I am quite pleased with what I am doing to get the message "out there".
- I found out a Transition group was setting up in our neighbourhood. I joined it and met some wonderful people. It's sort of petered out, because we are all very bad at communication, Internet and so on. It may revive, but my capacities will not suffice to revive it
- I am involved in a project to build a vegetable garden, with a handful of women from a low-rent estate. It's not my project, and my involvement is minimal, giving practical advice when it's wanted, (and sometimes when it's not - the latter type bounces right off them), and lending a hand from time to time with getting their garden planned out, getting hold of organic material, building lasagnes, etc. I'm not their main support - that comes from the local social centre, where a determined woman wants to support them as much as possible, and from a paid gardener in the social centre's garden, who happens to be into permaculture. From the time I was invited to give advice on building a small flower bed, to now, 4 years have passed. The flowers are now looking nice, though we still have to replace some of the annuals with perennials. The vegetble garden they made all by themselves last year was dissapointing, soil not good enough and too much shade, plus the final straw was tenants from the upper floors throwing plastic and food waste and cigarette butts onto their garden. This has given me an opportunity to slip in some tiny bits of advice for the next garden, so they're now going to do lasagne, for example. They are now hoping to be able to plant by autumn, if we can get enough organic matter by then. They have no tools or storage for the tools they hope to buy, no water storage, no greenhouse... These women are formidable, they are totally energized to get on with their numerous projects (they were feeding people during lockdown, for example), despite general apathy, rubbish-filled streets, no encouragement from their landlord (a huge natiçonal company who in theory supports their tenants in projects like this, in order to improve the chances of them being able to pay their rent, reduce unsociable behaviour and damage to property, etc.). They are always cheerful, always positive, always ready to put their backs to the job. They impress me and do me good.
- I share a Whatsapp gardening group with my neighbours (about 30 of us on an estate with about 80 houses). We swap plants, share advice, show each other our gardens etc. No-one "plugs" permaculture but more and more neighbours are into permaculture (they're getting younger). From time to time I am able to tell someone something they don't know, or advise on how to deal with a perceived problem.
- In front of my house, there is a strip of land, which the town hall was suppoesd to plant. They didn't, so I did, and put some "incredible edible" tomatoes on it. The town hall are finally planting and are putting fruit trees, aromatics and flowers on the street, and say I inspired that. It's an experiment, they may plant more.
- More rarely, I'm able to talk to aquaintances about insulation and energy saving.
Why all this blah blah ?
Just to say that that is about the sum total of my "getting it out there".
I'm quite pleased to be able to do this much. It's slow.
My "ladies" may be able to eat better than most people in their situation next year, and that will be more important as things get worse in the world. In the meantime, they're happy to have an outdoor activity to do with their kids, something to do together, as a social activity. They're pleased to eat homegrown veg, to see insects, to teach their kids to enjoy nature, to reduce waste and litteriing (there is less littering since they build the flowerbed). They're not interested in theory, but they'll spread the example, and the word, on any practical thing they've learnt, that works. That will be my greatest pride, if it ever happens.
If I can, I'll try to think of something else to do.
Paul you must know this 4 years on, and got over your loss of faith in your own power to change things, but what you have done is more than enormous, and has planted thousants of seeds. As people have said, Martin Luther King never saw the outcome of what he did, the outcome may be neither what one wants or expects, but the ripples are there, the seeds are there, and the results are there.
Letting go of the outcome is a powerful tool. Yes, what you have done IS enough, and if you had stopped there it WOULD have been enough, but I'm glad you didn't.
It's also important that what we do brings us pleasure. If it doesn't, it's time to pause and reflect, and perhaps change tack. You never said if the "crisis" ithat began this post inspired you to take a different approach to something, or do things differently, but I guess it did.
A million thanks, Paul, for this extremely helpful site, where I usually find the answers to my questions without having to post my questions, and to lots more I never asked (the only thing that's wrong with it is once I get it up on my screen, I'm bound to spend the rest of the day reading it and posting my comments.) I'll probably never come to the USA but I benefit from some of your work, and try to pass it on in my own feeble way.
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