Subject: Black Mesa Permaculture Project on Navajo/Hopi Reservation

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 12:44:04 -0800

Here is an upcoming workshop/intensive for those interested in
Permaculutre.  It will be held on the Navajo/Hopi Reservation and is a
project of Indigenous People living on Reservation lands.   For more info
on this project and other issues concerning the environment and Indigenous
Peoples - check out URL http://www.teleport.com/~amt/PlanetPeace

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Planet Peace
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      Black Mesa Permaculture Project
     4th Annual Dryland Permaculture Intensive Design Course on the
     Navajo/Hopi Reservation, May 27 - June 4
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Permaculture, or permanent (agri)culture, means working with natural forces
- wind, sun, and water - to provide food, shelter, water and other needs
with minimum labor and without depleting the land. Permaculture is a
holistic approach based on traditional agricultural practices.

The Black Mesa Permaculture Project is a project of Indigenous People living
on Reservation lands on Black Mesa in the Four Corners area of the
Southwest with assistance of concerned support groups and persons.
Permaculture techniques allow people to diversify and increase flora
production, to restore eroded lands, and to make more efficient use of
resources. We feel that this project will help us and other Native Americans
integrate self-reliance and cultural values.

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                     4th Annual Intensive Design Course

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Instructors

The course will have three instructors, two of which are local Native
Americans. Justin Willy and George Crittenden have both taken certified
permaculture courses and are currently enrolled in an ecoforestry program.
George has several years previous experience in fire suppression and
reforestation while Justin has taught hands-on classes and consulted on
permaculture projects in the Black Mesa for five years. Both are working on
projects in their local areas and have been doing consulting work and giving
presentations to schools and local groups on the Black Mesa for nearly three
years in an attempt to expand the role of permaculture in healing the land.

Dan Dorsey, the primary instructor for the first three workshops has a
degree in forestry and has studied regenerative systems for over ten years.
In addition to residential landscapes, he has designed sustainable projects
for Tucson City Parks and Recreation, the Tucson Community Food Bank, and
the Tohono O'Odham Indian Nation. A well-known speaker in the Tucson area,
Dan emphasizes strategies for water harvesting, re-vegetation of damaged
areas, and integrating people with a sustainable environment.

This complete course will provide you with a permaculture design
certificate. Workshop fees promote scholarships for indigenous people.
Bring: camping gear, food, rain gear, notebooks, and work gloves.

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Objectives

  1. Conduct surveys of site-specific soil, water, water-shed conditions,
     locally occurring native plant species, to provide a base of
     information for planning permaculture systems.
  2. Continue presentation of annual, comprehensive, hands-on permaculture
     courses on reservations which are open to the public and free to Native
     Americans.
  3. Set up a tree grow out program for planting in spring and fall.
  4. Design and construct with each family appropriate runoff water
     diversion and collection structures, and /or spring developments, to
     enable the family to make optimal use of available water resources.
  5. Work with each family, level bordered or terraced fields, and organic
     or garden plots in which collected runoff waters will be used for
     irrigation.
  6. Work to build solid fertility in their permaculture plots with locally
     available organic materials.
  7. Select and plant an appropriate mix of perennial trees, shrubs,
     grasses, and herbs with food or medicinal value.
  8. Plan and construct additional soil and water conservation and
     permaculture structures, including runoff plots for annual plantings,
     greenhouses to extend the growing season, and erosion control
     structures.
  9. Collect and ensure the survival and availability of traditional
     varieties of seeds and cultivators.
 10. The use of appropriate technology training will build all the needed
     skills and capacities in permaculture system design and construction so
     that the instructors and consultants will be primarily Native American.

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Registration

To register, send your name, address, and phone number along with $250.00 or
non refundable $50.00 deposit to: Black Mesa Permaculture Project, PO Box
26195, Tucson, AZ 85796. Make cheques payable to Black Mesa Permaculture
Project.

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Nothing Real Can Be Threatened.  Nothing Unreal Exists.
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