Al Jazeera's very recent feature of the new 'Greening the Desert' site
Introduction
Why did the photojournalist cross the road? It sounds like the beginning of a joke, and, in a way, it was. I was standing at a busy road in Amman, Jordan, contemplating crossing. I say 'contemplating' as there were three lanes in each direction, and the traffic was moving fast. Several hundred metres away I spied a pedestrian overpass, but, before reason could sway impulse, I saw an opening and took it. Then, with three lanes behind me, standing proudly on the 1-metre wide centre strip, it seemed that the deity in charge of roads decided to conspire against me.... In the 37°C+ heat, I watched, waited, and then watched and waited some more. The minutes dragged by. A few times I ventured one foot forward, only to snatch it back again. The sun blazed. I began to have visions of being stuck here until the traffic slowed in the evening....
Andy Goldring, the Coordinator/CEO of the Permaculture Association (Britain) attended the International Permaculture Convergence 10 (IPC10) in Jordan. He was there alongside hundreds of others, including Permaculture's founding father Bill Mollison. Andy reviews an event which is acknowledged as making global breakthroughs in such areas as greening deserts and helping to connect people globally. He also talks about how you can attend future IPCs and support permaculture the world over.
I've been the coordinator at the Permaculture Association since 1999, and as a "busman's holiday" I attended the 2005 International Permaculture Convergence (IPC) in Croatia. There were interesting workshops, but overall the event could be described as "argumentative". So whilst colleagues had attended subsequent IPCs with good reports, it was with some trepidation that I made plans to attend IPC10. Would we spend hours in heated debate, and would I overheat in the 40 degree plus desert?
UMass Amherst transformed a 1/4 grass lawn on campus into a thriving, abundant, permaculture garden during the 2010-2011 academic year. Learn how this student-led project can be easily replicated and spread to other campuses, institutions.. any piece of land for that matter. UMass Amherst is one of the first university's undertaking a project like this, directly on campus, and supplying the food to its dining commons.
Murad Alkufash is a dedicated permaculturist. Considering where he lives, he must be. Or, perhaps because of where he lives he must be — as permaculture is a truly logical, and the only really lasting, solution to the problems surrounding him. Murad lives in the West Bank, and directly under one of the largest illegal settlements in Palestine. The biological and climatic environment he faces is quite challenging, yet the political environment is even more so. It’s one of the most complex political environments to be found in this tired old world.
Murad attended the recent Tenth International Permaculture Conference & Convergence (IPC10), and gave the following presentation on his work at the convergence in the Wadi Rum desert. As well as the video below, if you want a bit of background on Murad and his situation, you can read a feature post I did on this a while back.
Owen's talk here is quite fascinating. While most in permaculture will recognise the importance of mainframe design, Owen's talk goes a step further, and dips headlong into mainframe concepts as well. If you're one of those right-side brain type people who just loves thinking a little above and beyond and immersing yourself into a bit of theory, you'll find this talk from Owen hard to pause. If it doesn't sound like your cup of tea, don't panic, as Owen brings the theoretical aspects back onto the ground throughout, to show how it plays out (and boy does it play out) on a tangible property he's been working on in the U.S. of A. -- in this case the large broad acre Whirlwind Farm. In essence, Owen's talk is about restorative, resilience farming: how we can think about it, and achieve it.
