We offer apprenticeships and also encourage them to apprentice with others, to get multiple viewpoints and experiences.
From my viewpoint, I knew so much more about conscious, sustainable design at the end of the course than the people i was designing for that I could call myself certified, compared to them. I also did the course over six months and read some of the key references during that time - in a two week course it's harder to do that. I appreciate the depth of experience and skill that permaculturists with decades of experience have and am well aware and respectful of the difference between them and a new graduate.
While I understand how much a new graduate doesn't know, I also can appreciate how much they do know compared to the average person. My goal as an instructor is to make sure my students actually know what a permaculture design needs to incorporate and are willing to go to experts (native plant specialists, natural builders, more experienced permaculturists, etc) to get the info they need in order to properly do the design. In my experience, I've never seen a new graduate take on a major project on their own. They do seem to know their limitations for the most part and partner up. A lot of them don't do anything beyond their own gardens.
While I resonate with what you're saying, Toby, and I feel I understand why you would want to make the point, I just wanted to put in a plug for letting people have the certificate as I think overall it may do more good than harm. You may have had different experiences than me and if so, I'm listening.
Cory

--- On Fri, 10/22/10, paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> wrote:

From: paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com>
Subject: [permaculture] official certification
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Friday, October 22, 2010, 3:47 PM
The awkward part of all this is that
there are PDCs that are billed as
becoming a certified permaculture designer.? Like the
one I took.
Before attending the PDC I told people I was taking it to
become a
certified permaculture designer.? And afterward I told
people that I
was now a certified permaculture designer.

A couple of years ago I mentioned this on this list and
heard this
same thing:? "no - taking a PDC does not make you a
certified
permaculture designer."???So I double
checked:? the ad was still up
for the class I took and it still said I would be a
certified
permaculture designer.

I can see the need for more levels of certification.?
I would really
like to support that.???And I think that if
you stick to saying that
completing a PDC does not equate to a CPD then you will
punish the
people that are in the know and reward the people that are
not.

So I hope I'm not pissing anybody off by saying that I'm
going to
assume that if somebody says "I'm a certified permaculture
designer"
I'm going to assume that they have completed a PDC and
nothing formal
beyond that.

As for the bit about two college classes vs. a
degree:? Well, in the
java world we have a SCJP (Sun Certified Java Programmer)
and there
are a bunch of one week courses (typically less than 40
hours)
designed to get you to pass the exam.? And this is
considered one of
the toughest exams.? And then they have other, more
advanced, exams
for stuff like "Sun Certified Java Architect" and the
like.

To move forward, I would like to make the suggestion of
embracing the
flaw that has occurred and building on it with things that
are a bit
more clear.

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Toby Hemenway
<toby@patternliteracy.com>
wrote:
Beeja and everyone,

A note of clarification: Taking a PDC does not make
you a "certified permaculture designer." It's an
introductory course. I urge people not to say that, as it's
a false claim. My PDC certificate from Mollison says that I
was now a "permaculture design trainee," and that's what the
certificate means. It is the first step toward becoming a
designer, which, in the system BIll set up, meant that after
two years of additional, full-time work or its equivalent in
design under a mentor, you could then receive a diploma in
permaculture design, and then maybe call yourself a
designer.

The PDC, at 72-100 hours or so of class, is roughly
the same amount of class time as two college courses. If you
took chemistry 101 and 102, you would never call yourself a
chemist, right? (Ka-BOOM!) Same goes for the PDC.

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this
list--there was no attachment. Good luck with the course, at
any rate!

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified
Permaculture Designer, we
are hosting another course this November in
Darjeeling on 14th -28th. This
is the longest running PDC course happening in
India for the last 7 years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of
sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards,
Ameli
...
_______________________________________________
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permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user
configuration here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
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to search these archives:
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[search string (omit the brackets)]
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List contact: permacultureforum@gmail.com







------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 19:08:36 -0500
From: Dick Pierce <dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] official certification
Message-ID:
<AANLkTik8r3=n-=nx62JhdwPMWm1rkyXj2cXP_DSsevAU@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

A topic of most import to me. Thanks for bringing it up - it needs to come
up from time to time as the inadvertent use of Certification is reasonably
rampant.

I fully agree with and support Toby's opinion and answer (which comes right
out of the PDC curriculum, etc.). The PDC is a Permaculture Design
Certificate, recognized in most places/organizations as the base course
necessary to take advanced courses and to embark on what nominally/normally
is a 2-year apprentice, intern, assistant, portfolio/syllabus-building term
before applying for a PC Diploma in Australia or Certification in the UK and
?France? or via an informal honor system in the US and other lands.

Calling a person with a PDC "certified" is not correct, reduces those
efforts and people that have a formal and rigorous certification/diploma
program. I would request, as has been done in the past, that all PDC
instructors/facilitators review their files, brochures, websites, course
descriptions, etc. to check them to be sure they only refer to a PDC
Certificate as the result of taking a PDC Course. A quick google of
Permaculture "Certification" will reveal the number of references that need
changing.

Thanks for listening, please take action.

Dick Pierce

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 5:47 PM, paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> wrote:

The awkward part of all this is that there are PDCs that are billed as
becoming a certified permaculture designer. Like the one I took.
Before attending the PDC I told people I was taking it to become a
certified permaculture designer. And afterward I told people that I
was now a certified permaculture designer.

A couple of years ago I mentioned this on this list and heard this
same thing: "no - taking a PDC does not make you a certified
permaculture designer." So I double checked: the ad was still up
for the class I took and it still said I would be a certified
permaculture designer.

I can see the need for more levels of certification. I would really
like to support that. And I think that if you stick to saying that
completing a PDC does not equate to a CPD then you will punish the
people that are in the know and reward the people that are not.

So I hope I'm not pissing anybody off by saying that I'm going to
assume that if somebody says "I'm a certified permaculture designer"
I'm going to assume that they have completed a PDC and nothing formal
beyond that.

As for the bit about two college classes vs. a degree: Well, in the
java world we have a SCJP (Sun Certified Java Programmer) and there
are a bunch of one week courses (typically less than 40 hours)
designed to get you to pass the exam. And this is considered one of
the toughest exams. And then they have other, more advanced, exams
for stuff like "Sun Certified Java Architect" and the like.

To move forward, I would like to make the suggestion of embracing the
flaw that has occurred and building on it with things that are a bit
more clear.

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Toby Hemenway
<toby@patternliteracy.com> wrote:
Beeja and everyone,

A note of clarification: Taking a PDC does not make you a "certified
permaculture designer." It's an introductory course. I urge people not to
say that, as it's a false claim. My PDC certificate from Mollison says that
I was now a "permaculture design trainee," and that's what the certificate
means. It is the first step toward becoming a designer, which, in the system
BIll set up, meant that after two years of additional, full-time work or its
equivalent in design under a mentor, you could then receive a diploma in
permaculture design, and then maybe call yourself a designer.

The PDC, at 72-100 hours or so of class, is roughly the same amount of
class time as two college courses. If you took chemistry 101 and 102, you
would never call yourself a chemist, right? (Ka-BOOM!) Same goes for the
PDC.

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this list--there was no
attachment. Good luck with the course, at any rate!

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified Permaculture Designer,
we
are hosting another course this November in Darjeeling on 14th -28th.
This
is the longest running PDC course happening in India for the last 7
years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards,
Ameli
...
_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user configuration here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
Read the public message archives here:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture
Command to put in your browser's Google search box to search these
archives:
site:lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [search string (omit the
brackets)]
List Usage & Guidelines:
http://ibiblio.org/permaculture/documents/permaculturelistguide.faq
Permaculture http://www.ibiblio.org/permaculture
Permaculture Mailing List Blog
http://permaculturelist.blogspot.com
permaculture forums http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums
List contact: permacultureforum@gmail.com

_______________________________________________
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List contact: permacultureforum@gmail.com




--
DickPierceDesigns@gmail.com
SE-NE (summer) & Austin, TX (winter)
Cell-512-992-8858 (all-season)
www.DickPierceDesigns.com <http://www.dickpiercedesigns.com/>

Just Completed: 4 Courses of citizen Gardener-Basic. Next Course starts on
Jan 15 - http://citizengardener.grouply.com/.

And, just started: Fall 2010 Permaculture Decign - through Dec 11. Local
Food Grad Potluck & Celebration - Sun Dec 12 (TBA)

Next PDC starts on Jan. 24th; great Christmas present.

Dick's PC-Bio. on www.austinperm.com/
You Tube Dick Pierce for video clips


------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:59:05 -0400
From: Killian O'Brien <admin@pri-de.org>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] official certification
Message-ID:

<7E471FF35774474AA10A2EEEF1CAB26A014A02640DA0@P1EC1EVS03.HMC1.COMCAST.NET>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

"Every PDC I know of gives a certificate at the end of the course saying "Permaculture Design
Course" and none of them say "trainee." I was told by my teacher that I should apprentice
for minimum two years to become a teacher, but not a designer."

"The word "permaculture" can be used by anybody adhering to the ethics and principles
expressed herein. The only restriction on use is that of teaching; only graduates of a Permaculture
Institute can teach "permaculture"... "

Page x of the manual. Sufficiently vague. How 'bout someone just send an
e-mail to Tagari? Nevermind. Done. (Hello Lisa, Bill, et al...)

Cheers,

Killian O'Brien
PRI-De
admin@pri-de.org
(313) 647-4015

killiankob@yahoo.com
(760) 617-4693

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Cory Brennan
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2010 7:25 PM
To: permaculture
Subject: Re: [permaculture] official certification

Every PDC I know of gives a certificate at the end of the course saying "Permaculture Design Course" and none of them say "trainee."? I was told by my teacher that I should apprentice for minimum two years to become a teacher, but not a designer. I personally felt I needed to apprentice longer than that before I took on teaching a full design course. But I did some designs well before I finished the two year apprenticeship and did pretty good. I knew when to go to people more expert than me if I had a question about something. I also had a pretty good idea of what I didn't know, and boned up and reviewed it, etc. I feel that jumping out there and starting to design increased my learning rate tremendously because I had to deal with real world situations and see what failed and what worked.
I tell my students that they get the certificate when the course is done but that is only the beginning of their training.? I try to make clear what they still don't know at the end of the course and I try to make it real to them throughout the course that permaculture is a science that embraces many specialty sciences such as climatology, biology, etc, etc, etc. We offer apprenticeships and also encourage them to apprentice with others, to get multiple viewpoints and experiences.
From my viewpoint, I knew so much more about conscious, sustainable design at the end of the course than the people i was designing for that I could call myself certified, compared to them. I also did the course over six months and read some of the key references during that time - in a two week course it's harder to do that.
I appreciate the depth of experience and skill that permaculturists with decades of experience have and am well aware and respectful of the difference between them and a new graduate.
While I understand how much a new graduate doesn't know, I also can appreciate how much they do know compared to the average person. My goal as an instructor is to make sure my students actually know what a permaculture design needs to incorporate and are willing to go to experts (native plant specialists, natural builders, more experienced permaculturists, etc) to get the info they need in order to properly do the design. In my experience, I've never seen a new graduate take on a major project on their own. They do seem to know their limitations for the most part and partner up. A lot of them don't do anything beyond their own gardens.
While I resonate with what you're saying, Toby, and I feel I understand why you would want to make the point, I just wanted to put in a plug for letting people have the certificate as I think overall it may do more good than harm. You may have had different experiences than me and if so, I'm listening.
Cory

--- On Fri, 10/22/10, paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> wrote:

From: paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com>
Subject: [permaculture] official certification
To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Friday, October 22, 2010, 3:47 PM
The awkward part of all this is that
there are PDCs that are billed as
becoming a certified permaculture designer.? Like the
one I took.
Before attending the PDC I told people I was taking it to
become a
certified permaculture designer.? And afterward I told
people that I
was now a certified permaculture designer.

A couple of years ago I mentioned this on this list and
heard this
same thing:? "no - taking a PDC does not make you a
certified
permaculture designer."???So I double
checked:? the ad was still up
for the class I took and it still said I would be a
certified
permaculture designer.

I can see the need for more levels of certification.?
I would really
like to support that.???And I think that if
you stick to saying that
completing a PDC does not equate to a CPD then you will
punish the
people that are in the know and reward the people that are
not.

So I hope I'm not pissing anybody off by saying that I'm
going to
assume that if somebody says "I'm a certified permaculture
designer"
I'm going to assume that they have completed a PDC and
nothing formal
beyond that.

As for the bit about two college classes vs. a
degree:? Well, in the
java world we have a SCJP (Sun Certified Java Programmer)
and there
are a bunch of one week courses (typically less than 40
hours)
designed to get you to pass the exam.? And this is
considered one of
the toughest exams.? And then they have other, more
advanced, exams
for stuff like "Sun Certified Java Architect" and the
like.

To move forward, I would like to make the suggestion of
embracing the
flaw that has occurred and building on it with things that
are a bit
more clear.

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Toby Hemenway
<toby@patternliteracy.com>
wrote:
Beeja and everyone,

A note of clarification: Taking a PDC does not make
you a "certified permaculture designer." It's an
introductory course. I urge people not to say that, as it's
a false claim. My PDC certificate from Mollison says that I
was now a "permaculture design trainee," and that's what the
certificate means. It is the first step toward becoming a
designer, which, in the system BIll set up, meant that after
two years of additional, full-time work or its equivalent in
design under a mentor, you could then receive a diploma in
permaculture design, and then maybe call yourself a
designer.

The PDC, at 72-100 hours or so of class, is roughly
the same amount of class time as two college courses. If you
took chemistry 101 and 102, you would never call yourself a
chemist, right? (Ka-BOOM!) Same goes for the PDC.

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this
list--there was no attachment. Good luck with the course, at
any rate!

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified
Permaculture Designer, we
are hosting another course this November in
Darjeeling on 14th -28th. This
is the longest running PDC course happening in
India for the last 7 years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of
sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards,
Ameli
...
_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subscribe, unsubscribe, change your user
configuration here:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
Read the public message archives here:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture
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Message: 7
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 20:42:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Cory <cory8570@yahoo.com>
To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] official certification
Message-ID: <181896.55847.qm@web52603.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Thank you for your clarity. There is quite a lot of confusion around the term. I would love to see a formal certification or diploma process established in the US. Meanwhile I will continue to push the concept of honor system (which is a great way to express it) and facilitate apprenticeships and continued education which to me will never stop. The natural world is a teacher of immense depth and width. C




On Oct 22, 2010, at 8:08 PM, Dick Pierce <dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com> wrote:

A topic of most import to me. Thanks for bringing it up - it needs to come
up from time to time as the inadvertent use of Certification is reasonably
rampant.

I fully agree with and support Toby's opinion and answer (which comes right
out of the PDC curriculum, etc.). The PDC is a Permaculture Design
Certificate, recognized in most places/organizations as the base course
necessary to take advanced courses and to embark on what nominally/normally
is a 2-year apprentice, intern, assistant, portfolio/syllabus-building term
before applying for a PC Diploma in Australia or Certification in the UK and
?France? or via an informal honor system in the US and other lands.

Calling a person with a PDC "certified" is not correct, reduces those
efforts and people that have a formal and rigorous certification/diploma
program. I would request, as has been done in the past, that all PDC
instructors/facilitators review their files, brochures, websites, course
descriptions, etc. to check them to be sure they only refer to a PDC
Certificate as the result of taking a PDC Course. A quick google of
Permaculture "Certification" will reveal the number of references that need
changing.

Thanks for listening, please take action.

Dick Pierce

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 5:47 PM, paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com> wrote:

The awkward part of all this is that there are PDCs that are billed as
becoming a certified permaculture designer. Like the one I took.
Before attending the PDC I told people I was taking it to become a
certified permaculture designer. And afterward I told people that I
was now a certified permaculture designer.

A couple of years ago I mentioned this on this list and heard this
same thing: "no - taking a PDC does not make you a certified
permaculture designer." So I double checked: the ad was still up
for the class I took and it still said I would be a certified
permaculture designer.

I can see the need for more levels of certification. I would really
like to support that. And I think that if you stick to saying that
completing a PDC does not equate to a CPD then you will punish the
people that are in the know and reward the people that are not.

So I hope I'm not pissing anybody off by saying that I'm going to
assume that if somebody says "I'm a certified permaculture designer"
I'm going to assume that they have completed a PDC and nothing formal
beyond that.

As for the bit about two college classes vs. a degree: Well, in the
java world we have a SCJP (Sun Certified Java Programmer) and there
are a bunch of one week courses (typically less than 40 hours)
designed to get you to pass the exam. And this is considered one of
the toughest exams. And then they have other, more advanced, exams
for stuff like "Sun Certified Java Architect" and the like.

To move forward, I would like to make the suggestion of embracing the
flaw that has occurred and building on it with things that are a bit
more clear.

On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Toby Hemenway
<toby@patternliteracy.com> wrote:
Beeja and everyone,

A note of clarification: Taking a PDC does not make you a "certified
permaculture designer." It's an introductory course. I urge people not to
say that, as it's a false claim. My PDC certificate from Mollison says that
I was now a "permaculture design trainee," and that's what the certificate
means. It is the first step toward becoming a designer, which, in the system
BIll set up, meant that after two years of additional, full-time work or its
equivalent in design under a mentor, you could then receive a diploma in
permaculture design, and then maybe call yourself a designer.

The PDC, at 72-100 hours or so of class, is roughly the same amount of
class time as two college courses. If you took chemistry 101 and 102, you
would never call yourself a chemist, right? (Ka-BOOM!) Same goes for the
PDC.

BTW, attachments are always scrubbed from this list--there was no
attachment. Good luck with the course, at any rate!

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



On Oct 17, 2010, at 6:26 AM, b e e j a ... wrote:

Hello Fellow Earth Lovers,

For those of you interested to become a certified Permaculture Designer,
we
are hosting another course this November in Darjeeling on 14th -28th.
This
is the longest running PDC course happening in India for the last 7
years!

Come join the fun and help spread the awareness of sustainable lifestyle
design!

Attached is the flyer and registration form.

Hope to see you there!

Warm Regards,
Ameli
...
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--
DickPierceDesigns@gmail.com
SE-NE (summer) & Austin, TX (winter)
Cell-512-992-8858 (all-season)
www.DickPierceDesigns.com <http://www.dickpiercedesigns.com/>

Just Completed: 4 Courses of citizen Gardener-Basic. Next Course starts on
Jan 15 - http://citizengardener.grouply.com/.

And, just started: Fall 2010 Permaculture Decign - through Dec 11. Local
Food Grad Potluck & Celebration - Sun Dec 12 (TBA)

Next PDC starts on Jan. 24th; great Christmas present.

Dick's PC-Bio. on www.austinperm.com/
You Tube Dick Pierce for video clips
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End of permaculture Digest, Vol 93, Issue 24
********************************************




  • [permaculture] Challenging the Green Revolution in Africa #26 English, Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, 10/26/2010

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