July 11, 2020

Rony Lec - Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute

47 minutes

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My guest today is Rony Lec of the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura – IMAP) in Guatemala.

I first became aware of Rony years ago through my friends at the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, but what I knew up until he and I sat down barely revealed the depth and breadth of his exploration and implementation permaculture. He leverages decades of experience applying permaculture to indigenous agricultural methods, and combines work, outreach, and activism into a cohesive approach to teaching and design.

The conversation which follows progresses from his early days of discovering permaculture through Ali Sharif and studying with Geoff Lawton, to his current work building networks and native food products. He also shares his concerns about land access, food sovereignty, and political will in Mesoamerica.

Find out more about Rony and his work at imapermaculture.org.

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Just as interviews end far too soon, it is also difficult to encapsulate the thoughts that remain after a conversation that ranges as widely as this and touches on issues bigger than our individual practices.

What I enjoy, at this moment, is Rony’s efforts to educate students about what permaculture is and is not. For those people in the countries he serves, to share the ways that permaculture can be applied to indigenous practices and can be viewed as something for them, not just for foreigners. For those of us who have studied permaculture, the advice to listen, slow down, and remain humble in the face of experience and the intersection with our permaculture knowledge and exuberance.

But, that’s just one lesson from this time together. What did you learn?

Let me know by leaving a comment in the show notes or send me an email: The Permaculture Podcast.

Resources

Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (IMAP)

http://imapermaculture.org/

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