Two book reviews and some politics

Miraculous Abundance: One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World.
Perinne and Charles Herve-Gruyer. 2016. Chelsea Green Publishing. 253 pages. $24.95 retail.
Wow! What a great book.  Very clear writing on how we could feed the world’s people on small-holdings. We don’t need industrial agriculture! Perinne and Charles show how.  Quite a feat to make a living on farming a quarter acre (and with employees). Their system is based on permaculture, forest gardening, hand labor, biointensive microagriculture and such-like.  Great example and an inspiration to anyone who aspires to make a living on a micro-farm.   
 
Swidden-Fallow Agroforestry in the Peruvian Amazon
William M. Denevan and Christine Padock, Editors. 1988. Advances in Economic Botany, Volume 5. 107 pages.
Another seminal book in pointing out the extent and values of indigenous forest farming systems. In this case the Peruvian Amazon, but the authors also draw some world-wide conclusions.  Worth reading for the person interested in subtropical indigenous forest farming systems, agroforestry and highly relevant to permaculturists. The cataloging of indigenous agroforestry (and agricultural) systems are being recorded at the same time as they are disappearing. There are more and more studies like this that us contemporary forest farmers can learn from. 
I just looked on Amazon and they are currently selling from $212 to $1367, so keep your eyes open for a cheap copy (I found one) and in the meantime go to the public library system.
 
Politics
We all remember the saying that “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”.  We could possibly say that about the current crop of US politicians. “The politicians fiddled while the US burned”.  But it would be more appropriate to say that most politicians are aiding and abetting the looting of Earth’s resources and public purses by the 1%. “The politicians get paid off to fan the flames of the US burning”. The level of complacency and compliance in the United States is still huge, but gradually shrinking. Grow your gardens and work for social change.  Time will tell where the story goes.
 
I was just doing research into the voting choices on my Washington August 2 Primary Election
 
In researching Sam Wright (on the ballot for US Senator) who prefers the Human Rights Party. I found this info. Sounds like a good start to me, though it could also link up with Nature’s Rights and stick up for them, since without a healthy planet none of us will be alive to seek pursuit of happiness. 
The Human Rights Party
The Basic Principles for the Human Rights Party are as follows:
  1. All forms of offensive warfare, including preemptive actions, must be eliminated.
  2. All types of discrimination, in any form, must be eliminated.
  3. All individuals must have access to quality health care.
  4. All individuals must have access to decent personal housing alternatives.
  5. All individuals must have access to quality educational opportunities.
  6. All individuals must have access to viable employment opportunities.
  7. All disabled individuals must have adequate resources to insure their pursuit of happiness.
  8. All retired individuals must have adequate resources to insure their pursuit of happiness.
  9. Revenues from all forms of taxation must be adequate to fully fund all of the above.
PS,  I was also glad to see my friend James Robert Deal on the ballot for Governor and I earlier blogged about checking out his campaign ideas.

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MICHAEL “SKEETER” PILARSKI is a life-long student of plants and earth repair. His farming career started in 2nd grade and his organic farming career began in 1972 at age 25. Michael founded Friends of the Trees Society in 1978 and took his first permaculture design course in 1982. Since 1988 he has taught 36 permaculture design courses in the US and abroad. His specialties include earth repair, agriculture, seed collecting, nursery sales, tree planting, fruit picking, permaculture, agroforestry, forestry, ethnobotany, medicinal herb growing, hoeing and wildcrafting. He has hands-on experience with over 1000 species of plants. He is a prolific gathering organizer and likes group singing.