Pine Ridge Lakota reservation, home of Wounded Knee and Crazy Horse, has a long history of fighting back in the face of oppression. The poorest county in the US, with 90+% unemployment and a host of other harsh statistics, the people yet have a warrior spirit, that is pulling the culture together again.
We are supporting a number of programs at Pine Ridge via Oglala-Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitilization Initiative, based on permaculture design for the area, that are strategically chosen to create the most positive effect for the least energy.
Four classes being given this summer will help fund and kick off permaculture training for Lakota which can translate into long term employment and resiliency, cooperative ranching and farming, a microlending program, regenerated ecosystems on the rez, and a self-sufficient demonstration model.
This is a wonderful opportunity to learn permaculture in an indigenous setting, living in Lakota culture, and contribute to the rebuilding of a devastated nation.
Please pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested or let me know of lists, web sites, etc, that might be appropriate to list on. We need to reach ranchers and farmers for our keyline design/holistic range management course (instructors highly recommended by Darren Doherty), people interested in natural building for our straw bale course, and people interested in food forestry for our food forest course. The Permaculture Design Course we're giving there is likely to fill up (taught by Warren Brush), so if interested, please register early. There is detailed info about all our courses and additional articles about Pine Ridge and this project at permacultureguild.us.
We would like to sell out all the courses as we will be funding building materials, a keyline plow (and more than one if we can afford), and training for Lakota from the proceeds, as well as training for Haitians we are bringing to the keyline design course.
It is hard to describe the scope of this program in an email. If we are able to attract the energy needed this summer, we can get a tremendous amount of good things done at the reservation that can continue to grow and will have impact for seven generations. Please get the word out far and wide!