permaculture

["Frances and David" <fdnokes@hotmail.com>]

It's fascinating that you have this long unbroken history with your land and 
farming, Dieter.
I'm also curious to hear how things are on you land these days. What you are 
up to, and what your hopes and dreams might be there.
Frances

-----Original Message----- 
From: Frances and David
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 10:08 AM
To: permaculture
Subject: Re: [permaculture] fukuoka_farming mailing list needs 
aco-moderator.

Very interesting to hear about your background, Dieter.
And about what interests you to hear about on 'land use lists' for want of a
better term.
I found it fascinating to hear that all of Cuba's food became organic when
the U.S.S.R. went down because that and the U.S. embargo left them unable to
afford pesticides.

I think you might also agree, though, that there are further shades of
difference between food forest styles and mono crop styles of cultivation,
with or without machinery?

Cheers,
Frances

-----Original Message----- 
From: Rob Crook
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 8:34 AM
To: 'permaculture'
Subject: Re: [permaculture] fukuoka_farming mailing list needs
aco-moderator.

Dieter,

Very well said.

Rob

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Dieter Brand
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2012 5:53 AM
To: permaculture
Subject: Re: [permaculture] fukuoka_farming mailing list needs
aco-moderator.

Frances, I don’t have to consult a dictionary to understand the meaning of
traditional farming.  I grew up in the 50s on a small family farm in the
North of Europe.  I can’t remember if there was a tractor in the village at
that time.  But we certainly didn't have the money to afford one.  Nor did
we have money to buy fertilizers or herbicides.  My grandfather cultivated
the land like it had always been cultivated.  Today, I live in a poor region
in the South of Europe.  My land has never seen a tractor or any other heavy
equipment.  The previous owner cultivated the land with a donkey like
generations before him.

So, the meaning of traditional farming and what it was like to produce most
of what you needed for life is still in the living memory, even though it
seems totally incomprehensible to most contemporaries who have lived all
their life in an industrial society.

I appreciate Permaculture for its emphasis on practical solutions, yet I
think there is a basic approach in NF that isn't very well reflected in PC.
As I said, it is impossible to exactly copy NF methods from the Far East,
yet I do find inspiring the examples of some NF pioneers who have farmed
their land for decades without mechanization and without fertilizers or any
other external input.  Even if we cannot use their exact same methods, it
demonstrates that we can, under certain circumstances, do without any
external inputs, and that it should not be our first priority to soak our
land with all kinds of amendments.

Cheers,
Dieter
_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
subscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
message archives:  https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture/
Google message archive search:
site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [searchstring] Avant Geared
http://www.avantgeared.com

_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
subscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
message archives:  https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture/
Google message archive search:
site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [searchstring]
Avant Geared  http://www.avantgeared.com

_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
subscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
message archives:  https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture/
Google message archive search:
site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [searchstring]
Avant Geared  http://www.avantgeared.com