I have had my reservations about Sharon's plans for helping folks in eastern
Peru, and I concurr with your thoughts on their level of sophistication
regarding their biological environment. They may not use the same tools to
understand these systems as the otherwise sophisticated scientists, but they
sure have an understanding of it. I think there are several things that bear
thinking about.
First of all, yes, permaculture is one good model with which to work with, and
it is good because it is holistic or all encompasing. Of the models I am
familiar with, it is perhaps the closest to the one used by the inhabitants of
eastern Peru, and therefore it is likely the most appropriate. However, I would
urge anyone, as you said, to go and get dirty for a long time: much more can be
learned when one has an open mind and a humble attitude. Use whatever model for
what it is worth. Models are imperfect representations of reality, and even
then, how can we be sure what reality is?
While we may have a good sense of the biological reality, try to work within a
system that includes the many complex human factors affecting any one campesino
in the lowlands of Peru, and you will find that no degree of sophistication, be
it jungle smarts, street smarts, or cybersmarts, are going to help you much in
some situations.
The commitment to help becomes a commitment to become part of an extremely
complex process, and not to be taken lightly. I do believe that there is a role
for people like Sharon, but I would say it has more to do with helping the
campesino understand and work within the constraints imposed upon him/her by the
world that Sharon is more a part of than he/she is. Perhaps she can be useful
also, in helping change those constraints, especially since some of those
constraints are globally linked, and are affected by sources of power that
Sharon has better access to than the Peruvian Campesino.
What I am trying to say is that Sharon's sophistication with information
exchange and her access to political power may be more useful to the campesino,
than any production recipe she might glean from cyberspace.
Even more caution is then required here, because it is likely that the
campesino's predicament is less a function of his lack of knowledge than a
function of forces he has no control over. Moreover, these forces might be
excerted by powerful people who would become uncomfortable if challenged.
Ignacio Villa
9697 SR 534
Middlefield OH 44062
75557.3256@compuserve.com