I became interested in permaculture after wanting to grow some food and getting a copy of 'The Permaculture Garden' (because the blurb on the back said it was easy and no work) by the estimable and missed Graham Bell (RIP) in 1994. It wasn't until i attended an 'Introduction to Permaculture' session at the 2004 Braziers Park UK Permaculture Convergence delivered by Mike Feingold that the penny dropped. By then i'd built a large and robust herb spiral at our community garden that was such a spectacular failure (wrong place, wrong herbs, no human attention etc) it featured in Hannah Thoroughgood's slide show on 'herb spirals' as a teaching tool, planted hazels in my garden that just led to an increase in the local squirrel population signed up for an allotment that had terrible compacted clay soil and a very high water table. That year i began a PDC with Aranya (the pdc should really be 'an introduction to permaculture design) and completed the Diploma in 2012 which i would argue is really the beginning of the journey for me at least. I understand a reluctance for some to avoid the 'p' word because of well-meaning, enthusiastic graduates from a PDC to get on with changing the world by telling others that they are 'doing it wrong' rather than working with them to find solutions using observation and information from the particular attributes of site and resources including the people involved. I have interesting discussions with local 'permaculturists' about just how that is reflected in their life styles and behaviour and i prefer to say that i'm invested in practicing the journey towards a 'permaculture' that as Holmgren says could be one of many solutions to the place in which we find ourselves. I practice traditional chinese martial arts with a school whose founder (GM Liu Yunqiao) and teachers place emphasis on the development of the whole person so the above example of it being a 'way' works well for me. The peak of my frustration around 'permaculture' was when i got into a ridiculous online argument on the UK Permaculture FB page with someone who has made a career out of pushing 'no-dig' and was adamant that this approach was 'permaculture' whereas i was using the argument 'it depends' on lots of factors as to the initial approach for soil health etc and gave numerous examples of tools and elements that could be used in a closed loop system. She then went onto admit that she'd never done a PDC and didnt really understand 'permaculture' as a design system. Yet she was well known and influential. That said at another convergence i was told adamantly that 'permaculturists' were all vegan?
Um interesting piece. It allows me to contemplate why I moved away from permaculture as a design process but have recently returned not sure why but time will tell. My days in the south east PC group were, for me times of exploration trying out what works and what didn't. I felt early on in my journey that the 'people care' re acknowledging we had a part in the design process was talked about but with observation was lacking any substance re people were treated unfairly at times. It may have been and is still my view today that it is a process that can link in with other tools so I only add the pretext that permaculture is part of the picture.
I am reminded that only last week at the Green Gathering a person another Elder remarked that some permaculture teachers were up their own arses which did make me ask why to this person. She remarked 'I haven't done a PCDC but I care for my land I know it well and I use common sense when adding something to the system, it's a whole approach and I'm happy with that.'
Accepting permaculture as a concept which is now in the day to day vocabulary and like a lot of words can allow a person a certain kudos if slipped into a conversation, permaculture design is one of them.
Where is the edge? I am saddened or challenged (a better word) and (this is my observation and comment on this).... over the years that some people have taken the PC concept and neatened and separated it so much that we have no edge and nothing to be challenged by to create or evolve this concept. To me people seem tired and a little boring or dare I say safe.
As I sit on my yurt porch brewing/reflecting on this subject and my early days in PC and yes Mike was my teacher. I realise that without it I would not be where I am today and celebrating the early days of the edge. I am still am poking away at main stream concepts to allow a wider debate perhaps that's my role as is yours.... writing thought provoking articles.
Hey Lesley. Thanks for your reply, thought-provoking too. For your Eldr, well common sense ain't too common. I should have talked about scale too in that article. A lot of people reduce that down to garden size. I've worked on designing villages, city neighbourhoods, and farms of several hundred hectares, etc. Common sense might help but I need a design process and an engineering approach to put that stuff together. Perhaps I should do an update for that article!!
I became interested in permaculture after wanting to grow some food and getting a copy of 'The Permaculture Garden' (because the blurb on the back said it was easy and no work) by the estimable and missed Graham Bell (RIP) in 1994. It wasn't until i attended an 'Introduction to Permaculture' session at the 2004 Braziers Park UK Permaculture Convergence delivered by Mike Feingold that the penny dropped. By then i'd built a large and robust herb spiral at our community garden that was such a spectacular failure (wrong place, wrong herbs, no human attention etc) it featured in Hannah Thoroughgood's slide show on 'herb spirals' as a teaching tool, planted hazels in my garden that just led to an increase in the local squirrel population signed up for an allotment that had terrible compacted clay soil and a very high water table. That year i began a PDC with Aranya (the pdc should really be 'an introduction to permaculture design) and completed the Diploma in 2012 which i would argue is really the beginning of the journey for me at least. I understand a reluctance for some to avoid the 'p' word because of well-meaning, enthusiastic graduates from a PDC to get on with changing the world by telling others that they are 'doing it wrong' rather than working with them to find solutions using observation and information from the particular attributes of site and resources including the people involved. I have interesting discussions with local 'permaculturists' about just how that is reflected in their life styles and behaviour and i prefer to say that i'm invested in practicing the journey towards a 'permaculture' that as Holmgren says could be one of many solutions to the place in which we find ourselves. I practice traditional chinese martial arts with a school whose founder (GM Liu Yunqiao) and teachers place emphasis on the development of the whole person so the above example of it being a 'way' works well for me. The peak of my frustration around 'permaculture' was when i got into a ridiculous online argument on the UK Permaculture FB page with someone who has made a career out of pushing 'no-dig' and was adamant that this approach was 'permaculture' whereas i was using the argument 'it depends' on lots of factors as to the initial approach for soil health etc and gave numerous examples of tools and elements that could be used in a closed loop system. She then went onto admit that she'd never done a PDC and didnt really understand 'permaculture' as a design system. Yet she was well known and influential. That said at another convergence i was told adamantly that 'permaculturists' were all vegan?
Load and clear !! Thanks for the comment. Sounds like you've had a great journey.
Thanks, yep totally on that page. I hosted a systems thinking course here recently to help folks broaden their understanding of permaculture
Seems daft that you had to do that!! What else is behind PmC design other
than systems thinking?
Um interesting piece. It allows me to contemplate why I moved away from permaculture as a design process but have recently returned not sure why but time will tell. My days in the south east PC group were, for me times of exploration trying out what works and what didn't. I felt early on in my journey that the 'people care' re acknowledging we had a part in the design process was talked about but with observation was lacking any substance re people were treated unfairly at times. It may have been and is still my view today that it is a process that can link in with other tools so I only add the pretext that permaculture is part of the picture.
I am reminded that only last week at the Green Gathering a person another Elder remarked that some permaculture teachers were up their own arses which did make me ask why to this person. She remarked 'I haven't done a PCDC but I care for my land I know it well and I use common sense when adding something to the system, it's a whole approach and I'm happy with that.'
Accepting permaculture as a concept which is now in the day to day vocabulary and like a lot of words can allow a person a certain kudos if slipped into a conversation, permaculture design is one of them.
Where is the edge? I am saddened or challenged (a better word) and (this is my observation and comment on this).... over the years that some people have taken the PC concept and neatened and separated it so much that we have no edge and nothing to be challenged by to create or evolve this concept. To me people seem tired and a little boring or dare I say safe.
As I sit on my yurt porch brewing/reflecting on this subject and my early days in PC and yes Mike was my teacher. I realise that without it I would not be where I am today and celebrating the early days of the edge. I am still am poking away at main stream concepts to allow a wider debate perhaps that's my role as is yours.... writing thought provoking articles.
Hey Lesley. Thanks for your reply, thought-provoking too. For your Eldr, well common sense ain't too common. I should have talked about scale too in that article. A lot of people reduce that down to garden size. I've worked on designing villages, city neighbourhoods, and farms of several hundred hectares, etc. Common sense might help but I need a design process and an engineering approach to put that stuff together. Perhaps I should do an update for that article!!