Wanted - Financial assistance to seed a permaculture village

[PULSE]

G'day Mark. I was just wondering if you'd any joy in your search for finance.
I've thought alot about trying to get finacial assitance for some kind of lifeboat/sustainable community. I have a few schemes like approaching big business for sponsorship to protect and rejuvinate land so I can live there as well :lol:
If I dont manage to set up my dream lifeboat before shit really hits the fan, I am just making good friends with people who do have large amounts of land and resources so I can join them.
I do get a bit hung up on wanting 'my own land' as i'm renting, there are lots of people with lots of good land that dont have a clue what to do ,or the energy to do it. I'm young fit and am building my skills so I know when the time comes I'll be a useful asset.

[ecodharmamark]

G'day PULSE

Nah, no joy, but then we havn't really been out there flogging it yet. The initial post was written with the intention of 'flushing out' similar-minded folk, rather than securing finance, and it's certainly achieving that goal.

Like you (perhaps) I have no desire to 'own' land. There is plenty of 'pre-owned' real estate sitting idle out there right now, just waiting for the right 'caretakers' to come along and turn it in to fully functioning, self-suficient living spaces.

And like wise, in the event that the poo does hit the fan in the big way, then I have built up a great network of friends over the years whom all offer their 'shack in the hills' as a potential place of refuge.

Keep in touch. Let us know how you fair, and I'll endevour to keep you in the loop from this end.

Cheerio, Mark.

[Richard on Maui]

"We live courtesy of an ecology, not an economy!"

That's nice, I agree. But take away the economy and most people would starve. This is the challenge, to develop an economy that is not at odds with the ecology. This is where building strong communities is so important, isn't it?

[ecodharmamark]

G'day Richard

Exactly! What I believe we need to do is to 'swap' our current, mainstream (false) economy - the one that doesn't work - for another, more naturally-aligned (true) economy - one that does work! Living life according to the principles of permaculture is one way to do this. Now all we need to do is 'sell it' to the people.

Cheerio, Mark.

[ho-hum]

Interesting,

I am not playing 'devils advocate' or anything like that.

I would like to know how this new economy would be different to a subsistence lifestyle and do you have any examples or ideas on this?

I wonder if we just banned most forms of credit would this be enough?

I certainly do not like our current economic model.

Aimed at mark and richard.

cheers

floot

[ecodharmamark]

G'day floot

Prohibition (banning) does not work - never has. I don't know of one case in the entire history of humankind where a 'ban' on something has ever stopped absolutely everyone from carrying out the prohibited practice. If we try to ban credit (or transactions incuring a debt) transfers, people will still 'borrow' and people will still 'owe'.

What we need is an entire re-jigging of the global human psyche. The concept that one person can 'own' something of a material nature and therefore has the right to 'lend' it to someone else, albiet with provisio that when it (whatever 'it' is) is returned it comes back 'with interest' is preposterous - indeed deserving of the title 'false economy'.

Anyway, who was it that said "All property is theft"? Surely that person was a permaculturalist...

A system that operates outside of the mainstream, socially-constructed (false) and capitalist economy does exist, floot, and has done so since we come down from the trees. It's called 'bartering'.

In an anarchist society, all forms of capital expansion that create disproportionate levels of 'power' within community cease to exist. An anarchist society develops sustainably by utilising the principle of 'cooperation' rather than 'competition' (see link below).

Modern society has been at war with itself for the past 10,000-years, or ever since the great agrarian revolution. This was when the previously sustainable and stable levels of human population began to expand. It was also the same period that saw the many working for the betterment of the few. Class divisions started, and the rest is (war) history :lol:.

I'm sorry I don't have either the time nor the energy to continue with this rave, floot. However I suspect I'm preaching to the 'partially-converted' anyway , and possibly boring others to death.

Further reading on this enormous topic can be found in any library throughout Australia, and indeed in most countries throughout the world. However, as good as place as any to start is here (an excerpt from an old copy of the Anarchist's Age Weekly Review):

ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER

Q. ANARCHISM - ONE SIZE FITS ALL?

A. I´m afraid not, Anarchism isn´t a philosophy that claims it has all the answers. It isn´t a religion or a political philosophy that both asks the questions and gives you the answers. There is no anarchist commandments, follow the 10 commandments and you´ll achieve eternal life. Anarchism doesn´t provide the certainties that people find in the Bible and the Koran. Anarchism has no gurus or holy places you can worship at and gain enlightenment. Anarchism is a great disappointment to people who are looking for ready made answers, instant solutions and a way to make sense about the vagaries of being.

Anarchism is a mechanism by which people can regain practical control of their lives. It is a philosophy that places the individual at the centre of existence. It is a philosophy that recognises an individual´s freedom is intertwined with the freedom of those around them. It is a philosophy that recognises that both individual and collective freedom is dependent on people having access to common resources to make dreams a reality.

Anarchism is rooted in the here and now. An anarchist´s common bond lies in their recognition that in order to be free, we need to develop ourselves as autonomous independent human beings. We recognise that what stands between us and this brave new world, are the institutions and structures that ruling elites have created to justify and maintain the power they are able to exercise over millions of people.

Anarchists challenge the right of those elements in society that exercise power by creating structures and institutions that allow people to individually and collectively make decisions about their lives and which allows them to use the common wealth to make their decisions a reality.

The Anarchist Age
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~anarch/mainindex.html

Cheerio, and may peace and happiness be the final outcome for all of our lives of suffering,

Mark.

[ho-hum]

Mark,

Thanks very much for your writings and time. Just as a heads up to you.. have you ever run across the concept of Georgism by Henry George. A surprising amount have not.

It would appear to fit many of your ideals and perhaps offer a solution.

Georgism, named after Henry George (1839-1897), is a philosophy and economic ideology that follows from the belief that everyone owns what they create, but everything supplied by nature, most importantly land, belongs equally to all humanity.

I have read a bit on this man and ''georgism'' but have yet to really get my head across it.

http://www.wordwebonline.com/search.pl?w=georgism

This is a wiki on him but much much more is written...

cheers

floot

[ecodharmamark]

G'day floot

Yeah, thanks for that. I come across Georgism quite a few years ago during my more political-phase of life, and yes it does fit very closely with my current personal ideal. However the latter is a fluid thing, and remains in a constant state of flux, and as such it pretty hard to align it with anything :lol:.

Interestingly, both Walter Burley Griffin (1876-1937) and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin (1871-1961) were Georgists, among other things (members of the Theosophical Society comes to mind). Many of the politicians in Canberra today could learn a great deal about creating a sustainable community by studying the very people who initially designed the basis for the modern Canberra planning strategy. Kind of ironic, don't you think?

Anyway, must get back to the books, exams are only a bit over 3-months away :lol:.

As always, it's been a pleasure, floot. Keep up the great work!

Cheerio, Mark.

PS: A great read by an Australian academic that explores a possible alternative to the present economic-rationalist, just-left-of-and-just-right-of-centre government: Beyond Right and Left: New Politics and Culture Wars by Prof David McKnight:
http://beyondrightandleft.com.au/archiv ... _beyo.html

[Jez]

I don't have time to add anything to this thread (despite my temptations... :lol, but I've been meaning for some time to wish you the best of luck with your endeavours Mark, both academically and community wise...I hope it all bears fruit for all your effort mate. :thumbright:

[ecodharmamark]

G'day Jez

Thanks for the encouragement. It's a fact that I know via this forum (and other mediums) that there are others out there working just as hard, if not harder to get the message out to the masses that keeps me going. Thanks for all your hard work. Keep it coming!

Cheerio, Mark.