[Pil-pc-oceania] IPC8 - 2. Who came - surprises and expectation: was it just a junket?

[Rosemary Morrow]

IPC8 was a stimulating mix of people.    It worked well because of  
the people balance.    There were a few oldies and I found myself  
among the "permaculture elders" and was treated with great respect  
which was so good I felt quite sad to be home and not selected to be  
as an honourable icon.

The importance of the older people, who included Tony Andersen and  
Declan Kennedy, were that they carried the international permaculture  
memory - who was there and what was accomplished and Bill and Davis's  
contributions.  Robyn Francis was an important part of this  
discussion.  They spoke, often informally in small gatherings, the  
story of permaculture as it was first taught internationally by Bill  
and later David, then the teams and individuals from Australia and  
USA particularly - where they went and the impact of this teaching.    
They remember what was discussed in the IPC fora over the years.

There were many, many young Brazilians who would break into dance at  
the tap of a drum.   They were thrilled with the conference and many,  
after the Conference, hitched and begged rides and turned up at  
Perenoplis for the convergence.  Their chief qualities were huge  
enthusiasm for permaculture and curiousity to talk to others - from  
other countries and to make contact with the "permaculture seniors'  
to find out about the history and present directions of  
permaculture.  They were dedicated and fun and fired up to change the  
world.

Daily you could see older participants giving time and consideration  
to younger ones who often said they didnt know where to start.    In  
hindsight, it would have been valuable to offer pairing older permies  
with younger ones as a type of mentoring..   A few younger ones said  
they hadn't dared to approach some of the more celebrated seniors.     
They didn't want to invent the wheel - they wanted to start - 
immediately.  They wanted to know how to start teaching, and where,  
whether to work in the city or rural areas, and all the issues that  
perplex new permies.

The permies from India, Nepal, Cambodia and African countries had a  
similar approach.   They are dedicated and very serious about  
permaculture as being absolutely fundamental to present and future  
survival of their farmers.   Narsanna asked us at the Conference,  in  
some anguish,  what we can do about the growing numbers of the  
world's  landless poor? (in his case India's)   I think it is a  
reflextion of our lack of real experience of this that we had no  
answers for him.   The world's landless poor people are likely to  
become a much bigger problem as countries become more urban than  
rural.   This question seriously exercises me and I'd be glad to talk  
with others who have thought about it.  This group of participants  
spoke often about their gratitude in being able to attend IPC8.    
They dug out people they had wanted to speak with.   They asked  
questions and gave compelling presentations on their work in their  
own countries.   For many participants  it was a superb opportunity  
to exchange experiences and evaluate themselves and their programs  
with others in the same situation.

Those of you who contributed to the bursaries for these participants  
- it broke their isolation, helped professional exchange and centred  
them as doing probably the most valuable work of all the participants.

The Africans and the Asians had, as we had coincidentally done in  
Viet Nam and Cambodia, made it a condition of permaculture courses  
that each participant return home and teach one or more others.    
They often need only small funds to do big and effective work.    
Narsanna is one of these.

The participants from USA, Australia and Europe were, on the whole,  
more concerned with certification.   They want permaculture as  
mainstream and to share knowledge and research worldwide.   They  
presented different ways of conferring diplomas and other recognition.
They spoke for Gaia University,  the Chaordic Institute and TAFE and  
university level grades and their equivalence.   They had the  
ecovillage and the ecocentres.     I'd like to write about this later  
- especially the process set out by the Nordic Papers.

Of critical importance was the accomplishments of permaculture in  
Cuba.   We were all thrilled and inspired by what the Cubans took on  
from the small team from Australia.   The Cubans were proud, others  
convinced and the rest of us probably all wanted results like that.

Cuba will probably host an National permaculture conference next year  
and invite people from tropical wet and dry regions, and it will be  
especially important for towns and cities in the tropics.   Robin  
Francis is following this.

Importance of a cultural mix
1.    The young are anxious to talk to and to learn from their  
elders?    How can we facilitate this more where we live?
2.    Should we focus on extending our influence throughout our  
neighbourhoods and councils - should a condition of learning  
permaculture be to teach others on return home?    What would happen  
if our farmers did this?
3.    How can we support our permaculture colleagues better in  
African and Asian continents?
4.    What are our biggest successes from the viewpoint of impact?

What other questions occurred to you about "who came"?




  
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