naturehumannature

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Regenerative systems. Observation of this land and creation of an alive system is happening. Feeding back outputs to inputs, nurturing abundance for an energised local ecosystem. Sustainable living here within a self-creating flourish of life; this is our vision. We move towards this through patient observation. What are the patterns? Where infrastructure has already been built, what is the reality that we are working with now? What is the optimum that we could wish to create, the guide we wish to embody. The forest. Whole system integration, no waste, everything caught, re-cycled. Observing the land. Where are the gaps, between what we have, and whole system integration? Observing our site we see that pathways are slippery when it rains, that under the house is bone dry with a drainage ditch forming around the perimeter of the roof-rainfall area, that water collects in muddy areas at the bottom of the hill and then joins the river, soil is being eroded away from the top of the hill through the motion of the water, tree roots are becoming exposed. **What's the smallest change we could make for the largest effect to begin to bring the system into into a balance that sustains life?** Yeoman's Scale of Permanence (see picture) cascades down whereby the elements above effects all those below, though not vice versa, so effecting one below without considering those above is an ineffective strategy for achieving balance. Using this scale as a reference we identified making a change in the water management as the most effective and doable action. **Catch and Store Energy** Much of our water is caught on the alimunium roof and then dispersed for use as drinking and washing water, runoff from the leaf roof however, though some of it is caught within the capacity of the leaves, mainly runs off over the top of the soil down the rivulets that have formed carrying soil with it. Water held within the soil offers the possibility of increased capacity to support life. Water in liquid form has the property of always falling at right angle to the line of the contour, runs downwards with gravity, and always lies at level. To catch the energy of this water, we connected with the potetial of creating a swale along the contour where the peak runoff area meets the line of the contour. As an 'S' shaped curve, water runs through meshing grasses into the lower curve of the swale, where it is sponged and absorbed by wood and plant material, and met by an opposing mound of non-compacted earth. This catches, absorbs, and disperses the water along the contour, feeding into the root systems of plants situated on the top and other side of the swale. Over time, as the plants grow, are cut down and decompose into the earth, the soil quality improves and its capacity and robustness is increased through the establishing root systems. Over time, as more plants establish and nutrients are held in the soil, the swale itself will largely disappear, it's function of restoring balance fulfilled. In reference to the Yeomans scale, as the water management begins to contribute to the balance of the system, options for access and paths become more clear, trees are nurtured and can work to contribute further to soil robustness, structures can be better situated within the managed waterflow, the division between what different areas of the land offer can become more clear for differing uses, and the soil retains much more of it's nutrients which can be cycled into further supporting land regeneration. In addition, by taking this action we contribute to the reestablishment of underground streamlets, making water accessible to plants in the chakra (alottment) below the house. If upon further observation following initial implementation, we find that the system runs over capacity, other swales can be created at strategic points. To create a swale, the contour if first marked with sticks, measured with an A-frame, which we made. When the line is marked, the swale may be dug out. In addition to the swale, we have made use of a 3metre deep pit that was created next to the house to search for water. Layered with slow decomposing plant material it acts to store water like a sponge. Run off from the swale will also be stored in here, banana, guave and other plants planted around it to support robustness of the soil, and in time it will produce a nutrient rich soil that may be distributed where needed around the site. While involving an initial energy input in creating the swale, there is great longterm gain of stored energy and yeild of the benifitting plants; a step taken in the creation of a regenerating system that can sustainably support life on the land.

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[naturehumannature]

I'm writing now following three days in the lower primary Jungle reserve of Pacaya-Samiria where we visited Victor's lodge - Kambohausca, 3 hours by car and boat south of Iquitos. I hadn't expected much from this journey. I had thought we were just going to visit his place and experience the space. Our land near Santa Maria is higher Jungle, a different ecosystem to the lower, and it would be an experience just to be in that space, giving a reference to our space, begin to comprehend the difference between lower and higher jungle. Ayahuasca is big business. The land where Victor's place is situated is home to several other Ayahuasca centres and lodges charging a lot of money for the full jungle experience. Most are owned by business people living in the US, cashing in on peoples desire to experience Ayahuasca healing, without real care for people. Victor told us however that in order to obtain the land he has, he needed to go the mayor of the local village, and there a meeting is called with the local people, you tell them what you have to offer, and in exchange, usually for work, you may be given the land. The owners generally do not live here in the Jungle, preferring to have their jungle spot and live elsewhere, so the lodges are stewarded and maintained by local people. It's hard around here to find a genuine shaman. Before the Ayahuasca tourist boom, shamanism was passed down hereditarily, shamans lived the jungle and were channels for the wisdom, guides of the learning held in the plants. They may be happy to exchange holding exploration for food. Now anyone can claim to be a shaman, and the experience is exchanged for a lot of money. We asked Victor what people genuinely think of tourism. White people are referred to as Gringo's, which is unclear what this actually means for people here, though generally it comes with an assumption that if you have white skin, that you are a walking ATM. There is a common story that this comes from the US Mexico war where American soldiers wore green coats "Green Go" though, looking this up it seems this is not so because they actually wore Blue... The most plausible answer is that it comes from the Spanish Hablar a Griego, (sp?) To speak Greek, - akin to the English "It's all greek to me", or someone I don't understand. Victor said that people are happy that Tourists come, because it means that there is work. Also, because people are paying to come and see the Jungle and the animals, it means that they are protected. There is tighter restriction on poaching of endangered animals and the cutting down of trees. This has brought up a lot of questions for us about the role of tourism in relation to conservation. Victor's intention is to use the opportunity provided in partnership with his Canadian business partner, having this land and loge available, to share with tourists as much as he can about his home. He want's to raise awareness of the jungle, not just give experiences about it. He has withdrawn from offering Ayahuasca, focusing instead on Kambo, yoga and experiencing the plants and animals in the Jungle. I am still processing the past three days. Many of the experiences we had, though absolutely amazing, were unasked for. Much involved taking a very loud boat into secluded spots, disrupting the wildlife there, and catching and holding wild animals. This is, I believe, the common understanding of what tourists want. Another thing we have learned is that through western ways have appeared relatively recently, much of the learning that we are gaining in the west alongside, hasn't. For instance, people who use to use leaves for plates and then throw them away, now have access to plastic plates, and are still throwing them away like they did with the leaves, not understanding the effect this is having on their environment. This little adventure has brought a curiosity about what our influence is in these parts of the world, where people rely on tourism, are gaining access to western ways through this, in some cases want to protect their environment and aware that sharing this can support them in making a living, yet do not have the awareness of the effect that certain choices can bring. How can we bring awareness of the effect of our choices on our environment into the decisions we make whilst travelling? How can we share the learning that has come from mass destruction of our environment in the West with people living in areas that we want to protect? Some ideas that we have come up with are as simple as saying what we're expecting, that it's enough for me to go on a row boat into a lagoon, to hear a the cacophony of frogs and crickets, see the glow bugs. A grateful as I am for the experience, I don't have need to catch and hold a wild Kaman. This whole world of exploring eco-tourism as it could be called, conscious tourism is a big area holding many different needs banding the world of rich and poor. How can I bring choice and awareness into my onward experiences.

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Kittens! Noche, Luna and Mapacho... Jamie holding Noche and their mama Luz behind....

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The Temple space on the land or 'Maloca' as it's called here, and us inside at the end of our Sublimewe 5day exploration together, exploring deeper into how to manifest support between us who are here to enable materialisation of this project from a place of deep interconnectedness.

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Post written shorty after arriving...

It's raining. I'm sitting in the main hut on the land, a 20 minute walk outside of the village Santa Maria. Yesterday we travelled an hour and a half on the Amazon river in a little boat, dropping people off at various locations along the way and munching on barbecued plantain. The infrastucture on the land currently consitst of this main building where there is, a small gas cooker, and storage area with a table to sit around, sink, and mezzanine hangout come sleeping area, a temple space, which serves for ceremonies and is currently also used as a sleeping space, and a newly built shower and compost toilet block, which was brought into being through contributions towards this project. There are currently seven of us here, Me, Jake, Isa, Emil, Nick, Ian, Amy and Jamie. Now that I'm here i'm feeling clearer on what it is that i'd like to share about what we're exploring here. [at this time of editing, Amy has now left and I have been here for 10 days] Building from the ground up, we are embarking on a whole system design. Whole system deign is an approach of Permaculture, which as its name suggests looks at the whole system, by which we observe what systems are already present within nature and the specific space, and weave ourelves into this space in a way that is as seamless as possible in which our presence supports land regeneration. Permaculture works with creating Zones, categorising differet environments, which have differnent inherent needs, and which support human needs in various ways. At the centre of this is zone 0.0, human relations. We are constantly taking desisions by which we interact with our environment to meet our various needs. Because the intention of whole system design is to design in alignment with all needs of the system, having clarity and a mode of hearing different peoples needs and coming to strategies that meet the evolving needs of the collective is essential in the manifesting of a whole system design that meets all needs. Having arrived yesterday, i'm only now begginning to step into flow with the systems that we have in place here to meet arising needs so far. Within the physical space of what i'm aware of so far these are as follows: Water All water is gathered from the rain and is filtered for drinking, showering, washing clothes, dishes, and hand washing. We have a three tier washing up system: an initial 'wash off' tub for getting rid of scraps, then a sink with washing liquid - as natural and organic as we can find so far, then a second sink with white vinegar for sterilisation, then out side onto the drying rack. In the morning, the water is changed and the sinks are intentioned to be used throughout the day only for eating related washing, for hygiene safety. Hand Washing is kept separate and held by means of a cross of wood, built off of tree stumps in practically siuated spots. On one side is a cut off bottle bottom with a hole in it, on the other a pot with a piece of soap in it. Next to is a bucket with catches rain water. The other top-half of the bottle can then be used to scoop out water into the bottom half and hands be washed with only an amount of water which is needed. Attached to the water tank which supplies the sink is an outside tap with a big pot underneath. The tap is used both for refilling the bottles to be then filtered into the drinking water pots, the rinse-off pot, and filling tubs for washing clothes. All rinse water is then channelled into a 6ft hole in the ground which acts as a big slowly degrading compost hold. Into this goes any scraps which take a long time to decompose, wood, bigger leaves, the shells of larger fruits and vegetables, giving the carbons and slowness that best support the soaps to degrade. Water from the big pot that is caught through drop off and overflow can then be used for washing other things that do not necessitate clean water, such as.... Cat and Compost. Within this particular space there is an issue with snakes potentially coming into the house, which for safety and ease within the space, we would prefer not to happen! Snakes come when there are rats, which come when there is food. To bring flow to this we have taken in a cat, which scares away the rats. We also keep the compost bin outside the house with a screw on lid. High sugar, fast decomposing waste, fruits, food waste, is collected and then transferred to the compost heap every two days or so depending on how many people are in the house. Here it is layered with leaves and other carbon materials such as cardboard to maximise decomposition through creating heat within the system. Our aim with this system is to have usable compost available as quickly as possible so we can feed back into and support the wider system. Humanure We are currently creating a humanure system, as a way of creating compost from our waste that can be used to further fertillise the land, especially for growing trees. Within the compost toilets, only faecal waste is collected. It's important that it is kept as dry as possible to reduce smell, urine is therefore collected separately, and waste is layered with plenty of sawdust. This is then transferred from the compost toilet buckets to the humanure pile, where it is layered between thick layers of leaves for maximum aeration, reduced smell and rapid decomposition. As of yet, this system doesn't smell at all. There's also the idea to plant around this area, herbs, or some other plants which can both make use of the fertile soil, and also link in with the soaps from the hand washing system nearby. Rubbish As much rubbish as possible is collected and recycled in various ways. All papers and cards are channelled into the compost if there is not a more direct re-use. All plastics are washed in the overflow pot. Reusable plastic bags can be dried and re-used for shopping, other plastics are stuffed into plastic bottles, to be used at some point in the future as eco bricks. Cans from the milk are saved and washed to be used in some way, though we're not clear yet what this could be. Essentially, we want to throw as little away as possible, bringing it into the city to get rid of our rubbish is essentially paying for someone else to bury it somewhere other than on our land. Food We want to bring awareness to what we buy, and where within this system we can begin to create for ourselves so that less rubbish is produced, and we can take responsibility for the fullness of our actions. At the moment, as much food as posible is bought from the local village, though most of it we get from the port and transport back to the land on the taxi-boat. We're beginning to get bananas from our land and also build connections with the neighbours for other fruits. Sustainability We are only here for six months of the year, and to support sustainability, we want to create a system where by people minding the land while we are away can live sutainably, both that they will be able to earn a living from working here, which is generated from the land. Linking back in with my experimentaions in China, this project is the manifestation of my sense that in order to create environments that work for all, we need first to develop our inner listening, connnect with our needs and design from there.

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Back in Iquitos, connections, sharing, deep Permaculture.

So, I'm back in Iquitos after spending 10 days on the land. There's no internet there and we need to travel 1.5 hours by boat and stay in the city for the night to have any meaningful time to do use the internet. At the same time, it's noisy here in Iquitos, and my preference is to be on the land, to update this blog I want to be there to be in the moment, and at the same time need to be here to use the internet... So, basically, it's not as easy to update here as i'd like and so much of what i'd like to share may need to come later. Amongst finding my feet here, with the people, language and getting around, reconnecting with the group, and the land, I've also been finding out what the practical possibilities are regarding electronic devices. There's no electricity on the land - we use solar panels charged during the day mainly to power a solar light in the evenings, and I use this also to charge my iPad. Nevertheless, being out in nature, with only the sounds of the birds and insects and voices of those around me, I feel less attachment to devices and no great need for internet other than to stay in contact with people. I've also been taking photos mainly on my camera and iphone, neither of which i have here now, so unfortunately I don't have any photos to upload at the moment. I'd really like to share and keep an account of this journey on here, and am wondering how to go about this. I have been writing a lot i my journal, and have thought to just pick out elements, though my need for being in the moment is greater at the moment than evaluating and going back over things... I will write of what's in me now. I feel happy here. I am in a language, Spanish, which is accessible to me, learning alongside others who are learning in a culture where people both have a bit of English and can share the learning, and at the same time where our use of the language is needed. I really wish I had more Spanish and could communicate better 'now', and I'm celebrating having found a language that i can put my mind to learning and which through learning I can contribute to more than my joy of learning. For me, we're exploring a really deep practice of permaculture on the land here. There is a subtlety of awareness that flows through the fabric of interconnectedness, between each of us contributing our beings on the land, the immediate space we inhabit, and the land itself, which extends out to the wider village and city. We don't currently have much connection with the village or city... this mainly exists as an extended network for sourcing food, and internet. Within the village, Santa Maria, we have connection with a guy called Max, who helps out with working on the land, and where we stored items that we couldn't yet carry to the land when we arrived in the village. The land we're on is a 20 minute walk from the village. Max has a deeper awareness of the space and we're working with him to find ways to sustainably work with the land, and with him for maintaining the land. An element that i've become much more aware of over the last 10 days is water. Water is energy, life, flow, it carries and stores and can be harnessed to maximise it's gifts. What is the natural water flow, where and what to build that makes best use of what is present with the minimum amount of energy usage? How can we tune in to a space to become more aware of the patterns that are in flow there, what are the signs? Erosion, visible roots of trees, amount of rainfall and where it goes to, where it is naturally stored, where is energy lost, where could it be rerouted to, what is the smallest suggestion that could be made that could maximise potential with minimal effort....? Tuning into this subtle space on all levels...no strategy implemented purely to satisfy some desired outcome based in habitual response... what exists in the space between what is and what we desire that gives life to desire manifesting at the level of what is. Creating strategies that seem so fluid that they appear to have grown there. I am celebrating an experiential learning of permaculture, I am learning not by creating a system, but because I am part of the system. My growing awareness of myself, as a being within a collective, within a space, of how every choice i make, whether that be where I place something, or whether or not i choose to share an intuition, ripples and resounds both out to others, and the space and back to me. This space I'm exploring feels quiet, moving quietly, gentle stepping, conscious creating. The wind just picked up here, the sky is darkening and there are clouds on the horizon, thunder. I think a big storm is going to hit soon...

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Priviledge

Something I wrote a little of but didn't post here earlier is priviledge. Partly I didn't post it because my thoughts were unfinished, i'm still unsure of what it is I want to write about this, I will explore.... I am somewhat aware of my priveledge that brings me here, of bringing mysef and my curiosity to this land. That even though at home I was not 'born into riches', in fact I grew up of the mind that we didn't have much money, I nevertheless have been born into a white family, I'm not even sure of what 'class' I would be considered as, but whatever I call it, I grew up with the idea of travelling as being something that was within my grasp. I was born into the potential of seeing far away lands the sense of it being 'my right' to do this, and something that was valued within my culture. This I see as priviledge because I am in the most part unaware of the impact that I am having on people who do not hold this [I am priveledged because of my birth and upbringing] and becuse our world systems caters to priviledge which enables my ignorance to continue. Hence I am priveledged with being able to act without direct awareness of the outcomes of my actions. An apprach to travel i'd like to share is people saying "I did [country] last year", though I cannot speak to what is truly behind these words for this person, when I hear this I feel quite sad, because for me there is more potential in travelling than seeing a place for our own gratification of having seen specific landmarks and had certain experiences before we die, I want to honor human life and experience myself as a part of this web. For me I am interested in the space where my ignorance impacts anothers life, and where my deepening awareness with others through ignorance can contribute to connection and fuller experience of life for all. One thing I've noticed coming here is that I wish I had more Spanish. Another priviledge of being brought up where I was, the belief that everywhere speaks English, and the fallout of that, that it's not true. I want to learn (of my non-awareness) and at the same time part of me doesn't want to and wants just to relax and enjoy. Partly this is that to approach my ignorance I approach my own vulnerability, which is scary. Another part is of wanting to walk towards myself with care and awareness because it's from that space that I can I'd like to write more on this and explore further. I'm greatly inspired at the moment by Miki Kashtan's work with priviledge www.fearlesssheart.org I enjoy her terms 'facing priviledge' and 'leaveraging your influence' and hold the image that by the intention of facing my priviledge, being open to gaining awarreness of how my choices that are of my priviledge impact others, from there I can see how to use this to bring connection and understanding rather than separation. A note on ignorance. I'm aware of ignorance having connotations of something that is 'bad' and that we doggedly try and avoid being labeled with. I see ignorance in the sense of a part of myself that I am just not aware of, I am blind to it and subconsciously avoid looking at it, and which by becoming aware I can grow within myself and within my connection with others. Now we're headed out of Iquitos and over to the land. I'm not sure when i'll next have wifi... I'll post again when I do!

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Into Community

Jetlag. It's 5:30 am here in Lima. I'm tired but awake. Theres a cockerel crowig outside. I feel ok here, not overly aware or nervous like I did in India, maybe because i'm here with friends. I feel relaxed which has it's own kind of safety. Like when I've been in a place for a while, I begin to slot in within my own sense of the space and it seems at that point that other people also notice me less. I enjoy noticing these interactions between my inner world and its outer manifestation. I noticed in my thoughts about writing these posts I had been thinking of writing only of me and what i'm doing. So far I have only ever travelled by myself, doing my own projects. This is different, and I want to write a little of this here because it is the bedrock of this exploration. I'm here with my community; I flew here with Emi and today we will fly again to Iquitos to meet Isa at the airport. Then we will travel to Jake's land, I'm not sure where this is. Ian and Nick are on the land, and a couple others I don't know. Eddy and Gwen are back in Edinburgh. Eddy will be joining us in February. Gwen is staying in Edinburgh to give space to self-care. This action in community is an integral part of what this project is about, and why we are all here. Over this last year or so we have been practicing Sublimewe together, a practice with symol-tools, which support deep listening within each person, tapping into colletive gifts and wisdom which builds into an interdependent web, and gradually brings to fruition optimum strategies for meeting needs. What are needs? Needs is the word that Nonviolent Communication uses to refer to our life energy and how it shows up moment by moment. Needs are universal, indicating what would support our full life expression, this is different from the strategies we may chose to meet our needs, the specific manifestations. Where conflict occurs is at the level of strategy, because the ways in which we chose to meet our needs may not be in alignment with other's needs - or even our own when we are unaware of this choice. The importance of this understanding in relation to this projet is that we are intrinsicaly linked with the space in which we live, and strategies that we chose to meet our needs directly affect the space we inhabit and create. When we come together in community with the intention of tapping into the needs that are alive in our collective and to manifest optimum strategies to meet these needs, we also begin to work with the needs of the space we're in, enering into flow with ourselves, each other, and our environment. I am yet to find out why specifically we have come to this land, how it will manifest. I have come following my heart and a desire to support this project. My understanding is of bringing our deep listening practice within our community into this space, supporting us to gain an embodied understanding of how we may begin to manifest strategies that also meet the neeeds of this part of the Amazon. When we practice listening in this way, we begin to live within one another, i.e the desire to support one another's optimum life expression goes beyond what arises in the moment, we begin to live in interdependence. I'm cuious to see what will take root within us of this space...

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Here we go!