Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Permaculture teaching and activism have always aimed to work with those already interested in changing their lives, land and communities for the better, rather than proselytising the disinterested majority.
It is a rare occurence that I disagree with David Holmgren. But while there is much insight in his most recent paper, Crash on Demand, it also raises many questions and issues that I’d like to explore here. I am troubled by his conclusions, and although I understand the logic behind them, I fear that they could prove a dangerous route to go down if left unchallenged.
What is unique about PatternDynamics is that it combines the patterns of nature with the power of language, to produce a sustainability pattern language.
My wife and I went semi-nomadic in 2010, traveling the mountain West for almost two years. Not having a settled home was eye-opening, and taught me a lot about one of my perennial themes: how much humans lost when we became domesticated by agriculture.
Six years on, of the four scenarios outlined in Future Scenarios, Holmgren is seeing the Brown Tech scenario as the one currently in play, where the decline of fossil fuels unfolds slowly…
As we in the North approach the winter solstice – traditionally a time of slowing down, contemplation, and letting go of the past year — we are filled with gratitude for so much that we have been given, and only barely awakened to the new possibilities these gifts bestow.
En los más de quince años desde que comencé a dar cursos en permacultura y eco-diseño, me he dado cuenta que lo que más convence no son las palabras sino el ejemplo.
•Food Sovereignty: A Breviary
•Transforming a conventional orchard into a fruit forest
•Journal withdraws controversial French Monsanto GM study
•Dust to Dust: a man-made Malthusian crisis
•Fighting hunger through sustainable farming
•Peak soil: act now or the very ground beneath us will die
•The National Soil Project
•Hungry Americans Less Productive as Budget Cuts Deepen: Economy
•Soil tasting session coming to Bristol: "Mmmm… I’m getting earthy notes and just a hint of grass"
•Now This Is Natural Food
Over the last few years, I have been formulating my opinion on how to approach investing and what do to with extra cash…Mulling all of this over (and with the help of a good forest analogy) I’ve recently developed a few key principles that I believe will help to guide good investment strategy.
My vision is to give purpose to a vacant lot.
The future of health care…involves…returning to the commons of care.
Are values more important during times of scarcity, and how must our values change if we are to survive?
