Will my camper be indoctrinated with worldviews I don't believe in?

Will my camper be indoctrinated with worldviews I don't believe in?

We don't know what you believe in. Our campers come from all sorts of worldviews. Your camper will be taught to observe and ask better questions. For instance, the first week of camp is about food. About where our food comes from. This is a human condition and experience. Kids like food. They are curious. They will be encouraged to grow plants, maybe food plants like popcorn. This can be empowering for a young person. Hopefully, this leads to a discussion with you. And you may not have answers to those questions either. That's ok. It's a journey. Here are the principles/values that your child will be exposed to:
Twelve Permaculture design principles articulated by David Holmgren in his Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability:
  1. Observe and interact: By taking the time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
  2. Catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.
  3. Obtain a yield: By ensuring that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.
  4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: By discouraging inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
  5. Use and value renewable resources and services: By making the best use of nature's abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
  6. Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us--nothing goes to waste.
  7. Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
  8. Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
  9. Use small and slow solutions: By making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes--small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones. 
  10. Use and value diversity: By encouraging diversity in order to reduce the vulnerability of a variety of threats and taking advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
  11. Use edges and value the marginal: By seeking the interface between things--this is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse, and productive elements in the system.
  12. Creatively use and respond to change: By positively impacting inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.
The three ethics on which the whole of permaculture builds are articulated in Mollison's A Designers' Manual.
  1. Care of the Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply.
  2. Care of people: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence
  3. Fair Share: Provision by understanding how to govern one's needs in order to set resources aside to further the above principles
Here is how those 12 principles will be discussed with your camper.

1. Observe and interact- Slow down and observe and appreciate our surroundings and others. Slow down and interact with others, in real life, not on your phones. Observe nature. Observe people.

2. Catch and store energy- Take time to relax to restore balance and energy. Do things that bring you and other's joy. Do things that energize you. This could also mean letting in the sunlight to warm your room.

3. Obtain a yield- Plant a garden. Harvest the fruits of your labor. Invest in people. See them smile.

4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback- Practice self-regulation and self-control. It allows you to be accountable and it empowers you. Accept feedback as it might help you grow. 

5/6. Use and value renewable resources and services and produce no waste- Ride your bike instead of taking your car. Use a glass cup instead of a plastic one.

7. Design from patterns to details- Stand back and observe patterns in nature and in society and then filling in the details. Notice how one of your neighbors has a beautiful garden each year. Ask them how they do it. 

8/10. Integrate rather than segregate and use and value diversity- People are all different. Plants and animals are all different. Enjoy the differences. Don't leave people out.

9. Use small and slow solutions- Don't try to solve every problem in one step. Take baby steps. 

11. Use edges and value the marginal- Notice how the railroad track cut through your neighborhood. Use that extra land for a garden. Watch how weeds find and grow along the edges.  

12. Creatively use and respond to change- Don't freak out when things change. Be creative. Figure out a new way to do something. 
This video does a great job explaining permaculture.

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