"Grid Town" (Permaculture Station) for the Post-Chaos Era + SYMBO Message 1.0 [video]. New Myth #65. By Willi Paul,

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No one can predict how global warming will roll-out. It is our man-made, anti-Mother Nature monster cross to bear and any settlement types after the Chaos Era ends will need to be well-panned, compact, secure and localized.

The "Grid Town" schema is definitely reminiscent of castle and moat days - and the frontier days - where folks hugged Main Street and guarded the entrances. Here we see permaculture values at work (Care for the Earth, Care for People, Return the Surplus). The Grid Town plan supports and further details the Permaculture Grid vision and the SYMBO alt language process.

Individual consumption schemes and top-down systems are gone. The community good takes precedence. In simplistic terms, this vision for Homo sapiens is a hybrid: a short-term duck and cover, protectionism bent (Preppers) and a long-term sustainability play (per the Permaculturists).

Does this mean a positive re-birth is possible for humans on Earth? Yes. As arduous and "paranoid" as this future vision may seem today, it is a realistic balancing act between Mad Max and Woodstock.

The SYMBRO message (video) for this article is a prototype message that could be carried by runner or horseback to another Grid Town. It incorporates text, PermaGram and sound elements.

Technical Details from the Plan -

+ Site security is in three tiers – with an armed or electric technology on the main (external) perimeter

+ SYMBO messages are child-like and cryptic by design and are supported by each notebook's password protection

+ Each Grid Town has a limited amount of solar-power energy and battery storage and rationing is mandated

+ As described in the Permaculture Grid vision, a very weak security LAN is possible for the Town but just for the Main Street and adjacent buildings

+ In the old days, towns where built for the sake of the railroads, who need water and supplies and fresh labor. Grid Towns are located with horseback /runner travel, security and water supply in mind

+ In addition to the food forest, small livestock and food crops are grown in the neighborhood south of Main Street

Discussion Questions -

+ Who is a threat? Individuals and gangs who want to take-over the life support system offered in the town

+ How many folks are possible in this scheme? 250? What is the capacity? Based on what?

+ What is recycled and re-used? What is not?

+ What are the alternative economic and governance models and drivers? PermOccupy?

+ Water? The big unknown in 2076!

+ Are folks practicing "Communal Permaculture?"

+ What does the SYMBO message say?

Resources –

+ Permaculture Teaching Video #3: Permagram Symbolic Language for Global (Post-Crash) Permaculture Tribes

+ SYMBO: A Symbolic Permaculture Supported Language for the Post-Chaos Era

+ "The Permaculture Grid." A Prototype. New Myth #63

+ Journey to Cascadia: Building a New Global Mythology. Designed & Produced for the 2012 Study of Myth Symposium

+ "PermOccupy - A Pathway to a Sustainable Future," by Killian O'Brien. Interview on PermOccupy with Killian by Willi Paul