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To PDC, or Not To PDC

I had some reservations about attending the recent April PDC course held by Geoff Lawton at Zaytuna Farm in Northern NSW. Doubt flared its fiery nostrils at me — doubt about the authenticity of the course and doubt about my own direction. The two weeks that followed was an experience I could have never expected, and is one that I will never forget.

23 people from Australia, Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Colombia, New Caledonia, France, Argentina and Finland came together to take a small step into the vast field of knowledge known as permaculture. Now the field lies out there ahead of us and we are equipped with a few more tools to help us along the way. Tools that don’t have a price marked on the shelf — tools that we can use to initiate some necessary change.

At this time where the true reality of our existence is becoming increasingly unstable, the connections that we as humans are unraveling between ourselves and our natural environment are becoming more clear and progressively critical.

As information technology advances at speeds beyond our imagination, the rate of consciousness is rising and the shift towards a socially and ethically responsible, decentralised global community has, if still only on a marginal level, begun.

I can feel it. I have been to these places, I have met these people. We are out there, living, breathing, joining slowly but surely together to form the foundations of the new world to come.

We know that change is coming. It has become clear that the current system is not sustainable, that soon the change will be enforced upon us and there will be a political, financial, economic, social, technological and agricultural breakdown.

The writing is on the wall. We can either stand around reading it, or take pen in hand and start writing our own way into the future.

We all have to start doing our part. We must reduce consumption and increase intensive production of our own essential resources. We must open our awareness to alternative methods and ideas, in all areas of our lives. We must begin to take responsibility for our own existence.

Permaculture is a design based system that teaches us how to integrate back into the natural environment of which we are a part. The world has become driven by the production and consumption of materials, by a constant illusory necessity to possess artificial objects that provide no sustenance back into the cycle from which they are produced. Corporate business has developed a society that now relies upon the products which it manufactures, resulting in a production line that has far exceeded the boundaries of sensible, ethical means.

Now we are in a fierce race to maintain the supply of goods and services to a population that is out of control not only numerically, but also consciously.

We need to start bringing in the reins.

Permaculture design is one way we can go about this task. It shows us how to work with the land rather than against it, to design human systems that replenish the resources that are used during the production of food, clothing and shelter, ensuring that this production line can be sustained indefinitely — not just over a few short years of high yield and high profits.

It is critical that we turn our attention towards the problems at hand and realise that within every problem, lies the solution.

The philosophies inherent in permaculture provide a framework of common sense from which we can apply regenerative practices to our everyday life, both internally and externally. We can each play our own small part in making the changes that will allow us to maintain our existence on this earth.

Permaculture gives us a practical structure from which we can begin to implement a positive and realistic reconstruction of our society. The key is to be able to step back for a moment and observe the things that are happening around us. Take a few moments each day to stop and think, look around and see the beauty in nature, the beauty in ourselves. Start to make the connections. It begins now with educating ourselves about the true processes and interactions of the world in which we all live.

Central to the PDC curriculum are concepts involving earth works and water management, alternative energy production systems, soil biology and regeneration, natural construction and building design, understanding the recurring patterns that exist in nature, establishing food forests and sustainable crop infrastructure for both rural and urban environments and a general recognition of the different elements that compose our natural environment and how they are all interconnected. By increasing our knowledge of these elements that surround us and learning how to place certain elements in direct partnership with one another so that no single element within the system stands alone, we are able to formulate a harmony within that system which allows it to eventually propagate itself with reduced levels of human interference. In the long run this means increased output of higher quality yields and less input of labour and energy.

The subject material covered during the course is masterfully presented by the inspirational Geoff Lawton, whose vast knowledge of natural systems and their relationship with the modern material world, is second only to his unique charismatic approach towards reinventing how we look at the world around us and how we are to face the challenges that lie ahead. Aside from Geoff, it is the connections made between fellow PDC students that really makes for a motivating and deeply rewarding experience. To find people who are as diverse as a good heap of steaming compost, coming together from all over the world for the same purpose, many sharing the same dreams and visions, is truly the most inspiring part of it all. When we stand alone with our ideas we are like small islands far out at sea — when islands start to form together, we start to make waves, and waves roll into action, and action instigates revolution. Some of the connections forged over the last two weeks have been some of the strongest of my life and I know that together we can continue to make positive advancements towards a sustainable future.

Any reservations are now long gone. I know that I am on the right path and I believe in the ability that we all possess to be able to design our own immediate environments so that it ultimately cares for itself and successively ourselves.

Believe in the ability that you have to make change. It is the responsibility of all of us — with subtle movement we can create radical waves.

10 Comments

  1. Love it Steve! I am glad we have another “terminally ill” permie on board. Keep writing and sharing!

  2. The sense to be a part of something great is truly realised when you are amongst others who share that greatness. see you down the well designed trail.

  3. Wonderful comments Steve!! and as one of those students so fortunate to be part of the April PDC course, I echo everything you have said, and you have said it so well. Thankyou for reinforcing the importance and the reasons for our connections, and the impact that will have on the world. We are only babes!!

    Love and Peace

    Deborah

  4. Our horticultural future I believe is a given. I contest however, the reference to alternative energy production if it means solar panels and electric wind generation. These simply are at best transitional. They are not green or sustainable.

    Solar and Wind are not renewable. The energy from solar and from wind is of course renewable but the devices used to capture the energy of the sun and wind is not renewable. Nor are they green or sustainable.

    An oak tree is renewable. A horse is renewable. They reproduce themselves. The human-made equipment used to capture solar energy or wind energy is not renewable. There is considerable fossil fuel energy embedded in this equipment. The many components used in devices to capture solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy and biomass energy – aluminum, glass, copper, rare metals, petroleum in many forms to name a few – are fossil fuel dependent.
    From: Energy in the Real World with pictures
    https://sunweber.blogspot.com/2011/01/energy-in-real-world.html

  5. What can I add? This course is life changing. You will never see the world the same after your PDC. And the friendship that you develop with your class mates are enduring. Welcome to the wonderful world of permaculture. :)

  6. Well done!! ditto!! I was fortunate to participate and meet wonderful pioneers for the future!!

  7. Perfectly and amazingly said Steve ~ i feel it too, thank you. i feel so very blessed to have timed doing my PDC with you and with all these gorgeous people. I love my new Permie coloured glasses i now see through : )

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