Dirt frack to theA bungle in the jungle upon the infomation oi gardeners, I wanr panicipadon from others i0

farmers and indigenous cultures ordef ro build an appropriate onlineworldwide, and PDC gradu!@s, which environmenr. If you have a probtenit conlinues to do today - pcnnanently. wirh what I propose, or you aren.lCan we maintain slandards withoul online... celoveritt Manvofus are.

has one permaculture

developrng a conrolling burcaucracy'l morc will be, and you can join us if,Permacuilure an oxymoron? Or peF you wanl lr's yourchoice. Those ofus imaculture lhe self-regulating system? in the ..north" can choose not to be

Given incr€dibly small amount of srmnded in Cyberia . . . we can simpty,funding ro da1e, permaculture has logon ar our tocal library o.any oneofalready cvolved 10 be a self-regulating the many Inremer cafes. If you are insystem in relarion to the PDC and con, the \outh" and nor online. but want rosultanl design services. Marker fo.ces panicipate, write 10 me. I may be abtihav€ seen only the verycapable reach- ro reply if given lime and an opponu-ers and des'gners stay in business for niry 10 help_ Meanwhile whar I arnthe long rcrm. Unfonundrely $is docs rhinkinS about are the opponuniliesgenerate some disappoinrmcnr forcus- rhat wil grow from here.tomers of these servke:. IL rrceDtJble rhar PDC qradudre. ollirLle Lo -'obal

village" informationn"

".p.n.n." can hotd a c^u,.e and Fom "loca.l village"

Irnd tdyrnt denrn chenrs rnJ n^r informatjon?remolely meel acceprable standards. The New Millenium, rhe fulure hH-ow can weimprovc rhis cheaply and here NOW Opponuniries aboundeflecrively? Sophisricared use oi feed- beyond beljef to add vatue. tn rheDacK commrnrcatlons can rmprove words ol winin periera. ..what westandards. More. leaming beyond need here most u€endy is syslemr,courses rs requifed for gaining expcri- lhar impoverished tarmers can us€

easily, ftar can spread withour rhelOnline forum need for Sraduates of a permaculture

ln\I | rure or any oLher such body.an onllne lorum lol Abour permaculture he ,rs(s, Is ,r r

l,conlacl mc at ne* rype of environmenral colonlal-l'11:'-"::il"llil'':') ro In r.'m i\m'- ionarhrn Harpem a rolunteeroeverop rdeu\ onlne ,or an-rndep€n. on a permdcutlure demonslralion fdnn::l' ::11",11" de\rsn rnrormarron rn sourhem lndra. asrs if permaculrunllS;11"-'i.ll5':"11 rn arend'nE 't (an invorve mdnv oLheA bevond n€rD( or.g€rrrng a consutrant de\rgner -edu.dted, mrddle_clas. from rhecirielwru Irno tnrs a grear roor In lhelr \eler. dnd rorcigners lhat come lo leam onl:.1-,'-11 ':T 'nj"

h"ppv to rnrrrJre rhe lann rarher rhdn rie vitlaseh ?2PermdculLure dsel Regular (lu.iy tour,, intmshrps.

:l-"-J.o,1"",'! "" ro rhe srobar onr'ne conre,enre\ and maeaTines can hgurld ihar wrll integraLed sirh g,obafdrgual comrnu-

""'l'11I,1."11! . nic"iNn sy'remr lo dcvetop a rareral,--i ":-"1':1,1i1' 1"1:i"1"8

vD(, sru' exchanse ner$ork that operares on1ll')lll,li1"l'l': f" "c\rtn

crrcnr\ rocrr res,on!r. naoondr ;nJ srobar: l : i"" i : i l" ' ] : l l"

* rnrcarer 5'rc re!er\. Inrcmer hub\ cdn be rnre;rat€d:" '11,.:9l l ' : $,,n cou,ce\. p' inr. rdd,o.

'ere;is,on::::-'l::ll i i: "ry":11 .'11'': -a "-a"rmourh rhr.uav *ecan:11:-'--::T!l'l.:. an reacherr r'nd ihde rrobdrr) a' equats whire incor'::l'!T1

, :::,

.ly!].) ,"d p."-,1 porarir4 r"cai re.mins 5ryres ana cur.il^I::'ll_lll :.1::,'j *i*"p.d iurar .in,iri,rrre. ,"; d, ."^ p,".reera(\e$menl could,atso go onlrne

Jecls lndeed eved Wesremfrs, school.v-'-"lllI l:i:T::1"!.9:Ysne^ 14ourd kid. and bdcklard sardeners who

teacher thinking alonga different track

R! Simon Fell

Slmon Fell is i founding diEctor (no*past) ot the Permaculture Institule(1979). H€ has worked Datry y€re idthe teld .nd has taughi PDC courses inAuslralh, C.nada rnd Larin Am€rics.H€ is currenlly devctoping "The DirlItack to the Dlgitsl Highwry", a global.ommutrications nct*ork of parricipa-tory exchange, whicb is funded byeceo O rv PtJ Ltd, ! startup inbrnelcompsny he found.d thar is on a fosrtrsck to listing o. the stock cxchange(NASDAQ).

I WISH TO cover three areas in ihisarticle. Firstly, I am concemed that rhcexpectattons of Pe.maculture DesignCourse (PDC) sludenls should be metras should be ftose of permacuhuredesign clients. Thcn I queslion theroles and limitalions ofa PDC cenredapproach and who is qualified to con-duct rhem, parlicularly in rhe develop,rng world. I will illuslnte rhis with apersonal s|ory-.. my "bungle in rhejungle" as a PDC leacher in iheAmazon. Then I will draw upon suc-cessful iniliatives to show how global 'digital media and conmunications cancreate dynamic participatory net-works. I will then bring these togetherby intoducing "The Dirt Track to rheDigilal Highway", a projecl rhatmyself and olhers are developing.t-astly I offer my conclusion and aninvitation to parlicipare.

Surdent oqrectations,standards... and the PDC

what is the future of PDCS? Howcan standards and expechlions bemaintained? I have conributed over20 years lo permacuhure as a move-ment, largely as a low profile observerdue to other commitmenrs,Hisbncally permaculture has drawn nappry promore mrs web addr€s!. i

tt

dieital hiehwayoonrwanttoatrenda PDC can con-tribute. Permaculrurecan now evolve fromsomehrng pnmanlytaughr to somethingthal can be accessedfree and readityaccessible. gtobaltyand locally. Can per,maculture move onro become a dynamjcnetwork of panici-parory exchange"?.

My bungle intlle jungle

Is this neces,sary? Wel l rhen _does it matteranyway? Adapt,grow. and djversjfy -why? whar harm isdone i f we don r?My experiencc suggcsts that perhaps a

Hlur. r nerc ud5 3 Llme petmaculturc Desnn ah)w.ren rr may have - urce in Ecuadat - is this anolhet fom of cotonialism?been appropnae for

stood? I b.oke up rhe embarrassmentDy suggesrrnS $ar he demonstrare''hands on" wOWt Minutes tater hehad built many inlricate traps withmatenats at hand rhal blew €vcNonedway. 8ur ir wJ5 I who was rraooed.lvis. rhis due ru lhc J,rgurr shamJntwrsoom,.or to my al towing him anopponunrty ,or expressionl what\ irmatter, theelfect was the same. we hadpanjcipalcd in an exchange ftal sawme srcp teacn,ng pDCs in order loexprore my explosjon of ideas.

How can we best share knowledqewith each olher? ts the pDC criticd;orhe gjving and receiving of informa"non? what was I really doin8 intcuador anywayl Now rhar we havePDC graduates in numerous countriesare teachers from elsewhere neces_saryl, C6n nudy rours, personn€texchanges and inremships altow irdi-vrduats the iime and fr€cdom todevelop their knowledge, share rheirs,

and choose information appropriate rothe'rculture? Can rhe pDC fit into rhis€rchange wirhout domjnlring it? Doespermacullure reinibrce cotonialmodels? Is rhe sotution the probtem?

The very idea of me. anvW_esLemer for rhal ma(er (eachingrDLs In thc deleiopinS world _in ' leed. i f i t war highty producove atall - was rhe comfort ofthe Dowerful.of fe€ling great abolr doing-good formc envrronmenr and de poor and dis_po\ses\ed... and rcceiving rhe courserees. Free Inlormal ion or prof j l rngrrom u€ lntomalion economy? Howcan we make mean ingful chanse wjrh_out.ke€ping rhe poor and disp;sessedrn lnelr current position? How do weovercom€ this? Ir is very difficutr,though p€rhaps nor impossible. How?Whal have I done abour it?

At this point I don.t want to

us.mlself jncluded. in Sorng ion} l andDU drng the globat nerwork. Thcn ds ar€acner ar a pDC course in rheEcuadonan Amazon in 1994 t iettconcemed rhar rhe ralent of rhe widerange of panicipanrs brought fromlhroughout the wortd and fte tocatrndrgenous at@ndees had very littleopponunjty ro be sha.ed. I had somuch I as teachel'wantcd to..leam,,rrom them, and ftey from each other.lo grve them lhe voice I wanred tohear. We did nor have ensu^h ,,.. ,.do rhis and meer rhe demr;d\ of rhe

I reqursred rhd a counesy beSrvcnro our hosr. Mamma uch Mam.mallucta - sacred keeper of localIndrgenous raditions. of a token half_nourlo present on snares and tlaps. Hewas unabte ro illuslrale $ese lhrcedrmensional designs on he rwodmensronal chatkboard, so how muchot.the course had he and th€ o(herrndi8enous delegales rea y undef,

dr,endrerhcsoodfricndsormlrrJver' recc,!ers rc beins u\ed,h'""sh",' : i",]:"lhT'," ', i*"J#': j iJ[t""": Iqho hd!c mdde rhe remcndou. (om- 4htr3. lJ I rn Amcnca Jno..A(rJ ol"

-oo. . , ion.nd rodrau auenr ion ro I

m| lmenlolmU\ing|romthe.1lonh.-ha\enl"dearorhe \ouf i ro hccome to.at , ,n rhcrr .omnrunl) cducrr ,on

" i - ,1?:1. o. .pr . In.a y znd stoh; l ty In,cc Ine$ ldnd, Ine\ha\e(her,merodJdpr hcdlrh. cn\ |onNnrdl l .u i ,norro" j r . .o"p,"rccr. ,po,- fro local ways anJ Jorn Lhe rdnl ' o l Ihe 'u ' rd indblc ' t r r 'u l rureandcommunrr) er f : r ior .c - ro rcc 'procire r" eochlocal people who are aclivcly rmprov_ delelol'mcnt ln Mexrco r rr' lrro urhcr Jn,l us. Wc learn wc are of one,ns ,hcir LommJn,ue' In m) . r ,n,on srJn'rm q.r1t

: ' 'T ' l I I ' i " l l l l : pt . ,ncr . rhJr Inc prohrcm\ or,hc env!ont) to.dt , , { rhosebclonr intro.rmi (hcrnf .on,nl . , , rcd r . a ra , . " ' " " : , ,

i , , , , - " , , , , ,cnou;{ . . rh, I , .cr 'ornc^.hr socio-eonomic and culrural back- in p'pulJrr'n !r{'wlh c'rnrng tnc

rhey rc 'ourJ' togelhcr - equally of 'grounds can incorporak localqisdoln, counrr) a uN p^purrrron prr/e -

""''mrt rno and responsibility. i-tocal experience. b reach rocally. rhey . -A[io-rJma(ans 1:.

*lll:: n,n ii,.r r, tri" oigitat-Hishway i

Dirt tack to the digital highwav i.t:*J;::Ji.tiT J]j.,:ii!

""Jl,i,ina ,1"' denonstratbn fann.s anrr Ro'emurl'-G"":91" 1"":11"::11 ,,'.io,.i iuor," a"uo,."rv p.*iaine

and courses alone aJe not cnough (if The NeLworL lhls lrmartrnrnno- ,ccessibtc rniormation on environ-

useful ar alt, according ro an intercsG varron h$ raken rad'o trrnrocr\rl lll. ,.""t

""A .""trt devejopment issues.

ins drsc..menr \v R; lJnd Bun(h' , ' rcprun\crbv Inresftuns conl ' "" | | r f i . i , , l " : ,na l teaom "t - in iorm,-

1r9.,i"1:t )"h'ti::: lti.-'r*r::" l:i: :'ll::^;.l,ll:l T,:T:ilI ill ,'on ,cdd' ,o ,nrormed rd ''re'':

:i'fi:i:i':? f:"1"t"#isi;::l'1,1. tiill;::;ff lf:':ii:,i;e:.i'"J'Ji.: dld: :i*,["i!:*":,:,ifi[i

pntccr sort . co'nrrunrr ' . , ,nrtu.rco ,o, ,1 i . .Je' . in ludnE prorrum! on i" i . , -"" .r ' ra*. peopre ro pra) o.

cducdrion and \ i lP"!e mecr,ns' 'urJrnJbre dsn'urrLre ' .1" : l l ' l : ' l .on\rru!uve anr otren chJl lenr ina I

ro a parricipatory ex"n*'e il,lll'iifl:"",:ii"[:"iii.I':; l"j:."i:,:';''::::..'jlll'i.ii:Xl.ii IOn.) knoutcJrcd," , {cr(Llh\ , ,1r L,rnni .J J, \ rn \ ' rnmur,r l r mcrr \cr . .

oDcdu,{ tJbreJt . rhconcwlyimh:r t - lro.J l communures In d pani \ i larory .verr i l l r rcrdle on.. . lo u 'c l rce Inrcmct

n 'ceofrnrenur ionalJ)dundcreare,an'way will add to local wisdonr' kiosks ior tucdba.k tn rhe rudro pro-

i"i".oo,* nonr' 'outr.r

balance and iPanicipation is rhe key as cveryth'ns srums Jnr ro l.,n('p c ,"

llilli .r,"r"r*. rne Dirr Track to rhc Disiral I$or l \ botn wJ) ' . . { ur leJJ rr .dr ] iorur" ' . Po'r m(*alc dnd l { r ronrrnc Hrrh ' dy ,efrJme, nouon, ol rntoF iln iormat ionwhichdoesnota11owi ixchatsessio

lTltl::ll 1:'l "l'T: ":1. ":::":: Dirt Track to the Di$ral p'nn rmnr' on r' rhc iamc rever I

::;Th;T';:,'J"li;iliilii"ll Hio*"v --15n:cessorinrormaionsathel'in effccr a power pray. ror coursc ttes. o*"1 *o ..r,.,t ,'".. illTl ::lti"1H'ili";lt,fllT,TiHlT?:jT i::1."'::'ii"I'tiJ':,ffi:li:,::*$i ff"'il,l:'";,ilili: ?li"'ll;|.li 1;;1; ;i Did rra;k ." rhe Digirarriroush ir. rnrormation betwe€n cur' o,".ii""i'"i"i..*,i.",,1,'" ,'. i" ! gy's to enable deveropins com' I

rureshasavarueonrywhe"**-g.o "o.,'.J"ur'; i;;J*'"jr;il;; Y'li::-':-'*h

a srobar audiencel

viaa leverptarrorm. nor "tau8h1 .rris tr,; *i'"','v.'ir.'" er.il"i".i'i""",i"- '"a:tterrl"sh perspectives ror news r

""ry "ppi.p;^. r"i r"*ls lo-conduct ,l*. pr":"'., *lii !"lr,r" ,t'" i*"g. a8en'ldq Additionallv' nor lo bc under-

courses within their commun,r,cs "'

,'"" ;;;;';i;p;;;,-J " rJ;i rared' much,ofthe desisn orpermacuf i

cultures of slmilJr backgrounds; beucr "*n-* '""""t'"ri

p"ti'rpa;ts on ro rure.rn thc "nonh" has becn and will i

sliu vra word or 'ourtr acrn*,r." ,r'".,",".ri*r'i.i,,ri.Ji'i:';"* ::l"f::,'iil'l*'I;."::li:ifr;l

; i l ;;; i l i i ' ; ' ; i l i ;";;;; r,". i ' . ,r '" D,srtJr Hrshwr)' anses tute\. parLicularrv indigenous ones'

macuhure irto the nch-poor. nodn r.* 'n v .,b..*"iut ,L,i ,rr i"taop satellrLe\' electronic media and digilal

sou$ ferment and it works the other nrent rit"t,i*t' r,"'" trccn "otrcd Lechnologv may be specding. the

wa!. nesirles wten rrre rich expens someoicre CreJtrng comnrurric'rrion de\cloped-world towards the slobal

tealh the poor, what is possible by way unks md a laLeral eichange nerwork vrllrle"but l:

t]1"':::tI f?li'"n

ol recrprocr ly ' \ r r lheInrcmcl $el ' l rnked documerr \chrndr l l \ur \dnmlo'rrou'arr i

contercnccs and courses atone. ranes. InrcrnJuonJl trlhcnnE', TJlk rs chcap but Din Track to lhc

w,thout onso,ns rcsulJr r.dro c\rcn\i-n c"nrnlurr(r- Drcitrl H',8h1:Y l:-il'l rl':,i"JTlwrthout ongorng cornrnun'catroIs, ruatrndon,r makc-opLimal usc ot scarce lion ol.t.tccrs wirh MI,3 cncodcrs, rrrd our dcvcloping ccoco, doing wellt

iinancial resources. Radio broadcrn! locnl hands'on" nlcclings/courscs, thrcugh doing good. to gencrate the

cdn l rdn\ fer In lomdron .2.ul io l ,mc' IncluJrng PDC' whcrc Jppr^prurc. cdpr lJ l lonlakerhr 'hrpFn-dn"ppl ! '

noreco,ref tc. t r \ery l r ,ncour.c.dno $r l lJ l "u lhee\crtrnFcol infannJl ' ' r r cal i "n ol 'ound bu{nc\ \ p ldnnrngm

reachthemostremoteofcomnrunFatrgrrssrootslc le l lh l tsprcadsgkrb-vi ta l issues.wearetumjnSthetalen$ii.i;.ir," t.""proy Foundarion uses a ylike an unconrroltcd wildtirc. ol the Ner, w,rh rts q!,ck fix€\ Ior rhc,

rechnoloU) ro cnrnge lhe l \c. ^ '

Van) 'L ' rarnJhle detel"pmcnl ptr \ r lcg€d ,ro

u nid prohlcm' ur

remore urca awel lcr i Ihroughour r l re p ' . rc*ron, l ' berrcve rhrr c l iccrrve Tr 'c( lo f ie Drr i ta l Highwa) ann

world. Their robust wind irp radio devolopmenl must be a selforganising ecoco blend lhe hrghlv ellechvcL*"*-'T

"velvet glove' approach of panicipa-tion with the high lech prccision of a"missile" atlack on development prob,lems as a nonh-south, rich,poot ooe,in-all-in interconnected and interactive

Conclusion and invitationWhat is the future of permacul-

rure? Can it undergo the paradigmshifr from thai of a 'leaching organi-salion ro be balanced by developing apartrcrpatory "sharing" nelwork.driven by the panicipanG? Il can. Thiswill require $e same level of dedi-cated energy of us now as wasrequired \r,hen we laid irs foundatjonlong ago. This is Permaculture\

ecoco O rM invites parlicipation byprovidrng a communicarions .infra-structure and models for all individu-als and groups, inchding permacul-ture, to use anddevelop. Join ourmail-ing list for more information (yoursand ours). news releases, stockexchange listing updates, for when ouroocumen(ary senes goes !o alr(presendy in filming) and to be keptinfonned. Think i t . . . do i t . . . be panof i t !

Simon re[, ecoco Pty Ltd, cPO Box15548 Melbourne Yic .30{1, Aust.ali!.http://w*w.€cco.com.

I srudelrs' righrs and reache^ responsibihies. Lis! Mollison, p.56 PIJ 7l

2 CopyriSht curiculum. JonalhanHalpem, p.55 tdr€6, PU 13

3 Tw Ea6 olc.m: A Guide ta Peopl.-Cenkred ASricuhural lnproren nt,Roland Bunch. 1995hnp//www.freeplay.orB.uk/Madeupoi suilj from rhe rop end ofrown, geekj and gnsyoon pro-Jects ' '@

5

Food with affitudeAn analysis of vegerable produc€commissioned by the OrganicRetailers and crowers Association ofAustralia (ORGAA) showed thaiorganic produce, grown on minerallyenriched and biologically reviralisedsoil. was generally l0 times higher innutritional elemenls than supermarket

The Australian GovernmentAnalytical Laboralory comparednulnent value (mg^g) ofbeans. toma-toes, capsicum and silver beet pur,chased in lhe supermarket to thosefrom organic sources. (See tables.)

who queried the long term healrheffecrs of low mineral intake.

"Nadonal nuirilional surveys [inAustralial indica@ a move towardsincreased reliance on fast foods aMsnacks high in fat and low in fibre.Notritionists are unanimous thar ade-quate consumption of fresh fruir andvegetables is viial in disease preven-tion and heallh main@nance," he said.

"The problem for consumers isthal fruit and vegetables produced by'high lech' agriculNral systems, fedby synthetic ferlilisers, expos€d topeslicides and fungicides, may nor bedelivering lhe nutritional benefits tharconume|s believe $ey may be receiv-ing."

He says funher research is neededinto he nutritional value of our foodsupply.

The results. in acolourful brochurcon how to grow nuririonally rich veg-etables, are available from ORGAAca]l (+6lJ 3 913'1 9199.

to ORCAAspokesman, Chris Alenson. whosupervised the sludy. the resultsdemonstrated that consumers nay notbe gettrng the outrilional b€nefits rheyexpect from the food th€y buy.

"Recenr studies say kids a-re onlyeadng 30Eo of rhe required dailyintake of fruit and legetables - couldthe reason be hste?" asked Alenson,

Organlc vegetablesavelaged 10 tlmes morenutrlonts thanSupermarkel vegetsbles

Calcium sup€rmad6t .. -19 .480

....9.,7-...67

.....!.1...84

''..''.6'.5"..'..1600

Potessium sup6hs'r€r 260 200 150 4501900 300 1600 2600

Magneaium sup.,marrer 26 10 11 69240 89 700 1700

Sodium sup6,na'$l 2.4 180<10 26 20 1800

lron suo€rma*€l 0.6 <0.5 0.59,4

-zi.l9,...................:-,c:l:tl:1.....ort.nic

- ; - ; - ....9''].9........1.2

.....-9,1.9-.......2.5

....-0.9J-.....130