Little Patches of Green, Uncertainty and Permaculture

Templo de Santo Domingo, Oaxaca

February 16^th, Oaxaca - For over two years Maria and I have lived from packs and roamed as nomadic adventurers. Sometimes together, sometimes on our own. California to Tofino, Sulawesi to Seoul, Jakarta to Denmark, and now, Vancouver to Puebla, Mexico. But every now and then the routine gets dull, rented beds become cold and scratchy. We've slowed down recently, and at times have ground to a halt, when the part that gets desperate yearns most strongly for a deeper sense of place and experience of home.

I arrived to sunny Mexico City on January 5^th, riding perfectly the winds from the North away from the cold winter chill, yet it caught up with me in the evenings and I was glad to have my tuque. Six weeks in the capital went by like a soft hurricane: passing swiftly, but lingering with frazzled emotions. We were on edge and restless. Modern nomads step in and out of two worlds: the frantic 9 to 5 world of business and time is money, and the blurred, lingering hours of the present, ugly and beautiful fused as one, where time is art. I've heard that traveling too much, going too far on too many planes, is bad for the brain. Your sense of relation to the world around you can start to slip away. The inner compass spins frantically, then derails. The mind is left wandering as it detaches from subtle external magnets of attention. One is no longer numb to routine. At times, so few become the distractions that one's focus is sent spiralling through the inner bowels of consciousness. We were getting anxious with 'not knowing' and having trouble befriending the questions. Where would we settle? When would the pack finally be emptied and cleaned? What are we going to do? We got angry with one other. And yet, the small damages – most people dissolve apart, drip by drip – were repaired on site and polished shiny, allowing us to quietly step forward, with heavy hearts pushing on, hopefully.

Despite the personal challenges, the dark skies were outnumbered by bright days of meandering through our neighbourhood in the captivating Condesa district. It felt like France, Spain and Commercial Drive blended into one and our eyes were always peeled for the newest quaint gem. With the beautiful Garmin perched from our windshield we ventured out into the sprawling mass of 20 million people and we took it all in: Teotihuacan, Bellas Artes, El Zocalo, the Museum of Anthropology, Chapultepec, Frida Khalo's house, the double-decker tourist buses, the street markets and shimmering, watery plazas. There were plenty of timeless strolls through the forested walkways extending out from Avenida Amsterdam and taco eating rituals every Friday afternoon. Dog walkers would converge by the dozens in Parque Mexico, talking tips and showing tricks to the newcomers. The seasoned 'whisperers' would confidently stroll through with ten dogs on each side, each one obedient and in line, the smallest ones nervously negotiating the sweeping legs of their companions. Our favourite Coffee Shop was Cielito at Tamaulipas and Mendoza: funky tiles, good tunes and best shot. Our favourite Park was Parque Chapultepec: no traffic noise and hilltop views from a Spanish Fort. Our favourite Market was the one right outside our front door, that takes over the streets every Friday at Nuevo Leon and Campeche: fresh fruits, grapefruit juice and homemade salsas. 

Teotihuacan

After Mexico City we spent a few weeks checking out Oaxaca. To say speechless would be unfair, but close to true. It's the most pristine, vibrant and warm colonial town I've ever walked through. Surrounded by pre-hispanic ruins in the distant hilltops on all sides and beating a heart of songs and smiles day and night in the Zocalo (main town plaza and Cathedral), it's a place that quickly becomes special, and it can be seen on the faces of foreigners. The six hour trip from Puebla took longer on the way back, revving the little Fiat 500 steadily up the slopes to the central valley at 6000 feet. As I wound through the dessert expanse, enclosed on both sides by the thin shadows of cactus fields at dusk, I reflected: Oaxaca is certainly a pleasant option and would be a great place to settle down for a while. But we also have our eyes on San Cristobal in Chiapas and Carmen del Playa…will it ever end? What would be ending? 



But before the seedlings can move into the big pot, and put roots down deep, they must grow small roots, under shelter, and tend to more foundational needs. And that's how the path has curved once again. Each circumstance has steered me to Casa Sattva, the Ananda Marga centre in Puebla, to begin work on a rooftop garden. It'll be a nice addition to the house. And it'll provide the ideal framework to dive into the principles of permaculture; practice ecological building; plant local varieties; and learn about the medicinal values of plants. We'll save seeds, share the harvest, connect with people and increase food security. Aside from a Visa run, there are no other pressing concerns and we have no fixed time. The budget and costs are a mystery. Certain elements of a garden can be started immediately, such as worm composting and recycling. Others will take more planning and patience. We'll try to ask the right questions and do our best to listen. We'll reach out to our neighbours and share what we've learned, helping others to design, plant and take care of a garden. Once again, feeling like the millionth time, it's a small start, but we know that whatever small patch grows greener, all is healthier and more beautiful in the end. And each small change begets greater change, widespread and lasting.

Urban sprawl surrounding Mexico City

The essence of this...imagined vision, is the concept of stewardship and universal human values, owing deeply to Shrii Shrii Ananda Murti's philosophy of PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory). We each occupy one small part of the planet, a little patch atop the Earth. This land gave birth to us, it sustains us, and we become one with it in the end. Everything and everyone is connected, and what we do in one place, and what we even do to ourselves, affects the daily rhythm of all those small patches of the planet that we tread across throughout our lives, short or long, going far or near. If the Earth runs dry and dies, we die along with it, but if we were to disappear into history's deep tomb, the Earth would thrive and scorch and freeze as it has for eons.

Maria at Cielito Cafe in La Condesa

Patches are also resourceful and economic. They're used to fix things and it's done with human hands that play with the thread and needle with love and attention. Resourcefulness and dusty thrift might be snubbed in some circles, but they're just words for survival and common sense to most of the world. It's empowering to do things and build things that help us provide for ourselves and it would be good if we all knew a little piece of the puzzle. But what is the puzzle? Why do we struggle so hard to accomplish what is actually extremely straight-forward and right in front of our eyes? There are some hard questions, with deeply coveted answers. We can begin anywhere really, like all the forms of energy and their cycles: where does it come from? how do we use it and is it accessible for everyone? what are the costs to the environment and to us? and how reliable it is as a long term solution? Some answers help us clearly see the benefits and sometimes the need, to be self-sufficient in terms of basic survival. After all, what activity on Earth should be more important than the assurance that all people have access to water, food, medical attention, education and housing? And most importantly, how can we achieve this without laying waste to the planet?

Be proactive towards the wellbeing of our communities and help make a difference. Take care of your patch of the planet and one by one we'll strengthen the fabric of the Earth.

* * * * * * * * *

Rooftop Gardens in Mexico, or anywhere in the world, will help to:

1. Reduce the use of electricity to cool or warm houses. The garden soil and plants will naturally insulate the home, trapping heat during the day, and releasing it at night.
2. Reduce the use of electricity to heat water for showering and doing dishes. Solar water heaters made of black plastic tubing can heat water to near boiling temperatures.
3. Reduce amount of waste into the landfill. All organic matter is reintroduced into the garden, and most industrial materials can find creative secondary uses, such as tires being used to construct retaining walls, ponds, planters, stairways and even entire houses!
4. Increase food security of the surrounding communities and lower food costs.
5. Increase community spirit and cooperative values.
6. Encourage art and the celebration of local food with music and dance.
7. Teach about healthy eating habits. Organize workshops to show how to prepare vegetarian dishes.
8. Clean the air by reducing CO2 in the atmosphere, making it a healthier place to breathe, live and grow more food.
9. Prevent water from running off into the city drains. Catching rain water will reduce our depletion of the rivers and underground aquifers, like the one that many say is drying up, slowly killing off El Tule (widest tree in the world, just outside of Oaxaca).