Sunday, October 8, 2017

Data Gathering Day 2: Preliminary Survey

Today I have found 96 Facebook Pages on "Permaculture" and 98 Facebook Groups on "Permaculture" using the Facebook search bar. There are 12 pages and 5 groups based in the Philippines.

For my preliminary data gathering, I administered a quick 9-question permaculture awareness survey using Google Forms and posted it on Facebook.  You can also answer the survey below.


Thursday, September 28, 2017

Why do Permaculture Research? Rationale of the Study



SUSTAINABLE BY DESIGN: APPLICATIONS OF PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES IN THE DESIGN OF DIGITAL AGROECOSYSTEM LANDSCAPES FOR FOOD SECURITY AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE PRACTICES IN THE PHILIPPINES
 
Permaculture is an ethics-based, green ideological framework that focuses on the design of sustainable living systems. It includes alternative agriculture practices (such as organic, biodynamic, natural farming, etc.), ecology-based engineering and green architecture, and indigenous knowledge systems compiled and packaged into a holistic approach by two Australians, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, in the 1970s. Permaculture was conceptualized as a response to the Green Revolution and its direct and indirect consequences on the environment. The sudden rise in population puts pressure on the environment to produce more food. Given this, attention to the design of food production and living systems is crucial. Decades later, the practice of permaculture has reached the Philippines and have spread fast among netizens via tightly-knit networks on social media, like Facebook, and yet is largely ignored by mainstream agriculture, the academe, and policymakers as a practical solution to food security, climate resilience, and community solidarity. Unfortunately, permaculture is often reduced to a fad for small-scale farming enthusiasts and alternative living hobbyists. To gain more knowledge and generate new data on the spread, practice, and evaluation of permaculture, the study will conduct a nationwide survey of both self-proclaimed and trained permaculture designers and document and evaluate their social networks, communication strategies, farm systems, technologies and on-site practices.  

There are no official documented records of either permaculture practitioners or sites in the country. A major reason for this is the lack of standards and assessment tools that could determine what can qualify as a permaculture practice or project. And because there are no standards to consider, methods and practices may vary from one site to the other depending on the practitioner’s background or personal interpretation of permaculture. The scale of the practice (personal space, house, farm, or community level) is also unknown. Information transmitted via social media channels is a main source of permaculture knowledge and the identification of focal nodes (or key persons) is crucial to determine the level of knowledge of the members within the social network. The network nodes (members) then become focal nodes themselves creating a virtual landscape filled with permaculture design practices expressed in digital content such as status updates, blogs, photos, and videos.

The study aims to create a comprehensive Philippine permaculture database and reference book consisting of an inventory of online social groups, typologies of practitioners, and maps and characterizations of project sites. Also included is the documentation of the design, methods, and practices employed by these practitioners. The data obtained will be used to craft a systematic assessment of permaculture design. A documentary film on Philippine Permaculture will be released to mainstream the concept to the general public. All of these outputs can be used to formalize permaculture research and become the foundation for future studies.   

Data Gathering Day 1: Who and Where are They?



Social media is the starting point of permaculture research.
 
To start my data gathering, I will be using Facebook as my primary search tool to find permaculture groups in the Philippines. Today, I will be listing down all the Facebook pages and groups on permaculture that I could find.

Steps:
1. Identify all the Facebook pages and groups on Facebook using the "search" bar.
2. Identify which pages and groups are from the Philippines
3. Identify Facebook friends who like/belong to those pages and groups
4. Analyze social network using software
5. Identify focal nodes
6. Identify communities

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Health Hazards of Genetically Modified Organisms (RF Quijano) Pt. 1

I recently bought a book from my agriculture professor, Dr. Pamela Fernandez, entitled, Local Seed Systems for Genetic Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture Sourcebook. I went over the chapters and found some really interesting topics. Beginning today, I will be posting articles from the book that I find useful for you and me as graduate students. Today's post will feature the first part of the paper of Dr. Romeo F. Quijano, an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology in UP Manila. According to the book, he prepared this paper entitled, Health Hazards of Genetically Modified Organisms, for the seed congress that was held in Lahug, Cebu City in April 2001. Tell me what you think and please share your opinions on the subject matter.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), foods and products pose serious threats to human health and the environment. They carry substances or chemicals that have various toxic effects. Novel proteins may be produced that may cause allergies and other forms of hypersensitivity reactions. They carry virus vectors that can create, transform, or enhance infectious agents. They usually carry antibiotic resistance genes that can transfer and spread to various pathogenic organisms and render many life saving antibiotics useless. Genetically engineered (GE) herbicide-tolerant crops are laced with high levels of pesticide residues that may disrupt endocrine function, destroy the immune system, and cause, directly or indirectly, various kinds of diseases, including cancer.

There are already many documented examples (by genetic engineering scientists) of unexpected production of toxic substances due to genetic engineering:


  • In the late 1980's, a new GMO was used to produce L-tryptophan, a nutrient supplement. Inadvertently, a toxic metabolite was also produced. Within a period of months, thousands of people who had taken the new supplement began to suffer from eosinophilia myagia syndrome, a new disease characterized by hematologic, neurologic, and other abnormalities. At least, 1,500 people were permanently disabled and 37 died. Genetic engineering proponents claim that the purification process, not the genetic engineering technology, caused the problem. But while no definitive conclusions can be made (the company involved destroyed all the GMOs used that could have provided the definitive answer), there are enough circumstantial and othe evidence that point to genetic engineering as the culprit.
  • In 1995, a scientific report in the Journal of Food Science and Technology showed that when yeast was genetically modified to achieve a higher fermentation efficacy, there was an unexpected tremendous increase in the production of a toxic metabolite called glyoxal.
  • Similarly, it was reported in Nature Biotechnology in May 1996 that when tobacco was genetically engineered, a toxic chemical called octadecatetraenoic acid, which does not exist in the natural tobacco plant was produced. Other untoward incidents are likely to occur if GMOs are allowed to proliferate.


Reference:
FERNANDEZ, P.G., A.L. AQUINO, L.E.P. de GUZMAN, M.F.O. MERCADO (Eds.). 2002. Local seed systems for genetic conservation and sustainable agriculture sourcebook. University of the Philippine Los Banos - College of Agriculture. Laguna, Philippines



Sunday, February 12, 2017

Be part of history and join our Permaculture research team!


Brief overview
The practice of permaculture in the Philippines is spreading fast via tightly-knit social networks on social media and yet it is largely ignored by mainstream culture and the academe as a logical solution to food security and climate change. To generate new data on this dynamic ecological design framework, the study will attempt to conduct a nationwide census of trained and self-proclaimed permaculture designers.  

Phase 1: Identifying and mapping the practitioners (off-site)
Phase 2: Documentation and analysis of methods and practices of permaculture sites (on-site)
Phase 3: Theory and framework-building and assessment tools/methodology development

Timetable
2017 to 2019

Outputs
3 journal articles
1 book
1 video documentary

We need people knowledgeable in these fields:
Accounting/Finance
Computer Science/Network Science
GIS Mapping
Photography and Videography/Film/Drone
Sociology/Anthropology/Community Dev’t
Agricultural Engineering/Green Architecture
Development Communication
Environmental Science/Environmental Management
Agriculturalist/Organic Farmer/Permaculture Designer/Extension Workers
Writers and Editors
Creative people

If you are interested, please email us at jabezjoshuaflores@gmail.com

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