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Special thanks to my dear friend Kiarna Boyd for holding me accountable to a high standard and compassionately aiding my evolution in this area. Self-righteousness is certainly not a principle of permaculture, and yet we divide ourselves so easily, bickering over the details and competing for resources. I am deeply grateful for the space to explore this important topic in these pages, and I am grateful to the other participants in this conversation for their help in unpacking these ideas and figuring out how to apply them to our permaculture organizing efforts. How do we remember that we are all indigenous to this planet, our Earth Mother, our Gaia? She is now focusing on her writing and on EarthShine, a business that exposes children and teens to the wonders of the natural world. In 200 pages she presents a cogent critique not only of anthropology, but of the cultural evolution of the entire Western concept of research. Nothing is separate from the other. Document access and instructions can be found here. There are a lot of transactions that limit the access that a person has to food. It gives the ethic of People Care teeth. To what extent is permaculture practiced as a form of green missionary work throughout the world? When people ask what do some young people need as an ally.this is one of the people I think of. In an indigenous community, there are some things that just cannot be commodified land, water, air, animals, even the health of the people, all of which are considered collective resources. So, this idea that science is objective is kind of a fallacy to me because I think science is very much subject to political whims more than anything else. Permaculture certainly appears to have been assembled from toolkits from all over the world and throughout history. That is so hard for me to understand. This is the work. Shes been living in rural, land-based community since 1995 and at Earthaven Ecovillage since 2000. For this program, there will be no barriers to entry for people who identify as BIPOC. Permaculture is a fantastic curriculum and a beautiful pedagogy a wonderful system of knowledge that has been distilled down from a much larger traditional ecological body of knowledge originating all around the world and I think many of us within the movement acknowledge that. I just didnt understand the concept of making the food supply so clean to prevent sickness. So saying something like Permaculture allows us to remember how to be indigenous to a place makes a metaphor of indigeneity and thereby erases the lived experience of real peoples who are actually indigenous to Native America and who still resist the campaigns of genocide and expropriation of land and resources that continue to this day. Indigenous people, in general, dont use pesticides. permaculture.co.uk/articles . In order to be successful farmers, we have to learn how to adjust to those environmental changes from the beings in that natural environment. We should listen with humility when we are challenged over our privilege or unexamined racism. Recently, a friend and colleague pointed out that decolonization is not a metaphor. That stunned me. How do we organize for that kind of vision or dream? When I see basket-weavers who are weaving from roots that have been affected by pesticides, I worry about them. It was a topic whose initial catalyst came from Rafter Sass Fergusons article, Critical Questions, Early Answers, which is an overview of the permaculture movement. Oct 25, 2021 -- Delaware Teachers Institute learn about Decolonizing Permaculture Share Watch on Since then, we've found this message from 10+ Indigenous leaders and organizations stating that regenerative agriculture and permaculture offer narrow solutions to the climate crisis, when compared with indigenous values. Working at the permaculture edge and to provide information useful to people working on the ground. Why didnt I just market my seeds, produce, and skills as a professional, and make ends meet that way? Lee Warren I was like: What is this? It leaves room at the table for processes to happen because if we knew everything and if we could mimic nature, theres no imagination thats needed, theres no room for surprises, and theres no room for some of the beauty that happens by happenstance. She is now focusing on her writing and on EarthShine, a business that exposes children and teens to the wonders of the natural world. Perhaps this article already has you feeling triggered, frustrated, defensive? In the 1930s and again in the 60s, The National Resource Conservation Service came in and put in elk and deer-proof fences. Contemporary agriculture doesnt have the same base. Wouldnt you do just about anything for them? Well also discuss how to use these principles to transform ourselves, our values, our behaviors, our projects, and our society by interpreting them through a decolonized lens. She is now focusing on her writing and on EarthShine, a business that exposes children and teens to the wonders of the natural world. In this sense, there is broad overlap between movements for social justice and anti-racism. . Decolonization is about correcting past crimes committed by (mostly) European settlers by returning stolen land. We should respect in reverence and allow those unknowns to happen. My term is coming to an end, and I hope they replace me with another indigenous person, but thats a political process, which is pretty crazy presently. They said you need to put fences around your fields so you can keep out all the animals that are going to eat your crops. In our fields, there are no fences. And imagine what I could do now if I had a piece of my own land instead of 80 grand in student debt. Is regenerative agriculture a place where traditional indigenous knowledge and science can complement each other? Podcast: Decolonization & Sudden Oak Life By Melissa Ott Fant February 15, 2021 Education broadacre permaculture, decolonization, permaculture design course, Sudden Oak Life, traditional ecological knowledge Current PDC student Danielle created two podcast episodes from audio recordings at our Broadscale Permaculture weekend in February 2021. We have to remove the empire from our heads before we can remove the empire from any land base. Id like to think we can err on the side of survival, however temporary it may be in the big picture. What is Permaculture Design? How did fences disrupt indigenous food sheds in New Mexico and other places? Please consider your needs and resources to determine what might be a stretch, but not a strain. That was my choice and I dont regret it, but the burden of those loans is crippling. Decolonizing Permaculture: Bridging the gap between privilege and oppression by Heather Jo Flores A low-income community in Indiana, coming together to build a shared garden in somebody's front yard. Join us on this exploration of both the celebrations and the challenges of permaculture as seen through the lens of three marginalized voices. I dont have any firm answers, but I know that asking these difficult questions causes an uneasy and unsettling feeling. I think we learn that through our relationships with other humans that not everything is meant to be sold. Ancestral Organics in Colombia is committed to the magic of nature, consciously-grown food, and regenerative farming. We offer partial scholarships (50% off) to black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) who otherwise would not be able to afford to attend. Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, Culture Jamming and Meme-based Communication. https://depts.washington.edu/ccce/polcommcampaigns/CultureJamming.htm, [ii] Rafter Sass Ferguson, Critical Questions, Early Answers, Permaculture Activist 93 (Autumn 2014): http://liberationecology.org/critical-questions-early-answers/, Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility, The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy 3, no. Call me a socialist, but isnt socialism at its heart just a community coming together? The conversation usually goes something like this: Settler/landowner: What can I do to help the poor?, Me: Gift me a piece of land, and I will turn it into a seed sanctuary, food forest, and permaculture paradise that will feed and benefit the community for generations.. Really, what does that mean? Have you been able to provide some indigenous perspective to that process? It was the system that separated and allowed for a lot of injustice that occurred with land theft, slavery and indentured servitude. This framework would help us discern between solidarity projects and green-missionary projects, both here and abroad. We need to be aware of white fragility if we start feeling defensive during racially charged conversations. One of the design methods used in permaculture that takes place early on in a site design is Zone and Sector Analysis. Youre part of that system. May 22: Decolonizing Permaculture Overview, May 29: Principle 1: Observe and Interact, June 5: Principle 2: Catch and Store Energy, June 19: Principle 4: Apply self-regulation and feedback. But I realized that saying that sentence, especially to a room full of (mostly) white people, has the effect of erasing the lived experience of contemporary indigenous North American people. I thought it was fascinating, the idea that you pretty much kill everything so that nothing living goes inside your body as a preventative to making you sick. It needs to rip through the Permaculture Community worldwide. We all have indigenous ancestors, and they were once colonized too. Friendships are the building blocks of community. This article is meant as a primer on decolonization in a contemporary North American context, written specifically for permaculture designers, teachers, activists and gardeners. Decolonizing Permaculture The Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain Permaculture and Indigenous Wisdom December 6, 2021 Decolonizing Permaculture: Steps Forward in Acknowledging the Past By: Meg Toben A few months ago, I posted a request to Facebook for an indigenous permaculture co-teacher for our Permaculture Foundations Certificate Program. The indigenous universal connection is the idea that you absolutely need to be part of the natural cycles around you, whether theyre negative or positive. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. It will get those resources and eat you along with them, if need be. First Nations provides grants and technical assistance to strengthen native communities and economies. He suggests that the response to this weakness should not be one of recruitment or tokenism, but rather requires some deeper reflection on how we can be relevant to communities of color. I tell you to make the point that not everybody has access to the jobs, schools, homes, families, land, and respect that is a given in many of your lives. Disclaimer: The problem with this type of list is that it asks the privileged reader to discover a sense of empathy based on altruistic inclination: I am asking you to forego the privilege that seems to benefit you, and to give up some of your power and position, in order to build a more just society for everyone else. The industrial machine is genocidal because it kills off whole nations and peoples. The body-mind this go-around happens to be in the form of a cis-male of northern European ancestry (from the British Isles and Scandinavia). 5/7/22 - Our Permaculture Community Comes Together - A Reflection on Weekend One of the PDC. Agriculture is usually the point in our American historical narrative where Indigenous People are separated from the rest of civilization. Pomo people do different things than Navajo people. Decolonizing PermacultureExploring the Permaculture Principles through an Equity LensSaturdays, May 22 - June 1911am - 1pm Eastern TimeOnlinehttps://www.scho. Permaculture Womens Guild by Heather Jo Flores As Published in issue #98 of Permaculture Design Magazine, November 2015 First of all, I want to say that I do not represent anyone but myself, and though I have vetted this article with several peers and mentors, I do not presume to know the needs and desires of anyone else. You have to replace that societal indicator with something else. The course will address the first four permaculture principles through the framework of African land-based wisdom. Im living out a version of the American Dream with an eco-groovy veneer here on my one-acre permaculture demonstration site where we manage small scale agroforestry systems with poultry as integrated livestock. Decolonization is about upholding longstanding treaties, adherence to international law, and the return of genuine sovereignty and the administration of land use to First Nations peoples. We can observe it knowing that we can probably aid in the health of it, knowing that there is something just beyond our reach, and knowing that there is something greater out there that we must respect. In this article we will seek to answer the following questions: What is decolonization? Whether considering energy systems of production and distribution or agricultural systems of production and distribution, when we examine them critically we can see that these systems are brittle and capable of breakdowns at many pinch points. : Episode 97 Douglas Rushkoff, What Could Possibly Go Right? If SOIL cancels this class for any reason whatsoever, you would receive a 100% refund. The only way to truly balance the scales is by actually, physically redistributing wealth. I could go off on politics and science, but Im just going to end there. I most often hear the term decolonization used in discussions about race, class, and privilege. He said that Western culture views the natural world as an it that can be exploited and processed. See inside The Nook at Gateway Neighborhood, The Butterfly House in the Hut Hamlet Neighborhood, and The Hummingbird Apartment at Village Terraces Cohousing. In light of Earth Care, People Care and Future Care, how can this be a valuable concept? A podcast series featuring deep and engaging dialogue with Native culture bearers, scholars, movement leaders bringing Indigenous voices and solutions to global conversations. Decolonization doesnt have a synonym.. (Think solidarity, being an ally, healing white fragility). Many of them continue to resist the process of settler colonization and assimilation. How we behave and interact with our ecosystems matters. Alas, it doesnt seem as if people who own land will start signing deeds over to sovereign nations anytime soon, and in my most candid moments, I would probably say that theres not much point in continuing a discussion about equality until people are willing to do way more than just talk about it. You name it: housecleaning, selling jewelry, and, of course, growing and trimming marijuana (which is what probably eighty percent of West Coast activists and artists have done to sustain themselves for decades.). We have to have reverence and respect for those unknowns. And we dont want you to feel bad about it. In places like the Amazon or here in California where the Mono people are still doing traditional burns, or places along the rivers where Indigenous People are stewarding the salmon and the salmon burial grounds, those are some of the healthiest soils. If you have access to land use, permaculture allows you to design perennial systems of regenerative food production that are much more resilient than annual-based agricultural systems of food production. Opening a heartfelt dialogue with life-A film review of Into The Soil, Start Where You are: Discovery at Zone 00, Explaining regeneration and its expansion beyond the limits ofculture. I studied food safety law when I got my LLM [Master of Laws Degree]. The easy absorption, adoption, and transposing of decolonization is yet another form of settler appropriation. A-dae is a compelling voice against the injustices of colonization inflicted on Native People and for the acknowledgment of Indigenous Peoples land stewardship as a basis for regenerative agriculture. Watch keynote addresses, panel discussions, performances and more from visionary innovators. ARTY: In the webinar you hosted as part of a First Nations Development Institute series on land stewardship, you said that agroecology is a non-indigenous term; its an interpretation of an indigenous way of farming, but not an interpretation by Indigenous People. Photo by AB Brand As Published in issue #98 of Permaculture Design Magazine, November 2015 The first being the idea of collective resources. And so when somebody with money, land, and privilege seems eager to help the oppressed, I will bring it up. 9/15/20 - Turning Fire Into Water: Fire Preparedness through Forest and Watershed Restoration. These are things we cant see unless you have a microscope and unless you know what a carbon atom looks like. So an injury to one is an injury to all should be understood in light of Neimollers poem First they came for the Socialists: First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak outBecause I was not a Socialist. But for me, the central problem that divides the permaculture community is class. A-DAE: Invite them to the table. They need that whole spectrum, the full body, the full room and the time to tell those stories along with their practices, which currently is hard to find in any of these multiple disciplines, whether it be agroecology, permaculture, or traditional ecological knowledge. Clearly were doing important work with permaculture, so I want to separate the baby from the bathwater. Bioneers 2023: Transformation, Regeneration, Celebration, Bioneers Statement on 2023 Conference Dates, 30+ years of leading edge/inspiring talks, conversations and shorts. Also, places that have been stewarded and kept by California indigenous basket-weavers, those are the places where carbon is probably its most healthy. We can probably shoot for mimicking nature, but the idea that we could actually achieve it is a fallacy to me. No portion of the original content on this website may be reproduced, in any language, without express written consent. We cant sell everything. Im asking people to stop and say, Look at how we think about agriculture in America and think about whether it included Indigenous People. The answer is it doesnt. It made the unequal Britain we see today, Why we should abandon the concept of the climaterefugee, When decolonization meets post-capitalism: the third annual post-capitalism conference, From a Dystopian Present to a Gaian Future, Overcoming Colonial Thinking to Connect With Life, Degrowth, Decolonization and Modern Monetary Theory, Political polarization is pushing evangelicals to a historic breaking point, Why You Dont Hear Trump or Farage Talking About the Tech Revolution, What Could Possibly Go Right? Each session runs from 11 am to 1 pm on these days: May 22: Decolonizing Permaculture Overview May 29: Principle 1: Observe and Interact June 5: Principle 2: Catch and Store Energy June 12: Principle 3: Obtain a yield Before that, they were considered hunters and gatherers, which has its own connotations. But we still need to learn how to adopt those ideals in our human relationships. The interactions between climate change, energy peak and economic contraction mean that the stakes are very high. Another way to obtain all the basics of ecological design and the permaculture movement for those who can not make a full two-week course! And it isnt even accurate to say merely that the economic-political system is flawed, because it seems more accurate to say that it is deeply corrupt. It is offered so that we may think critically and philosophically about sustainability and our role in our culture as designers of novel ecosystems. Wikipedia; Wikipedias Plastic shaman entry; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_shaman, FreeFactFinder; FreeFactFinders Pretindian entry; http://freefactfinder.com/definition/Pretindian.html. Decolonization matters because it is the right thing to do in a moral sense. And a true friend gives all of this back to you, and so much more. I have had a handful of discussions about decolonization in terms of giving land back to indigenous populations. So, that means, I need to plant more. Were adjusting to our environment rather than trying to keep everything out. How can it be a misappropriated concept? I know that sounds trite and cliche, but thats because its a truism. Micmac girl and her grandmother working on a herb spiral built during a permablitz in Micmac country near Presque Isle, Maine. So, this idea of a fence is just antithetical to the way we view the world. Indigenous People have created the idea of the unknown and the sacred and reverence for where we are as the youngest entity in this place. Tyson is a two-hearted and two-spirited person descended from the local indigenous matriarchy called the (A-ni-gi-lo-hi) based here in their aboriginal territory most commonly known as the Great Smoky Mountainsides. But its a fallacy to think that we can imitate a system that has been in existence for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years. Right now it doesnt make a prominent habit of eating white cis-dudes because its busy making a habit of disenfranchising people of color, women, queer peoples and all those others. But as these brittle industrial systems fall apart as a result of climate change or energy shortages, those others can always be redefined to include me or you. People with more privilege have more control over their own lives and, as such, have better opportunities to manifest what they see as their true purpose, without the burdens (and time consumption) associated with struggling to survive on a daily basis. So, this idea that Indigenous People would be welcomed in the organic community was one that I was really hopeful for. Because some people have more financial means than others, we have created a sliding scale fee system to accommodate a range of economic realities. EarthShine also includes her Eco-Hood Design-and-Build Project along with Soulstice, which introduces young folks to careers theyve never heard of. Native people continue to live and many continue to tend their council fires, which have been maintained for hundreds of continuous years. Or perhaps its designed to function exactly as its functioning now: to keep the poor and disenfranchised firmly separated from the elites, and to maintain this oppressive distribution of power. My family and I currently reside in occupied Penobscot territory, known as Midcoast Maine in the industrial nation-state known today as the United States (and this too, shall pass). Ive studied it to death, and Im still learning. Decoloniziation For Beginners: Inner And Outer Vision Decoloniziation for Beginners: Inner and Outer Vision Using the land and our tangible environments as the palette of living changes everything. In the latest instalment of PP I introduce the topic of decolonizing permaculture. More importantly, though, permaculture gives us the ability to heal and regenerate ecosystems through right relationship to all the other beings around us: plants, animals (including humans), wind, water, rocks, soils and so on. This idea of exploitation puts us in the position that we have to manage everything with the right to commodify things that should never be commodified. We seek to learn from it, adapt with it, and collaborate, rather than to control, manipulate, and abuse it. How do we incorporate righting this egregious, unresolved, and ongoing historical crime into our culture jamming work? Life is not just an idea that lives in the head, or a feeling that lives in the heart. Is it possible that we can subvert patterns of abuse and oppression by forming honest, lifelong friendships across the divides? A-DAE: Thats a loaded question because the whole idea of agriculture puts a contemporary spin on the conversation. [v] Ideally this process should be done without strings attached. Scientific inquiry and the scientific field is fairly young compared to the natural systems that were trying to mimic. How can we expect to design a regenerative legacy for our descendants if we havent yet made peace with the ancestors? 9/15/20 - Turning Fire Into Water: Permaculture Approaches to Fire Ecology, Preparedness . I have tried to work on group certification for tribal communities, but again these are systems that are massive, and it takes way more than me to make really lasting change. These behaviors discredit the permaculture movement at large, and unless we can overcome them, our ultimate goal of sharing a true and authentic sustainability will remain far out of reach. Decolonizing Permaculture Whitewashed Hope: A Message from Indigenous Leaders and Organizations on Regenerative Agriculture and Permaculture "Whitewashed Hope" is an open-source document intended for sharing. Im here to help make the world a more just and sustainable place for my daughter and all the other children in the world, those alive today as well as those of future generations. In order to do that, we need to include Indigenous People. Think of decolonization as another form of enlightened self-interest. We would do well to reflect on our role as ecosystem designers and designers of ecological culture, and to think of ourselves in our design and organizing work as culture jammers.[i] What then, are some responsibilities here (vis a vis EarthCare, PeopleCare, FutureCare)? The tragedy is that such thinking offers permaculturist white people the opportunity to replace those indigenes and complete the project of settler colonialism, without those permies realizing that theyre doing so. She served as garden educator and camp director at the Truly Living Well Center for Urban Agriculture for eight years. of the critical dialogue around permaculture, including its ties with cultural appropriation and white dominance (Watson 2016). What good does it do to impose a forest garden somewhere if it isnt a good cultural fit, or if the design process isnt sufficiently inclusive? Decolonizing permaculture June 2, 2022 Public domain The dreamcatcher is one of the most widely appropriated symbols. Permaculture is ecological design aimed at creating systems that meet human needs while regenerating and healing the environment around us. When youre trying to move an entire community of white people and as a non-white person, it is really, really hard and tiring. Saturdays, May 22 - June 19 11am - 1pm EST Online. Think of it as regenerative design that heals and repairs ecosystems while at the same time producing beneficial yields. But we never had enough money for rent. As a community steeped in the ecological design model known as Permaculture, Earthaven is taking a good long look at the ways in which the "Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share" movement has fallen . An example of a novel ecosystem with forest garden polycultures and a diversity of plants and flowers. We need to give thanks always. No previous permaculture experience is necessary to attend. Why would I want to put that in my body? A-DAE: One of the reasons I entered into the organic community was because organic uses less chemicals to create a food system, and the use of those things by industrial agriculture really worried me. And as you describe, the thrust is to kill off the pests, kill off the weeds, destroy and kill and create the monocrop. First of all, I want to say that I do not represent anyone but myself, and though I have vetted this article with several peers and mentors, I do not presume to know the needs and desires of anyone else. We can whisper the names of the beasts: racism, sexism, ageism, xenophobia, misogyny, hate, fear, anger we all experience these things from time to time, and we see the resulting backlash and judgmental attitudes. To me, again, thats a fallacy. Each of these peoples have their own practices and stories that go along with these practices. My economic forms of production include designing, teaching, gardening and construction trades (carpentry, painting). For instance, my grandpa would take me to the field and tell a story about the last time he saw conditions like this and what his grandparents did. The reason for this relates to a concept in the article Decolonization is not a metaphor, which the authors call settler moves to innocence. A move to innocence is a diversionary attempt by a settler person to absolve themself of the guilt of living on stolen land using some form of catharsis, without actually addressing the difficult societal structures involved. I think one of the most important lessons in indigenous epistemology is that natural systems have unknowns, and that man cannot know everything. We have to embrace the bacteria and the microbiome that make our community because thats the only way our bodies adjust to our environment. resilience.org/stories/2016-02-19/decolonizing permaculture. ARTY: Relationships in indigenous ways are central. ARTY: What are the differences between an indigenous perspective of agriculture and a non-indigenous perspective? Maybe human extinction is whats best for the Earth, maybe not. I serve the larger Northeast regional network by being an active participant on the board of PINE, the Permaculture Institute of the Northeast. A-dae Romero-Briones (Cochiti/Kiowa) is the Director of Programs: Agriculture and Food Systems for the First Nations Development Institute. Jesse Watson is a permaculture designer, teacher and builder living and working in Midcoast Maine, occupied Penobscot territory. Onward to regeneration of healthy systems! Shes been living in rural, land-based community since 1995 and at Earthaven Ecovillage since 2000. I do believe that most people wake up in the morning wanting to be good people and to do good work in the world, regardless of their race, class, gender, age, or what they eat for breakfast. ARTY: When Europeans came to North America they erected fences. Collective resources require collective and community management. I dont have time to deal with people criticizing me. This critique is offered to make the evolution of our movement cleaner and more respectful of indigenous cultures, and to find a way to balance Leaver and Taker[xi] cultures, maybe even to unify them.