[Scpg] Warren Brush writes from Pine Ridge Permaculture Course in South Dakota

[Quail Springs]

Permaculture Design Course at Pine Ridge Reservation with Warren Brush

Read the full article at: http://www.quailsprings.org/PineRidgeArticle_1.htm

 

"We are eight days into a 13-day Permaculture Design Course here at Pine
Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the home of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
Students from as far away as Florida and California have joined local tribal
members in learning about how to integrate permaculture into their lives,
livelihoods and cultural regeneration processes."  

 

"Our hosts, a native family who runs a 10,000 acre cattle lease on the
reservation and are highly respected tribal members, have been gracious and
supportive and have opened up the teachings of Permaculture to their entire
network on the reservation.  They set up tipis for our course and a large
Army tent for our classroom then we have shared the family's kitchen for all
our meals.  During our course, we have had many guests sit in with us and
share and we have visited quite a few projects around the "rez" that have
integrated sustainable systems into their design. There is one group called,
" Lakota Solar Enterprises" who received initial funding from Winona LaDuke
to build passive solar heaters for the thousands of trailers and poorly
built HUD homes that dot the landscape in this sometimes harsh climate of
extremes.  We met with Avery Red Cloud, who is the son of the founder, Henry
Red Cloud, who showed us how they make the passive solar panels and blower
system that can lower a families propane dependency during the winter as
much as 30% with this simple technology.  The panels are built on-site by
local labor where they are provided training and the tools to help them
learn how to build the panels and install them professionally.  The entire
operation is managed and operated by the Lakota people.  You can learn more
about their work at: http://www.treeswaterpeople.org/"

 

"What we began to realize as we went from keypoint to keypoint was truly
astounding and totally pragmatic.  The keypoints were also the places of the
ancient buffalo wallows.  The buffalo have a keen ability to locate surface
water then they would rut the area and often would start springs from the
keypoints.  We also observed that many of the old buffalo trails were nearly
on contour as they walked along the landscape as their bodies were so heavy
that walking on contour would have made sense for then to maintain their
energy efficient movement across the landscape.  When these epiphanies
settled into us, we started to share with other tribal members the Keyline
process by first introducing it through the wisdom and pragmatism of their
sacred buffalo.  This is exciting everyone around here who are looking at
how they can integrate the past with the present situation they are living
within." 

 

 

Read the full article at: http://www.quailsprings.org/PineRidgeArticle_1.htm

 

 

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