cam . # .

It has been a while since I read Permaculture: the whole way through, but rather than what wikipedia suggests, the book was 98% devoted to agricultural methods. It was also aimed toward small farms for increasing production. Small farms can include suburban plots too. It was intended to be sustainable, basically chug along as a productive garden on its own and with minimum input of effort (both labor and material).

I don\'t think Mollison is intending that suburban plots outsource labor in the same way our high maintenance lawns and decorative gardens require.

Also, suburban plots are intended to be a supplement to more centralised and specialised forms of agricultural production. IIRC one of the arguments was that the average household spends 33% of their weekly budget on food. Having a productive suburban plot can take a lot of that pressure off.

I have also seen businesses that package and value-add herbs. Memory is dim, but I think it was from the south coast. Basically people grew herbs in their garden, which is a low maintenance crop, and trimmed it twice a year, selling it to the company that value added. A form of decentralised agriculture, but not a co-operative.

I am not arguing the suburbs create any better sense of community, other than to say they have strong communities. The stereotype is often that the suburbs are soulless, disconnected and cause inter-personal isolation. I do not agree with that.

It would also be interesting to see if social production (like opensource) is an urban or suburban phenomenon, or if there is no predisposition to location.

cam