Common Resource apply permaculture design with sociocratic decision making. Les Moore spoke at the UK Permaculture Convergence about Sociocracy and Open Money.

Common Resource: commonresource.net/

Open Money: openmoney.info/omdg.html

Follow Les Moore on Twitter: twitter.com/commonresource

(Recorded at dusk on Saturday 13th Sept. 2014 outside the Gidney Cabin. The jenga sounding pieces of wood is the handle to the wood cabin people were coming in and out of!)

The Permalogues -  Les Moore, 'Open Money & Sociocracy'

Klaudia has been teaching permaculture since 2007 and is interested in the use of nature connection practices and ceremony to accelerate our learning. 

She also works with businesses as an environmental consultant and is a diploma tutor.

Klaudia talks about Joanna Macy's 'The Work That Reconnects' www.joannamacy.net and her work with the Permaculture Association UK www.permaculture.org.uk

We spoke in a field full of humans during the 2014 UK Permaculture convergence. 

Klaudia's website: www.klaudia.co.uk

The Permalogues - Klaudia Van Gool

Progress, politics and peasants. A wide ranging conversation with farmer and writer Chris Smaje of Vallis Veg in Frome, Somerset.

Sat in the dark on the porch during a cool September evening - in between night owl toots and my terribly pretentious questions - we spoke about progress traps and romanticizing nature, land politics and "PDC syndrome", holy grails and being open minded.

We really enjoyed Chris's wide and thoughtful perspective that questions rather than accepts at face value ideas around ecology, land based living and permaculture. 

For further info about the topics discussed:

Vallis Veg
http://www.vallisveg.co.uk/

Chris's regularly updated & thought provoking blog
www.smallfarmfuture.org.uk
and his post 'Permaculture Design Course Syndrome' 
smallfarmfuture.org.uk/?p=491

The Land Workers' Alliance
landworkersalliance.org.uk

La Via Campesina
viacampesina.org/en

The Land Magazine
www.thelandmagazine.org.uk

And the quote from Aldo Leopold, US philosopher and conservationist, comes from his essay 'The Land Ethic' www.aldoleopold.org/AldoLeopold/landethic.shtml


The Permalogues - Chris Smaje of Vallis Veg on food, farming and the Book of Genesis


"Projects don't fail because lettuces don't grow."

Sarah Pugh, teacher, mum, consultant and Director of Shift Bristol, kindly shared a Saturday morning with us at her home.

A long standing permaculture teacher she has working alongside Patrick Whitefield and Mike Feingold.

Now in its fifth year, Shift Bristol is a year long practical sustainability course exploring the ideas, and skills, for creating a positive future.

We spoke about group dynamics and what school doesn't teach you.

Check out: www.shiftbristol.org.uk AND www.facebook.com/ShiftBristol

More about Sarah: www.sarah-pugh.co.uk

The Transition Free Press article: transitionfreepress.org/2014/08/25/on…nsition-meet/

'Trojan Horses, Recipes, and Permaculture' - Toby Hemenway's excellent article: www.patternliteracy.com/770-trojan-ho…-permaculture

The brilliantly informative Transition Network website: www.transitionnetwork.org

The Permalogues - Sarah Pugh - Shift Bristol

"Nature doesn't produce products, it teaches us about process. 

We had the good fortune to meet experienced natural builder Jo Forsyth whilst at Sarah Pugh's (of Shift Bristol) house. 

Thoughtful and passionate Jo spoke eloquently about organic architecture, creativity, how being alive right now is most exciting time, and what permaculture has to do with "reconnecting with the point of origin."

Jo Forsyth is an experienced natural builder and facilitator who has delivered workshops with the Cob Cottage Company in the USA and The Hollies in Ireland for the last seven years. 

The Permalogues - Jo Forsyth, Natural Builder

"[People] smell a short term solution to a very complex problem."

Pat Thomas, author, journalist and award-wining campaigner spoke to the Permalogues at the Great Seed Festival about her latest campaign, GM Free Me. 

GM Free Me is a lively visual petition that puts the views of average people back into the GM debate. 

Add you voice, and your face, to the conversation: www.gmfreeme.org

Apologies for the background noise. Our conversation took place during a very lively and exciting Great Seed Festival inside the grand, ancient high ceiling St Mary's church - home to London's Garden Museum. 

The Great Seed Festival: www.greatseedfestival.co.uk

Beyond GM: http://beyond-gm.org

The film mentioned, 'GMO OMG': www.gmofilm.com
The Garden Museum: www.gardenmuseum.org.uk

The Permalogues - Pat Thomas, Beyond GM

"You can't be a campaigner without also being an optimist."

Craig Bennett, is the director of policy and campaigns, at Friends of the Earth UK. 

A keynote speaker at the Resurgence Festival of Wellbeing in London, October 2014 Craig spoke about how the concept of wellbeing can help shift the caricature of the environmental agenda as a barrier to progress .

GDP, progress traps and limits to growth, our conversation steered toward how a levelled and mature approach was needed to an understanding of technology. 

We finished off with some wise words from Dr Ian Malcolm, a character in the film Jurassic Park, warning us all of the hubris of scientific silver bullets and ideological approached to technology. 

Ideas & names discussed:

The Resurgence Festival of Wellbeing
http://www.resurgence.org/take-part/resurgence-events/wellbeing-festival-2014.html

'The Rich are Destroying the Earth' by French author Hervé Kempf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epsxtnz6878

Canadian author Richard Wright and his idea of 'progress traps'
http://www.desmog.ca/2013/06/21/locked-progress-trap-interview-author-ronald-wright

And of course, Friend of the Earth
http://www.foe.co.uk/page/spokespeople

Craig Bennett, FoE

"Well-being is a Trojan Horse for sustainability."

An interview with Larch Maxey at Resurgence Festival Of Wellbeing, 2014. 

Moving from economic growth to a growth in well-being was the theme for the Resurgence Festival of Wellbeing that took place at the Bishopsgate Institute in London, October 2014.

Sustainability researcher, activist and academic Larch Maxey, amongst many things, is currently a project manager at the Network for Wellbeing.

Our varied conversation excitedly jumped from hitch-hiking, to climate change, and well-being and the gift economy. Larch also spoke about his many projects - current and past - commenting that permaculture, "cuts through a lot of the crap and says 'OK, here's a way implementing real, meaningful sustainability."

Some of the ideas and places spoken about during our excited conversation. [Apologies for the background noise -- doors opening & closing]

Network of Wellbeing
http://www.networkofwellbeing.org/

Check out their filmed interviews with speakers from the Festival:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Bk4113OD0HJSg1ZXKZstw

Five Ways to Well-being postcards courtesy of nef
http://www.neweconomics.org/projects/entry/five-ways-to-well-being

If you ever think of hitch-hiking, here's a useful place to begin:
http://hitchwiki.org/

We also spoke about the following places:
The Lammas Ecovillage - http://lammas.org.uk
The Ecological Land Co-operative - http://ecologicalland.coop
Transition Homes - http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/groups/building-and-housing/transition-homes/

We love to hear your comments, thoughts, and feedback as we aim to bring your conversations we think are worth listening.

Larch Maxey

"We grow out of the ground we live on - geology affects us all."

President of the Soil Association, writer, TV presenter, farmer and poet to the earth Monty Don kindly shared his time with us to riff on what it means to connect to the soil.

Speaking at the Resurgence Festival of Wellbeing, Monty's talk, 'The Healing Soil', was a candid and moving expression on what it means to connect with the earth. Eschewing fuzzy sentiment, Monty's contention is that by appreciating a connection with the earth and its geology we can connect more with those around us.

(Re)connection with the earth and each other was the overriding theme of the festival. Hearing Monty's talk and speaking with him afterwards I was reminded of Scott Mann's interview with David Jacke - co-author of the inimitable Edible Forest Gardens - where Jacke comments on how 'disconnection' (with nature, community, people, place) was a recurring theme that drew students to his permaculture design courses.

You can hear the podcast here:
http://www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/2013/dave-jacke/

The conversation was recorded in the lower floor of the Bishopsgate Institute, a Grade II listed building and home to learning and culture. 

Other links:

Monty Don is also the presenter of the excellent BBC Radio 4 Series 'Shared Planet'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02xf2qg

http://www.soilassociation.org/aboutus/whoweare/president

http://www.resurgence.org/take-part/resurgence-events/wellbeing-festival-2014.html

Monty Don

“We've got thousands of plants that can't speak so it's our job to speak for them and tell their story." 

Meet Michael Holland, Head of Education, at the Chelsea Physic Garden, London. Set by the bank of the River Thames, the 341 year old garden is a living museum of 5000 species of plants. 

The multi-cultural garden aims to connect people to the plant world. As well as their educational remit, the independent charity are part of the Index Seminum, an active seed exchange programme, between the Chelsea Physic Garden and approximately 368 other Botanic Gardens and universities in 37 different countries.

I had a great time with Michael on a lovely Autumnal day. Along with the passing flow of London traffic and visitors coming & coming, our fun conversation illustrated to me Michael’s qualities as a great educationalist — inquisitive, playful, and knowledgable, his passion for his subject is shared in a way that is open and inviting.  

As part of the Great Seed Festival that ran over a wonderful weekend in October 2014, Michael ran the a hands on workshop for all ages, ‘Celebrating Spectacular Seeds’, linking seeds to everyday use, art and creativity.  
For more information about Chelsea Physic Garden please visit: http://chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/about-us

For more about The Great Seed Festival: http://www.greatseedfestival.co.uk

And to see those pictures of the giant Coco de Mer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_de_Mer

Michael Holland, Chelsea Physic Garden

"Who we are is a direct expression of the ecosystem that has nurtured us."

Liz Hosken, director of the Gaia Foundation, is from South Africa. She was active in environmental issues and the anti-apartheid movement until she was exiled to the UK, where she co-founded the Gaia Foundation in 1984.

I met Liz at the Great Seed Festival in London October 2014, where she gave a talk about intergenerational knowledge, ecological maps and importance of reclaiming power by "re-rooting our knowledge."

Liz spoke to The Permalogues about her involvement with the festival and the role of the Gaia Foundation in making apparent the links between nature, culture, and place.

Keen to remind us that human evolution has, through history, held hands with our precious knowledge of seed keeping Liz spoke eloquently about how such lived knowledge is a vital aspect of the food sovereignty movement - both in the UK and across the globe.

The Gaia Foundation works with local communities to secure land, seed, food and water sovereignty. Producing excellent short films, reports, and real connections, Gaia addresses the root causes of today's ecological, social and economic injustices.

For more about the Gaia Foundation:
www.gaiafoundation.org

To see their films
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYmJ0TfEuVVBBY8g7QITkw

About the Great Seed Festival:
www.greatseedfestival.co.uk

[the interview was recorded inside the busy and high ceilinged Garden Museum, the ancient church of St Mary’s!]

Liz Hosken, The Gaia Foundation

The Permalogues: conversations about environment, society, and permaculture.

The Permalogues are brought to you by Permaculture People. 

Interviewing a wide range of thinkers, doers, and movers we try to offer some of the ideas and thoughts behind the people interested in questions of ecology, the environment and how we go about our business.

We're always happy to hear from people:
        permapeople[AT]gmail[DOT]com

permaculture people

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