permaculture

[Jason Gerhardt <jasongerhardt@gmail.com>]

You make a thought provoking post, Pete.

I think this is about upholding a degree of excellence solely. Is it the
best approach to make rules about PDC standards? I don’t know yet, but I
think a lot of the language you are using suggests something more sinister
than is the intention. Approach and intention may not be fully aligned, but
don’t throw out the intention because the approach doesn’t seem right. Ya
know?

About the approach to achieve the goal of excellence in teaching and
design…it doesn’t seem any efforts at control will be very worthwhile as
people are free to do as they choose in permaculture because there will
never be any legal structure for recourse, since that time is well past. So
that leaves us with a low ability to uphold excellence, which is why I
strive to ENCOURAGE excellence. So what are good social structures to put
in place to achieve that? Let’s get a brainstorm going.

I’ve been in the process of developing the Permaculture Community Awards as
one such structure to encourage excellence in using permaculture. I think
this is a structure that can spur innovative applications once it is
established and running, which will be a year out before the first are
awarded. This is kind of a long view project. I’d like to create more
resources for teaching that would encourage excellence as well, which can
have more of an immediate impact. What are others doing?

I also have asked myself how the problem can be the solution in regards to
the waning quality of permaculture. Friends of mine have helped me
understand that a lot of the lack of excellence in permaculture is more of
a funnel. The loud voices, with flashy marketing, and big budgets are just
funneling in the masses. Those who are happy to build hugelkultur herb
spirals to cover the earth will do that, and that’s fine. If people just
grow their own zucchini for the rest of their lives that’s better than just
being a consumer, right? But frankly I don’t really care about those types.
I care more about those who want to go deeper, to strive for accuracy,
effectiveness, and excellence. So if the flashy dumbed down version of
permaculture design funnels more people into this type of thinking then I’m
happy to guide a percentage of those masses that aren’t satisfied to stop
at that version.

I’d say the scene of permaculture is changing, so how do we creatively
respond and adapt to that? My goal is to swim out past the breakers to find
a sand bar to stand on, make a little noise, and guide those that are
reaching for other shores to it. The funnelers will make the money and
achieve fame and I will continue on the path of aspiring to newer forms of
excellence as the old ones become more and more common. Is that called
innovation? I don’t know, but if so, I jumped through the hoops and didn’t
leave the “movement”. I’d venture to say the hoops are what got me where I
am in my practice of permaculture. Designing the hoops is the real concern
we need to have. I’m pretty sure the old paradigm of control won’t be the
best thing to use, but perhaps we need an old, old paradigm.

I brought up a few times at NAPC that the younger generation (which I am
apart of) need to let themselves be mentored, which I will call the old,
old paradigm, because a lot of what I see as “innovation” is just
ignorance. So how do we design structures/hoops that encourage excellence
AND innovation? That, to me, is what we should be aiming for rather than
one over the other.

Jason

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