A NEW LOOK FOR A NEW YEAR

Although he lived 2600 years ago , the Chinese sage Lao Tse
has come to the aid of the ALTER Project. His advice goes like
this: "If you want to achieve anything, start with its opposite.
If you want to keep anything, admit that something in it is
worth discarding. If you would be strong, admit that you are
weak."
After five years of trying to interest various public and
private groups in the building of a thirty million dollar megastructure for experimentation and development of alternatives
in agriculture and energy production, we've concluded that we
were attempting to achieve too much, too fast. With Lao Tse's
guidance we've placed that dream way back on the stove and
begun with its opposite. The remarkable thing is this: once
we began, people rallied 'round. People relate to something
that costs thirty dollars a lot quicker than they do to something that costs thirty million .
We began by inviting Dan Hemenway to campus last summer to run a three week, 145 contact hour, Permaculture
Design Course. For those who don't know what Permaculture
is let me offer a brief description. Permaculture is an acronym
for "permanent agriculture," a concept that is changing the
way farmers, designers, and others look at and use the land.
Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren coined the term
in 1978 to describe a new way of arranging structures, trees,
gardens, and animals for maximum production, integration of
all elements, less labor and the conservation of natural resources. In essence, a permaculture mimics natural ecosystems.
It uses ecological principles consciously in the design of selfsustaining food , fiber and energy producing systems: weaving
together the elements of microclimate, annual and perennial
species, water and soil management and human needs into
harmoniously and interdependently connected human
comm unities.
The idea of Permaculture is not new. As early as 1911 , an
agronomist named F . H. King traveled throughout the Far East
studying natural methods of farming employed by people
there . Upon his return, he wrote a major book on the subject
called Fanns of Forty Centuries or Permanent Agriculture in
China, Korea and Japan. The reprint of the complete text is
available from the Rodale Press of Emmaus, PA.
Dan Hemenway, one of three certified Permaculture instructors in the U.S., and his students left us with a tentative
design for an old farmhouse and the five acres immediately
around it on a portion of our campus. Early in November '86,

we began to implement and refine that design. So far, well
over a hundred students, faculty and pe0ple from surrounding
communities have shown up , with their tools, to do the labor.
It's cold around here in November, but the physical and communal warmth we generated was more than enough to see us
through. Before it became impossible to put a shovel into the
ground anymore we had dug a pond thirty feet long, fifteen
feet wide and five feet deep through solid grey clay which will
provide irrigation for the gardens downgrade . We also cleared
away brush and strategically planted trees and hedges and
felled a huge spruce which would have provided too much
shade for the greenhouse which we will be adding to the
house. We made Christmas decorations from the spruce and
realized $400.00 for the project from their sale.
The house itself needs everything done to it and we are
starting at the top. We will insulate the roof and continue with
the north and east walls with a view to retaining enough heat
to reconnect the electricity and water. When that is accomplished, we will proceed to reorganize the interior according to
standard building codes and in keeping with Permaculture
Design which attempts to integrate what goes on inside a
dwelling with what is going on outside. The end product will
be a permanent demonstration site which will be open to the
public for interpretation and education. What we are doing is
readily transferrable and adaptable to anyone who has a house
and some land around it and is interested in developing a
healthier and more self-sustaining style of life and one which
does not make a negative impact on the environment.
ALTER's ambition to experiment with alternatives in
agriculture and energy survives, but on a scale much more
"human" than our original vision. How long it takes to
accomplish this depends on the availability of materials, manpower and money. One thing is certain. We will heed Scott
Nearing's advice and "pay as we go."
Among other more general purposes which we hope to
serve through The Alternator, will be monthly updates on our
progress with this Permaculture Design. If you live near
enough and would like to participate in what we're doing you
are welcome to join us. There will be something worthwhile
for you to do regardless of your age, special talent or physical
strength. Subscribing to this newsletter would be a start. Since
we are not seeking advertizing, our only interest is in covering
our printing and postage costs while sharing useful information.
RAM

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