BIOREGIONAL ORGANIZATION
A Resource Index for Bioregions

(from Chapter 14, Strategies for an Alternative Nation,
Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual, by Bill Mollison)

A bioregional association is an association of the residents of a natural and identifiable region. This region is sometimes defined by a watershed, sometimes by remnant or existing tribal or language boundaries, at times by town boundaries, suburban streets, or districts, and at times by some combination of the above factors. Many people identify with their local region or neighborhood and know its boundaries.

There is an obvious conflict between the need to live in a region in a responsible way (bioregional centrality) and the need to integrate with other people in other places (global outreach). We need not only to “think globally and act locally”, but to “act and think globally and locally”.

The region is our home address, the place where we develop our culture, and take part in bioregional networks. Through global associations and “families of common interest” we cross not only the regional but also state and national borders to set up multicultural alliances.

Just as bioregions need a federal congress periodically, so do they occasionally need global congresses; societies or families also need global meetings to break down the idea of defended regional boundaries to humanity. Ethics and principles of self-governance, interdependence, and voluntary simplicity or restriction of human numbers on earth still apply at regional and outreach levels. Intermarriage, visits, mutual trade and aid, skills exchange, and educational exchange between regions of very different cultures enrich both. This is the antithesis of “integration” (bureaucratic genocide) that is promulgated by majority groups who disallow language use and cultural life to minorities. In particular, reciprocal education values both sets of knowledge and world concepts, and respects others’ lifestyles.

Ideally, the region so defined can be limited to that occupied by from 7000 to 40,000 people. Of these, perhaps only a hundred will be initially interested in any regional association, and even less will be active in it. The work of the bioregional group is to assess the natural, technical, service, and financial resources of the region, and to identify areas where leakage of resources (water, soil, money, talent) leaves the region. This quickly points the way to local self-reliance strategies.

People can be called on to write accounts of their specialties, as they apply to the region, and regional news sheets publish results as they come in. Once areas of action have been defined, regional groups can be formed into associations dealing with specific areas, e.g.:

· Food: Consumer-producer associations and gardening or soil societies
· Shelter Owner-builder associations
· Energy: Appropriate technology association
· Finance: An “earthbank” association

And so on for crafts, music, markets, livestock, and nature study or any other interest. The job of the bioregional office is complex, and it needs 4-6 people to act as consultants and coordinators, with others on call when needed. All other associations can use the office for any necessary registration, address, phone, and newsletter services, and pay a fee for usage.

Critical services and links can be built by any regional office; it can serve as a land access center, operating the strategies outlined later under that section. It can also act as leasehold and title register, or to service agreements for clubs and societies. More importantly, the regional office can offer and house community self-funding schemes, and collect monies for trusts and societies.

The regional office also serves as a contact center to other regions, and thus as a trade or coordination center. One regional office makes it very easy for any resident or visitor to contact all services and associations offering in the region, and also greatly reduces costs of communication for all groups. An accountant on call can handily contract to service many groups. The regional group can also invite craftspeople or lecturers to address interest groups locally, sharing income from this educational enterprise.

Some of the topics that can be included in the regional directory are as follows. These can be taken topic by topic, sold at first by the page, and finally put together as a loose-leaf notebook (volunteers enter local resource centers and addresses under each category; the system is best suited to computer retrieval). The following Resource index for Bioregions has been compiled by Maxine Cole and Bill Mollison for the Northern Rivers Bioregional Association of New South Wales, Australia.

The primary categories are as follows:

A. Food and food support systems
B. Shelter and buildings
C. Livelihoods and support services
D. Information, media, communication, and research
E. Community and security
F. Social life
G. Health services
H. Future trends
L. Transport services
M. Appendices (maps, publications of the bioregion)

All of the above sections can contain case histories of successful strategies in that area.

CRITERIA: Practical resources (people, skills, machinery, services, biological products) essential to the functioning of a small region, and assisting the conservation of resources, regional cash flow, the survival of settlement, employment and community security. (Security here means a cooperative neighborhoods and ample, sustainable resources for people.)

CATEGORY A – FOOD AND FOOD SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Criteria: Native and economic species, organic and biocide free, products of good nutritional value.

Al. Plant resources

1.1 Nurseries and propagation centers, tissue culture, sources of inoculants, mycorrhiza.
1.2 Plant collections and botanical gardens, economic plant assemblies, aquatic species.
1.3 Research institutes, horticultural and pastoral agencies.
1.4 Seed sources and seed exchanges.
1.5 Native species reserves and nurseries.
1.6 Demonstration farms and
gardens, teaching centers, workshop conveners.
1.7 Government departments and their resources, regulations.
1.8 Voluntary agencies involved in plant protection, planting, and propagation.
1.9 Skilled people, botanists, horticulturists.
1.10 Publications and information leaflets of use in the region, reference books, libraries, posters.
1.11 Contractors and consultancy groups: implementation of plant systems, farm designs.
1.12 Produce: products and producers in region, growers.
1.13 Checklist of vegetables, fruits and nuts which can be grown in the region and species useful for other than food provision.

A2. Animal resources

2.1 Breeders and stud or propagation centers, artificial insemination, hatcheries.
2.2 Species collections, including worms and like invertebrates.
2.3 Fish breeders and aquatic species.
2.4 Useful native species collections and reserves, potential for cultivation.
2.5 Demonstration farms, e.g. free range, bee culture, workshop conveners, teaching centers.
2.6 Government departments and their resources, regulations.
2.7 Voluntary agencies and animal protection societies.
2.8 Skilled people, farriers, vets, natural historians.
2.9 Contractors (shearers, etc.) and consultancy groups, farm designers.
2.10 Publications, posters, libraries for the region
2.11 Produce: species and suppliers in region.

A3. Integrated pest management (IPM)

3.1 Insectaries and invertebrate predator breeders and suppliers of biological controls.
3.2 Suppliers of safe control chemicals, traps.
3.3 Information sources on IPM.
3.4 Pest management of stored grains and foods.
3 5 References and libraries
3.6 Checklist of common pests and predators, and safe pest control procedures.

A4. Processing and food preservation

4.1 Suppliers of processing equipment.
4.2 Food Processing Centers (FPCs).
4.3 Information sources on food processing and preservation.
4.4 Sources of yeasts, bacterial and algal ferment materials.
4.5 Processed-product producers in region.

A5. Markets and outlets

5.1 Local markets, farmer’s markets.
5.2 Delivery services.
5.3 Export markets and wholesalers.
5.4 Urban-rural co-op systems, direct marketing.
5.5 Retail outlets.
5.6 Market advisory skills and groups, contract and legal skills.
5.7 Roadside and self-pick sales.
5.8 Market packaging and package suppliers, ethical packaging systems and designs.
5.9 Annual barter fair, health fairs, conferences, etc.

A6. Support services and products for food production

6.1 Residue testing services for biocides, also nutrient, mineral and vitamin content (food quality control).
6.2 Soil, water and leaf analysis services for micronutrients and soil additives, water analyses, pH levels.
6.3 Hydrological and water supply services (dams, domestic water), design and implementation.
6.4 Fence and trellis suppliers and services, cattle grids and gates.
6.5 Suppliers of natural fertilizers, mulch materials, trace elements, soil amendments.
6.6 Farm machinery, garden and domestic tool suppliers (see also processing), appropriate and tested equipment, fabricators and designers, repair services, hire and contract services.
6.7 Land planning services.
6.8 Greenhouse, shadehouse, food dryers, suppliers, and appropriate materials.
6.9 Lime quarries and sources, stone dusts, local trace mineral sources, regional geological resources.

CATEGORY B – SHELTER, BUILDINGS
Criteria: Energy efficient house design and non-toxic materials only

B1. Construction materials

1.1 Timber growers and suppliers, community timber plantations.
1.2 Stone and gravel, earth materials.
1.3 Plumbing and piping, drainage, roofing.
1.4 Bricks and concrete products (tanks, blocks, etc.)
1.5 Tiles and surfaces, paints (non-toxic)
1.6 Furniture and fittings.
1.7 Tools and fasteners, tool sharpening services and repairs, glues and tapes.
1.8 Library and research resources.
1.9 Current state of housing in the region (numbers seeking housing, rentals available).
1.10 Sources of toxins and unsafe materials in buildings, appliances, furnishings, paints and glues; high voltage equipment.

B2. Energy systems

2.1 Home appliances for energy conservation and efficiency, energy saving and insulation.
2.2 Hot water systems, solar systems.
2.3 Space heating and house design for the region.
2.4 Power generation systems for region: current and proposed.
2.5 Appropriate technology groups, research centers and demonstrations.
2.6 Designers of low energy home systems and buildings.
2.7 Sources of information, publications, trade literature, and library resources.
2.8 Reliable contractors and builders.

B3. Wastes, recycling

3.1 Sewage and greywater disposal (domestic).
3.2 Compost systems and organics.
3.3 Solid wastes disposal and collection (boxes, bottles, plastics).
3.4 Occupations based on waste recycling.

CATEGORY C – LIVELIHOODS & SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Criteria: Concept of right livelihood or socially useful work. Durable and well-made items.

C1. Community finance and recycling
1.1 Barter and exchange.
1.2 Small business loans.
1.3 Community banking and investment systems.
1.4 Land access systems, cooperatives, leases, trusts.
1.5 Legal and information services.
1.6 Local currencies

C2. Livelihood support services

2.1 Small business service centers, business incubators.
2.2 Skills resource bank: business, legal and financial advisory services, volunteer and retired people.
2.3 Self-employment (work from fulfilling regional needs: job vacancy lists).
2.4 Training courses in region.

C 3. Essential trades, and manufacturing services and skills

3.1 Clothing and cloth (spinning, weaving).
3.2 Footwear and accessories, leatherwork.
3.3 Basketry and weaving, mats and screens.
3.4 Functional pottery.
3.5 Steelwork, fitting and turning, smithing and casting, welding.
3.6 Functional woodwork
3.7 Engines and engine repairs.
3.8 Functional glasswork.
3.9 Paper recycling and manufacture, book trades, printing and binding.
3.10 Catering and cooking (food preparation).
3.11 Drafting and illustrating services.
3.12 Soaps, cleaning materials.

CATEGORY D – INFORMATION SYSTEMS, MEDIA SERVICES, COMMUNICATIONS AND RESEARCH.

Criteria: Essential community information, aids, and research

D1. Communications networks

1.1 Regional radio and C.B., ham radio.
1.2 Regional news and newspapers, newsletters.
1.3 Audio-visual services, photography, television, film
1.4 Business and research communications e.g. fax, telex, modem, card files, computer, journals, libraries, graphics, telephone answering services.
1.5 Computer services and training.
1.6 Libraries and collections of data in region.
1.7 Maps.
1.8 Bioregional groups and contacts—local and overseas.
1.9 Standard documents and data sheets available via the bioregional center.

CATEGORY E – COMMUNITY AND SECURITY.

E1. House and livestock security

1.1 House siting.
1.2 Neighborhood watch.
1.3 Cattle and livestock watch.

E2. Fire volunteers and reports (4 wheel drive clubs)
E3. Flood (cleanup)
E4. Woodland, cliff, beach rescue services
E5. Communication systems

5.1 Report center.
5.2 Emergency communications.

CATEGORY F- SOCIAL LIFE.

Criteria: Assistance for isolated people to meet people of like mind

F1. Introductory services.
F2. Think tanks.
F3. Expeditions.
F4. Work groups.

CATEGORY G – HEALTH SERVICES.

Criteria: Basic preventative and common ailment treatment, necessary hospitalization, accident treatment, local resources

G1. Medical and pharmaceutical services.
G2. Surgical and hospitalization services.
G3. Gynecological and midwifery services, home birth support.
G4. Profile of morbidity in region, life expectancy, infant mortality, causes of death, ailments in order of importance, under:

4.1 Accidents & injuries; infectious diseases; addictions & drugs.
4.2 Genetic and birth defects; nutritional problems.
Note: until the above listing is made, no region can assess health priorities.

CATEGORY H – FUTURE TRENDS & POTENTIAL THREATS TO THE REGION (AS A SERIES OF RESEARCH ESSAYS).

H1. Climate change
H2. Ozone depletion
H3. Water pollution and biocides: radioactives and chemical or waste pollution.
H4. Financial collapse: recession
H5. Implications for policy making
H6. Deforestation
H7. Soil erosion
H8. Fuel shortages
H9. Food shortages
H10. Etc.

CATEGORY I – TRANSPORT (SEE ALSO CATEGORY H).

I1. Barge and river systems
I2. Draft animal systems
I3. Joint or group delivery/ portage
I4. Innovations: local fuels and new sorts of vehicles
I5. Transport routes, bikeways
I6. Air and ultralight craft, blimps

CATEGORY M – APPENDICES.

Maps-

Bioregional map
Geological
Plant system
Soils
Sources and reference to maps, suppliers
Regions, parishes,
Land titles
Access and roads
Conservation land and easements
Rivers and water supplies

Note that if essential services are listed, deficiencies noted, and leaks of capital detected, then there is immediately obvious a category of “jobs vacant”
if, in addition, there is a modest investment or funding organization set up (itself a job), then capital to train and equip people to fill these gaps is also available. When basic needs are supplied locally, research and skills will reveal work in producing excess for traded this excess can be as information and education to other regions.

[Translate]

English Deutsch español français italiano português powered by

permacultureprinciples.com

Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and principles which can be used to establish, design, manage and improve all efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future.

This site explores the ‘essence of permaculture’ in a simple and clear way, expanding on the work of co-originator of the permaculture concept, David Holmgren.

Calendar & Diary Review - Kirsten Bradley

How good are these? You probably don’t know, so I’ll tell you – they’re great! Oh and though this looks like a shameless plug saying, basically, *buy stuff*, I’m afraid I have to mention it because they really are splendid. And really, how many other 2009 diaries will you find that contain the gruff but pertinent quote:

“there are two sorts of people in this world – those who poo in drinking water, and those who don’t…”

See the full review here.

The 12 permaculture design principles are thinking tools, that when used together, allow us to creatively re-design our environment and our behaviour in a world of less energy and resources.

These principles are seen as universal, although the methods used to express them will vary greatly according to the place and situation. They are applicable to our personal, economic, social and political reorganisation as illustrated in the permaculture flower.

The ethical foundation of permaculture guides the use of these design tools, ensuring that they are used in appropriate ways.

Each principle can be thought of as a door that opens into whole systems thinking, providing a different perspective that can be understood at varying levels of depth and application.

[Translate]

English Deutsch español français italiano português powered by

Plan C: Individual and Community Survival Strategies for the Energy Crisis
The Fifth Annual US Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions October 31 – November 2, 2008 Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan www.plancconference.org

At this groundbreaking conference participants will explore strategies for reducing energy use in the areas of housing, food and transportation, including both theory and practice. We will examine the long energy decline of the 21st century, the psychological barriers to rapid change, and the challenge of persuading our communities to embrace local, low-energy living. Attendance at this conference may be of critical importance at this time when the ongoing energy crisis is being compounded by the very real threat of credit and financial collapse.

Our survival is now, more than ever, in question. And it is more urgent than ever that we gather in Michigan to evaluate survival strategies and disseminate skills for growing food, creating local food security in their communities, retrofitting homes to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and educating their communities to prepare for the difficult times we are facing.

Skyrocketing oil prices, mounting geopolitical tensions, grave economic realities, and dangerous climate changes are threatening our lives and communities like never before. The age of cheap, abundant fossil fuels is coming to an end, and urgent action is required to transform our overly consumptive society into one that uses far less energy.

By acting now, you can significantly cut your personal household energy use and overall consumption, support more localized economic production, and reduce your dependence on high energy transportation in your daily life. By doing this, you will be helping to create a more resilient and sustainable community adapted to the coming economic and ecological storms.

The conference will also feature in-depth workshops and panels, Connection Café discussion tables with area experts, an eco tour slide show, screenings of award winning films, entertainment, tours of local green buildings, a Green Living Expo, and healthy shared meals.

Schedule of Presentations and Workshops:
* Keynoter John Michael Greer, author of the forthcoming The Long Descent: A User’s Guide to the End of the Industrial Age
* Keynoter Dmitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse: Soviet Example and American Prospects
* Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, author of The Party’s Over and Powerdown (via webcast)
* Katrin Klingenberg, director of the Passive House Institute US
* Peter Bane, editor of Permaculture Activist
* Christopher Bedford, President of the Center for Economic Security and the Sweetwater Local Foods Market
* John Richter, co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Education
* Pat Murphy, author of Plan C: Community Survival Strategies for Peak Oil and Climate Change
* Megan Quinn Bachman, Outreach Director of Community Solutions; co-producer of The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

For more information and to register, go to www.plancconference.org, contact Jill Hollowell at Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center at 248-693-1021, or email [email protected]. Note: Members of an organization or activist network are encouraged to attend as a group and receive substantial discounts for 3+ and 5+ member groups.

[Translate]

English Deutsch español français italiano português powered by

From:

[Translate]

English Deutsch español français italiano português powered by

Bad Hair Day

by Alastair Bland

Nature provides solutions to many problems, no matter how seemingly hopeless and messy. Take for example the November 7, 2007, oil spill in San Francisco Bay, in which fifty-eight thousand gallons of fuel gushed from the Cosco Busan‘s hull and lathered the water’s surface. It was a local disaster, no doubt, but the spill has also inspired environmentalists to begin redesigning the world’s approach to toxic-waste cleanup with two unlikely yet promising tools: human hair and mushrooms.

Coverage of the oil spill produced few remarkable images, just the standard shots of crews on beaches floundering in black sludge and handling soiled birds. But then media caught on to something that no oil spill had seen before: an activist named Lisa Gautier and several hundred volunteers were using mats of human hair to soak up the oil from the sands of Ocean Beach, just south of the Golden Gate Bridge.

As executive director of the environmental nonprofit Matter of Trust, Gautier had been storing the hair mats for just such an occasion. She explained to reporters that the mats, marketed by an Alabama gardening supply company as soil insulators, work far better at soaking up oil than conventional polypropylene mats, which are manufactured and widely used for just that purpose and are, ironically, themselves made from petroleum. Human hair is organic, biodegradable, and almost endlessly available at more than 300,000 hair salons in the United States and abroad. (See the photo gallery)

Around the Bay Area, a total of nineteen thousand gallons of spilled oil were recovered. Gautier mopped up several thousand pounds of ship fuel with her hair mats. Oil reclaimed after spills is regularly incinerated, but Gautier had a better, cleaner idea. She has long followed the work of Seattle biologist Paul Stamets, who has intensively researched the oyster mushroom’s capacity to reconfigure dangerous hydrocarbons into nontoxic—even edible—carbohydrates, and she called Stamets three days after the spill to ask if he would like to help orchestrate a demonstration of mycoremediation. Hearing that Gautier had enough ship fuel to feed an army of oyster mushrooms, Stamets was keen to offer his expertise as well as donate hundreds of pounds of mushroom mycelium, the underground fungal organism from which mushrooms sprout. But as enthusiasm mounted, authorities abruptly announced that the recovered Cosco Busan oil, along with the saturated hair mats, would be withheld as potential evidence in legal proceedings. So Gautier changed course, securing a twenty-gallon sample of ship fuel from an East Bay freighter company, as well as several buckets of used motor oil, and the experiment went forth.

On a small plot of federal land in the Presidio forest near the Golden Gate Bridge, Stamets, Gautier, and volunteers stacked hay bales like building blocks to construct a thirty-by-thirty-foot enclosure, within which they built eight square chambers. After laying a thick, waterproof tarp over the hay bales, the team filled each of the isolated chambers with oil. Two would be left as controls, one containing just motor oil, the other ship fuel. But in the other six the team added mycelium with varying mixtures of straw, sawdust, and grain. The mycelium reacted, and by mid-January, beautiful oyster mushrooms had sprouted from the cubicles of mulch. Subsequent lab analyses showed that the mixtures beneath the sprouted mushrooms were greatly thinned of hydrocarbons, and in the mushrooms themselves there remained not a trace of petroleum. It was magic. (See mycoremediation photo gallery)

Already, the idea is catching on around the world. The tremendous oil spills that struck shorelines in Russia and South Korea in late 2007 have been remedied in part with human hair mats after local activists heard of the drama in San Francisco, and in Valdez, Alaska, where oil still seeps from tide pools nineteen years after the terrible Exxon spill, locals have voiced a renewed interest in finally cleaning up the mess using the combination of hair mats and mycoremediation.

Across the water from San Francisco, too, the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in Oakland has partnered with Matter of Trust to launch a local hair-mat manufacturing plant—the first such facility on domestic soil (the current hair-mat supply comes mostly from China). The U.S. Coast Guard is considering signing on as a regular buyer.

[Translate]

English Deutsch español français italiano português powered by

What Is A Watershed?

© 2006-2008 by The WATER Institute, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center,
All Rights Reserved
15290 Coleman Valley Road, Occidental, CA 95465
(707) 874-1557 x 206
[email protected]

Upcoming Events

• Name of Event

  BIONEERS Conference – Watershed Guardians: Take Charge Presentation – San Rafael, CA

  Oct 18, 2008 – 4:30 pm
• Name of Event

  San Diego Natural History Museum Lecture – San Diego, CA

  Nov 18, 2008 – 6:30 pm
• Name of Event

  Basins of Relations: Starting and Sustaining Watershed Groups – OAEC

  Dec 5, 2008 – 10:00 am

New Report Released – Brock contributes to this report entitled “Water Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture”

Water Consciousness Book – Brock contributes a chapter to this newly published guide.

Permaculture: A Quiet Revolution DVD – See Brock interviewed in this new documentary.

Basins Of Relations Publication – Get a copy of our 20 page citizen’s guide to protecting and restoring your watershed.

Roofwater Harvesting Resource List – Check out this comprehensive resource on rainwater harvesting policy, design and installation.

In 2004 the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) established the WATER Institute (Watershed Advocacy, Training, Education, & Research) to promote understanding of the importance of healthy watersheds to healthy communities. Building upon OAEC’s many years of work to protect Coastal California’s watersheds, the WATER Institute concentrates on four interrelated and equally strong program components: advocacy and policy development; training and support; education and demonstration; and research.

The WATER Institute staff includes Director Brock Dolman, Associate Director Kate Lundquist, Research Director Jim Coleman and Salmon Safe Pesticide Coordinator Viviana Coloma.

The WATER Institute continues to publish and educate about “Conservation Hydrology,” an applied science being pioneered by OAEC and characterized by the following key concepts:

• Human development decisions must be based on a new “rehydration model” instead of the current “dehydration model.”
>

• All development must safeguard the health of watersheds and the availability of clean water.

• Land-use management strategies must thoroughly analyze the impact of human activities on the hydrologic cycle, and how these activities affect species, community and ecosystem dynamics.

• Democratic, regionally controlled decision-making processes are essential for the protection of vigorous ecosystems and diverse, resilient hydrological systems.

At local, regional and global levels, we hear ever-increasing demands for ample supplies of high quality water. In response, we must develop accurate means of evaluating the amount of water available for both human appropriation and for the needs of all other life forms and ecosystems. We must defend the perspective that water is common to us all, and we must oppose its privatization.

Asserting that it is “better to be safe than thirsty,” the WATER Institute advocates the use of the Precautionary Principle in decisions about water-use policy. The burden of proof must be on water users to show that their proposed use of our common water can be sustained without damage to the hydrologic cycle. For example, will the new water use adversely affect the infiltration, runoff, creek flows, evaporation, precipitation, condensation, availability, or purity of local water?

The WATER Institute’s initial research project is to better understand the hydrological cycle on the very land and water where we live and work at OAEC. We have installed a computerized weather station and a groundwater well-monitoring system to record water levels and characterize the relationship between surface water and groundwater at the OAEC site.

This monitoring will provide data to develop an OAEC “water budget,” and will help determine our long-term conservation hydrology plan. For instance, a conservation hydrology strategy for OAEC might include increasing the recharge of our groundwater and enhancing potable water quality by slowing surface water runoff and increasing infiltration. This research will be useful as a model for larger projects in the Dutch Bill Creek Watershed and the Russian River Basin. Numerous water policy and educational opportunities will likely flow from this baseline research.

[Translate]

English Deutsch español français italiano português powered by