The topic of the day was social permaculture.
Bioregionalism is the unit of self-sufficiency. We cannot be self-sufficient at the household level. In a bioregion, people have different skills (dentist, construction, farmers,…) The size is 100-10000 people. A city has several bioregions: the association of residents as informal networks.
Our aim is:
- a stable bioregion
- reduce import/export, which is impoverishing (e.g. migration of labor)
- need political, financial and communication units
- network all organisations (the important ones should have more links. If a node is cut (e.g. by government) the system keeps working)
Setting up of bioregions:
- make an inventory of local resources
- create an ethical directory
- start a local economy (LETS,…)
The next topic was land access. The land access should be granted. Some land access strategies are: the oxfam model, community supported agriculture, city as farm, farm and garden clubs, WWWOOF, tourism as land access, plan for climate change, lease not shorter than 5 years.
The final topic of the day was how to make income from our land. There are endless possibilities, but some principles are:
- be ruthlessly realistic about your strategies
- work on short and long term strategies (set goals, develop indicators), fill market niches, produce quality goods, start small
