Download - PDC+++ Module 3 Class 3 Vital Cycles
M3.3 pdc+++M3.3 pdc+++Gaia, the great living organism that is Earth, can be understood as a whole made
out of millions of vital cycles that interrelate, each one continuously transforming & cycling the elements essential for Life (like oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, etc.) in order
for these to be usable in their optimal form for each organism that needs them.It is our great ignorance of these & other life cycles, & of their vital importance for
the equilibrium of the whole system, that has brought us to making great design
errors, as humanity & as individuals.In this class we get up to date with an essential aspect of the functioning of our
home, the Living Planet & we get familiar with the most fundamental blocks that support the whole of Life.
of the
an integral exploration
PDC++ +
M3.3 VITAL cycles
wangari maathaiKenia, 1 april 1940 - 25 september 2011
"African women in general need to know that it's
OK for them to be the way they are - to see the way
they are as a strength, and to
be liberated from fear and from
silence"
"Until you dig a hole,
you plant a tree, you water it and make it
survive, you haven't done
a thing.
You are just talking."
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
Life always produces the conditions conducive to Life
There is no central control unit in the system, that orchestrates every part's behavior;by being fully themselves, fully alert & fully responsive to changes in their environment,the system's components become interconnected to actually form that system, in an emergent process
Janine Benyus
cyclecycle
"Everything Gardens"
Apply Self-regulation and accept feedback
Observe & Interact
Use & Respond Creatively to Change
Self regulates toward maximum
fertility & sustainability
Systems & SubSystemsElements
InterConnexionsPurpose
your respiratory system
your digestive system
your circulatory system
heart
arteries
veins
capillaries
etc.
your body: the whole self-regulates to keep you alive
M2.1
flows of information
rules, laws, protocols, guides
feedback(+ y - )
cyclecycle
• it is something very rooted in the 'Taker' cultures (it could be said it is precisely for this that we are Takers)
• essentially ... the fear of death is the fear of letting cycles complete
• but ... if we block vital cycles, the system gets sick, it de-regulates
• all vital cycles include the death of something
• even though it might 'only' be in our perception
The Fear of DeathParticularly, we Particularly, we ignore the 'Kali' ignore the 'Kali'
aspect of the aspect of the Mother Goddess, Mother Goddess, including now in including now in Her 'reclaiming'Her 'reclaiming'
Conferencia de Monedas Complementarias, Brihuega 2-4 marzo 2007
Is a powerful Yoruba Goddess, who governs the Winds of Change.
She is the Primordial Mother of Chaos
OYA!
Oya is the Spirit of the Wind, the
thunder, lightning, tornados ... Oya brings
sudden & drastic change ... she DOES WHAT NEEDS TO BE
DONE, Oya keeps us from
stagnating
A common anthropological characteristic of every advanced mammalian species that survives
and thrives is the fierce behavior of the adult female when she senses
a threat to her cubs. Our relative complacency while 17,000 children on our planet
starve to death every day -- one every five seconds -- indicates a lack of positive intention, on the part of our species, literally to
survive.
Marianne Williamson
Conferencia de Monedas Complementarias, Brihuega 2-4 marzo 2007
the demonization process
Oya is ...protector of children, of childbirth, of the
market, (governs the justice of the market)
Medusa
¡Oya!
cycl
ecy
cle
The 'Pagan Wheel of the The 'Pagan Wheel of the Year'Year'
& the story of the God & & the story of the God & GoddessGoddess
honors life and death equallyhonors life and death equallyM5 > Designing with MythsM5 > Designing with Myths
We are very well trained to We are very well trained to avoid, flush away, disinfect, avoid, flush away, disinfect,
thoroughly kill ... thoroughly kill ...
... ... the very same base of the very same base of the abundance of nature the abundance of nature
- the other half of the cycles of - the other half of the cycles of nature that are often nature that are often
considered 'dirty' or 'deprived': considered 'dirty' or 'deprived':
the "dark side" of Gaia the "dark side" of Gaia
Maggot Debridement Therapy a badly infected heel
Terapia Larval
saves her life(but it is very difficult to find doctors willing to do
this )
USE this processnon-selectively!(not just when 'convenient')
ConflictResolution
your story
my story
cycl
ecy
cle
dogma
THINKReflexion
ar
ACT
Observe
Design
Hypothesis
PredictionExperiment
what is "conflict"?gossipist /gossipist /
therapist therapist
M1.6M1.6
Perception Is Not Reality
Honoring the Pain
cyclecycle
Joanna MaceyJoanna MaceyThe Work that The Work that
ReconnectsReconnects
"To reframe our pain for the world as evidence of
their interconnectedness in the web of life, and hence of our power to take part
in its healing"
Coming from
Gratitude
seeing with new Eyes
Going Forth
this stage requires discharge to work well (see M1.6) + is
punctuated by lots of the "death of the ego" that Scott
Peck refers to
(can be intensely painful & so preferably done with lots of
support)
Shadow-WorkShadow-Work
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
Biomass
Soil Nutrients
Microorganism transform nutrients into form available to plants
Macro and Micro-organisms break down organic matter
Aerobic bacteria break Down Organic matter
in the pressence Of Oxigen
Tremendous demandOf Oxigen in the soil
Oxigen exhausted
Ethylene inactivs butDoes not kill othermicroorganisms
Anaerobic bacter producesEthylene which diffuses
Thru the soil
Anaerobic bacter growAnd multiply in absenceOf Oxigen
Oxigen inactivatesAnaerobic bacter
Demands for OxigenSlows down so it diffusesInto soil faster
Oxigen- EthyleneCycle in a healthy
Soil
Biomass
Soil NutrientsControled by
M CuZn
PK FeN Ca
MgS
And other 40 more
Release
Oxigen Cycle Ethylen Cycle
NO3 Acts as the Oxigen in the Ethylene Cycle
Causing the uncontrollingBreakdown of organic
matter
In a undisturbed soil
In a disturbed soil
15 – 20 ppm NH4
>2 ppm NO3
20 – 200 ppm NO3
no NH4
Oxigen Cycle
Ethylene Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Rhizosphere
http://www.sci.uidaho.edu/scripter/geog100/lect/16-ecosystems-biomes/ecosystems-files/ecosystems.htm
Ploughing breaks downThe soil and aireates
It very quickly
Nitrifying bacteria Turn NH4 into NO3
A lot of NH4 is producedWithout plants to consume
it
Uncontrolled breakdownOf organic matter occur
Oxigen inactivatesAnaerobic bacteria so
No Ethylene is produced
During the process theSoil becomes more acid andOther nutrients (Ca, K, Cd..) arelost
Oxigen- EthyleneCycle in a
Cultivated Soil
Most of the Carbon goesInto the air as CO2
We have an unbalance soilWithout Energy nor nutrient, soWe need to use fertilizers
Carbon Cycle
Water Cycle
Sulfur Cycle
Life
Gaia – a complex organism that self-regulatesIntelligence?
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
does not, in fact, existWe could see our mania with
polarizing & with creating
dichotomies
(eg. "biotic" & "non-biotic")
as symptomatic of a profound
non-acceptance or mis-
understanding of cycles
(even as we speak of cycles)
they are ALLcycles within cycles
within cycles...
each of the animals the salmon needs to survive
has it's own life cycle
which needs an ecosystem (an
interconnected web of millions of cycles) to
develop in
The rivers & estuaries the salmon rely on to reproduce also have their own cycles
And the river & salmon cycles sustain the bears'
life cycle .. & the phosphorus cycle for the
whole catchment
All are the forest
Each creature has Each creature has its niche .. also in its niche .. also in the Cycle of Lifethe Cycle of Life
cyclecycle
whatwhatis is
theirtheirfavefavefoodfood
The primary The primary producers producers
are carnivores!are carnivores!pathogens create illness & killpathogens create illness & kill
Ultimately, the fate of the
biosphere rests on the success of plants and their ability to
capture sunlight.
6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy - C6H12O6 + 6O2C6H12O6 + 6O2 - 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy
glucose
Look them up! << Fungi don't photosynthesize >>
Life Cycles& Growth Cycles
also include ALL 'creatures' of Gaia
... also completely interrelated with all the rest of life
(like geological formations, cultural developments,
etc.)
They are only ARTIFICIALLY separated from all the other cycles
and we won't go into them herebut hope you will investigate &
contribute to slowly add these in our e-book
www.PermaCultureScience.org
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
44
it is only by devolving responsability & self-regulated functions that a stable life-system
can evolve
The role of a successful design is to create a
system that self-regulates
self-regulates?
M2.1
dreamsprayer.com
Eros & the directionof Evolution
Annualplants
'weeds'
Hardwood trees
deeper soilPerennialplants & grasses
Shrubs
shallowsoil
Softwood trees, pines
> Biodiversity > stability > biomass> solar-harvesting
... all increase >>
What is Natural Succession?
leafy greens true weeds grasses
woody annuals grasses
tomatoes corn wheat
spinach carrot broccoli
Bushes, berries, nuts, stone fruits
Conifers, oaks, nuts
Redwood, pecan, chestnut
Strawberry, apple, timothy grass
F:B Ratio Bacterial(0:1 - 1:2)
Balanced(1:1)
Fungal (2:1 - 200:1)
High Fungal (200:1 - 1000:1)
Example Plant Group
Example Species
AreNatural
Succesion!!
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
The Terrestrial Biomes
Main Biomes
functionofWater& Temp.
butalso soils& fauna change things
& of courseTypographyalso createslots of micro-climatesso one area can haveseveral biomes
another form for visualizing biomes according to the relationship between temperature & humidity
Mangroves help stabilize (& create) soils on tropical & sub-tropical coastsThey are amongst the richest, most fertile (& probably the smelliest) biomes on Earth
Pneumatophores (seeking oxygen for roots) contribute to holding the soil in place
• The Fear of Death
• The Elementals
• Growth Cycles
• Natural Succession
• Terrestrial Biomes
• Our Niche in Gaia
an integral exploration
M3.3 VITAL cycles
55
Our Niche in Gaia
Of which vital cycles are you a part?
Which do you support?
& which are you slowing or blocking?
Which cycles might work better with the supply of energy or information that only
you have?
A Permaculture Designers' Vital Question: