..... JULY 1976 INSIDE: RAIN Journal of Appropriate Technology ,. . • VOLUME II NO. 10 75 CENTS p. 4 IN TOUCH: Community Communications Access p. 8 PLANT A TREE E. F. Schumacher p. 11 NATURAL LAND INVENTORIES p. 17 PASSIVE SOLAR SYSTEMS
Page 2 RAIN July 1976 For subscription prices,·see subscription blank on next-to-last page. This blank can also be'used to send us change of address messages. .RAIN's office is at 2270 N.W. Irving, Portland, OR 97210. Phone 503227-5110. RAIN Staff Anne McLaughlin Lane deMoll Mary Wells Steve Johnson Lee Johnson Rhoda Epstein Tom Bender Typesetting: Irish Setter Printing: Times Litho Cover Photo: Stephen Buetow •• CORRECTIONS Cold Spring c/o Hank Patton Sacajawea Elementary School 4800 N.E. 74th Portland, OR 97213 Mom's Garage 520 N.E. Russett Portland, OR 97211 Oregon Dept. of Energy: It is Julie (not Linda) Fink who works at the Oregon Dept. of Energy. Special thanks to Laughingbird for her help on the June issue. Larry Geno, author of Energy, Agriculture and the Environment, a report prepared for Environment Canada, has moved: Larry Geno R.R. 1 Morrisburg, Ontario KOC lX0 Canada - North Country Star is $2. 50 for 10 monthly issues, not $10.00 as quoted in June RAIN. In the article on Cold Springs (page 21, RAIN No. 7/8, May 1976) The Big Eric Treeskinner, a heavy duty drawknife, was mistakenly said to weigh 10 lbs.! The Big Eric, in reality, has a 20" blade, weighs only 4-1/2 lbs. An outstanding tool,_ 20 bucks postpaid, Cold Spring, ijox 186, Underwood, WA 98651. RAIN DROPS A repeat of what we said last month: We raise_d our subscription prices in May. RAIN is now $10/year. We have a "living lightly" rate of $5/year, and I guess we'd define "living lightly" as having an income low enough that $10/ year isn't affordable." Anyone who's sent $5 after May 1 without specifying "living lightly" will have a five-issue subscription. If this box Dis checked, it means you sent $5 without saying, and you'll have a five-issue sub unless you write us otherwise. As of today, June 2, we have 1220 subscribers. In the past three months, we've gotten about 3-1/2 subscribers per day. And in May, when our rates went up, we had about the same rate (3.4/day to be exact), getting $766 for 102 subscriptions. Among these 102 was Deborah Robboy, who sent $50 to become our First (and only, so far) Charter Subscriber. She said she's hoping she'll start a trend. We hope so too. By the way, that $766 subscription income during May covers our $730/ issue printing and production costs. We also got about $350 in income from other publications, billing fees, store sales, etc. This goes toward covering our $5 3 5 average monthly office expenses. Our salaries amount to about $800/month (Steve and I), and are now being covered out of the savings we have from a foundation grant. We may be getting a little more, but are counting on subscriptions and other sales to be the main part of our financial base, rather than grants. Subscribe and encourage others.. The last issue was supposed to be (eGRICULTURE•FOO~ Earthwork 1499 Potrero Ave. San Francisco, CA 94110 Got a nice packet recently from our old friend Eleanor Mccallie, who's now part of Earthwork, an urban center for the study of land and food. They've inherited the library and files of the now-defunct Center for Rural Studies. Here are the conten.ts of the packet, all of which look to be real good (no prices listed, so you'll have to enquire): Turnover-Newsletter of the People's Food System, 3030 20th St., San Francisco, CA 94110. Fat with articles on food prices, goats, yogurt and more. San Francisco Food Directory, Northern California Food Network, 944 Market St., 4th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94102. Includes emergency meals, comsent as a sample copy to people on the mailing lists of People and Energy and The Elements, but at the last minute we decided that its NW regional focus (in honor of Habitat Forum in Vancouver, B.C.) made it too localized to be a representative issue of RAIN. It did go to some of Co-Evolution Quarterly's readers, those not so far away from here. Now this issue (No. 10) will be the sample for the other magazines' readers. We hope that you who haven't seen RAIN before will be interested in subscribing. And if any RAIN subscribers don't want to be included when we trade mailing lists, please let us know on your subscription blanks. We trade only with publications we value and use ourselves, and decide each request with careful consideration. This is RAIN's last issue of Volume II (each Volume will be having 10 issues, we expect). We're going to take a twomonth "holiday" from magazine publishing. And before you start to imagine us lying on a rainy Oregon beach, read the "Rush" section of this issue. During this two months, about 500 of you will receive RAIN renewal notices. Probably all of our subscribers will get something special in their mail sometime. Wf can't imagine keeping quiet for that · long. The next issue of RAIN will be along around the first of October, maybe a little sooner. If you'd like back issues, you can use the blank inside the back cover to order any we still have. They're $1 each. If you're missing any issues because you moved without telling us ahead of time, the same procedure applies. (AM) munity gardens, food stamps, nutrition info, senior citizens programs, co-ops, groups, publications and speakers bureau. Ecology for City Kids, 15 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94111, $2.50. A book for teachers to lead the way to sharpening city senses, treasure hunts and food surveys and wildlife in parks and parking lots. Also a list of land reform papers available from Earthwork themselves. Apple Cider Press, 10 and 15 gal. per hour capacity, for prices & details write: • MacKays Wood Products P.O. Box 1023, Dept. 06 Bellingham, WA 98225 206/734-4291 Continued on page14
SPIRIT and SPACE It often seems that spiritual concerns are something foreign and far-re.moved from the pressures of r:veryday life-and they usually have been in our culture. Yet the whole purpose ofall · our frenzied activity is to somehow make us happier..And the most important thing about getting happier is feelings-about ourselves, towards others, about our world. Funniest thing, once we remember why we 're doing things- good feelings and feeling good- we suddenly realize that reverence and respect and love in how we do things are _'more importnat than frenzy , and quantity. More and more that is happeiiing in how people • are making th·e places where they live. Mud, Space, and Spirit, Gray, Macrae & McCall, 1976, $7.95 from: · • Capra Press 631 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 This book is a record of owner-building in New Mexico-of people making adobes and adobe homes with their own hands '.1-nd hearts. The results speak for themselves, through good photographs and essays. Contains good bibliography on adobe • building. The Return of the Gods, Ulli Beier,. 1975, $14.95 from: Cambridge University Press 32 E. 57th Street New York, NY 10022 A small book for the price, but abdut the work of Susanne Wenger, which deserves to be known. Wenger, a European artist, became involved in repair of shrines of the Yoruba religion in Nigeria, an.d the building of new shrines as·she became more involved in the religion. The shrines she l)as built are powerful and are sacred-a rare creation in today's culture. Her respect, as an outsider, for the native religion has helped restore a vestige of its power before the impact of unholy Western culture and shows that new and powerful sacred places can emerge today. • July 1976 RAIN Page 3 Hand-Hewn, William Leitch, 1976, $4.95 from: Chronicle Books 870 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94102 . A~other book on log cabins-but cabins built with Norwegian chmkless construction, built to be beautiful, lasting and loved. • Good detailing, construction techniques, references to specific books and pamphlets useful in various phases. Handmade Houses, Art Boericke, Barry Shapiro, $5.95 from: The A&W Visual Library 95 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016 Available in paperback now. Gives beautiful full color coverage of a number of highly individualistic and spirited rural,homes on the North California coast. The works of architects An\onio Gaudi and Louis Kahn are important in this area-but more on that in a later issue. Environmental Design Primer, Tom Bender, 1973, $5 from: Tom Bender 2270 N.W. Irving Portland, OR 97210 Almost did it again- we not only forget to mention our closest friends, but ourselves as well. We just discovered we've never reviewed the Primer. Schocken Books has just come out with an edition of it-they call it a book of meditations on ecological consciousness-which in some ways describes it better than l could. It has a lot to do with moving our heads into the right space before making our places, and a lot to do with the sacredness of all we do. Doing it, five years ago, pulled many things together for me, a!ld I think it 'probably contains a lot of useful things. We still have a hundred or so copies left from our previous printing which we're sti]l selling direct for $5-save $1 from retail price. (TB) •
Page 4 RAIN July 1976 IN TQU.CH: COMMUNITY There exists a diversity ofinnovative communications services and projects with over 1000 groups currently active in the United States. We tried to select things that w.ould give a picture of the range of com'munications, as well as lead lead you to other resources. The listings also illustrate the kinds of communications RAIN is interested in; we hope to draw in groups these interests represent. Let us know where you are, and ofyour interests, and we'll -try to put you in touch with others. (RE) ADVERTISING Public Media Center 2751 Hyde Street San Francisco, CA 94109 415/885-0200 Glenn Hirsch and 1910 N St., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202/659-9489 Roger Hiekey A people's advertising group, providing tools and training for people to do it themselves, as well as producing national tv, radio and print campaigns (as an alternative to the Advertising Council). S,ASE for a complete list of services and publications. AMATEUR RADIO New Directions Roundtable-East c/o Copthorne Macdonald 99 Fitzroy St. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada New Directions Roundtable-West c/o Randy Brink, WA7BKR Rt. 2, Box 301B~ Port Orchard, WA 98366 New Directions is a network of amateur radio communicators who use the public short wave air str~am as a forum for information and idea exchange. A basic set ranges from $300-$2000. The possibilities are very exciting, including recently the development.of slow scan TV, teletype and facsimile transmission. Randy is a key West Coast contact, as is Copthorne Macdonald (a RAIN subscriber) on the East Coast. The network focuses much attention on things-that RAIN points at, such as energy conservation and appropriate technology. SASE for' newsletter. (SJ) BROADCASTING/MEDIA REFORM See also Community Radio Office of Communications United Church of Christ (UCC) 289 Park Ave. So. New York, NY 10010 Everett Parker Provides services to community groups and publishes an excellent series of publications, TwQ are free: Parties in Interest: A Citizen's Guide to Improving Television and Radio, by Robert Shayon, 1974 and A Short Course in Cable. access 1346 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202/466-8407 Chuck Shepherd, editor Shirley McQueen, circulation The public's answer to the industry's Broadcasting, published biweekly since January 1975. Calls itself the journal of media reform and does extensive moni- .toring of federal communications legislation._$24/yr., sample copies $1. 25; have your library order it. National ·Citizens Committee for Broadcasting (NCCB) 1346 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202/466-8407 Nicholas Johnson, chair; Ted Carpenter, director; Pat Scott, special projects; Anne, Ulinski, business This group successfully advocated public broa~kasting in the late 1960s, lay fallow for a while, and took new direction when former Federal Communications Commissioner Nicholas Johnson joined the group. Current NCCB projects include: a Public Affairs Proposal·, Violence Index, an alternative (to Nielsen) audience rating system, and access magazine; also pu.blishes a newsletter, Media Watch. Citizens Communications Center 1914 Sunderland Place N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202/296-423 8 Charles Firestone A public interest communications law firm that aids community groups having difficulty gaining access to air time; particularly concerned with Fairness Doctrine appl~cations. How to Gain Access to Commercial Media: Very often local public relations associations, and sometimes even local broadcasters, will hold workshops on what's available and how to do it . • The be.st book we've seen on the practical is: Mediability: .a guide for nonprofits, Len Biegel and Aileen Lubin from: Taft. Products • 1000 Vermont Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20005 We think it's $8.95. Has a very complete section on producing your own public service~announcements. Media Access: Your Rights to Express Your -Views on Radio and Television, Andrew Shapiro, Little Brown & Co., 1976 Seems to set an ·excellent historical and legal foundation, guide to the current state of the law and explaining the meaning and mechanics of that law. With this book, and Mediability for the practical, and access for current news, and some contact with local or national organizations, you should be able to figure out what they're all talking about and do it too. CABLE See also Urban Planning Aid (MultiMedia), United Church of Christ (Broadcasting) Cable Handbook, 1-975-76: A Guide to Cable and New Communications Technologies, ed. Mary Louise Hollowell, $6. 95 plus 40~ post.age and handling from: Communications Press 1346 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 202/7 85-086 5 •A state-of-the-art sourcebook explaining the technology, federal regulations and public service use of the medium. , One of the most interesting chapters is on "Regional Approaches," by Jon •Shafer. Extensive resource citations.
July 1976 RAIN Page 5 COMMUNICATIONS ACCESS Alternate Media Center (AMC) New York University School of the Arts - 144 Bleecker St. New York, NY 10012 il2/598-3338 George Stoney, ~ed Burns· George Stoney used to coordinate the Challenge for Change program of the National Film Board of Canada and was one of the pioneers in the use of film and videotape as a community tool. AMC set up the country's first cable public acc'ess channels and published The Access Workbook,, the definitive work on how to do it artd worth every penny of the $3 5 cost if you're planning to go into the business; available with it, or as a single copy for $3 is The Public Access Experience: Profiles ofSix Centers, which describes the beginnings of the first access channels. AMC is designing a~d installing an experimental two-way cable TV system for the use of,the elderly populatioµ of Reading, PA, sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation. An abstract on the project has been prepared, called Public Service Uses of Interactive Television, cost unknown. Another innovative project is the d Cable Television Apprenticeship Program, jointly funded by local cable systems and AMC, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and designed to encpurage cable system managements and cable interns to work together to develop viable, experimental models for local programing. Write AMC for information on how .to apply for a grant. 1975 Local Origination Directory, ed. by . Lydia Neumann, $4 from: National Cable Television Association (NCTA) 918 16th St., N.W. Washington, DC 20006 Published in November of last year, this directory indicates what cable systems in the United States have a local origination channel. Unfortunately, it does not indicate which systems have public access channels, though there is an index to public access projects. Unpaged. NCT A also has other publications available. . . EDUCATION/CLASSES Courses and workshops on community access to media are not common, but here are some examples of things going Or,J: Steve ·Schneider, of Portland's Center 1 for Urban Education (CUE), will be giving a course called "Urban Information and Communication" at Portland State University; Urban Studies Dept., Wedlnesday evenings from June 23 to Aug. 25: It will discuss the daily needs of ur- 'ban residents in relation to the mass - media, the way information moves in a city, and the structures assisting the information flow. 'The Goddard College Summer Program, _well-known for its social ecology series, this ~ummer (June 7 to Aug. 27) is of- - fering "Community Media," billed as "a unique program examining the role ,of corporate mass media and _offering theoretical and practical tools for cre- 'ating community-based media." In addi- "'"" tion to classes in history and theory, students are working with Media Bus (also known as Videofreex) and Pacifica Radio of NYC. Contact: Paul Mcisaac, Community Media, Box M-4, Goddard College, Plainfield, VT 05667, 802/ 454-3111, ext. 28S. TWO INNOVATIVE MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAMS Community Information Specialist Program (CIS) Dept. of Library & Information Services University of Toledo Toledo, OH 43606 503/537-2803 Miles Martin, Sharon Stein The only complete program of its kind on a:ny academic level. Thinks libraries are natural community information centers and should be doing more than loaning books. Believes traditional library skills in locating and organizing information, combined with social service outreach technique, are the way to prepare people for community information work. Third quarter is a salaried internship at an agency, business or library. Scholarship and fellowship . monies are available. The CIS program-is in its 4th year and is going up for accreditation with the American Library Association. Center for Understanding Media (CUM) 66 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10011 212/741-8903 Peter Haratonik Degree program in Media Studies comb-ines theory with practical hands~on experience. Students are mostly teachers, but run the gamut from a New York City police community relations person to a home economist. The Center has published two excellent books, Doing the Media (out of print with a revised edition in preparation), and Video and Kids, $1.50. News- . letter. . The fall quarter initiates a mini-practicum on "Media in American Culture." <;:UM is also, th~ regional contact for the-~rtists in Schools Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. COMMUNITY RADIO There are over 60 community radi6J stations and groups in the United States, from Juneau, Alaska to Miami, Florida.. You can learn about them and how to do one witb your community from two major sources: one is a group ofpeople, the other a book by the person who started it all. What makes commuJZity broadcasting different from other community media is that it requires licensing by the federal government. Community radio is non-commercial, non-institutional, listener-sponsored, volunteer-operated, communityowned, public access, free form, exp·e-ri~ Co~tinued on page 6
Page 6 RAIN July 1976 IN TOUCH continued from page 5 mental, and provides training and fun for people ofall ages, col.ors, shapes and sexes. National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) 1716 21st St., N.W. Washington, DC 20009 202/23'2-0404 Tom Thomas, Terry Clifford Incorporated last summer, NFCB maintains a Washington office for liaison work between community groups and the alphabet soup of government agencies dealing with radio; publishes a biweekly newsletter ($10/yr.); runs The Possible Tape Exchange, 705 N. Lincoln, Urbana, IL, 217/367-7261, Bill Thomas; arrd sponsors the Nat;_ional Alternative Radio Conference. SASE for a sample copy of the newsletter. NFCB can put you in ·touch with already existing groups and.stations and help you start one yourself. RAIN attended the 2nd annual Conference in June and can provide details. Three of the federation's members have applications before the FCC for similarly operated television stations. SEX and Broadcasting: A Handbook on Starting a Radio Station for the Community, by Lorenzo Milam, 3rd revised edition, 1975, 352 pages, $5 from: Dildo Press 2516 Maple Dallas, TX 75201 DIRECTORIES See also Cable, Film & Video, Northwest Regional Commun'ications, Women Aspen Handbook on tpe Media, 197576 Edition: Reseqrcb, Publications, Organizations, Foundation Support,. Government Review, International Communication Agencies, William Rivers and William Slater, eds, $3.95 from: Aspen Institute Program on Commu- . nications and Sockty 360 Bryant St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 415/327-2270 A key resource; part of a major publications schedule-send for a catalog. HOSPITALITY , Jack Eyerly, 1990 Mill St. Terr. Portland, OR 97201 503/223-7898 A key node on the 'northern California to Canada bridge of media, communications and the performing arts; puts people in touch with people, and access to space, equipment, skills and information; works with a wide variety of traditional and community cultural groups; interested in locating "hospitality" spots that allow for the exchange of ideas and inventions. Jack Eyerly can help you figure out where you want to go and how to get there. INTERMEDIATE COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY Information Center on Instructional Technology Academy for Educational Development, Inc. 1414 22nd Street, N.W. Washington, DC 2003 7 202/293-5964 Karen Frank "This organization is concerned with the use of media for education and development, primarily in Third World countries. We have become interested in the general intermediate technology movement for its ·value in the developing world. It is definitely a different situation there than in this country; for many of the rural regions of the world intermediate technology is the only way development can come, not an alternative way. • "I have been working with Schumacher's people and with Volunteers in Technical Assistance in Washington to determine the state of the art of "intermediate communications technology," and, while finding that it is an idea whose time has come, very little actual work has been done. Communications is to rrie the very cornerstone of a society and the tool through which any other development goals can reach their audience. I am anxious to refine and publicize the idea of forms of communication that can be managed and operated by local populations. "The technologies we are considering are pnnt media, graphics, games, photography, audio production,,film strip, film, TV. Our inquiries are along several lines: hardware, software and projects. That is, what hardware technologies have been .developed that can b'e produced with local, inexpensive materials and are easy to operate, such as sunlight projectors or simple printing presses; what software and methods have been developed in which a development idea is spread through a decentralized, participatory manner, such as community consciousness through audio cassette dialogues; what actual projects exist in which "modest media" have played a major, role?" (Karen S. Frank1 ICIT) MULTI-MEDIA 'Double Helix Corp. 390A N. Euclid St Louis, MO 63108 314/361-711'1 John Mondello Double Helix is a community media/ communications center. It currently has applications pending before the FCC for community-owned and -operated radio a1,1d television stations; sponsors confere11ces on public access to media; maintains an audio production studio (AudioPool) and video edi!ing facility; and works with school and community groups on audio and video projects. • Also designs and paints wall murals in public places. Urban Planning Aid (UPA) 639 Massachusetts Ave. · ~ambridge, MA 02139 617/661-9220 Bob Matorin Aids low-income community groups by providing research, resource material and technical assistance. Staff members' work in the areas of occupational health •and safety1 housing, media and research, . including extensive prison research. UPA has published 25 books and pamphlets, all of excellent quality, hundreds of fact sheets on specific issues, and 28 video tapes made in cooperation with local community groups. Publishes The Cable Book: Community Television for Massachusetts, $3. While geared towards a specific locale, this is-
a valuable introductory resource in cable and public access. Also puts out Community Press Features, an excellent monthly packet of camera-ready articles and graphics for community newspapers and organizations. It's fi;ee to community papers, $10/yr to individuals and to org'anizations that can afford it, and $30 to libraries and profit-making institutions. Positive·Media in America 139 Wadsworth Ave. Ocean Park, CA 90405 213/392-8756 Paul Holman Performing artists + media artists + new communications technologies (i.e. h,olography) = a consortium of over 250 people in the Los Angeles area working together, producing television programing, planning to build an environmental media theater and to publish a magazine; on the road to being a group of na-: tionaJ import. NORTHWEST REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS Cascadian Regional Library (CAREL) Box 1255 • Eugene, OR 97401 Brian Livingston Over 100 people and groups got together . over Memorial Day Weekend in Bellingham, Washington, and Vancouver, B.C., 1 for COM/PLEX, the Fourth Regional Communications Conference. Through practical workshops, discussions, but mostly random meetings, people·reaffirmed friendships, made new contacts and began to exchange information based on trust. The most significant outcome was an agreement to produce a monthly newsletter, Your Last Issue. People will only -receive the newsletter if they contribute information and news; if they don't, it will be their last issue. A trial period of 2 months was set for the COM/PLEX participants to e·ngage in this exchange; each will receive 5 copies of the newsletter, for distribution to other groups and individuals so that the exchange grows indigenously. Two publications are available as a result of the Conference: Regional Communications: Volume I contains minutes of all conference workshops, a listing of all conference participants, and an access guide to ~ommunications tools available in the N.W. This is an "Instant Book," which was written, typed and printed during a 24-hour period at the conference and represents a model of "quick" communications. 40 pages, $2.95 postpaid. Regional Communications: Volume II is a directory of more than 600 names, addresses and phone numbers of NW groups facilitating and interested in media access. They're in zip code order. $2 postpaid. 1 • RECORDING COMPANIES Far be,hirid other community-directed media are recording companies, with but a handful around the country. Interestingly, these new record companies tend to _be collectively owned and operated, rather than private corporations. Olivia Records Box 70237 Los Angeles, CA 90070 213/389-4243 Ginny, Jennifer, Judy, Meg, Kate A feminist collective, producing women's music on their own label and distributing other.women musicians who have pro- •produced records on their own labels. These include Meg Christian, Cris Williamson and Kay Gardner. .Olivia also provides training for women in all aspects of the recording industry. SASE for more information, and tell your local radio stations about them too. July 1976 RAIN Page 7 SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS Public Interest Satellite Association (PISA) 55 W. 44th St. New York, NY 10036 212/661-2540 Andy Horowitz The only citizen group concerned with access to satellite communications; helping groups develop experimental projects on NASA satellites. SASE for article on PISA and state of the art of satellite communications. FILM.& VIDEO Jump-Cut Box 865 Berkeley, CA 94701 and 3138 W. Schubert Chicago, IL 60647. Bi-monthly periodical with film news and information, $3/yr. The Dec. '75 issue•had a comprehensive guide to' 16mm film distributors. International Video Exchange Directory, 1976, from: Video Inn 261 Powell St. Vancou~er, BC Canada 604/688-43 36 Ross Gerleman A people-to-people index and tape exchange, available on an exchange basis only; SASE for information on how to participate and other Video Inn services. WOMEN Media Report to. Women: what women are doing and thinking about the communications media; Index/Directory 3306 Ross Pl. N.W. Washington, DC 20008 202/363-0812 Donna Allen . Non-partisan news and information monthly magazine, $15/yr, $10 for in- ,dividual women. Also publishes an .• .Index/Directory of volumes 1-3 of the magazine, with a directory to individual women and groups, $6. Both are excellent resources. MRTW has inspired a new group, Media Women in Action, c/o Pat Ridley, 2722 Connecticut Ave., N. W., Washington, DC 20008.
Page 8 RAIN July 1976 EU.ANT A TREE Ten years or so ago I received, most unexpectly, a letter from America, sent by Richard B. Gregg. It couldn't be the Richard Gregg, friend of Gandhi and author of a number of books which I had read with great &enefit to myself? Well, it was. The letter was very simple. It said: "Gandhi used to say: 'When you cannot make constructive use of your books any more, give them to someone who can.' I am an old man and cannot do much any ·mdre. I have looked through my library and have picked qut a·number of books which will be more use to you than they ate to me now. May they help you in your work,"- or words to that effect. A few weeks later, a book parcel arrived and there they were, excep_tional books, marvelous books, books which I should never have found myself. Among them was one with the title Tree Crops-A • Permanent Agriculture, by J. Russell Smith. I confess, I did not read this one right away. Its subject seemed to me too remote and, I admit it, too improbable. But eventually I did read it, and it made so f0uch sense to me that I have never been the same since. It made sense, because it did not merely state that "civilized man has marched acrossthe face of the earth and left a desert in his footprints"-a remark I had found confirmed in innumerable places throughout the world; no, it did much more than that: it showed what could be done and what-should be done. Most improbably, as it seemed to me, the answer had been there all the time and was still available to us: Agriculture is for the plains, while silviculture is for the hills and mountains. When the plough invades the hills and :mountains it destroys the land . ,.. just as efficient agriculture depends on human ingenuity and work- ' in finding the best methods of cultivation, in plant breeding, and so forth- so an efficient silvicultur,e depends on just the same kind of effort. Without the effort, nothing much can happen. J. Russell Smith's book made a tremendous impression on me. His assertion- "Therefore, the crop-yielding tree offers the best medium for ex;tending agriculture to hills, to steep places, to rocky . places, and to the lands where rainfall is deficient. New tre<i:<S yielding annual crops need to be created for use on these four types of land.". As my work took me all over the world, everywhere I could see it, thanks to Russell Smith: Agriculture in mountainous, rocky, or dry regions is a disaster, but trees are salvation. And 'trees yielding annual crops' did not have to be created; they existed already. But care and attention, selection and plant breeding, the application of methodical science, could improve 'them beyond our imagination. All my life has been ?- journey of discovery of the generosi- ~~,p E.F. Schumacher -. ., ;,; · ... ;~:i .-~? ty ~f nature. I started out thinking that we had to do every- I thing ourselves and, of course, _we couldn't. But then I discovered that everything will be done for us, provided only that we realize our 'nothingness' and thereupon start to search for a way fitting-in with the great processes of Nature, and making the best of them, for our purposes. • Travelling through India, I came to the conclusion that there was no salvation for India.except through trees. I advised iny Indian friends as follows: "The Good Lord has not disinherited any of his· children and as far as India is concerned he has given he.r a variety of trees, unsurpassed anywhere in the world. There are trees for almost all human needs. One of the greatest teachers of India was the Buddha, who included in his teaching the obligation of every good Buddhist that he should plant and see to theestablishment of one tree at least every five years. As long as this was observed, the whole large area of India was covered with trees, free of dust, wi_th plenty of water, plenty of shade, plenty of food and materials. Just imagine you could establish an ideology which made it obligatory for every able-bodied person in India, man, woman, and child; to do that little thing-to plant and see to the establishment of one tree a year, five years running. This, in a five-year period, would give you 2,000 million established trees. Anyone can work it out on the back of an envelope that the economic value of such an enterprise, intelligently conducted, would·be greater than anything that has ever been promised by any of India's five-year plans. Ir could be done without.a penny of foreign aid; th~re is no problem of savings and investment. It would produce foodstuffs, fibres, build_ing material, shade, water, almost anything that ·man really needs." Finally, as a 'fuel economist,' I should like to say this: Since fossil fuels, the mainstay of the 'modern system,' have ceased to be cheap and may soon cease to be plentiful, many people are becoming interested in solar energy. They are looking for all sons of wonderful contrivances to collect solar energy. I am not sure that th"ey always appreciate the fact that a most marvelous, three-dimensional, incredibly efficient contrivance already exists, more wonderful than anything we can make-the tree. Agriculture_collects solar energy twodimensionally; but silviculture collects it three-dimensionally. This, surely, is 'the wave of the future.' By means of trees, wild life could be conserved, pollution decreased, and the beauty of many landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral and cultural regeneration. (Foreword to Forest Farming, by J, Sholto Douglas and Robert A. de J. Hart, published by Watkins, London, 1976)
The Sex bife of a Tree While sitting on the severed stump of a giant tree one evening; I began to think how different the life of a tree must be. Basking in the energy flow of the sun. Quietly growing. Rooted and peaceful. Yet what do they miss? What must the sex-life of a tree be like-standing forever alone and apart from others? Yet, think! Leaves caressed by the winds, bringing scents of faraway places. The long, quiet winters- growing and developing inside- f9cussing energy into the flowers and polle;n that burst forth with the warm sun and rain of spring. Think then of that grand and glorious orgy of spring-making love and joining together with every tree in the community, wave after wave of pollen washing over you from tip to root with every breeze, the tips of every branch and twig tingling and Hower upon flower upon flower bursting into the creation of new life. What have we to match that? And the long, heavy summers bringing that new life to fruition. The sex life of a tree is different from ours, yet part of a grand cycle that has a meaning. and a grandeur at least equal to our own. The International Book of Trees, Hugh Johnson, 1973, $29.95 from: Simon & Schuster 630 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10020 This is the finest and most beautiful guide to becoming a tree lover I've ever found. It's an incredible collection. Almost 250 pages of the best color pictures I've seen of every kind of tree in different seasons-their leaves, bark, flowers and structure, along with encyclopedic information on the different kinds of trees. Combine that with beautifully illustrated explanations of how a tree grpws and works, trees a11d weather, hardiness. zones, trees and wildlife, planting and caring for trees, a useful index to trees, the meaning of botanical names, a guide to choosing trees (which resent moving, have ornamental bark, tolerate heavy shade, 'etc.), charts of rate of growth and ultimate size, a 12~month calendar of ornamental flowers, fruit, and foliage, and much more! Have your library get it, and you may want to save up for your own copy. • 80 to 90% of a tree is water, drawn from the ground by its roots.' Of the remaining 10 to 20%, no less than 91% is derived from the atmosphere by the leaves, which are thus the tree's main feeding o_rgans. • The sap of a tree carries nutrients to its roots. Removing the bark of a tree deprives the roots, not the tree above, of nourishment. • Pears, apples and almonds are related to ro;es. • A line of ancient gnarled beeches occur through Denmark, Champagne and Brittany, whose inalformation is believed to have been caused by a radioactive meteor several centuries ago. • The "Chinese cedar" or "toon" tree, common in Paris, would probably be extinct if Parisian gourmets realized the delicacy of its ' onion-flavored leaves and shoots. Forest Farming, J. Sholto Douglas and Robert A. de }art, 1976, 3.85£ from: Watkins Publishing 45 Lower Belgrave St. London SWlW OLT England Some time ago I read J. Russel Smith's pioneering book, Tree Crops:' A .Permanent Culture (1950, Devin-Adair Co., 1 Park Ave., Old Greenwich, CT 06870, $7.95): It hit a sensitive chord-I had felt strange about farming practices in the Northwest where we irrigate field crops through.our 6-month summer drought while·native trees are able to suck up deeper ground water left from the,6-month winter deluge of rain. I thought it sure would be s~mpler if we could live o~ nuts and acorns, but assumed trees were much less productive than field crops. Forest Farming goes the important next step of showing that in food productivity alone tree crops can produce 10 to 15 times as much food per acre as field crops. It also thoroughly explores other important features of forest farming-timber and firewood production, ability to use hillsides unsuitable for field crops, lower labor demands, combination of tree crops and pasturage or livestock foraging, multi-level farming, production of medicines, chemicals, oils, etc. from trees, use of trees in desert reclamation (some trees have l<;>0-foot taproots to draw up deep groundwater), leguminous .trees which improve soil fertility, and the importance of vegetation in tropical forests where nutrients are held in vegetation rather than in the soil where the rains would leach them away, etc. Losing Ground, Eric Eckholm, 1976, $3.95 from: W.W. Norton & Co. 500 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10036 We hear ·so much about,our problems every day that is usually seems better to spend our energy on resolving rather than declaring them. A few things come along, though, that give importai;it enough persp·ective on problems to be worth reading. Topsoil and Civilization, by V. G. Carter and T. Dale (1974, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave., No.rman, OK 73069, $2.95) is one. Losing Ground is another. Eckholm draws together the global envirortmental effects of population pressures -deforestation of mountaihs for lumber and firewood and for urgent though destructive hillside farming, salting and silting of irrigation.systems, destruction of tropical forest e·cosystems, destruction of world fisheries, desert expansion and dry-plains dustbowls. The message is important and sobering-environmental damage from overpopulation is likely to cause a major and largely permanent decrease in the number of people our food systems can feed. Forest Farming offers some answers for combining soil conservation with increased food production, but any possible food production is rapidly overtaken by population growth. The basic solution that we avoid coming to grips with is accepting the responsibility to limit our numbers to what we •can produce, and.regional and local self-reliance seems central to that. As long as someone else will help us out every lean year there is rio incentive for restraint. Again the.Chinese have a lesson-each region must take care of its own population and food. In bad years food is loaned, but must be repaid. The Improved Nut Trees ofNorth Amrrica, Cl~rence A. Reed and John Davidson, 1954, $10 from: Devin-Adair Co: 1 Park Ave. Old Greenwich, CT 06870 •When you are ready to go nuts, this book gives a practical guide. Covers walnuts, b_eech, hickory, pecan, ~hestnut, oak, filbert, and more specialized nut trees- choice of species, propagation and culture of nut trees, causes of damage to trees, developm_ent and filling of nuts, and a list of nut nurseries. A fin~l bit.of useful esoterica which we haven't been able to· track down yet- ,The Eucalyptus by A. R. Penfold, published in 1961 by Interscience. We found this in the library at VITA and it looks quite interesting. A voluminous study of the many .uses of that diverse group of trees-various kinds of oil production, medical applications, how to use .structurally, etc. (TB)
Page 10 RAIN July 1976 WOMEN AND HEALTH Health care is one area where there is beginning to be a strong grass roots movement towards self-help care. Slowly, slowly, the institutions are seeing the need to change- inspired in part by the success of the Chinese barefoot doctor program. But the large~t inspiration has beeri, I think, the Womei;i's Movement. All over the country women have been taking charge of their own health needs- learning to ask questions of professionals, learning to examine themselves, and learning to use paraprofessionals- particularly other women-for such .nonillness health needs as bir~h control and birthing. I don't know where the movement towards self-help care for women began-in fact, I suspect it's another one of those magical urges that began simultaneously in many nooks and crannies all over the country. But in any case, one of the earliest groups was the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, a group of women who gathered to share in the con- ' sciousness-raising process and decided to present a course on women's bodies and ended up writing: Our Bodies, Ourselves, Boston Women's Health Book Collective, 1971, $4.95 from: Simon and Schuster 630 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10020 It is a book th.at keeps growing- I know.p_eople who have every version, from the rough newsprint to the newest, fat Simon and Schuster. It has been enormously successful because it is so good. Sections on Anatomy, Relationships, Lesbianism, Nutrition, Rape and Self-Defense, Venereal Disease, Birth Control, Abortion, Childbearing, Menopause and Health C'+re. The new Sexuality section is the finest thing I've seen on the subject anywh-ere- good for women or men. They have a special deal for clinics or groups doing health counseling 1 services: 70% discount (88.5¢/copy) on orders of 12 or more accompanied by an official document verifying health care status. Write to the publisher. Nice move, as it should be required reading for all people everywhere. The Birth Control section of Our Bodies, Ourselves is t~orough, but it doesn't take any sides. Many of us who are trying to wean ourselves from drugs and chemicals have become increasingly disenchanted with The Pill and the IUD ("What does my body really feel like without its daily dose of synthetic hormone?."). A milestone for me-and, as I later learned, for at least five other women I know- was the "Lunaception" article by Louise Lacey which first appeared in the Winter Solstice issue of Co-Evolution Quarterly. Soon thereafter it was published as a b~ok: Lunaception, Louise Lacey, 1975, $7.95 from: Cowilrd, McCann and Geoghegan 200 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016 . I stopped taking The Pill that very day and began looking for new options. Lunaception involves charting your temperature and watching for its mid-cycle change (ovulation) and then inducing that peak by sleeping with a light on those middle three days (no light at all the rest of the·month- i.e., heavy curtains if you live in the city). Lacey found that she eventually got into cycle with the moon, ovulating when it was full! Other books talk about other cycles- cosmic 'ones based on the phase of the moon when you were born and an extra cosmic fertility period at that point. It is a method pioneered in Czechoslovakia and accounts for the failure of the rhythm method alone. It involves two abstention periods a month (except on the times they coincide.) For more,information, read: , Natural Birth Control (formerly Astrolotical Birth Control) 1Control), Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder, 1972, $1.25 from: Bantam Books 666 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10019 and 1 Natural Birth Control, Art Rosenblum and Leah Jackson, 1974, $2.95 from: Aquarian Research Foundation 5620 Morton St. Philadelphia, PA 19144 The latter book includes a chart for figuring out your own cosmic cycles and combines this method with a finger mucous test (the mucous of your cervix changes consistency at dif~ ferent times of your monthly cycle). All of these methods may sound too far out and in some cases seem to com:radict each other, but I f_eel strongly that they're mqre -in the right direction, and I know of many women who swear by one or the other of them. Their rising popularity is indicated by the increasing number of ads I see in women's mags and elsewhere for charting of cosmic cycles. The Aquarian·Research Foundation (address above) is interested in success and failure stories-and so am I. It's certainly a possibility worth exploring. (I must confess that my o.wn system still hasn't settled down enough to try after seven years on The Pill, even after a whole year!) Now, if you are already happily'pregnant, good news exists in this area as well. Namely, the rising number of home deliveries and women- and baby-centered birthing (as opposed to· birthing for doctors' convenience). Two groups pioneering in the development of birthing clinics and the training of midwives.are in Santa Cruz,.California, and on Stephen Gaskin's Tennessee Farm. Both groups have published books that are a joy to read-full of am~zing pictures and heart-warming tales (scary ones are included as well). Birth Book, 1972, $6 from: Genesis · Press P.O. Box 14457 Palo Alto, CA 94306 Spiritual Midwifery, Ina May and the Farm Midwives, 1975, $5.96 from: The Book Publishing Company The Farm Summertown, TN 38483 Birth Without Violence, Frederick Leboyer, 197 5, $7.95 'from: • Alfred A. Knopf • 201 E. 50th St. New York, NY 10022
July 1976 RAIN Page 11 NATURAL LAND INVENTORIES How to get from here to there, or there to here, how to know what we know, and what others know. on true value, we must know what we know, and in effect see things from all points of view at once. During the citizen involvement process of the implementation of Oregon's Senate Bill 100 (1973) which gave power to the Land Conservation and Development Commission to implement statewide land use planning, citizens were often called upon to define what was important, unique. Where are the: rivers, dunes, cones, cliffs, trails, refuges, class I soils, plugs, mineral deposits, open space, eel grass beds, historical sites, viewpoints, bedbrook, sandy loams? There are people wandering over the earth (sometimes from above via satellite) trying to make inventories of what exists, and it's difficult because ■ we don't always know what we are looking for ■ the evolution of ideas and perc,eptions changes what is important ■ everybody (people, animals, rivers, mountains) are always changing, growing up, moving, being born, dying. So, what we've done is pulled together some of the agencies, and groups, we know of who are involved in land and resource inventories. (SJ) It may sometimes seem like passive work, this finding, studying, classifying, but when we sit to make decisions based INVENTORIES Bonneville Power Administration 1002 N.E. Holiday Portland, OR 97232 503/234-3361 Hydroelectric energy, dams; primary source for Northwest information on hydro. Bureau of Land Management 729 N.E. Oregon Portland, OR 972 32 503/234-3361, ext. 4024 Recently have implemented a statewide computerized map service allowing for retrieval of specialized maps, e.g. land ownership, road systems, timber status, etc. Center for Quantitative Science in Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife 3737 15th Ave., N.E. Seattle, WA 98195 Model building, resource management. Columbia Region Association of Governments (CRAG) 527 S.W. Hall St. Portland, OR 97201 503/221-1646 As with Lane Council of Governments, Puget Sound Government Council and Spokane Regional Planning Commission, CRAG coordinates city/county planning, which involves re~ource inventory work. Some other good books: The Joy ofBirth Control, Stephanie Mills, Mills, Emory University Family Planning Program, 41 pp., $1 ea. (11-49 copies 75¢ ea., over 50 50¢ ea. plus 15% for mailing) from: Family Planning Program P.O. Box 26069 80 Butler St., S.E. Atlanta, GA 30303 Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Region X (EPA) 1206 Sixth Ave. Seattle, WA 98101 206/442-1200 Review of environmental impact statements; notifies public of availability; ask to receive notification. Environmental Quality Dept. (DEQ), Oregon 1234 S.W. Morrison Portland, OR 97205 503/229-5696 Comprehensive plans for air, water, noise pollution controls, and solid waste disposal. Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Lab Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 503/754-3056 Local contact for available "land-sat" satellite photographic images of the Northwest. Forest Service, U.S. Region VI 319 S.W. Pine Portland, OR 97204 503/221-2877 Inventory of forest resources, characterization and values of U.S. Forest Service Lands. Have recently used citizen groups for inventory work. Maps of many areas available for free or about 50¢. High School Sexuality: A Teaching Guide, Women's Educational Project, 81 pp., $1 from: Amazon Reality Collective P.O. Box 95 Eugene, OR 97401 Forestry Department, Oregon 2600 State St. Salem, OR 97310 503/378-2560 Forestry Extension, Forestry Media Center School of Forestry Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331 Publications relating to timber growth, sales, land management. Useful newsletter. The Media Center, partially funded by the N.W. Area Foundation, has 38 slide tape programs, is an on-site access center. (Contact: Phil Crawford) Geological Survey, U.S. Map Information Office Washington, DC Ask for current state index to mapping and special publications relating to your area. Geology and Mineral Industries Dept. Oregon 1069 State Office Bldg. Portland, OR 97201 Identification of mineral deposits, geothermal exploration, unique geological features, mining and drilling (oil and gas exploration). Ore Bin, monthly, $3/yr. Good touchstone with geology of eastern Oregon, geothermal findings. Continued on page 12 Getting Clear: Body Work for Women, Anne Kent Rush, 1973, $5.95 from: Random House Bookworks 201 E. 50th New York, NY 10022 Complaints and Disorders: The Sexual Politics of Sickness, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English, 1973, 90 pp., $1.50 from: The Feminist Press Box 334 Old Westbury, NY 11568 (LdeM)
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