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  • From: Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Hope for Palestinians and Palestine
  • Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2014 16:45:58 -0800

For a nearly-permacultural perspective on the Middle East, and on the rest of
the globe, I highly recommend "The Revenge of Geography" by Robert Kaplan. He
is a political journalist and engaging writer, and his book summarizes the
work of several geographers and geographic historians. The thesis is the
geopolitical equivalent of Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel," in
telling how geography influences politics and peoples.

Permies would be interested because it describes how landform shapes culture
and politics (but does not totally determine it, of course)

If I can sum up the main idea, it's that good geographic boundaries make good
neighbors: small distinct valleys separated by decent sized hills, or wide
rivers, oceans, deserts, etc, lead to the most stable cultures. The Middle
East has been a mess for 5000 years in part because its large plains and
valleys are too big to separate human territories well enough to prevent
clashes between neighboring groups. That whole region, from ancient Persia to
the steppes north of it that bred the Mongols and other nomads that ravaged
Europe and Asia for millennia, may never be stable. Geography isn't quite
destiny, but it has to be dealt with.

Europe, on the other hand, is nicely divided by rivers and modest mountains
into small kingdoms and nation-states, distinct enough to develop separate
cultures, but also close enough to develop sophisticated diplomacy to avoid
constant conflict. The nation-states of Europe also were formed in the
crucible of continual incursions by Mongols and Moors, and had to learn to
form alliances to repel them.

He's got a lot to say about China, Russia, Iran, and Africa as well. (Africa
got it from both sides; slavers from Europe raiding it from the west, Arab
and Asian slavers raiding it from the east, destroying coastal and valley
cultures and leaving only a narrow band of small, disorganized and fugitive
tribes in a strip down the central jungle and desert. It's still a mess from
that.)

Kaplan concludes that the West is wasting time trying to make peace in the
Middle East. It won't happen. He says that the US, in particular, should
instead spend more effort on trying to avoid the formation of a failed state
on its southern border, run by narco-warlords with millions of potential
supporters spread around the States.

The book is a fascinating look at how landform influences human culture. Put
it on your permie reading list.

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com


On Dec 9, 2014, at 10:28 AM, Graham Unangst-Rufenacht
<graham.rufenacht@gmail.com> wrote:

> I appreciate aspects of this "positive" thinking on contributing to the
> economic and agroecological and socioecological possibilities of what could
> happen in Palestine - though i do not feel that an export agriculture
> feeding privileged foreigners is really what permaculture looks to
> accomplish. In general, I also find it relatively frustrating to read, as
> well as the response by Steve, in which he posits that this is a centuries
> old conflict in which we, or anybody, can have little effect. In the
> current moment of heightened racial awareness in this country, I have heard
> folks say that racism doesn't exist here in Vermont, or that the history of
> racism is so embedded in our culture that we have little means of affecting
> it without total system change, or that this is more of an issue of poverty
> than racism, or the issue of a few bad police officers...
>
> Where is the framing of the problem / opportunity / context of this
> analysis which we purport to value so much in permaculture? What do the
> Palestinians say they need / want - what are their goals and aspirations?
> Who are the "interested parties" in this part of the world? What are the
> constraints that exist? Gaza, the West Bank, and all of the lands and
> peoples of Palestine certainly face ecological / social / economic crises -
> drinking water, poisoned and occupied land, destroyed infrastructure,
> dislocated families and communities - but why do these crises exist and
> what is the context for addressing them? If we confine ourselves to
> agroecological and economic thinking from a distance than we are doing a
> disservice to the peoples and places we intend to help, and to ourselves.
> I argue that it is not our task or imperative as permaculturalists or
> humans to simply navigate systems of oppression with as much positivity and
> integrity as possible - it is to dismantle those systems while cocreating
> new and just ones. This can only be done with a fearless and vulnerable
> analysis of the outer and inner contexts of these systems of oppression and
> violence, and a willingness to enter into the unknown of every conversation
> and person and place we encounter. It is not up to us to find the answers,
> it is up to us to work towards empowering the people (and non-humans, and
> lands) in those places to lead - they are the only ones who can determine
> what their needs are, and how to be able to meet their needs. How can we
> support this work? How are we being asked to help? Currently there are
> systems in place which explicitly and implicitly prevent this from
> happening - in Palestine, in Black America, for migrant workers and so many
> others. What is our role in this oppression? in Racism, in
> neo-colonialism, etc.? My inner and outer life as a white westerner, my
> freedoms and responsibilities are intimately linked to my willingness to
> engage with these uncomfortable conversations and struggles. These are
> conversations which I feel are glaringly absent from many permaculture and
> agroecological circles.
>
> There is global and local systemic violence and racism which deeply affects
> the people and the land in that region, and we in the Western world -
> particularly in the United States - have been supporting it for decades
> militarily, financially, culturally, etc. Religion can be used anywhere as
> a means to divide or to unify - when we label a conflict as being
> religiously based, it is often used as an excuse not to express opinion, or
> even deeply investigate the situation that is being labelled - in
> particular if we do not identify as an adherent to one of the religions
> purported to be involved. This is not to say that those religious
> identities and aspects are not entwined within this conflict, rather to say
> that they are not primary, nor are they determinate or fundamentally in
> opposition / conflict. The conflict in Palestine / Israel in particular is
> being perpetuated by nations and nation states in a post-colonial context
> and neo-colonial context - and we have laws which govern how States are
> allowed to behave. It is being perpetuation by the neo-liberal capitalist
> extractive economy and cosmology. It is being perpetuated by our
> unwillingness to talk about it with one another. We see the actions of one
> "Nation State" - Israel - consistently and disproportionately committing
> and justifying acts of violence - condemned by international law as agreed
> to by the U.S. and Israel - and aggression against a group of people whom
> these countries refuse to even identify as a "nation". We see the United
> States - against international law - supporting financially and militarily
> this project. We see a wall erected around one of the most densely
> populated places on earth and an economic blockade on the people who live
> within. We see the bulldozing of olive groves, homes, and viable
> agricultural lands that have been active for centuries. We see an
> inadequate access to basic necessities in Gaza in particular which is
> unimaginable. We see a desperate population of Palestinians seeking
> justice through violent and non-violent means - albeit the violence they
> are able to carry out is strikingly minimal in comparison to what they
> face, and the technologies they have at hand to commit violence are
> strikingly less reliable, powerful and accurate. We see the shooting of
> unarmed Palestinian youth and adults, as we see the shooting of unarmed
> people of color in the U.S., of immigrants on the Mexican border, etc. with
> no justice or accountability for the people or systems which commit this
> violence. We see fear and vulnerability in the faces of Palestinians and
> Israelies who live in this terrible conflict every day - nobody is free
> whether on the side of victim or perpetrator, and that duality hardly
> speaks the truth of these conflicts. Demonizing any person or people in
> general - whether people who are police, or heads of state, or members of a
> group - will not be helpful and is not my intention; identifying injustice,
> and seeking accountability, system change, justice and localized
> participatory governance is in my opinion more helpful.
>
> The suggestion of laying aside arms and militancy in a context of extreme
> violence and oppression in exchange for international aid is also
> frustrating to me. Although I do not necessarily think that the tools of
> violence and militancy used by some Palestinian groups are effective at
> achieving Statehood or non-violence in that conflict, I can not find it in
> me to condemn the choice by the oppressed to take up arms in order to
> defend themselves. I further find it impossible for me to put myself in
> those shoes in order to fully comprehend that choice, or use my perspective
> on that choice to invalidate it or the people who choose to do so, or to
> justify the broad attack on a significant civilian population.
> International aid is not what is required for these people to lay down arms
> - what is required is justice, and right livelihood - and that is the
> solidarity we can provide with our minds, words, bodies.
>
> It is not my intention to be "negative" or to attack the people on this
> thread who posited the feelings / words that I am responding to - it is my
> intention to more adequately frame the problem / opportunity and to suggest
> that we cannot have a just agroecological system in this area, with these
> people, in the context of such systemic oppression and violence. This goes
> for the places we live as well. There can be no food justice, no
> ecological justice, when there is no racial justice, no migrant justice -
> we must work on all of these things in concert. We must build one while
> actively dismantling the other - within and without ourselves. This IS our
> responsibility and it will not change until we all start to accept it as
> part of our accountability and task towards achieving freedom and unity and
> justice.
>
> How can we incorporate these analyses and conversations into our work? How
> are permaculturalists and agroecologists, etc. engaging with this? I'd
> truly like to hear from folks out there - how are you organizing?
>
> In relationship to racial justice and ending white supremacy, we've been
> having a "white people let's talk" group here in predominantly white
> Vermont recently. We establish group norms around and within which we hold
> a safe space, and we talk, role play, etc. in relationship to racism in
> particular in the wake of what has been happening in this country. It has
> been helpful in terms of feeling out a very uncomfortable subject, but also
> in determining how to respond locally, how to talk with others about this,
> and how to be not only allies in a black liberation movement, but also to
> recognize our own freedom and ability to be truly human tied up in the
> systemic structures of white supremacy and privilege of which we are
> irrevocably a part.
>
> During the Israeli assault on Palestine this Summer, I was so angry and sad
> and hurt and felt like I could not speak out or confront or engage with
> compassionately some of the truly ignorant and unjust words which I heard
> spoken by others. It is not easy or comfortable, and it can quickly become
> antagonistic if we lash out at people - and then there is the loss of a
> potential ally. How can we both speak from our hearts towards justice and
> not condemn the people we are speaking to? We can't always get it right -
> but we can do our best to speak with one another when we feel compelled
> to. I recognize that there are going to be a variety of responses to what
> I've written here - and I can never make my words perfect. In the spirit
> of sharing opinions and recognizing our challenges and anxieties around
> speaking to these conflicts I want to share the words of a black organizer
> on the ground in Ferguson who recently said this over a conference call in
> which most of the participants were white, "your individual anxieties about
> getting things wrong has nothing to do with my liberation." This is not
> about any of us getting it right or our own feelings about how we may look
> - its about willing to speak, to share, to know we may fail, and that our
> own comfort is not the goal - engaging with the conflict and cocreating
> justice is primary.
>
> I see that more comments have appeared on this thread since I started
> writing - I will still share this and thank you all for reading and
> contributing.
>
> On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 11:16 AM, Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 3:46 AM, Steve Hart <stevenlawrencehart@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> LL...geeez mate thats a flyer where did this brain wave come from. I
>>> haven't been following the drama of that part of the world for so long
>> but
>>> it seems it is caught up in a game of many hundreds of years of history
>> and
>>> very little we or anyone else can do about it. Of course I'd be the first
>>> in there to assist in designing all these systems and utilities...but to
>> me
>>> in my first impressions...maybe all very futile....convince me
>>> otherwise...Steve Hart
>>>
>>
>> My idea was intended to offer an alternative to "the futility", not mission
>> impossible.
>> Think only positively. I was driving home listening to the news, discussion
>> was about shortage of olive oil from crop damage,
>> insects and disease (something that might have been avoided if natural
>> growing methods had been used from the start). They listed the main oil
>> producing countries then I thought what about Palestinians producing
>> artisanal extremely high quality olive oil for export, and citrus,
>> vegetables, wines and more. I knew a Palestinian businessman here in Chapel
>> Hill who described the oil his family produced each year,, olive oil that
>> was like thick cream. That image has stuck in my mind for years. A product
>> like that would be worth a fortune. Think spreadable ambrosia olive oil
>> on your barley oat scone at tea time, orange slices, cured olives in a
>> mediterranian salad. Great possibilities there. Got to start somewhere.
>> Think food. Eat first then build quanats, cisterns, irrigate gardens of
>> earthly delights.
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On 9 December 2014 at 15:40, Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> [attn: Steve, Scott, Koreen, anyone else]
>>>>
>>>> Here are a few tip-of-the-iceberg ideas that could lead to the
>>>> revitalization of Palestine. This starts with an economic plan to
>> market
>>>> artisanal food products in the global marketplace:
>>>> olive oil, citrus, wines, goat and sheep cheeses, yoghurt, vegetables -
>>> all
>>>> grown organically. They trade any militancy and weapons for
>> agricultural
>>>> tools and materials and in return receive millions of dollars in
>>> donations
>>>> of organic soil amendments, tools and power equipment, seeds and
>> plants,
>>>> greenhouses, equipment to create water impoundments and pumps with
>>>> irrigation systems. This would involve a massive influx of
>> international
>>>> support in the form of permaculture and agriculture professionals to be
>>>> followed with professional, skilled expertise in civic infrastructure,
>>>> sewer, waste treatment, roads and bridges, educational and medical and
>>>> public health resources and social services, welfare and distribution
>> of
>>>> surplus: care for the people, care for the earth, return the surplus.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Lawrence F. London
>>>> lfljvenaura@gmail.com
>>>> http://www.avantgeared.com
>>>> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
>>>> Ello: https://ello.co/ecoponderosa <https://ello.co/ecoponderosa>
>>>> Twitter: @ecoponderosa <https://twitter.com/ecoponderosa>
>>>> Reddit: ecoponderosa
>>>> Cellphone: lfljcell@gmail.com
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> Permaculture Institute USA http://permaculture.org
>>>> How to permaculture your urban lifestyle
>>>> http://www.ipermie.net
>>>> Avant Geared http://www.avantgeared.com
>>>> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
>>>> Permaculture: -- portal to an expanding global network of landtech
>>>> pioneers practicing and teaching permaculture
>>>> while designing ecological, biointensive land use systems with
>> integrated
>>>> elements for synergy, sustainability, regeneration and enhanced
>>>> nature-compatible
>>>> human habitat --
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Kia ora
>>>
>>> [image: Picture]
>>> *Steve Hart*
>>> Ecology Architect
>>> Designer, Teacher, Builder of Ecologically Sustainable Resilient
>>> Environments
>>> Skype: stevenlawrencehart
>>> Phone: +420 728 799 115
>>> Permaculture Global Design:
>>> www.permacultureglobaldesign.org
>>> The Permaculture College of Europe.
>>> www.permaculturecollege.eu
>>> GAPPS The Global Alliance for Permaculture Partnerships and Solutions.
>>> www.permaculturepartnerships.com
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> http://permacultureforum.blogspot.com
>>> http://permaculturelist.wordpress.com
>>> Google message archive search:
>>> site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [searchstring]
>>> Permaculture Institute USA http://permaculture.org
>>> How to permaculture your urban lifestyle
>>> http://www.ipermie.net
>>> Avant Geared http://www.avantgeared.com
>>> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
>>> Permaculture: -- portal to an expanding global network of landtech
>>> pioneers practicing and teaching permaculture
>>> while designing ecological, biointensive land use systems with integrated
>>> elements for synergy, sustainability, regeneration and enhanced
>>> nature-compatible
>>> human habitat --
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Lawrence F. London
>> lfljvenaura@gmail.com
>> http://www.avantgeared.com
>> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
>> Ello: https://ello.co/ecoponderosa <https://ello.co/ecoponderosa>
>> Twitter: @ecoponderosa <https://twitter.com/ecoponderosa>
>> Reddit: ecoponderosa
>> Cellphone: lfljcell@gmail.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> permaculture mailing list
>> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
>> subscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info|make a donation toward list
>> maintenance:
>> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
>> message archives: https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture
>> message archive mirrors:
>> https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/permaculturelist
>> http://permacultureforum.blogspot.com
>> http://permaculturelist.wordpress.com
>> Google message archive search:
>> site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [searchstring]
>> Permaculture Institute USA http://permaculture.org
>> How to permaculture your urban lifestyle
>> http://www.ipermie.net
>> Avant Geared http://www.avantgeared.com
>> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
>> Permaculture: -- portal to an expanding global network of landtech
>> pioneers practicing and teaching permaculture
>> while designing ecological, biointensive land use systems with integrated
>> elements for synergy, sustainability, regeneration and enhanced
>> nature-compatible
>> human habitat --
>>
> _______________________________________________
> permaculture mailing list
> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> subscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info|make a donation toward list
> maintenance:
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> message archives: https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture
> message archive mirrors:
> https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/permaculturelist
> http://permacultureforum.blogspot.com
> http://permaculturelist.wordpress.com
> Google message archive search:
> site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/permaculture [searchstring]
> Permaculture Institute USA http://permaculture.org
> How to permaculture your urban lifestyle
> http://www.ipermie.net
> Avant Geared http://www.avantgeared.com
> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
> Permaculture: -- portal to an expanding global network of landtech pioneers
> practicing and teaching permaculture
> while designing ecological, biointensive land use systems with integrated
> elements for synergy, sustainability, regeneration and enhanced
> nature-compatible
> human habitat --





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