Comments on: Permaculture Strategies for Tropical Drylands

By: Arian I.

Arian I. — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:03:45 +0000

A question for Dave. Has he spent time on Joe Kennedy’s farm?

By: Edward Schengber

Edward Schengber — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:23:24 +0000

Dave, I will have to agre with Nichole and Jake on this. Joe Kennedy is my uncle. My mother was Martha Kennedy Schengber, Joe’s sister. Joe is good, humble man! Your slanderous remarks about him are unfounded. You need to let go of the resentment. Ever since I have known Joe as a child in St. Louis, MO he has always cared greatly for the environment and gardening. So much so, that the Notre Dame graduate quit the “rat race” to persue his dream of being a farmer in Hawaii, a land he fell in love with after only a few visits.
As far as NaOH goes you are, again, way off base. NaOH is high in alakalinity and the minute amount that is in the cardboard boxes is immediately counteracted by the minute amount of acid that is in a typical rainstorm anywhere on earth. The by product of a base and an acid is salt and water. I am not a permaculturalist but that can’t be bad for the earth.
Find somewhere else to vent your frustrations for not having deluxe accommodations on a farm. I am sure Joe can remember some good hotels here in the states that would suit your needs.

By: Jake Choiniere

Jake Choiniere — Sun, 09 May 2010 20:26:41 +0000

Your multiple, identical, near-slander posts here and on other websites smack of a personal vendetta against Joe Kennedy, not sure what your deal is and frankly don’t care, except that your science is poorly researched rubbish. Answers.com is not a reasonable reference, let alone the fact that what you’ve posted doesn’t support your assertion that his food is not organic.
Cardboard and newspaper as used by Joe Kennedy have been accepted by organic certifying societies around the world for decades, the glues being cellulose based, and other compounds such as NaOH or inks used in their manufacture being either non-toxic or not present in the final product in measurable quantities. In fact, NaOH is specifically approved in the making of organic products in both the USA and UK by multiple certifying societies.
To the extent that you are spreading your malicious, uninformed garbage around the internet in a seemingly purposeful attempt to negatively impact this small business, what you are doing amounts to libel, which is against the law.

By: Nichole Ross

Nichole Ross — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:24:49 +0000

Dave, your dis on Joe Kennedy is just not fair. Joe’s use of cardboard, while perhaps not ideal in all aspects, is a perfect example of “resourcefulness” and “using what you got on hand”. Joe visits the Molokai landfill often for his inputs, where he reclaims cardboard and barely-used drip tape, thrown away by others on the island. I’d say, this would definitely demonstrate the concept Geoff Lawton calls “turning a problem into the solution”. As far as worker accommodations, what more would interns be expecting. This is Permaculture, not the Ritz Carlton. Anyone that knows Joe, knows he is a good guy, knows a lot and has his own style – as do we all.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 23:04:04 +0000

Joe Kennedy has a chaotic system he calls farming. He invites people to come work for him without informing them of the true nature of the position, such as housing, hours etc. His idea of good housing is a group of old hole-ridden, leaky tents that are filled with mold and mildew and occasionally scorpions and centipedes. The food that he provides is not in fact “organic” as he has covered his soil for decades with produce oriented corrugated cardboard boxes to prevent the weeds from growing. These hundreds of boxes contain chemicals such as sodium hydroxide (http://www.answers.com/topic/corrugated-cardboard-1), “A strongly alkaline compound, NaOH, used in the manufacture of chemicals and soaps and in petroleum refining. Also called caustic soda, lye. (http://www.answers.com/topic/sodium-hydroxide. They also go through ” the sulfate process because of the chemicals used to break down wood chips into fibrous pulp” (http://www.answers.com/topic/corrugated-cardboard-1). Moreover, they have non-biodegradable inks that further permeate the soil. Although Joe refers to his produce as “organic,” it would fail organic certification.