La sobriété heureuse

During my two year absence from this blog I made a discovery, Permaculture.  I have always appreciated nature and enjoyed growing plants.  So when we were looking to buy I insisted on having a garden.  For the last ten years I have grown some of our vegetables.  In addition, I have chickens who provide us with eggs, and a few years ago I started beekeeping.  It was during my internet searches for tips that I stumbled on Permaculture.

The more I read the more I became hooked.  I had been brought up to use classic gardening methods but here was method that seemed more respectful of the earth.  Permaculture believes in working with the natural system and not against it.  Rather than tilling the land, the objective is to provide a permanent green cover that protects the soil and micro- organisms, mimicking natural environments.  Chemical agents, particular those derived from petrochemicals are proscribed and even unnecessary.  Permaculture seeks to create a natural, productive balance.  After reading a range of books and blogs, I decided to take the plunge and follow a Permaculture course.  I spent ten days at a former silk farm near Montauban learning about Permaculture.  The participants were an eclectic mix; two middle aged men who were embarking on an eco- community project, an SNCF ticket salesman, a women who worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, some students and a number of people seeking to change their professional orientation.  Our trainers were an Englishman who had brought Permaculture to France, and lived in a caravan in Brittany, and a surveyor who walked around barefoot, and only ate uncooked fruit and vegetables.  However we all shared a common goal, that of living in a better world. The course was interesting and I returned home fired up with enthusiasm.  I built a Herb spiral in my garden and then helped my neighbour do the same.  I also constructed a Mandala garden, and experimented with no- dig garden beds.

Herb spiral

Mandala garden

At the same time, I continued my reading and discovered Pierre Rabhi.  He has been practicing agro- ecology for many years and promotes the idea of simple living as an alternative to our consumerist society.  His ideas are well presented in his film "Au Nom de la Terre" (unfortunately only available in French).   Watching the media with all the problems of extremism, environmental degradation, financial crisis, health problems, etc, the ideas of Pierre Rabhi speak to me and have led me to change my way of living.  My hope is that others will follow the example given by Pierre Rabhi.  I cannot agree with militant ecologists who try and force others to follow the same path.  Each person must find their own way, I have found a path that provides me with a reason for my existence.