Category Archives: Permaculture

The global permaculture movement as an engine for sustainability transitions

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In this presentation at APSA 2019, Ben offers a critical exploration of permaculture as a design methodology, system of ethics, community of practice, and social movement, which function as a vehicle for sustainability transitions and practice of a materialist politics. He also encourages academics of environmental politics to reflect on the appropriate balance of research, sustainability practice and environmental activism demanded by the urgent predicament of global climate and ecological crisis.

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CERES Global in India—Day 08: Visioning Permaculture at Shikshantar

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On day eight of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India, our group collaborated in a day of permaculture discussions and garden work with our friends at Shikshantar. In a co-creative process, the CERES Global group and members of the Shikshantar community learned about permaculture ethics and design principles, explored visions for the garden on the Shikshantar premises, and got our hands dirty working on innovations to bring the garden to life, building relationships and learning new things about ourselves and each other in the process. However, our yield from the day was not necessarily what we expected going in.

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CERES Global in India—Day 07: Learning from a Wise Man

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It is not often one comes away absolutely mesmerised from talking to a person, but such was our experience on this day.  On day seven of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India, a small number of our group visited with Kishore Saint, a retired geographer and friend of Shikshantar.  Kishore-gi shared with us some of his life experiences living in Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom, reflected on insights into community he gained from interacting with tribal peoples in Rajasthan, and concluded with an exhortation for us to change the world by looking within ourselves.

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CERES Global in India—Day 06: Hidden Landscapes of Waste

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On day six of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India we visited a municipal waste dump on the outskirts of Udaipur. Dump sites are always the dirty little secret of industrial development and commerce. They are the hidden landscapes of every city, a landscape so toxic and forbidding to life. In the Udaipur dump site, however, a community of “rag pickers” live and work in the mounds of refuse, earning a living from picking and selling recyclable materials from the waste piles.

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CERES Global in India—Day 05: Peasant Farming and Camel Culture

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On day four of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India we visited a small-scale organic farm and a migrating camel caravan on our way back to Udaipur from Malari village. In these engagements our group learned more about traditional organic farming and animal husbandry methods, along with the unique cultures of our hosts. Their hospitality in sharing food and friendship was greatly appreciated, a model of gift culture in action.

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CERES Global in India—Day 04: Malari Village

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On day four of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India we visited a village called Malari, 100 km north of Udaipur. In a day of fascinating interactions, we learned about the local dairy and herding economies, got some hands-on experience with local farming practices, enjoyed warm impromptu hospitality from our village hosts, and shared in a transcendental experience of dance and music.

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CERES Global in India—Day 03: Wisdom Walk through Udaipur’s Old City

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On day three of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India, our guides from Shikshantar—Vishal, Manish and Nishtha—led us on a fascinating journey through the old city of Udaipur. The winding alleyways, bustling markets, colourful buildings and diverse people, are collectively woven together in a rich tapestry of stories and history. On foot is the best way to experience the richness of these stories and notice things you never would have time to see transiting via faster modes of transportation.

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CERES Global in India—Day 02: Shikshantar People’s Institute for Re-thinking Education and Development

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On day two of our CERES Global Sustainable Development, Permanent Culture and Un-learning tour to India we visited the Shikshantar People’s Institute for Re-thinking Education and Development. Shikshantar is an applied research institute dedicated to catalysing radical transformation of education. Shikshantar was founded as a jeevan andolan (life movement) to challenge the hierarchical, colonial culture of education.

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Herb Whisperer Farm: Permaculture Principles and Traditional Chinese Medicine

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Cultivating a holistic environmental politics and regenerative sustainability practice is one of the great challenges of our time. Part of this cultivation prompts us to network with leaders in the practice of sustainability transitions and learn from on-the-ground projects that are doing this work. One of these projects is the Herb Whisperer farm, an hour north of Beijing in China, run by the “Herb Whisperer” himself, Thomas Avery Garran.

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