permaculture

[Neil Bertrando <neilbertrando@gmail.com>]

Wow! quite a broad and passionate topic.  thanks for all the thoughts on
this issue.

How can we actualize reinvest the excess in care of earth and people?  One
metaphor for this approach might be 'burning the candle at both ends',
reducing our energetic needs while increasing the energetic productivity of
the ecosystem in which we are embedded.  You can substitute money for
energy if you want an economic model.  When doing this, I think it is
important to recognize that all economics are embedded within (or emerge
from) society which is embedded within the earth's ecologies.  To me, this
nested hierarchy directly correlates to the three ethics and makes it more
obvious how they interrelate (which economics corresponding to the third
ethic).  We can then use flow diagrams and visual models (as well as
organizational and biophysical models) to map the relationships of the
ethics and how our actions move along the ethical framework.

since the thread started with financial permaculture, I want to put out a
plug for the course in Florida
http://www.financialpermaculture.com/
and associated blog
http://www.financialpermaculture.org/

This plug addresses my concern:
How do we get quality Permaculture (or multi-system earth regenerative
sites)  sites up and running over the most ground, helping the most people
and ecologies, as fast as possible?

In the US and I'm guessing much of the world, financing and 'making it pay
for itself and more' are very practical and important matters that can make
or break a design at many points along the implementation spectrum.

In my opinion much of this 'fast-tracking' of Ecologically Beneficial
Development (EBD) is based on access: to information, to a quality labor
pool, to skill development, to plant materials, to tools and technology, to
markets, to mentors, and to governments and policy makers.

I would love to see a discussion of techniques, strategies, and patterns
for facilitating this type of development as a pathway for Permaculture
careers.  Also, some assessment and monitoring tools for collecting
feedback and course correcting.  Specific case studies with results and
discussion around what worked, what didn't, and why (analysis and
corrective actions).  Tools for improving the effectiveness and continual
use of defining climate context, site assessment and observation, and
managing disturbance regimes.  A sprectrum of refined design processes,
perhaps some that lend themselves to scientific study.  Then a discussion
on how we can effectively share these tools and approaches through
Permaculture education systems

(Paul, I think your work facilitates these types of discussions and
improves access to this info)

I think this is an area where the open-systems model of Permaculture can
embrace the methods of Sepp Holzer, Holistic Management, and Resilience
Science as well as other topics and systems  to broaden our acceptance and
effectiveness. (i.e. Life cycle analysis and energy balance sheets, how
much energy is embodied in a natural process?)

One of my favorite aspects of Permaculture is that Bill directly states
that it is an applied system.  We take responsibility and act towards a
positive future and present.  I would like to see application of the PC
ethics to development of programs or systems such as those mentioned
above.

   - One example, I recently heard a discussion of how the Holistic
   Context/Goal makes the ethics operational in our daily lives and decision
   making, which I found truly profound as an improved approach to
   Permaculture as a life path.  I'm sure there are many more well thought out
   methods out there in practice waiting to be taught and learned, as well as
   many yet to be discovered.
   - Another example, Resilience science includes the concept of
   cross-scale interactions and thresholds of slow variables which cause
   regime shifts of socio-ecological systems.  These cross scale interactions
   are exactly what we can map using the nested hierarchy model of the three
   Pc ethics.  I am not saying I know what these interactions and variables
   are, I'm just trying to think of tools and methods to improve our
   application and teaching of them.

Many of these ideas are not mine rather are concepts that I have been
introduced to through classes and conversations about Permaculture and
Regenerative land stewardship. In particular, I would like to credit Owen
Hablutzel who has guided me to and through much of this information.
towards an ecological society,
Neil


On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 8:36 AM, Cory Brennan <cory8570@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I don't think that "fair share" means that everybody has exactly the same
> amount of everything. That gets into central distribution communism and is
> a non sustainable and failed system. What I think fair share means is that
> people get a fair share of what they produce. It goes a lot deeper than
> that, but that's the soundbite version. You also need to look at the fact
> that $7000 in some places goes a lot further than it does in other places
> (like Los Angeles, for instance).
>
> Koreen Brennan
>
> www.growpermaculture.com
> www.facebook.com/growpermaculturenow
> www.meetup.com/sustainable-urban-agriculture-coalition
>
>
> ________________________________
>  From: paul wheaton <paul@richsoil.com>
> To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 10:44 AM
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Toward Financial Permaculture: New Farms in
> the OldSystem
>
> I think an important thing to keep mind when contemplating "fair
> share":  the average world income is $7000 (annual).  So if anybody is
> earning more than that and not giving a bunch of it away to people
> with less than that - to the point that you keep less than $7000, it
> seems less than ethical to speak of "fair share".
>
> I think something similar can be said of property which would include
> possessions and real estate.
>
> I like the idea that John Stewart exercises permaculture and advocates
> permaculture.   Could John Stewart advocate polyculture?  Maybe talk
> about a bit of land that he has where 60 people live there and
> practice permaculture?  I think it is not only plausible - but it
> would be an awesome thing.
>
> --
>
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