[Terrapreta] indigenous practices

[lou gold]

Thanks Max,

Dunne's words are a gift.

I believe we are coming into an awareness that the phrase "no man is an
island" is not a moralistic or idealistic or romantic perception but rather
a deeper and more fundamental ecological view of reality.

Tribal people, by virtue of there time and circumstance, tended to have this
view. In West Africa the Dagara tribe has a very special way of describing a
person who starts to act in dysfunctional and anti-social ways. They say,
"He went private."

I am not romantic about tribalism. It has its dysfunctions also. And it was
necessary in the long march of the evolution of human consciousness to
liberate the enormous creativity associated with individual imaginations.

Now, in the infant information age, we are taking the next steps beyond
individualism in the form of networking which is what we are doing here.
Hopefully, our endeavor will reweave the so-called "islands" back into a
more Pangrea-like oneness.

I blogged about the possibility at
CHOSEN<http://lougold.blogspot.com/2008/05/chosen_11.html>

Touch the earth and blessed be,

lou

On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 8:40 AM, MFH <mfh01 at bigpond.net.au> wrote:

>  Lou
>
>
>
> I may not have your command of the language as per your wonderful post, and
> the way you express your thoughts, but your sentiments strike a serious
> chord.
>
>
>
> How can "we" continue in this vein and convince the other 8 billion?
>
>
>
> However, there has to be a shift in all personal thinking back to John
> Dunne:
>
>
>
> "*"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one
> chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language;
> and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings
> to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to
> come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so
> near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of
> itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind;
> and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for
> thee."*
>
> * *
>
>  Or:
>
>
> *'No Man is an Island'*
>
> No man is an island entire of itself; every man
>
> is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
>
> if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
>
> is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
>
> well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
>
> own were; any man's death diminishes me,
>
> because I am involved in mankind.
>
> And therefore never send to know for whom
>
> the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
>
>
>
>
>
> ....No man is an island, entire of itself – this was penned over 400 years
> ago.
>
>
>
>
>
> For tomorrow, Max Henderson.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> *From:* terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org [mailto:
> terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] *On Behalf Of *lou gold
> *Sent:* Wednesday, 14 May 2008 9:06 PM
> *To:* Richard Haard
> *Cc:* Terrapreta; Nikolaus Foidl
> *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] indigenous practices
>
>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> With respect for everyone here and also with highest regard for the wisdom
> of ancient and present indigenous peoples, I would like to suggest that we
> should be celebrating rather than arguing when one variable seems to be
> confusingly intertwined with another.
>
> Social science has long observed that there may be a difference between
> purpose and function and that humans may or may not be aware of all the
> functions that their acts of intention perform. Yes we can be inspired by
> the wisdom of ancient practices AND we can reach for wise future forms. The
> key is wisdom and the guideline toward wisdom can be different from what we
> might arrive at by focusing exclusively on the questions of knowledge which,
> in modern times, have had a heavy bias toward reductionism and the logic of
> either/or.
>
> The anthropologist Jeremy Narby reports asking an Amazonian shaman how he
> discovered various plants cures, how he was led to the knowledge of specific
> remedies for specific problems. The shaman answered by saying that he looked
> for "correspondences", even visual similarities such as the possibility that
> a plant with a heart-shaped leaf might offer a cure for heart problems
> (physical or emotional). But the shaman being a solid scientist never
> assumed that correspondence equaled cure. He took the next step of making a
> trial and judging the empirical results. We moderns do something similar in
> statistical analysis. We look for correlations (even counter-intuitive ones)
> and we are mindful that correlation does not necessarily mean cause.
>
> It keeps ocurring to me that the whole biochar project contains the kernel
> of great wisdom that is applicable not merely for healing the soil but also
> for healing the mind. The leap of thought is to move from the illusion of
> separation toward the wisdom of connection, to somehow get free of thinking
> that it must be either this way or that way into the realization that it can
> indeed be both this way and that way. This is the guidance of
> "correspondence." And this is what we should be looking for. So, when I hear
> that biochar can increase soil fertility, retain moisture and nutrient,
> filter water, manage waste, feed people, slow deforestation, create economic
> opportunity, etc, etc, I don't want to argue about which variable is the
> most important.  I want instead to celebrate that a great wisdom of
> recipocity and connection seems to be emerging (or re-emerging) and get on
> with the empirical experiments that will most likely show that there is no
> one-way-fits-all but a variety of ways that include diverse best practices
> for specific places.
>
> Sometimes, when I contemplate terra preta (and I'm not embarrassed to say
> this), it seems so beautiful and so healing that it brings tears to my eyes.
> I never imagined dirt (not in my eyes) could do this.
>
> hugs and blessings to all,
>
> lou
>
>
>
>
>  On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 2:45 AM, Richard Haard <richrd at nas.com> wrote:
>
> Robert - i have been puzzled by this statement outlined below in red.
> Reading Christoph Steiners dissertation, Slash and Char as Alternative to
> Slash and Burn, –
>
> soil charcoal amendments maintain soil fertility and establish a carbon
> sink
>
>
>
> I have indication that indigenous practices are intentional knowledge based
> soil fertility management. Whether you or Nikolaus I am curious what is
> basis of this assumption, as my Inuit friends still to this day rescue
> stranded 'expeditions' using their traditional knowledge in the far north
> and perhaps we need to give credit where it is due for the soil management
> skills of these indigenous people of the Amazon.
>
>
>
> From Chapter 1, page 35, 'Indigenous Knowledge of Terra Preta formation
>
>
>
> clip from abstract
>
>
>
> quote
>
>
>
>  In order to gather
>
> more information about the creation of Terra
>
> Preta (TP) we describe indigenous soil fertility
>
> management; analyzed managed and unmanaged
>
> soil and compare soil chemical and micro-
>
> biological parameters with those of prehistoric TP
>
> (TPp); and, discuss the formation of TP under
>
> indigenous soil fertility management. Fire and
>
> organic matter (OM) are the main components of
>
> indigenous soil fertility management. Small fires
>
> are used to create burned soil (Terra Queimada),
>
> and burned organic materials (ash and charred
>
> residues) are used to increase the fertility in
>
> patches for special plants like medicinal plants
>
> and vegetables. After a burn (Terra Queimada)
>
> the soil had a strong scent of pyroligneous acid
>
> (Terra Cheirosa) which is stimulating soil micro-
>
> organisms
>
>
>
> unquote
>
>
>
> Yet this is present day - how can you presume to know the motive of people
> who are long gone other that what their heirs are doing today?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  Dear Nikolaus,
>
>
>
> Once again, you give them all, and this is the only response!!!
>
>
>
> Boys and Girls, when someone of higher leaning speaks, "listen" and "learn"
> and don't just comment because you want to add without substance!
>
>
>
> Nikolaus in your own words during our correspondents, "Terra Preta was
> formed as a waste management practice, not a soil management practice" So
> any who claim different, then find fund and send students to South America
> and prove this otherwise!
>
>
>
> Biochar is a start, biochar enhancement is a next step but agri engineering
> is the real solution!!!
>
>
>
> Rob.
>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
> --
> http://lougold.blogspot.com
> http://flickr.com/visionshare/sets
> http://youtube.com/my_videos
>



-- 
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