Please distribute to your networks.
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
and
Movement Generation Justice & Ecology Project
present:
Learning from the Most Sustainable Place on Earth
with Cuban Permaculturist Roberto Perez
Saturday, August 24, 6:00-8:30 pm 2013
The First Unitarian Church of Oakland
Benefit Donation $15 -$20
A benefit for the Eleventh International Permaculture Convergence Scholarships
The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center's Permaculture Program and the Movement
Generation Justice & Ecology Project co-host Roberto Perez, Cuban environmental
educator featured in the award winning documentary, "The Power of Community,
How Cuba Survived Peak Oil" currently in the U.S. promoting the 11th
International Permaculture Convergence (IPC11) to be held in Cuba in November
of 2013.
OAEC Permaculture Program Director Brock Dolman has been invited to be one of
the international co-teachers of the 2-week Design Course. OAEC Permaculture
Program Director Kendall Dunnigan and School Garden Program Director Vanessa
Carter will travel with Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project staff
Carla M. Pérez & Gopal Dayaneni to Cuba to participate, learn and share during
this critical international convergence. OAEC and MG's collaboration has led to
Liberation Permaculture: a read of Permaculture that is about self-reclamation,
cultural survival and independence. It is a direct challenge to the current
social, economic and political system. Come hear more and learn about ways you
can help support the nexus of ecological justice and social movement strategy.
The Living Planet Report from the World Wildlife Fund in 2007 identified Cuba
as the only sustainable country in the world. The study involved two key
parameters for measuring sustainable development, a commitment to "improving
the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of
supporting ecosystems". Cuba was the ONLY country on earth to achieve
satisfactory benchmarks in both criteria for sustainable development.
Formerly importing most of its food, Cuba's agriculture is now 95% organic,
with the city of Havana producing over 60% of its own fruits and vegetables
within the city's urban spaces. At the same time, Cuba has been engaging in a
massive reforestation campaign, and has invested massively in alternative
energy production, with a focus on solar and biofuels.
A small island nation with 11,000,000 people, struggling with poverty,
devastating tropical storms, and the U.S. Embargo, how did Cuba achieve these
goals and distinction? What can we learn from Cuba's struggles and successes?
Born in Havana in 1970, Roberto Perez is the Environmental Education &
Biodiversity Conservation Program Director of the Antonio Núñez Jiménez
Foundation for Nature and Humanity, the oldest environmental organization in
Cuba. A graduate of the University of Havana with a degree in Biological
Sciences, he later did post graduate specialization in Community Based Natural
Resources Management at the University of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Roberto has been part of the Cuban Permaculture movement since its introduction
in the country in 1993 after the so called "Special Period", caused by the
collapse of the Soviet Union when Cuba lost access to oil, fertilizers,
pesticides, and virtually all trading partners that the small island nation
depended on to survive, facing economic collapse overnight. Roberto has
traveled extensively presenting Cuba's approach to sustainable living in the
face of declining petroleum and other non-renewable resources.
As part of the Cuban Organizing Group for the upcoming International
Permaculture Convergence in November, Roberto is touring the U.S. in support of
scholarships for IPC11 attendees from sometimes cash poor, but skill rich
countries and USA , wanting to attend and share their work & projects with
other Permaculturists from around the world.
Traditionally International Permaculture Convergences take place every 2 years
and switch between continents & hemispheres. Past host sites have been
Australia, USA, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Nepal, Croatia, Brazil, Africa & most
recently Jordan in the Middle East.
The event takes place on Saturday, August 24, 6:00pm-8:30pmFirst Unitarian
Church of Oakland, 685 14th St, Oakland, CA 94612.
Corner of 14th St. and Castro
Street parking5-block walk from the 12th Street BART StationDonation of
$15-$20, no reservations needed.
https://www.facebook.com/events/197573503736629
More Info – Vanessa Carter <[email protected]> and/or Kendall Dunnigan
<[email protected]>
--
Vanessa Carter
School Garden Program Director
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
15290 Coleman Valley Road
Occidental, CA 95465
707.874.1557 x 102
707.874.1558 fax
www.oaec.org
www.facebook.com/theOAEC
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