1. Dirt frack to the
A bungle in the jungle upon the infomation oi gardeners, I wanrpanicipadonfromothersi0
farmers and indigenous cultures ordefro build an appropriateonline
worldwide,andPDCgradu!@s,which environmenr.If you havea probten
it conlinuestodotoday- pcnnanently. wirh what I propose,or you aren.l
Can we maintainslandardswithoul online...celoveritt Manvofus are.
has one permaculture
developrnga conrollingburcaucracy'l morcwill be,andyou canjoin usif,
Permacuilurean oxymoron?Or peF youwanl lr'syourchoice.Thoseofusi
maculturelheself-regulatingsystem? in the..north"canchoosenot to be
Givenincr€diblysmallamountof srmndedin Cyberia. . . wecansimpty,
funding ro da1e,permaculturehas logonarourtocallibraryo.anyoneof
alreadycvolved10bea self-regulating themanyInremercafes.If youarein
systeminrelariontothePDCandcon, theouth" andnoronline.butwantro
sultanldesignservices.Markerfo.ces panicipate,write10me.I maybeabti
hav€seenonlytheverycapablereach- roreplyif givenlimeandanopponu-
ersanddes'gnersstayin businessfor niry 10help_MeanwhilewharI arn
thelongrcrm.Unfonundrely$is docs rhinkinSaboutare the opponunilies
generatesomedisappoinrmcnrforcus- rhatwil growfromhere.
tomersof theseservke:.ILrr
ceDtJblerharPDCqradudre.ollirLleLo
-'obal
village" information
n"
".p.n.n."
canhotda c^u,.eand Fom "loca.l village"
Irnd tdyrnt denrn chenrsrnJ n^r informatjon?
remolelymeelacceprablestandards. TheNewMillenium, rhefulureh
H-owcanweimprovcrhischeaplyand here NOW Opponuniriesabound
eflecrively?Sophisricareduseoi feed- beyondbeljef to add vatue.tn rhe
DacKcommrnrcatlonscan rmprove wordsol winin periera...what we
standards.More.leaming beyond needheremostu€endy is syslemr,
coursesrsrequifedforgainingexpcri- lhar impoverishedtarmerscan us€
easily,ftar can spreadwithourrhel
Online forum needfor Sraduatesof a permaculture
lnI|rureor any oLhersuchbody.
anonllnelorumlol Abourpermaculturehe ,rs(s, Is ,r r
l,conlacl mc at ne* rypeof environmenralcolonlal-
l'11:'-"::il"llil'':')
ro In r.'m im'- ionarhrnHarpema rolunteer
oeveroprdeu onlne ,or an-rndep€n. on a permdcutluredemonslralionfdnn
::l' ::11",11"
dersnrnrormarronrnsourhemlndra.asrsifpermaculrun
llS;11"-'i.ll5':"11
rnarend'nE't (aninvorvemdnvoLheAbevondn€rD( or.g€rrrnga consutrantdergner -edu.dted,mrddle_clas.fromrheciriel
wruIrnotnrsagrearroorInlhelreler. dndrorcignerslhatcomelo leamon
l:.1-,'-11 ':T 'nj"
h"ppvto rnrrrJre rhelannrarherrhdnrie vitlaseh?2
PermdculLuredsel Regular(lu.iy tour,, intmshrps.
:l-"-J.o,1"",'!""
ro rhesrobaronr'ne conre,enreand maeaTinescan h
gurldiharwrll integraLedsirh g,obafdrgualcomrnu-
""'l'11I,1."11! . nic"iNnsy'remrlo dcvetopa rareral
,--i ":-"1':1,1i1' 1"1:i"1"8
vD(, sru' exchansener$ork that operareson
1ll')lll,li1"l'l': f" "crtn
crrcnr rocrr res,on!r.naoondr;nJ srobar
:l:i"" i:i l" ']:ll"
* rnrcarer5'rc re!er.Inrcmerhubcdnbernre;rat€d
:"'11,.:9ll': $,,ncou,ce.p'inr.rdd,o.
'ere;is,on
::::-'l::llii: "ry":11.'11'':
-a "-a"rmourhrhr.uav*ecan
:11:-'--::T!l'l.:.
an reacherrr'nd ihderrobdrr)a' equatswhireincor'
::l'!T1
,
:::,
.ly!].) ,"d p."-,1 porarir4r"caire.mins5ryresanacur.
il^I::'ll_lll :.1::,'j
*i*"p.d iurar.in,iri,rrre.,"; d, ."^ p,".reera(e$menl could,atsogo onlrne
Jecls lndeedeved Wesremfrs,school
.v-'-"lllIl:i:T::1"!.9:Ysne^
14ourd kid. and bdcklardsardenerswho
teacherthinking along
a different track
R! Simon Fell
SlmonFellis i foundingdiEctor(no*
past) ot the PermacultureInstitule
(1979).H€ hasworkedDatryy€re id
theteld .nd hastaughiPDCcoursesin
Auslralh,C.nadarnd LarinAm€rics.
H€ is currenllydevctoping"The Dirl
Itack to theDlgitslHighwry",a global
.ommutricationsnct*ork of parricipa-
tory exchange,whicb is funded by
eceo O rv PtJLtd, ! startupinbrnel
compsnyhefound.dtharis on a fosr
trsck to listingo. thestockcxchange
(NASDAQ).
I WISH TO coverthreeareasin ihis
article.Firstly,I amconcemedthatrhc
expectattonsof Pe.macultureDesign
Course(PDC)sludenlsshouldbemetr
as shouldbe ftose of permacuhure
designclients.Thcn I queslionthe
rolesandlimitalionsofa PDCcenred
approachandwhoisqualifiedtocon-
ductrhem,parlicularlyin rhedevelop,
rngworld.I will illuslnterhiswith a
personals|ory-.. my "bunglein rhe
jungle" as a PDC leacherin ihe
Amazon.ThenI will drawuponsuc-
cessfuliniliativesto showhowglobal'
digitalmediaandconmunicationscan
create dynamic participatorynet-
works.I will thenbringthesetogether
by intoducing"TheDirt Trackto rhe
Digilal Highway", a projecl rhat
myself and olhers are developing.
t-astlyI offer my conclusionandan
invitationto parlicipare.
Surdentoqrectations,
standards... and the PDC
what is thefutureof PDCS?How
can standardsand expechlionsbe
maintained?I haveconributedover
20 yearslo permacuhureas a move-
ment,largelyasa low profileobserver
due to other commitmenrs,
Hisbncally permaculturehasdrawn napprypromoremrswebaddr€s!.
i
tt

2. dieital hiehway
oonrwanttoatrend
a PDC can con-
tribute.Permaculrure
cannowevolvefrom
somehrngpnmanly
taughrto something
thalcanbeaccessed
free and readity
accessible.gtobalty
andlocally.Canper,
maculturemove on
robecomeadynamjc
networkof panici-
paroryexchange"?.
My bunglein
tlle jungle
Is this neces,
sary?Well rhen _
does it matter
anyway? Adapt,
grow.anddjversjfy-
why? whar harm is
done if we donr?
My experienccsug
gcststhat perhapsa
Hlur. rnercud5 3 Llme petmaculturcDesnn ah)
w.ren rr may have - urce in Ecuadat - is thisanolhet fom of cotonialism?
beenappropnaefor
stood?I b.okeup rheembarrassment
Dy suggesrrnS$ar he demonstrare
''handson" wOWt Minutestaterhe
had built many inlricatetrapswith
matenatsat handrhalblew€vcNone
dway.8ur ir wJ5I who wasrraooed.
lvis. rhisdueru lhcJ,rgurrshamJnt
wrsoom,.orto my altowinghim an
opponunrty,orexpressionlwhat ir
matter,theelfectwasthesame.wehad
panjcipalcdin an exchangeftal saw
me srcp teacn,ngpDCs in orderlo
exproremy explosjonof ideas.
Howcanwebestshareknowledqe
witheacholher?tsthepDCcriticd;o
rhegjvingandreceivingof informa"
non? what was I really doin8 in
tcuadoranywaylNow rharwe have
PDCgraduatesin numerouscountries
are teachersfrom elsewhereneces_
saryl, C6n nudy rours, personn€t
exchangesandinremshipsaltowirdi-
vrduatsthe iime and fr€cdom to
developtheirknowledge,sharerheirs,
andchooseinformationappropriatero
the'rculture?CanrhepDCfit intorhis
€rchangewirhoutdomjnlringit?Does
permacullure reinibrce cotonial
models?Is rhesotutiontheprobtem?
The very idea of me. anv
W_esLemerfor rhal ma(er (eaching
rDLs In thc deleiopinSworld _
in'leed.if it warhightyproducoveat
all - wasrhecomfortofthe Dowerful.
of fe€linggreatabolrdoing-goodfor
mcenvrronmenrandde pooranddis_
posesed...andrcceivingrhecourse
rees.FreeInlormalionor profjlrng
rromu€ lntomalioneconomy?How
canwemakemeaningfulchansewjrh_
out.ke€pingrhepooranddisp;sessed
rn lnelrcurrentposition?How do we
overcom€this? Ir is very difficutr,
thoughp€rhapsnorimpossible.How?
WhalhaveI doneabourit?
At this point I don.t want to
us.mlselfjncluded.inSorngion}land
DUdrngtheglobatnerwork.Thcndsa
r€acnerar a pDC course in rhe
EcuadonanAmazon in 1994t iett
concemedrharrheralentof rhewide
rangeof panicipanrsbroughtfrom
lhroughoutthe wortd and fte tocat
rndrgenousat@ndeeshad very little
opponunjtyro be sha.ed.I had so
muchI as teachel'wantcdto..leam,,
rromthem,andftey fromeachother.
lo grve themlhe voice I wanredto
hear.Wedid norhaveensu^h,,.. ,.
dorhis andmeerrhedemr;d of rhe
I reqursredrhdacounesybeSrvcn
ro our hosr. Mammauch Mam.
mallucta- sacredkeeperof local
Indrgenousraditions.of a tokenhalf_
nourlopresentonsnaresandtlaps.He
was unabtero illuslrale$ese lhrce
drmensionaldesigns on he rwo
dmensronalchatkboard,sohowmuch
ot.the coursehad he and th€ o(her
rndi8enousdelegalesrea y undef,

3. dr,endrerhcsoodfricndsormlrrJver'recc,!ersrc beinsued,h'""sh",':i",]:"lhT',"',i*"J#':jiJ[t""": I
qho hd!c mdderheremcndou.(om- 4htr3. lJIrn Amcnca Jno..A(rJol"
-oo..,ion.nd
rodrau auenrionro I
m|lmenlolmUing|romthe.1lonh.-haenl"dea
rorhe oufi rohccometo.at,,nrhcrr .omnrunl) cducrr,on
"i-,1?:1. o..pr. In.a y znd stoh;lty In,cc I
ne$ ldnd, Inehae(her,merodJdpr hcdlrh.cn|onNnrdl
l.ui,norro"jr..o"p,"rccr.,po,-f
rolocalwaysanJJornLherdnl' ol Ihe 'u'rdindblc'trr'ulrureandcommunrr) erf:r ior.c - ro rcc'procirer" eoch
localpeoplewho are aclivcly rmprov_ delelol'mcnt ln Mexrco r rr' lrro urhcrJn,l us. Wc learnwc are of one
,ns ,hcirLommJn,ue'In m) .r,n,on srJn'rm
q.r1t
: ''T'lI I'i"llll: pt.,ncr.rhJrIncprohrcmor,hc env!
ont)to.dt,,{rhosebclonrintro.rmi (hcrnf.on,nl.,,rcdr. a ra , ."'"":,,
i,,,,-",,,,,cnou;{..rh,I,.cr'ornc^.
hr socio-eonomic and culruralback- in p'pulJrr'n !r{'wlh c'rnrng tnc
rhey rc 'ourJ' togelhcr- equallyof '
groundscanincorporak localqisdoln, counrr) a uN p^purrrronprr/e-
""''mrt
rnoandresponsibility. i-tocalexperience.b reachrocally.rhey . -A[io-rJma(ans1:.
*lll::
n,nii,.r r, tri"oigitat-Hishwayi
Dirttack tothedigitalhighwavi.t:*J;::Ji.tiTJ]j.,:ii!
""Jl,i,ina
,1"'denonstratbnfann.s anrrRo'emurl'-G"":91"1"":11"::11 ,,'.io,.i iuor,"a"uo,."rvp.*iaine
and coursesalone aJenot cnough (if The NeLworL lhls lrmartrnrnno-
,ccessibtc rniormation on environ-
useful ar alt, accordingro an intercsG varronh$ rakenrad'o trrnrocrrl
lll. ,.""t
""A
.""trt devejopmentissues.
ins drsc..menrv R;lJndBun(h', 'rcpruncrbvInresftunsconl'""||r
fi.i,,l":,na lteaom"t - iniorm,-
1r9.,i"1:t)"h'ti:::lti.-'r*r::" l:i: :'ll::^;.l,ll:lT,:T:ilIill ,'on,cdd',o,nrormedrd ''re'':
:i'fi:i:i':?f:"1"t"#isi;::l'1,1.tiill;::;fflf:':ii:,i;e:.i'"J'Ji.:dld::i*,["i!:*":,:,ifi[i
pntccrsort. co'nrrunrr'.,,nrtu.rco ,o,,1i..Je'. in ludnEprorrum!on
i"i.,
-"".r'ra*.
peoprero pra)o.
cducdrionandilP"!emecr,ns' 'urJrnJbredsn'urrLre
'.1" :ll'l:'l .onrru!uveanr otrenchJllenrinaI
roaparricipatoryex"n*'e il,lll'iifl:"",:ii"[:"iii.I':; l"j:."i:,:';''::::..'jlll'i.ii:Xl.iiIOn.) knoutcJrcd,",{cr(Llh,,1r L,rnni.JJ,rn 'rnmur,rlr mcrrcr..
oDcdu,{tJbreJt.rhconcwlyimh:rt-l
ro.Jl communuresIn d paniilarory .verrillrrcrdleon...lo u'c lrceInrcmct
n'ceofrnrenurionalJ)dundcreare,an'
way will add to local wisdonr' kiosks ior tucdba.k tn rhe rudropro-
i"i".oo,* nonr'
'outr.r
balance and i
Panicipationisrhekeyas cveryth'ns srumsJnr ro l.,n('p c ,"
llilli .r,"r"r*. rneDirrTracktorhcDisiralI
$orl botn wJ)'. .{ ur leJJ rr .dr] iorur"'. Po'rm(*alc dndl{rronrrnc
Hrrh' dy ,efrJme,nouon,ol rntoFi
lniormationwhichdoesnota11owiixchatsessio
lTltl::ll 1:'l "l'T: ":1.":::":: Dirt Trackto theDi$ral p'nnrmnr'onr' rhciamcrever I
::;Th;T';:,'J"li;iliilii"ll Hio*"v
--15n:cessorinrormaionsathel'ineffccrapowerpray.rorcourscttes. o*"1 *o ..r,.,t,'".. illTl ::lti"1H'ili";lt,fllT,TiHlT?:jTi
::1."'::'ii"I'tiJ':,ffi:li:,::*$iff"'il,l:'";,ilili:?li"'ll;|.li1;;1;;iDidrra;k."rheDigirar
riroushir.rnrormationbetwe€ncur' o,".ii""i'"i"i..*,i.",,1,'" ,'. i" ! gy's toenabledeveropinscom'I
rureshasavarueonrywhe"**-g.o
"o.,'.J"ur';
i;;J*'"jr;il;; Y'li::-':-'*h
a srobaraudiencel
viaaleverptarrorm.nor"tau8h1.rris tr,; *i'"','v.'ir.'"er.il"i".i'i""",i"- '"a:tterrl"sh
perspectivesrornewsr
""ry"ppi.p;^.
r"i r"*ls lo-conduct,l*. pr":"'.,*lii !"lr,r" ,t'"i*"g. a8en'ldqAdditionallv'norlobcunder-
courseswithin their commun,r,cs
"'
,'"" ;;;;';i;p;;;,-J
"
rJ;i rared'much,ofthedesisnorpermacufi
culturesof slmilJrbackgrounds;beucr
"*n-* '""""t'"ri
p"ti'rpa;ts onro rure.rnthc"nonh"hasbecnandwilli
sliuvrawordor'ourtr
acrn*,r.",r'".,",".ri*r'i.i,,ri.Ji'i:';"* ::l"f::,'iil'l*'I;."::li:ifr;l
;il;;;ilii';';ili;";;;; r,".i'.,r'" D,srtJrHrshwr)'ansestute.parLicularrvindigenousones'
macuhureirto the nch-poor.nodn r.*
'n
v .,b..*"iut ,L,i ,rr i"taop satellrLe'electronicmediaanddigilal
sou$ fermentand it workstheother nrent rit"t,i*t' r,"'" trccn
"otrcd
Lechnologvmay be specding.the
wa!. nesirleswten rrrerich expens someoicre CreJtrngcomnrurric'rriondecloped-worldtowardsthe slobal
tealhthepoor,whatispossiblebyway unksmd a laLeraleichangenerwork vrllrle"but
l:
t]1"':::tI
f?li'"n
ol recrprocrly' rrlheInrcmcl$el'lrnkeddocumerr chrndrllurdnmlo'rrou'arri
contercnccsand coursesatone. ranes. InrcrnJuonJl trlhcnnE', TJlkrschcapbutDin Tracktolhc
w,thout onso,ns rcsulJr r.dro crcni-n c"nrnlurr(r- Drcitrl H',8h1:Yl:-il'l rl':,i"JTlwrthout ongorng cornrnun'catroIs, ruatrn
don,r makc-opLimal usc ot scarce lion ol.t.tccrswirh MI,3 cncodcrs,rrrd our dcvcloping ccoco, doing wellt
iinancial resources.Radio broadcrn! locnl hands'on" nlcclings/courscs, thrcugh doing good. to gencratethe
cdn lrdnferInlomdron .2.uliol,mc' IncluJrngPDC' whcrc Jppr^prurc. cdprlJllonlakerhr'hrpFn-dn"ppl!'
noreco,reftc.trerylr,ncour.c.dno $rllJl"ulheecrtrnFcol infannJl''rr cali"n ol 'ound bu{nc pldnnrngm
reachthemostremoteofcomnrunFatrgrrssrootslclellhltsprcadsgkrb-vitalissues.wearetumjnSthetalen$
ii.i;.ir," t.""proy Foundarion uses a ylike an unconrroltcdwildtirc. ol the Ner,w,rh rtsq!,ck fix€ Ior rhc,
rechnoloU)ro cnrnge lhe lc.
^'
Van) 'L'rarnJhle detel"pmcnl ptrrlcg€d
,ro
u nid prohlcm' ur
remoreurca awellcri Ihroughourrlre p'. rc*ron,l' berrcverhrr cliccrrve Tr'c( lo fie Drrital Highwa) ann
world. Their robust wind irp radio devolopmenlmustbea selforganising ecoco blend lhe hrghlv ellechvcL
*"*-'T

4. "velvet glove' approachof panicipa-
tion with the high lech prccisionof a
"missile"atlackon developmentprob,
lemsas a nonh-south,rich,poot ooe,
in-all-in interconnected and interactive
Conclusionand invitation
What is the futureof permacul-
rure?Can it undergothe paradigm
shifrfromthaiof a 'leaching organi-
salionro bebalancedby developinga
partrcrpatory "sharing" nelwork.
drivenby thepanicipanG?Il can.This
will require$e samelevel of dedi-
cated energy of us now as was
requiredr,henwe laid irs foundatjon
long ago. This is Permaculture
ecocoO rMinvitesparlicipationby
providrnga communicarions.infra-
structureandmodelsfor all individu-
als and groups,inchding permacul-
ture,touseanddevelop.Joinourmail-
ing list for more information(yours
and ours). news releases,stock
exchangelistingupdates,forwhenour
oocumen(arysenes goes !o alr
(presendyin filming)andto be kept
infonned.Thinkit... doit... bepan
of it!
Simonre[, ecocoPty Ltd, cPO Box
15548MelbourneYic.30{1,Aust.ali!.
http://w*w.€cco.com.
I srudelrs'righrsandreache^respon
sibihies. Lis! Mollison,p.56PIJ7l
2 CopyriSht curiculum. Jonalhan
Halpem,p.55 tdr€6, PU13
3 Tw Ea6 olc.m: A GuidetaPeopl.-
Cenkred ASricuhurallnproren nt,
RolandBunch.1995
hnp//www.freeplay.orB.uk/
Madeupoi suilj fromrheropendof
rown, geekj and gnsyoon pro-
Jects''@
5
Food with affitude
An analysisof vegerableproduc€
commissioned by the Organic
RetailersandcrowersAssociationof
Australia (ORGAA) showed thai
organicproduce,grownon minerally
enrichedand biologicallyreviralised
soil.wasgenerallyl0 timeshigherin
nutritionalelemenlsthansupermarket
The Australian Government
Analytical Laboralory compared
nulnentvalue(mg^g)ofbeans.toma-
toes,capsicumand silverbeetpur,
chasedin lhe supermarketto those
fromorganicsources.(Seetables.)
who queriedthe long term healrh
effecrsof lowmineralintake.
"Nadonalnuirilionalsurveys[in
Australialindica@a move towards
increasedrelianceon fast foodsaM
snackshigh in fat and low in fibre.
Notritionistsareunanimoustharade-
quateconsumptionof freshfruir and
vegetablesis viial in diseasepreven-
tionandheallhmain@nance,"hesaid.
"The problemfor consumersis
thal fruit andvegetablesproducedby
'high lech' agriculNralsystems,fed
by syntheticferlilisers,expos€dto
peslicidesandfungicides,maynorbe
deliveringlhenutritionalbenefitsthar
conume|sbelieve$ey maybereceiv-
ing."
He saysfunherresearchis needed
into he nutritionalvalueof our food
supply.
Theresults.inacolourfulbrochurc
onhowtogrownuririonallyrichveg-
etables,areavailablefromORGAA
ca]l(+6lJ3 913'19199.
to ORCAA
spokesman,Chris Alenson. who
supervisedthe sludy. the results
demonstratedthatconsumersnay not
begettrngtheoutrilionalb€nefitsrhey
expectfromthefoodth€ybuy.
"Recenrstudiessaykidsa-reonly
eadng 30Eoof rhe requireddaily
intakeof fruit andlegetables- could
thereasonbe hste?"askedAlenson,
Organlcvegetables
avelaged10tlmesmore
nutrlontsthan
Supermarkelvegetsbles
Calcium sup€rmad6t
..-19.
480
....9.,7-...
67
.....!.1...
84
''..''.6'.5"..'..
1600
Potessium sup6hs'r€r 260 200 150 450
1900 300 1600 2600
Magneaium sup.,marrer 26 10 11 69
240 89 700 1700
Sodium sup6,na'$l 2.4 180
<10 26 20 1800
lron suo€rma*€l 0.6 <0.5 0.5
9,4
-zi.l9,...................:-,c:l:tl:1.....
ort.nic
-;-;- ....9''].9........
1.2
.....-9,1.9-.......
2.5
....-0.9J-.....
130