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  • From: Steve Hart <stevenlawrencehart@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] IPC 11 Cuba Musings +
  • Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 09:59:29 +1300

good viewpoints there Scott n Andrew. Some may say you are becoming a
grumpy ol'man there Scott....but I do sympathise with you. Being a PC
purist my self I have commented many a time on the watering down of many
elements of Permaculture. Where many many things toady are called PC which
are very firmly not. So what do we do about it ? Simple, strengthen
every aspect..quite simple in theory. In practice, well quite a strategic
challenge. Is it worth it ? What are the consequences if we do nothing ?
The recent conference series of the European
Permaculture Teachers Network goes a long way to evolving this strategic
journey...perhaps its time Scott, Andrew et al to call a Nth American PC
Teachers convergence and ask delegates from Europe to assist..or otherwise
send a few Nth Americans to the last two conferences in Europe. The last is
in July in Bulgaria in association with the European Conference...any
takers ?...Steve Hart


IPC11 Musings
>
> It had been 3 years since my last visit to Havana and the change was
> shocking. Many more automobiles spewing smoke from 1950's models of Ford,
> Chevy, Olds, Pontiacs and various other brands was throat tightening and
> eye
> watering.
>
> I was in Havana for the International Permaculture Convergence. The first
> event was a gala dinner in an old estate in the heart of Havana. The place
> was packed and there was panic among our hosts from Fundacion Antonio Nunez
> de la Naturaleza y el Hombre as the numbers continued to grow and they
> scrambled for more place settings, tables, and chairs. The problem was
> that
> over 140 unexpected guests had arrived who had not RSVPed their intention
> to
> attend. This set the stage for a chaotic two weeks of trying to
> accommodate
> 25% more people than had been planned for. It was also apparent to me that
> most of the attendants of this event were there to party rather than deal
> with the many issues facing the rapidly growing International Permaculture
> movement.
>
> Permaculturalists from 47 nations descended on Cuba over 400 strong and
> overwhelmed the organizational capabilities of our sponsors.
>
> The conference was held in a large Havana hotel and the speakers were
> translated into English and Spanish for those of us who are language
> challenged. For the most part the speakers were English speakers who
> represented both the well known and the unknown in the permaculture world.
> I was disappointed in the selections as I was hoping to hear from Latin
> American permaculture which represents an incredible array of projects. A
> majority of the presenters were from the U.S.A. and Australia. I was most
> impressed by Tierra Martinez an Argentinian permaculturalist who presented
> on projects both urban and rural that are making a difference in the lives
> of thousands of people through the work of his organization Instituto Na
> Luum.
>
> While the presentations of Albert Bates, Robyn Francis, Andy Goldring, and
> surprise guest Darren Doherty were very educational and exciting I was
> still left with the question of where are the Latinos.
>
> My sympathy and admiration went to the translators who were faced with
> multiple English and Spanish idioms and with speakers who seemed unaware
> that they needed to take into account that their words were being converted
> to another language. The translators continued with us for the rest of the
> journey, through the convergence and on the tour and did an incredible job
> against all odds. Herding cats comes to mind.
>
> The conference began what was to be a pattern of standing in line for
> meals,
> and standing in line for accommodations; sometimes for over 2 hours! This
> was again the surprise guests who suddenly materialized the night before
> the
> conference. This of course threw the whole schedule of speakers off and
> Roberto Sanchez, known for his role in the video "Building Community", was
> doing everything except pulling out his hair, and he may have done some of
> that.
>
> Our final day in Havana was an urban tour of permaculture projects. I had
> seen most of the projects three years ago so I only went on the morning
> half
> of the tour. I once again was disappointed in most of what I saw. This
> was definantly not permaculture! Sorry. It reminded me of the ubiquitous
> "herb spiral" which monotonously decorates every first permaculture design.
> I saw keyhole gardens where the key hole was too small to accommodate the
> knees of the gardener, paths that were considerable larger than the
> vegetable beds, and a shocking lack of food amidst the ornamentals. I
> certainly appreciated the proud gardeners as they took us through their
> home
> gardens pointing out the salient parts but it seemed more beginning "master
> gardener" level than having been designed.
>
> Is this sour grapes? I don't think so, I am attempting to inject a little
> realism into an event that took thousands of dollars, and gallons of fuel
> to
> bring to fruition and I think that we should be more mindful of our purpose
> and more in engaged in the process than I feel was exhibited during this
> IPC.
>
> I spent a lot of time reflecting on what is being taught, in the world at
> large, as permaculture? Is there any continuity in permaculture design
> from
> country to country, how subjective is what is being taught, following the
> whims and limited knowledge of the teachers. This is an important thread
> to
> pursue and I will continue this journal of my Cuban trip in the next
> segment
> "the convergence" where I discuss my presentations of "Capitalism and
> Permaculture", "Permaculture Professional Standards", and "Developing a
> "Permaculture International Aid and Relief Group". These are all subjects
> dear to my heart and, much to my surprise, were well received.
>
> Lest I sound dour and curmudgeonly I would like to say over all my
> experience was a very positive one and this was the result of many
> conversations with new and old friends who all share my concerns regarding
> the state of the world and permaculture.
>
> Scott Pittman
> www.permaculture.org
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:53:17 -0800
> From: Andrew Millison <amillison@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] IPC11 Musings
> To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAKo1s6EAuxqFDaced0qg8GZy9VE8eoRuyW6P-KeFQQyf_1-hXg@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Thanks for the reflections, Scott, and the honest assessment of the first
> part of the event from your perspective. I found the sub-theme of the whole
> trip very interesting: how our small society dealt with the logistical
> chaos, which you are attributing to the 140 event crashers which pushed the
> planning and infrastructure over the edge.
>
> I'm not refuting your statements, just adding a bit to what you said.
>
> As far as the Havana tours, one thing that I found very valuable was seeing
> how the Permaculture flag was being waved at multiple locations within
> neighborhoods, and imagined how many places it was seeping in to the fabric
> of the community that we couldn't see. Also where our guides explained how
> the government had officially recognized the value of sites, and gave them
> official recognition and protection, showed the level of support they
> garnered. I would put my own neighborhood here in Corvallis, Oregon up
> against them in a contest of urban food production density. (shouldn't we
> have "most food grown in the city" contests?). But it was fascinating to
> observe their "activist" Permaculture systems, with signage and intentional
> community education.
>
> The 20 acre urban farm we saw that day had many interesting layers to it as
> well, from the mosaic of fields with productive hedgerows surrounding, to
> their large scale worm composting system, to the community enterprise piece
> that employed many with a diversity of types of yields.
>
> I reflected at the time that it would have been very hard for it to not be
> an amazing experience, simply for the opportunity to meet and connect with
> so many wonderful people and all of the communication on so many topics
> that occurred. I didn't know what to expect or have previous trips to
> compare it with, so seeing it all with new eyes, I took the value that I
> could from each facet.
>
> I appreciate hearing what Scott and others have to say about their
> experience. It's good to get the collective memory out there to get the
> most learning from it that we can.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andrew
>
> Kia ora

[image: Picture]
*Steve Hart*
Ecology Architect
skype: stevenlawrencehart




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