This four-part seminar series will address:

The origins and causes of COVID19 and epidemics, droughts, soil erosion and land and river system degradation. The destructive practices of mining and agribusiness. The nature and extent of climate change. The battles for First Nations custodianship of land, campaigns for food sovereignty, environmental flows for water management and sustainable and regenerative farming.

Pitch:

What are the causes of COVID19 and other deadly pandemics? Why is Australia and other countries suffering more debilitating droughts? Why have First Nations expertise in land management been ignored? What are the effects of coal and coal seam gas mining on our natural environment? Is combating world poverty aided by capitalist agribusiness practices? What solutions exist in regenerative agriculture for pandemics, droughts and the poisoning of our water supply? What role could First Nations traditional practises play in these solutions?

This four-part seminar series will examine these burning questions.

Cost:

For the whole seminar series: $50 or $60 (for an email version or hardcopy of Sustainable Agriculture versus Corporate Greed). $30 if you have the booklet already. For those in hardship, please email organisers for a discount ratbagradio@gmail.com

The $60/$50 or $30 cost is for the book and the total seminar series. Please attend all the seminar series to get the full value of your fee.

Conducted by:

Zoom

Explanation:

Resistance Books is an Australian based non-profit, progressive book publisher and distributor. In conjunction with Green Left, Australia's leading eco-socialist newspaper, Resistance Books is hosting this four-part seminar series with the authors of the book ‘Sustainable Agriculture versus Corporate Greed’, Alan Broughton and Elena Garcia. Another activist journalist Tracey Carpenter will lead the water crisis seminar.

Educators:

More on our educators: Alan Broughton and Elena Garcia are permaculturists, organic and sustainable farmers, journalists and educators. Alan Broughton is an agroecological researcher and educator. He developed the first organic farming diploma course for TAFEs in Australia and teaches organic farming courses in Vietnam. Alan manages a sustainable section of country on the land of the Gunai/Kurnai people (East Gippsland). Elena Garcia is a regenerative grazier, an activist in LandCare groups, a regular contributor to Green Left, an activist in NSW-based Water for Rivers and based in the land of the Barungam people of south-east Queensland. Tracey Carpenter has been involved in regional water management and politics as a councillor on Bathurst Regional Council, representative on the Central West Catchment Authority and as chair of the Bathurst Community Climate Action Network. She has been involved in campaigns around the Central West to protect rivers and water supplies from over-extraction, mining, coal fired power generation and nuclear waste dumping. She is an environmental activist, journalist and supporter of justice for Aboriginal people with the Water for Rivers group and has published articles in Green Left. She owns land on the Fish River at O’Connell in Wiradyuri Country and currently lives in Sydney on Gadigal Land of the Eora Nation.

See the book: https://www.resistancebooks.com/catalog/sustainable-agriculture-versus-corporate-greed/

What the Seminars entail:

Each seminar will run for two hours and be conducted by zoom. Participants will receive a reading and question list for each seminar. There are two books (Sustainable Agriculture versus Corporate Greed, Dark Emu) articles and youtube documentaries the seminar is utilising.

Seminar 1 Pandemics and Destructive Agribusiness Practices.

Seminar 2 The Drought Crisis and Privatisation of Water in Australia.

Seminar 3 Causes of Land, Farming and Pandemic Crisis.

Seminar 4 Regenerative Agricultural Solutions.

The presenter will give a 20 minute presentation then participants will divide into groups. Led by a group facilitator, each group will tackle the seminars questions.

How to enrol:

Enrol via Eventbrite

Promote it via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/324684215231232/

How much it will cost:

The four-part seminar series is $50/ $60. For $50 you receive the book ‘Sustainable Agriculture versus Corporate Greed as a PDF via email. If you want a hardcopy of the book, the cost of the course is $60. If you already have a copy of the book, the cost is $30. For those in hardship email the organisers on ratbagradio@gmail.com for a discount. You will receive the reading material and questions via email, or your postal address. We encourage participants to buy Bruce Pascoe’s Dark Emu or borrow it in the library.

Dates of the seminars:

First seminar is on Thursday September 24, 5.30-7.30pm

Second seminar is Thursday October 1, 5.30-7.30pm

Third seminar is Thursday October 8, 5.30-7.30pm

Fourth seminar is Thursday October 15, 5.30-7.30pm

Questions? Call Dave 0499 728 372 Rach 0403 517 266