YeomansTheory_25Jul10

8/9/2019 YeomansTheory_25Jul10

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Yeomans KeylineTheory & Practice

Professor Stuart B. HillUniversity of Western [email protected]

www.stuartbhill.com


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Why do so many of uskeep making the same mistakes?


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3 stages of perception

1. deceptive simplicity: de-contextual,heavy-handed solutions (with unexpected disbenefits)

2. confusing (often paralysing) complexity:puzzlement, endless studies, committees

3. profound simplicity: ahas, contextual, elegant,often paradoxical solutions (with unexpected benefits)


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Population Numbers

ResourceUse

PopulationDistribution

PopulationActivities

EnvironmentalImpact

Sustainable Unsustainable


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Odums ecosystems layer cake

What & How to do

When to do things

Where to do things

Strategies

Purpose

Pasture Water

Livestock

Nature,biodiversity

Economics,marketing, policy

Soils, nutrients,landscape


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Rehabilitation &

maintenance

Erodes natural capital,ecological integrity(declining productivity)

Productivityyield, output

Builds natural capital,

ecological integrity(basis for sustained productivity)

Rewards to farmers


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We urgently need to learn particularly from psychology & ecology

how to live caring, sustainable

& genuinely meaningful healthy lives

Failure to maintain systems is resulting in personal,social & environmental degradation


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Hills ESR problem-solving/proofing model

Redesign/design

Substitution

Efficiency

P

ConventionalP

P

P

P


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We must design & managecomplex heterogenous systems


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Unrealised potential of design/redesign

EFFICIENCY(primarily reactive)

SUBSTITUTION

REDESIGN(proactive)

1

2

3 etc


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Overlapping stages in change (Hill 2005)

ignorance & denial

awareness & acknowledgement

understanding & competence

effective action & project-based initiatives

ongoing co-evolution of responsiblelife-affirming practices (how we now live)


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Keyline Design Water For Every Farm

PA Yeomans 1908-1984


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KD is an integrated & profitable system of Water Harvesting &Gravity Irrigation, Soil Development & Farm Layout Planning thatwas developed by PA Yeomans & Sons from the late 1940s in

North Richmond, NSW, Australia .

KD is the broadacre land design system used in PermacultureDesign. The incorporation of Permaculture Design Ethics &Principles further increases the potential of KD as a technique &practice.

Today the most common expression of the KD system is KeylineTopsoil Development, which is based on the use of rigid-tyne/non-inversion subsoil plows & rotational grazing. This isincredibly fast: with 3-6 topsoil/year development being normalunder most conditions, & over 12 where optimal.

The key components of KD are:

Rapid Topsoil Development & Maintenance

Rainwater Harvesting & Gravity Irrigation Systems

Integrated Farm Layout according to local Topography

P.A. Yeomans

Keyline Design (KD)

Allan Yeomans

Ken Yeomans


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We are surprised when systemspredictably eventually collapse


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Society tends to focus only onthe most attractive visible bits


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Its the bits we dont seethat enable most systems to function


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In the 1950s Australian producer P.A. Yeomans

by engaging with the bits we dont see

created an inch of topsoil in three years


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Keylinescale of permanence

1. Climate

2. Landscape

3. Water

4. Roads

5. Trees

6. Buildings

7. Subdivision

8. Soil

P.A. Yeomans

The Challenge of Landscape, 1958Water for Every Farm, 1965The City Forest: The Keyline Plan for the Human Environment Revolution, 1971


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Food cycle

Consumption

ProductionRecycle

(decomposition in soil)


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Lal, Rattan 2007. Soil science and the carbon civilization. SSSAJ, 71(5): 1425-1437

Yobarnie West Richmond 1968


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Yobarnie, West Richmond, 1968


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The task is not just to seewhat no one has yet seen,but also to think what noone has thought aboutwhat everybody sees

Modified from: Arthur Schopenhauer, 1890


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Allan Yeomans 2005. Priority One: Together We Can Beat Global Warming

Keyline Publ., Arundal, QLD


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Keylineploughing3 successive depths/years


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Roots tell a storyFrench Beans on calcareous clay soil (Bockemuhl, J. 1981)

Unfertilised Compost NPK


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Key features of Yeomans' Keylinedesign/redesign initiatives (cont.)

Structural

Keyline plough(modified chisel plough with vibrator)

Keyline dams& irrigation channels

Nature & placement of all structures


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Key features of Yeomans' Keylinedesign/redesign initiatives (cont.)

Procedural

Timing of all operations (ploughing, irrigation, grazing)

Keyline ploughingpattern

Rotational grazing

St th & d i i f ff ti Y ' K li i iti ti


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Strengths & driving forces affecting Yeomans' Keylineinitiatives

Exceptional powers of observation(especially of water movement across landscapes)

Deep interest, commitment, rebelliousness & 'drivenness' rewater, soil & pasture management (near loss of son todesiccation, loss of brother-in-law in grass fire)

Diverse complementary experiences & competencies(mining assayer, seeing Chinese-made mining dams, & aboriginalknowledge, earth moving, time with nature, extensive reading,travel, meetings)

Personal

St th & d i i f ff ti Y ' K li i iti ti ( )


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Strengths & driving forces affecting Yeomans' Keylineinitiatives (cont.)

Cross-boundary (applying water management in mining toagriculture) & integrative thinking (Hierarchy of Permanence,Keylineas whole design systems)

Ongoing experimentation & careful record keeping

Implementation of small, meaningful initiatives (including smallrisks) that can contribute to larger, longer-term plans (initial damconstruction etc.)

Lateral & paradoxical thinking (creating vs just conserving soil)

Personal (cont.)

St th & d i i f ff ti Y ' K li i iti ti ( t )


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Post-war programs/tax benefits facilitated farm purchase

Importation of initial chisel plough from USA

Involvement of others with complimentary competencies(Chinese & aboriginal influence, Holmes, Hicks, his children)

Communication of findings & ideas

(open days, training sessions, talks, articles, books,establishing a Foundation & journal, media)

Commercialization of products (Keyline plough) & services(Keyline consulting, dam construction, self-publishing)

Social


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Capitalizing on forces & 'services' of nature (natural waterflows, gravity, carbon capture, soil formation, windbreaks,grazing management, working effectively with place & time)

Using nature as a model & source of inspiration

Ecological


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Benefits of Yeomans-type thinking could include:

ecologically sustainable managed ecosystems

conservation of habitat for biodiversity

maintenance of ecosystem services

wellbeing & meaning

non-violence & peace

climate amelioration


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Yobarnie, 1994


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Yobarnie, 1994

Photo: David Holmgren

Y b i 2010 $40 2 illi 200 R ti t Vill


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Yobarnie, >2010, $40.2million, 200 Retirement Village

F d l i h i f fi


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Fundamental & progressive change is often firstridiculed; particularly when it challenges long-heldconcepts and practices, & current power structures


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Just because youre outnumbereddoesnt mean youre wrong

We need more paradoxical ways


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We need more paradoxical waysof understanding & acting


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Most of the time we behave as if wewere hypnotised twice

R. D. Laing 1971

The Politics of the Family

firstly into accepting pseudorealityas reality, &

secondly into believing we werenot hypnotised


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Clever people know how

to solve problems

Attributed to Albert Einstein

Wise people avoid them!

Known & unknown


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Known & unknown

What is unknown

What is known

Andr Voisin, 1959. Soil, Grass and Cancer. Longmans, London

The challenge: how to engage clearly with the unknown & mystical


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Kurt Lewins Force Field Analysisadd

strengthen

Driving forces*

Restraining forces (barriers)*

removeweaken

*external& internal


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Limiting factors for change

information & access to it, misinformation,

knowledge, skills, competencies

resources: renewable, non-renewable,technologies, money, time

institutional supports: policies, programs,structures, services, legislation, regulations

Forms of political action


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education, demonstration & models extension & other services research & development legislation & regulation

Rewards(only available during a transition period toprevent the development of dependence)

tax incentives subsidies

low interest loans

Penalties(for those who act irresponsibly)

monitoring programs

legislation & its implementation

Supports


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family & community support

empowerment/disempowerment(feelings of helplessness/hopelessness)

awareness

vision & imagination

values, worldviews, paradigms, beliefs

Limiting factors for change (cont.)

persistent denial, procrastination &

distractive/compensatory activities

Framework for planning change


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Framework for planning changeBeyondaveragelifetime

Averagelifetime

5-10

years1 year 2

months1 week Before

goingto bed

tonight

Self

Family

Work/Enterprise/Business

Local community

Local landscape/Environment

Strategic questions: What would it take to.?

What gets in the way & what would remove these barriers?

O di l t thi ki & ti


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One radical way to progress our thinking & actionis paradoxically (in a workshop context) to boldly 'lie'about changes that you have already brought about

(that you have actually not brought about!)

This enables us to vision in relation to our benign potential(from our unwounded/healed self, rather than from our

wounded selves, and settle for tinkering with the status quo)

By daring to engage in such 'deep' reflection &implementation of meaningful doable initiatives,

we can significantly contribute tochanging the world for the better


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Psychosocial evolution & transformativeinstitutional & structural change

Socialising

Problem Focus Exclusionary

SocialInstitutions

Enabling

Redesign/Design ParticipatorySocialInstitutions


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Key points (cont )


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Key points (cont.)

further sustainable change will be achievednot through mega-projects,

but by each of us individually &

in small mutually supportive & collaborative groups,taking small meaningful, locally relevant actions,

& by sharing the processes involved;& publicly celebrating the outcomes

to make them available to others

K i


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Key points (cont.)

a group as small as this

if truly committed to such action can play a major role in enablingthis cultural transformation

I can do it

I want to do it I will do it


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lat outstretched upon a mound ofearth I lie; I Press my ear against itssurface and I hear far off and deep, themeasured sound of heart that beats

within the ground. And with it pounds inharmony with the swift, familiar heart inme. They pulse as one, together swell,together fall: I cannot tell my sound

from Earths, for I am part of rhythmic,universal heart.

- Elizabeth Odell

F


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Planet


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Planet

exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves & other non-renewable resources

global warming, associated climatic changes & rising sea level

thinning of ozone layer & accumulation of waste matter' in space

fluctuating water tables, drought, drying lakes & rivers, & flooding

contamination of soil, water & organisms with pollutants

deforestation, desertification, soil erosion & degradation

loss of habitat, biodiversity, species extinctions & loss of varieties

We must extend the boundaries of our thinking


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We must extend the boundaries of our thinking(modified from Geoff, L. & P. Smoker 1997. Peace: an evolving idea. Future Generations J. 23 (2): 4-9)

OUTER

P

EACE

Environmental

Cultural

Transnational

Between States

Within States

Community

Family &Individual

Inner Peace

War Prevention Structural Condits. Holistic Complex Models

Absenceof War

Balanceof

Forces

NoViolence FeministPeace

Inter-culturalPeace

GaiaPeace

Inner-OuterPeace

Peace

P ll l i l d i l d i h


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Parallel interrelated processes involved in change

What meaningful do-able initiatives can we take in each

of these areas to support progressive cultural change?

Levels of consideration for better action


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actionsanswers,

plans

worldviews, values & beliefs

feelings & passions

ideas, imaginings,visions & creativity(ability to design)

Top two overemphasised

(modified from John Herron, 1992. Feeling and Personhood. Sage, London)

We need a radical paradigm shift in our thinking & acting


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We need a radical paradigm shift in our thinking & acting

Sorry to intrudemaam, but we

thought wed come inand just sort of roamaround for a fewminutes (Gary Larson)


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Starting assumptions

we are truly amazing beings who, since our origins, havelearned a phenomenal amount through our experiences;& yet

we have hardly scratched the surface of our potential

consequently, opportunities for improvement & progressare enormous

We are at a critical threshold in the


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We are at a critical threshold in the'psychosocial' evolution of our species

We may choose to continue to think & behave in ways thatcurrently dominate industrialised societies perpetuating:

unlimited growth & increasing consumption

creation of a wealthy class

unprioritised market-driven use of non-renewable resources

failure to conserve & maintain renewable resources,& the ecological systems & processes upon which all life depends

concentration of populations in cities

Time to take the next step


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Time to take the next stepin our psychosocial evolution:

from economics-obsessed,socializing (manipulative,

controlling, problem-solving)cultures (compensatory, back-end/reactive patterned living)

to higher values-based,life-enabling ones (proactive,

spontaneous living)

Biased triple bottom line


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Pille Bunnell & Nicolas Sonntag, 2000. Pers. Com.

Biased triple bottom line


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Planet, environment, ecological systems, nature

Socio-cultural: institutional structures &processes in politics, economics, business,education, technology, religion

People: communities, groups, families,individuals

Enabling triple bottom line


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Hills ESR problem-solving/proofing model


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Hill s ESR problem solving/proofing model

Redesign/design

Substitution

Efficiency

P

ConventionalP

P

P

P

Testing questions


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Testing questions

for

evaluating initiatives

D i ?


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Does it support?

Socio-political / cultural (capital & sustainability)

building & maintaining trust, access, collaborative,life-affirming community structures & processes

reflexive, critical, imaginative, celebrational attitudes

cultural diversity & respectful, mutualistic

relationships

cultural development & psychosocial co-evolution

D it t?


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Does it support? (cont.)

Environmental/natural (capital & sustainability)

enabling life-supporting ecological processes

conserving habitats & functional high biodiversity

ecosystem development & co-evolutionary change



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Personal (capital & sustainability)

pp ( )

spontaneity, curiosity & engagement

empowerment, awareness, respect of the unknown

creative visioning, values & worldviews clarification

acquisition of essential literacies & competencies

building & maintaining vitality, health & wellbeing

caring, loving, responsible, negentropic relationships

lifelong personal development & responsibility


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General foci

proactive, whole system design/redesignfor wellbeing

small/doable, meaningful, collaborative initiatives

windows of change & use of integrator-indicators

attentive to all outcomes & feedback



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p

education, demonstration & models

extension & other services research & development legislation & regulation

Rewards(only available during a transition period toprevent the development of dependence)

tax incentives subsidies

low interest loans

Penalties(for those who act irresponsibly)

monitoring programs

legislation & its implementation

Supports


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Latest co-authored books:


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Latest co authored books:

Ecological Pioneers: A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought

and Action(with Dr Martin Mulligan; Cambridge UP, 2001)

Learning for Sustainable Living: Psychology of Ecological Transformation

(with Dr Werner Sattmann-Frese; Lulu, 2008)


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The Illusion

Advanced: technologically

also psychosocially?

The Illusion (cont.)

Psychosocially undeveloped


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oppressive hierarchies

addictive-compulsive behaviours

war & non-peaceful use of power

resource waste

disrespect for others/other organisms

enemy orientation

powerlessness, impotence

oppressive child rearing

compensatory displacement behaviours

AND

f th & th i di t

Psychosocially undeveloped

YeomansTheory_25Jul10

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