Carl O Sauer, ‘The Agency of Man on the Earth’, in William L Thomas, Jr., ed., Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth: An International Symposium under the Co-chairmanship of Carl O. Sauer, Marston Bates and Lewis Mumford (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956), pp.57-8
Extract from section on ‘Peasant and Pastoral Ways’ (7/6/08)
[A swidden, conuco or milpa] plot begins by deadening tree growth, followed toward the end of a dry period by burning, the ashes serving as quick fertilizer. The cleared space then is well stocked with a diverse assemblage of useful plants grown as tiers of vegetation if moisture and fertility are adequate. In the maize-beans-squash complex the squash vines spread over the ground, the cornstalks grow tall, and the beans climb up the cornstalks. Thus the ground is well protected by plant cover, with good interception of the falling rain. In each conuco a high diversity of plants may be cared for, ranging from low herbs to shrubs, such as cotton and manioc, to trees entangled with cultivated climbers. The seeming disorder is actually a very full use of light and moisture, an admirable ecologic substitution by man, perhaps equivalent to the natural cover also in the protection given to the surface of the ground. In the tropical conuco an irregular patch is dug into at convenient spots and at almost any time to set out or collect different plants, the planted surface at no time being wholly dug over, Digging roots and replanting maybe going on at the same time. Our notions of a harvest season when the whole crop is taken off the field are inapplicable: In the conucos something may be gathered on almost any day through the year. The same plant may yield pot and salad greens, pollen-rich flowers, immature fruit, and ripened fruit; garden and field are one, an numerous domestic uses may be served by each plant. Such multiple population of the tilled space makes possible the highest yields per unit of surface, to which may be added the comments that this system has developed plants of highest productivity, such as bananas, yams, and manioc, and that food production is by no means the only utility of many such plants.
The planting systems really do not deserve the invidious terms given them, such as “slash and burn” or “shifting agriculture.” The abandonment of the planting after a time to the resprouting and reseeding wild woody growth is a form of rotation by which the soil is replenished by nutriments carried up from deep-rooted trees and shrubs, to be spread over the ground as litter. Such use of the land is freed from the limitations imposed on the plowed field by terrain. That it may give good yields on steep and broken slopes is not an argument against the method, which gives much better protection against soil erosion than does any plowing. It is also in these cultures that we find that systems of terracing of slopes have been established.
Some of the faults charged against the system derive from the late impact from our own culture, such as providing axes and machetes by which sprouts and brush may be kept whacked out instead of letting the land rest under regrowth, the replacement of subsistence crops by money crops, the worldwide spurt in population, and the demand for manufactured goods which is designated as rising standard of living. Nor do I claim that under this primitive planting man could go on forever growing his necessities without depleting the soil; but rather that, in its basic procedure and crop assemblages, this system has been most conservative of fertility at high levels of yield; that, being protective and intensive, we might consider it as being fully suited to the physical and cultural conditions of the areas where it exists. Our Western know-how is directed to land use over a short run of years and is not the [end p.57] wisdom of the primitive peasant rooted to his ancestral lands.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Swidden
Carl O Sauer, ‘The Agency of Man on the Earth’, in William L Thomas, Jr., ed., Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth: An International Symposium under the Co-chairmanship of Carl O. Sauer, Marston Bates and Lewis Mumford (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956), pp.57-8
Extract from section on ‘Peasant and Pastoral Ways’ (7/6/08)
[A swidden, conuco or milpa] plot begins by deadening tree growth, followed toward the end of a dry period by burning, the ashes serving as quick fertilizer. The cleared space then is well stocked with a diverse assemblage of useful plants grown as tiers of vegetation if moisture and fertility are adequate. In the maize-beans-squash complex the squash vines spread over the ground, the cornstalks grow tall, and the beans climb up the cornstalks. Thus the ground is well protected by plant cover, with good interception of the falling rain. In each conuco a high diversity of plants may be cared for, ranging from low herbs to shrubs, such as cotton and manioc, to trees entangled with cultivated climbers. The seeming disorder is actually a very full use of light and moisture, an admirable ecologic substitution by man, perhaps equivalent to the natural cover also in the protection given to the surface of the ground. In the tropical conuco an irregular patch is dug into at convenient spots and at almost any time to set out or collect different plants, the planted surface at no time being wholly dug over, Digging roots and replanting maybe going on at the same time. Our notions of a harvest season when the whole crop is taken off the field are inapplicable: In the conucos something may be gathered on almost any day through the year. The same plant may yield pot and salad greens, pollen-rich flowers, immature fruit, and ripened fruit; garden and field are one, an numerous domestic uses may be served by each plant. Such multiple population of the tilled space makes possible the highest yields per unit of surface, to which may be added the comments that this system has developed plants of highest productivity, such as bananas, yams, and manioc, and that food production is by no means the only utility of many such plants.
The planting systems really do not deserve the invidious terms given them, such as “slash and burn” or “shifting agriculture.” The abandonment of the planting after a time to the resprouting and reseeding wild woody growth is a form of rotation by which the soil is replenished by nutriments carried up from deep-rooted trees and shrubs, to be spread over the ground as litter. Such use of the land is freed from the limitations imposed on the plowed field by terrain. That it may give good yields on steep and broken slopes is not an argument against the method, which gives much better protection against soil erosion than does any plowing. It is also in these cultures that we find that systems of terracing of slopes have been established.
Some of the faults charged against the system derive from the late impact from our own culture, such as providing axes and machetes by which sprouts and brush may be kept whacked out instead of letting the land rest under regrowth, the replacement of subsistence crops by money crops, the worldwide spurt in population, and the demand for manufactured goods which is designated as rising standard of living. Nor do I claim that under this primitive planting man could go on forever growing his necessities without depleting the soil; but rather that, in its basic procedure and crop assemblages, this system has been most conservative of fertility at high levels of yield; that, being protective and intensive, we might consider it as being fully suited to the physical and cultural conditions of the areas where it exists. Our Western know-how is directed to land use over a short run of years and is not the [end p.57] wisdom of the primitive peasant rooted to his ancestral lands.
Extract from section on ‘Peasant and Pastoral Ways’ (7/6/08)
[A swidden, conuco or milpa] plot begins by deadening tree growth, followed toward the end of a dry period by burning, the ashes serving as quick fertilizer. The cleared space then is well stocked with a diverse assemblage of useful plants grown as tiers of vegetation if moisture and fertility are adequate. In the maize-beans-squash complex the squash vines spread over the ground, the cornstalks grow tall, and the beans climb up the cornstalks. Thus the ground is well protected by plant cover, with good interception of the falling rain. In each conuco a high diversity of plants may be cared for, ranging from low herbs to shrubs, such as cotton and manioc, to trees entangled with cultivated climbers. The seeming disorder is actually a very full use of light and moisture, an admirable ecologic substitution by man, perhaps equivalent to the natural cover also in the protection given to the surface of the ground. In the tropical conuco an irregular patch is dug into at convenient spots and at almost any time to set out or collect different plants, the planted surface at no time being wholly dug over, Digging roots and replanting maybe going on at the same time. Our notions of a harvest season when the whole crop is taken off the field are inapplicable: In the conucos something may be gathered on almost any day through the year. The same plant may yield pot and salad greens, pollen-rich flowers, immature fruit, and ripened fruit; garden and field are one, an numerous domestic uses may be served by each plant. Such multiple population of the tilled space makes possible the highest yields per unit of surface, to which may be added the comments that this system has developed plants of highest productivity, such as bananas, yams, and manioc, and that food production is by no means the only utility of many such plants.
The planting systems really do not deserve the invidious terms given them, such as “slash and burn” or “shifting agriculture.” The abandonment of the planting after a time to the resprouting and reseeding wild woody growth is a form of rotation by which the soil is replenished by nutriments carried up from deep-rooted trees and shrubs, to be spread over the ground as litter. Such use of the land is freed from the limitations imposed on the plowed field by terrain. That it may give good yields on steep and broken slopes is not an argument against the method, which gives much better protection against soil erosion than does any plowing. It is also in these cultures that we find that systems of terracing of slopes have been established.
Some of the faults charged against the system derive from the late impact from our own culture, such as providing axes and machetes by which sprouts and brush may be kept whacked out instead of letting the land rest under regrowth, the replacement of subsistence crops by money crops, the worldwide spurt in population, and the demand for manufactured goods which is designated as rising standard of living. Nor do I claim that under this primitive planting man could go on forever growing his necessities without depleting the soil; but rather that, in its basic procedure and crop assemblages, this system has been most conservative of fertility at high levels of yield; that, being protective and intensive, we might consider it as being fully suited to the physical and cultural conditions of the areas where it exists. Our Western know-how is directed to land use over a short run of years and is not the [end p.57] wisdom of the primitive peasant rooted to his ancestral lands.
Monday, 21 July 2008
Plants For A Future Meeting, 20 July 2008
A very productive meeting was held at the Cornwall site of PFAF, The Field, Penpol. Four groups of people were present, representing the current activities and interests. Ken Fern, the founder of PFAF was there with his family. There were members of the Land Club, who have been involved in working on The Field for several years. There were past and present trustees of the PFAF Charity. There were also two people interested in being part of the team carrying out the two-year Research Project agreed to by the Charity.
One outcome of the meeting was that we all became clearer about our respective roles, and the principles we wish to abide by. This means we also recognised some of the weaknesses from the past. In the case of the Charity, we recognise that there is a danger of over-relying on trustees taking on administrative responsibilities, for which, as trustees, they cannot be paid. We resolved not to let that happen in future, and to ensure that the trustees focus on reaching decisions on strategy and policy, and deciding how the tasks identified should be carried out.
It was recognised at the meeting that the Charity is best placed to carry out the outreach side of PFAF. Ken Fern’s vision has always had a local and a global aspect. The local side has been developing The Field, which after 18 years is a rich ecosystem consisting of a prolific mixture of indigenous woodland and plants chosen for their usefulness, many of which are trees and perennials, and new and unusual plants rather than traditional cultivars. More people are needed to continue working on the land, and the Charity has commissioned the research study in large part to make what has been achieved on The Field better known and to draw new people in – and old people back. We need more people to get involved in the Charity too. In particular, following the recent change of trustees, we need a new trustee.
Request for a new trustee for Plants For A Future
Following recent changes, the Plants For A Future Charity is seeking someone interested in becoming our third trustee, the current two being Chris Marsh and George Sobol. The duties will not be burdensome, and in terms of time will mean attending at most quarterly trustees meetings, unless the person wants to be more active.
The Charity also needs someone with suitable skills to work on the main website and plants database at www.pfaf.org, and this is a job which we expect to pay for (not an unpaid duty for a trustee). We are also looking for a base for our administration, to provide a service for members and enquirers. We are also seeking people interested in moderating online enquiries and discussions.
The Charity (No. 1057719, a charitable company limited by guarantee) was set up in 1996, and its Objects are:
To advance the education of the public by the promotion of all aspects of ecologically sustainable vegan-organic horticulture and agriculture with an emphasis on tree, shrub and other perennial species; and the undertaking of research into such horticulture and agriculture, and dissemination of the results of such research.
If you are interested we’d like to know what skills you have to offer. An interest in plants for food and other uses, especially from trees and perennials, and in how to grow them, would be an advantage (would be great, actually!) but is not essential. Experience of fund raising and drawing up business plans is, of course, desirable – but we won’t be expecting you to do all the work. This is an opportunity for someone interested in developing and promoting alternative methods of food growing and land use, and in sustainable methods of achieving food security in Britain and beyond.
One outcome of the meeting was that we all became clearer about our respective roles, and the principles we wish to abide by. This means we also recognised some of the weaknesses from the past. In the case of the Charity, we recognise that there is a danger of over-relying on trustees taking on administrative responsibilities, for which, as trustees, they cannot be paid. We resolved not to let that happen in future, and to ensure that the trustees focus on reaching decisions on strategy and policy, and deciding how the tasks identified should be carried out.
It was recognised at the meeting that the Charity is best placed to carry out the outreach side of PFAF. Ken Fern’s vision has always had a local and a global aspect. The local side has been developing The Field, which after 18 years is a rich ecosystem consisting of a prolific mixture of indigenous woodland and plants chosen for their usefulness, many of which are trees and perennials, and new and unusual plants rather than traditional cultivars. More people are needed to continue working on the land, and the Charity has commissioned the research study in large part to make what has been achieved on The Field better known and to draw new people in – and old people back. We need more people to get involved in the Charity too. In particular, following the recent change of trustees, we need a new trustee.
Request for a new trustee for Plants For A Future
Following recent changes, the Plants For A Future Charity is seeking someone interested in becoming our third trustee, the current two being Chris Marsh and George Sobol. The duties will not be burdensome, and in terms of time will mean attending at most quarterly trustees meetings, unless the person wants to be more active.
The Charity also needs someone with suitable skills to work on the main website and plants database at www.pfaf.org, and this is a job which we expect to pay for (not an unpaid duty for a trustee). We are also looking for a base for our administration, to provide a service for members and enquirers. We are also seeking people interested in moderating online enquiries and discussions.
The Charity (No. 1057719, a charitable company limited by guarantee) was set up in 1996, and its Objects are:
To advance the education of the public by the promotion of all aspects of ecologically sustainable vegan-organic horticulture and agriculture with an emphasis on tree, shrub and other perennial species; and the undertaking of research into such horticulture and agriculture, and dissemination of the results of such research.
If you are interested we’d like to know what skills you have to offer. An interest in plants for food and other uses, especially from trees and perennials, and in how to grow them, would be an advantage (would be great, actually!) but is not essential. Experience of fund raising and drawing up business plans is, of course, desirable – but we won’t be expecting you to do all the work. This is an opportunity for someone interested in developing and promoting alternative methods of food growing and land use, and in sustainable methods of achieving food security in Britain and beyond.
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Three World Change Visionaries:
Ken Fern, Bill Mollison, Rabindranath Tagore
PLANTS FOR A FUTURE in 1990
Plants For A Future is a Vegan Alternative Plant Project that has just started in Cornwall. Its aim is to demonstrate the wide variety of useful commodities such as food, fuel, fibres, medicines etc. that can be obtained from plants grown in this country. We have over 20 acres of south-facing land and a rapidly increasing variety of useful plants—at present, well over 1,200 species.
We aim to become self-sufficient in food, fuel etc; and to show others that these can be derived from the plant world without recourse to animal exploitation or environmental damaging methods. We feel that human survival depends on this, and on the use of a wide variety of plant species, especially when there is a threat of rapid climatic change.
Perennial plants are emphasised, because once these become established they require minimal disturbance to the soil, minimal environmental impact, and minimal work.
Since we are only in the early stages, the majority of the plants are still quite small—but every oak tree once started life as a little acorn!
Future plans include planting a woodland and more hedges; expanding our stock of plants—both in terms of numbers of plants and numbers of species; building a compost toilet; building a wind generator for lighting, building a stone fruit store (preferably partly underground) or a cellar; selling plants and education. However, all this needs more time and more resources. We are also hoping to become a Registered Charity soon.
Anyone interested in self-sufficiency and living in harmony with the environment is welcome to come and help—including those who have bricklaying and carpentry skills! Long and short stays welcome.
We are also looking for l or 2 environmentally-aware people to join us on a co-operative basis: i.e. shared work, shared expenses, income from the land etc. Accommodation is basic (either caravan or room in converted shed).
Ken Hennessy and Addy Morris [later Fern], Permaculture News, ed. by Graham Bell, Autumn 1990, p.19
Bill Mollison explains why freeing land for wilderness matters:
Even anthropocentric people would be well-advised to pay close attention to, and to assist in, the conservation of existing forests and the rehabilitation of degraded lands. Our own survival demands that we preserve all existing species, and allow them a place to live.
We have abused the land and laid waste to systems we need never have disturbed had we attended to our home gardens and settlements. If we need to state a set of ethics on natural systems, then let it be thus:
* Implacable and uncompromising opposition to further disturbance of any remaining natural forests, where most species are still in balance;
* Vigorous rehabilitation of degraded and damaged natural systems to stable states;
* Establishment of plant systems for our own use on the least amount of land we can use for our existence; and
* Establishment of plant and animal refuges for rare or threatened species.
…
In a world where we are losing forests, species, and whole ecosystems, there are three concurrent and parallel responses to the environment:
1. CARE FOR SURVIVING NATURAL ASSEMBLIES, to leave the wilderness to heal itself.
2. REHABILITATE DEGRADED OR ERODED LAND using complex pioneer species and long-term plant assemblies (trees, shrubs, ground covers).
3. CREATE OUR OWN COMPLEX LIVING ENVIRONMENT with as many species as we can save, or have need for, from wherever on earth they come.
We are fast approaching the point where we need refuges for all global life forms, as well as regional, national, or state parks for indigenous forms of plants and animals. While we see our local flora and fauna as “native”, we may also logically see all life as “native to earth”. While we try to preserve systems that are still local and diverse, we should also build new or recombinant ecologies from global resources, especially in order to stabilise degraded lands.’
Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Practical Guide for a Sustainable Future, 1990, p.7
Mother Earth has enough for the real needs of all her children … but she has not nearly enough for a whole generation of greedy children who know no limit to their desires.
Rabindranath Tagore, “City and Village”, 1928
PLANTS FOR A FUTURE in 1990
Plants For A Future is a Vegan Alternative Plant Project that has just started in Cornwall. Its aim is to demonstrate the wide variety of useful commodities such as food, fuel, fibres, medicines etc. that can be obtained from plants grown in this country. We have over 20 acres of south-facing land and a rapidly increasing variety of useful plants—at present, well over 1,200 species.
We aim to become self-sufficient in food, fuel etc; and to show others that these can be derived from the plant world without recourse to animal exploitation or environmental damaging methods. We feel that human survival depends on this, and on the use of a wide variety of plant species, especially when there is a threat of rapid climatic change.
Perennial plants are emphasised, because once these become established they require minimal disturbance to the soil, minimal environmental impact, and minimal work.
Since we are only in the early stages, the majority of the plants are still quite small—but every oak tree once started life as a little acorn!
Future plans include planting a woodland and more hedges; expanding our stock of plants—both in terms of numbers of plants and numbers of species; building a compost toilet; building a wind generator for lighting, building a stone fruit store (preferably partly underground) or a cellar; selling plants and education. However, all this needs more time and more resources. We are also hoping to become a Registered Charity soon.
Anyone interested in self-sufficiency and living in harmony with the environment is welcome to come and help—including those who have bricklaying and carpentry skills! Long and short stays welcome.
We are also looking for l or 2 environmentally-aware people to join us on a co-operative basis: i.e. shared work, shared expenses, income from the land etc. Accommodation is basic (either caravan or room in converted shed).
Ken Hennessy and Addy Morris [later Fern], Permaculture News, ed. by Graham Bell, Autumn 1990, p.19
Bill Mollison explains why freeing land for wilderness matters:
Even anthropocentric people would be well-advised to pay close attention to, and to assist in, the conservation of existing forests and the rehabilitation of degraded lands. Our own survival demands that we preserve all existing species, and allow them a place to live.
We have abused the land and laid waste to systems we need never have disturbed had we attended to our home gardens and settlements. If we need to state a set of ethics on natural systems, then let it be thus:
* Implacable and uncompromising opposition to further disturbance of any remaining natural forests, where most species are still in balance;
* Vigorous rehabilitation of degraded and damaged natural systems to stable states;
* Establishment of plant systems for our own use on the least amount of land we can use for our existence; and
* Establishment of plant and animal refuges for rare or threatened species.
…
In a world where we are losing forests, species, and whole ecosystems, there are three concurrent and parallel responses to the environment:
1. CARE FOR SURVIVING NATURAL ASSEMBLIES, to leave the wilderness to heal itself.
2. REHABILITATE DEGRADED OR ERODED LAND using complex pioneer species and long-term plant assemblies (trees, shrubs, ground covers).
3. CREATE OUR OWN COMPLEX LIVING ENVIRONMENT with as many species as we can save, or have need for, from wherever on earth they come.
We are fast approaching the point where we need refuges for all global life forms, as well as regional, national, or state parks for indigenous forms of plants and animals. While we see our local flora and fauna as “native”, we may also logically see all life as “native to earth”. While we try to preserve systems that are still local and diverse, we should also build new or recombinant ecologies from global resources, especially in order to stabilise degraded lands.’
Bill Mollison, Permaculture: A Practical Guide for a Sustainable Future, 1990, p.7
Mother Earth has enough for the real needs of all her children … but she has not nearly enough for a whole generation of greedy children who know no limit to their desires.
Rabindranath Tagore, “City and Village”, 1928
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
