Minutes of the first meeting, September 3, 2013

Attendance: 4

Venue: Coop du Grande Orme, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Qc.

Permaculture definition: Providing for the needs of humanity while improving the health of the planet.

The 3 Ethics of Permaculture: Care of Earth, Care of People, and Return of Surplus to the First Two

The 12 principles of Permaculture (which we didnt go over in detail but maybe we can next time):

1. Observe and Interact – By taking the time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
2. Catch and Store Energy – By developing systems that collect resources when abundant, we can use them in times of need.
3. Obtain a Yield – Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the working you are doing.
4. Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback – Discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
   
5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services – Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
6. Produce No Waste – By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
7. Design From Patterns to Details – By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
8. Integrate Rather Than Segregate – By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
9. Use Small and Slow Solutions – Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and produce more sustainable outcomes.
10. Use and Value Diversity – Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal – The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change – We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing and then intervening at the right time.

Ste Anne de Bellevue Permaculture group's first project or goal we might select and work towards to keep a common thread and create the positive change we want to see for our town (and the world!) Some suggestions were

1. An on-line local bartering system

2. A printed, local currency

3. A permaculture garden to use in conjunction with the summer camp and/or youth groups

4. A local transport-sharing network

5. An on-line local 24hr garage-sale!

And finally, The Transition Town Movement: Could Ste Annes improve its local resilience in the face of energy descent? Cutting carbon is one of many ‘Resilience Indicators’ that are able to show the increasing degree of resilience but there are others:

- the percentage of local trade carried out in local currency

- percentage of food consumed locally that was produced within a given radius

- ratio of car parking space to productive land use

- degree of engagement in practical Transition work by local community

- amount of traffic on local roads

- number of business owned by local people

- proportion of the community employed locally

- percentage of essential goods manufactured within a given radius

- percentage of local building materials used in new housing developments

- percentage of energy consumed in the town that has been generated by local Energy Service Company

- amount of 16 year olds able to grow 10 different varieties of vegetable to a given degree of basic competency

- percentage of medicines prescribed locally that have been produced within a given radius

We also talked about Val David, Qc. which is a well-established transition town, and the meaningless pressure of present-day consumer-society which values things over people, money over time, appearances over feelings etc.