Welcome to the first edition of our new Weekly Linkfest! Where possible, I’ll put up a weekly roundup of interesting environmental and permaculture news – with the intention that it’ll be an easy way for readers to jump to important and/or interesting news and practical or inspiration material.

I would greatly appreciate readers getting involved in this weekly linkfest. Please email editor (at) permaculture.org.au with links (and ideally a sentence outlining key points) to noteworthy articles and news reports on the internet (put ‘Weekly Linkfest Fodder’ in the subject line, as I have a message rule that will move these messages into a specific folder for this purpose). This is a great way to share information of merit with the greater permaculture community.

Let’s get started:

Good News (coz we all need it):

• Coming soon for UK residents are more permaculture-oriented material to arrive via mainstream media channels, with the BBC’s upcoming ‘The Edible Garden‘ series. This is perhaps due to popular reception of their ‘A Farm for a Future‘ feature they did recently.
• A leftover New Orleans FEMA trailer becomes a mobile garden and permaculture library.
• Even Richard Branson is warning the world about peak oil.
• Imagine that – product packaging, and maybe even buildings, made from fungus? (See also.)
• Indoor plants are good at removing toxins from the air of our living spaces, NASA studies show.
• Fuel from waste plastic?
• While human powered bicycles in relocalised agricultural communities would be better, electric bicycles for China have got to be a better option than a billion cars.

Bad News (coz we need to understand the challenges if we’re to design our way out of them):

• World’s soils gone in 60 years? That’s not good…. A recent study calls for drastic change, stating that the world’s soils are being lost many times faster than they can be replaced (57 times faster in the case of densely populated China). People that question whether sustainable farming can feed the world (we know it can) should consider these figures – whatever they may think of sustainable agricultural methods and yields, we know for sure that industrial agriculture is not an option, and we need to move fast if we want to avoid spiraling into widespread famine, and even cannibalism. And, despite this, we’re vaporising biomass to fuel cars instead of using it to build humus.
• Our glaciers are melting faster than ever – and with it goes our water supplies.
• Mexico, the U.S.A.’s #3 oil supplier may soon be unable to supply….
• Bill Gates may fund us into darkness in a plan to halt global warming through global dimming.
• There are perhaps as few as 3,200 tigers left in the world, and China has only fifty wild tigers left.
• Obama embarks on a big Nuclear push.This may be one of the causes of the great uranium stampede that’s underway. All this while nuclear is looking increasingly unsafe in the present – without even taking long-term energy and water requirements (and the necessary technological knowhow of our descendents for many generations) for safe storage into account.
• New Zealand now has more cows than people. It seems the country is selling its soil and its soul (and its water) to provide billions of chinese, many of them lactose intolerant, with milk power and cheese they never needed before. Someone has got to be making a few dollars though.
• Oases of silence are harder to find. The world is just plain getting noisy.

Just plain interesting (coz we’re curious creatures):

• Jenny Pell asks the question – "How do I invite you to grow food?"
• Dubai’s ‘The World’ project looks to be not only sinking into history due to lack of money, but also literally sinking into the ocean. Despite pouring billions of dollars and millions of tons of sand and rock into the project, it looks like ‘The World’ is going down the gurgler.
• You’ve gotta love these panda pics.
• Man and whale become firm friends.
• How much life can you find in one cubic foot?
• What do the famous sci-fi ‘Dune’ and permaculture have in common? Find out here.

Don’t forget to send me your links for next week’s linkfest!!

For full details on this excellent opportunity to take your Permaculture Design Certificate course under the combined tutelage of legendary Permaculture teachers, Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, please click on the links below (all PDF files):

• Brochure
• Costs
• Registration Form

This information can also be found in our course listing.

In classic permaculture style, within the problem lay the seeds of the solution. The deforestation due to conventional agriculture in these surrounding hills has caused soil erosion and during the rainy season much of this rich volcanic black top soil is washed downstream. This annual bounty has been redirected through the Ijatz site using a sequence of channels and sink holes, which in turn slows the water flow enabling the nutrient rich humus to be captured and stored on site. The earth has been moulded to create slopes, edges and contours essential for increased growing opportunity.

During the dry season any rainfall is held in the pond sequence, maintaining the local water table which is the source for the hundreds of trees and plants. While the flora perpetually contributes biomass to improve soil fertility, a micro climate suitable for growing has developed in what is essentially a few acres on the edge of town. Prior to the establishment of the Ijatz project, over one hundred homes were annually flooded in the immediate vicinity. Currently, the site can receive flood water to the depth of more than a metre during the wet season. A perfect demonstration of a multifunctional permaculture design element, the banana circle has provided the solution. Acting as a pump, that most excellent of pioneer species, the banana simply sucks up and holds this water. The spaces between the rubbery concentric rings of a banana tree are simply saturated in water. The centre of the circle becomes a compost heap for any site prunings while the worms of the vermicomposting stations make short shrift of sections of banana trunk. The composted output is another useful income stream for the coop. Of course, let us not forget nature’s own delicious potassium stick – the banana itself! All this and the local community benefits from dry homes throughout the rainy season too. This in turn satisfies one of the cornerstone ethics of permaculture: people care – positively affecting the local community.

Banana circle

The project is only thirteen years in the making and boasts a diverse range of trees and plants that reach every level of the canopy. Timber is harvested and the bamboo stands are about 6m tall. There are a number of guava, grapefruit, lime and lemon fruit trees. A vine layer producing a vegetable called güisquil (sechium edule) when boiled is similar in texture and taste to a tender swede or turnip. There are several other local tropical plants that contribute roots or leaves to the kitchen table. The annually deposited soil is then built up to form raised beds for growing vegetables. My three week stint centred around reinstating the vegetable and herb beds preparing them for fresh seedlings, including lettuce, coriander, frijoles (beans), parsley, celery and radish. This soil food web is teaming with life and I encountered countless worms, spiders and other small creatures. Thankfully, the nesting cobra we stumbled across only wrapped itself around Pancho’s arm (the head gardener). No harm done – sadly only true for Pancho!

The core focus of the Ijatz cooperative is coffee production. On the final day of my visit, the ladies of the cooperative harvested fifty kilos of coffee beans ready for processing. However, they collectively own several plots of land on the slopes of the now extinct Volcán Tolimán. Through the cooperative, the workers have generated a stable income which has funded educational programmes on child care and nutrition. They also have discussions to understand where their high value product sits in the open market. I was invited to describe the drinking habits of Europeans. My talk was graciously received even though my Spanish is woefully short of adequate.

If you are interested in volunteering your time and energy to the assist the Ijatz project and you have a command of Spanish language you can contact them directly at asociacionIjatz (at) gmail.com otherwise I can advise you. Volunteer opportunities exist throughout the year.

Read my follow up article about how Ijatz manages its core business – coffee, using permaculture principles. You can follow my blog at www.kevpermatour.blogspot.com as I travel Central America gaining permaculture experience working towards my Diploma in Applied Permaculture from the Permaculture Association Britain.

Permaculture education should be in every school, everywhere. If it was, I believe most of the world’s problems could be solved within a decade.

One of 55 eco-friendly homes nestled amongst newly established gardens

An hour or so south of the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo is the fishing district of Kalutara. Although only one of many regions hit by the 2004 Tsunami, post-disaster relief efforts here were unique in that Sarvodaya determined to use the situation to create Sri Lanka’s first eco-village.

Designed with the technical advice and guidance of world renowned Australian permaculture experts Max Lindegger and Lloyd Williams, who are affiliated with Ecological Solutions Inc. and Global Eco-village Network (GEN), the village has become a model of sustainable development.

The Sri Lankan government allocated a parcel of land situated five kilometres inland for the purpose, and financing for construction came via Sarvodaya as well as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJJDC), the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the Asia Pacific Forum for Environment and Development (APFED). The combined gifts culminated in the construction of Lagoswatta – a model eco-village, situated on a gentle five acre slope bordered by rice fields, that is now home to 55 families from three villages in the area.

I was of course very keen to take a look, and so after winding our way from the coast, through small farmlets and a rather beautiful and shady rubber tree plantation, I arrived in Lagoswatta for a brief look.

Beginning in April 2005 and completed in 2006, an important aspect of of the work was the involvement of the intended residents in the construction process itself – providing an excellent opportunity to build a sense of ownership and self-determination for their future, whilst giving survivors a sense of purpose that helps them deal psychologically with trauma, loss of loved ones and their subsequent dramatic change in circumstances.

Each earth-brick home in Lagoswatta is virtually identical, measuring about 46 square metres (500 square feet) and consists of two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and sanitation facilities. Each home has its own garden, and practical involvement of residents are positively encouraged with training in composting, gardening, recycling and also maintenance of the solar panel and battery that provides electricity to each home – something many residents never had before. Homes are also equipped with a recycling receptacle and on the edge of the village is a small recycling station where materials are separated and stored for monthly collection. The project also included a Subterra biological soakage system for household greywater.

Water for drinking and irrigation is one of the biggest problems Sri Lankans face. Construction for Lagoswatta thus included fourteen rainwater harvesting tanks to collect roof run-off, five drinking wells and two communal bathing wells.

An important aspect of design for any eco-village are those that encourage community interdependence. In addition to housing, a multi-purpose community center was built that includes a doctor’s office (manned on Mondays), library, computer room, a childcare/Montessori school centre and a playground – all encouraging community interaction and the pooling and development of the creative abilities of individual villagers. Programs assisting in social mobilization and livelihood support foster this development as well.

A boy plays in the community childcare centre

The edge-of-town recycling station – emptied monthly

One aspect of village life I found interesting was that, unlike other Sarvodaya villages, where the very first stage of development is ‘awakening’ to the Sarvodaya principles based on earth care and the ten basic needs, the villagers of Lagoswatta were somewhat thrown together suddenly at a time of extreme stress. Additionally, many of the villagers were previously fisher folk, so once moved from the coast to Lagoswatta they’ve had to take on a whole new existence. Whilst villagers on the whole largely seemed content and adapting to their new surrounds, it was clear to me there wasn’t the same industriousness and cohesion found in some of the other villages who had opted to join the Sarvodaya network out of acknowledgement and appreciation over time of the principles that forms the basis of the movement.

In other words, these people were somewhat thrown together out of necessity, rather than inspired choice.

A Lagoswatta villager harvests compost from his bin

Practical examples of this could be seen by observing the state of different gardens in the village, where some were making excellent use of their land – cultivating quite a diverse range of fruit, vegetables and herbs and developing a lovely shaded environment that is a major advantage in the tropical heat – while others were making merely token efforts.

Some villagers were making excellent use of their garden space

I spoke with a few villagers about how well their solar system worked. One man spoke despondently about how after only four years the battery had already failed and he couldn’t afford the 15,000 rupees to replace it. Considering this man didn’t have power in the shack he and his small family lived in prior to its destruction, I was conscious of how this ‘upgrade’ in their life was making them dependent on polluting technologies that were too expensive for them to maintain. When I mentioned the failed battery in a neighbour’s house, it was explained to me that the first man had not been maintaining the battery as he was told (topping up with water) and so killed it from neglect. Considering this, I remembered that that particular man’s garden was also largely non-existent, indicating either a general lack of pro-active interest or difficulty in adapting, and it made me appreciate all the more the importance of Sarvodaya’s stepped program that prioritises individual transformation at its base.

Each home has a battery that stores power from a small roof-mounted
solar panel. The only appliances for most houses are normally only lights,

a radio and/or television.

As they say, a house does not a home make. In the same way, a collection of buildings and people does not an eco-village make. It became obvious to me that you cannot just lump a divergent range of people together and call them a ‘community’. A truly successful community requires some planning at a spiritual level to facilitate cohesion – and this centres in all involved being inspired with a sense of positive purpose and collectively shared goals. Disasters like that which gave birth to Lagoswatta obviously do not provide the luxury of time for such considerations, but I think this is an important facet to consider wherever possible.

Villagers said their conditions were improved – homes were warmer in winter,
cooler in summer, and power, water and garden features were all appreciated.

The good news is that Sarvodaya’s efforts in this regard continue to this day, and Lagoswatta has become an excellent model for not only Sri Lanka but also for village development and disaster relief efforts worldwide.

Stay tuned for the next edition in this series….

The community centre is appropriate for culture and climate

The community library was spartan, but it’s a start

Composting toilets are culturally unacceptable to Sri Lankans, so Lagoswatta
utilises septic tanks for black water. Outside are rain-fed washing facilities.

A typical Lagoswatta kitchen. Some homes house two or three families, as
families would open their doors to relatives struggling after the disaster.

A children’s park completes the picture. The sign reads:

"This park is a gift to the children from the American people."

Should corporations have the same rights as individuals? Should corporations, many of which have a greater turnover than entire countries, be free to finance the politicians they favour – in direct competition against little ‘ol you and me? Well, the Supreme Court of the United States thinks so, and has ruled this into law. This means the term ‘Corporate America’ is now completely accurate. Corporations now effectively own the U.S. (We already knew this, but now it’s law.)

Can we expect virtue, compassion, wisdom and foresight to overcome great odds in a presidential race, when the sky is the limit for funding its profit-centric opposition? Of course we cannot. This law must be overturned!

The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the United States are, first, the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second, the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it. – Edward Dowling

That’s right, step right up folks – democracy is going cheap here. Get it while it’s hot. Get it while you can!

Further Watching/Reading:

• The Roots of Change – in Ourselves, or Government and Industry?
• The Corporation

It was about this time, that we heard Bill Mollison speak on Permaculture, with zones, to encourage a design plan that integrates the environment, plants and people with a vision of possibilities.

Vegetable and herb gardens were started and fruit trees were planted. Poultry, dairy goats, pigs and milking cows were added. Derrick being very gifted with skills of building fences, sheds, and as ‘a fix-it man’ was able to do many and varied tasks on the farm. Derrick, being a butcher by trade, was also able to turn the animals into cuts of meat for the freezer, mince into sausages, meat into smoked hams.

A nursery area was started to provide our own plants for the farm. Soon, people started asking us for various herbs and edible plants and the nursery grew like ‘topsy’.

I found plants so fascinating and loved to read about them and learn as much as I could. Collecting edibles was fun and resourceful for the farm and the nursery. Today our large range of culinary and medicinal herbs, spices, fruits, rare edibles, and seed varieties are sought by people from near and far. Postal orders placed by people for plants and seeds, keeps the family very busy. Derrick, now retired, is still the handy-man. Angela and her husband David, assisted by their daughter Aleisha, now run the farm.

For many years the Farm held regular, free guided farm tours, when I’d would show people around explaining the many useful plants that people could grow in their gardens. These Farm Walks were very popular and large groups of people would assemble to learn.

At the end of one afternoon farm walk, an elderly man was most enthused by the many edible plants, but said, he would never be able to remember all the information. He suggested that I write a book. Many other people over the years echoed the same suggestion.

But, where to find the time, to write a book? However, the concept was often in my thoughts, and I made notes and collected information, and recorded my own and other people’s experiences of benefits to their health with herbs. Herbs can play such a valuable role in health and this is what I wanted to enthuse people to see, and to use their herbs regularly.

Then in 2001 I started to write, and in June 2003 the book was born: “How can I use herbs in my daily life?” which covers over 500 herbs (see this DVD also). The response to the Herb Book from all over the world has been overwhelming, with readers saying they use their herbs more and report wonderful benefits to health. People have told me that they use the Herb Book as a constant reference, and also share the information with others and this is what herbal folklore is all about – passing it on.

Good health is precious. Every person needs to work at maintaining health, therefore, we need to learn all we can about how the body functions, nutrients required, digestion and assimilation, the many benefits of herbs, and the value of food with living enzymes.

As I became more aware of the value of enzymes and living food, I started to see that little things like ‘sprouts’ could have a big impact on health, as they provide a high degree of vitality and rejuvenation to the body. People who were reading the Herb Book were interested in knowing more about wheat grass and sprouts, which I had mentioned in the book. I showed them how I grew sprouts, particularly fenugreek, which is my favourite sprout. It was from that interest, the book “How can I grow and use sprouts as living food?” came to be written (see this DVD also).

Sprouts have so many valuable attributes: high protein and nutrient content, fibre and essential fatty acids, and they are rich in antioxidants and living enzymes. Sprouts are ‘super foods’ and are something every person can grow right in their kitchen at very minimal cost.

Many readers of the sprout book have said that this book should be in every home. The book is easy to read, and it is easy to put the simple steps into practice. I encourage every home to grow sprouts regularly, and get the many benefits of sprouts as living food.

In 2007 I was led to write once more, resulting in "How can I be prepared with Self-sufficiency and Survival Foods?" Many people have said that this book is very timely with the present financial situation.

Just why did I come to write a book centered on this topic? For many years I taught herb courses, covering many edible plants, and included a segment on the importance of self-sufficiency and survival for possible hard times.

During one class, when I asked, “If shops closed tomorrow, how much food do you have to feed your family?”

One woman replied, “Maybe enough for one week.” This made me think how dependent the majority of people are on farmers, trucking companies and shops to provide their daily food. People often expressed that I should put information on self-sufficiency into a book. Then, in 2007, my son Ricky rang from Adelaide, while doing a course on alternative energies.

Ricky said, “Mum, when are you going to write that book on self-sufficiency and survival? There will be a big demand for it.”

His words gave me the nudge to get writing! During 2008 I sensed a real urgency to put this information together. This is not only my perception of what is happening in Australia and world-wide, but everyone is feeling and experiencing the pressure, as everything they purchase has risen in price, dramatically.

The AIM of this book is to share with people the importance of being as self-sufficient as one is able, with the likelihood of very difficult times ahead. We all need to rethink our current wasteful habits and consider the best use of our natural resources and renewable energies. It is time for us all to take action to: reduce, recycle, repair and reuse items, over again.

This book is written for people who have relied upon shops for everything and so that people who already grow some food in their backyard will be spurred on to be even more self-reliant.

Last year Johann Hari wrote an interesting piece entitled You Are Being Lied to About Pirates. It gives some excellent background on yet another example of how there are always two sides to a story – and the mainstream media can never be counted on to tell both:

Pirates have never been quite who we think they are. In the “golden age of piracy” – from 1650 to 1730 – the idea of the pirate as the senseless, savage thief that lingers today was created by the British government in a great propaganda heave. Many ordinary people believed it was false: Pirates were often rescued from the gallows by supportive crowds. Why? What did they see that we can’t?

In his book “Villains of All Nations,” the historian Marcus Rediker pores through the evidence to find out. If you became a merchant or navy sailor then – plucked from the docks of London’s East End, young and hungry – you ended up in a floating wooden Hell. You worked all hours on a cramped, half-starved ship, and if you slacked off for a second, the all-powerful captain would whip you with the cat o’ nine tails. If you slacked consistently, you could be thrown overboard. And at the end of months or years of this, you were often cheated of your wages.

Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied against their tyrannical captains – and created a different way of working on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and made all their decisions collectively. They shared their bounty out in what Rediker calls “one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in the 18th century.”

They even took in escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed “quite clearly – and subversively – that ships did not have to be run in the brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal navy.” This is why they were popular, despite being unproductive thieves.

The words of one pirate from that lost age – a young British man called William Scott – should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: “What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirating to live.”

In 1991, the government of Somalia – in the Horn of Africa – collapsed. Its 9 million people have been teetering on starvation ever since – and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country’s food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas. - You Are Being Lied to About Pirates (reading entire article recommended)

I bring the article above to your attention today because of a recent news announcement regarding some pirates Robin Hood may well have been proud to share a sloop with:

Spokesmen for the so-called “Somali pirates” have expressed willingness to transfer part of their loot captured from transnational boats and send it to Haiti.

Leaders of these groups have declared they have links in various places around the world to help them ensure the delivery of aid without being detected by the armed forces of enemy governments.

The “pirates” typically redistribute a significant portion of their profits among relatives and the local population. In their operations, the “pirates” urge transnational corporations that own the cargo confiscated to pay back in cash as banks can not operate in Somalia.

”The humanitarian aid to Haiti can not be controlled by the United States and European countries; they have no moral authority to do so. They are the ones pirating mankind for many years,” said the Somali spokesman. - translated from aporrea.org on metamute.org

Click for full view Courtesy: Throbgoblins

People wanting to find out more about what has lead some Somalians into a life on the high seas should check out the article quoted at top as well as this one and this confessions-of-a-Somali-Pirate type article from the BBC. It is interesting to note that Somali pirates rarely hurt people (they’ve even been known to give hostages cash for good behaviour) and it seems certain many are driven more by desperation than greed. It may be hard for westerners to understand from the comfort of their swivel chairs, but watching your fish stocks systematically scooped up – pirated, you could say – by western fish-factory ships and realising your oceans have become a dumping ground for radioactive and toxic wastes, must certainly be highly conducive to pirate job creation.

And, interestingly, Somalia’s pirates may well have become ocean conservationists, enabling depleted tuna and other fish stocks to make a comeback in pirate-controlled waters where fishing vessels increasingly fear to venture.

Whether any money is actually transferred to Haitians (victims of corporate pirates themselves) from these pirates is something we may never know (anyone have a direct line to a pirate accountant?) so this story may end up being just an interesting pirate PR stunt (pirates have marketing managers?). But it is interesting food for thought to compare these up-front-about-it survival-mentality people with the more pretentious/hypocritical and insidious white collar piracy of capitalism run amuck.

Merchant and pirate were for a long period one and the same person. Even today mercantile morality is really nothing but a refinement of piratical morality. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Does Scientology and permaculture’s People Care ethic conflict? And, if so, should this matter to permaculturists?

Preliminary Note: Comments from people who sound like they haven’t read all of this post in its entirety will not be moderated through. I want no ill-thought-out, off-the-cuff comments here. Thank you.

This post won’t be an easy one to formulate so as to avoid controversy. Indeed, avoiding controversy on this topic is likely impossible. But, sometimes when you try to adhere to principle you’re given tasks that are not easy, pleasant or welcome. I’ll state right now that I write this article reluctantly. Making the decision to do so took some deliberation, and was also encouraged by the prompting of others who have emailed me privately with the same shared concern. In this post I will attempt to be objective and respectful – and I hope anyone who comments will endeavour to do this as well.

The tragedy of the Haiti earthquake is immense, and perhaps the worst aspect is that the healing process for people and land will take so much longer than it could have since Haiti was already drowning in problems before the earth shook and as such have little built in resiliency beyond some individual determination to survive. I’ve already visited the topic of how Haiti’s situation has been made a thousand-fold worse because of the economic colonialism of the world’s great powers, so won’t address this again here. The focus of this post, instead, is on aspects of the relief effort that some involved may wish to consider. Actually, I write this not only in relation to the relief effort for Haiti alone, but also for the benefit of the victims, relief workers and donors the world over who will participate in the future disasters that will surely strike in ensuing years.

I speak, in particular, about the involvement of Scientologists in relief efforts. Scientologists state that Scientology is currently the world’s fastest growing religion. Others dispute this, but either way, their involvement in disaster relief is growing. Scientologists claim that "Through the last 20 years, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have provided emergency service at 126 worst-case disaster sites. Today, they are among the most recognized independent relief organizations in the free world." (volunteerministers.org) If the statement is even remotely true, it means the discussion that follows is appropriate since permaculture is increasingly seen as offering some of the best solutions for disaster relief and long term sustainable development – so putting the work of Scientologists in some kind of understandable context will be pertinent for permaculturists who wish to support or be involved in permaculture aid work.

I say I write the post reluctantly for a couple of reasons:

1. First is because I am all for freedom of religion. I believe most permaculturists would agree that the future we would like to build would necessarily incorporate many of the principles featured in the U.S. constitution – like the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of belief, etc. As such, it is not my purpose or desire to stigmatise or publicly attack any group or individuals. So, I won’t. I am flat out not attempting to do this. (I will therefore not moderate through unreasonable rants and vengeful outpourings in comments on this post towards Scientologists. Keep it civil and intelligent and your comment should get through however. I may moderate through unreasonable rants and vengeful outpourings aimed at me though.)
2. Secondly, I am reluctant to write this because Haitians desperately need aid, and I do not wish anything I write to diminish their chances of getting that aid in double-quick fashion.

So, why am I making this post at all? Well, because permaculture is based on three central tenets – Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. The purpose of this post is solely to open for discussion the possibility that Scientology may be incompatible with the second principle – People Care. I will state right now that I don’t know enough about the group to be decisive on this, so am here merely bringing this potential incompatibility to the greater permaculture community so they can consider this possibility and then make their own decisions on:

1. whether there is such an incompatibility, and
2. whether that incompatibility is important to us or not.

If permaculturists decide there is no conflict, they would then be able to move on from this issue with peace of mind.

The reason I think this topic should be opened for reasoned and objective debate is that the involvement of Scientologists in permaculture relief efforts (or the involvement of permaculturists in Scientologist’s relief efforts, as the case may be) sets a precedent. There will be more disasters, and we may well find Scientologists and permaculturists working side by side in relief efforts again in the future. Thus, discussing this now is appropriate and timely, even if difficult. Discussing it now, I would state, is in accordance with a very basic permaculture principle – to carefully observe before drawing out a design plan, so as to save time, energy and trouble further down the track. If we’re designing permaculture relief strategies, then careful observation now may help ensure we’re best prepared to be the most effective in subsequent tragedies.

Many of you will have read the Permaculture Relief Corps Forming For Haiti Earthquake Response? post we recently put up. If you haven’t, I’d suggest you do so now and come back here to continue. Please also read the comments through – well, at least those from my comment of January 21, 2010 onwards. (Scroll down to the comment that begins with ‘Note from site editor’ in bold lettering.) From reading those comments you’ll understand more how this situation arose, and you’ll also see from the comments that followed mine the need to stimulate discussion on this. You’ll see from those comments that some people have opted out of getting involved in the relief effort because of the connection with Scientology. (Some who didn’t comment on the site have emailed me to state their decision to opt out as well.) This shows that the issue is of concern to some permaculturists so has the potential to, at the very least, complicate future permaculture aid efforts as it has already for Haiti.

Possible Implications

I think it can be said that if the current precedent is the beginning of further such relief scenarios, then Scientologists may be providing resources (like flights, etc., as they seem to be now) to permaculturists again in the future. Some of the potential/possible implications for this are:

1. The valuable, practical aid capabilities of permaculturists (sanitation/food/water/housing/energy systems, etc.) could become an effective vehicle for Scientologists to gain greater access to vulnerable communities and contribute to the legitimisation of their organisation.
2. Given the controversial nature of Scientology, the reputation of the permaculture community could be tarnished if people perceive that the above point is a reality.
3. If permaculturists do a great work on the ground, and it was financed or otherwise aided by Scientologists, then Scientologists may lay claim to the work itself, thus diminishing the ability of the permaculture movement to develop in its own right and stand on its own legs (donations could potentially also go through The Church of Scientology or its members rather than through permaculture relief groups).
4. If the Scientology belief system itself results in behaviours and activities amongst its own members that conflict with the permaculture People Care principle, then this gives permaculturists a moral dilemma – as by participating in their relief efforts, and effectively helping them to grow as a viable, more acceptable religion, permaculturists may find they’re assisting the growth of an organisation that is in direct conflict with their own principles.
5. If permaculturists are found to be assisting the growth of Scientology through legitimising it via working partnerships, and if the accusations of Scientology critics are at all valid (again, I don’t know, and it seems that for me to find out I’d have to, according to Scientology’s leading spokesperson, join their group to find out for myself, which I have no inclination to do) then permaculturists could be assisting the formation of a power structure whose world view and ultimate goals are in stark contrast to those of permaculturists.

Touch assists and other treatments and accusations of vindictive behaviour

Critics of Scientology, including ex-Scientologists, make startling accusations about the group’s treatment of both Scientology members and ex-members, as well as accusations about other aspects of non-ethical behaviour, like dishonesty.

An example of the latter issue (dishonesty) can be found here, where Scientologists who were at ‘ground zero’ of the 9/11 twin towers disaster are accused of dishonesty in their dealings with news media and in their dealings with police who manned the barricades around the disaster zone. Scientologists are also accused, in this same situation, of trying to stop traumatised people from accessing counseling. (Scientologists are very open about their opposition to traditional psychiatric counseling techniques). The following quote is said to be part of a leaked email from a Scientologist regarding their work on the ground at 9/11:

Additionally we are trying to move in and knock the psychs out of counseling to the grieving families and that could take another 100 plus people right now. Due to some brilliant maneuvering by some simply genius Sea Org Members we tied up the majority of the psychs who were attempting to get to families yesterday in Q&A, bullbait and wrangling. They have a hard time completing cycles of action and are pretty easy to disperse. - Xenu.net

These are all points that permaculturists might wish to consider. In Haiti for example, there is and will be for a very long time, a major problem with mental health/trauma due to the shocking nature of the tragedy that has befallen them – see here, here and here for more on this – and on-going depression as many people fail to come to terms with life without legs, arms, homes, family members, means of sustenance and much more. Scientologists are using ‘touch assists‘ and possibly other assists in Haiti right now and are also training surviving Haitians to do so as well. Scientologists believe these methods to be very effective. (I’ve never experienced such ‘assists’, so can’t comment.) Permaculturists may thus wish to consider the relative merits of these methods compared with those that could be getting applied more widely in Haiti if other agencies were there instead of Scientologists. And, as surviving Haitians are being taught these methods, permaculturists should consider the relative merits of people being given such training as opposed to other types of training they could be receiving instead.

There is a lot of controversy over Scientologists’ views on treatment. The case of Lisa McPherson, who apparently died in very strange circumstances while in their care, is a case in point. (See also.)

Disasters to aid spread of Scientology?

Permaculturists may also want to consider the purpose and potential long-term outcomes of such treatments in view of L. Ron Hubbard’s strategy for the growth of their organisation:

"Every day in the daily papers one discovers people who have been victimised… [The Scientologist] should enter the presence of the person and give a nominal assist, leave his card which says where church services are held with the statement that a much fuller recovery is possible by coming to free services… Handling the press he should simply say that it is a mission of the church to assist those in need." February, 1956

"Casualty contact is very old, is almost never tried and is almost always roaringly successful… This is a pretty routine drill really. You get permission to visit. You go in and give patients a cheery smile. You want to know if you can do anything for them, you give them a card and tell them to come around to your group… Your statement, ‘the modern scientific church can cure things like that. Come around and see’ will work. It’s straight recruiting!" September, 1959

- written by L. Ron Hubbard, published in the Independent

Is there a conflict with the permaculture People Care principle?

In regards to a potential, direct conflict with the People Care principle, specifically, accusations of critics of Scientology are numerous (see here and here to get you started on an internet full of such accusations) and, if true, would make the considerations of this post highly pertinent. The Church’s ‘fair game‘ policy against people and organisations they perceive as being their enemies should form the centrepiece of discussion here, I believe.

The punishments apparently meted out on members and non-members, in different degrees of severity, are quoted below, from Xenu.net, and fairgamed.org lists a great many more practical examples as well:

                           HUBBARD COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
                     Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead, Sussex

                       HCO Policy Letter of 18 October 1967,
                                     Issue IV
   Remimeo

                          PENALTIES FOR LOWER CONDITIONS

                          (Applies both Orgs and Sea Org)

LIABILITY  Suspension of pay and a dirty grey rag on left arm and day
           and night confinement to org premises.

TREASON    Suspension of pay and deprivation of all uniforms and insignia,
           a black mark on left cheek and confinement on org premises or
           dismissal from post and debarment from premises.

DOUBT      Debarment from premises. Not to be employed. Payment of fine
           amounting to any sum may have cost org. Not to be trained or
           processed. Not to be communicated or argue with.

ENEMY      SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by
           any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the
           Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.

LRH:jp                                                   L. RON HUBBARD
Copyright (c) 1967                                       Founder
by L. Ron Hubbard
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

An enormous amount of controversy also surrounds the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer who went on to create the Scientology belief system. A quick Google search will result in reams of accusations about lies and motives, personal drug abuse and other scandals. An ex-Scientologist, Gerry Armstrong, claims that before he left the organisation he attempted to write a biography on Hubbard so as to address the concerns of critics of Scientology, but that in doing so he discovered that much of Hubbard’s claims about himself (his credentials and history, etc.) were lies. Mr. Armstrong says that when he tried to correct Church records to reflect what he discovered, the church turned on him with litigation:

Mr Armstrong says that when he sought to have the record corrected the church turned on him, eventually suing him for theft of the documents that Hubbard had turned over to him.

The church lost the first round, the judge in part finding: ”In addition to violating and abusing its own members’ civil rights, the organisation over the years with its ‘fair game’ doctrine has harassed and abused those persons not in the church whom it perceives as enemies.

”The organisation clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder. The evidence portrays a man who has been virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background and achievements.

”The writings and documents in evidence additionally reflect his egoism, greed, avarice, lust for power and vindictiveness and aggressiveness against persons perceived by him to be disloyal or hostile." – Sydney Morning Herald

Controversy surrounds the current leader of the organisation, David Misgavige, particularly in regards to accusations by former Scientologists of physical violence inflicted on subordinates by him.

Possible Scientology beliefs that should not be discussed

Controversy also surrounds Scientologists in regards to intergalactic entities that are said to be affecting us all today. These theological beliefs are said to be in ’scriptures’ only accessible to higher level Scientologists. From watching Martin Basher of ABC News trying to get clarification on some of those beliefs I see I might offend Scientologists by discussing these here, so I will refrain from doing so. People in my mind must travel their own path in life and so are welcome to their own beliefs. I would suggest to anyone intending to comment here that they should respect their desire not to discuss this aspect, particularly as I think it may have little or nothing to do with the behaviour of the organisation, which is far more relevant to the discussion at hand.

Is it critical for Scientologists to be involved in disaster relief at all?

Discussing the ideal source of aid in tragic circumstances is obviously more of an argument for us on the outside of the situation. For Haitians of course, they will be happy for assistance from whatever source – in the short term at least. The Volunteer Ministers of Scientology have somehow managed to get in, and fast, where others haven’t:

The lines are worked out to get personnel in these planes through the security lines, etc and on site where it will count… They have the lines greased to get through to Haiti – all you need is a passport and malaria pills, and personal items. This is the best way to go in you will be with a strong, experienced disaster team who knows how to use the lines to get equipment and get things done in a chaotic situation, and are very careful of their safety, etc…. and the church has planes and lines strung to get them in fast…. I can get funding for plane tickets and even get you clearance from Homeland Security…. I’m serious, I’ll do that for you. - Cory Brennan, Scientologist and permaculture aid worker, commenting on our recent post.

This ability to get into Haiti is certainly impressive. I am really unsure how this was acheived.

Some could of course argue that Scientologists bringing in aid is less of a ‘better-them-than-nothing’ situation, but more of a ‘if-not-them-then-someone-else-could-be-there-instead’ scenario. For example, some aid agencies appear to be annoyed that Scientologists are taking airport time and space that they could be utilising instead:

There is a backlog of at least 800 aircraft awaiting permission to land at the overloaded airport, which can handle just 130 flights daily, prompting recriminations from some aid agencies. – Mail & Guardian

Closing thoughts

In addition to the People Care principle, there may also be conflicts between Scientology and the first and third principles of permaculture as well (Earth Care, and Fair Share). There are many accusations of members being tricked out of money, for example, which, if true, would conflict with the economic aspects of the Fair Share principle. I don’t know if Scientology beliefs include earth preservation aspects or not, as many other religions do, but, if not, this could have the potential to impact the Earth Care principle as well? But, with this post already being long enough for one sitting, I won’t take more time on these aspects now.

I will again stress that I’m pleased Haitians are receiving aid, and I am, again, in no way making an attack on Scientologists either as individuals or as a group. As a mortal being I am in no position to judge motives and do want to presume the best of people and trust they are well-intentioned. I am merely seeking to provide a platform for discussion so that the greater permaculture community can take a moment of pause to consider whether the precedent that has begun here is something to applaud or to be concerned about, and so that we can move forward more productively after discussing these things.

In closing, please feel free to comment (with intelligence and civility, or you won’t get through) if you have thoughts/facts that might either: 1) put permaculturists at ease in regards to a relationship between permaculture relief efforts and Scientologists, or that 2) might help permaculturists worldwide determine whether they should have any connection with the organisation at all, and if so, what the nature of that ‘connection’ should be?

I would again suggest that these discussions centre on whether Scientology is compatible with the permaculture People Care principle, as that principle is integral to the permaculture movement and looking at this potential conflict simplifies any argument over whether permaculturists should be involved with Scientologists. If it is not compatible, then the next question is does our connecting with Scientologists legitimise their existence? If we find it does, does that mean that through involvement we’re helping to grow an organisation that is in direct opposition to our world view? And, would that be intelligent permaculture design?

From my attempts to learn more about the group, there does seem to be a clear conflict at a foundational, behavioural level.

Further Watching:

• The BBC Panorama on Scientology: Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV
• Tommy Davis, Scientology spokesperson, on Scientology