Punk Rock Permaculture E-zine

Syndicated from Permaculture.tv an interview with Steve Cran on Permaculture disaster relief and Haiti.

My instructor Scott Pittman of the US permaculture Institute on the need for a Permcorps from permaculture.tv

Gaia punk here,

Below is a great update from Nika Boyce (@nika7k) I want to thank everyone who has expressed interest and I am inspired that this idea IS HAPPENING!  Stuart Leiderman (Lakou Permaculture) is on the ground in Haiti right now calling out for help stateside with coordinating a long term Permaculture Relief Corps effort.  People working in Haiti have asks that folks do not send goods just yet as you can see from the photos the port is a total mess!  Below is a email list of key coordinators by region:

Stuart Leiderman   —Currently in Haiti right now was working on the Lakou-Permaculture project

leiderman(at)mindspring.com

Joni Zweig  –Currently in Haiti works with AMURTEL disaster relief

info(at)amurtel.org

Cory Brenna—Currently in FL coordinating funds and people in FL works with permacultureguild.us which has a donation site up now for the creation of a Permaculture Relief Corps

cory8570(at)yahoo.com

Kevin —-Currently in Hudson Valley NY coordinating fundraising

regenerationcsa(at)gmail.com

Rhonda—- Coordinating in the Bloomington IN region

rk.baird(at)yahoo.com

Marvin Warren —Coordinating for the Ithaca Finger lakes area

greenmansinger(at)gmail.com

If your not on this list and want to be or on this list and don’t want to be….

email

Evan Schoepke (@gaiapunk) Currently coordinating for the Olympia WA and Seattle area

thejulianeffect(at)gmail.com

From Nika Boyce (nika7k):

Like you, I have been simply swept away by the brutal earthquake that has subsumed Haiti into a hell that gets worse by the day.

I have been mostly learning about it via CNN and on twitter. I have been pouring over the satellite images of the destruction as seen in Google Earth.

As I write, Reuters says that more than 200,000 people have died and as of this evening, they have buried 40,000 dead. MANY more bodies lay in the streets and under endless tons of ruined buildings.

Thank goodness for twitter and the permaculture people I have gotten to know there because that is the only thing that is keeping me from feeling utterly lost in desolation over this apocalypse.

It is through @gaiapunk, who is something of a one-man permaculture media empire, that I have begun to learn about and really love the idea of Permaculture First Responders.

He posted several links to projects already either training Permaculture First Responders or projects on the ground in Haiti and other disaster struck places.

Permaculture First Responder – Permie Disaster Relief Training Course

Cegrane Camp Permaculture Rehabilitation Project

Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange

I have been wondering how I might be able to help nurture this idea here, tucked away in my small part of the world without actually going to Haiti myself.

I have been chatting with Cory at Permaculture.org and am happy to share this link that is very constructive in terms of the next steps.

Help for Haiti from Permaculture

(UPDATE: @gaiapunk will also be posting a Long term Permaculture Relief Corps project on kickstarter.com a crowd funding site look for that in the next day or two)

From that site you will see:

Some of the projects which permaculturists can design and implement are:

Short Term:

Building sewage systems, composting toilets, compost and recyclying centers, rocket and solar stoves, temporary shelters (perma-yurts), water catchment and filtering, and plant nurseries.

Rocket and solar stoves are key because the major ecological problem in Haiti which causes huge hardships from many angles is deforestation for fuel. Solar stoves use no wood and rocket stoves, which can be made out of old cans and pipes laying around, use almost no fuel and can cook with twigs.

Correct diversion of sewage, human waste, and water can substantially contribute to rebuilding farm land in the area – the idea is to create the conditions for long term self-sufficiency and abundance with even our short term handlings.

Long Term:

Permanent, low cost, earthquake resistant natural buildings, water storage, earth works, renewable energy, permaculture food forests, broad-scale reforestation, farms, aquaculture systems, and community buildings such as schools and health centers.

We are currently working via a worldwide network of permaculturists to bring resources to Haiti, and several permaculturists are interested in traveling to Haiti to help with the rescue and relief efforts, but need funding to do so. We are in contact with disaster handlers in the area who they can coordinate with for maximum effectiveness. There is a permaculture project existing in Haiti that we are working to connect with as well. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me – I am also willing to meet with potential funders to answer questions personally.

If you want to donate now, please use the “Haiti Donations – Donate” Paypal button on the right hand side of this web page. For past projects we’ve funded, please see the Pine Ridge Lakota reservation article under “Projects.” We will use initial funding to get people there on the ground and most needed resources such as equipment for building the short term items needed. Whenever possible, we use existing resources in the area that are free or very inexpensive – permaculture is very effective at getting the maximum return for energy invested, so you will know your money is going to a good cause.

I know that the idea of surviving this disaster is like a miracle and then the idea of Haiti being able to climb up from a place so dark seems too distant to contemplate.

To this end, I have been graphing out what the needs would be over time for people living through such overwhelming disasters.

I think its extremely important to do this now and for Haitians, now, because these same ideas and strategies will be needed again and again as climate change progresses.

In the graphic above, I try to illustrate the needs of a person immediately after surviving a catastrophe (earthquake, fire, flood, etc). The needs are pretty basic but inelastic in their being absolutely needed.

Once the person is out of immediate danger and is left standing with nothing, no assets, nothing but other survivors around them, they need to find a way to rebuild, regenerate, and boost their resilience so that they become embedded in a community that provides current and future needs.

In this next graphic, I extend on the specific needs outlined in the second graphic with permaculture and no/lo-carbon and low cost strategies for coping and rebuilding.

Please take some time and explore these graphics and tell me what you think, whats missing? What would you add?

Please consider becoming involved in helping the Haitians, using permaculture or by other means, as where the Haitians are right now, that hell, could easily be ours, any of us.

We are, in many ways, their community.

We are each other’s community and it is through us banding together that we build resilience in every place.

Illustration by Cristy Road "Resistance"

Article by new Punk Rock Permaculture e-zine contributor Amy of Eleven O Clock Alchemy!

No way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day
-Frank Zappa

I can’t remember the day I became certain that our world will drastically alter during our lifetimes, that my daughter’s adulthood will take place in a possibly unrecognizable reality. I think it was about five years ago, when I began to understand the energy crisis–that there is not enough fuel on the planet to allow us to continue our way of life much longer (and even if there were, it’s not in our best interests to heat up our atmosphere any more).

Trouble is coming. Many folks would say it’s already here.

It is easy to think that things will keep on going as they have been–in fact, it seems practically impossible to alter the elements of our world that are not working. But the reality is, the world is on a radically new course, and each year will bring changes that we wouldn’t have been able to imagine just a short time ago.

I remember something a family member said, after 9/11, when they were finding envelopes filled with anthrax. “The people in authority will just fix things. They know what they’re doing. We can count on them to take care of us.” Then came the events of the last decade: endless war sold to the public under false pretenses, the failed response to Katrina, environmental devastation, the energy crisis, the reality of climate change, financial meltdown, mass unemployment and hunger. No matter how great your faith in the system, all signs are clear that something is wrong. The forces that hold “business as usual” together are unraveling.

It’s past time to wake up. Whether your politics are red, blue, or neither, it’s plain to see that the “people in authority” are, frankly, the blind leading the blind. Really, what more do they have to screw up that they haven’t already? We can no longer look up to the authorities for answers, solutions, hope. Their authority is not legitimate. They do not know how to fix the problems they’ve created. The only thing they seem to know how to do is to funnel more money into the pockets of the already rich. The important question is not, how can we get them to make things right, but: why do people continue to put their faith in authority, when those in power have squandered the people’s hope for so many years?

The simple truth is the people calling the shots full well understand how bad things have gotten, and the extraordinarily dire situation we are in, but it is not in their interest to alert the public, because if everyone collectively got the facts and compared notes, the economy would tank within days. True, a tanked economy would cause immediate hardship, which is a reality most of us are already experiencing. But there is an important point that the moneyed don’t seem to realize: the financial system is not too big to fail. Humanity can survive if Wall Street fails, but we absolutely can not survive without an intact planet. Our earth is the only thing that is “too big to fail”, and business as usual has pushed our planet to the brink.

Trouble is coming, and it’s overdue.

Our food systems, transportation systems, communication systems, our economy, and our lives are built up around a system that is falling apart. We have to wake up and realize that the old rules do not apply–we do not have the luxury of petitioning the powers that be to do our bidding and then wait while they fiddle as Rome burns. This is beyond right wing, left wing, progressive, libertarian, whatever–the situation is dire, and it is time to stop waiting for someone else to take care of our problems, or pointing the finger at other groups we think are to blame. Will it be too late when we understand that we can’t waste any more time focusing on getting the people in charge to do our bidding? We’ve played by those rules for too long.

Now, it’s our turn–it’s time to take matters into our own hands. This is beyond politics. If we want to avert disaster, we have no choice but to step up and build resilience, for our children, for our communities. Think I’m being alarmist? Understand: money in the bank is not going to save you. A 401K is not going to save you. A shotgun is not going to save you. Supporting the right candidate is not going to make everything okay. We are entering a new world where the old rules will not apply. Grab a shovel and pitch in. Working together just might save us.

Our communities need to be asking: what do we need to survive? Food, clean water, heat, shelter, friends we can count on, ingenuity, a few bikes, work we love doing, family, creativity, seeds, safe streets, love? Chances are, our ipods and Kindles are going to be much less useful than they are now. The solutions that will make a difference are going to be a lot simpler. An example: where I live in the mountains of North Carolina, we have hundreds of farms. Still, we import 95% of our food from outside the region. Soon we will not be able to cheaply import this food that we now count upon. If we want to avert mass hunger, we have to grow a lot more food locally. Many regions are even worse off than we are. That’s what we have to look at, whether we like it or not. It is going to get real, folks. Don’t be caught saying you didn’t see it coming.

The good news is, there are already thousands of people that have long realized these realities and are working on reclaiming their communities. There are answers, but they don’t depend on whether you vote Democrat or Republican, or how skillfully you can pin the blame on another group. The answers depend on how willing you and and the folks around you are to look reality in the eye and work together to build solutions.

Summer garden on Prince Edward Island http://3c2y.goldnet.ca/content/page/sustainable

Practical, community-based direct action, not magical solutions granted from on high, will get us closer to where we need to be. And as difficult as this transition will be, it may surprise us at times to feel relieved. All of us, by necessity, will be engaged in meaningful work. We will finally be able to unplug, say goodbye to centuries of destruction, and hopefully, to witness rebirth. We’re going to get a lot closer to where our food comes from. We’ll have the opportunity to rebuild the tight-knit communities that many of our elders enjoyed.

If you’re not sure where to start: grow something this year. Start a simple garden or just plant a few seeds. Get to know more of your neighbors. Read some of the articles posted below. Build community where you’re at–not just online, but on your street. Stop depending on others to fix problems that have gotten far too out of hand. Empower yourself to take action! Together, we have the power to create change.

Further reading:

Is the World’s Oil Running Out Fast?http://www.countercurrents.org/porter090110.htm
Why Transition? http://www.transitionus.org/why-transition
The Other Plot to Wreck Americahttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/opinion/10rich.html
Designing Energy Descent Pathwayshttp://www.permacultureactivist.net/articles/EnergyDescent.htm
Urban Farming Revolutionhttp://www.realitysandwich.com/urban_farming_revolution
Life Reclaimed: An Interview with Jared Manoshttp://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/sustainable-happiness/life-reclaimed

Seed oil production in Haiti

The Remarkable History (and Possible Future) Of Permaculture Disaster Relief

Devastation in Port Au Prince photo: Carel Pedre via twitter

1/13/09

Yesterday the island of Hispanola was hit with a devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake near Port-Au-Prince the capital of Haiti .  Many multiple story buildings have completely collapsed including the major Hospital in the region.  Thousands may be killed or trapped in the rubble and aid is being mobilized from around the world.  With little to no backup power, sewage, water, housing, or food aid systems in place, Haiti, which is currently the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, is in a VERY DIRE SITUATION.  Without a doubt resources and expertise are moving en mass to Haiti, but beyond this temporary relief, what will sustain this nation of 10 million people when it’s left in an even poorer position than ever before?  This is where permaculture design comes in, with an adaptable and ever evolving tool kit that can be of vital assistance in disaster relief and the long recovery period to follow.

During the war in Kozovo back in 1999 when displaced refugees flooded into Macedonia Geoff Lawton and a crack team of eager permaculturalists secured international aid to design and implement the master plan for the Cegrane Camp Permaculture Rehabilitation Project, a large refugee camp that provided relief for over 43,000 people.

Permaculture Disaster Relief

Geoff created the design around water capture and storage.  The final design called for 7.2 km of swales, with an estimated water holding capacity of 30 million liters, greatly reducing the flood potential.  Many passive solar strawbale buildings were constructed by trained locals who quickly grasped the simplicity and efficiency of this natural building technique.  Large gardens, composting toliets, and chicken tractors all came together in a very short time span.  The skills and systems thinking acquired during this process may help secure sustainable employment and economic development for the entire region for years to come.

Another successful implementation of permaculture relief took place in Cuba during the early 90’s when Cuba was suffering from a crippling petroleum embargo.  Working with a grant from the Cuban government Austrailian permaculturalists, including Robyn Francis, traveled to Cuba to work with hundreds of Cubans on sustainable food systems design.  Robyn, a well traveled expert in permaculture education in the 2/3rds (developing) world, helped local organizers use permaculture design prinicpals and techniques in their urban agriculture efforts.  During this time, worker cooperatives were set up, market gardens and public transportation flourished, little to no pesticides or fertilizers were employed, and catastrophic famine was avoided.  This partnership has continued to be highly successful and now some of the most experienced urban permaculture experts in the world come from Cuba because of the courageous spirit of the Cuban citizenry.  Currently, the Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange (CAPE) is working on sustainable housing developments using natural building to compliment the work they began together with urban agriculture

Water Harvesting

There are numerous ways in which a full-time Permaculture Relief Corps could operate in Haiti in short and long-term time frames.

Short Term:

Building sewage systems, composting toilets, compost and recyclying centers, rocket and solar stoves, temporary shelters (perma-yurts), water catchment, and plant nurseries.

Long Term:

Permanent natural buildings, water storage, earth works, renewable energy, permaculture food forests, broad-scale reforestation, farms, aquaculture systems, health centers and schools.

In 2003 following a intense hurricane, a team including Eric Davenport, an American architect, and David Doherty, a Peace Corps Volunteer, worked for several months with the local community to rebuild a rural village after severe flooding. This team was then joined by Frederique Mangones, a renowned Haitian architect, and engineer Frantz Severe of ORE draw to the challenge of designing low-cost housing adapted to Haitian rural family activities. In the fall of 2003, a team of permiculturalists also offered their expertise to the village project.

Design for a new village

Vandana Shiva

I’m really excited to see this film and debute it in my community.  It has a great cast of main characters:

Jamie Lee Curtis | Bill Logan | Andy Lipkis | Vandana Shiva | Wangari Maathai | Wes Jackson | Sebastiao Salgado | Lelia Deluiz Wanick Salgado | Paul Stamets | Miguel Altieri| Pierre Rabhi | David Orr | Majora Carter | James Jiler | Fritjof Capra | Peter Girguis |Alice Waters | Gary Vaynerchuk | Janine Benyus | John Todd

but it also stars my most favorite environmental super-celebrity DIRT!      

Detroit Permaculture

Here is some completely heretical news in for the world of eco-capitalist dreamers; no silly white multi-million dollar media men will ever solve the worlds ecological or social problems.  Yeah I know what your thinking blasphemous right?  Specifically, I am referring to the uber opportunistic and freshly greenwashed faces of Al gore, Warren Buffet, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Richard Rainwater, and now John Hantz.  Hantz, a big time financial investor and longtime Detroit resident is proposing to put 30 million down of his own money to build a high tech farming operation that will be coupled with “green” estates.  In Fortune Magazine’s limited interview Hantz said that Detroit is suffering from a lack of scarcity and that the only way to save housing prices is by taking as much property off the market as possible, hence the massive farm and real estate combo.  But, couple this seemingly benign idea with a one track profit motive and instead of community revitalization one gets rampant community gentrification that pushes out the very people (the poorer residents of Detroit) that one is purporting to be “helping”.  The team Hantz has assembled thus far is glaringly white in a city that is over 80% black which is highly suspicious to say the least not to mention naming the entire operation Hantz Farm doesn’t inspire thoughts of “community”.  Rather than going to the folks who have already spent immense amounts of effort to bring local organic food to their communities and bring jobs in their neighborhoods, and then offer to assist financially in their efforts, thus far Hantz is developing a hierarchal strategy that may put those very folks out of business. Hantz’s preliminary proposals have garnered lots of unwarranted media attention even though very few details have emerged about how this farming project will be managed and who exactly will manage it.

The Hantz Farm site is just a  collection of stock photos that to me seem as hollow as their message.  Okay perhaps I’m being too cynical but right now important questions remain around what exact types of technology the farm will employ (already energy expensive technologies like hydroponics and large scale harvesters have been mentioned) , if there is even a viable market in the region, and most importantly, who will this for profit enterprize benefit the most.  ”I’m concerned about the corporate takeover of the urban agriculture movement in Detroit,” says Malik Yakini, a charter school principal and founder of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, which operates D-Town Farm on Detroit’s west side. (from CNN)

Organic farming is enjoying a nice trendy resurgence as a solution to urban, rural, and ecological ills. Unfortunately, farming no mattter how popular can only do so much.  It is well known that various economic events some deliberate and some unexpected have cost the United States and urban manufacturing centers like Detroit obscene amounts of jobs.  What is not well known, is that neither local organic farming, or any green high tech green wizardry, is likely to bring these jobs back in the near future.  But, never fear, there are three simple solutions to this whole mess we’re all in along with Detroit.

ONE: Permaculture

Detroit honestly doesn’t need anymore scarcity (though real estate barons may see it differently) it desperately needs abundance, and permaculture is a complete system that designs for abundance.  If the polluted landscape of Detroit is going to be regenerated then organic farming is just not enough.

TWO: Cooperatives

The entire history of Detroit is one of total abandonment by the world of capital and a complete lack of responsibility or loyalty to the local community.  Cooperatives by their very nature encourage horizontal investment, diversity, democracy, and local responsibility.

THREE: Community Land Trusts

Community Land Trusts are set up in such a way as to encourage low income buyers into positions of ownership and avoid volatility in housing prices.  There are few communities in the the US that have suffered worse volatility in housing prices than Detroit.  What Hantz is proposing is just green veiled gentrification while the real solution for the people of Detroit lies in Community Land Trusts.  Burlington VT has many successful examples of how and why CLT’s can close the gaps of classism.

Note, I did not mention 30 million dollars from some rich white guy!  Now if that 30 million was invested in those 3 things I would surely change my tune, but if it’s invested in anything else, I really wouldn’t get my hopes up.  Currently, Detroit will likely be the venue for the 2010 US social forum and I plan on being there purposing real solutions based on living permaculture and cooperative principals not on selfish, dead, capitalist oriented ones.                                      

Organizations doing the real work in Detroit:

Evolve Detroit    http://detroitevolution.com/

Detroit Agriculture Network  http://www.detroitagriculture.org/

Detroit Summer http://www.detroitsummer.org/

Midwest Permaculture  http://www.midwestpermaculture.com/

Highlighting our precious readers….

Hi,

I’m Gaiapunk,

Currently, I’m the main editor and contributor to Punk Rock Permaculture e-zine and I’ve decided it’s time to give back to all our fine readers.  I would like to highlight 2 courageous readers of this e-zine once a week by doing a little mini interview/bio and plugging whatever good work and projects they’re up to in the world.  If your a interested reader, who isn’t too bashful, and really enjoys this e-zine please leave a comment to this post with what it is you like about this e-zine and what you would like to see more of.  If you feel that is just too much work then just leave your name and that’s just fine too.  Selection will be mostly random…  don’t worry if your not chosen this week if you bug me by email I’ll choose you for next week!  Thanks everyone!