The Draw
Waters Edge Nursery & Gardens
Writings and Resources
Following are some of our writings, both on permaculture in general and, more specifically, on The Draw and our land use here. We hope these resources can be of use for everyone in further studies of permaculture.
- Towards a Regenerative Economy | Nathaniel Larson, March 2019
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Imagination is what we need right now. We live in a world where the top 1% richest people own more wealth then the bottom 90% (this divide is growing exponentially since Trump’s inaugural year 2016). We are in the midst of the sixth great mass extinction where 150-200 species go extinct every day and it is estimated that 30-50% of all species will be gone or going extinct by mid-century. We are increasingly alienated from each other and the natural environment as the capitalist monster continues to eat into the future devouring whole forests and whole peoples, turning the natural world and our relationships into money. The agricultural revolution forced us to redefine ourselves as peasants, the industrial revolution forced us to redefine ourselves as workers and the financial/technological revolution has forced us to redefine ourselves as consumers. What we need now is another revolution in which we again redefine ourselves.
- Towards a Regenerative Culture | Nathaniel Larson, February 2013
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This treatise is intended to facilitate a transition from a suicidal epistemology, or way of knowing, to an ecological epistemology, to transition a parasitic lifeway to a lifeway of a beneficial organism, and finally to help transition from a degenerative culture to a regenerative culture. Includes previous pieces “Principles of Permaculture”, “The Problem with Permaculture”, “Towards a Sustainable Epistemology”, “Weeds to the Rescue”, and “On Capitalism”.
- On Capitalism | Nathaniel Larson, March 2012
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We tend to throw around words like we know what we are talking about. Democracy, freedom, capitalism they fill the air like so many snowflakes giving definition to space. For those who feel the following is no more then mere semantics I ask them to trace the phylogeny of words to appreciate how they shape our thoughts, which give rise to our actions. Our singular and collective actions are rendering perhaps the most beautiful and profound corner of the universe into something only those tenacious and ubiquitous unicellulars can handle. Perhaps then we should take a look at some of these words to see if we can transform our actions to represent our morality.
- Weeds to the Rescue | Nathaniel Larson, February 2011
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What is a weed and what are we rescuing? A weed as commonly understood is an organism that we don’t want where it is. This definition doesn’t fit very well when we are talking about rescuing something, so lets define weeds for this article as opportunistic and expansive. Opportunistic and expansive organisms are generally (in this country) considered invasive destroyers of native ecologies. It is a great epistemological leap to go from invasive Gaian destroyers to opportunistic Gaian rescuers but one that is vital if we are going to transition our invasive, Gaian destroying culture into a permaculture to the rescue.
- Towards a Sustainable Epistemology | Nathaniel Larson, October 2010
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A riddle if you would like: Why is the world experiencing so much human induced stress if the vast majority of the people you meet are genuinely well meaning and kind? As with most riddles the answer emerges when the question is asked differently. What is the nature of these well meaning and kind people that allows for the creation of so much stress? Another way to look at it would be; what is the structure and organization, process and pattern, feedback and response, of these individuals psyches and their collective, culture. In short in order to understand the problems the Earth is experiencing we need to understand the epistemology, or way of knowing, of the dominant culture.
- The Problem with Permaculture | Nathaniel Larson, February 2010
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I’m excited about permaculture. Bubbling, really, with possibilities. I wake up every morning and am thankful to have the opportunity to be co-creating a cultivated eco/social system. People come to see what we are up to and ask questions about what we are doing, what do you call it they say. Well I try my best and on my good days am able to transfer some understanding of just what we are up to. I call it ecological design or regenerative design, but more often than not I call it permaculture design.
- Principles of Permaculture | Nathaniel Larson, February 2009
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Permaculture principles help provide us with a way of thinking that enables the establishment of highly productive systems. All principles have been derived from observation of natural systems. All principles are non-dogmatic; every situation is unique. Principles (along with ethics and design methodology. generally make-up the core of an introduction to permaculture course. No two instructors will organize information into the same principles and the number of principles very. The following list of principles is how I understand the information.