Sustainable Revolution: Permaculture in Ecovillages, Urban Farms, and Communities Worldwide

by Juliana Birnbaum (Editor), Louis Fox (Editor), Paul Hawken (Foreword by), Erika Rand (Designed by)

Overview

Urban gardeners. Native seed-saving collectives. Ecovillage developments. What is the connection between these seemingly disparate groups? The ecological design system of permaculture is the common thread that weaves them into a powerful, potentially revolutionary—or reevolutionary—movement.

Permaculture is a philosophy based on common ethics of sustainable cultures throughout history that have designed settlements according to nature's patterns and lived within its bounds. As a movement that has been building momentum for the past 40 years, it now is taking form as a growing network of sites developed with the intention of regenerating local ecologies and economies. Permaculture strategies can be used by individuals, groups, or nations to address basic human needs such as food, water, energy, and housing. As a species, humans are being called forth to evolve, using our collective intelligence to meet the challenges of the future. Yet if we are to survive our collective planetary crisis, we need to revisit history, integrating successful systems from sustainable cultures. To boldly confront our position on the brink of the earth's carrying capacity and make changes that incorporate the wisdom of the past is truly revolutionary.

Sustainable Revolution features the work of a worldwide network of visionaries, including journalists, activists, indigenous leaders and permaculturists such as David Holmgren, Vandana Shiva, Charles Eisenstein, Starhawk, Erik Assadourian, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Albert Bates, and Geoff Lawton. This beautifully photographed collection of profiles, interviews, and essays features 60 innovative community-based projects in diverse climates across the planet. Edited by anthropologist Juliana Birnbaum Fox and award-winning activist filmmaker Louis Fox, it can be read as an informal ethnography of an international culture that is modeling solutions on the cutting edge of social and environmental change. The research presented in the book frames the permaculture movement as a  significant ally to marginalized groups, such as the urban poor and native communities resisting the pressures of globalization. Sustainable Revolution uplifts and inspires with its amazing array of dynamic activists and thriving, vibrant communities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583946480
Publisher:	North Atlantic Books
Publication date:	02/25/2014
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	981,772
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Trained as a cultural anthropologist and skilled in four languages, Juliana Birnbaum has lived and worked in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Nepal, Costa Rica and Brazil. In 2005 she founded Voices in Solidarity, an initiative that partnered with Ashaninka indigenous tribal leaders from the Brazilian Amazon to support the development of the Yorenka Ãtame community-led environmental educational center featured in the book. She has written about ecovillages, native rights, and social justice issues in a variety of newspapers, indigenous journals, and anthologies including E-The Environmental Magazine, Bridges Journal, El Reportero, The Rising Nepal, World Rainforest Movement Bulletin, Quechua Network, and Cultural Survival Quarterly. She was the first graduate of the Cornerstone Doula School, one of the most rigorous natural birth programs in the U.S., focusing on a holistic model of care. She is engaged variously as writer, editor, teacher, midwife assistant and mother when not attempting new yoga poses or learning how to garden.

Louis Fox is a storyteller, strategist, photographer, puppeteer, and filmmaker dedicated to looking at the world as it truly is, while also envisioning it as it could be. Since cofounding Free Range Studios in 1999, he’s created some of the most successful online cause-marketing campaigns of all time. His work for clients like Amnesty International, the Organic Trade Association, Patagonia, and Greenpeace has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, CNN, FOX News, NPR, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, The Colbert Report, and Fast Company magazine, which named him one of the fifty most influential social innovators of 2007. As a filmmaker, he has directed and cowritten over a hundred short live action and animated films. His projects The Meatrix, Grocery Store Wars, and the on-going Story of Stuff series, have been viewed by more than 60 million people and have garnered top honors at dozens of international film and media festivals.

Juliana Birnbaum, Louis Fox, and their daughters Lîla and Serenne live in California’s San Geronimo Valley and are founding members of a collective permaculture farm in Costa Rica.

Table of Contents

01 Introduction to Regenerative Design through Permaculture

Introduction 2

The Essential Role of Cultural Pioneers 5

Zone 00-From Personal to Cultural Transformation 6

Permaculture as a Revolutionary Act 8

Beyond Perma-Colonialism 10

A Language Based in Nature's Patterns 12

Fractals and Synergy 13

The Ethics of Permaculture 15

The Principles of Permaculture 17

Referencing This Book by Site Location 20

Classifying the Earth's Ecosystems 21

Climate Zones & Site Location Map 22

Referencing This Book by Domains of Action 24

02 Tropic/Equatorial Climates: Forest and Savanna Zones

Yorenka Atame Center, Brazil 29

Ecocentro IPEC, Brazil 33

The Organization of Permaculture and Art, Brazil 36

Project Bona Fids, Nicaragua 37

Atlantida Ecovillage, Colombia 40

The Ecovillage Movement in Colombia 42

Punta Mona Center, Costa Rica 43

Land/Nature Stewardship: Chinampas 48

Maya Mountain Research Farm, Belize 50

Antonio Núnez Jiménez Foundation, Cuba 54

Badilisha EcoVillage Trust, Kenya 59

Kesho Leo Children's Village, Tanzania 61

The Panya Protect, Thailand 68

Maab Euang Learning Center, Thailand 72

Cabiokid Project, Philippine 73

Land Tenure/Community Governance: Victoria Tauli-Corpuz on Indigenous Rights 77

Green School, Indonesia 81

Ka'ala and Hoa'Aina, U.S.A 84

La'akea Permaculture Community. U.S.A 86

Culture/Education: Slarhawk on Social Permaculture 88

03 Arid Climates: Desert and Steppe Zones

Dead Sea Valley Permaculture Project, Jordan 94

Kibbutz Lotan Community, Isreal 98

Building: Earth-based Architecture 102

Project Bustan, Isreal 103

Greater World Earthship Community, U.S.A. 107

Building: Passive-solar Architecture 110

Lama Foundation, U.S.A. 111

Suvraga Aguyt Cooperative, Mongolia 116

Building: The Yurt 122

Ladakh Ecological Development Group, India 124

Dr. Vandana Shiva on Climate Change 128

04 Temperate/Subtropical Climates: Humid and Highland Zones

Lagoswaita Ecovillage, Sri Lanka 133

Ten Basic Human Needs 134

Bija Vidyapeeth and Navdenya, India 140

Auroville Township and Ecovillage, India 144

Land/Nature Stewardship: Sadhana Forest Community 151

Land/Nature Stewardship: Terracing 153

O-Farm and Hong Kong's Agriculture, China 154

Fuzhou Wastewater Treatment Project, China 158

Zaytuna Farm and PRI, Australia 140

Djanbung Gardens and Jarlanbah, Australia 165

Huehuecóyotl Ecovillage, Mexico 170

Culture/Education: The Rainbow Peace Caravan 173

Qachuu Atoom Association, Guatamala 174

Amaranth 175

I'jatz Associalion, Guatamala 179

Finances/Economics: Aché Guayakí Forest Preservation 183

The Farm, U.S.A. 187

Health/Spiritual Well-Being: Midwifery on The Farm 193

Political Outreach on The Farm 196

Tools/Technology: Biochar 197

The GreenHouse Project, South Africa 198

Chikukwa and CELUCT, Zimbabwe 200

Dr. Joanne Tippett on the Edge Effect 206

Durban Botanic Gardens, South Africa 207

05 Temperate/Subtropical Climates: Mediterranean and Maritime Zones

Torn Superiore Ecovillage, Italy 710

Peace Research Village Tamera, Portugal 216

Hava & Adam Eco-Educational Farm, Isreal 222

Los Angeles Eco-Village, U.S.A. 226

Peoples Grocery, U.S.A. 231

Mo' Better Foods 235

OAEC/Sowing Circle. U.S.A. 236

Culture/Education: An Interview with OAEC's Brock Dolman 239

City Repair, U.S.A. 241

Bullock's Permaculture Homestead, U.S.A. 244

O.U.R. Ecovillage, Canada 239

Transition Norwich, U.K. 252

Finances/Economics: Charles Eisenstein on Local Currencies 256

Tinker's Bubble Eco-Community, U.K. 261

Findhorn Ecovillage, U.K. 264

Svanholm Collective and Ecovillage, Denmark 249

Rainbow Valley Farm, New Zealand 272

CERES, Australia 275

Melliodora, Australia 279

Land Tenure/Community Governance: From an Interview with David Holmgren 285

06 Snow Climates: Continental and Taiga Zones

EcoVillage at Ithaca, U.S.A. 290

Growing Power, U.S.A. 294

The Federation of Damanhur, Italy 299

Kovcheg Ecovillage, Russia 305

Culture/Education: The Anastasia Movement 312

Land/Nature Stewardship: Thirty Million Permaculturists 314

Sólheimar Ecovillage, Iceland 314

Fuji Eco Park Village, Japan 321

Land/Nature Stewardship: Japans Natural Farming Movement 324

Permaculture Center of Japan, Japan 327

Epilogue: David Holmgren on Permaculture and the Future 330

Notes 332

Resources 336

Index 337

Acknowledgments 344

Contributors 345

About the Authors 352

Editorial Reviews

The most significant discovery of the space age is that we humans are, first and foremost, indigenous Earthlings. Sustainable Revolution is a profound reminder of what this means.… By detailing local applications of eternally regenerative design principles, it eloquently demonstrates the inspiring possibilities—and critical importance—of synchronizing with the highly evolved patterns emerging from our home planet’s cycles of life.”—David McConville, chairman of the Buckminster Fuller Institute
 
“In today's sped-up, hyper-individualized, consumer-frenzied society, it's hard not to feel off-kilter. Birnbaum and Fox's book is the perfect medicine for the moment, offering guidance and inspiration to reclaim and repair our relationship with ourselves, our community and the planet.”—Annie Leonard, founder of the Story of Stuff Project
 
“Our culture has been at war with the world for millennia, wresting our food from it as if it were an enemy to be conquered.… Permaculture isn't just another way of growing food, it's a culture different from ours, a culture making peace with the world in every way. See it at work in this book. You’ll be astonished. I was.”—Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael

From the Publisher