Modern US culture is defined by some as “no culture.” We have become a materialistic society where even holidays are based largely on consumption rather than community or spirit. Though there are still plenty of groups in modern societies who have retained cultural elements important to them, there are others who don’t know what their cultural practices were except on a very shallow level, and haven’t replaced them with others.
As well, in multicultural nations, conflicts can arise between different cultural practices and beliefs.
How could permaculture design principles be used to address this lack of culture or many different cultural viewpoints? “Integrate, don’t segregate”, “value the edge,” “creatively respond to change” and “observe and interact” can apply. What else? How can the ethic of “care of people” be incorporated?
How do we live in a multicultural society and allow culture to flourish? A simple answer is to respect cultures different from one’s own. This can sometimes get complicated - do we put a Christmas tree up in the office or community space, or not?
How can these conflicts be viewed as opportunities and solutions, rather than problems that result in the destruction of one or more cultures? We’ll address some aspects of these questions in later sections of the course.
An intentional community is a group of people that have gotten together around a common goal. They can live together, eat together, work together, or simply meet together regarding certain activities but otherwise live their own lives.
One way some intentional communities have addressed cultural differences or absence of common culture is to create their own unique holidays to celebrate passages meaningful to members of that community, like the founding date. This brings everybody together for at least one type of celebration. One holiday we like to celebrate is the winter solstice.
Though there are spiritual practices that have honored that in specific ways, we honor it as a change in seasons that has many implications for those close to the land. It is a time when plant growth slows down in most parts of the world, and so perhaps, we can also take the time to reflect and gather energy to move forward.
We’ve evolved a simple ceremony which is to spend some time in thought before the holiday, contemplating the past year and the future. We then share some of our dreams with one another for the next year, write them down, and tie them to a tree. The paper stays there until it disintegrates or blows off - symbolizing the manifestation of our intention, or prayer.
This is a meaningful celebration that has enough elements of a number of different holidays that most people can relate to it.
Some communities have “holiday parties” where there are multiple spiritual themes and practices represented, or neutral themes. A group of people from different cultures could share a potluck with different traditional dishes, or share a practice from different spiritual traditions of members, in different years. This can be an enriching experience for everybody and a way to get to know each other better.
In one Hindu-based intentional community, Kashi, near Melbourne, Florida, they have built a number of holy spaces honoring different religions including Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and others.
It creates quite an opportunity to learn about someone else’s culture and to provide space for it. Though the community is based around strict religious practices, others can join and are not required to participate in those practices.
Some people prefer to live in a community where there is broad cultural agreement. And many of those communities are some of the most productive and successful intentional communities around.
The Amish are a group that has maintained their community, but also created enough harmony with the very different culture around them to co-exist.
How can we design for maximum benefit from coexisting together, and from sharing those cultural aspects where we agree?