My research paper has unfortunately interfered with my ability to attend guest speaker lectures, participate in student affairs, feed myself properly, or even go outside as much as I'd like to. Nevertheless, It has been an amazing adventure. My research project focuses on defining Permaculture as a social movement, an engine of positive change in the world. To compare and contrast the accounts of permacultural identity and practice found through my research with some empirical experience, I contacted local permaculturist Dan Mar for an interview. Mr. Mar owns and operates High Tide Permaculture, a consulting agency that works with all manner of organizations to improve their operations above and beyond regulatory standards, improve their environmental impact, and reduce the costs associated with getting started (permits, investments, equipment). Dan mentioned that he has worked for wide variety of interests: Timber harvesters, legal cannabis producers, local farms, prospective homesteaders, etc. In addition to his permaculture company, Dan is well-known throughout the local community for his application of permaculture techniques to his residence. My intent in going to talk with this man was essentially to learn his story - How does his company and his property influence his community? How does he regard the impact of his work? What attracted him to permaculture? Does he embody the principles permaculture literature espouses?
Dan graciously invited me to meet at his house and showed me permaculture in action in his front and back yards. Our session started with him explaining the ins and outs of his designs. His property was an exemplary piece of permaculture - not a square inch of yard space had not been utilized for some purpose. What really struck me about the experience, however, was how closely his words resonated with the concepts and ideals present in the permaculture literature I reviewed.
This is not to say that Dan regurgitated the same holistic doctrine endemic to the permaculture movement; On the contrary, the way he answered my questions came with his unique perspective and language choice. Additionally, Dan imparted upon me tidbits of permaculture wisdom that I had not come across in previous research. Two of my favorite comments he made that day were to stress the importance of acknowledging and bracing oneself for “The unintended consequences of intentional design” and how the “Beer Theory” can be used to make claims about structural decisions.
“The unintended consequences of intentional design” is a mantra I plan to repeat to myself, now that Dan has exposed me to it. The concept is as follows; No matter how well you plan and enact something, there will always be unexpected developments. Instead of fighting against this inevitability or ignoring it, Dan detailed how permaculture techniques are designed to creatively incorporate these hiccups as they arise.
The “Beer Theory” is Dan’s guiding principle towards economic and personal success. “How can I have more time to enjoy a beer with the people I love?” I found this seemingly casual response to my inquiries surprisingly deep after he explained how this "theory" is incorporated into the way he makes business choices, how he chooses to plant crops, and how it influences his valuation of time and money.
While Dan actively rejected the notion that his work is revolutionary, I would disagree with him. It was clear that he had a deep commitment and connection to his community, and was an active participant in positive social change. We first spoke about his garden, and he talked about the role his permaculture projects had played in forming connections with his neighbors. Dan lives adjacent to the community forest, and his residence is designed so as to work with the natural flow of water from the forest as best as possible. His laundry, duck pond, water catchment system, and outside bathroom were all connected and placed in such a way so as to passively replenish groundwater supply. He told me when his neighbors expressed interest in creating similar systems on their property, he used that as an opportunity to get to know them, educate them, and strengthen the relationships between them. Dan drew a connection between positive neighborly relations and ecological and social well-being.
His work as the head of High Tide Permaculture seemed equally revolutionary as his backyard, though you may have trouble getting him to admit this. In a nutshell, he exercises permaculture principles in his consultation work to overcome economic, political, and ecological obstacles present in his clients’ enterprise. I asked him if he had a common protocol to approaching each project, and he does: Objectively observe and collect data about the ecosystem in question, then hold a conversation with the owner concerning their goals - short term, long term, the works. Only after understanding both the conditions of the land and the interests of the human element does he begin the design process. No matter what the enterprise is, he stated that he always starts his design process by considering how water is incorporated into the situation. “Everything starts with water”.
I think that Dan’s business represents the revolutionary potential of permaculture to bypass modern bureaucratic inadequacies in how business and government interact. Much like how the Hayes’ valley farm project demonstrated that permaculture can produce positive change without conflict through its’ experiment with Interim Use policy, High Tide permaculture bypasses the need for permits by integrating ecosystem functions into economic enterprise. In Dan’s words, “You don’t need a permit to draw water from a stream for your plantation if you don’t need to draw water from the stream”. In this case, he was talking about how he has helped designed cannabis farms to maximize runoff collection, store rainwater, and passively utilize groundwater storage well enough that they don’t require additional water supply. This is bonafide positive change - his job specializes in circumventing costly bureaucratic steps by going above and beyond the status-quo standard of excellence. All while saving money, time, and water.
I believe that the reasons why Dan does not think his work or his residence are examples of revolution are relevant topics of interest. For Dan Mar, this is a way of life. It is not something he has subscribed to, or labels himself by, it is simply the way he has chosen to live. His introduction to permaculture was his grandparents, Italian immigrants who made it through the depression like the majority of Americans at the time by using what space they owned to produce what they could. He does not consider his knowledge revolutionary because the principles of observation, cooperation, and adaptation have been present in human society for as long as human society has recorded itself. This mindset seems like a crucial component of the permaculture discourse - a vehicle for the positive attitude endemic to a movement centered on respect and community. Listening to Dan Mar speak confirmed for me that the essence of the permaculture mindset is one of confident humility; the notion that permaculture is merely practical application of careful, common sense.
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