Restoring Global Ecology: The Great Green Wall and Large-Scale Permaculture in Action
The Great Simplification #178 with Andrew Millison
It’s no secret that massive change is needed to restore our planet’s vital ecosystems. Permaculture offers practices to restore local environments by focusing on creating sustainable agricultural systems that mimic patterns found in nature. But how might permaculture initiatives go beyond agriculture to transform some of our largest-scale problems, such as social cohesion, climate stabilization, and even human migration?
In this conversation, I sit down with permaculture educator Andrew Millison to discuss the Great Green Wall project, a massive ecological initiative aimed at combating desertification in the Sahel region of Africa. We explore the causes of the Sahara Desert's expansion, the simple but impactful permaculture techniques being employed to restore land, and the significant ecological and nutritional benefits resulting from these efforts. This conversation highlights the collaboration between local communities and global organizations, emphasizing permaculture’s potential to transform lives and ecosystems around the world.
How can innovative permaculture techniques aid in helping our most complex ecological challenges? In what ways have land restoration projects reduced conflict between people in resource scarce areas? Furthermore, what kinds of responses – both grassroots and top-down – are needed to implement these practices on a large scale?
In case you missed it…
In addition to the podcast, the Franklies, and presentations, we plan to offer longform content, courses, and static educational materials in the near future. As systems complexity increases, attention spans decrease, and algorithms redirect — thoughtful learning and sensemaking become even more vital.
To that end, we have put together a Learning & Training Survey that will help us better understand:
Which aspects of the human predicament do you want to understand better?
Which formats help you integrate these complex concepts?
How can we create educational offerings that are both accessible and rigorous?
If you appreciate The Great Simplification podcast…
Be sure to leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! Leaving reviews helps the podcast grow, which helps spread awareness of our systemic situation from experts in ecology, energy, policy, economics, technology, and community building so that we can better understand - and respond to - the challenges of the coming decade.
The Great Simplification podcast is produced by The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future (ISEOF), a 501(c)(3) organization. We want to keep all content completely free to view globally and without ads. If you’d like to support ISEOF and its content via donation, please use the link below.
Awesome! Saw his video about this greening in the desert. It's amazing what these people are doing. Using ancient technologies to green the area. Great show!