When we brought the EuPN back to life, we hoped we could leave some of the old problems behind and focus on building something useful for the wider permaculture community in Europe.
Unfortunately, it seems we are running into similar patterns again.
In recent calls and conversations outside the EuPN, a narrative has started to circulate that is both misleading and damaging. It appears in sentences like:
- “The EuPN is just one person’s project.”
- “The EuPN partners listed on the page are just connected to the same person.”
Let me be clear: This is spreading of FUD - Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt - where there should be curiosity. It turns practical work into something suspicious. It also ignores the reality of how many grassroots projects actually happen: someone sees a need, starts building, takes responsibility, and often carries the work long before there is a larger structure around it.
This is something that should't be used against them - but be supported!
The EuPN is not pretending to be something it is not. The digital infrastructure is maintained and sponsored. The legal responsibility is held by a non-profit organisation. The network itself exists to support teachers, projects, learners, organisers, and local initiatives across Europe.
Of course, the EuPN is not perfect. It is still evolving. But it is real work, done by real people, with real costs, real responsibilities, and real benefits for the wider network.
What is frustrating is not criticism. Criticism is fine. Questions are fine. Accountability is fine.
What is not fine is spreading suspicion from the outside without first speaking to the people actually doing the work.
We have already seen how quickly this kind of wording travels. Once a simple dismissive phrase is repeated often enough, people start treating it as truth. And then trust is damaged, not because something was properly questioned, but because doubt was planted.
This is especially painful in a movement that talks so much about People Care and Fair Share.
If someone does work, carries responsibility, pays for infrastructure, maintains systems, and keeps things running, then that work should not be dismissed simply because it does not fit an old institutional model.
Not every valuable collective or network starts with a committee, a chairperson, and a perfect governance chart.
Sometimes it starts because someone finally does the work.
So if you hear claims about the EuPN from people who are not involved in the EuPN, please do not just repeat them.
- Ask what they actually know.
- Ask whether they have spoken with the people involved.
- Ask who is maintaining the infrastructure.
- Ask who carries the legal responsibility.
- Ask what is being built, and for whom.
The EuPN deserves fair criticism, not rumour.
It deserves transparency, not suspicion.
And it deserves to be judged by the work it does, not by stories told about it from the outside.
Coments
Not okay
I fully support the stance that "...spreading suspicion from the outside without first speaking to the people actually doing the work" is not okay.
What usually comes with rumours are rumour-mongers. What calls and conversations outside the EuPN? Who participated in those calls?
I agree. Permaculture is…
I agree. Permaculture is about observing before judging, valuing small and slow solutions, and recognising the effort that goes into creating healthy systems. Constructive feedback helps a network grow; rumours and assumptions rarely do!
Let's ask questions, stay curious, and judge the EuPN by its actions, transparency and contribution to the European permaculture community.
Changing the paradigm
Hi Dominik
I really appreciate what you are doing with EuPN and would like to offer the following in support.
I have been a project manager of leading edge projects for much of my professional career. One thing I have learned is that the standard bearer (the one who carries the flag) is the one that receives the most criticism, simply because they are in the spotlight and easiest to spot.
This phenomenon is known under different names in different countries: in New Zealand and Australia it is known as “tall poppy syndrome”; in Japan the expression is "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down"; in the Netherlands its "don't stick your head out in a field being mown"; and in Scandinavia I believe its known as the “Law of Jante”.
Permaculture and a leading edge project have much in common in that they both strive to change an established norm or paradigm. In the case of Permaculture it is to overthrow a belief system that has led humanity to the predicament it is now in. Consequently, leaders and entrepreneurs in the movement are standard bearers and experience similar suspicion and hostility.
My involvement in Permaculture over the years has shown me that, for some, embracing the ethics appears to be a serial process. It certainly was for me. First comes
Those who have moved beyond the gardening phase recognise that the quickest way to effect a paradigm shift is to create change from within. Don’t replace the plant, change the soil that it grows in….. teach a man to fish…. etc. In today’s Information Age this means employing websites and other digital tools to effect change.
There is a cost associated with this approach and it is here corporate sponsorship is needed. Without such sponsorship the EuPN would not exist.
Likewise without the huge amount of time you, Dominic, spends in providing and working with these tools and administering the EuPN it would also not exist.
Thank you, Dominic, for what you do, and remember that if you don’t then who else will? One thing is for sure, it is very unlikely to be any of those sniping at you. Please keep doing what you do.
Rory
For me, I share the feeling…
For me, I share the feeling that its especially frustrating to seing this happening in an environment that specifically has the three ethics at its centre. It shows, exactly as Rory pointed out, that the main attention needs to be put not to the garden, but to the soil - in this case the cultural soil, which as we can see not only from this experience, is unfortunately severely degraded. As many others I appreciate the work you and others are putting into the EuPN, and I will support it as much as time allows.
Respectful communication and openness
It's disheartening to hear that there are rumours being spread instead of people simply asking questions or seeking clarification directly.
So much of the work that keeps EuPN and other such organisations going is done voluntarily by people giving their time and energy for the benefit of the wider community. That deserves appreciation and support, not criticism based on hearsay. If we really value the ethics of People Care, then respectful communication, openness, and giving others the support they need should be at the heart of how we treat one another.