Rules for a Sustainable Community

Since Wendell Berry has opted out of the computer age in favor of a simple life it is up to us bloggers to do what we can with his deep wisdom here in the blogosphere.

Here are his 17 rules for a sustainable community. May it inspire us to get up and walk away from our computers, into the forests and fields.


1. Always ask of any proposed change or innovation: What will this do to our community? How will this affect our common wealth.

2. Always include local nature – the land, the water, the air, the native creatures – within the membership of the community.

3. Always ask how local needs might be supplied from local sources, including the mutual help of neighbours.

4. Always supply local needs first (and only then think of exporting products – first to nearby cities, then to others).

5. Understand the ultimate unsoundness of the industrial doctrine of ‘labour saving’ if that implies poor work, unemployment, or any kind of pollution or contamination.

6. Develop properly scaled value-adding industries for local products to ensure that the community does not become merely a colony of national or global economy.

7. Develop small-scale industries and businesses to support the local farm and/or forest economy.

8. Strive to supply as much of the community’s own energy as possible.

9. Strive to increase earnings (in whatever form) within the community for as long as possible before they are paid out.

10. Make sure that money paid into the local economy circulates within the community and decrease expenditures outside the community.

11. Make the community able to invest in itself by maintaining its properties, keeping itself clean (without dirtying some other place), caring for its old people, and teaching its children.

12. See that the old and young take care of one another. The young must learn from the old, not necessarily, and not always in school. There must be no institutionalised childcare and no homes for the aged. The community knows and remembers itself by the association of old and young.

13. Account for costs now conventionally hidden or externalised. Whenever possible, these must be debited against monetary income.

14. Look into the possible uses of local currency, community-funded loan programmes, systems of barter, and the like.

15. Always be aware of the economic value of neighbourly acts. In our time, the costs of living are greatly increased by the loss of neighbourhood, which leaves people to face their calamities alone.

16. A rural community should always be acquainted and interconnected with community-minded people in nearby towns and cities.

17. A sustainable rural economy will depend on urban consumers loyal to local products. Therefore, we are talking about an economy that will always be more cooperative than competitive.

Get the poster from YES http://store.yesmagazine.org/other-products/17-rules-for-sustainable-community-poster

Agroecology and the Right to Food

This year the United Nations Human Rights Council received the report, Agroecology and the Right to Food from Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur.

His conclusions are based on an extensive review of the scientific literature published in the last five years.

In it he says:

"We won't solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations. The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers' knowledge and experimentation, and in raising incomes of smallholders so as to contribute to rural development… If key stakeholders support the measures identified in the report, we can see a doubling of food production within 5 to 10 years in some regions where the hungry live…Most efforts in the past have focused on improving seeds and ensuring that farmers are provided with a set of inputs that can increase yields, replicating the model of industrial processes in which external inputs serve to produce outputs in a linear model of production. Instead, agroecology seeks to improve the sustainability of ecosystems by mimicking nature instead of industry. This report suggests that scaling up agroecological practices can simultaneously increase farm productivity and food security, improve incomes and rural livelihoods, and reverse the trend towards species loss and genetic erosion… However, in moving towards more sustainable farming systems, time is the greatest limiting factor. Whether or not we will succeed will depend on our ability to learn faster from recent innovations and to disseminate works more widely…"

Slow Down Korea

Living in Korea I am getting to know first hand how rapid industrialization and the obsession with growth changes a people. The shift happened so fast here (under the ruthless Park Administration 1961-79) that some traditional farm houses still stand between tall buildings and the farmers can still be found ploughing the earth beside the highway and wild collecting in the cryptoforests. Guerrilla gardening is the norm in Seoul.

In the countryside, among the farmers and foodies, it is still possible to get a feel for the slowness and quality of the traditional Korean life. A lifestyle which is in danger of becoming extinct in the frenzy of achievement, success and growth that keeps people in the office and in the classroom from morning till midnight.

The shift from traditional agrarian society to an 'Asian Tiger' of economic growth has been a harsh and violent one, filled with ideological struggles and the division of the people. The history of internal conflict since WW2, resulting in multiple mass massacres, has been repressed by the Korean and other foreign governments.

Many questions remain and a lot of work for the visionaries, movers and shakers of Korea.

As inspiration for a move toward a more just and equitable society I am posting the manifesto of the group who gets closest to hitting the mark. This manifesto marked the beginning of Slow Food in 1989.

The Slow Food Manifesto 

Our century, which began and has developed under the insignia of industrial civilization, first invented the machine and then took it as its life model.

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods.

To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction.

A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.

May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency.

Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food.
Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food.

In the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer.

That is what real culture is all about: developing taste rather than demeaning it. And what better way to set about this than an international exchange of experiences, knowledge, projects?

Slow Food guarantees a better future.

Slow Food is an idea that needs plenty of qualified supporters who can help turn this (slow) motion into an international movement, with the little snail as its symbol.

History of Organic Agriculture

Looking for the History of organic Agriculture I was surprised to find that it was so heavy on Western names and philosophies.

The origin of the philosophical ideas which are the foundations of Organic are clearly Buddhist and Hindu. Sir Albert Howard '"The father of modern organic agriculture" and his wife Gabrielle spent a lot of time in Indore India. His work there is the origin of composting in western agriculture. It is also, very likely, the origin of the modern western organic farmers care for the soil and soil amendments. His work on An Agricultural Testament was influential for Lady Eve Balfour (the Haughley Experiment, The Living Soil) and J.I. Rodale (Rodale Institute).

Eastern philosophy had a lot to do with Steiner's development of the Biodymnamic practices as well. Not to mention the philosophical influences on the early transcendental and conservationist nature writers.

The Asian Agri-History Foundation (AAHF) is a non-profit organization which uses agricultural history to promote research on sustainable agriculture in the South and Southeast Asia. Historically South Asia has always had strong food security and the most sustainable agricultural management technologies for all its many agroecoregions. Today it is often seen as a food-deficient region in danger of mass-scale starvation, with malnutrition, food insecurity and unsustainable 'green revolution' agricultural practices being massively adopted.

The sustainability of modern agricultural technologies is being reconsidered by organizations like AAHF who look to traditional wisdom and the indigenous, time-tested technologies that have sustained the farmers of South and Southeast Asia in the past. The historical perspective of gradual development of traditional technologies for adaptation and developing appropriate technologies for a truly sustainable agriculture.

Community Based Conservation

Former White House advisor and retired dean of Yale Law School James Gustave Speth has written a new book called 'The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability'. It is bound to be an incredible read and I look forward to finding a copy here in Korea.

Surfing around on the Yale website with Speth's book and research in mind I came across this study in Environment 360 which shows that community conservation may be a more successful strategy for forest conservation than establishment of 'protected areas' http://ning.it/oeZ4rc - The report, by scientists at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), is titled: "Community managed forests and forest protected areas: An assessment of their conservation effectiveness across the tropics". http://ning.it/mU41Or

More from the Redd Monitor on Community Conservation vs. 'Protected' forests http://ning.it/pNYv2U

List of Quotes from TED Singapore

I read through these while checking out the TED Singapore site and wanted to repost them all here:

An idea that is 

developed and put into action is more important 

than an idea that exists only as an idea. 

Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, 

founder of Buddhism, c500 B.C.

The value of an idea 

lies in the using of it. 

Thomas Edison

If you can dream it,

you can do it. 

Walt Disney.

Dream different dreams 

while on the same bed. 

Chinese proverb

Live out your imagination, 

not your history

George S. Patton

Think left and think right 

and think low and think high. 

Oh, the things you can think up if only you try.

Dr. Seuss

We must become the change 

we wish to see in the world.

Mahatma Ghandi

A journey of a thousand miles 

must begin with a single step.

Chinese proverb

You must act as if

it is impossible to fail.

Ashanti proverb

The person who says it cannot be done 

should not interrupt the person doing it. 

Chinese proverb

I like nonsense, 

it wakes up the brain cells.

Dr. Suess

New ideas pass through three periods: 

1. It can't be done. 

2. It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing. 

3. I knew it was a good idea all along! 

Arthur C. Clarke

First they ignore you,

then they laugh at you,

then they fight you, 

then you win.

Mahatma Ghandi

I can't understand 

why people are frightened of new ideas. 

I'm frightened of the old ones. 

John Cage

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. 

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Vision without action is a daydream. 

Action without vision is a nightmare.

Japanese proverb

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. 

Art is knowing which ones to keep. 

Scott Adams

If at first, the idea is not absurd, 

there is no hope for it. 

Albert Einstein

The best way to have a good idea 

is to have lots of ideas.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Every child is an artist. 

The problem is how to remain an artist 

once he grows up.

Pablo Picasso

Observe Everything.

Communicate Well.

Draw, Draw, Draw.

Frank Thomas, Disney Animator

Add legs to the snake 

when you have finished drawing it.

Chinese proverb

All difficult things 

have their origin in that which is easy, 

and great things in that which is small.

Lao Tzu

Great souls have will, 

feeble ones have wishes. 

Chinese proverb

You see things, you say 'Why?' 

But I dream things that never are, and say 'Why not? 

George Bernard Shaw

Discovery consists of looking at the same thing 

as everyone else and thinking something different. 

Albert Szent Gyorgi

Every truth in this world 

has an opposite somewhere. 

U Nu

The reverse side 

also has a reverse side.

Japanese proverb

If you're not failing every now and again, 

it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative. 

Woody Allen

Everyone is a genius at least once a year. 

The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together. 

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Do something. 

If it doesn't work, do something else.

No idea is too crazy.

Jim Hightower

Ideas are like rabbits. 

You get a couple and learn how to handle them, 

and pretty soon you have a dozen. 

John Steinbeck

Lack of money is no obstacle. 

Lack of an idea is an obstacle.

Ken Hakuta

A person with a new idea is a crank 

until the idea succeeds. 

Mark Twain

Life is so short, 

we must move very slowly.

Thai saying

There is more to life 

than increasing its speed.

Mahatma Ghandi

There is a better way, 

find it.

Thomas Edison

Dig a well 

before you are thirsty.

Chinese proverb

It is the mark of an educated mind 

to be able to entertain a thought 

without accepting it. 

Aristotle

An inventor is simply a fellow 

who doesn't take his education too seriously.

Charles Kettering

The best way to predict the future 

is to invent it. 

Alan Kay

Imagination is more important 

than knowledge.

Albert Einstein

Imagination is the beginning of creation: 

You imagine what you desire,

you will what you imagine

and at last, you create what you will.

George Bernard Shaw

You cannot depend on your eyes 

when your imagination is out of focus. 

Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Don't confuse the art of the possible

with the art of the profitable.

David Tansley

If you don't risk anything, 

you risk even more. 

Erica Jong

The more you know,

the less you understand.

Lao-Tzu

You may be disappointed if you fail,

but doomed if you do not try.

Beverly Stills

The most successful people are those 

who are good at Plan B.

James Yorke

Great ideas often receive 

violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Albert Einstein

A bamboo that bends is stronger 

than the oak that resists.

Japanese proverb

If you have an apple and I have an apple 

and we exchange these apples 

then you and I will still each have one apple. 

But if you have an idea and I have an idea 

and we exchange these ideas, 

then each of us will have two ideas.

George Bernard Shaw

When eating fruit, 

think of the person who planted the tree

Vietnamese proverb

Nothing is more dangerous than an idea,

when it is the only idea we have. 

Henri Fourier

Ask youself constantly.

'What is the right thing to do?' 

Confucius

A great person is one 

who has not lost the heart of a child.

Lao Tzu

There is nothing more powerful 

than an idea whose time has come.

Victor Hugo

Change your thoughts

and you change your world.

Norman Pool

All that we are 

is the result of what we have thought.

Buddha

The beginning of wisdom 

is to call things by their right names.

Chinese proverb

I dreamt of a thousand new paths. 

I woke and walked my old one.

Chinese proverb

There are many paths to enlightenment. 

Be sure to take the one with a heart. 

Lao Tzu

They always say time changes things, 

But you actually have to change them yourself. 

Andy Warhol

No wind, no waves.

Chinese proverb

Do not wait for leaders. 

Do it alone, person to person. 

Mother Teresa

IFOAM Organic World Congress History

Here at the KOC office we were saddened to see that the full history of the IFOAM OWC was not available anywhere online. Therefore we have done the footwork and here present the IFOAM Organic World Congress History:

 
It was Known as the IFOAM International Scientific Conference from it's conception in 1977 until 2000:

1st: Sissach, Switzerland (1977)
2nd: Montreal, Canada (1978)
3rd: Brussels, Belgium (1980)
4th: Boston, USA (1982)
5th: Kassel-Witzenhausen, Germany (1984)
6th: Santa Cruz, USA (1986)
7th: Quagadougou, Burkina Faso (1989)
8th: Budapest, Hungary (1990)
9th: Sao Paulo, Brazil (1992)
10th: Christchurch, New Zealand (1994)
11th: Copenhagen, Denmark (1996)
12th: Mar del Plata, Argentina (1998)
13th: Basel, Switzerland (2000)

It then became known as the IFOAM Organic World Congress:

  
14th: Victoria, Canada (2002)
15th: Adelaide, south Australia (2005)
16th: Modena, Italy (2008)
17th: Palddang, Korea (2011)

18th Istanbul (2014)

19th New Delhi (2017) 

20th France (2021) 

21st Digital but also France (2022)