PC and EU
Integrate rather than Segregate: Many hands make light work
Wednesday, 8 June 2005
Workshop Leader: Max Vittrup Jensen, Denmark
- Tel: +420 737 578 314
Email: max@permalot.org
Format: Participatory discussion - 8 participants
Overview
A presentation of EU’s agri-environmental measures, outlining the correspondence with permaculture practices, and thereby possibilities for funding. The measures will be show cased through PermaLot’s implementation of some of these programs. The workshop will include a group discussion on the ethics of using EU-funds, along with a skill share of how to integrate Permaculture principles into the future EU agri-environmental programmes. It’s intended that the workshop can formulate clear proposals of Permaculture international in this regards.
Summary: ‘Stuff EU’
The European Union has agri/environmental policies – some of which sound like pc and there are attached subsidies/grants that may be useful for Permaculture activists. However, the bureaucracy is very complicated and often officials are not able to ‘fit’ Permaculture projects into their ‘rules’ and way of thinking. Is there a way to influence them and/or make it easier to get the grants? We had discussions on good examples - e.g. woodland projects in the UK and the need to share information, and the ethical and practical issues of taking money fro the EU. General conclusion was that trying to influence the EU was not then most appropriate/effective use of our energy and to think about the ethical side of taking cash and from who before you do it.
Key Points
- Make ethical decisions when seeking funding
- Share examples of where grants/subsidies for agri/environmental projects have been easy to get, have not involved a change of vision and have subverted ‘bad’ money to good causes. Use database that Avalon is setting up (www.avalon.org).
- Taking money from the EU is supporting the system that does NOT support the way we work. We should avoid becoming dependant on grants/subsidies.
- In some cases when it does not involve a lot of effort, it can be good to ‘take from the rich and give to the poor’ or change ‘grey euros to green euros’.
- Look for alternative ways to self fund (put your energy into your own networks).
- It takes a lot of energy to ‘influence’ or ‘change’ big organisations. It’s not worth the effort and there is a risk of becoming changed by their machines.
[Scribe: Anita Aggarwal]