what do you mean "not political"?

[tielan]

Permaculture group, management committee. Every year we give a donation of a couple of hundred dollars to at least one organisation that's doing work in the permaculture space.

This year, someone suggested donating to a group that's asking for sponsorship for a "permaculture for refugees" course. It's happening in Spain, and the site specifically mentioned that the refugees they'd be targeting would be Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian.

Up pops the treasurer, questioning whether this group is legitimate or just 'being political'. She's promptly followed by one of the longtime committee members who agreed with her.

I took a look at the site, and within a couple of clicks found a picture of a known permaculture practitioner who does permaculture courses in the refugee space and who is affiliated with this organisation. We used her book for over a decade as part of our 'introduction to permaculture' course. She's even been a speaker at least once at our meeting!

Somewhat snarkily, I asked the reply-all email if the woman pictured doing courses for this organisation wasn't the practicioner who we support. I noted that if so we do not have the authority to question whether this group is 'legitimate', even if we disagree with who they are trying to reach.

But this 'being political' shit? I'm sorry, but the practise of permaculture is 100% political. We do things that politicians and corporations don't want people doing in large volumes because it would mean the contraction (not even the collapse, merely the contraction) of the capitalist financial system and corporate web-of-supply-demand that we're all stuck in. We're growing our own food, preserving it and storing it. We're encouraging repair and reuse, regenerative practices that don't only take but also find ways of giving back that take waste from other sectors of the world. Permaculture isn't just "gardening quietly in your own small corner", it's changing the way you look at the world so it's no longer a hellscape.

Anyway, nobody has responded to me, although one other woman noted the same thing as me (but was more tactful about it) and everyone's replied to her email.

Anyway, right now, crazy growing things, and I am tired. Bedtime now.

Comments

[kat_lair]

Good. Yes, agree, and like almost everything that touches on people and how they organise their lives is political to a degree so that's a bit of a moot argument.

[tielan]

Unfortunately, most people don't tend to see it that way. Politics is what happens to other people. And, perhaps even more sadly, an awful lot of them are okay with that.

[gingicat]

Somehow I had not realized that permaculture is, well, what it is. Can you drop me a PM with the name of the book and author?

[tielan]

Happy to drop it here. Rosemary Morrow, The Earth User's Guide To Permaculture and the 'sequel' (might be more relevant, it came out only a couple of years ago) is The Earth Restorer's Guide To Permaculture.

She's Australian (well, several of the 'fathers of permaculture' were and so the movement has some serious legs here) and an amazing woman.

[timespirt]

The establishment hates anything that affects their bottom line and being self sufficient by growing your own food and other stuff affects their money.

[tielan]

Yes, indeed! A few quirky individuals is perhaps inevitable, but on a large scale? People refusing to be 'sold to'? No, can't have that! It might cut into profits!

[beatrice_otter]

Oh, wow, how incredibly frustrating.

[tielan]

I think the woman who confirmed what I'd said also noted that this was an excellent thing to support.

But of all the things that might have come up in our group, I would not have flagged 'the Israel-Palestine conflict' as something that would spark such dissent.

[gingicat]

Kibbutzniks developed drip irrigation and began farming the desert back in the... 1920s, I think? It would not surprise me that this is an issue in permaculture.

[tielan]

I'm not sure what you mean.

[hiddencait]

Another big oof. "How dare you make everything political!" Umm, life is political, folks.

[tielan]

Yes, indeed. But many people don't see it, or don't want to see it.