[Scpg] The Overstory #116--Observe and Interact

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

Permission to send this article to our listserve was given by the folks at 
Overstory and David Holmgren

NEW PERMACULTURE BOOK
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways by David Holmgren
 From David Holmgren, the co-originator of the permaculture design concept
For a text summary go to http://www.holmgren.com.au/EssenceofPC.html
USA Distributors
Permaculture Activist www.permacultureactivist.net
Chelsea Green


THE OVERSTORY #116 - OBSERVE AND INTERACT
By David Holmgren



Available as a book or CD, The Overstory Book contains the
first three years of The Overstory, revised, formatted, and
indexed: <http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/ovbook.html>

Please send any changes in your e-mail address to
<overstory at agroforestry.net>



::::::::::::::

The Overstory #116 - Observe and Interact
By David Holmgren


Contents:

: INTRODUCTION
: OBSERVE, RECOGNISE PATTERNS AND APPRECIATE DETAILS
: INTERACT WITH CARE, CREATIVITY AND EFFICIENCY
: THE THINKING AND DESIGN REVOLUTION
: DESIGN THINKING GUIDELINES
: THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERACTION
: REFERENCES
: ORIGINAL SOURCE
: ABOUT THE AUTHOR
: WEB LINKS
: RELATED EDITIONS OF THE OVERSTORY
: PUBLISHER NOTES
: SUBSCRIPTIONS



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INTRODUCTION


In hunter-gatherer and low-density agricultural societies, the
natural environment provided all material needs, with human
effort mainly required for harvesting. In preindustrial societies
with high population densities, agricultural productivity
depended on large and continuous input of human labour.
Industrial society depends on large and continuous inputs of
fossil fuel energy to provide its food and other goods and
services. Permaculture designers use careful observation and
thoughtful interaction to reduce the need for both repetitive
manual labour and for non-renewable energy and high technology.
Thus, traditional agriculture was labour intensive, industrial
agriculture is energy intensive, and permaculture-designed
systems are information and design intensive.

In a world where the quantity of secondary (mediated) observation
and interpretation threatens to drown us, the imperative to renew
and expand our observation skills in all forms is at least as
important as the need to sift and make sense of the flood of
mediated information. Improved skills of observation and
thoughtful interaction are also more likely sources of creative
solutions than brave conquests in new fields of specialised
knowledge by the armies of science and technology.

The proverb "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" reminds us
that the process of observing influences reality. We must
always be circumspect about absolute truths and values. Good
design depends on a free and harmonious relationship to nature
and people, in which careful observation and thoughtful
interaction provide the design inspiration, repertoire and
patterns. It is not something that is generated in isolation, but
through continuous and reciprocal interaction with the subject.


OBSERVE, RECOGNISE PATTERNS AND APPRECIATE DETAILS

A process of continuous observation in order to recognise
patterns and appreciate details is the foundation of all
understanding. Those observed patterns and details are the source
for art, science and design. The natural and especially the
biological world provides by far the greatest diversity of
patterns and details observable without the aid of complex or
expensive technology. Those patterns and details provide us with
a great repertoire of models and possibilities for the design of
low energy human support systems.

While good observation is the source of new insight and
creativity, it is also the foundation for renewing the most basic
abilities that we appear to be losing as fast as technology finds
substitutes. For example, observation of a baby's pattern of
bowel movements and early action to hold them over the potty at
the right time can lead to easy and early toilet training, saving
endless work, water and energy. Computerised Geographical
Information Systems, while very useful, often substitute for, or
cover up, a deficit in simple skills of reading the landscape.


INTERACT WITH CARE, CREATIVITY AND EFFICIENCY

There is little value in continuous observation and
interpretation unless we interact with the subject of our
observations. Interaction reveals new and dynamic aspects of our
subject and draws attention to our own beliefs and behaviour as
instrumental to understanding. The interplay between observer and
subject can be thought of as the precursor to design. The
accumulation of the experiences of observation and interaction
build the skill and the wisdom needed both to intervene
sensitively in existing systems and to creatively design new
ones.


THE THINKING AND DESIGN REVOLUTION

Everyone knows about the breathtaking emergence of the
information economy. The information and knowledge systems that
direct and organise the physical economy of goods now have the
greatest value and power. Computers are the most obvious feature
of the information economy, but changes in the way we think,
especially the emergence of design thinking, are more fundamental
to the information economy than the hardware and software we use.
Permaculture itself is part of this thinking revolution.

A large part of the thinking revolution involves the emergence of
design as a universal skill alongside those of literacy and
numeracy. It is not so much that we are just beginning to design;
rather, we are becoming more conscious of the power of our
individual and collective design processes and how to improve
them. Design is fundamental to humanity and nature, and yet it is
so difficult to define.

Victor Papanek defines design as "the conscious and intuitive
effort to impose meaningful order." This emphasises that design
is not simply the result of rational, analytical and reductionist
thinking, but also depends on our intuitive and integrative
capabilities.

To design requires that we are familiar with models generated by
nature and humanity (past and current solutions and options) as
well as having an ability to visualise some new adaption,
variation or possibility. The capacity to imagine other
possibilities is another important aspect of design thinking. The
most creative design involves the promiscuous hybridisation of
possibilities from apparently disconnected, or even discordant
sources to create a new harmony.

 >From a systems ecology perspective, "design by nature" is not
simply a metaphor but a result of the forces of self-organisation
which can be observed everywhere in the living and wider
universe. This imposition of meaningful order is a counter-flow
to the prevailing entropic forces of disorder within nature and
the wider universe. Self-organisation occurs wherever energy
flows are sufficient to generate storages. Designing is as
natural as breathing and, like breathing, most of us can learn to
do it better.

Observation and interaction involve a two-way process between
subject and object: the designer and the system. The maxim
"everything works both ways" is a useful general reminder that
finds expression in many diverse examples. The following more
specific maxims provide the concrete guidelines and reminders
which can help us as designers.


DESIGN THINKING GUIDELINES

--> All observations are relative
Observation can be a reflection of an internal state rather than
objective fact. Even the concept of objective fact in science is
now acknowledged as flawed; scientists know that observation,
directly and indirectly, influences reality.

Given the limits to objectivity, it is better to be clear and
articulate about our assumptions, preconceptions and values, and
to acknowledge how these influence and structure how we see.
Ethics and ideology act as filters that determine what and how we
see. These filters are unavoidable--in fact, essential--but the
rush to judgment of right and wrong frequently clouds our
observation and prevents understanding. This commonly occurs in
our attitude to pest plants and animals.

--> Top-down thinking, bottom-up action
In considering any subject it is always useful to step back and
look for the connections and contexts which can reveal our
subject as part of large-scale systems. This assists us to
identify important inputs to the system that are outside system
control or feedback effects and also to see outputs and losses
that larger-scale systems are absorbing.

This "top-down" systems thinking is a useful balance to
"bottom-up" reductionist perspectives that seek to understand a
subject by looking for its fundamental parts. On the other hand,
bottom-up action focuses on the leverage points that are
available for small-scale elements or individuals to influence
large-scale systems in which they participate. This is especially
important when we are trying to manage rangelands, forests and
other wild landscapes where our "management" options are a small
part of the larger system. Similarly, in trying to foster
appropriate community change in a context of more powerful
forces, recognising leverage points where we can make a
difference is essential. Perhaps the current prevailing mode of
action could be characterised as "top-down" (dominant) action
typified by governmental and corporate management. Instead what
is needed is more bottom-up (participatory) action at all levels
in natural and human systems.

--> The landscape is the textbook
The natural world provides such a vast diversity of subject
material for the observer and designer that we can characterise
the landscape as the textbook to follow. All the knowledge we
need to create and manage low energy human support systems can
come from working with nature.

By observation we usually mean using our eyes, but this just
reflects how visually dominated modern people are, raised in a
literate and now graphical world. All of our senses have great
potential to provide valuable information. For example, smelling
or tasting soil can reveal otherwise invisible aspects of its
biological, physical and chemical balance. An experienced
bird-watcher often learns more from songs and calls than from
glimpses of birds that may be elusive.

The development of good observation skills takes time and a
quiet- centred condition. This in itself requires a change from a
lifestyle that is indoor, semi-nocturnal and media-dominated to
one that is outdoor, mainly daytime, and nature-focused. At our
office we balance indoor deskwork with observation and physical
work in the garden that supplies most of our food. As well as
feeding us, working with nature provides the inspiration for, and
testing of, the more abstract ideas expressed here.

I have found that skills in "reading landscape" to be the most
important a designer can develop to be useful in advising others
on the potentials, limitations, land use history and successional
processes of any particular parcel of land.

--> Failure is useful so long as we learn
Planning and design processes (like life in general) often
involve incremental adjustment in response to experience. No
matter how little knowledge we have, we can proceed from a very
narrow perspective to a broader and more wholistic one by
incremental adjustment.

Although this is an excellent and simple process, when working
with complex natural systems we need to remember that we don't
understand, let alone control, all the factors; and that cause
and effect are often a loop or a web, rather than a linear chain.
When you try some action, don't assume you were the reason for
any success. Conduct small trials and think about other possible
causes for success or failure.

--> Elegant solutions are simple, even invisible
In science the simplest answer that explains all the facts is
regarded as having more validity than a complex answer. Similarly
in design, enormous complexity often indicates poor design. A
really effective design solution may be remarkably simple. This
simplicity may be inherent, or it may arise because
self-organising (living) complexity that works without us
understanding or controlling it is doing most of the job.

Effective systems may work so well that we don't even notice
them. This is common with free environmental services, such as
purification of air and water or soil rehabilitation and good
design solutions that go unnoticed until they fail from abuse.
The saying "we don't know what we've got till it's gone" is
relevant here. Careful observation and a respect for humble life
forms and processes is a partial antidote for this perennial
problem.

--> Make the smallest intervention necessary
In attempting to adjust systems to fix problems, we need to be
careful that we don't damage or disrupt other processes that are
working perfectly. Because much effective design is invisible,
large-scale interventions are likely to do more harm than good,
and they require large amounts of energy and resources to
implement. Japanese natural farmer and philosopher Masanobu
Fukuoka has written eloquently about the value of doing nothing
and the damage from large-scale intervention in nature. The
Bradley method of bush regeneration, based on the careful
observation and minimal interventions of the Bradley sisters, has
been acknowledged as highly effective in conserving bushland from
spread of environmental weeds. Its focus on minimal disturbance
to remove weeds from the most intact areas of native vegetation
runs counter to the prevailing approach, which is to attack the
weeds head-on with herbicide and other high-impact methods.

--> Avoid too much of a good thing
When we experience a positive result from an action, there is
almost always a powerful temptation to repeat the action, working
on the often misguided idea that if some is good, more must be
better. In sustainable societies and nature, limited resources
often acted as a natural constraint on such actions, but in the
modern world these temptations are everywhere. One of the
universal effects of affluence is the change in diet towards
consuming more sugar, fat and protein. Foods with these
concentrated energy sources have always been desirable, but in
the past natural limits protected us from the adverse effects of
overindulgence.

Any gardener or farmer who has a great harvest following use of a
fertiliser knows the temptation to use more next time. The
slowing in growth of world food yields, despite increases in
fertiliser use, shows the problem is widespread. As in the case
of overindulgence in sugar, fat and protein, overuse of any
fertilisers creates imbalances that reduce long-term yields and
plant health.

Many of these statements that caution us against bold and
impulsive action reflect a general observation: that success or
function in any system may represent failure in connected systems
that are larger or smaller in scale.

--> The problem is the solution
This slogan expresses the idea that things are not always as they
seem; the things we view negatively may have a positive aspect
that is more important than, or at least compensates for, the
predominant negative perception.

The most common examples of this idea relate to weeds or other
life forms which we regard as pests. Weeds or pests may be
environmental indicators of need for management change, agents
repairing damaged soil, etc., or resources which, for economic or
cultural reasons, we fail to value.

An open, inquiring attitude to problems is almost always more
fruitful than an urgent demand for solutions. The latter is often
driven by fear and an unquestioned consensus about the nature of
the problem.

Another aspect of this maxim is that the best solutions to
problems can be found in places and cultures where the problem is
extreme. In these situations co-evolution over time will develop
the best responses. In places where the design problem is less
severe, people often ignore it or come up with solutions that use
more effort or resources to overcome the problem. For example, in
my brief time on the precipitous Amalfi coast in southern Italy,
I became aware of several creative solutions to the problems and
limitations of very steep land, some traditional and others
modern and imported. Conversely, while travelling in the
Mediterranean I was surprised by the poor development of
rainwater tanks and small earth dams compared with Australia.
Despite the dry summers, the prevalence of permanent streams,
springs and good-quality groundwater in the Mediterranean has
reduced the stimulus to harvest rainwater.

--> Recognise and break out of design cul-de-sacs
When we recognise the potential to turn problems into solutions,
we often encounter the inertia of fundamental beliefs, system
architecture and power structures that stand to lose by the
innovation. Although modern culture appears to encourage
innovation (within narrow limits), we need to be aware why
conservatism--resistance to radical change--is an important
characteristic of both natural and human systems.

In nature and in human behaviour, proven solutions tend to become
entrenched, while recent innovations are easily swept away by
unfavourable conditions. In the history of life, mutations in the
basic chemistry of cellular life almost never manage to get past
early embryo stage because evolution over hundreds of millions of
years has perfected these processes and any variations are
usually lethal. More recent evolutionary patterns have rarely
been vested with fundamental functions, so occasional mutations
survive, at least initially. For example, variation in the number
of nipples, and even of digits, is common in mammals. Stress and
competition tend to suppress such variations through low success
in reproduction.

In families, most parents deliberately or unconsciously teach
their children the lessons (good and bad) that they learnt in
childhood from their parents, in preference to their own insights
as adults. The more stressed parents are, the more this becomes
true. The cycle of battered child to battering parent is now well
recognised. Similarly in human culture, patterns of proven
behaviour or knowledge become entrenched through tradition and
institutions. Over long periods of relative stability,
institutions rather than individuals are the critical keepers of
culture. What is needed in these situations is the capacity to
think laterally, readiness to abandon the proven and take risks.

Broad experience and observation of the world outside the
particular situation or system can allow recognition of the
patterns of design cul-de-sacs and the general nature of
transformative solutions. In most cases these solutions will
challenge and undermine existing structures of power and wealth
in society and are therefore strongly resisted.


THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERACTION

These and other insights, drawn from the interpretation of
traditional systems of knowledge and for the great thinkers of
the modern world, provide a wealth of ideas that can help us make
sense of observation and experience. But unless we get out there,
and open our eyes and use our hands and our hearts, all the ideas
in the world will not save us.

Thus the thinking and design revolution, of which permaculture is
a part, only makes sense when it reconnects us to the wonder and
mystery of life through practical interaction.


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REFERENCES

King, F.H. 1911. Farmers of Forty Centuries. Rodale Press

Holmgren, D. 2001. David Holmgren: Collected Writings 1978-2000.
Holmgren Design Services, Hepburn, Australia. Web:
http://www.holmgren.com.au

Fukuoka, M. 1978. The One Straw Revolution. Rodale Press.

Larking, J., A. Lenning and J. Walker (Eds). 1988. The Bradley
Method of Bush Regeneration. Lansdowne Press, Sydney.

Gall, J. 1977. General Systematics. Harper & Row.

Papanek, V. 1984. Design for the Real World (2nd edition). Thames
& Hudson.


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ORIGINAL SOURCE

This article is excerpted with the kind permission of the author
from:

Holmgren, D. 2002. Permaculture: principles and pathways beyond
sustainability. Holmgren Design Services, Hepburn, Australia.

To order this or other publications by David Holmgren, contact:

Holmgren Design Services
Melliodora (Hepburn Permaculture Gardens)
16 Fourteenth St.
Hepburn
Victoria 3461
Australia
Tel:  +61 (0)353483636
Email: info at holmgren.com.au
Web site: http://www.holmgren.com.au


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


David Holmgren is a permaculture designer and consultant. He is
perhaps best known as co-originator of the permaculture concept
and for co-authorship of Permaculture One (1978) with Bill
Mollison, a milestone in the application of environmental design
to productive land use. Since 1978 he has authored numerous
articles and several books, conducted workshops and courses, and
consulted for urban and rural projects in Australia and New
Zealand. David is respected for his commitment to presenting
permaculture ideas through practical projects. He teaches by
personal example that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic,
attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism.
Contact David at: Holmgren Design Services, Melliodora (Hepburn
Permaculture Gardens), 16 Fourteenth St, Hepburn, 3461,
Australia; Tel: +61 (0)353483636; E-mail: info at holmgren.com.au;
Web site: http://www.holmgren.com.au.


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WEB LINKS


Many of David Holmgren's excellent articles can be viewed at
(and his books can be ordered from):
<http://www.holmgren.com.au>.

Introduction to Permaculture: Concepts and Resources is an
excellent introduction with comprehensive resource links:
<http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/perma.html>

InterGarden - Permaculture Information - Discussion - Links has
discussion forums and extensive listing of permaculture-related
links: <http://sunsite.unc.edu/london/permaculture.html>

The Permaculture Activist site offers an array of information and
resource links: <http://www.permacultureactivist.net>


::::::::::::::
RELATED EDITIONS OF THE OVERSTORY

The Overstory #95--Agroecology
<http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory95.html>
The Overstory #94--Permaculture
<http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory94.html>
The Overstory #88--Revegetation Planning for Farm Forestry
<http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory88.html>
The Overstory #44--Integrated Systems Approach
<http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory44.html>
The Overstory #18--Designing Resource Systems
<http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory18.html>
The Overstory #7-- Agroforestry Systems
<http://www.agroforestry.net/overstory/overstory7.html>


::::::::::::::
PUBLISHER NOTES

Publisher: Agroforestry Net, Inc., P.O. Box 428,
Holualoa, HI 96725 USA; Tel: 808-324-4427; Fax:
808-324-4129; E-mail: <overstory at agroforestry.net>; Web site:
<http://www.agroforestry.net>

Editors: Craig R. Elevitch and Kim M. Wilkinson

Past editions of The Overstory: <http://www.overstory.org>

This publication is Copyright 2003 Permanent Agriculture
Resources.  All rights reserved worldwide. For conditions of
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