Final Design:Abbeyfield Permacluture House

1. Abbeyfield Principles

1.1. That many older people suffer from loneliness and insecurity

1.2. That older people have an important role to play in the lives of their families, friends and communities.

1.3. Within each community, individuals can work together to help older people have a secure and comfortable life within the companionship of a small household.

2. Permaculture Principles

2.1. Observe and interact.

2.2. Catch & store energy.

2.3. Obtain a yield.

2.4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback.

2.5. Use & value renewable resources and services.

2.6. Produce no waste.

2.7. Design from patterns to details.

2.8. Integrate rather than segregate.

2.9. Use small and slow solutions.

2.10. Use and value diversity.

2.11. Use edges & value the marginal

2.12. Creatively use & respond to change.

3. How is a physical desert reclaimed?

3.1. reforestation of intake areas on rocky hills, ridges, headwaters

3.2. interceptor banks to prevent overland flow and direct salty water

3.3. swales plus trees to permit sweet groundwater to recharge

3.4. gypsum to restore soil structure

3.5. change of land use to forestry, mulch, green crop, sparse livestock, reduction of cultivated areas

3.6. supplanting fire regime by slashing or strategic grazing, reduction of litter to mulch by any means but fire (rollers, slashers, chippers, livestock

4. Reclaiming a social desert reclaimed, i.e., taking the permaculture agricultural technique, translating it into a social technique and applying that social technique?

4.1. reforestation= teaching people in small groups about the health benefits of living with natural cycles

4.2. interceptor banks= making information available in blogs, newsletters and other media about living in harmony with nature

4.3. swales: testing out social permaculture in small, defined spaces, e.g., a wing in an assisted living facility, a neighborhood in a town

4.4. gypsum: practicing extreme energetic, health and spiritual care with small groups of people, e.g., acupuncture, homeopathy, energy psychotherapy, etc.

4.5. change of land use: taking existing living environments such a portion of an assisted living space and redesigning the living experience using social permaculture principles, e.g., residents learn and practice composting

4.6. supplanting fire regime: instead of building new elder living facilities, adapt portions of existing spaces with permaculture design, e.g., college students and elders living in the same space

5. An example of a final design solution: a fusion of the prototype Abbeyfield House and the prototype Living Well House

5.1. Description of an Abbeyfield House: see the Frequently Asked Questions at http://abbeyfieldmass.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

5.2. Description of the Living Well House: http://www.livingwellcarehome.org/our_innovative_approach.html

5.3. A 10-12 resident home built with green construction on an in-town lot with a community permaculture garden, community teaching and learning space and visitor space. Service and educational programming serving both residents and the surrounding community. Serving organic food. Health care for residents and community members utilizing all modalities including allopathic & complementary modes. State of the art communication and governance processes using Nonviolent Communication and Sociocracy. Diversity of people involvement. Funding through grants, rents, equity participation, barter, fees for services. A teaching, learning, service center for all.

6. Translation Guide between physical & social elements.

6.1. plants = people

6.2. water = growth stimulants such as art; social contact; contribution to others; etc.

6.3. ground = meeting places

6.4. sun = social vitality & harmony

7. What are the characteristic of a physical desert?

7.1. collapsed soil

7.2. eroded soil

7.3. compacted soil

7.4. salted soil

8. What are the characterics of a social desert?

8.1. economic and political power concentrated in a minority

8.2. absence of creativity, art & free expression

8.3. pervasive dissemination of illusion rather than truth

8.4. poverty, illness, premature death, species extinction, die-offs, kill-offs

8.5. pervasive toxicity and pollution

8.6. violent conflict

8.7. pervasive denial as a coping mechanism

8.8. social isolation

8.9. tribal, family and community collapse

8.10. short term goals at the expense of long term goals

8.11. transcendence of the material over the spiritual

8.12. discussing these characteristics as a major, punishable breach of a social norm, i.e., first level of punishment is ostracism leading then to torture and then to execution