rapidresponse McCoy

integrating homeless people in permaculture designs may be mutually beneficial. sure, you'd have to be a bit selective, but look at the homeless garden project in santa cruz http://www.homelessgardenproject.org

many people are homeless due to socioeconomic reasons outside of their control, and some by choice. many travel around the country for seasonal harvest jobs.

maybe creating a safe space for homeless people, providing them with surplus food (remember principle 2) and have them help with certain labor intensive tasks can be a good mutualism. many also have much to teach, whether they have a phd and are living on the street or are illiterate but great observers.

nomads and travellers also are the least vulnverable and most ancient communication system, something to keep in mind if interwebz and phones dont stick around


definitely not to be romanticized, definitely to be learned from - from skillz of bricolage and adaptability to just considering our own privilege.

tell that to all the poor people who get shat on every day. its amazing how the people who benefit from capitalsim can just close their eyes to the giant pile of sturctural problems it causes

or do you REALLY concieve of a capitalism without
-unfair wages
-inadequate cost of living/wages parity
-colonialism
-massive resource extraction
-greed and hoarding
-slumlords
-etc...

sorry to say, but these above posts concieve of capitalism in some abstract vacuum and not his/herstory. just as silly as "communists" who glorify ideological state capitalism which pretended to be informed by communistic ideals...no basis in reality


see, this is the kind of crap that makes me worry that permaculture will continue to drift towards a liberal hobby/business model while focusing on trendy upperclass ecovillages insted of becoming a tool available to those who really need it.

in depth critique coming...when i have time


RE Paul's "So .... I guess the thing I am fishing for in this thread is permission for each of us to discover and follow our own path.  "

you don't need permission to live within capitalism, you allready do and we need to operate more or less within its confines to survive anyways. strategies that allow us to survive happily within the world today and meet our needs are essential. strategies to create alternatives independent of the vagaries of the "free market" and the whims of the ruling class are just as essential.

also, the fact that youre fishing for "permission" to follow your own path is very telling of structural problems of capitalism. "if only the boss let me take care of my own needs..."