My Year of Redesigning Life, later in Week 1 Dream of Permaculture Principles

I had a dream….. I don’t mean a dream about hopes, goals and aspirations. No, no, no, I had one that was more like a ‘wake in fright’ 4am nightmare. In the dream someone was quizzing me about whether I had done a PDC course. I cautiously admitted that I had done one quite a while back. So what are the Permaculture Design Principles again they queried? Of course they would ask, I didn’t have a clue. I began searching my mind for the first principle and managed to come up with, ‘observe and something-or-other.’ It was 4am after all.

I could not remember one of them, for love nor money. After a few minutes in my hyperalert state it became clear that I was going to have to remember them if I wanted to get back to sleep. Easily said but having just moved house I hadn’t unpacked any of my books, or anything else much really. Crap, I definitely wasn’t going to get back to sleep. My psyche was pretty insistent that I find them, particularly given my intention to redesign life, self-sufficiency was a pretty big part of it. What was even more embarrassing is that I consider David Holmgren, the co-originator of Permaculture to be a good friend of mine. Finally after faffing around for a bit, I remembered they were listed in the back of a Pip magazine I’d left out to read between packing boxes. I got my journal out and copied them down. Feeling much relieved I went back to sleep. In the morning I thought about going out to pick fresh dandelions to brew tea, but still in my pyjamas I thought I might frighten the neighbours, just too naff. I opted for my usual coffee to review and reflect on the 12 Principles. It was as if I was reading them for the first time, they were just so sound and so relevant. The Permaculture Principles are underpinned by the ethics of Earth care, People care and Fair share; and can be applied to land and nature stewardship, building, tools and technology, education and culture, health spirituality and wellbeing, finances and economics, land tenure and community governance. Quite a lot to put into practice though. One step at a time I suppose. Permaculture is a creative design process based on whole-systems thinking informed by said ethics and design principles. The aspects that most interest me are education and culture and health spirituality and wellbeing. I realise that to be self-sufficient I should broaden my interest to at least include land and nature stewardship and finances and economics. In practical terms that means cultivating land and growing some veggies. It is not that I haven't grown veggies before but always in an existing garden with malleable soil. The thought of setting up from scratch in a dry region on a bare block with with compacted soil is quite daunting. Preparing the bed, mulching the soil, propagating the seeds, watering, I felt like a Luddite. Too much! The idea was to enjoy redesigning my life. I didn’t think it was going to be hard. All the local seeds and seedlings had been snapped up by the pandemic hoarders who I bet have never had a veggie garden in their life. Damned survivalists. I began to think that I hadn’t thought this through very well. I like the idea of doing it more than actually doing it. Alright, change of attitude required, and some good local gardening advice. A mattock for the dry compacted soil wouldn't go astray either. What can grow in a dry climate at this time of year? Where can I find some seedlings? Better get to know the locals! There's more to this self sufficiency thing than meets the eye. A small win I just found Morag Gamble's no-dig garden video clip. I am off to watch it for some inspiration. Reference: permacultureprinciples.com; pipmagazine.com.au Morag Gamble, No dig garden, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Wq32IRrPQ

My Year of Redesigning Life Week 1 - Enjoying Self Sufficiency

I read a Native American short story when travelling in Alaska many years ago. It was about two old women who were left in the woods to die by their tribe. Possibly the natural flow of events in their culture at that time, they were seen to be too old and a drain on the group. They were quite elderly and weak but to their credit they decided that they weren’t going to take it lying down and certainly weren't willing to die. Their story continued outlining how they overcame their fears and challenges, got themselves organized, doing first things first, and learnt how to fend for themselves in a different context. They drew on their wisdom, built on their strengths and ultimately thrived for many a long year. It was a pretty inspiring story. Well, I’m not exactly elderly but I am in a high risk category and I’m over 60 so this is my story at the time of a Pandemic. I had already made a big batch of fermented cabbage (sauerkraut if you like) as I had just moved house so was re-establishing a practice I already had in place. Good flavour, good gut health, cabbage in season and cheap as chips to make. OK Step 1 done. I need to make a plan for what is going to help me thrive at this time as I reckon this could be for the long haul. I am not talking about doing a Claire Dunn, I am definitely stocking up on matches, but I get that to stay healthy, fit and psychologically well, I am not going to get all my needs met a supermarket. Growing plants I guess. I have read the theory, even done a Permaculture Design Course but my previous veggie growing attempts have been somewhat lacklustre. Better study up,buy some seeds and get to it. I already know I ain't going to get them at Bunnings. It’s wisdom that plans ahead and it does seem to be an immediate priority. I'll let you know how I go.

How do we get our heads out of the oven and our bums out of the freezer to make 2 degrees of change in the right direction? Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown is the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming.

I am a big fan of Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce, Blessed Unrest and other publications.  His latest work Project Drawdown is scientifically sound and socially inspiring.  Here are my notes and thoughts from his speaking engagements in Melbourne 2018.

Drawdown is the point where greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere begin to decline on a year-to-year basis. (www.drawdown.org)

It can be quite difficult for the average punter to get accurate, relevant and meaning information about climate change; that is if they haven’t switched off to it already.   Take the oft quoted predicted average temperature rise of 2 degrees and it's likely impacts.  What does this actually mean to the average punter?  Nada. 

When we think about 2 degrees average temperature rise it doesn't seem like a bit deal, but the extremes are where it’s at.  According to one meteorologist I heard a while back, ‘it is like having your head in the oven and your arse in the freezer.’  An 'average' number can fit between very broad extremes.  At those extremes we can see very unpredictable weather events.  Hailstones the size of golf balls, furious winds, and one in 100 year floods-bush fires-or-droughts happen with alarmingly frequency.

The average global temperature has risen by almost 1 degree C since 1880.  There is a whole body of validated meteorological and environmental science that sits behind that 1 degree increase.  Australia has been keeping official weather for over 100 years and tracks changes in the trajectory of hot and cold wind currents, rainfall patterns, soil erosion, water contamination, deforestation, ocean currents and environmental pollutants that are trapped in our atmosphere.

Hawken reminds us that our information sources often come as sensationalised news bites that vie for space amongst spurious advertising and click bait.  Even when accurate information does make it to the mainstream it is often so negatively focused and filtered with political posturing and vested interests that we deny it, dismiss it, disregard it, or feel impotent to act.  It is not that we don't care but it just seems too bloody overwhelming to think about. There has been so much 'awfulising' that  society has become immune the existential crisis in which we currently live.  We project our concerns out into the future – for our children and grandchildren. 

So, it was very refreshing to hear Paul Hawken’s positive framing on climate change and what we can do about it.  Hawken and his team of 1000 scientists researched and identified 100 dynamic and innovative solutions that will have the most impact on reducing carbon emissions and reducing greenhouse gases.   The results are compiled in a comprehensive body of work in which the science is impeccable, the stories inspirational and the solutions are already happening. 

Project Drawdown is grounded in science and Hawken sees it as a testament to the growing stream of humanity who understands the enormity of the challenge we face and are willing to commit their lives to a future of kindness, security and regeneration.

Some of the solutions researched are obvious.  Wind and solar are now cheaper than fossil fuel.  Reducing food waste minimises methane emissions.  But Hawken admits that the research threw up some surprises:   Globally 75% of all food is produced by smallholders.  This is something we can get behind as communities, relocalising our growing and production, supporting regenerative farming and community supported agriculture.  The processed commercial food that comes from large scale agriculture is the precursor to poor diet and disease.

Women make up 43% of agricultural labour force and produce 60 to 80% of food crops in poorer parts of the world.  They are less educated, own fewer resources and often marginalised.  Educating girls and combining this with family planning is revealed as one of the highest-ranking solutions identified in the research.

Refrigerants are still a huge issue, so we need to get to that!    Despite the work done to eliminate CFC’s and HFC’s since the 1987 Montreal Protocol to heal the ozone layer, there are still high levels of CFC’s in circulation.  Their capacity to warm the atmosphere is up to 9,000 times greater than carbon dioxide. 

Many of the Drawdown solutions are technological, some are biological, all are sociological; and all require us to work in harmony with each other and nature.   We are currently living in a humanitarian and ecological crisis of increasing inequity across all scales.  Hawken posits that a way to stop stealing from the future, is to address our current existential concerns.   We cannot focus on future existential threats when our current existential threats remain unaddressed.  We are not wired that way.  He is talking about the need for relevant and comprehensive education, proper nutrition, healthy psychological and physical environments, meaningful work and affordable housing for all.

In a polarised world of haves and have-nots, many are in survival and others are ‘all right Jack’ with little awareness how life is for those outside their own bubble.  There is a lot of blame and shame bouncing across that divide.  It doesn’t help.  We need to rise above it and use our collective intelligence to create life enhancing conditions for all life. 

Reducing global warming is an urgent goal.  In Australia we could use the $5-6 billion annual fossil fuels subsidy and put it to towards creating jobs that regenerate the way we live and what we do create a viable life for all.  We could get over ourselves and actually put a price on carbon. There is plenty we can do and are doing already.

The 100 Drawdown solutions Hawken and his science team offers are measured, mapped and scaleable.  They are well researched, tried and tested.  They show possibility and a comprehensive pathway.  He reminds us that yes, of course the science is impeccable, but it is people that will create the solutions of our current existential crisis.  He exhorts us to focus on those.  He says there are no small solutions, they are all part of a whole social, spiritual, economic and environmental interconnection.

When asked about whether he is pessimistic or optimistic about the future his response is always the same, “If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse. What I see everywhere in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world.’

Do you change the fish or change the water?

Working in sustainability I tend to think of water in the literal sense so it was sweet reminder of the importance of taking responsibility for acting with integrity in environments that can sometimes be pretty murky.  This story is good insight into keeping your water clean!Who 's Polluting Your Water? Liam Forde - The Zone

Will Education for Sustainability Influence Business Practices?

In many years of working with organisational change, I have felt at times that I have been complicit in a conspiracy to fit individuals into systems that were innately dysfunctional, whilst ignoring the need to make deeper cultural and structural changes that would really make a difference. 

My observations and discussions with participants of organisational change programs have led me to conclude that despite the huge amount of money and time spent, programs frequently fall short of delivering the intended change outcomes.  Typically, there is a buzz for a short time. People know what needs changing. The ‘Values Statements’ are framed and duly dispensed at prominent locations around the buildings walls and the expensive consultation reports are filed.  And like an elastic band that has been momentarily stretched, things go back to business as usual with no real commitment or clear articulation of how the changes might be made and sustained.  I suspect that many organisations can underestimate the complexity involved in making deep level change; as well as the need to stay the course until the change has taken root. 

The drive for business to prepare to operate in a low carbon economy and become more sustainable has upped the ante of organisational change to achieve tangible outcomes. Yet with a predisposition towards political and economic short-termism and the failure to recognise the combined impacts of complex global changes, this is no small challenge for businesses to address. 

Business can no longer afford to focus only on economic gains or they risk perpetuating a system that has reached its functional limits.  How much and to what degree organisations take on a culture of sustainability along with the practical skills needed to deliver their products in a sustainable way will set the scene for a feasible and equitable future for all.  

There are viable pathways for organisations to continue to make a profit, and address its social and environmental impacts.  One such pathway is to educate for sustainability (EfS) which provides practical insights and information that creates understanding, surfaces outdated world views and engenders behaviour change.  Where necessary it can be backed up with educate about sustainability (EaS) which provides factual science-based information about prevailing and predicted environmental, social and economic conditions.  The uptake of professional development in EfS can support a new kind of success in business.

Education for Sustainability (EfS) has already made a mark in the industry sector with some 1000+ vocational educators from around Australia in 2012 and 2013 trained to embed sustainability principles and practices into formal curricula.  As well, numerous private providers and community organisations have taken up the mantle. 

As the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005 – 2014 draws to a close it reminds us that “all sectors of the workforce can contribute to local, regional and national sustainability,” and that business plays a key role. EfS hold the potential to change in the world of work, and have a flow on effect of making sustainable change that contributes to the environmental, social and economic wellbeing of all. 

This may be the Trojan horse that infiltrates a world view that will crumble a linear, hierarchical and fundamentalist way of being that no longer serves us.  Then wins for all will ensue.

Pallet House I Beam Design

Brilliant inventive design!

Marshmellow Lesson on Creativity Design and Collaboration

We can learn a lot from kindergarten kids who show us how to design for success without getting fixed on getting the one right answer!