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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] permaculture Digest, Vol 131, Issue 20

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  • From: Bob Waldrop <bob@bobwaldrop.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] permaculture Digest, Vol 131, Issue 20
  • Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2013 19:48:37 -0600

Sometimes things are so obvious we can't see them. Permaculture design is applicable to everything, and that includes the international permaculture movement and its meetings.

Is there a written permaculture design for the international permaculture movement?

Sounds like there wasn't a permaculture design for this meeting. If there was, it seems like they ignored the need for "surge capacity". The best designed swale and berm system may be overwhelmed by a catastrophic rain event, which is why Dan Hemenway, who signed my permaculture certificate, drills in the need to "design for extremes" and avoid "averages".

I was in the convention and meeting business for years, and managed to go broke in it, so I have some sympathy for the organizers as any meeting that has to cope with a lot of last minute gate crashers is going to be a t best chaotic. Since the convention and meeting business generally has very thin margins and is not well financed, there isn't much surge capacity, WHICH of course is why the organizers of the next international meeting should do an actual design for the event and publish that design in advance. It could be part of the sales materials for the event. I am exceedingly unlikely to undertake any international travel, but the one thing that might tempt me would be an international event that was the fruit of an actual permaculture design process.

The same is true for a North American convergence. If people want something like this to happen, I suggest starting by doing a permaculture design for the proposed event. The more holistic the event, the more credible it would be. E.g., we shouldn't just ignore that expenditure of fossil fuels inherent in travel for these events. How do the organizers propose to resolve that issue?

I would help with this kind of design process, since I have experience in the "industry" and also have a special interest in permaculture design for invisible structures.

The wiki structure might work for something like this.

Where will the next international meeting be?

Bob Waldrop, Oklahoma City
http://www.ipermie.net Permaculture your urban lifestyle & protect yourself
from the four horsemen of the modern apocalypse: peak oil, climate instability,
economic irrationality, and political criminality

On 12/23/2013 12:09 PM, Lawrence London wrote:
On Sun, Dec 22, 2013 at 9:42 PM, A Sampson-Kelly <
april@permaculturevisions.com> wrote:

IPC11 Musings

I will not bore you with the sadness I felt at being in a political
environment in a political country nursing a naive hope that we could
find widespread solidarity and companionship.
I must point out, however, that the so called "gate crashers" to the
event were openly encouraged. Even on the opening day the web page still
stated clearly that people could just turn up and pay on the day.
[More fool me, as I had paid 4 months before for a tour that got cut by
a day and half and I was offered no refund.]


I hope the conference organizers learned from that, next time around that
20-20 hindsight will be useful, to say the least.


We are a movement that should be maturing, mastering a degree of
organisation and structure, not one that is so easily derailed by chaos.
I absolutely agree, it felt like the Cubans were trying to herd cats.






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