Easter Island

I'm sure many of you have some knowledge about this place and the tragedy that unfolded. My question is, wouldn't this be the ideal place to show what permaculture has to offer the world? Would it be possible to re-enrich this environment and replace what was lost, thereby creating a symbol of hope? Wouldn't this be better than just leaving it the way as it is, a reminder of potentially what's to come? Because I would suggest that as a reminder it doesn't seem to be working very well. And I think we need more hope, real solutions, and a broader vision as to what is possible as our role as stewards of the world.

Nice idea James. I wonder if it's a bit isolated though to serve as a beacon of hope. Information flows in systems are really important and people tend to respond most to what they see most often - which I guess for many folks is what's on TV. No wonder we're in trouble! Local permaculture projects that people can visit easily seem in my experience to be the ones that create the most inspiration in people to try it for themselves. And the occasional online gem like Greening the Desert of course!

The principle of redundancy says do many things though, so maybe - I guess if people are already going there, then taking some seeds & plants wouldn't be much more to carry. That said, do we like the strange statues so much that we don't want to lose them in the trees?

Aranya wrote:That said, do we like the strange statues so much that we don't want to lose them in the trees?

^Lol! Reminds me of the UK, where a lot (the majority?) of people are against destroying their lovely green hills by returning trees to them. Once mostly forested, they must now prefer the view of smog ridden cloudy skies.

As to permaculture projects people can visit locally, yes I agree these are most helpful for local development. I just fear that permaculture has never really gained the media that it deserves or we need. Sure, organic has been a hugely growing trend for the last 10 years. But it seems that permaculture still remains on the fringe. Perhaps a lack of consumerist products to offer the market place. My reasoning with Easter Island is it would hopefully get some of the documentary makers involved, linking it with an easily identifiable subject. Either that or do some terrace gardening on the pyramids...thought this'd probably require drip irrigation

TV is unlikely to be very helpful, I think folks need to see it at the grassroots level, though You tube is helpful as there's some nice little videos up there now.

I've often wondered what Stonehenge would have looked like surrounded by trees - presumably it had avenues leading up to it. Imagine stepping out of the trees and seeing that at the end of a cleared space!

It is something we have surely lost. The ability as a society to make things of real spiritual, lasting significance, to reflect nature in our spiritual side. You look around you at cities of glass and steel and though comfortable they feel so...fragile. Look back to how we used to incorporate spiritual and sacred, into things like gardening and huge works of stone or clay and you wonder where our imagination as a civilization has gone. Churches with huge columns made to resemble a forest, leaves carved into the stone, Eden represented wherever you would look.

Speaking of which, part of me believes that permaculture is, if not the rediscovery of druidism, then the apt recreation of it. It feels so right when you look out on your garden on a summers day and feel the peace and tranquility that emanates from it when you have managed to harmonize it with your local environment. I think that is the real joy of permaculture; the rediscovery of imagination, joy, and spirit.

Sure it can be restored but once it is big business will buy it and build hotels on it.Then masses of people will move there and cut all the trees down to build status symbols(homes).Then wal-mart will show up.Of course then they will have to ship in third world immigrants buy the shipload so that mega-corporate business can have dirt cheap labor.

A disturbing thought, but likely true...

Forseeing problems is the best way to avoid them, and this is the role of a good design!

I LOVE the idea.

By the way, I have just learned that those statues have a body!
They were just buried, so we knew about the heads only.

Who would do the job and how, plane tickets cost a fortune to go there. There might be some ecologists there... And let's see if Chile would protect it then.

Xisca Nicolas wrote:



By the way, I have just learned that those statues have a body!
They were just buried, so we knew about the heads only.

That's fascinating. So all this time we were only seeing a glimpse of the real picture, I wonder what else we can't see through these blinders we have evolved with.
The dilemma of people flocking to it can apply to anything I think. We want people to change to permaculture but we don't want billions trampling one pasture. I guess that just goes to show that all things do best with proper balance, but how do we find balance?

I've always been fascinated by the place.You can take a virtual tour of the island on the computer.It is the most remote island in the world.I've always wanted to go there.Comfrey and earthworms will resore any place given time.

Aranya wrote:the occasional online gem like Greening the Desert of course!

This was one of the most inspiring stories, though devastating when I found out about its failure a few years later. So glad Geoff Lawton went back to the site to investigate it and explain what in the end went wrong. Desert landscapes, especially those near population centers, do offer us a great opportunity to show what is possible.

Permaculture is kind of like terraforming on a mini-scale, if that even makes sense haha. There is one major drawback though, which is an incompatibility with traditional environmentalists who see every species of plant not local to an area to be a useless weed. I think this perception is what holds some degraded environments back, as there is an unwillingness to compromise on this even when it means returning a site to a more natural and productive (for us and the remaining wildlife and plants) state. If a local environment is so broken in the first place, and if we are the cause, then surely pioneer species ("weeds") must be seen as the potential saviors they are. I do know, by observing my own garden, that local birds and wildlife are not quite as fussy about what nectar they drink or fruit they eat. This is kind of the reason I'm attracted to the idea of restoring an island, as the situation is more controllable and the outcome more manageable.

Another inspirational project from a guy called Carl Hodges, though I have also read that the project failed. He is doing it again in Mexico though. Though "permaculture" is not named, it does have a lot of the same ideas at its base.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CvRy97TJVE

Cheers.

LaLena MaeRee wrote:We want people to change to permaculture but we don't want billions trampling one pasture.

I think it just means we need to have a LOT more permaculture examples for people to see!

I found that virtual tour, so cool! Easter Island Tour

James Slaughter wrote:... who see every species of plant not local to an area to be a useless weed. I think this perception is what holds some degraded environments back
I do know, by observing my own garden, that local birds and wildlife are not quite as fussy about what nectar they drink or fruit they eat. This is kind of the reason I'm attracted to the idea of restoring an island, as the situation is more controllable and the outcome more manageable.

Yep, that is why I am in an island!!!

And the greatest part is that almost no local plants are edible here!!!
the first people (killed by europeans) came with figs and goats. Goats can eat the plants there, and you can eat the milk and the goats...

And you can plant endemics, we have lots of them, they may not thrive if they come from a different altitude!
So it is much better to find what can come from abroad, from a place with a similar climate.
these might be better adapted than locals to become food here.
(except for the problem of micorize and rizobium...)

Anyway, some people do not want "foreigners", but what do they eat?
The rule does not apply to food plants?

The canaries are full of banana plantations, avocados and mangos too, papayas, and they all need much water and irrigation. The almonds grow wild though introduced (and prickly pears too!). But it is not worth picking them for selling... By the way, if you want real almonds, buy ours, they taste great, and they are not sterilized as all the ones you have in the States now! Californian almonds are cheapest here than ours... A shame...

So, I am going to grow calabash trees!