Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

Episode 8 CODE PHRASE: "A house cannot be repaired when the owner is destroying it"

It's an old Kenyan proverb: "A house cannot be repaired when the owner is destroying it".  What do you think this code phrase means to the EVOKE network?

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It means humans know only planet earth as their house, they shouldn't have negative impact on earth because destroying it simply means no other creation will re-instate earth apart from those that live in it.
People are unhappy and look for ways to sate that unhappiness. While the 'feeling owed something better' mentality seems centered on materialism and hedonism these days, it can be refocused back to self-awareness and improving one's conditions. People need to remember that sometimes only the individual need to applaud to appreciate the work you've done.

The common factor to all these issues involving the world is people. We've inherited a debt from the ignorance of our forefathers and need to find new avenues of social lifestyle to fix these things that now threaten us.
It is not a quick fix, it will take a few generations. The fact that we have the Internet and can communicate with one another, make our voices heard around the world, connect and share our joys, our ideas, our passions, we can now work on this house.

Be it the house called Earth.

Be it the house called us.

Be it the house called me.
It may be irrelevant whether a person would want to destroy his house. He may have no choice. The derstruction of a civilization is not merely an academic exercise in forensics, Forces beyond a people's control may force them into ultimately self destructive behavior in the long run but may be necessary to survive in the short term. While we all plan for the long run the fact is that we live in the short run and there will be no tomorrow if we cannot make it though today. A local indigene may know full well that hunting an endangered animal is wrong but if he has a starving family to feed and bush meat is available he will kill the animal for the present short term gain. There really are selfish genes and appealing to one's better nature is much easier for people who have perpetually full stomachs. Having a game park for safaris is viable only if the population is self sufficient in food production. Depending on tourism, even eco-tourism, is not a long term and reliable means of suatainability. What happens when either political upheaval or natural disasters threaten tourism ? Who wants to go safariing in Zimbabwe this summer ? Who wants to vacation in the Sudan this season ? Anyone for birding in Haiti ? I hate to be so cynical about this but before any other reform is ventured there must be established a firm foundation for regularly and dependably producing food. Agricultural sustainability must come first, then enviornmental reforms will be deemed reasonable to the local inhabitants.
I agree 100% with your thinking. That is why the Evoke solution must replace the undesirable behavior with one that will allow for both short term and long term survival. This is why I like the idea of introducing a "slash and char" alternative to those who are using the "slash and burn" tecniques to clear land for agriculture.

Kevin McGonigal said:
It may be irrelevant whether a person would want to destroy his house. He may have no choice. The derstruction of a civilization is not merely an academic exercise in forensics, Forces beyond a people's control may force them into ultimately self destructive behavior in the long run but may be necessary to survive in the short term. While we all plan for the long run the fact is that we live in the short run and there will be no tomorrow if we cannot make it though today. A local indigene may know full well that hunting an endangered animal is wrong but if he has a starving family to feed and bush meat is available he will kill the animal for the present short term gain. There really are selfish genes and appealing to one's better nature is much easier for people who have perpetually full stomachs. Having a game park for safaris is viable only if the population is self sufficient in food production. Depending on tourism, even eco-tourism, is not a long term and reliable means of suatainability. What happens when either political upheaval or natural disasters threaten tourism ? Who wants to go safariing in Zimbabwe this summer ? Who wants to vacation in the Sudan this season ? Anyone for birding in Haiti ? I hate to be so cynical about this but before any other reform is ventured there must be established a firm foundation for regularly and dependably producing food. Agricultural sustainability must come first, then enviornmental reforms will be deemed reasonable to the local inhabitants.
....As long as we as humans continue to contribute to the degradation of our environment, as a result of our activities like bush burning, deforestation, overgrazing, Co2 emission from automobiles etc.. Efforts to correct the global damage done thus far would prove abortive. We need to reduce to a barest minimum if not eliminate totally those activities that have brought our environment to this deplorable state. Only then will we see the result of the change we seek.
The Implication is that the people that are directly affected by the most serious problems facing man today must be involved in the process of repair. For example, the rain forest we used to know in Edo state of Nigeria is depleting at an alarming rate because of Indiscriminate land sales by community youth organizations. It is now at a point where some communities do not have any land left to sell. If it continues in this pace; in the next twenty years, the entire state might just be a forest of houses.
The Youth Organizations must be a part of the solution. They must be conscientious of the negative implication of the present practice on the erosion of their Cultural Identities. Because this approach has a direct effect than to tell an almost Illiterate people a story of Conservation, Global Warming, Deforestation, Or Green House effect.
The solution must also involve an attractive designed package to substitute the Ill practice so that they find the process of Conservation of the Environment more attractive. Such design must be either direct or indirect. But it must be that as they pursue a better way to make money, they are conserving the environment in the process. Let them try trees cultivation business, Let us give practical examples of the profit to be made from plantain plantations, What about Orchards and small scale fruit juice packaging? Snail farming could be more rewarding than Land sale business that is unsustainable.
An education of a people of a future whereby instead of a house depicting prosperity the forest might just be.
For me, this is about lines of responsibility - the internal drive to heal and make better is infinitely more powerful, and essential than someone looking from the outside just wanting to make things better.
Would you please take a little time to tell us how snail farming could help the people in the the Edo state of Nigeria? Would the snails thrive in this area? Thanks in advance for your time. Lee

Agbogun James Otejiri said:
The Implication is that the people that are directly affected by the most serious problems facing man today must be involved in the process of repair. For example, the rain forest we used to know in Edo state of Nigeria is depleting at an alarming rate because of Indiscriminate land sales by community youth organizations. It is now at a point where some communities do not have any land left to sell. If it continues in this pace; in the next twenty years, the entire state might just be a forest of houses.
The Youth Organizations must be a part of the solution. They must be conscientious of the negative implication of the present practice on the erosion of their Cultural Identities. Because this approach has a direct effect than to tell an almost Illiterate people a story of Conservation, Global Warming, Deforestation, Or Green House effect.
The solution must also involve an attractive designed package to substitute the Ill practice so that they find the process of Conservation of the Environment more attractive. Such design must be either direct or indirect. But it must be that as they pursue a better way to make money, they are conserving the environment in the process. Let them try trees cultivation business, Let us give practical examples of the profit to be made from plantain plantations, What about Orchards and small scale fruit juice packaging? Snail farming could be more rewarding than Land sale business that is unsustainable.
An education of a people of a future whereby instead of a house depicting prosperity the forest might just be.
I think that may have been true when we didn't know any better, but more and more are realizing that the problem of our house (earth) being destroyed isn't someone else's problem, it's everyones.

There is encouragement with the number of green initiatives going on but we each need to do our part in what ever way we can and not lose hope but enlist others to do the same.
The sentence is self-explanatory,and leads to many other questions. The initial questions are two: what is the house? who is the owner? once we get that covered we can move on to what is causing the owner to be doing what he is doing? In his mind, he may be repairing or furthermore, he may be having to choose between his house and his life. Another question is what is being destroyed? or what part of the house is being destroyed?

To me the house is (our planet) the conditions which are vital to our survival, and the owner is all life that dwells on this planet, and all the life forms on this planet are doing a great job as owners and stewards, we may be the only kind of life who are doing a horrible job as owners and stewards.
We are destroying the conditions necessary to our survival, not the planet the planet has been here before us and will be here long after us.

As for what is causing the owner to do what he is doing, to me it is the monetary system and the illusion of scarcity

I also share the view of Tanjim Islam, and pretty much all other comments.
Edo state is located in the tropical rain forest of Nigeria where snails of various types are already flourishing in the wild. But the depletion of the forest is drastically reducing their population.
Snail farming is not a strange practice to the region. Though most people are aware of various demonstrations aimed at training interested minds, it is difficult to find a man that is actually into the practice. Giant Snails cultivation is attractive in that; they proliferate in multiples, attracts a very large market and the reward could out-way the input in a large magnitude.

luckybluesman said:
Would you please take a little time to tell us how snail farming could help the people in the the Edo state of Nigeria? Would the snails thrive in this area? Thanks in advance for your time. Lee

Agbogun James Otejiri said:
The Implication is that the people that are directly affected by the most serious problems facing man today must be involved in the process of repair. For example, the rain forest we used to know in Edo state of Nigeria is depleting at an alarming rate because of Indiscriminate land sales by community youth organizations. It is now at a point where some communities do not have any land left to sell. If it continues in this pace; in the next twenty years, the entire state might just be a forest of houses.
The Youth Organizations must be a part of the solution. They must be conscientious of the negative implication of the present practice on the erosion of their Cultural Identities. Because this approach has a direct effect than to tell an almost Illiterate people a story of Conservation, Global Warming, Deforestation, Or Green House effect.
The solution must also involve an attractive designed package to substitute the Ill practice so that they find the process of Conservation of the Environment more attractive. Such design must be either direct or indirect. But it must be that as they pursue a better way to make money, they are conserving the environment in the process. Let them try trees cultivation business, Let us give practical examples of the profit to be made from plantain plantations, What about Orchards and small scale fruit juice packaging? Snail farming could be more rewarding than Land sale business that is unsustainable.
An education of a people of a future whereby instead of a house depicting prosperity the forest might just be.

I think the cde phrase means you can't do anything if you don't try or prevent it.

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