Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
03 July 2007
01 July 2007
From London
Tuesday, 26 June
We arrived in London on Saturday (23 June), our journey almost over. There was a major scare at the airport in Paris. After doing an automatic check-in and passing through passport control we were in the queue to check in our bags. It was then that I discovered that the black bag with all 30+ hours of film from the last 4 ½ months was missing. No bag, film gone. I was told afterwards that I went white with shock. Through a combination of real exhaustion and carelessness the bag had been left behind in our lease car when we dropped it off and transferred to a shuttle. Fortunately we had time to spare and I had kept the paper with the phone number for the lease car company (only because it had a map on it and I'm a hoarder of maps!). They found the bag and delivered it to me at the arrivals area. This temporary loss had me questioning, for a short time, what I had achieved from this journey. Was it nothing without the film? I don't believe so. In fact I have gained so much more in terms of a deepened understanding of the real issues people are already experiencing and some of the very positive things that are being done. I capped off the day by taking Emma to see Crowded House and Peter Gabriel in Hyde Park (reviews here and here. Cheers Michael). It was a great way to finish a nearly disastrous day.
Yesterday I visited the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), www.defra.govt.uk, and gave a presentation covering my New Zealand adaptation work, lessons from this and reflections from the last 4 ½ months. It was well received, with plenty of questions and some discussion afterwards. One of the staff talked about the current international debate that is happening in terms of who pays who for adaptation and how you make the distinction between adaptation to climate change and adaptation to the inherent variability of climate. This debate is paralysing international actions. I kept reinforcing my very clear view that the only way forward is to be guided by what is happening on the ground. Too many people now are spending too much time in meetings, workshops and seminars talking and debating what ought to be done to address the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, people on the ground are acting. The smartest farmers are, in my view, always ahead of everyone and I certainly believe we've encountered some very smart people of the land on our journey. We do need local, national and international policy but it will only be truly effective if shaped in a way that is relevant to people's lives and aimed at empowering local people to own and implement local solutions. The problem is, to put it in the simple words of Michun Gurung, that we have too many talkers and not enough doers.
Where to from here? We are presently based in London until 7 July, then fly back to New Zealand. I have a couple of meetings lined up before we leave, including a return visit to DEFRA to talk in more depth to some staff there. I'm still searching for the right connections that will help me realise the goal of a documentary film. A book might also be a good idea. Seeking funds to support grassroots exchanges and sharing of information is something I will continue working on.
Keep watching this space. It has been very difficult for me to maintain regular posts via Michael (the blog site manager) since we arrived in Italy on 14 May. Access to the internet has been difficult in many places and there have been many demands on my time. From now on things will be much easier. So I will keep adding useful information for those who are interested.
Sunday, 18 June
Yesterday I met Jean-Pierre Caumont at the Montcuq market and bought some of his wine. This morning I drove to his farm to film an interview with him, most likely my only farmer interview in France and the last on this journey. Jean-Pierre comes from a farming family in the village of Escayrac. He went to University but was drawn back to the land and now farms farms 60 ha of cropping land and 3.5 ha of wine grapes with his wife, Claire. They also own about 40 ha of forest land for biodiversity and aesthetic benefits. Jean-Pierre has aways felt an affinity with nature, but farmed conventionally for many years. Increasingly he saw the effects of intensive use of chemicals and also began experiencing more chaotic weather patterns. So he decided to move towards an organic production system. The term 'organic' or 'biologique' in French, is one that he and his wife, Claire, have been cautious in using. They are people who are simply passionate about the land and the environment and don't really like to be labelled in a particular way. Over the last 20 years Jean-Pierre has noticed more extreme weather events, more unpredictability with rainfall, and higher temperatures. Hotter summers are being reflected in increased alcohol content of wines in the region. He perceives greater challenges in the future with cropping than with the wine grapes. The deep-rooting of the vines enables them to withstand drought, for example. His experience is that with organic soil management, biodiversity protection and diversity of production they have a greater capacity to buffer against climatic extremes. Both Jean-Pierre and Claire are strongly committed to protecting local biodiversity, demonstrated by the fact that they recently bought a neighbouring piece of woodland to prevent another would-be buyer from clear-felling it.
If you live somewhere in Europe and want to support a couple of very dedicated people by purchasing their wine you will be able to find out about them over the web in the future. The name of their farm is Le Pech d'Auzonne. You can get mail order wine by writing to them: Claire and Jean-Pierre Caumont, Escayrac, 46800 Montcuq, France.
Jean-Pierre and Claire Caumont are deeply committed to protecting and enhancing their local environment for the future.
The man and the vine. Jean-Pierre can honestly say that he knows every vine in his 3.5 ha vineyard.
Vines with woodland in the background, purchased by Jean-Pierre to protect biodiversity around their farm.
We arrived in London on Saturday (23 June), our journey almost over. There was a major scare at the airport in Paris. After doing an automatic check-in and passing through passport control we were in the queue to check in our bags. It was then that I discovered that the black bag with all 30+ hours of film from the last 4 ½ months was missing. No bag, film gone. I was told afterwards that I went white with shock. Through a combination of real exhaustion and carelessness the bag had been left behind in our lease car when we dropped it off and transferred to a shuttle. Fortunately we had time to spare and I had kept the paper with the phone number for the lease car company (only because it had a map on it and I'm a hoarder of maps!). They found the bag and delivered it to me at the arrivals area. This temporary loss had me questioning, for a short time, what I had achieved from this journey. Was it nothing without the film? I don't believe so. In fact I have gained so much more in terms of a deepened understanding of the real issues people are already experiencing and some of the very positive things that are being done. I capped off the day by taking Emma to see Crowded House and Peter Gabriel in Hyde Park (reviews here and here. Cheers Michael). It was a great way to finish a nearly disastrous day.
Yesterday I visited the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), www.defra.govt.uk, and gave a presentation covering my New Zealand adaptation work, lessons from this and reflections from the last 4 ½ months. It was well received, with plenty of questions and some discussion afterwards. One of the staff talked about the current international debate that is happening in terms of who pays who for adaptation and how you make the distinction between adaptation to climate change and adaptation to the inherent variability of climate. This debate is paralysing international actions. I kept reinforcing my very clear view that the only way forward is to be guided by what is happening on the ground. Too many people now are spending too much time in meetings, workshops and seminars talking and debating what ought to be done to address the effects of climate change. Meanwhile, people on the ground are acting. The smartest farmers are, in my view, always ahead of everyone and I certainly believe we've encountered some very smart people of the land on our journey. We do need local, national and international policy but it will only be truly effective if shaped in a way that is relevant to people's lives and aimed at empowering local people to own and implement local solutions. The problem is, to put it in the simple words of Michun Gurung, that we have too many talkers and not enough doers.
Where to from here? We are presently based in London until 7 July, then fly back to New Zealand. I have a couple of meetings lined up before we leave, including a return visit to DEFRA to talk in more depth to some staff there. I'm still searching for the right connections that will help me realise the goal of a documentary film. A book might also be a good idea. Seeking funds to support grassroots exchanges and sharing of information is something I will continue working on.
Keep watching this space. It has been very difficult for me to maintain regular posts via Michael (the blog site manager) since we arrived in Italy on 14 May. Access to the internet has been difficult in many places and there have been many demands on my time. From now on things will be much easier. So I will keep adding useful information for those who are interested.
Sunday, 18 June
Yesterday I met Jean-Pierre Caumont at the Montcuq market and bought some of his wine. This morning I drove to his farm to film an interview with him, most likely my only farmer interview in France and the last on this journey. Jean-Pierre comes from a farming family in the village of Escayrac. He went to University but was drawn back to the land and now farms farms 60 ha of cropping land and 3.5 ha of wine grapes with his wife, Claire. They also own about 40 ha of forest land for biodiversity and aesthetic benefits. Jean-Pierre has aways felt an affinity with nature, but farmed conventionally for many years. Increasingly he saw the effects of intensive use of chemicals and also began experiencing more chaotic weather patterns. So he decided to move towards an organic production system. The term 'organic' or 'biologique' in French, is one that he and his wife, Claire, have been cautious in using. They are people who are simply passionate about the land and the environment and don't really like to be labelled in a particular way. Over the last 20 years Jean-Pierre has noticed more extreme weather events, more unpredictability with rainfall, and higher temperatures. Hotter summers are being reflected in increased alcohol content of wines in the region. He perceives greater challenges in the future with cropping than with the wine grapes. The deep-rooting of the vines enables them to withstand drought, for example. His experience is that with organic soil management, biodiversity protection and diversity of production they have a greater capacity to buffer against climatic extremes. Both Jean-Pierre and Claire are strongly committed to protecting local biodiversity, demonstrated by the fact that they recently bought a neighbouring piece of woodland to prevent another would-be buyer from clear-felling it.
If you live somewhere in Europe and want to support a couple of very dedicated people by purchasing their wine you will be able to find out about them over the web in the future. The name of their farm is Le Pech d'Auzonne. You can get mail order wine by writing to them: Claire and Jean-Pierre Caumont, Escayrac, 46800 Montcuq, France.
Jean-Pierre and Claire Caumont are deeply committed to protecting and enhancing their local environment for the future.
The man and the vine. Jean-Pierre can honestly say that he knows every vine in his 3.5 ha vineyard.
Vines with woodland in the background, purchased by Jean-Pierre to protect biodiversity around their farm.
5 June - 17 June 2007
Sunday, 17 June
We left Florence 12 days ago. The time has rushed by as our journey comes towards an end. We left Florence at about 5.30pm, after collecting the film camera from being repaired. From there we drove through to Milan, where we began our Italian journey on 14 May. It was a brief, one night, stay in Milan and then on to Lugano in southern Switzerland. There we spent time with the Grilli family, who Emma had spent 3 months with until joining us when we arrived in Italy. After 5 nights in Lugano we drove to Dornach, near Basel, for 3 nights, then down into France. We arrived in France on 13 June, spending two nights in a tiny place called Chichilianne in the Rhone Alps region, then one night in another small village in the Puy de Dome region, south of Clermont-Ferrand. We're now near yet another tiny village called St. Cyprien, in the south central area of France. Tomorrow I am meeting with a local farmer who I met at the market this morning. This may well be my last interview on this journey.
We have done a lot of travelling but I have managed some interactions with people as well as continued to reflect on lessons from this journey. I have talked increasingly about the importance of finding ways of working harmoniously with our earth, with the natural world. This is a contrary view to the well know British scientist, James Lovelock, who developed the so-called Gaia hypothesis. More recently he has expressed his concerns about the state of the earth and has suggested a planned retreat from nature. I disagreed with this view before and disagree even more strongly now. The many people we have met in different places and their very positive actions support a different approach that is focused on an intelligent and heart-felt re-engagement with nature. Everything we have, all of the wonderful results of the industrial revolution and our modern technological revolution, have been derived from the earth in some form or another. We cannot so easily retreat as Lovelock thinks. I prefer to look at the leader of the Karen village in northern Thailand and his very smart 16 year old daughter, to the Buddhist monk north of Bangkok, to the work of Ajarn Yak in Thailand, to a wise 78 year old man in northern Viet Nam, to wise local leaders in Nepal, to the work of Sekem in Egypt, and more recently to the inherent understanding of our place in landscape, in nature, that is visible in parts of Europe and in the work on the best farmers here.
In the parts of Italy we visited, Switzerland, and now in France we see landscapes where there is a history of understanding the importance of forest and water management. In all the places we've been in these countries I have seen hills covered with trees that in New Zealand and many parts of Asia have been stripped bare. In Switzerland, water catchment areas are forested. In New Zealand, when I gave a talk to a Regional Council a couple of years ago I was considered naïve to suggest that planting trees was the most important thing we could be doing as an adaptation to climate change. Everywhere I've been, every place I've seen, every person I have spoken to over the last 4 months has reinforced this view. In Europe I see the legacy of centuries of understanding the importance of managing whole landscapes. We don't have this legacy in New Zealand. What we do have is a freedom of choice that many other countries and people do not have any more. But for how much longer?
It is very clear to me now that there is a great, unrealised, opportunity to develop truly effective responses to climate and other global changes by simply opening our eyes and ears to the very good things that people are already doing all over the world. In fact I believe we must do this. Things are now moving too fast for the politicians and scientists to keep up. People are already acting, some are already well ahead in their work and thinking.
Scenes from rural France
Making hay in the Rhone Alps region.
The lush countryside in the Puy de Dome region.
14 June
Today we visited a place called Terre Vivante (www.terrevivante.org). This organisation has existed since 1979 when the magazine 'Les Quatre Saisons' was launched by seven passionate ecologists. In 1994 they began the development of a 'discovery centre' focused on demonstrating practical ecology. We visited this centre, with its blend of forests walks, gardens and demonstration sites, on a day when a bus load of school children was there to explore, experience and learn. Their presence strongly reinforced the value of providing a living learning environment for all age groups, aimed at demonstrating positive, attainable, actions for a sustainble 21st century.
In the evening I met with Remy Bacher, the editor of Les Quatres Saisons magazine. I told him how impressed I was with the Terre Vivante centre, with practical examples of the very simple solutions to the many environmental problems we have in the world. I also talked about the importance of local people who provide leadership and an example for others to follow. This has been evident everywhere we have been. Remy said that not just Terre Vivante but increasingly the Trieves area as a whole, in the Rhone Alps where Terre Vivante is located, is providing an example for the rest of France. More an more people are aware of the work of Terre Vivante, of the high proportion of organic farmers in the area, and of a very beautiful and well balanced environment.
Terre Vivante is an excellent educational and resource centre with practical examples for sustainable living in the 21st century.
11 June
As we drove through Switzerland, from Lugano to Dornach, it was evident everywhere that the Swiss understand the importance of trees in the landscape and in managing water catchments.
10 June
Through our wonderful hosts, the Grilli family, I was introduced to a local farmer. Renzo was not born to a farming family, but became a farmer nearly 40 years ago. His motivation was to live and work with the land, with the natural world. He and his family are alpine farmers, During the winter period they move down to their winter house and their stock are housed. In the summer period they move to the summer house, above the tree line, where the stock are able to free range on the herb pastures. Renzo was a bit reluctant to be interviewed and filmed, but he generously agreed. He talked about the dramatic reduction in snow cover that they now experience every winter. The winter rest period, which he considers important for the earth, animals and people, is no longer as it was. The climate is changing and nothing is predictable in the way that it was in the past. This is very unsettling and I think stressful for a family that has worked very hard over a long period. What more can they do than they already are, working and living in a very balanced way?
A view towards Lake Lugano, southern Switzerland, showing a forested water catchment area.
The Swiss have a very clear understanding of the importance of forest cover in water catchments, even with small streams.
There is a long history of winter rest and summer grazing in high alpine areas of Switzerland. This is beginning to change with higher temperatures and significant reductions in snow cover.
The summer farmhouse, with small terrace restaurant for walkers, where Renzo and his family live while they graze their animals in the alpine herb fields.
Renzo, a man who came to live and work with nature 40 years ago and is now finding that he can no longer follow the seasonal rhythms of the past.
5 June
Before leaving Florence my colleague, Professor Marco Bindi, and I talked about possibilities for collaboration. My very strong interest is to work to develop interactions between local people in different parts of the world. I increasingly see this as a real possibility and something that could help provide true leadership for the future.
We left Florence 12 days ago. The time has rushed by as our journey comes towards an end. We left Florence at about 5.30pm, after collecting the film camera from being repaired. From there we drove through to Milan, where we began our Italian journey on 14 May. It was a brief, one night, stay in Milan and then on to Lugano in southern Switzerland. There we spent time with the Grilli family, who Emma had spent 3 months with until joining us when we arrived in Italy. After 5 nights in Lugano we drove to Dornach, near Basel, for 3 nights, then down into France. We arrived in France on 13 June, spending two nights in a tiny place called Chichilianne in the Rhone Alps region, then one night in another small village in the Puy de Dome region, south of Clermont-Ferrand. We're now near yet another tiny village called St. Cyprien, in the south central area of France. Tomorrow I am meeting with a local farmer who I met at the market this morning. This may well be my last interview on this journey.
We have done a lot of travelling but I have managed some interactions with people as well as continued to reflect on lessons from this journey. I have talked increasingly about the importance of finding ways of working harmoniously with our earth, with the natural world. This is a contrary view to the well know British scientist, James Lovelock, who developed the so-called Gaia hypothesis. More recently he has expressed his concerns about the state of the earth and has suggested a planned retreat from nature. I disagreed with this view before and disagree even more strongly now. The many people we have met in different places and their very positive actions support a different approach that is focused on an intelligent and heart-felt re-engagement with nature. Everything we have, all of the wonderful results of the industrial revolution and our modern technological revolution, have been derived from the earth in some form or another. We cannot so easily retreat as Lovelock thinks. I prefer to look at the leader of the Karen village in northern Thailand and his very smart 16 year old daughter, to the Buddhist monk north of Bangkok, to the work of Ajarn Yak in Thailand, to a wise 78 year old man in northern Viet Nam, to wise local leaders in Nepal, to the work of Sekem in Egypt, and more recently to the inherent understanding of our place in landscape, in nature, that is visible in parts of Europe and in the work on the best farmers here.
In the parts of Italy we visited, Switzerland, and now in France we see landscapes where there is a history of understanding the importance of forest and water management. In all the places we've been in these countries I have seen hills covered with trees that in New Zealand and many parts of Asia have been stripped bare. In Switzerland, water catchment areas are forested. In New Zealand, when I gave a talk to a Regional Council a couple of years ago I was considered naïve to suggest that planting trees was the most important thing we could be doing as an adaptation to climate change. Everywhere I've been, every place I've seen, every person I have spoken to over the last 4 months has reinforced this view. In Europe I see the legacy of centuries of understanding the importance of managing whole landscapes. We don't have this legacy in New Zealand. What we do have is a freedom of choice that many other countries and people do not have any more. But for how much longer?
It is very clear to me now that there is a great, unrealised, opportunity to develop truly effective responses to climate and other global changes by simply opening our eyes and ears to the very good things that people are already doing all over the world. In fact I believe we must do this. Things are now moving too fast for the politicians and scientists to keep up. People are already acting, some are already well ahead in their work and thinking.
Scenes from rural France
Making hay in the Rhone Alps region.
The lush countryside in the Puy de Dome region.
14 June
Today we visited a place called Terre Vivante (www.terrevivante.org). This organisation has existed since 1979 when the magazine 'Les Quatre Saisons' was launched by seven passionate ecologists. In 1994 they began the development of a 'discovery centre' focused on demonstrating practical ecology. We visited this centre, with its blend of forests walks, gardens and demonstration sites, on a day when a bus load of school children was there to explore, experience and learn. Their presence strongly reinforced the value of providing a living learning environment for all age groups, aimed at demonstrating positive, attainable, actions for a sustainble 21st century.
In the evening I met with Remy Bacher, the editor of Les Quatres Saisons magazine. I told him how impressed I was with the Terre Vivante centre, with practical examples of the very simple solutions to the many environmental problems we have in the world. I also talked about the importance of local people who provide leadership and an example for others to follow. This has been evident everywhere we have been. Remy said that not just Terre Vivante but increasingly the Trieves area as a whole, in the Rhone Alps where Terre Vivante is located, is providing an example for the rest of France. More an more people are aware of the work of Terre Vivante, of the high proportion of organic farmers in the area, and of a very beautiful and well balanced environment.
Terre Vivante is an excellent educational and resource centre with practical examples for sustainable living in the 21st century.
11 June
As we drove through Switzerland, from Lugano to Dornach, it was evident everywhere that the Swiss understand the importance of trees in the landscape and in managing water catchments.
10 June
Through our wonderful hosts, the Grilli family, I was introduced to a local farmer. Renzo was not born to a farming family, but became a farmer nearly 40 years ago. His motivation was to live and work with the land, with the natural world. He and his family are alpine farmers, During the winter period they move down to their winter house and their stock are housed. In the summer period they move to the summer house, above the tree line, where the stock are able to free range on the herb pastures. Renzo was a bit reluctant to be interviewed and filmed, but he generously agreed. He talked about the dramatic reduction in snow cover that they now experience every winter. The winter rest period, which he considers important for the earth, animals and people, is no longer as it was. The climate is changing and nothing is predictable in the way that it was in the past. This is very unsettling and I think stressful for a family that has worked very hard over a long period. What more can they do than they already are, working and living in a very balanced way?
A view towards Lake Lugano, southern Switzerland, showing a forested water catchment area.
The Swiss have a very clear understanding of the importance of forest cover in water catchments, even with small streams.
There is a long history of winter rest and summer grazing in high alpine areas of Switzerland. This is beginning to change with higher temperatures and significant reductions in snow cover.
The summer farmhouse, with small terrace restaurant for walkers, where Renzo and his family live while they graze their animals in the alpine herb fields.
Renzo, a man who came to live and work with nature 40 years ago and is now finding that he can no longer follow the seasonal rhythms of the past.
5 June
Before leaving Florence my colleague, Professor Marco Bindi, and I talked about possibilities for collaboration. My very strong interest is to work to develop interactions between local people in different parts of the world. I increasingly see this as a real possibility and something that could help provide true leadership for the future.
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