Earth Passengers

Project Type

Project Summary

Earth Passengers was founded to promote and implement environmental education in Taiwan in 2000. Since 2002, 3 years after one of the co-founders, Peter Morehead completed his PDC with Geoff Lawton, we started working on promoting Permaculture education in Taiwan. Earth Passengers held Taiwan's first PDC in 2008 with Robyn Francis. In 2009 we held our 2nd PDC with Robyn Francis and in 2011 our 3rd PDC with Darren Doherty and Peter Morehead. We are now establishing a small but intensive system on beautiful east coast in Taiwan. Interns and wwoofers are welcomed.

Project Description

Earth passengers means that…

• we are guests on this planet
• we admit to not being in control of the Earth's systems
• we accept a humble position along with a rich diversity of other “passenger” species that are no less or more important than ourselves.

The name also implies that the Earth is like a vehicle, and true enough, the Earth is the only vehicle that will take us for the ride of our lives from birth to death. There's no getting off and there's no switching to another vehicle – therefore we must learn to take care of this one and ensure that it is in working order for future generations. Most importantly, we believe this vehicle is not just some dead machine: taken as a whole, the biosphere is akin to a living creature and human life is just one part of this creature – therefore we need to foster an attitude of respect and stewardship for all life, and balance the human factor in the entire Earth equation.

So where is this Earthship taking us? Around and around the Sun, our source of energy – the fuel that powers the Earth and all its passengers. Conservative and wise utilization of the Sun's energy is a key principle to our sustained survival. The Earth has provided everything we need to take us and all other passenger species from point A in time to point B in time. What are we doing to make sure that we make it to point B without overworking or destroying the vehicle?

Our motivating forces (assumptions):

• It is impossible to gauge the long-term effects of current human activities on the Earth. Human-induced climate change and mass extinction show the fragility of the Earth's systems. We need to minimize our impact, both as individuals and as a society.
• The development of humanity is not based on material wealth. We need to focus on harmonization between all peoples and species and with our environment, now more than ever.
• Modern society is dangerously dependent on unsustainably high amounts of energy. Fossil fuel energy sources will vanish within the century and we have to prepare our grandchildren for low-energy lifestyles.
• The Earth's stores of fresh water and soil are nearly depleted. We need to learn how to store these two vital resources in living systems on land in order to spread this wealth equally among all humans and other creatures.
• Cities will soon undergo major transformations in response to disappearing energy sources. We need to make cities more self-reliant and more responsible for their resources.

Our corresponding goals and actions

• Permaculture education (introductory, PDCs, urban permaculture), design and consultancy
• Environmental education in general
• Buy Nothing Day
• Voluntary simplicity everyday

• Service learning projects
• World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
• Low technology that is accessible to all
• Non-violent solutions to conflicts

• Renewable energy education
• Solar cooker education
• Passive solar design
• Earth-friendly products and materials (low embodied energy*)

• Appropriate Technology
• Rainwater catchment and usage
• Encourage young people to return to the land and learn soil-building gardening techniques
• Reforestation projects

• Rooftop gardening and utilization
• Encourage establishment of community gardens in parks and on rooftops
• Design and retrofit energy-efficient buildings

Updates