permaculture

[venaurafarm <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 7/23/2012 4:19 AM, ChildrensPeaceGuild wrote:

> Once commercialized will mainstream people think they can "do permaculture" 
> and still wear a $5,000 dress?

That is a non-issue and serves only to distract. If Warren Buffet 
promoted permaculture from within a $20000000 mansion on his own 
tropical isle with a staff of 5000 people, including food farmers
that would be just fine as long as his message was consistent with
the high standards of permaculture maintained by any and all with a 
clear view of what it is all about. Overtly using it to sell something 
non-permaculture related would be unacceptable.

> Could permaculture ever become greenwashed and lumped in with psuedo-green 
> consumerism?

The objective would be to prevent that from ever happening. Our job is 
to present permaculture as we know and practice it and convey that 
inspiration and knowledge to the public at large.

Those with the resources to greenwash permaculture and actually do so 
should be identified and documented in public alerts in resources such 
as this list. Seriously bad and phony PDC's should get the same 
treatment.

Scott writes:

> I am and have been deeply suspicious of the trend that is developing that is
> called "mainstream" or "commercial" development of permaculture.  These are
> descriptions of my worst nightmare a more deeply entrenched model of
> permaculture into the capitalist arms of our current system.  It points out
> the problem of language when "success" means accumulated wealth and ultimate
> authority is the legal profession and threats of libel suits.

This spells out the important issue very clearly.

Again, warring permaculture dignitaries and their debates, mostly 
negative it seems, is to my way of thinking putting everyone at risk 
from the divide-and-conquer syndrome. The permaculture used car salesmen 
capitalize on this sort of fracturing of the permaculture community as 
do powerful corporate and government entities that have no use for 
permaculture and consider it "in the way of progress", unwanted 
competition and creating generations of steadfast nimbys. Witnesss the 
fracking debacle, more resistance from permaculture-aware people, less 
fracking.

> The primary reason that permaculture has been so successful is not the
> wealth accumulated but the lives that have been affected and changed.  It is
> that we offer an alternative to an increasingly turbulent and socially
> unjust world.

This is extremely important and is worth much further discussion.