Volunteering at “Namkhan permaculture eco-farm”, Luang Prabang, Laos In this article, we try something new. We use our professional experience and newly gathered knowledge to establish a diagnostic / report of the Namkhan eco-farm project. We refer to permaculture ethics and principles. We also look at the key permaculture domains, i.e. domains that require transformation to create a sustainable culture. Based on those references, we reflect upon our personal experience as volunteers for the “Namkhan Permaculture Eco-Farm” project near Luang Prabang, Laos. First, we want to inspire from David Holmgren’s “Permaculture Principles and Paths Beyond Sustainability” and recall that permaculture can be seen as “Tools to Assist in Ethical Decisions: In attempting to lead an ethical life we need conceptual tools that will allow us to find what is appropriate, is practical for the situation and context, and yet will have some enduring value in chaotically changing times. Permaculture, and especially permaculture design principles, are conceptual tools which many people are finding useful in this journey (…) [of] ethical adaptation to ecological realities.”. With our analysis, we want to provide objective feedback and suggest some ideas. We also want to better understand our feelings about this project and eventually justify them. The Permaculture Flower We use the permaculture flower to describe the solutions implemented at the Namkhan ecofarm. Feel free to ask questions about the different solution, we will gladly answer and/or adapt the blogpost in accordance with your feedback 😊 The permaculture flower is available here: https://permacultureprinciples.com Land & Nature stewardshipAt Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest:
Building At Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest:
Tools & Technology At Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest:
Education & Culture At Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest:
Health & Spiritual Well-Being At Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest:
Finances & Economics At Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest nothing: we do not have enough information. Moreover, this topic might lead to ideas that suggest a radical shift in the project values and vision. Land Tenure & Community Governance At Namkhan eco-farm, we identify the solutions that follow:
We humbly suggest nothing: we do not have enough information nor mandate. Permaculture Design Principles 1. Observe and interact “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” Observation lead to ingenuous solutions at the Namkhan eco-farm project. For instance: after a big rain, the team understood that the black-soldier larvae were genetically programmed to reach for dry places => they implement a system that harvests black-soldier larvae autonomously. The larvae then feed the animals of the farm such as the fishes. For instance: the sanitized environment of the greenhouses increases the pest hazard; greenhouse two is full of caterpillars. Spraying of bio-pesticides (e.g. garlic and/or chili tea) works better as a preventive solution. The team adapts its processes in accordance with this new lesson from Professor Caterpillar. For instance: during big rains, Patrick examines the waterways to suggest corrective measures to mitigate erosion issues. Patrick’s observation leads to building percolation pits and terraces, planting bananas to create the “banana alley” (a visitor’s favorite). 2. Catch and store energy “Make hay while the sun shines” Namkhan does preserve some of its seeds; this is great. We recommend going for greater autonomy and self-reliance and/or actively participating in the local seed-sharing communities. We believe the project could implement more solutions such as water harvesting, energy production, co-generation (e.g. cook eggs in the compost 😊). Se above for our suggestions. 3. Obtain a yield “You can’t work on an empty stomach” Money yield does not seem to be a problem. We are confident that the project administration approved a solid business plan to guarantee the financial success of the project. Is such a solid investment also seen as a long-term solution? Is it planned to make the farm self-sufficient in the future? Initial objective: food production should allow the farm to finance itself. We were told the farm will welcome visitors for tours and host PDC sessions. The farm also already started to sell home made products such as delicious jelly. 4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback “The sins of the fathers are visited on the children of the seventh generation” We acknowledge that the farm is only one aspect of the whole project. It seems that there will be interdependences between the other poles of the project. In this regard it is hard to judge the self-regulation aspect. If we take the farm alone it will depend on the number of visitors hosted and their impact on the ecosystem. If we take the project, including the resort and guesthouse, it will depend on the way the tourism is managed. Is it meant to be an eco-tourism or a conventional one? We know that conventional mass tourism is very harmful to the environment, so the self-regulation of the farm and project altogether will be highly correlated to the number and quality of visitors. The feedback aspect at Namkhan project seems to be smooth in terms of natural feedback. As mentioned previously the staff observes the ecosystem and the natural events such as rain. The adaptations follow the observation to match the environment. However, the feedback between volunteers, staff and owners is more questionable. Indeed, we did not have the chance to meet the owners. We acknowledge that the different poles of the global project do not include ecological aspects. Only the farm is supposed to be ecological. Therefore, we believe this could lead to contradictions in the vision and in its application. For example, the staff might have ecological ambitions that the owners would refuse. 5. Use and value renewable resources and services “Let nature take its course” Except for the garden -and more specifically the intensive work on fertility- the eco-farm generally does not use renewable resources nor services. See our previous analysis and suggestions. 6. Produce no waste “A stitch in time saves nine” “Waste not, want not” Not only does the eco-farm generally not use renewable resources nor services, we estimate that it also generates substantial waste. The reuse of organic “waste” to produce larvae is great. Nevertheless, we empty baskets daily: one big bag of trash and half a bag of food scraps; we believe this is a lot. We also acknowledge that there is not only waste generated by the farm as a whole but also single-use plastic packaging from various snacks that the employees bring along with them to the farm. A more engaged and inspiring attitude toward sustainable lifestyle might help reduce these bad habits among the employees too. Moreover, waste is not segregated: recyclable and non-recyclable often mix with organic. As I write this article, I see a duck spitting out plastic. Also, we are in a building phase that generates loads of construction waste, we doubt that this waste is being properly treated. We think that guidelines and good practices could help reduce the amount of waste generated by the eco-farm. Upcycling initiatives might also develop creativity. 7. Design from patterns to details “Can’t see the forest for the trees” The project seems well planned and organized. We are in the preparatory phase -before opening to the public- and the master plan as well as the schedule seem clear. In the eco-farm, day-to-day activities are organized in accordance with the gardens’ developments. 8. Integrate rather than segregate “Many hands make light work” Staff is numerous in skills, knowledge and personalities. The volunteers also bring external influence. The regenerative agriculture techniques that we deploy on the farm tend to integrate plants, animals and people in a common landscape and community environment. We fear that the later developments and requirements for more standardized touristic environments might hamper a greater integration: Namkhan is a private property that will allow entrance for money. 9. Use small and slow solutions “The bigger they are, the harder they fall” “Slow and steady wins the race” As written above, the project seems well planned and organized. It is also ambitious. Apparently, seven months ago, the land was bear and the initial buildings just ready. Within the next five months, the eco-farm must be an up-and-running food production farm as well as a technique demonstration farm for visitors. The food production should satisfy the demand of the restaurant. The technique demonstration farm should be open to visitors to learn about, see and practice regenerative agriculture techniques. Things change fast on the farm: team of gardeners, carpenters, already 50+ volunteers work together to make this place attractive in time. We guess that the financial investment is substantial to answer the tight schedule. Also, the effort on the farm integrates into a wider tourism project that is also ambitious in scale and schedule. Small and slow does not seem to be the motto here. This leads to bigger issues; one good example is erosion control. As it rains a lot and sometimes heavily in the region, the soil, when uncovered, easily runs off. After a big rain, one can see erosion happening: rills becoming gullies, gullies grow bigger until soil usually collapses, underground water channels pop-out from the land cuts, suggesting gruyere structure below the buildings… Water strategy and erosion control are important risks; we believe mitigation should be priority. This said, we are confident that as the garden grows, the garden will provide natural feedback and the team answer with smart and adapted small and slow solutions. We hope that the tempo of the overall project will respect the tempo of Nature. 10. Use and value diversity “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” The global project apparently offers many options for tourists: guesthouse, hotel, luxury bungalow, eco-farm visits, river bathing, swimming pool, pétanque, playground, spa, yoga, restaurant… For the overall project, the golden eggs are in several baskets. For the eco-farm, the staff is multiple in terms of skills, knowledge, culture, personality; this makes it very enjoyable to volunteer here among this international community in Laos. The garden team also apply multiple regenerative agriculture solutions such as diverse intercropping, companion planting, perennials, annuals, plants for pollinators, plants for distraction, support plants to provide nutrients and organic material (mulch, compost…); see above for more details. 11. Use edges and value the marginal “Don’t think you are on the right track just because it’s a well-beaten path” Technically, the eco-farm offers plenty of edges and clearly uses the benefits from them. For instance, the hedges act as windbreaks, provide organic material for mulching and/or compost, control erosion, allow the creation of beneficial microclimates, provide nutrients to the surrounding plants (e.g. legumes to fix nitrogen), enhance biodiversity, etc. Patrick, as the Farm Manager, seems to have sufficient autonomy to experiment creative techniques. One can even consider that the demonstration purpose of the farm incentives creativity and look for innovative solutions (even though the most elegant solutions are often those one does not even notice). We wish the team a lot of fun in developing the eco-farm. 12. Creatively use and respond to change “Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be” People, activities, plants change every day at Namkhan. If we consider the good fun and efficiently relaxed working environment, we can say that people here respond positively to change. The staff has strong skills and knowledge that allow to fix everything without hampering the schedule. The garden also offers interesting response to change (e.g. the self-harvesting larvae production unit). Ethics As written on the https://permacultureprinciples.com/ethics/ website: “Ethics are culturally evolved mechanisms that regulate self-interest, giving us a better understanding of good and bad outcomes. The greater the power of humans, the more critical ethics become for long-term cultural and biological survival. Permaculture ethics are distilled from research into community ethics, learning from cultures that have existed in relative balance with their environment for much longer than more recent civilisations. This does not mean that we should ignore the great teachings of modern times, but in the transition to a sustainable future, we need to consider values and concepts outside the current social norm.” Care of the earth – rebuild nature’s capital At the eco-farm, we actively work on fertility and soil rejuvenation. The work is efficient, the performance is remarkable. We also acknowledge the Andreas’s desire to share knowledge about local animal species to protect those species; for instance, to prevent the Lao people from killing them (snakes, scorpions, dogs…). The eco-farm really seems to follow this line of ethics. We also suggest at the beginning of this article some solutions to reduce the impact of the farm on the local and global environment. For instance, reduce consumption and cut down waste. We are more worried about the overall project and its impact on the local and global environment. If the eco-farm is a green sticker for a sexy brochure, the effort is greatly incomplete. Care for people – care of self, kin and community “If people’s needs are met in compassionate and simple ways, the environment surrounding them will prosper.” Yes, the working conditions are good, the social environment very open, warm and party-friendly 😊 We felt like in a well-organized adult summer camp at the farm with good friends. We also learned a lot about regenerative agriculture, carpentry and enjoyed the intercultural effervescence. Our mates on the farm collaboratively work and live together. Is it to affect change? If not, for what? and, for whom? We took care of ourselves with relatively healthy foods, yoga, capoeira, swimming, exercising, running and working in the garden (special one for compost mornings). We were compassionate and took care of each other throughout the days (and nights): eating times, daily chores, parties, games, debates… Everything ran smoothly, responsibilities and duties were clear for all and joyfully executed. We think it would be great to have more interactions between volunteers and Lao staff. We wonder how the community spirits will evolve with the influence of the visitors and guests of the eco-farm. The interaction with neighboring communities and local farms seems slim (or none). We feel that self-reliance is not really an objective for the eco-farm (and even less for the overall project). Also, we do not feel that non-material well-being is a priority. The overall project does not seem to be here to propose alternatives to the conventional destructive routines of our modern globalized society. The project is not for self-reliance nor community empowerment. The project is for money. We here recall what Lanh told us during our meeting in Hanoi. She points her finger at businesspeople who invest in “eco” projects for commercial reasons and profit ends. She denounces the power of money that makes it very easy for “eco”-business owners to acquire the land while getting all benefits for themselves and letting the local people on the side. (…) These organizations are usually abusing of words like “organic”, “ecological”, and even “permaculture” to attract volunteers. They display nice websites with lovely pictures, but the background is quite dirty. These projects might have good technical and material appearance, but no wisdom, no spirituality behind. Quite interestingly, we learned more about the origin of the project and the reasons behind the “eco” orientation of the farm. On the one hand, one of the associates took a Permaculture Design Course and wants to push the project towards this direction; on the other hand, “Permaculture” and “eco-farm” are apparently strong keywords for tourists that want to go to Luang Prabang. The owner is keen on data and organized his website with search engines such as Google in mind. The name “Namkhan permaculture eco-farm” will attract people, strong permaculture keywords allow to define the structure of the website and to externalize the production of content to foreign authoring teams that summarize the “Designer’s Manual” from Bill Mollison… The same goes for yoga, health and spa… Browse our blog to read more about our interview with Thi Tran Lanh from the SPERI network and examine our point of view on the “Debate: commercial Vs local (recuperation Vs livelihood)”. We support the ongoing efforts to shift the founding values of the projects towards more ethical bases and objectives. Fair share – set limits to consumption and reproduction, and redistribute surplus. In our times of abundance, fair share is an easy target. What does this project really need to become a credible alternative to conventional short-term schemes of the tourism industry? We are convinced that a lot can be done to have a real positive impact on the local environment and communities. If the project wants to bear “permaculture” in its name, might as well take the challenge and live up to the ethical expectations. Conclusion on the ethics It looks good, it feels good, it grows fast, but it starts with manipulation: a nice green façade to satisfy some eco feelings of one administrator, attract tourists, attract volunteers, attract money… We feel it is a risky move to talk about permaculture and ecology, to be very good at it in one corner (the eco-farm), while the rest of the project is a conventional tourist industrial machine for personal financial benefit. As a customer of the hotel, I would be very critical regarding non-sustainable practices and might even feel fooled: a more elaborate tourist trap that uses permaculture for individual material benefit and participate to washing off the true meaning of permaculture. Suggestion: either truly embark the overall project in the “journey (…) [of] ethical adaptation to ecological realities.” OR remove it from the name. Conclusion It is the first time we volunteer in such a wealthy enterprise. We acknowledge that money is indeed very powerful, we acknowledge here how it facilitates the development of ambitious projects. We also understand that it comes with a trick, a twist that makes us less comfortable. However, we also understand that permaculture is rather new for the owners. As they learn more about it, we feel they could seize a great opportunity to truly mingle eco-tourism and permaculture. We recommend then to base the development of the project on a strong ethical foundation, which surely means to care less about the financial benefits. We had a great time and learned a lot. We will remember the human experience with great smiles, we will also be more attentive, maybe suspicious, towards shiny vitrines of “eco” projects. We will also keep on providing such feedback to the projects that welcome us as volunteers as we know that feedback is important, especially for permaculture initiatives. To conclude, if you want to have fun with people from all over the globe, Namkhan might be the good place for you. If you want to learn more about regenerative farming techniques and gets hands-on experience, Namkhan might be the good volunteering place for you. We personally liked a lot the summercamp feeling, the organization, the tasks and, above all, the people. If you are uncompromising and looking for ethical projects, Namkhan might not be the good place for you. We are sad that “permaculture” is merely a shiny sticker on the fancy brochure of a conventional tourism project for wealthy foreigners. We hope that the project will evermore integrate the ethics and principles of permaculture and use those ethics and principles as tools to assist the development of the overall project. Go futher… Learn more about permaculture ethics and principles: https://permacultureprinciples.com
Read more about “Eco- and ethno-activism in the Mekong sub-great region”: https://sustainable-autonomy.weebly.com/blog/eco-and-ethno-activism-in-the-mekong-sub-great-region Read more about “compassionate and conscious lifestyle at Sadhana Forest, India”: https://sustainable-autonomy.weebly.com/blog/discover-auroville-sadhana-forest Learn more about our projects: https://sustainable-autonomy.weebly.com/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sustainomy/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2L1bbFz
1 Comment
Alex van der Hoeff
7/2/2018 09:56:06 am
Recognizable and critical analysis!
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