Mark Feedman is the founder of CREAR, the Regional Center for the Study of Rural Alternatives, a small agricultural school located in the northern mountains of the Dominican Republic, near the Haitian border. Feedman has been an tireless advocate of sustainable agriculture for 40 years, and in this interview he recounts his struggle to create an educational center in the remote forests of Hispaniola. Topics include rural education, the future of Haiti, and the subject of hope.
CREAR (via Agroinnovations)
CREAR Slide Show (via Agroinnovations)
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13 responses to “Episode #77: CREAR with Mark Feedman”
Thanks for that link to the FAO Bulletin 60. Good stuff.
Yeah, it wasn’t super easy to find either. I had to do some digging. Glad you find it useful.
congratulation dear Mark !
How’s Chela?
many kisses for you!
consuelo
I just wanted to say in response to mark’s statement about the lack of young farmers, that there are still young people out here who are fired up and enthusiastic about farming as a way of life. I’m getting there on my pretty little acre, in the semisuburban sticks of indiana.
also thanks for making this podcast I’ve listened to most of the past shows now. I really like what your doing here.
I can’t wait to do some research on this. I will bookmark all of the links and learn as much as I can. Have you seen any drawings of the terraces in DR? I will google-earth Hispaniola, look at the work of CREAR, and imagine designing permaculture from space.
I would like to be a subsistence farmer! I’m confused and anxious when I hear Richard Feedman say that no one (no young westerner) wants to do this work. To quote:
“We’re not gonna get college kids to go out there and spend 10 years in one spot building terraces. You’re not gonna get volunteers, you’re not gonna get professionals, you’re not gonna get college-educated…”
Well of course we’re not going to break our backs building terraces like fools! What do you need Jeavons for when you’ve got the lessons of Sepp Holzer and Willie Smits and Bill Mollison? Terraces and swales aren’t so hard to dig or maintain — a few weeks with an A-frame level and shovel, or a few days with backhoe and friends. And as for ten years in one spot: just show me the spot, and I’ll be there!
But there’s my problem: where’s the spot? Where’s the cheap land? It’s out there, I know it must be — please tell me how to get to it! We young people seeking a life of gardening live in cities. There may be relatively few of us, but of 300 million Americans that’s still a lot! To travel beyond our local region costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars — which should be better spent on buying land and collecting materials. Show us the way, you’ve been there! I make $3k to $5k / year. Can I move to the DR or Haiti and buy a few acres, and just do my own thing?
Here in the US, some parcels of land up to one acre in size can be had in rust belt cities for $1k or less, but the taxes are usually high (several hundred dollars per year) and there is no privacy — you cannot build a shack, house, workshops, or rainwater/greywater system, or in general live off-grid, without expensive interference from building and zoning officials, with high fees (several hundred dollars to permit new buildings), insurmountable prerequisites (architect’s approvals/stamps), high taxes (though it may cost me $200 in materials to make a little house for myself, it will be valued and taxed at upwards of $20k), and a total lack of supportive culture. Far outside the old cities, land can sometimes be had for around $1k/acre but only in bulk. The starting cost to simply have a bit of land with scrub on it is too high — at least twice my annual earnings. A mortgage is not an option. Why is this so hard?
@alisa:
Do you know where the cheap marginal land is in Indiana? Five acres for $1000, low taxes, no code officials? I’m in Pittsburgh, grew up in Detroit, lived in Kzoo. I’m trying to find an abandoned quarry or strip mine in southwest PA.
@at:
I’m not sure the cheap land is out there. Agricultural land has always been expensive. Elmer Kelton, an old time West Texas historical novelist, says his father was aware of this way back then, “the price of land has always been such that you’d never be able to pay it off with the money the land generates”. A lot of big landholders have gotten it through a combination of corruption, speculation, and war. But, on the flip-side of that I think there’s a lot of room for alternative tenure arrangements. Some folks are already doing this; look at Felder School Farm, or Los Poblanos CSA. These models will continue to emerge during the process of energy descent. Lots of room to be creative, I think, but it can be frustrating sometimes.
Frank, I am very curious about this. Do you think there is a transparent market for real estate near Rio Limpio, Tipajara, or other places you’ve been? Do the poor residents of these areas have the ability to sell their land?
at I’m sorry but there isn’t really cheap land in indiana. there are whole tiny towns that seem to be for sale but no more than a little yard. I think it takes a long time to get something worth having. we have a mortgage and on our house and acre was 30k+. we won’t be here forever though so if anybody else finds cheap land we’ll be looking in a couple of years.
@at
This is an extremely complicated question. The short answer is no. In Bolivia, for example, land tenure has a long and contentious history, and the Morales government is in the process of rewriting and implementing a new system of legal land tenure. It will take years before a comprehensive system emerges. In the process, there will be winners and losers. Under current law, as a foreigner, you are not allowed to own land in Bolivia. If anything, the new system will be more stringent, considering the history and ideological leanings of the MAS party.
In the case of Tipajara/Mizque, as another example, there has been an extralegal land market functioning since at least the agrarian reform of 1952.
All that said, gaining access to land is possible. Significant investments are required on the cheapest parcels, and access to land doesn’t always mean access to an abundant supply of water. Even the best parcels require significant investments in soil fertility, infrastructure, and planning.
As I see it, we are just in the infancy of a debate about land ownership and access. If the Transition Movement is for real, then we need to reinvent our models of ownership and investment.
Alisa, I see dozens of houses in Indy and Gary for $5k-$10k with a cursory Yahoo real estate search — some country acreage too. If you’re ever interested in cheap land outside of Indiana, I have some experience in Pittsburgh:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/pittsburgh/188634-buy-rebuild-2.html
Frank: Thanks for this bit of clarification. I would like to know more. I can see in the case of Bolivia and elsewhere that “buying land” like a commodity is not acceptable on many levels, especially for foreigners. However, I am not a young robber baron — I’m looking to live on and improve marginal land. I am seeking a marketplace for this type of land, and for abandoned towns, or for owners seeking this service, where I can be the resident worker, not an itinerant volunteer. Could someone like me lease/rent an eroded hillside in Tipajara for 5 or 10 years? For how much, from who?
Agroforestry and sustainable resource conservation in Haiti: A Case Study
http://www.piphaiti.org/overview_of_haiti2.html
Great show! This is the first show I’ve listened to. I’ve used Energy Bulletin’s media section to listen to interviews many times, but never to Agroinnovations. Thanks.