research_report_sanjeev-shankar [the libarynth]

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This report is in progress as of May 2008

Note: This research began with the working title, 'Gro World - Urban Permaculture' which has now been modified to 'Gro World - RUrban Permaculture'. The researcher has found strong links between Indian cities and their immediate rural surroundings. These urban villages produce food, milk and other services for the city. 'RUrban' refers to this symbiotic relationship.

Introduction

Plants are the centre of the web of life. The growth of urban centres around the globe has had a critical impact on ecology. Some of the questions at the core of this research are:

Is there an ecological limit to economic growth?
Do we have the right to consider human beings as more valuable than other life forms?
Is there an option to treating forests as sacrifice zones for urban growth ?
Can we afford to treat nature like an object, which is manipulated, commodified and sold?
How can we imagine a fertile future for our cities?

This project explores aspects of human environment, its relation with ecology and our attempt for sustainable growth. The relevant fields of inquiry are urban ecology, sustainability, human plant interaction and biomorphism. It explores ways in which we can transform our cities into productive, healthy, edible and playful green visions. In recent years there has been a growing public movement to bring ecology out of the bush and into the urban environments where most people spend their time. While, this is important, people are still grappling with the problem of a balance between 'growth' and conservation and this is not limited to emerging cities in the developing world. The thrust of this research and thereby this project is to explore methods to initiate collective public action in this direction.

Some of the reasons for this project are as follows:

Uncontrolled growth of cities has had a devastating impact on ecology.
By the end of 2008, half the world's population will be living in cities for the first time in history.(according to a UN report)
Cities are becoming increasingly polluted, unhealthy and disconnected with other life forms.
Urban problems include acute hunger, unemployment, inflation, urban sprawl, rising poverty, expensive health care and increase in population.
Food crisis is futher compounded by changing food habits, increased use of pesticides, herbicides, biocides and rapidly deteriorating soil quality.
There has been an acute drop in forest cover and a sharp increase in desert area.
Natural and traditional systems are a crucial resource and can offer us remedies. Problems can be seen as opportunities.

The objectives of this phase are as follows:

On-line and literature survey of state of the art in urban gardening and permaculture (global perspective)
On-site research and comparison of urban gardening in the Benelux and India
On-site research of Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, focusing on preserving and increasing biodiversity
Design for urban gardening prototypes and kits
Article for the Luminous Green publication on the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary
Participation in the Research Gathering in October 2007
Participation in the groWorld design session in April 2008
A written report in the prescribed format

For details on the methodology of this project please click on sanjeev-research-methodology.

The findings of this research would be relevant in regions having a strong tradition of agriculture: China, Japan, India, Guatemala, Costarica and Peru, to name a few. And, through a comparative analysis of the urban character, gardening trends and culture of Europe and India, this research aims to bring out aspects which can inform a sustainable growth pattern in these regions.

Permaculture

Permaculture is an integrated, evolving, multidimensional and creative design response to a world of declining energy and resource availability with emphasis on design processes drawn from nature. While reflecting the ongoing evolution of our knowledge systems, it incorporates holistic thinking and systems of management. It is also applicable to other aspects of human settlements, business enterprises, political and economic systems, learning environments, health and child rearing. For more on this topic please see history of permaculture

Urban Permaculture

In urban situations, space is limited and various regulatory restrictions exist when it comes to gardening or having backyard animals.¹⁾ Some of the concepts that people have used in urban settings are discussed below. These are a mix of approaches, ranging from gardening to co-ownership. Further, cities in the west are governed by different social, political and physical qualities than those in the east. Despite this, the examples discussed here share a common vision of “no loss” and an aspect of “community”. For more on this topic please see urban permaculture concepts.

Directions

We are all becoming increasingly aware that our actions can no longer be seen as isolated acts of private concern. The idea of growth and sustainability is a journey and not a destination. It is constantly unfolding and evolving. The insights and lessons through this journey go beyond farming. Since, the nature of farming and land is highly interconnected, it affects every aspect of our society. The author would like to conclude with the following directives:

The most insightful ideas are also the most basic. These can come from any source, independent of age, status, experience or academic background.

People in most parts of the world crave to be in an urban setting. It gives them a sense of pride and achievement apart from other tangible benefits. There is a need to redefine the construct of an 'urban' space and a 'rural' place. Over the years a great imbalance has emerged between the production and consumption patterns, living conditions, opportunities, social and psychological well being and overall sense of 'life' in these regions. This is one of the core reasons for continued unsustainable migration from villages to cities. Addressing this gap would incorporate self-regulation in a nation's growth.

* Urban communities should join hands with rural areas to create a prosperous countryside, which inturn would become a support for our future. Though urban character and the dynamics of a city vary vastly as one moves from the west to the east, there is a lot to learn and share.

It is important to bring out the connection between a fertile soil, and healthy crops, healthy animals and healthy humans. This also highlights the crucial role of education, reporting, communication and media.

Land must be safeguarded from the operations of finance and our needs have to be clearly streamlined. A gradual and determined approach for recovering the land and celebrating the farmer is needed and the benefits of this shared with everyone. This is becoming even more relevant in the Indian context where there is a visible rush to embrace the global marketplace.

The demographic breakdown and scale of impact is crucial. In countries like India and Bangladesh, a large section of the population is poor, illiterate and remains disconnected from the mainstream. They need to be integrated. When people develop pride in their work, they feel accountable and responsible and this results in real purposeful change. This is an important aspect for bottom up change and is clearly evident in grassroot initiatives like the barefoot college and the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in India.

There is a need for critical focus on agricultural research backed by scientific education, traditional wisdom, aggressive trial and error and practical farming experience. We need spirited individuals willing to go the distance in developing a long term sustainable strategy.

From an urban farming perspective, personal kitchen gardens seem most effective. They are small, dispersed, diverse, flexible, simple to maintain, easily transformed and directly impact the food situation at a family and community level. They personify the idea of self reliance and can be catalysts for larger green initiatives at community, regional level. Roof top gardens and community gardens are other options and, with assistance from regional authorities, can make a positive contribution.

There is a need for a gradual shift towards a 'we' and 'us' based culture from a 'me' and 'I' based approach. This is one of the most crucial directives and also one of the most difficult to achieve. In some way, it amounts to tranforming the culture of a place. Collective communities like India, are today facing a reverse trend with the recent shift towards a capitalist, individual based, self serving attitude. This can have a serious impact owing to the sheer magnitude of India's population. Spirituality, media and the government can play a purposeful role to check this shift. Ideas of 'social capitalism' and 'social entrepreneurship' are hopeful signs.

There is a need for information 'exchange' and collaborations between different cultures and contexts to develop a 'greater' system with self reliance and interdependence. Strategic assimilation as a design approach has valid relevance. There needs to be a balance between clear streamlined structures and flexible organic systems; between small self organised clusters and larger fabrics; between independent points of view and a general concensus.

In cultural contexts, links with tradition should involve the use of past processes of change rather than the maintenance of past structures and patterns. We have to constantly reevaluate and revalidate our responses and ideas of 'growth' and 'progress' in such turbulent and recursive times. Such metaphors of progress and growth must move towards leaving things inside us rather than behind us. Having said that, if a thing needs to disintegrate and be left behind, we must let it go and let new systems be born. The aspect of ethics is important in such a situation and should be openly discussed.

We must constantly strive to create fertile and diverse systems which bring culture and nature together. This could be through technology, media or traditional mediums. An important example is the use of science and technology through 'e-choupals'in rural Indian villages to increase crop productivity('choupal' is a hindi term for a village gathering place) .

Suggestions

The researcher would like to suggest the following threads for the future:

Looking at traditional systems of living, farming and education in India which are comparable to permaculture as a holistic approach. The researcher would like to research on Vedanta²⁾ which is based on laws common to spiritual traditions worldwide.

Analysing the attributes of community based approaches in countries like India and how can we create such initiatives in western societies.

Rethinking our relationship with other life forms in an infinitely interconnected world.

Finding appropriate ways and methods to bring 'ethical' thinking as a core topic in design education and education in general.

Creating an International Platform for Growth and Resilience, which tinkers towards a more inclusive, collaborative methodology through a system of integration. Informed by scientific research, practical experience and travel, the platform would act as an independent facilitator and arbiter of emerging knowledge domains. One of the intiatives could be to bring 'polar' groups together to find a common ground. These groups could include young and old; scientists and traditional farmers; environmentalists and corporate executives; capitalists and social entrepreneurs; secular groups with military regime heads; real estate developers with conservationists; politicians with middle class people and so on.

Creating tangible manifestations of human plant interaction to nudge it out of the speculative zone. How would a new relevant design practice emerge through observation of and cooperation with natural systems? The researcher envisions the emergence of a new field of research which merges aspects of urban ecology, design ethnography, cultural anthropology and life science.

Ultimately thinking of ways in which we can create conditions that make independent ingeniuos ideas inevitable and further trigger collective actions in imaginative, purposeful ways.

The claims and insights in this research have been informed by the interviews, site visits and surveys conducted by the researcher. The surveys have been based on online research and published papers and books.

Books

An Agricultural Testament by Sir Albert Howard
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren

URLs

Films

Power of community: Produced by the community solution organization, the film explores the peak oil crisis with focus on community based solutions that reflect the values of cooperation, conservation and curtailment. The film captures the free fall of Cuba's economy in early 90's with the fall of the Soviet Union and its turnaround using drastic measures to become self reliant. It demonstrates the role of community in dealing with acute challenges. Every aspect of cuban life was affected by the 'special period', but no change was as far reaching as agriculture. Cuba was forced to switch to survival agriculture from the green revolution practices it was accustomed to. A drastic effort to convert every piece of arable land to organic agriculture was begin. An urban agriculture movement resulted where every vacant lot in the city was converted into an orchard. Under urban gardening, idle plots of land were identified, cleaned and turned into gardens by the community. The people cooperating and caring about each other were the main factors for the turnaround. With sustainable practices Cuba found that it took 3 to 5 years to rehabilitate the soil again. To increase food production the government worked with farmers to find local solutions. The result was smaller farms and cooperatives with a high degree of privatization and autonomy. These were able to use sustainable practices in a much more efficient manner and created new ways of decentralized growth under a larger umbrella. With a more stable method of land distribution and ownership, thousands moved to rural areas. The impact was also felt in the education, housing, transportation and energy alternatives realms resulting in improvised solutions from the people and the government which has not only created a unique model for all of us but also reinstilled faith in the power of simple steps taken at a community level.

Bill Mollison-Global Gardener Series 1-4
Bill Mollison-Funding the Revolution
Bill Mollison-Permaculture Design Course
Farming with Nature-A case study of successful temperate Permaculture
Permaculture- Sepp Holzer - Aquaculture-Synergy of Land and Water

¹⁾

http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/Urban/

²⁾

http://vedantaworld.org/vedanta.htm

Gro World - RUrban Permaculture

Introduction

Permaculture

Urban Permaculture

Cultural peculiarities

Discussion

Europe and India _ farming comparision

Possibilities for urban permaculture kits

Directions

Suggestions

References