permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

Permaculture for Resiliency in International Development through USAID
Posted April 20, 2015 by Warren Brush & filed under Community, Community 
Projects, Education, Permaculture Projects.

http://permaculturenews.org/2015/04/20/permaculture-for-resiliency-in-international-development-through-usaid/


By Warren Brush of Quail Springs Permaculture and Casitas Valley Farm and 
Creamery

With rapidly changing climactic and social conditions, we are witnessing 
instability in many human support systems around the world. Systems that are 
heavily dependent on centralized infrastructure and globalization for their 
basic needs of shelter, water, energy and food are the most susceptible to 
shocks and eventual collapse. Good science along with social and economic 
feedback tell us that there is a interdependent relationship between how far 
a resource is from our direct stewardship and how resilient and stable our 
system will be. 




Nearly everywhere I go in the world these days teaching agroecology 
principles using the permaculture design platform, I have witnessed an 
increase in ecological erosion that is closely followed by phenomena of 
cultural and social erosion. This is due, in large part, to reductionist 
practices and subsequent degradation of our local ecologies for monocrop 
agriculture, export pastoralism, and the intensive creation of economies that 
establish dependencies on global markets. With this form of simplified and 
extractive agricultural systems, it is clear that it has been set up for an 
export economy and is likely feeding local communities very little, whilst 
exporting and thus losing local nutrients, water, and human and financial 
resources.

In this biosocial erosion syndrome that has circled the globe, we are bearing 
witness to loss of resiliency in the ecological systems that sustain us. This 
is seen most significantly with massive soil erosion and hydrological 
collapse, ubiquitous to most westernized areas. Lack of healthy living soils 
and stable water has lead to loss of biodiversity, nutritional deficiencies 
in plants, animals and humans, system shocks from extreme weather changes, 
pest and disease migration, the rise of cancers and other diseases linked to 
pollution, and all of the linked economic disparities and instabilities. The 
loss of resiliency created by this scenario will lead, unequivocally, to 
ecological and thus sociological collapse.




Looking into the food forest and intercropped staple crops at the orphanage 
outside of Nairobi, Kenya

Much of my work over the past years has been focused on creating resiliency 
and stability in smallholder farming systems in communities in Africa, 
Europe, North America, Middle East and in Australia. Teaching, consulting, 
and being a part of developing permaculture demonstration sites globally has 
lead me to work with a dynamic team to creatively weave permaculture further 
into the formal international development sector through USAID. 

In January of 2015, a bridge was made between the permaculture and 
agroecology movements and the US government, through USAID and their Food for 
Peace program. An eclectic and innovative team of presenters was asked to 
share best practices in resilient agricultural system design with project 
directors from the Sub Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America 
bureaus. This team included Steve Gliessman, the UC Santa Cruz professor who 
wrote the textbook on agroecology; Brad Lancaster of “Rainwater Harvesting 
for Drylands” fame; Ben Falk who recently authored the book, “ The Resilient 
Farm and Homestead”; Steve Moore of Elon University, Daphne Miller of UC San 
Francisco, Rose Cohen of the Community Agroecology Network, and myself.

The symposium was set up in part by Tom Cole, a permaculture practitioner and 
co-developer of the Permagarden System that is now a part of USAID standard 
protocols in much of Africa. For many years Tom has been creating the 
conditions for permaculture to germinate and become integrated into this 
large organization that affects millions of people worldwide. Another key 
player in setting up the symposium was Greg Scarborough, Senior Advisor on 
Food Security and Nutrition for Mercy Corps, and a permaculture practitioner 
who took a course with us at Quail Springs Permaculture several years ago.

The invitees to this momentous event included project managers from USAID, 
Care, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, Heifer International, World Vision, and 
other organizations that collectively funnel hundreds of millions of dollars 
into the two-thirds world to aid in subsistence and small-holder farming 
development. They came to the symposium in hopes of gaining insights on how 
to adjust their projects to empower greater levels of self-reliance, 
increased ecosystem health, and less dependence on off-site resources such as 
the continual imports of fertilizer, pesticides and much else from western 
countries that have been commonplace in aid for decades. There is a 
significant leverage potential for major impact here as any holistic 
solutions broadly implemented through these institutions can reach the 
recipients these organizations serve, amounting to millions of households in 
more than a hundred countries.

The feedback from the participants and conveners of the symposium was notably 
filled with excitement, support, and the desire to integrate permaculture 
design methodologies into their projects. The positive reception has quickly 
led to the development of a permaculture/agroecology field training course 
that Tom Cole, myself, and others are currently designing and will begin to 
deliver through the USAID TOPS (Technical Operations Performance Support) 
program to technical field staff and managers worldwide over the coming year. 

Quail Springs Permaculture, in the mountains of Southern California, is also 
offering a full two-week Permaculture Design Course for people working in 
International Development this coming May 30 to June 13, 2015. This course is 
designed for people who work with Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s), 
Government Organizations, or are Community Organizers. 

This program equips people working in international development and 
grassroots projects with the perspectives and skills needed to partner with 
communities on the design of small-holder farms, land with household 
agricultural production, and community systems that are holistic, 
appropriate, strategic, effective, diverse, as well as ecologically and 
economically sound.

This course offering will be facilitated by a team of world renowned teachers 
and practitioners of regenerative systems design including: Pandora Thomas, 
Tom Cole, Peter Ash, Steve Gliessman, Greg Scarborough, Jeanette Acosta, 
Rafter Sass Ferguson, and myself. To find out more information or to 
register, visit their website at: 
http://www.quailsprings.org/permaculture-design-course-for-international-development/
 write info@quailsprings.org or call 805-886-7239.

Another training happening this summer with Warren Brush is the Permaculture 
Design Course and Farm Apprenticeship happening at Casitas Valley Farm near 
to Carpinteria, California. This intensive and holistic approach to training 
will delve deep into how to design and create regenerative systems for varied 
landscapes, ecological conditions, socio-cultural environments and economic 
viability. Dates: July 5 to August 2nd, 2015. Website: 
http://www.casitasvalley.com/#!courses/c144e or email 
ana@regenerativeearth.com or call us at 805-649-8179 

Warren Brush is a mentor, storyteller, educator, and a certified Permaculture 
designer and teacher. He has worked for over 25 years in inspiring people of 
all ages to discover, nurture and express their inherent gifts while living 
in a sustainable manner. He is co-founder of Quail Springs 
PermacultureRegenerative Earth Enterprises, Sustainable Vocations, Wilderness 
Youth Project, Casitas Valley Farm and Creamery and his Permaculture design 
company, True Nature Design. He works extensively in Permaculture education 
and sustainable systems design and implementation in North America, Africa, 
Middle East, Europe, and Australia. He has taught the following courses: 
Permaculture Design Certification, Resilient Small Farm Design, Permaculture 
for International Development, Rainwater Harvesting Systems, Ferro-Cement 
Tank Building, Spring Rejuvenation and Watershed Restoration, Compost Toilet 
Systems, Water for Every Farm, Drought Proofing Landscapes, Ecological 
Restoration, Cultural Mentoring, Introduction to Permaculture Systems, 
Permaculture Gardening, Food Forestry, and Origins Skills among other 
offerings. He can be reached through email at warrenbrush@mac.com or by 
calling his offices at 805-649-8179.

Websites:

www.quailsprings.org

www.permaculturedesign.us 

www.casitasvalley.com