SPERI is actively engaged in seeking, teaching and demonstrating sustainable solutions based on ecological agricultural principals in Vietnam and the Mekong region. To facilitate this process SPERI is working to refine a set of eco – agricultural principles and language to reflect this regional Context. Real on farm examples and the stories and experiences of the farmers together with those at demonstration sites are important in developing, teaching and exemplifying these principals. Of interest are the local solutions, core practices and lessons learned from farmers in the SPERI network that are working with principles that are related to the context of ecological agriculture. Principles can be seen as the general background concepts and ideas that may develop into each particular local solution. The reverse may also true in that already existing practices may exemplify certain principles that are not referred to specifically by the farmer but can be observed by the researcher.

 

Local solutions have a relevance to a particular climate or locality, they are important in filling in the details of how to have successes with particular elements within farms of a certain climate. Local solutions may help to exemplify general principles that lie behind a successful local solution. When we bear this in mind each new local solution may also be a teaching mechanism that outlines a principle by example. Design principles may form the underlying concepts or ideas related to action in a range of climates and conditions. By finding sets of common principles that underlie the practice of eco- agriculture it is possible to have a common understanding across a network that transverses climates and cultural variations. Working with principles is an aspect of teaching our students that live in a range of different climates and conditions. We must further develop the approach to working with principles in a research situation, to study on farm activity both at our demonstration sites and when studying the farms in our network and beyond. We must also learn from the farmers themselves and ask; what are their stories, ideas and principles that lay behind the activities at their farms? Can we further elaborate on and refine a set of eco-agricultural principles by understanding the examples of the farmers?

 

Can we understand how to approach the gap between outside knowledge and farmers knowledge, so that we can keep the essence of minority culture while dealing with the challenges of the modern world? What are the principles we share across our network? How do we teach different techniques and applied methodology. What are the lessons learned from the farmer? How do we present principles in a way that farmers and students understand, relate to and can readily apply? How do we keep the lessons learned as valuable resources for future students, farmers and visitors? Can we develop a set of indicators based on our understanding of eco-farming? How do we best pass on this living body of knowledge that we are participating in at our demonstration sites such as HEPA? The brain of HEPA must grow as her body become fertile in ecologically rich habitats for human beings. These are some of the questions that ask as I begin this research project.

 

The basis of our research approach is an action learning process itself applying the philosophy of SPERI of learning by doing. The initial exploratory field work will deal in developing research approaches while making use of relevant observations in the application of research methodology in the context of eco-agriculture. A principle of Permaculture is to design from patterns to details by understanding the larger picture in Simacai, then we can at a later date start to fill in the details as the research process develops further.

 

There is great diversity in eco-agricultural systems and recognition of their holistic nature. These systems with embedded human participants have a great deal of variability and interconnection between elements in a way that models after nature. In this context there are intrinsic difficulties that arise in trying to separate out different variables for study and analysis. Within the context of learning by doing, research approaches may be developed that are in harmony with holistic perspectives while also appreciating what methods of reduction can offer. How can we develop research approaches that are holistic and are also relevant in providing a basis to develop quantitative and qualitative indicators to be used by SPERI when working with networks of farmers?