permaculture

[Koreen Brennan <cory8570@yahoo.com>]

Thanks to both Scott and Andrew for your thoughtful and illuminating 
comments. Cuba being my first major convergence, I was overwhelmed and 
overjoyed by the amount of information and opportunities to meet other 
permaculturists from so many countries doing many interesting things with the 
practice. I agree, Andrew, it was hard not to be in heaven, having the 
opportunity to see Cuban permaculture sites, a number of inspiring 
presentations and many more inspiring conversations. 

I too saw opportunities to increase yield and reduce waste, in both visible 
and invisible structures and Scott's words: "I think that we should be more 
mindful of our purpose and more engaged in the process than I feel was 
exhibited during this IPC", resonate with me if only because of the urgency 
of the situation of the Cuban people, and so many other people around the 
world. 

400 designers in one location could have gotten a heck of a lot more done 
than we did. How can we accept the feedback loop, learn, challenge ourselves, 
and increase yield?  There appears to already be a move to do this with the N 
Amer convergence planning, and this is encouraging! 
 
Koreen Brennan

www.growpermaculture.com
www.facebook.com/growpermaculturenow
www.meetup.com/sustainable-urban-agriculture-coalition



On Friday, December 20, 2013 2:12 PM, Scott Pittman <scott@permaculture.org> 
wrote:
 
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


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On Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 12:21 PM, John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net> wrote:

> A sign of the impossible times we are in and much at the same level as
> calling people who install solar panels "Freeloaders" and those who collect
> rain water criminals.
>

http://www.alternet.org/environment/now-kochs-are-coming-after-your-solar-panels
Now the Kochs Are Coming After Your Solar Panels
The right-wing corporate consortium ALEC is trying to undermine the solar
industry

According to the  American Legislative Exchange
Council<http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed>,
a conservative network better known as ALEC, our solar panels make us “free
riders.” What?

Yes, according to ALEC, an organization that specializes in getting the
right-wing agenda written into state laws, people like me who invest in
energy-efficiency and shrinking our carbon footprints ought to be
penalized.

Why does ALEC want us punished? Since it’s bankrolled by, among others, the
billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, it’s hard not to surmise that
they’re worried about a threat to fossil fuels businesses. Koch 
Industries’
operations include  refineries <http://www.fhr.com/refining/default.aspx>, oil
and natural gas pipelines <http://kochpipeline.com/>, and petrochemicals

That’s no conspiracy theory. Recently the British newspaper The
Guardian wrote about  the assault on solar
panels<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/alec-freerider-homeowners-assault-clean-energy>
as
part of a broader exposé on ALEC.

John Eick, the legislative analyst for ALEC’s energy, environment and
agriculture program, confirmed to The Guardian that the organization would
support making solar panel users pay extra for the electricity they
generate.  That’s already about to happen in
Arizona<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/15/arizona-solar-energy-fight-ends_n_4282220.html>,
where homeowners who use solar panels will pay an average of about $5 extra
a month for the privilege, starting in January.

The solar power industry called the new rule a victory only because power
companies in the state were demanding assessments of as much as $100 a
month — more than high enough to deter families from considering switching
to solar.


-- 
Lawrence F. London
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
http://www.avantgeared.com
https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
Skype: lawrence.f.london