Permatechnology

Sustainable Technology

 How does technology fit into the concept of permaculture?  Thinking again of zones, we should focus on personal efforts first.

We should generate as much energy as we can at the point of use and then look to local, regional, and then look beyond.  This could mean installing solar panels, both active and passive, backyard wind generators and Microhydro where feasible.

Wood stoves and fireplaces, if we have the resources to harvest our own wood are also local solutions.

Alternatively, we can reduce the need for external energy sources by reverting to hand tools and

muscle power instead of electricity.

• Hang your wash, instead of using the clothes dryer. 
• Use a push mower, instead of a power mower. 
• Mix your batter by hand, instead of using a power mixer. 
• Read a book, instead of watching TV. 
• The list goes on.

Beyond the personal zone, it is difficult to get power other than from the grid.  A few communities have formed their own power companies and neighborhood power seems feasible, but not currently available.

But what about other uses of technology? 

Transportation

Zone 1 – Walk, bike

Zone 2 – Motor scooter, local public transportation. 

Zone 3 – Car pool.

Zone 4 - Intercity bus and rail.

Zone 5 – Rethink why this trip is necessary.

What are your thoughts on this?  How do we solve the travel problem?

Microcurrencies

When thinking about zones and economic, there is usually a big hurdle.  Our currency is national.  Several groups have tried to create a local currency and associated business loan programs.  This is a tough sell for me.  I’ve read of local currencies, or microcurrencies, but feel that they are mostly feel good efforts, rather than meaningful projects.

 This is is a concept of issuing a local microcurrency to be used in place of the almighty dollar for local business transactions.  The problem that I have with the concept is that they seem tied to the dollar as valuation.  The only useful aspect that I’ve seen is that the issuing agency can make microloans to environmentally sensitive entrepreneurs.  

 

The most nle example that I have found is Berkshares, Inc., a Massachusetts based microcurrency.  www.berkshares.org.  Once again, this operation is not pure, as it relies on local banks to handle the money for them. 

 

Here is how it operates, as I understand it.  An individual can exchange US dollars for Berkshares at the rate of $9.50 US for $10.00 BS.  If they cash out, they get the reciprocal rate.  Merchants who sign on, will take the Berkshare dollars as US dollars.  There is no coinage, so fractions of a dollar are paid is US coinage.

I see this as a 5% loyalty discount being offered by the merchants.  In my area several non-profit organization have arranged for 10% discounts for their members at selected retailers, whenever they show their membership cards.  These include art associations and sewing guilds.  How are Berkshares different?

A proposal has been made that Berkshares be pegged to a basket of local goods in order to insulate the local economy against volatility in the US dollar. This might make Berkshares a truly independent currency, otherwise I don’t get the point. Still, how is the basket of goods valued?  If it is in US dollars, we are back to square one.

I’ve read of barter societies, groups of people that exchange goods and services through an electronic credit system.  Perhaps a microcurrency could be used as a medium of exchange in this type of barter system.  The system would have to be closed and operate in parallel to the US dollar system. 

An advantage to this type of system is that it discourages growth for the sake of growth.  It makes no sense to produce more that your market can consume.  It would also encourage product differentiation, thus reducing direct competition for market share.

In researching this topic I found Creating Sustainable Societies, by John Boik.  This book is available in print from Barnes and Nobel or Amazon $16 or in Kindle format for $7.  You can also download a free PDF version (donation requested) from www.principledsocietiesproject.org.   When I work my way through this book, I will have more to say about this topic.  Expect this several months from now.

I’m asking all readers for input on this or any aspect of economics that follows the permaculture model.

Planning and goal setting

I want to leave the discussion of permaculture for a moment and discuss planning and goal setting. I particular, I want to mention mind mapping. Mind mapping is a way of organizing your thoughts about a subject, in a way that shows all of the interactions among the different elements.

Permaculture, as an interdisciplinary subject, seems a prime candidate for this technique.

  During the past year I’ve had the opportunity to review two books on this subject. Both were by Toni Krasnic. One was Concise Learning and the second was Mind Mapping for Kids. You can see my reviews at www.amazon.com under the name vallere. You can access Toni’s website at www.conciselearning.com

Both these books show ways of organizing your thoughts to see how they relate to each other, as well as ways to research and learn new material.

While Concise Learning is hardcover, Mind Mapping for Kids is only available as an ebook. This has the advantage of imbedded hyperlinks to other sites that expand on the subject.

I was through one of these links that I came across www.IQMatrix.com. This site operated by Adam Sicinski, has a wealth of information on mind mapping. There is even a free ebook to download.




One problem with Adam’s mind maps are they are so elaborate that it may discourage you from doing your own. Don’t be intimidated! Think of a stick figure drawing versus a Picasso. Both convey the idea. One is just fancier than the other. Create your maps according to your ability. It’s the content that counts.

I signed up for Adam’s newsletter and this led to a review of Goalscape, a goal setting software program. www.goalscape.com . Isn’t it great how surfing the web can lead from one great site to another?

Goalscape is different from mind mapping, but I think it can be equally effective. There is a video on the site that shows it in action.

You can get a version of mind mapping software for free or you can pay for a more powerful version. There is only a trial version of Goalscape or the paid version.

I am currently using a free version of mind mapping. I’m taking notes of limits to my diagrams and options for printing and sharing and when the time comes that I feel comfortable, I will get a full feature program. Goalscape is on my wish list, but will have to wait until other priorities are settled.

Does this topic have anything to do with our discussion of permaculture? I think these techniques can help us to organize our plans and define future directions for our activities. I’m a visual person, so this helps me see the connection between my various thought activities and possibly reprioritize them to achieve my goals.

Have you ever used a mind map or Goalscape? If so, would you share your insights with us?



 

Non agriculture zones

Before I jump into this week’s topic, I want to tell you about an online course that I signed up for, An Introduction to the U.S. Food System: Perspectives from Public Health, offered by Coursera, www.coursera.org. This is a free course that lasts six weeks. It just started, so I think you can still get into it. Based on the first week’s lessons, it looks pretty comprehensive.

OK. Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Permaculture Zones

The basic concept of permaculture was agricultural zones.

Zone 0

The house, or home center. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live and work. Zone 0 is an informal designation, which is not specifically defined in Bill Mollison's book.

Zone 1

The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, etc. Raised beds are often used in zone 1 in urban areas.

Zone 2

This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards, pumpkins, sweet potato, etc. This would also be a good place for beehives, larger scale composting bins, and so on.

Zone 3

The area where main-crops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control maybe once a week.

Zone 4

A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as production of timber for construction or firewood.

Zone 5

A wilderness area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural ecosystems and cycles.

Copied from Wikipedia

If we do an analogy with our social involvement (this includes politics, charity, etc.) it would be something like this.

Zone 1 – Immediate family

Zone 2 – Neighborhood

Zone 3 – Community (town, borough, township, city)

Zone 4 – County or Parish

Zone 5 – Regional area

Zone 6 – State or Province

Zone 7 – Country

Zone 8 – World

If you have limited resources, take care of things in the above order.

With respect to the environment:

• Plant your own garden, create your own reserves
• Trade surpluses with your neighbors, Help develop community gardens, support community programs and institutions, participate in Earth Day activities
• In Berks County, you can support Hawk Mountain, Nolde Forest, The Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association
• Regionally, get involved with the Penn-Pemaculture group.
• Petition your state legislators to support the programs you think are important, join and participate in the state Sierra Club programs
• Write your Federal Congressman to voice your opinions about social, financial, and environmental programs
• Volunteer for international programs according to your beliefs and your resources.

 But it shouldn’t be limited to environmental issues only. Consider these activities

•  Be creative - paint, write, cook, brew, invent
• Join neighborhood watch
• Support your local library and museums
• Participate in county and state events
• Vote, Write your congressman about your views
• Learn about the world. Keep abreast of the news. Support global activities that you can afford and are consistent with your beliefs.

Permaculture

  Copied from www.holmgren.com.au

Permaculture began as an agriculture zone theory in Australia. It has since evolved into a framework for thinking about all aspects of society. I first became aware of the subject at a talk given at the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Fair in Kempton, Pa. several years ago.

What caught my fancy was the Permaculture flower shown above.

 

I began researching various areas as indicated on the chart. In some areas there were slim pickin’s. It seems the theory has outpaced the research. That’s as it should be. Now there are areas that challenge our imaginations and beg for solutions.

I thought about taking a Permaculture Design Course, but the idea seems to have been franchised and it costs big bucks to take the course.

Fortunately, there is a wealth of information available for free on the web. As I searched, I came across a web page, www.tv.naturalnews.com that has videos on a variety of permaculture subjects. There is a series of fourteen videos by Goeff Lawton that provide a pretty good overview of the design theory for agriculture.

Finally, I found a site where I could get free ebooks about permaculture, www.green-shopping.co.uk. They also sell books about permaculture, if you want to round out your library.

There is also a free booklet titled, The Essence of Permaculture by Dave Holmgren, one of the founders of the Permaculture movement, on his site listed above or at www.permacultureprinciples.com.

In this book, David Holmgren lists the Design Principles of Permaculture. They are:

1. Observe and interact

a. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2. Catch and store energy

a. Make hay while the sun shines

3. Obtain a yield

a. You can’t work on an empty stomach

4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback

a. The sins of the fathers are visited on the children unto the seventh generation

5. Use and value renewable resources and services

a. Let nature take its course

6. Produce no waste

a. Waste not, want not

7. Design from patterns to details

a. Can’t see the forest for the trees

8. Integrate rather than segregate

a. Many hands make light work

9. Use small and slow solutions

a. Slow and steady wins the race

10. Use and value diversity

a. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

11. Use edges and value the marginal

a. Don’t think you are on the right track, just because it is well beaten

12. Creatively use and respond to change

a. Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be

If you download the book and want to print it, make sure your printer is in landscape mode.

If reviewing this topic stimulates your thinking about using the permaculture principles in a non-agricultural way, or if you are involved in a current project, let me know. I would love to hear of your ideas, experiences and plans.

Deadline

The day is almost done and I almost forgot my new year resolution.  Short term memory is the second thing to go.  What is the first?  I forget. (old Laugh-in joke).

Anyway, I brewed the barleywine and it is in the fermenter cooking away.  Fermenting that is.  There is no heat applied.

Last night we had a party to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Berks County Homebrew Club.  I've only been a member for 1.5 years.  Whenever you join a group, there is a period where you feel like the newbie.  In a blink of an eye, you are one of the old guard.  So it goes.

When I get into a new activity, I do a ton of research.  I download articles and read books and magazines and make a lot of mistakes through trial and error.

After a while it becomes old hat.  Sometimes it takes a few years.  Other times it takes decades.  Is it that I become jaded or does something else seem more exciting?

Let me know what you think.

Hello world!

Poor blog, I've been neglecting you. 

Well my New Year Resolution is to blog more.  I'm going to try and do a weekly blog.  I may invite guest bloggers to add their two cents.

Our weather is crazy.  Cold and snow one day and mild and dry the next.  Instead of global warming, we are experiencing global schizophrenia.

I've expanded my brewing setup and will be able to do full five gallon boils, instead of two gallon partials that I have been doing.  I also got 4 Corney kegs, so the bottling chore is lessened.  I'm still not diligent, however.  I have several batches of wine and beer ready to be kegged or bottled and I feel too lazy to do it.  I'm also committed to contributing five gallons of barleywine to the Berks County Homebrew Barrel Project.  Lets get cracking!

I better save some news for next week, if I remember to log on.