Good evening all! I was away for 2 weeks but as I promised I wrote a second part on the Systems theory since it is a wide and еxtremely important topic. I will explain about the complexity of systems and their functions.
Aranya explained a few main points concerning the systems and their functions. The first one was that in permaculture we make small changes in order to be able to observe if the change is beneficial or harmful for the system. Secondly, is important to use locally sourced resources and expertise. I love an example he gave concerning that. He said that all non-human life survives with the resources that nature gives to them in the location they are. That is why if we move a certain species to a different location there is a chance that this would lead to ecological imbalance.
An example he gave was the Yellowstone wolves. Wolved have dissapeared from the Yellowstone park for 70 years which led to a high number of elks which led to the destruction of forests since the elk were eating a big quolities of the young trees. In 1985 the government decided to release 31 wolfes back in the park which led to less elk and more beavers. The beavers started making dams which led to less flooding. This is a great example of the consequences of removing an element from a system. Here is a video of this example: How Wolves Change Rivers
I will finish with great news! Tomorrow we are travelling to Todorovo village for 4 days. We will observe young bulgarian girls called “Lazarki” doing a bulgarian spring tradition of going to all the houses in the village dressed colorfully in traditional bulgarian costumes. The girls will dance and sing in front of each house for the national celebration St. Lazarus Feast (in bulgarian “Lazarovden”).
I am excited to meet the children of the village as well, and do permaculture games and activities with them. Lastly, we plan of going for a hike and cleaning the eco road close to the village. We will also visit the permaculture garden Venets and meet the pensioner club of the village and show them the seeds we have brought for the seed library in the cultural center of the village. Can’t wait to tell you more about our adventure!
See you soon,
Polin
