[Lapg] INDIGENOUS PERMACULTURE NEWSLETTER #1

Sat Jul 30 05:20:47 PDT 2005

***INDIGENOUS PERMACULTURE NEWSLETTER JULY/AUGUST
2005***
WISDOM FROM THE PAST FOR OUR FUTURE/LA SABIDURIA DE
LOS ANTEPASADOS
ES NUESTRO FUTURO

http://www.indigenous-permaculture.org

__________________________________________________________
In this issue:
*IV Indigenous Permaculture Design Certification*
*Report Back from Sonsonate, El Salvador*
*Report Back from Pine Ridge, South Dakota*
*Other upcoming Indigenous Sustainability events*
*Upcoming trip to Guatemala*
*How you can help*
__________________________________________________________

It's time again for the
IV INDIGENOUS PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATION COURSE
San Francisco  2005

Gardening Strategies & Patterns	Climate	Water
Harvesting
Composting & Planting	Farmers	Nutrition
Community Support Agriculture	Community Gardens	Air
Pollution
Land Restoration	Seed Bank	Recycling
Native Agriculture	Open Pollination	Pedal Power
Solar Economics & Energy	Genetic Diversity	Bio-Diesel	

2005  SCHEDULE

Saturday,  Aug 13  9am-5pm             Introduction to
Indigenous Permaculture design; History of SF Bay Area

Permaculture
philosophy & design; Introduction to sustainable
landscaping; Urban farms & gardens
Sunday,	Aug 14	9am-4pm	Pest & soil management; Seed
saving; Biodiversity, propagation, &
planting; Basics of pruning
Tuesday,	Aug 16	6:00pm-9:20pm	Community food security
and genetic food
Thursday,	Aug 18	6:00pm-9:20pm	Sustainability from the
indigenous perspective
Saturday,	Aug 20	9am-5pm	Solar energy and other
appropriate technology
			Water recycling, water harvesting & strategies for
the future about water
Sunday,	Aug 21	9am-4pm	Land restoration Field Trip
Tuesday,	Aug 23	6:00pm-9:20pm	Urban solutions for
sustainable living
Thursday,	Aug 25	6:00pm-9:20pm	Sustainability
Economics
Saturday,	Aug 26	9:00am-5:00pm	Farm Field trip
(Camping) Group design projects*
Sunday,	Aug 27	9:00am- 04:00	Farm Field trip
(Camping)
                                    Saturday,  Sept 17
4:00pm-8:00pm   Finalize designs & design
presentations; Evening cultural exchange and
graduation

*As a group you will spend 15-20 hours designing and
implementing a project using permaculture design
methods.  Additional exercises will be given
throughout the course that you will have to do
independently in between sessions.

To participate, you must reserve a space by Aug 7,
2005.  In order to receive a certificate, you must
come to every session and participate in the group
project.  Expect to do at least 5 hours of homework
during the course in addition to the group project.
The final presentation is required and will be a
potluck. You must be willing to be resourceful and
acquire any necessary materials for your group
projects.  Participation is at your own risk and we
are not liable for problems that may occur during the
course.

For more INFO and to RSVP
(space is limited!)
Indigenous Permaculture Program
www.indigenous-permaculture.org
       mayalencanauat at yahoo.com
3288 21St #192 SF,CA  94110
___________________________________________________________________________

**REPORT BACK FROM SONSONATE, EL SALVADOR**

The Nahuat Community Development Project in Sonsonate,
El Salvador
is supporting the creation of a sustainable community
with the
intention of becoming an education center for
surrounding
communities within this war torn region.  Sonsonate is
a community
of displaced Native peoples disproportionately
impacted by the 12
year civil war.  Since that time they have regrouped
and purchased
a small hillside plot of land to rebuild their
community.

In March of 2005, we held the first Indigenous
Permaculture Program
in Sonsonate to support traditional farmers as they
begin to
transform this land into a secure and safe food source
for the
community.  We built a composting toilet, set up a
photovoltaic
energy system and built a greenhouse.

____________________________________________________________________________

**REPORT BACK FROM PINE RIDGE**

In June the IPP made a trip to the Pine Ridge
Reservation in South
Dakota to work on another element of our Community
Food Security Food
Project using traditional farming and sustainable
agriculture
practices.  So far we have created two vegetable
gardens, the first
almost 2500 square-feet in size and a second 950
square-feet in size.
   There are permanent beds created by double-digging;
seasonal beds
created by the addition of horse manure and ashes; and
corridor beds
in the center and around the garden for attracting
beneficial insects.

We planted the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash,
along with
tomatoes, peppers, and in the field (two parcels
almost 8000
square-foot total) we planted corn, squash, and beans.
  Later on this
summer we are going
to do another part of the project to support the
garden: set-up a
24x20 foot greenhouse to get ready for winter crops.

____________________________________________________________________________

***OTHER UPCOMING INDIGENOUS SUSTAINABILITY
PROJECTS***

**SUSTAINABLE NATIONS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT**
Coming up August 8-18, 2005, the Sustainable Nations
Community
Development Project is holding the first year of our
biannual two
year program, devoted to a ten-day-long intensive
hands-on training
workshop for tribal community members, decision
makers, and
technicians in the concepts, installation, and
maintenance of
environmentally and culturally appropriate
technologies.

The technologies to be focused on include:
Photovoltaics
Micro-hydroelectric systems
Small-Scale Wind Energy Systems
Strawbale Construction
Construction Design using 'Ecological Design' Methods
Alternative On-Site Wastewater Treatment

In coalition with Oglala Lakota College, Owe Aku,
Honor the Earth and
Lakota Action Network we will be helping to install a
solar/wind
hybrid renewable energy system to power the Owe Aku
Community Center.

We will also be constructing a high-quality prototype
straw bale
building. The building will be used as a play house
for the Pine
Ridge Tribal Head Start, whose playground is now bare.
This site is
in a high visibility area, and the building will be a
demonstration
of the affordability, environmental and cultural
appropriateness, and
community-oriented nature of the straw bale
construction method.

The primary focus of our program is to prepare
training participants
for the second year, which is devoted to providing
support to our
training participants to pursue sustainable
development technology
implementation in their communities. This includes
partnering our
board and staff with training participants in order to
provide
apprenticeships, mentorships, further technical
training, business
development support, computer applications, and
fundraising to ensure
the success of on-reservation small scale sustainable
development
technology businesses and projects.

We have also expanded our program to offer program
consultation
services to tribes themselves, in response to having
several
tribally-employed planning directors and environmental
directors
apply for the training.

The second year will also include introducing
NativeSUN's business
affiliate program to our participants, which offers
administrative
services including:

business support
contract and strategic advice
regulatory and utility rate expertise
use of the widely-recognized NativeSUN name
volume discounts on equipment
access to solar credit sales agreements with utilities
where available
aggregation of red/green certificates and access to
national green
marketing programs, training program and certificaiton
discounts
quick access to solar electric and utility expertise
via telephone,
fax, or e-mail
participation in NativeSUN's customer referral
program.
We will also be planning and preparing for our second
training, which
will be co-hosted by the Black Mesa Water Coalition in
Arizona

Contact PennElys Goodshield for more information at
sustainablenations at hotmail.com
and learn more at the website:
http://www.sustainablenations.org

**A NATIVE AMERICAN AFFORDABLE HOUSING WORKSHOP** is
planned for
September 3 - 4, 2005 in Crestone, Colorado in
collaboration with
Brave Heart Construction, Owen Geiger and Builders
Without Borders.
Workshop participants will build a straw bale
emergency shelter and
then learn how to modify it to create a permanent
straw bale home
for use in Native American communities. The cost of
the workshop is
$200 and includes simple lunches (soup, sandwiches,
chips, fruit
and beverages). Local restaurants are available for
breakfasts and
dinners. Workshop hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
The workshop is open to the general public, however,
preference
will be given to Native Americans, especially those
who plan on
using this information to help others. Non-natives
will be put on a
waiting list until 6 weeks before the workshop.
Free camping is available in the national forest
and lodging in nearby motels.
The straw bale shelter built during the workshop
will be based on the Free Straw Bale Emergency Shelter
Plans on the
Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building
webpage. Please
register as soon as possible, as we expect the
workshop to fill
quickly. This workshop does require a $50
non-refundable deposit to
reserve your space.
For more information or to register for the workshop,
please go to
the Workshops page of the Geiger Research Institute of
Sustainable
Building:
www.grisb.org
Email: strawhouses at yahoo.com
Owen Geiger
Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building
______________________________________________________________________________

**INDIGENOUS PERMACULTURE PROGRAM UPCOMING TRIP TO
GUATEMALA**

Later on this year the IPP is planning a trip to
Guatemala to support
Traditional Mayan farmers.

For information about current events in Guatemala,
check out:

http://www.alternet.org/story/21913

And towards supporting the efforts of a
multitude of indigenous and environmental
organizations in Guatemala
that oppose a spate of new mining concessions see:

http://www.globalresponse.org/gra.php?i=1/05

_______________________________________________________

***HOW YOU CAN HELP THE IPP***

SUPPLIES

We are always in need of tools, drip irrigations
systems supplies,
seeds and plants, please check the website
http://www.indigenous-permaculture.org for more
current updates on
our needs, or email mayalencanahuat at yahoo.com with any
questions.

FINANCIALLY

Our program is currently runded through private
donations and small
events.  While this has sustained us for some time, we
are seeking
additional assistance to allow us to work more
effectively to meet
the needs of our communities.  You can help!!!

To make a donation send  a check or money order to:

INDIGENOUS PERMACULTURE PROGRAM
3288 21st Street, #192 :: San Francisco, CA 94110 ::
Phone: 415.552.5448

Please make checks out to The Ecology
Center/Indigenous Permaculture
Program, all donations are tax-deductible.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

**THANK YOU**

This project is possible by the support of Grandfather
and
Grandmother; Grandpa
Nuntal-Tunal-Taltipac-Ejekemat-At-Ti, our elder
docent from IPP, our family and Traditional Native
American Farmers,
Rainbow Grocery Co-operative Incorporated in San
Francisco,
California who has donated funding for
IPP projects, The Ecology Center staff-Berkeley,
California-our
fiscal sponsor, and also our technical staff
sustainability without
borders Ben Jordan, David H., and Herman Yee.

Guillermo Vasquez, Director
Mayan & Nahuat descent

Pascual Yaxon Saloj, Docent
Mayan

Anank Nunink Nunkai, Docent
Shuar Tribal Elder

Arlo Starr, Newsletter Editor
Cherokee

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Indigenous Permaculture, or Cosmovision, is a way of
thinking and
living by following the original instructions we were
given to live
in balance with the world. These teachings assist
people in
achieving a symbiotic sustainable life within their
environment by
utilizing indigenous agricultural practices.

Permaculture reconnects human beings and the natural
world in an
effort to restore balance and natural law that will
heal the earth
and its people.

Indigenous Permaculture is not new, it is wisdom from
the past that
tells us how to follow our original instructions from
the Creator.
By doing this we ensure our existence and a future for
generations.

INDIGENOUS PERMACULTURE PROGRAM
3288 21st Street, #192 :: San Francisco, CA 94110 ::
Phone: 415.552.5448
______________________________________________________________________________________

To stop receiving these newsletters send a message
with UNSUBSCRIBE
in the subject line to mayalencanahuat at yahoo.com

For questions or comments about the newsletter,
contact:

Arlo Starr, Newsletter Editor
Cherokee
email: tsuj at redpride.com

____________________________________________________
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