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| research_report_sanjeev-shankar [2008-05-02 10:22] – sanjeev | research_report_sanjeev-shankar [2008-05-04 13:34] – sanjeev |
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| ===Directions=== | ===Directions=== |
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| The project started out with specific focus on urban farming and permaculture. However, the nature of farming and land is highly interconnected and directly impacts other aspects of our society. The insights and lessons through this journey go beyond farming and can inform the growth of more complex and yet to emerge sustainable systems. The author would like to conclude with the following directives: | The insights and lessons through this journey go beyond farming. The project started out with specific focus on urban farming and permaculture. Since, the nature of farming and land is highly interconnected, it affects every aspect of our society. The author would like to conclude with the following directives: |
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| * The need for a gradual shift towards a 'we' and 'us' based culture from a 'me' and 'I' based approach. Collective communities like India, are facing a reverse trend with the recent shift towards an individual based, self serving attitude under the influence of 'growth' and 'progress'. | * The first step is to bring out the connection which exists between a fertile soil and healthy crops, healthy animals and healthy human beings. Land must be safeguarded from the operations of finance and our needs have to be more clearly streamlined. A gradual approach for recovering the land is needed and the benefits of this shared with everyone. |
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| * Concious need for information 'exchange' and collaborations between different cultures and contexts to develop greater self reliance and interdependence. Here assimilation as a design strategy has great potential. All the time striving for the right balance between clear streamlined structures and flexible organic systems, between small self organised clusters and larger fabrics, between independent points of view and a general concensus. | * Urban communities should join hands with rural areas to create a prosperous and contented countryside, which inturn would become a great support for our future. |
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| * In cultural contexts, links with tradition should involve the use of past processes of change rather than the maintenance of past structures and patterns. We have to constantly reevaluate and revalidate our responses and ideas of 'growth' and 'progress' in such turbulent times. Such metaphors of progress and growth must move towards leaving things inside us rather than behind us. Having said that, if a thing needs to disintegrate and be left behind, we must let it go and let new systems be born. The aspect of ethics is important in such a situation and should be openly discussed. | * Critical focus on agricultural research backed up by scientific education, traditional wisdom and practical farming experience. |
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| * We must constantly strive to create fertile diverse systems which bring culture and nature together. This could be through technology, media or traditional mediums. | * From an urban farming perspective, personal kitchen gardens seem most effective. They are small, dispersed, diverse, flexible, simple to maintain, easily transformed and directly impact the food situation at a family and community level. They personify the idea of self reliance and feeding ourselves and can be catalysts for larger green initiatives at community, regional level. |
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| * From an urban farming perspective, personal kitchen gardens seem most effective. They are small, dispersed, diverse, flexible, simple to maintain, easily transformed and directly impact the food situation at a family and community level. They can be catalysts for larger green initiatives at community, regional level. | * The need for a gradual shift towards a 'we' and 'us' based culture from a 'me' and 'I' based approach. Collective communities like India, are facing a reverse trend with the recent shift towards an individual based, self serving attitude under the influence of 'progress'. Media can play a purposeful role to check this shift. |
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| | * Concious need for information 'exchange' and collaborations between different cultures and contexts to develop greater self reliance and interdependence. Assimilation as a design strategy has valid relevance. There needs to be a balance between clear streamlined structures and flexible organic systems, between small self organised clusters and larger fabrics, between independent points of view and a general concensus. |
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| | * In cultural contexts, links with tradition should involve the use of past processes of change rather than the maintenance of past structures and patterns. We have to constantly reevaluate and revalidate our responses and ideas of 'growth' and 'progress' in such turbulent times. Such metaphors of progress and growth must move towards leaving things inside us rather than behind us. Having said that, if a thing needs to disintegrate and be left behind, we must let it go and let new systems be born. The aspect of ethics is important in such a situation and should be openly discussed. |
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| | * Constantly striving to create fertile diverse systems which bring culture and nature together. This could be through technology, media or traditional mediums. An important example is the use of science and technology through 'e-coupal' in rural Indian villages to increase yields. |
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| ===Suggestions=== | ===Suggestions=== |
| The researcher would like to suggest the following threads for the future: | The researcher would like to suggest the following threads for the future: |
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| * Looking at traditional systems of living in India which are comparable to permaculture as a holistic approach. | * Looking at traditional systems of living and farming in India which are comparable to permaculture as a holistic approach. |
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| * Analysing the attributes of community based approaches in countries like India and how can we create such initiatives in western societies. | * Analysing the attributes of community based approaches in countries like India and how can we create such initiatives in western societies. |
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| * Creating tangible manifestations of human plant interaction to nudge it out of the speculative zone. | * Creating tangible manifestations of human plant interaction to nudge it out of the speculative zone. How would a new relevant design practice emerge through observation of and cooperation with natural systems? |
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| | * Rethinking our relationship with other life forms in an infinitely interconnected atmosphere. |
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| * Finding appropriate ways and methods to bring 'ethical' thinking as a core topic in design education and education in general. | * Finding appropriate ways and methods to bring 'ethical' thinking as a core topic in design education and education in general. |
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| * Creating an **International Platform for Growth and Resilience**, which works towards a more inclusive, collaborative methodology through a system of integration. One of the intiatives could be to bring apparently polar groups together to find a common ground. These groups could include men with women; young with old; environmentalists with corporate heads; capitalists with social entrepreneurs; secular groups with military regime heads; real estate developers with conservationists; politicians with middle class people; middle class western families with middle class eastern families and so on. At a national level, the model would work in a more bottom up manner with conflicting interest groups being brought together to openly discuss issues. | * Creating an **International Platform for Growth and Resilience**, which works towards a more inclusive, collaborative methodology through a system of integration, informed by scientific research, practical experience and travel. One of the intiatives could be to bring apparently polar groups together to find a common ground. These groups could include men with women; young with old; scientists with traditional farmers; environmentalists with corporate executives; capitalists with social entrepreneurs; secular groups with military regime heads; real estate developers with conservationists; politicians with middle class people; middle class western families with parallel families from the east and so on. At a regional level, the model could work in a bottom up manner with conflicting interest groups being brought together to openly discuss issues. |
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| ====References==== | ====References==== |
sanjeev