Email to sdfnl about permaculture

Marc, Marcia, SDFNL, SDPG,
I'm back in SD, but have been laying low as I get some things sorted
out (like what I'm doing next). I've also been trying to practice
"noble speech" by waiting until I can stand behind what I'm saying. .
. (and until I have the garden blog updated!)

But maybe I should/could help with this PC presentation.

Some of what I learned at the quailsprings PC course (I wasn't
officially taking it, but I was there) directly relates to our/your
work in San Diego.

In particular, the story behind http://www.permaculturenoosa.com.au/

Some questions I've had for a while were addressed:
Don't use a funky bioregional name for your group--use existing
political boundaries. Then politicians can come to your meetings and
see their constituency.

Permaculture Noosa became viral and spread and its effect on politics
in Australia has been significant.

The way they structure their meetings is something FNL (and related
groups) can learn from.

(will you all join and become Permaculture San Diego? and have
subgroups by council district?)

Without looking it up:
 - first part of meeting was an informal market for locally grown
(meaning grown by us) products.

heck, here are my notes:

some components of their meeting:

- Group speaker
- PC hands on or plant of the month
- something about a Pet or an animal? (not sure)
- .5hr market-- meeting at 730, market at 7 , milk, cheese, eggs,
alcohol, vinegar, all local.
- free table, opportunity shop

"People come to meetings to meet other people"

Regular place, monthly meetings,

* local, part-time permaculture courses (to grow the local skill base
and base of local teachers)

What do you do when 500 people show up at your meeting? (It will happen)

see page 510 in the PC design manual.

They also had monthly work meetings. You attend a certain number, then
you get to host one at your place and have people work on your
property.

They did their best to bring in spouses, and all sorts of diverse
people. . . a diverse ecosystem of people. So when they did have
larger and larger groups. . . Geoff, (and a politician), would be
wondering "What _on earth_ do these people have in common?" And the
politician would say, "There sure are a lot of people who want to be
able to have (composting toilets, rainwater collection. . . community
farms and gardens. . you get the idea)".

Geoff had some cool stories about bringing politicians in front of
video news cameras and getting them to put their hands in the soil of
a fertile, abundant garden, and _then_ showing them where it came from
(the composting toilet).




The vision these guys have (Geoff Lawton
http://www.permaculture.org.au/, Darren Doherty (
http://www.permaculture.biz/ ), and also Evan Marks
http://www.pacificcoastdesign.net/ , and Warren Brush
(quailsprings.org) )

Is absolutely mind-blowing. . .

"The amount of damage humans are doing right now, is the amount of
good we could be doing."

And they _do_ things like transform baked lifeless land into oases
(see "greening the desert").  . . with canals that you can float
through and harvest from the overhanging trees. . .

The people dealing with the "everything I want to do is illegal" problem
http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/Salatin_Sept03.pdf --

The people dealing with an over-paved urban environment --

I think, have the biggest challenge.

Ok. So that is a bit.
I may make it to the next meeting. . . but I'm enjoying staying put
(and eating things from the garden), and doing my best to stay quiet.

peace,
Colin

--
May I help us be at peace.

Basically, I'm thinking I _may_ go back to the forest and lead walks
to and from Quail Springs and help people learn and share personal,
community, life practices. So between now and July 23rd, I'm planning
to do my best to perennialize 4602 seminole.

Five days walking through the forest after having begun to study
buddhism might do that to you too.

"I can't understand why people stay in cities. . . there aren't any
fences keeping them in." (Geoff Lawton) cities could be good places of
course. . . carfree.com

IF you're going to LA, you might want to go to
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/calendar/archives/2006/07/interdependence_2.html
on July 4th.

I know a great, nearly road-free walk from path to freedom to the san
gabriel mtns. If you want to go there on the 4th and camp out in the
mountains with me for two or three nights (we could stay one night at
or near path to freedom), and then catch a bus to the LA ecovillage
tour, we can do it-- let me know!!


Marc, thanks for recommending mahavana (CVC). During it and shortly
after, I was like "what the hell was he thinking??" I have more
appreciation after doing the sitting, morning and evening, for a while
now, though I can't really say I'm doing vipassana. I'm not sure I
would send others there though. . .

one last bit of info overload:
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/ (Isabell Shephard has been
recognized as a genius by Mollison . . .  I have yet to explore why
though.)

and one more:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5537951818568434196&hl=en
(me at quail springs)

BTW: if you're scared of the design manual, and even if you're not,

_Introduction to permaculture_ seems to be much more targeted to
smaller scale and urban settings. . . and it doesn't cost $80
http://tagari.com/item.php?itemid=156
http://www.gettextbooks.com/search/?isbn=0908228082

both books are probably worth whatever you pay for them though. . .
Geoff Lawton says "Mollison hardly missed a trick" and Lawton has
every heading and subheading mind-mapped. . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_Mapping (not yet sure what this
means other than that he's studied it well).

2007/6/21, Marc Bailey <playtoe1>:
> Hi All,
>
> I've been corresponding with Marcia Boruta from the san diego permaculture
> group and she would be willing to do a permaculture presentation.  She's
> also very interested in talking with anyone who has taken the permaculter
> design course.
>
> Is there interest in having this for a FNL workshop?  I'd like to plan her
> in to the schedule for sometime in July since I may have my hands full
> starting in August (due to a visit from the friendly stork).
>
> sin queso,
> -Marc
>