Sam and all, I just tried to send you a private msg but lost it in the process. Write to me by email if you want to contact me plse.
rowansc@yahoo.com or by phone @707 272 7431, and I welcome talking to any one else who wants to visit about our topic. I believe we need more communication not less.
I think that we need to emphasise ways to make the physical permaculture possible by creating a legal entity which will hold the land in perpetuity and allow access to all members who will abide by the simple rules of the community. Mostly to not tell others what to do.
That being said, I think it might be the purview of the company to lay out general, and sometimes specific guidelines on the direction of the common goals for each piece of land that the company administers.
For example, the needed earthworks for water retention or drainage would be laid out, as would subsequent steps and the steady state goals that we are working toward. We would avoid extensive plantings on land that was not properly prepared.
We would lay out in a visible way, perhaps, progresive models showing where we are in the course of development, where we are going and what kind of work might be needed to move toward the goal. These would be balanced with shorter term strategies for survival.
Those details can be worked out when we have something to work with. It will be a legal entity, with chartered goals I think, that we need to decide on.
I would follow Mollisons lead to a large degree, but we have to recognise that there are significant differences in opinion about interpretation of what Mollison was suggesting. This can be a good reason for different communities with emphasis on different aspects of life. The differences that we have need not stop us from approaching our common goals.
The company might lay out appropriate places for private dwellings on the land and certain restrictions that might be apropriate in different pieces of land. There should be provision for people who like to live in a cluster, and for those who prefer privacy. For example with one membership one might get the rights to 3000ft sq. which might be a rather small house and yard in a private space, but if one were to take the same area in a venue where housing is clustered, one might have much larger spaces to share with only the others that have opted to live in the same area.
I believe that the only thing holding us back is that no one has yet drawn up the papers for such a thing and started doing it. I suspect that a lot of people would like it. I feel that looking for land is premature untill we have such a legal entity in place. Could your wife do that or do we need to hire someone else?
I suspect that we might want to engage or convene a panel of permaculture experts on some level to help us define what permaculture really means for each property, and for the direction that the company wants to spend its energy. Individual members should probably have a significant say, with the overview committee to ensure that at least the general direction of a development is consistent with the company charter. What do you think so far?
Steven
