Insights and Observations

I realize more and more everyday the importance of the work we are doing as activists and designers. Over the last few months I have began to understand this as I have taken a step back to observe and acknowledge the scale at which the problems we face are at now, here at the end of 2012. Having been very active in education and consultation over the last 10 years,  I recently noticed a lack of my own understanding, mostly culturally and some physically about the systems and people I was designer for and educating in permaculture.

This became more noticeable as questions from students became more focused and harder for me to answer. I was humbled by a student at a PDC, I was leading in March in central Mexico who brought forth her real life issues with the industrial prison complex on the first day of our 3-week course. As we discussed context and went thought he brainstorm of issue we face as a culture, Regina's concern of the IPC was not met with the understanding from me and the group as it should have. I spent the next day at breakfast discussing this with her, and realized my own lack of understanding and how I really needed to gain a broader perspective of the issues people are faced with as they come to permaculture looking for solutions.

I spent two months this summer on the south Island of New Zealand designing living systems for a new retreat center Aro Ha, on the high-end of the spectrum of resources and again realized an over-privileged conditioning that I needed to look at more deeply. This awareness slung me into the unknown as I began to tour with my partners band, Rupa and The April Fishes across the states and into Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and now the Netherlands. All along this journey, making notes, journalling and inquiring about my own inner personal dynamics and those of the cultures we visit.

The grounding part of this trip has been the seeds. Helping with the merchandise and support of the band, I have brought along a suitcase of heirloom organics seeds and information from seed matters and native seed search, books and information to inspire people in reclaiming their agricultural heritage by learning how to grow and save seeds.

     "In less than three decades, a handful of multinational corporations have engineered a fast and furious corporate enclosure of the first link in the food chain."   

ETC Group  November, 2008.

As I work on writings and videos and ideas to share with my community, I sit here in the snowing netherlands beginning with this simple sequence of writings. I see that we all are at stages of our evolution and can aid each other as we dialogue and share thoughts and resources.