Basic principles

Why start a permaculture project? 
Our principles are based on God’s word, written in the Holy Scriptures.

•        God created planet Earth as a paradise, perfectly designed for living creatures (plants, animals, humans). (Genesis 1)
•        That perfect paradise was lost. Because people are misled by a spiritual being called Satan, everyone on Earth is suffering. (Genesis 3)
•        God will restore the paradise on Earth, He promised. All suffering will end … when the time is right (only God knows). (Isaiah 35; 45:18; Revelation 21:1-4)
•        God asks people to do their best to obey Him, to love each other and to live in harmony with the natural creation. (Isaiah 48:17,18; Matthew 22:36-39; Revelation 11:18)

There’s a modern method for not ruining planet Earth: permaculture (more info below). Perma-culture (permanent culture) involves all creation: plants, animals, humans. It’s a way all can live together and support each other. It is not perfect; nothing is perfect until God will restore paradise on Earth. But (in my opinion) it’s the best possible method now available. 

Curaçao nature ('mundi') 

About permaculture and CO₂ (carbon dioxide) 

All life on earth needs the sun. The sun provides light and warmth. To live and grow plants need light and warmth, water and carbon dioxide (CO₂). By a process called ‘photosynthesis’ they produce oxygen (O₂) and organic material. These two are necessary for the life of humans and animals. Organic material has different forms, like nutrients, building materials, fuel.

Combustion of organic material uses oxygen and produces carbon dioxide. That combustion can be burning in a fire, or the digestion of humans and animals. So people and animals produce CO₂, only by being alive. But people produce more CO₂ by burning fossil fuels. This causes problems in the atmosphere. To set that surplus of CO₂ back to useful oxygen again, more plants and trees are needed.

What solution gives permaculture to this problem? Permaculture is an ecological system to cultivate ‘food forests’. These are ecosystems not only producing food for humans, but enriching nature and helping reduce the level of CO₂ in the air. Permaculture is even more. It is a way of living in which people live in a good relationship to nature. Consciously applying energy saving methods and staying in good contact with the natural environment leads to a lower production of CO₂. 

What's the direction CuraDura goes? 
We don't have a 'goal'. We are 'going in a direction'. When this direction seems to be right, we'll go on. When there seems to be a better direction, we'll change direction ... 

At this moment the most important is: advance the awareness about nature, ecology, a healthy lifestyle (that's all part of permaculture). So one of the first steps has to be: education. 

First there must be something to show. We can't teach about permaculture if there isn't a permaculture food-forest. We can't give workshops if there isn't a course centre. But in fact the education starts with the building of that course centre and the planting of the first edible plants! Even before ... the organisation of a project group is already part of a learning-process. Everyone who joins this project is part of that process!