[Scpg] Please show your support today on Facebbok, please read below about permEzone

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

I hope to demonstrate to a potentially helpful audience this evening 
that there is support in our community for the idea of sharing knowledge 
of sustainable farming practices as widely as possible, especially in 
the developing world, as a counter-culture to the hegemony of 
agro-industrial farming.
Without going into detail about the proposal in this email, if you can 
show your support for this project by visiting Facebook 
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/PermEzone/162505567227335?fref=ts>  page 
TODAY and giving us a ‘like’, that would be VERY much appreciated!
Please share this request.
Thanks
Hugh
-- 
About
permEzone is a new service that aims to share practical information 
about sustainable food systems using mobile phone technology. Subscribe 
to our twitter feed and get instant notifications on your mobile phone. 
https://twitter.com/permezone
Description
http://www.permezone.com/n@w_docs/permEzone_Intro.pdf
We are committed to helping communities prosper over the long-term, by 
facilitating and empowering action that supports the development of 
thriving local economies. Our initial focus is to work with small-holder 
family farmers throughout the world. We believe that the gradual 
adoption of methods of regenerative farming, food systems that look 
beyond the minimal necessity of sustainability, is essential to the 
continued well-being of humanity.


Published on Wednesday, 30 May 2012 05:43
Written by Hugh Kelly

Ecosystems are self-sustaining because the complex interconnections 
between their component parts create synergistic relationships - 
invisible systems - that maintain the balance of life.

Social systems also exhibit self-organization as the combined actions of 
many connected individuals build synergy. Increasingly complex human 
communications networks create the potential for self-organizing, 
synergistic interactions that transcend traditional boundaries. 
Paradoxically, the growth of virtual communities can support people in 
managing their relationship to the environment and to each other, and in 
creating sustainable, resilient and self-reliant communities.

The growth of these invisible systems can be supported with appropriate 
investment – in technology, in education, and in capacity-building.

As Oscar Salazar, founder of Citivox, was quoted as saying: we need to 
create an ecosystem where people can benefit from the technology on a 
long-term basis.

Sustainable Ag.

Written by Hugh Kelly
Hits: 610
Sustainable Agriculture can refer to any approach to growing food which 
aims to:

eliminate external inputs ,
regenerate natural resources,
contribute to a viable local economy, and
develop the capacity for the local community to provide for its own 
sustenance.
permEzone has its roots in the design science of Permaculture, but to 
the extent that you share these basic aims it shouldn't matter whether 
you call it permaculture, organic farming, agroecology, biodynamics, or 
natural farming.

The College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley reports on research into 
the application of agroecology, which it describes as the “integrated 
use of a variety of management technologies and practices. The emphasis 
is on diversified farms in which each component of the farming system 
biologically reinforces the other components, for instance where wastes 
from one component become inputs to another.” [link]

It reports on initiatives to implement agroecology in countries around 
the world, including Chile, Cuba, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Senegal. Often 
carried out in the face of pressure to employ intensive chemical 
methods, positive outcomes were achieved, including increased yields, 
improved soil fertility and improved livelihoods.

It highlights the benefits of sustainable agriculture, both in terms of 
decreased inequality and enhanced sustainability.

In drawing attention to the many initiatives to introduce 
agro-ecological approaches, the authors of this UC Berkeley report 
highlight the danger that these cases ‘will remain as "islands of 
success" in a sea of deprivation, merely living testimonies of the 
potential of the "path not taken" to feed the rural poor.’

Despite the many well-documented success stories for sustainable 
agriculture, the agro-industrial model is still firmly entrenched as the 
‘conventional’ approach. As such, it dominates the flow of expert 
information through the official channels that most farmers depend on. 
It’s difficult to see how this flow can be slowed down, let alone 
reversed in favor of agro-ecological approaches.

However, lessons can be learned from recent successes in 
self-empowerment against seemingly overwhelming odds, and suggest that 
the simple mobile phone can help to facilitate a groundswell of activity 
capable of overturning established interests.


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