If you want to go somewhere new often the first part of that journey is working out exactly where you are starting from.
For this journey that we are embarking upon from extractive to regenerative that orientation is an invitation to be honest and open about the things that we are currently doing that are causing damage to ourselves, to other living beings, and to the planet.
This is not about judgement, but until we are clear with ourselves it is impossible to start moving towards a future where we no longer cause damage, and where begin once again to make a positive contribution to the whole. Where we give and take just what we need, in the same way that every part of this complex ecosystem gives and takes as equal parts of an entangled whole.
It also needs to be non-judgemental because the system that most of us live our lives as part of is a deeply extractive one. It encourages and supports extractive behaviour, and likes to make us feel that behaving and living in a different way is impossible. But we’re here because we know that despite this prevalent narrative, another way is possible.
This is why growing even a tiny bit of food is such a powerful thing to do. It demonstrates plainly that disentanglement is possible, if only for fleeting moments. Out current system leads us to believe that it is only possible to obtain food if we buy it from a shop, preferably a big on. Then you plant a tomato seed, and tend it, until eventually you have a tomato that you eat and that is delicious. And in that moment you have the briefest glimpse of a different way of being. It is for this reason that growing food is, for many people, transformative and radical.
In my previous post I wrote about the permaculture ethics, and the way that they can help us. Following on from that I would like to invite you to use them to help you ground yourself as you take your first step on this journey. Under the frame of “extraction” and “extractive” this is an invitation to start by observing and acknowledging.
If we being with people care… where are the things that we do are damaging to ourselves and to each other?
Then earth care…where do the things that we do damage other living beings and the planet?
And finally fair share… where do we rely upon mechanisms and structures that cause damage to others and to the planet? And where do we indirectly support and encourage these structures?
If this is how we are going to use the ethics as a frame then how do we start thinking in terms of our own lives, but also in terms of the groups and organisations that we are connected to? To do this it may be useful to break things into smaller areas rather than trying to think about the whole – working from patterns to details. For me a key area of my life in my arts practice so below are a set of questions that I used as a starting point to explore the extractive aspects of this area of my life. This list is not exhaustive, and could easily be tweaked and applied to other things so go ahead and use it as you find useful.
Working through these questions is never going to be easy but well each need to take our first step on this journey of transformative change so in that respect it is as good a place to start as any. Be kind to yourself, sit with it, take it slow, do it with somebody else if you can, and try not to pass judgement.
PEOPLE CARE:
EARTH CARE:
FAIRSHARE:
Well done if you have got this far. You should not have three lists of extractive behaviours based around the Permaculture Ethics. As you ponder your response to these questions remember this is not a question of good and bad, or right and wrong. It is just about the truth of the now, and it is this truth that will become the foundation upon which a reshaped future will be constructed.
In my next post I will begin to explore what it may mean to start moving from this reality towards something that is more sustainable