I have had a handful of discussions about decolonization in terms of giving land back to indigenous populations. : Episode 97 Douglas Rushkoff, What Could Possibly Go Right? 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. 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. And while that seems progressive or cosmopolitan, are there instances where design principles or techniques associated with permaculture were misappropriated from indigenous peoples without their permission? Bioneers: Revolution From the Heart of Nature. 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.). 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. And because of this they have a stake in the continuity of the colonial project. Decolonizing Permaculture - YouTube I help to facilitate and teach Permaculture Design Certification courses (PDCs) here in Maine and sometimes in Boston, partnering with the Resilience Hub. Cherokee) earth-based (non-European) language, and the common uses at Earthaven Ecovillage. Tuition includes instruction and lifetime access to the class recordings. The two-week curriculum has been offered by thousands of teachers in every part of the world and has been adapted to the specific and particular contexts of small farmers everywhere. Let's Talk People Care: Decolonizing Permaculture - Medium It will get those resources and eat you along with them, if need be. As designers of bioculturally diverse ecosystems,[xiv] how can we accomplish our goals of cultural, ecological and economic sustainability without contributing to the erasure of indigenous people and their lived experiences? As a bridge to the challenge of bringing a decolonization framework into permaculture practice and pedagogy, I would like to start by mapping those same questions onto permaculture itself. The Navajo people do different things than Kiowa people. Permaculture on the edge: building an anti/despite/post-capitalist Unfortunately, it is all too common for landowners in the permaculture world to treat their tenants, interns, and volunteers like peasant-slaves, and again, to justify it with excuses about how the work is so important for the world. I know that sounds trite and cliche, but thats because its a truism. Friendships ask for justice, equality, non-violence, respect, and communication. The reason this matters is because the industrial systems we are embedded within and dependent upon are often deeply flawed and corrupt, in addition to being quite brittle. Decolonizing permaculture - Shelton-Mason County Journal The word 'permaculture' was coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s, from " permanent agriculture," but has come to encompass many sorts of systems: "permanent culture.". Ive tried. I have work to do, wrote one permaculture teacher who is known to be especially abusive. Its much more nuanced than these terms that are in vogue or not in vogue depending on the time and audience. How can we expect to be designers of ecological culture if we dont have a clear understanding of our past? 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 . 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. When people ask what do some young people need as an ally.this is one of the people I think of. We have to have reverence and respect for those unknowns. I recognize that these issues need to be studied and dealt with through an intersectional lens. However, because I grew up with such an unusual set of resources, I learned to be extraordinarily resourceful, and that is precisely what makes me such a good designer, teacher, and community organizer. See inside The Nook at Gateway Neighborhood, The Butterfly House in the Hut Hamlet Neighborhood, and The Hummingbird Apartment at Village Terraces Cohousing. (Think solidarity, being an ally, healing white fragility). Full Profile Page. In the sense of some kinds of strict land management and home economics, its kind of true. Maybe human extinction is whats best for the Earth, maybe not. 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. More information about our Privacy Policy can be found here. Because some people have more financial means than others, we have created a sliding scale fee system to accommodate a range of economic realities. Each of these peoples have their own practices and stories that go along with these practices. How do Native voices become authentically included in the regenerative agriculture conversation? All participants are welcome. We will attempt to make a clear critique of settler colonialism here in industrialized North America, and demonstrate how we can simultaneously be both victims and perpetuators of settler colonialism. When I see basket-weavers who are weaving from roots that have been affected by pesticides, I worry about them. I welcome your feedback and look forward to the conversations that will come of this article and others in this pivotal issue. Celebrating some of the best moments of the Bioneers conference through the last three decades. I think one of the most important lessons in indigenous epistemology is that natural systems have unknowns, and that man cannot know everything. Decolonizing PermacultureExploring the Permaculture Principles through an Equity LensSaturdays, May 22 - June 1911am - 1pm Eastern TimeOnlinehttps://www.scho. The same goes for traditional ecological knowledge. 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. I maintain a permaculture design/build practice for residential and farm clients. [xi] Daniel Quinn, Ishmael (Bantam/Turner, 1992) and Beyond Civilization (Harmony, 1999). Think about the friends you currently cherish. We take the cues from the natural systems, whether that be deer, whether that be insects, whether it be water shortages. He operates Midcoast Permaculture Design (midcoastpermaculture.com), serving residential and farm clients. I come from a background of union activism, art & philosophy, direct-action environmentalism, public school education, and building trades. Before that, people werent considered agriculturalists. Jesse Watson is a permaculture designer, teacher and builder living and working in Midcoast Maine, occupied Penobscot territory. Through this process of the design and management of ecosystems, we can regenerate ecological health by weaving patterns of beneficial relationships in ecosystems. Sometimes its public benefit; sometimes its through actual cash economy transactions. In order to do that, we need to include Indigenous People. There are a lot of transactions that limit the access that a person has to food. 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. In the 1930s and again in the 60s, The National Resource Conservation Service came in and put in elk and deer-proof fences. In an indigenous community, food shortages mean something within that society is awry and has to be fixed. It started long before that event happened in our country, and regenerative agriculture needs to challenge that narrative that has led us astray thus far. Saturdays, May 22 - June 19 11am - 1pm EST Online. Introduction to Permaculture | OUR Ecovillage In that sense, I think there is some awareness that there needs to be more inclusion of non-white people in the organic community. Native people continue to live and many continue to tend their council fires, which have been maintained for hundreds of continuous years. To find out more. Judge me if you must, but I did what I had to do to survive. How can we expect to design a regenerative legacy for our descendants if we havent yet made peace with the ancestors? On the surface, permaculture is often about designing eco-groovy, perennially edible landscapes, gardens and farms. By choosing a higher price point, you are helping make the program more accessible to others for whom the low-end may be cost-prohibitive. EarthShine also includes her Eco-Hood Design-and-Build Project along with Soulstice, which introduces young folks to careers theyve never heard of. When we farm, were thinking about natural cycles, and how do we become more embedded into those natural systems. In light of Earth Care, People Care and Future Care, how can this be a valuable concept? Decolonizing Permaculture Permaculture = Relationship by Stella Strega Scoz & Jose' Lorenzo Zamora Living Naturally: A Black Woman Practicing Permaculture by Kirtrina Baxter People of Color Statement from the NAPC by POC Caucus, NAPC 2014 Permaculture and the Patrix by Andrew Langford Now imagine what I could have done had I been connected to the right opportunities at a younger age.