Firstly:
What you may or may not know about the state of the world.
All across the planet people have been taking more than the earth has to give. Global warming through the influence of industry was predicted in the nineteenth century.
The climate has always changed. Look at the history of ice ages and so on. But today with our burgeoning human population and our massive industrial and consumer capabilities we have created a cycle of consumption / destruction which is difficult to reverse.
Desertification is advancing in many place through the action of unsustainable agricultural policies.
World population is expanding.
Too many people are poor, lacking drinkable water, adequate hygiene, lacking adequate nutritious food.
We are pushing the limits on the energy we need to run our society.
Secondly:
Well that’s not going to motivate you to do much at all. It’s just depressing!
So:
Permaculture is about practical solutions which we can all implement to build a sustainable system of providing for human needs globally. It is based on ethical commitments: care for the earth, care for people, fair shares. It teaches a principled way of consciously designing how we live to limit our consumption whilst ensuring we all have enough.
We strive to create systems which require less work to maintain them, and consequently reduce pollution. The aim is to eliminate waste. It teaches us to understand patterns (physical, metal and behavioural) which can be replicated in ways appropriate to local needs and resources. It can be adapted to any climate or culture. In the process we seek to recreate wilderness, respecting the right of all life on planet earth to have its place. Less about conservation, more about reconstruction of our watercourses, seas, and forests, cleansing our air and moderating the effects of climate in the process.
The experience is as much about unlearning destructive ways of living as it is about learning better approaches. At the end of the day we all live by making choices. We seek to learn how to make those choices better, and practically do-able.
This is not like going back to school. It is peer group education and training blending everyone’s lifetime of experience so the group as a whole are all sharing knowledge, understanding and practical ability. We learn from our immediate surroundings, from eating together, from games and exercise which keep stretching our vision and ability to create a better future. In short it is a life-changing experience.
