I’m back home here in the forest of North Western GA on the TN borders after attending an information-packed inspirational 12 day Permaculture Design Course. This was and is an investment not just in our future, but in the future of the world.
I am renewed with inspiration and ideas to begin to live in a self-sustaining and regenerative way that will save the earth and promote co-operation and love amongst communities.
Permaculture is one of those words that most people who don’t know might easily associate with gardening. That’s a bit like associating spirituality with prayer. It’s an important part but it isn’t the whole.
On the last day as we shared our gifts in a circle outside on Koinonia Community Farm, we were reminded that permaculture is more than just growing food ecologically. It espouses a way of life, the principles of which relate not just to growing food, but to our very way of living and being.
Golden Learnings – a way forward
With 230 million acres of forest being decimated in the last 3 years, we must change the way we live. As long as people are addicted to MacDonalds and the like, forest will continue to be slashed down to make way for grain to feed animals for human consumption.
The Sahara desert was once a lush forest.
The concrete skyscrapers of New York stand on land that was once covered with diverse trees and plant life, home to a plethora of wildlife and harvest-able edibles.
We humans are gifted with intelligence and cognition. We have used these gifts to do many good things, but we forgot to put on the brake.
Human magnificence has created the keyline plough that doesn’t compact but aerates the land and it has also developed agriculture row farming and chemical fertilizers /pesticides that quickly destroy the natural fertility of Earth.
Say no to chemical fertilizers and yes to pig/chicken poo, compost teas and mulching
The same spark of creativity that discovered fossil fuels in the ground and a way of harnessing it for human energy can now be converted and harnessed to discover ways of capturing and storing energy.
Say no to city water, the electricity grid and say yes to elemental power from sun, water, wind and earth [solar, hydro-electric, windmills and geo-thermal sources of energy]
The same genius that learned to build cities is now able to find creative ways of creating natural dwellings that can appeal to all tastes from simple cob huts to huge earthship systems [Actor Dennis Weaver was one of the first people to build an earthship on his land in the 70's].
Say no to cement and urbanite and yes to sand, clay, straw, bamboo and tire-based structures.
The same genius that discovered penicillin and created anti-inflammatory drugs is now beign redirected to developing herbal medicines, alternative wellness programs and miracles like colloidal silver.
Say no to big Pharma and yes to growing your own medicinal herbs and plants, learning to make medicines and practising and using wellness ways as found in yoga, tai-chi, acupuncture and shiatsu.
The mind power that learned how to store and process food from across the world for mass consumption can also be turned to growing food forests that offer an earth-friendly way of feeding humans coupled with old-timey ways of preserving produce that promotes wellness and doesn’t drive us into the arms of diabetes, heart disease and toxic poisoning.
Say no to mass cultivation and imports of foods that enlarge our clod-hopping carbon footprint. Say yes to home grown, local produce that is still replete with valuable vitamins and minerals because we pick, eat and share it as soon as we harvest it.
The same intelligence that worked out how to clone and genetically engineer can also be put to divining natural patterns and learning to grow in a way that preserves Earth and makes her a richer, longer lasting source of bounty for all life.
Say no to ‘So not Man’ and yes to heirloom seeds, non GMO foods and the right for farmers to save and distribute their own seeds.
We cleverly developed microwave ovens, espresso machines, gas powered BBQ systems and state of the art kitchen appliances and it is that same cleverness that will help us to develop resource conserving solar and cob ovens as well as woodstoves that can serve dually as a heat source and cooking facility.
Say no to microwaves, electrical kitchen gadgets and discover the joy of woodstove cooker, solar oven baking and open fire BBQ’s using deadwood from the forest.
The intelligent faculty that helped us invent plastic bowls and man-made fibres can also be turned to learning how to make tree bark baskets, weave natural cloth from animal wool, and eating utensils carved from wood [ecologically harvested to encourage not deter reforestation]
Say no to buying more man-made fibres and plastics, re-purpose what exists instead of land-filling it and say yes to natural ecologically harvested materials for clothing, furniture, cooking utensils and building.
It took a genius to develop suburbia and vast city living structures and that same genius is now being harnessed to create transition initiatives, bringing communities together to build shared resources, and begin the ‘energy descent’.
Say no to urban skyscrapers, isolated housing and road dependent urban sprawls and say yes to helping your community begin to pull together and become self-sustaining and regenerative.
Our greatest gift and that which sets us ‘above’ the animals is that of intelligent creativity and innovation. That is why we are the designated stewards of this land we call Earth. Animals and plants know how to live symbiotically and harmonically, accepting natural culling from predators and death to ensure renewal but they do not have an overall sense of the whole.
We do and it is our birthright to ensure that every life form is taken care of and that we restore natural patterns of living that will ensure the eternal existence of this birthright.
A Native American said to me the other day, pointing to the land we were standing on, ‘This is MY land’ ‘You are standing on the land of my ancestors’. My response was ‘this is neither your land nor mine.
It is not a question of right but a question of right stewardship and native ancestry does not always mean that someone knows what is right.
The land has been leased to all humans and we all have a duty to tend it with the same outlook that came from the true spirit of Native Americans not the one corrupted by the white man. We are all potential stewards not owners.
Owning land privately should not mean that you can treat it any way you care. Ownership comes with a hidden responsibility to care for it with the whole planet in mind, not just your selfish concerns.
Selfish Manicured Lawns
Behind the 10 acres and house that we are renting lies hundreds of acres of neatly manicured non-productive land. The owner has a massive mansion set in the hilltops, a guest house and a shooting lodge.
The land has been deforested to create a parklike atmosphere.. and a pond is fed from the creek to house fish that are only avaialble to the few. And they visit it no more than 3 times a year for an odd day or two.
Say no to manicuring and hoarding land for ego purposes and say yes to land-sharing and using the land to create food, ecological living space and a haven for all of gods creatures, plant, animal and human.
Share The Land
Pic by localfoodcleveland.org
If you own more than 20 acres, you probably have far more than you need and are able to farm and nurture holistically without damaging that land. If this is the case, please consider sharing your land with those who are willing to work for the good of Earth first and create a pleasant, productive, ecological space for humans, animals and plants to thrive and feed each other in reciprocal generosity.
Find out how land trusts can be written to ensure your lifetime stewardship and provide a measure of security for those who are willing to put their life toil into the land.
If you are on Facebook please join our Share The Land group or pass on this blog or link to people you know who have land and are willing to share or those who are willliing to work and need land on which to homestead and build local co-operative community.
© 2010, Pierre Soleil. All rights reserved but relaxed Pierre Soleil We like to pass on the word so YOU are welcome to use this document in accordance with the Creative Commons license. That is, you can tweet, facebook, repost, excerpt and even adapt it so long as you don’t pretend it’s yours for commercial purposes
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Hi, I am happy about your work ; very glad to find you. I moved from a town that turnes more ; more to concrete these years to my mothers birth place, live in a big garden now, in a area that was left by industry and will try to live perma myself ; tell it to others. Thank you for your work and this website. All the best to you! Please contact me