BARRIER #2: Lack of Knowledge
Here’s a truthbomb for you…
Trained as an engineer, I was always taught to take a laser-focused approach to problems within complex human-made systems and look for or develop targeted technological solutions for our social and environmental challenges.
But my ecology and permaculture training has now taught me that those limited solutions won’t even begin to touch the full range of issues we face…and in fact may even make them worse.
Why? Here’s it is: The planet isn’t a machine…it’s a complex web of interdependent, living systems, and far more than the sum of its parts.
To solve the problems at their root, you need to:
- understand the basic principles of ecosystems, natural patterns and processes…
- understand how systems works as a whole.
Basically we need to start working with nature, rather than against her. We need to start looking at things holistically, rather than compartmentalized.
But for most of us, we need to first fill a knowledge gap – and that is a basic understanding of how ecosystems (and the planet) works. It’s only when armed with this knowledge can we start to understand how we must fit in. Instead of paddling upstream (and creating waste and pollution in doing so), we’ll be able to start “flowing along with the river”.
Our Permaculture Foundations E-Book (our gift to you) is designed to provide you with these fundamentals. This E-Book, along with the accompanying video e-course are prequels to our signature Live Permaculture Design Courses.
In the next email we’ll finally start talking about how to put all of this into action, through design. I’ll talk about what it means to design something and give you five simple words that you can start to use immediately when trying to plan, design or build more sustainability or resilience into any aspect of your life.
TAKE ACTION
It’s time to get inspired. Here are some suggestions:
- Read Chapters 2, 3 and 4 of the the Permaculture Foundations E-Book (Basic Understandings, Ecosystem Dynamics Part 1, Ecosystem Dynamics Part 2).
- Read the Story of Soil, (a very popular blog on our website)!
- Start growing something! Plant a backyard garden, plant a fruit tree, engage with nature and learn about biology, soil and ecosystems through direct action.
- Spend more time in nature observing ecosystems. Take a walk through a forest and observe the processes and the patterns going on such as nutrient cycling, photosynthesis, and water retention – trust me, you’ll learn alot!
Past Students Say…
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Verge gave me all the information about permaculture that I was looking for, but more importantly they gave me the confidence and permission to explore and carry out solutions towards achieving abundance in my life.
Sound Engineer/Musician/Entrepreneur
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I found the course to be more than just intensive permaculture design information but really a plan for living a meaningful life with ethics and meaning.
Photographer
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Verge Permaculture provides a learning experience that will both greatly inform & inspire. Rob delivers well founded information taught with an excellent blend of engineered expertise & the wonder of Mother Nature..!
Carpenter
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Taking the Verge Permaculture courses helped give me the knowledge, connections, and confidence to make real changes in my life. I was able to start my own business, change my lifestyle, and meet an amazing group of people that helped me every step of the way.
Rancho Relaxo
Keep an eye on your inbox, and in the next email I’ll going to give you some tips to dissolve the second barrier – lack of knowledge (but’s it’s not just any knowledge, it’s a specific type of knowledge).
Past Students Say…
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These two weeks of permaculture have been the most useful and constructive education I have experienced. The practical skills, hopeful perspective and focus on solutions feel empowering.
Owner of Paintbox Lodge and Olympic Medalist
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I went from armchair activist to on the ground change maker in two weeks. [Verge's] course gave me the tools and resources to restore hope in a backwards world.
Tree Folk
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I think if I could use one word to describe what Verge's PDC gave me, it would be "hope". Completely life changing.
Puzzle Permaculture
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I can’t remember the last time I felt so inspired! So many things brought together that I knew but didn’t.
I took the Verge Permaculture Passive Greenhouse course, and I am blown away by the effort that Rob and his team have put into designing the course. It is very intuitive, and is exactly the assistance I needed in designing our dream greenhouse. It is obvious that there is there is a tremendous amount of passion and time that went into sharing all of the their experiences, and is definitely worth the value. They have helped me think of everything I need to design and build my structure. I can wait to see my project through to completion. – Norm L.
