Re: permaculture, consumers and promotion idea

[Bob Ewing & Jocelyn Paquette <sixdegrees@baynet.net>]

Greetings from another Canadian Permie

Keith Johnson wrote:

> Dear Permaculture Friends,
>
> I hope my letter finds each of you healthy and joyful this holiday
> season!  Recently I had an idea regarding sustainability, consumers and
> permaculture designers that I wish to share with you.
>
> Some of you may remember that I do not have a "green thumb", although
> those skills are developing since we moved to our permanent home this
> summer.  I am, however, deeply interested in applying permaculture and
> general sustainability to the business/consumer world.   This last year
> has been an interesting one for me as I ventured into the arena of
> "citizen politics".  I canvassed during the last election for the
> Canadian Action Party, found myself in Quebec City at the Summit,
> organized community meetings and wrote for the Monetary Reform magazine.
>
> Recently, I experienced a shift in thinking that perhaps my efforts to
> empower people, in our current global climate,  would be better realized
> if I modified my message, like a good salesperson, to appeal to people
> as consumers rather than "Citizens".

I am very leery of referring to people as consumers rather than citizens.
There is a significant difference between the two. A consumer is only
interested in getting a good deal and only has the obligation to pay the
agreed upon price, I suppose the concept of price could be modified to
include the true cost of an item but I think that is  a hard sell. A citizen
has roles and responsibilities that go far beyond shopping.

>
>
> For example, the average person I speak to does not care to understand
> trade agreements, the WTO and such for numerous reasons.  It could be
> because they feel it's complicated, it's out of their hands, they're
> caught up in their own lives - whatever.  Then there are the external
> reasons they are not getting the message like media control, propaganda
> etc... The bottom line is they are apathetic.  Then one day, my consumer
> friend becomes upset because her utility costs are skyrocketing.  I make
> the connection between WTO policies and her increasing expenses.  In one
> sentence I explain that they are going up because unelected elitists
> decided that utility commissions and certain products, like water,
> should no longer belong to the people and that they should become
> privatized for profit.  And the person
> gets it. It has more impact on the person than any demonstration,
> education program etc... because the person must pay out more and have
> less disposable cash for themselves.

I agree with this approach. people need to understand what effect the trade
polices will have on them. It is still an educational activity but it is
reality based. It is like demonstrating energy conservation , if you do this
then you lower your cost. If you are building a new home and choose to build
a passive solar home and reduce the amount of square footage and add an
attached greenhouse to the sun facing side and so on, you will save money
without increasing your building costs.

>
>
> The general concept of this idea is based on two important parts and
> goes like this - an international consumer group which only promotes
> goods and services which contribute to "permanent regeneration" of the
> planet (as Brian Milani calls it and says that this actually goes beyond
> the gray area of sustainability). Part of the purpose of this group is
> to promote permaculture designers and others, who are performing
> 'restorative design' work.   The group focuses on getting the consumer
> to understand that they wield incredible power with their pocketbooks.
> It educates consumers that our purchasing decisions have a direct impact
> on the world around us and that collectively we can effect huge change.
> For example, with supporting evidence from globalresearch.ca, consumers
> are made aware of the link between the ongoing American situation with
> the push to develop further oil/natural gas resources in the Caspian Sea
> region.  Perhaps the group suggests that if consumers disagree with the
> conflict and want a more peaceful,
> democratic society, they should limit/avoid natural gas and oil based
> products.  Further, it offers practical strategies to limit consumption,
> recommends specific products from sustainably oriented companies and
> connects consumers with designers who can help them. This approach helps
> companies by stimulating sales, which in turn encourages them to create
> more alternative and ultimately sustainable products.
>
> Connecting designers with consumers is an important purpose of the group
> because the designers then become part of the solution, rather than only
> focusing on criticizing business and other societal systems.  As we
> know, permaculture practitioners have the capability to empower
> consumers with systems that will help improve the quality of life and
> restore personal/community self-sufficiency lost through multi-national
> corporatization. The group can provide the necessary tools and resources
> for the public while providing an income for the under-utilized
> designer.  I see minimal ties to the permaculture community other than
> promotion of their services.  I know this is something that many of us
> would see as a bonus as we try to avoid organization of everything.  I
> have been listening Gregoire!  To date, I have not yet found an
> independant, unbiased consumer group with this spin on it.  As we know,
> it is vitally important that any group truly representing the interests
> of the public must be free from corporate or government sponsorship.  I
> think this group could be efficiently administered with few resources.
> We would be fulfilling a need and providing an essential piece of the
> integrated effort to heal the planet. Links to other like-minded groups
> like Fairtrade, Corpwatch, Public Citizen, Centre for Global Research
> etc.. would provide further info for the consumer.  Perhaps a source of
> funding for the group could be a small referral fee from the designer
> who actually got the contract for work from our promotional efforts.
> When I speak of consumers, I include businesses, governments etc...
> within this group as potential clients for
> services.  Businesses in particular could benefit tremendously and gain
> an advantage over others by
> applying permaculture principles to their systems.

There are some really good ideas here that I need more time to digest, so i
will think some more and then post again.

>
>
> I am convinced that the public is ready for this and that the timing is
> right.  In light of recent legal changes and increased protestor
> surveillance, this type of activism through 'consumer enlightenment' is
> the safest way to assert our freedoms and to ultimately engage the
> masses in conducting restorative work on the planet.

This is building on the Natural capitalism of Hawken and Lovins(s)

>
>
> If you have made it this far, I thank you for taking the time to read my
> lengthy letter.  I would like to hear how you feel about it, all
> comments and criticisms, and if you are interested in working on
> something like this.  I would like to particularly  hear about your
> knowledge of existing groups engaged in this type of work.  Naturally,
> it would be much easier to find a similar consumer group who may want to
> build their organization further in this manner.  Best wishes to you and
> yours for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
> sincerely,
> Jenny Rendall Vasey

You have my interest and I will keep working on this as it resonates
somewhat with my own practise.

Bob Ewing
Thunder Bay, ON