Laceweb - Community Ways for Healing the
World
Written
1993. Updated: 17 July, 2014;
latest update Oct 2019
Community
Ways for Healing the World draws upon a long oral history tradition within the East Asia Oceania Australasia
Region where centuries of personal and interpersonal experience of mutual help
based healing wellness action has been passed on between many people as news,
rumours and stories of healing action that worked. Many of these stories have
been collected in forming and re-forming this Page.
Copyright UN-Inma, 1993.
Information may be copied and used with
acknowledgement of UN-Inma and this site for non-profit purposes.
UN-Inma is a self-help group
emerging in the early 1970s in Far North Queensland, Australia. One of this
mutual-help group’s foci and fields of action is what is termed Intercultural
Normative Model Areas (INMAs) being evolved by Unique Nurturers – hence Unique Nurturers - Intercultural Normative
Model Areas (UN-Inma).
Dr Neville Yeomans founded
Fraser House in 1959 as an INMA. This Therapeutic Community Unit was a
precursor to UN-INMA as was the many Self-help Groups
that Dr Yeomans helped energise in Sydney in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
The letter published in the
first edition of the Therapeutic Communities Journal titled ‘From the Outback’
refers to UN-INMA’s early days.
To encourage a feel for the
happenings described in this page, the present tense is often used so that the
wording may describe things from the past as if they are actually happening as
you read them.
HEALING WELLNESS
In this Page the word ‘healing’ is used in
the original sense ‘to make whole’.
The following provides a
sense of the term ‘Wellness’. Wellness and illness in many domains of life may
be viewed as a continuum with each
end representing an extreme. At any given time, one's position along the
continuum represents the window through which the individual experiences:
o
Their body-mind
o
Life circumstances
o
Symptoms
o
Sense of self,
o
Relationships and
o
Their interconnecting with their world in
general.
'Wellness' may be defined as a generalized self-perception based
on the individual’s sense of
participation in and enrichment from life. This generalized sense of
wellness is a function of the relative significance of the various blended
wellness domains and the nature of
these blendings - their various interconnecting, inter-weaving, inter-meshing,
inter-mingling, inter-depending, inter-locking, inter-twining and inter-lacing -
physical, psychological, mental, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual,
habitat, geo-social and links to space, locality and place, economic and
environmental domains. Wellness involves plexus - Latin from plex - past participle stem of plectere (‘plait, interweave’) – hence
network or interwoven mass. With all of the foregoing, on may become a connoisseur
of wellness. The solar plexus
is where we have gut feelings of where we are in the wellness spectrum.
A person's self report is
the best predictor of wellness and only they know when they do not have
wellness.
Current biomedical and
sociological evidence indicates that self-assessment of wellness is the single
biggest predictor of actual wellness.
Therefore, the importance of
stating emphatically, that the person is
the authority on their own wellness,
while the western-trained ‘expert’ remains an authority on pathology and disease.
It appears very germane to
emphasize that authority for reconstituting wellness is logically in the hands
of those who define (express the
essential nature) and are responsible for wellness: again the local people themselves.
The experiencing of wellness
is being well - wellbeing. The
foregoing recognizes that having health is very different from having wellness.
Being well is very different to being in good health. One can be healthy and
unwell and vice versa.
Many of the healing wellness
ways involve exploring how we move, and balance, and breath, and use our senses
and awareness – and all cultures share these in common.
SUMMARY
OF THE SITE'S CONTENTS:
Bibliography of
Laceweb Action
Contents of the Section:
______________________________________
The communal wellbeing
action spread throughout this material has been thousands of years in the
making - passed down by Indigenes, Unique People, Disadvantaged Small
Minorities and interculturals from far spread cultures who respect and
celebrate difference. New stuff merges. Living in essential harmony with
natural process, tribal people may live for thousands of years with balance –
mindbody balances with geo-social balances. Eco-destruction by Homo Aggressans
calls forth a cry for a return to balance. Healing action IS taking place. Homo Amans (loving nurturing people)
look for kindred spirits. Link with them. Share what works. Let us know what
you are doing and what works for you.
In a time racked by inhumane
governance globally, there is in the Laceweb a drawing upon the nurturing
healing ways of the ages for the unfolding of humane caring possibilities. A
plexus mass of nurturing folk are forming throughout the margins spreading like
mushroom mycelium under the ground. The
following resource may provide a rich field of possibilities for you to play a
part together with others.
The
following is reproduced from Laceweb
Concepts and Frames.
While
we commonly experience the reality of everyday life, this, in important senses,
may not a common reality. People from
different cultures live in very different
realities (refer Intercultural
Realities). The differences between 'them' and 'us'
are such that when we share space - both 'them' and 'us' together- it is
possible for both peoples to enter and share a very different 'shared reality'
that both groups play a part in
constituting and constructing. And we both may bring our differences into
this novel reality. And we may explore and celebrate this profound novelty.
Refining our sensitivities and sensibilities in this new reality may extend
awareness that we all share differing realities and this difference may be
celebrated. This is a common experience, we’re told, of the Yolngu People of
Northern Australia when Moluccas people
(The Spice Islands) sail down to visit them for trade.
An Overview
Throughout the East Asia
Oceania Australasia Region an informal 'Laceweb' has been evolving over the
past 65 years among Unique People, Indigenes, Disadvantaged Small Minorities,
and interculturals. The focus is local wellbeing mutual-help and self-help
action by natural nurturers – refer Regaining Balance through
Mutual-help.
Integral energy is evolving Intercultural Normative
Model Areas - INMAs.
You may want to play a part
in your own community. There is nothing
to join. It's more a way of acting and being. We do things with others. We
help ourselves. We notice what's missing in our wellbeing and take healing
action. We locals, in this our place, are evolving normative model areas. We
carry out small micro-projects as proof of what works. We share with locals and
the like from other model areas. We self-organize. We may adopt and or adapt
what works. We go for it. We play. We celebrate.
Many people in the Region
are already taking action to improve aspects of wellbeing. Many are searching
for what they can do. The enclosed material may be a resource for you and your
friends. It contains pen portraits of things that work. Included are ways of
framing things and ways of acting. It may be possible for the wellbeing actions
mentioned in this material to be transformed so they may be integrated with the
local healing ways of your culture and community.
One
mature person using more mainstream ways for communal change was excited to
meet a young mother who had turned up once at a planning meeting being run by
the older person. The mature person says:
So
glad to see you again; our group could do with your energy. I’ve been wondering
where you got to.
The
young mother replied:
I
could see with your group there would be a few years of planning before you
start anything.
My
friends and I know what needs to be done and we have started already. Making
great progress!
People are commencing to take back ability
over their lives. They are re-cognising their agency – their ‘can do’. And they
are getting on with transforming themselves and their world.
Often they are simple
things. A group of women massively affected by bushfires that killed many of
their friends and wiped out whole communities begin coming to a small surviving
community hall to share an hour knitting in silence. This humble simple
activity meeting their needs - to share time in silence but for the sound of
their clicking needles.
Among the healing resources
are micro-experiences - little bits that weave together and meld to work
wellness wonders. Some of these are in a Laceweb Encyclopaedia called Healing Ways.
The concepts and ideas are massively interconnected and linked - just like the
Laceweb itself.
FRAME
The concept 'frame' is used in
the sense of a border or edge, something setting something apart, creating a
place and or context
(*), something helping meaning and ways of looking, hearing, seeing, feeling
and savouring; something framing the geosocial – cultural localities – people
connected together connected to place. While involved with frames, boundaries
and edges, wellbeing action may be seamless.
There may be merging in diversity – cleavered unity.
The later historical Timeline segment gives many examples
of self-help and mutual-help actions at work - perhaps providing inspiration
for what you may do.
Common folk are involved in
action research – doing things, noticing difference, and passing on what works.
Throughout this page
connections are extensively cross referenced. Alphabetical order within some
sections may help you find things.
Meander around. Follow
threads. Enjoy. Perhaps you may want to explore themes with your friends while using
this page and other Laceweb Pages as resources.
Introducing
the Laceweb
Since the late 1940's an
informal network of enablers and
nurturers has been expanding up the East Coast of Australia. This energy has been evolving self-help and
mutual-help action focusing on wellbeing. The expanding network is for many,
called the 'Laceweb'. It embraces Unique People, Indigenes, Disadvantaged Micro
Minorities and intercultural people in the remote areas of Australia and now
active as far West as Pakistan, as far North as the Southern parts of Siberia
and Mongolia and as far East as the Northern islands of Japan and Western Samoa
- as well as right through the SE Asia Oceania region.
Laceweb as wellness framed energy has a common theme of local
people acting together - community mutual-help and self-help - to address the
problematical in their local culture
- as in way of life together. Almost
every Laceweb action is unfunded as typically, no money is needed for the
action. Increasingly funding may support
the work. Throughout the Region micro healing acts is one form of humane
community self-governance - enriching our lore in new ways of being together.
In these places, what we are
exploring here as ‘Laceweb’ may have no name. It may be happening under
differing names. It in its various shades and nuances happens well un-named.
Origin
of the name 'Laceweb'
The name 'Laceweb' was
inspired when I awoke one morning in the remote and extremely dry Australian
desert to find that snow seemed to have fallen overnight on the low scrub - in
every direction for as far as the eye could see. Closer scrutiny found it to be
the cooperative effort of millions of tiny spiders - a superfine and delicate,
though extremely robust and very dense, lace-like web. And so the name - Laceweb.
Also refer Neville Yeomans (1938 -
2000) - Laceweb Enabler (See History)
The desert web is isomorphic
(of similar form) with the Laceweb. The Laceweb appears out of nowhere. When
you discover it, it already surrounds you. It is exquisitely beautiful. The
play of light upon it in the morning sunlight is extraordinary. It extends way
beyond the horizon. It is the manifestation of a massive local cooperative
endeavour. It is suspended in space with links to shifting things - no solid
foundations. It’s woven. It is not what it first seems. It is merged within the
surrounding ecosystem. In one sense it is delicate - in another it is very
robust. Bits may be easily damaged. However, to remove it all would be well
nigh impossible. Local action may repair local damage. It is very functional.
It is what the locals need. And it does help sustain them.
One Summary of Some Laceweb
Action
This section outlines the
developing of a little known social
movement that commenced back in the 1940s. Known by some as 'The
Laceweb', this is a new form of social movement now spreading throughout the
East Asia Oceania Australasia Region. This movement focuses on evolving better
social relating for wellbeing rather than having power as a focus. The foci and
fields of action are not ‘against’ anything.
One of the Laceweb
movement's foci and field of action includes all aspects of psycho-cultural
wellbeing fits well with Keyline way agricultural and environmental action – having both nature and human nature
thriving.
The Laceweb has some of its
origins that may be traced to Percival A. Yeomans' 'Keyline', a process whereby
water may be harvested by the cooperative action of farmers and very astute
attending to land topography.
Keyline was a precursor to
Permaculture. In the 1950's, Percival Yeomans' son Neville Yeomans (see
History) more fully appreciated that cooperative action using
Keyline principles could be extended to embrace community healing. Any
community in the World may be a place for wellbeing! Neville termed this extension
of Keyline ‘Cultural
Keyline’.
For history, The Keyline Foundation
Page includes the names of significant people originally on the Board of the
Keyline Foundation.
Within Laceweb Way, locals'
action may extend to creating contexts, energies, and ways of relating with the
potential to resolve and enrich every aspect of our wellbeing,
including, communal, economic, emotional, family, habitat, physical, psycho-social,
spiritual, in addition to environmental and agricultural wellbeing. Refer Government and Facilitating
Grassroots Action.
Keyline has now been adopted
in most of the World's climate mixes with good results.
PA Yeomans’ artistry has
been recognised in a January, 2014 Art exhibition titled, ‘The Yeomans Project’
at the Art Gallery of NSW in Australia. To quote PA:
No artist or artisan has
such broad control of the medium through which he expresses his own character
and personality as does the farmer or grazier in the control he can exercise
over his land. The landman can create his own landscape, but the artist gives
only his impression of it. From PA Yeoman. Challenge
of Landscape 1958 – quote shown on the left wall in the photo below.
A
Yeomans plough at the Yeomans Project Exhibition during Jan, 2014 at the
Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney.
Emeritus Professor Stuart Hill,
renowned ecologist and social-ecologist gave a talk as part of the Jan 2014
Yeomans Project at the Art Gallery of NSW Yeomans. Hill has written that P.A
Yeomans has been recognised as the most significant person globally in the past
200 years in the field of sustainable farming (Mulligan, M. and S.
Hill, 2001. Thinking Like an Ecosystem -
Ecological Pioneers. A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought and
Action. Melbourne, Vic, Cambridge University Press).
Neville's and others' action
back in the 1950's are resonant with what has become known as 'social ecology' and 'deep ecology'; and their thought,
resonant with eco-philosophy.
Neville Yeomans recognised
that the communal mutual-help while engaging in self-help action farmers were
using for harvesting and using water had the potential to change other aspects
of their life together.
This communal cooperating
has intercultural mirroring in the cooperating of Balinese rice growers passing
water to other rice growers on the terraced slopes from high on a volcano’s
slopes down to the sea.
Inspired by his father's
work on Keyline, Dr. Neville Yeomans and others set out to explore mutual-help
and self-help wellbeing action. They created contexts rich with possibilities,
processes and potentials for resolving wellbeing issues at the local level.
Their actions have resulted in the emergence of a new form of social movement
that many call 'The Laceweb'.
The Laceweb, while resonant
with the eco-consciousness movement, has many unique features that make it very
different from other social movements.
Action has for the most part
been in rural and remote places. However, some early action, for example
'Fraser House' (see Laceweb History Timeline
1960 - 65), took place in an enclave deep with-in main-stream
systems.
Laceweb
action is evolving processes that may have global relevance in resolving many
of the World's major wellbeing issues.
Examples:
o
Evolving and supporting informal Indigenous,
Unique people and Micro Disadvantaged Minority healer networks:
o
for evolving:
o
International Normative Model Areas (INMAs) – evolving micro-models of what
works
o
Self determination processes
o
Quick response healing teams - RAD
o
Loco-lateral
processes for re-constituting collapsed or collapsing
societies
o
Using 'community as therapy' processes
(therapeutic community), relational mediating, mediation therapy and
intercultural healing action in cross-cultural conflicts - relevant for
hot-spots throughout the world
o
Expanding Cultural
Healing Artistry
o
Evolving psycho-social trauma support and
healing networks following large-scale man-made and natural disasters. For
example, support for hundreds of thousands of traumatised people in both
Bougainville and East Timor is evolving. In 2004 Wellbeing Healers from East
Timor and Bougainville shared healing ways in the countryside in the
Philippines)
o
Balancing injustices wrought by
transnationals, governments and other entities against Indigenous, Unique
people and Micro Disadvantaged Minorities (refer the Motion
Page)
o
Resolving wellbeing issues by local
mutual-help and self-help action rather than service delivery by outside
experts
o
Evolving new soils, very fertile areas and
restoring degraded environs
o
Taking wise action for pure air and water
o
Revitalising degraded contaminated environs
o
Evolving thriving human nature relating well
with thriving nature.
o
Extegrity -
Sharing 'what works' in:
o
Community Healing Action
o
Working alongside and through global humane
governance bodies (refer).
Also refer:
o Inter-people
Healing Treaty Between Non-Government Organisations and Unique Peoples
o The
Young Persons’ Healing learning Code
It is understood that in
many respects Laceweb is unique, although many will find Laceweb way familiar.
Older Indigenous people may recognise aspects of their old way
The Laceweb operates at many
logical levels. The term 'logic' comes from the Greek word logos meaning
'reason', originally denoting:
The
universal principle through which all things are interrelated and all natural
events occur.
The
focus is using mutual-help and self-help in resolving all aspects of wellbeing.
Many people may be linking
and working within Laceweb framing for a long time before they realise it. The Laceweb is not something you join,
or can join. It's more a way of acting, a way of thinking and a way of living.
One observer described the Laceweb as 'smoke and mirrors'. If you try to 'grab'
it, it's not there. However, if you have the right 'heart' - the nurturing
heart - and you are seeking it, you may find it easily and discover you have
been part of the Laceweb for years.
Neville Yeomans’ Poem INMA
is relevant here:
The Inma
There seems to be a new spirituality going
around - or a philosophy - or is it an ethical
and moral movement, or a feeling?
Anyway, this Inma religion or whatever it
is - what does it believe in?
It believes in the coming-together, the
inflow of alternative human energy, from all
over the world
It believes in an ingathering and a nexus,
of human persons values, feelings, ideas and actions.
Inma believes in the creativity of this
gathering together and this connexion of per-
sons and values,
It believes that these values are spiritual,
moral and ethical, as well as humane,
beautiful, loving and happy.
Inma believes that persons may come
and go as they wish, but also
it believes that the values will stay and
fertilize its area, and
it believes the nexus will cover the globe.
Inma believes that Earth loves us and
that we love Earth,
it believes that from the love and from
the creativity will come a new model for
the world of human future,
it believes that we have started that
future - now.
I guess that if you and I believe these
things we are Inma
And so Laceweb is alive and
well in the hills in remote places. Here, as a 'robust delicate' (like the
desert spider web) it may foster and grow. And throughout the Region this
informal 'Laceweb' has been evolving since the 1940's among the focal people.
An informal network of enablers and
nurturers has been expanding.
Most Laceweb people only
know a minute part of the Laceweb. Some have a sense that it is extensive,
although have no knowledge of who or where people are. And you may already be
playing a part in enriching the wellbeing within your community and you may
want to play your part in healing the World. The following may provide you with
many possibilities.
Below is one Laceweb
person's view of the linking:
It is an inter-peoples
(inter-Indigenous locales) social movement and action, a Laceweb of small
minority peoples (primarily Indigenous). The focus is wellbeing mutual-help and
self-help action. The region reached by the Laceweb has 75% of the 250 million
global Indigenous population. Additionally, there are also links with and
between threatened small minorities (embracing over 180 million people), for
example, the Untouchables of India. Laceweb links have extended to include
approximately half (90) of the Indigenous and small minority peoples in the
region.
These people are threatened
on two broad fronts:
·
Physical
o
Survivability
o
Sustainability
·
Status
o Spiritual
o Cultural
o Communal
The Laceweb area extends as
far East as Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka - extends North through Tibet,
Southern Siberia, and Mongolia and further to the East, to Japan. Through the
centre of this region the links extend to China, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines,
Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sarawak, E Timor, Indonesia, West Papua,
Bougainville, and through remote regions of Australia.
LACEWEB
TIMELINE CONTENTS:
______________________________
LACEWEB
TIMELINE
The following is a list of some
of the happenings within the Laceweb since the 1930's. The list indicates the
holistic nature of wellbeing action. This list emerged from conversations with
Dr Neville Yeomans in Bondi Junction in the later 1980s and for a time it was
succinct and fitted on one A4 sheet of paper.
All books mentioned may be
available either in the Victorian State Library, the La Trobe University
Library, Bundoora, Victoria, the University of NSW Library, the NSW Mitchell
Library, the NSW State Library or the National Library of Canberra.
This timeline may provide
you many ideas about how you may enrich wellbeing in community with others as
well as provide you a feel for what has been happening quietly around the
hills.
PA Yeomans has wife and first son Neville with him
working as a mine assayer in remote parts of Western Queensland. 3 year old
Neville wanders away from camp and gets lost. When found by an Aboriginal
Tracker, little Neville is in a new death delirium from thirst and heat
exhaustion. With profound connection to country, the Aboriginal knows how to
find water fast in this dry country (at the base of the tallest ant mound near
the tallest tree – the presence there of water underground is why they are the
highest!
The Aboriginal tracker cools Neville’s body
temperature in the shade of a tree and slowly gives him water to drink. He then
gently carries Neville back to the nurturing arms of Aboriginal women. It is in
these caring arms that young three year old Neville forms his life work –
having everyone on earth experiencing nurturing caring community. This launches
Neville’s quest for evolving a new epoch on earth based on wellness being the
normal experience of everyone.
PA Yeomans is impressed by the Aboriginal’s
knowledge of water in his dry land. He also sees how Chinese miners are able to
flow water a long way by building water channels just off contour for moving
water to where they want to use it in separating alluvial gold from other
materials.
PA adapts these understandings in the Hunter Valley
Coal mines. Instead of the standard practice of starting at the top of the
mountain and going down as you extract coal, PA does the opposite. He starts
mining in the bottom of the valley and has the coal tunnel slowly going uphill.
When floods came, all the other mines flooded. When coal was in high demand
because of the Second World War, Yeomans mines were the only ones that were
workable. From money made in mining PA buys farm land as part of the ‘Pitt
Street Farmer’ tax minimising protocols of the day
1945 - 50
Percival A. Yeomans: Keyline - Evolving holistic
cooperating rural community wellbeing. Using the Keypoint (the deepest point of
the head of the valley and the natural site for the highest dam) and Keyline
(along contour line from the Keypoint) for gravity based water storage and use
- what has come to be known globally within the Permaculture movement as 'water
harvesting'. There are specific processes linked to land topography for finding
the Keypoint and Keyline. Refer Keyline and Fertile Futures.
Keyline lends itself for
cooperative action among farmers in the same and adjacent valleys in harvesting
and using water. Dams are strategically placed so that water may be stored as
high as possible. Water may be passed back and forth between farmers in
channels along contour lines. This allows the maximum use of the water that
falls in the area.
Gravity (as free energy in
the system) is all that's required to get the water to where it’s needed. These
simple concepts are combined with ways to generate new top soil. Already here
is a hint about how we may use bio-mimicry (copying nature). How in social
relating and mutual action may we tap into the free energy in the social system?
Current
adapting of Keyline new soil generating processes to urban environs
Keyline processes are a
precursor for Permaculture's
development. David Holmgren, co-founder of Permaculture speaks of the Yeomans
influence.
P. A. Yeomans: Evolving of
holistic wellbeing action embracing economic and environ-mental wellbeing along
with community wellbeing.
Dr. Neville Yeomans (eldest
son of P. A. Yeomans): Extending father's model linking socio-emotional healing
and family healing with the wellbeing of the land and water.
PA Yeoman's book. Yeomans, P. A., 1955. The Keyline Plan,
Yeoman's Publishing - Internet Source, accessed 19 Feb, 2014.
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010125yeomans/010125toc.html
Alongside, and resonant with
Keyline Action, is evolving exploring of Therapeutic Community action with heartfelt linkings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
(ATSI), Australian South Sea Islanders
(ASSI), and small non English speaking background (NESB) minorities in rural
and remote regions of Australia.
P A Yeomans: Book, 1958. The Challenge of Landscape: The Development
and Practice of Keyline. Internet Source, accessed 19 Feb, 2014.
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010126yeomansII/010126toc.html
Using the primary land forms
- the main ridge, and the primary ridge and the primary valleys for harvesting
water.
P. A. Yeomans sets up a
number of model farms using Keyline
processes and has a steady stream of Australian and international
visitors from the public and private sectors. Percival also assists many
farmers to use Keyline processes on their farms.
By the mid 1950s, PA and
family were regularly playing host to large numbers of visitors to the twin
farms Nevallan and Yobarnie who would come to see the thriving fertile of the
farms.
Farm
Walks on Nevallan – From PA Yeomans, 1958. Challenge of Landscape.
Used
with permission
Upper: Party of Queensland
farmers arrive by two specially chartered 'buses making a 1500-mile trip
specially to see Keyline development on "Nevallan". There have been a
number of such visits.
Lower left (from left to
right) : The author, Lady Hicks, the author's wife, and Sir C. Stanton Hicks,
at "Nevallan".
Lower right: Graduates in
Agriculture from the Sydney University visit "Nevallan" following the
author's address at their Graduation Ceremony mentioned in Chapter XIII.
Farm
tour of Nevallan at North Richmond, NSW in Jan 2014 as part of the NSW Art
Gallery Yeomans Project.
Keyline
concepts begin to be adopted around the world among third world countries.
The dominant culture in
Australia adopts USA model of rapidly getting water off land into large storage
(central control) - farmers then buy water within expensive powered irrigation
systems.
P. A. Yeomans warns of
compounding salinity problems in Murray Valley.
Keyline systems may be
installed for a fraction of the set-up cost of traditional irrigation systems
and, being gravity based, require no power to run.
PA Yeomans processes create
thriving soils with thriving soil organisms. Powerful interests want farmers to
use superphosphate every year that kills soil organisms.
In the driest inhabited
continent PA demonstrated how farmers can site a series of strategically placed
and inter-connected dams and keep them empty
as far as possible so that the system is available to store water when it
rains. Along with this, Keyline chisel ploughing, which differs strategically
from contour ploughing, ensures that the surface flow of water tracks slowly
along the flanks of the valley along
the sides of the primary ridges on either side of the valley. This reverses the
normal flow of water to the middle of the valley, often with eroding rush. This
means that rainwater falling on the property can percolate slowly though the
farm and down to other farmers at lower levels. Tapped pipes through dam walls
means that gravity flow irrigation is possible to further distribute water so
the dams are available to store the next rains. All makes a lot of sense!
In
1959, Dr. Neville Yeomans (psychiatrist) initially is
unaware of Maxwell Jones' (1953) resonant work in England. Yeomans sets up the
Therapeutic Community 'Fraser House' within the NSW Mental Health System at
North Ryde.
Neville at four stages in his life. In his office at Fraser House - 1961
Dr Neville Yeomans’
work has him recognised as one of four pioneers of Therapeutic Community in the
World.
Refer: Radio TC
International, 2009a. Therapeutic
Community Pioneers. Internet Source Sighted 23 Aug 2014.
http://www.tc-of.org.uk/index.php?title=Therapeutic_Community_Pioneers
Fraser House, an 80
bed psychiatric unit, accepts severely mentally ill people balanced with an equal
number of 'criminals, delinquents, addicts and sexual deviants' - in order to
approximate dysfunctional society.
One Wing of the Fraser House Dorms
There was an
administrative block in the middle that also contained the room where Big Group
was held. Then there was covered walkways to double story dormitory blocks on
either side of the admin area with further covered walk way to a dining room at
one end and recreation room at the other – a set of buildings spread over a
quarter of a kilometre.
Layout of Fraser House Unit on Grounds of North Ryde
Psychiatric Centre
From
1962 brief notes by Neville Yeomans it is evident that from the outset Neville
was exploring healing ways for Global
Reform towards a more humane World. Refer N. Yeomans, 1969. Mitchell Library Archives (NSW). Neville’s
thinking – the best people to engage with in exploring new forms of social
frameworks towards a new epoch are those who have had dominant system ways
knocked out of them.
1960 - 65
Fraser House takes in all of the Aboriginal and Islander
people within the NSW Mental Health System. In early 1960, 50 out of the 79 residents were Aboriginal and
Islander.
The
Unit pioneers 'Primary-Group Therapy' (also using the terms 'Family-Friends
Therapy' and 'Household Therapy').
A
condition of inclusion in Fraser House is that significant members of the patient's
family or friendship network have to be present at a certain number of 'Big
Group Meetings' per week. These are held in the morning and early evening on
weekdays.
Fraser
House Big Group was large group
sociotherapy sessions (typically around 180 people).
Refer
Wounded
Healer - Wounded Group for a brief
introduction to sociomedicine and sociotherapy. Neville pioneered large
group audience and crowd effects action research on
whole-of-body-mind transforming within large groups in the process of
transforming to wellness.
Within
Fraser House the expectation is that here people change fast so get on with
your change-work. There’s no madness or badness here! Any glimpse of madness or
badness will be immediately interrupted by staff patients and outpatients.
All
staff on duty, including the cleaners are required to be at Big Group meetings
as a condition of employment in the Unit. No one is allowed to leave for any
reason during the meeting (toilet facilities are set up behind a screen in the
big meeting room.). All present, including all psychiatric and other staff,
are 'in therapy' for the duration of the meeting.
Warwick
Bruen psychologist at Fraser House runs Parent Child Therapy Groups. Warwick
goes on to be National head of Aged Care in Canberra.
Warwick Bruen at his home in Canberra
Neville establishes a
therapeutic community Kenmore a large psychiatric hospital in Goulburn. Neville visits Kenmore and Goulburn Base Hospital
and develops liaison between Goulburn Base Hospital and Kenmore. Neville
engages in four days of continual supervision at Kenmore during one phase when
he runs small and large groups in every ward of the hospital and
delivered talks to all members of both staff and patients throughout the
entire hospital’ (over 1800 people).
A cost benefit analysis designed by N. Yeomans reveals the Unit to be
cheapest and most effective compared to a traditional and to a very new
'eclectic' unit. Treatment results were followed for up to five years and this
research showed that improvement results were maintained. Refer From
the Outback.
Fraser House becomes the NSW
Therapeutic Community Teaching Centre
for the NSW College of Psychiatrists. Fraser House becomes a model for the
World and a powerful influence in closing mental asylums. No asylums have since
been built in Australia.
Neville
stayed at Fraser House for just over eight years though withdrew from
day-to-day affairs after 5 years to focus on devolving Fraser House Ways into
the community. The Program lasted about nine years.
Margaret Mead Visit
Margaret
Mead in an official visit to Fraser House when having a key role on Mental
Health for the World Health Organisation described Fraser House as the most
'complete' therapeutic community she had ever experienced. Margaret in 1948 had
been co-founder of World Federation for Mental Health and ex-president in
1956/7.
Maxwell
Jones, a UK founder of Therapeutic Community, in writing of Fraser House
processes observed that:
....given
such a carefully worked-out structure, evolution is an inevitable consequence (Clark and Yeomans 1969, Forward, p. vi).
A Psychiatric Study Group was set up by Neville in the Fraser House precinct.
This group attracted students and professionals with backgrounds in social
work, sociology, psychology, criminology, pastoral work, and prison systems.
Participants found that the 'narrowness' and 'orthodoxy' of university and
government departments meant that it was unwise to express novel ideas. They
all found the Psychiatric Study Group a very fertile context for sharing the
novel. Anything of relevance was immediately tried at Fraser House. Continual
innovation and evolution was the Fraser House norm.
Fraser House spawned many
Healing Groups including 'GROW'
which has expanded to become an international organisation. The NSW Epilepsy
Association was initiated by families of ex patients, as were other self help
bodies. As well, the presence of significant others in Big Meetings meant that
contact was made, and in many case maintained, with extended family net-works.
These networks became entwined with other Fraser House connected extended
family net-works so that those arriving with a family friend network of five or
less,
left within twelve weeks with an extended family friend net-work of
between 50 and 70 people, many of who were attending Fraser House as
outpatients. This particularly applied to Aboriginal and Islander families
where family links were extended to include people spread throughout Australia.
Book published by A. Clark
and N. Yeomans (1969): 'Fraser House - The Theory and Evaluation of
a Therapeutic Community' - this book has since been cited by researchers in
International Journal Articles. Professor Alfred Clark, who obtained his Ph.D.
based on his 'Fraser House' action research, became head of the Sociology
Department at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Victoria for 14 years later in
his academic career.
Terry
O’Neill, head of Student Counselling at La Trobe University for a number of
years in the 1970s had training in psychotherapy at Fraser House while Neville
was Director of that Unit. Terry ran some of the children’s groups at Fraser
House.
N. Yeomans carried out value
orientations meta-modelling research
comparing Fraser House patient's values before and after they left Fraser House
with a 2,000 person sample from respondents in three major Australian cities.
This research was also widely followed up by other researchers.
Fraser House psychiatric
nurses were the first ones to achieve
a professional award salary in Australia.
N. Yeomans was a founding
director of the NSW Foundation for the Research and Treatment of Alcoholism and
Drug Dependency. Neville was also a
founding director of the National body of the same organisation. He was also a
member of the Committee of Classification of Psychiatric Patterns of the
National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Neville Yeomans had
tertiary qualifications in Biology, Medicine, Psychiatry, Sociology, Psychology
and Law. Neville majored in International Humanitarian Law.
Fraser House was a primary
influence in the setting up of the Australian Community Mental Health system. Neville wrote the job description of Director of
Community Mental Health and applied for the position and got it. Australia's
first Community Mental Health Clinic was set up in Paddington NSW as a Laceweb
initiative. The Paddington Community Mental Health Clinic led to the Paddington
Festival in 1969 and the commencement of the Paddington Market - another Laceweb
initiative. The market was set up to surround
the Clinic and provide a community context. Neville extended his role as
Director of Community Mental Health in becoming NSW and Australia’s first
Director of Community Health.
Neville also set up
domiciliary care visits where Fraser
House patients very experienced and competent in therapeutic processes, who had
not yet left the Unit, were going out in groups of six in a Volkswagen Kombi
Van visiting ex-patients in their homes to provide support. This outreach was
extended as a response Unit when people of Sydney rang a Fraser House Emergency
Phone line. A group of six patients would attend and provide competent support.
Neville influences set up of
Paddington Bazaar. Mangold, in his
book Paddington Bazaar, a delightful
photographic record of the history of the Bazaar speaks of Dr. Yeomans being
the primary inspiration for realising Reverend Peter Holden's dream of
'villaging the church' (Mangold, 1993, p4). Dr. Yeomans' suggestion was to
surround the Paddington Community Mental Health Centre and the Church with a
Saturday community bazaar. This was fully consistent with the Fraser House
model of imbedding the Unit within the local community. Paddington Bazaar
thrives as a Sydney icon to this day. The Bazaar is a micro INMA – Inter-people
Normative Model Area.
This
model of embedding mutual-help and self-help wellbeing focused action within
everyday community contexts, and at times helping to constitute these contexts,
is a core concept within the Laceweb. This model can be seen repeated
throughout this Laceweb Timeline.
P. A. Yeomans Book Water for
Every Farm. Murray Publishing, 1965.
Percival continues to have visitors and trainings at his farm and continues to
assist Australian farmers. Links established with the Hawkesbury Agricultural
College.
1965 - 70
Neville
works closely with Tony Vinson a social science lecturer at University of NSW.
Tony has his social science students researching within Fraser House. Tony is
also involved in Neville’s Psychiatric Research Study Group. Tony goes on to
become Emeritus Professor in the School of Social Sciences and International
Studies, University of New South Wales. Tony is also a Professor at University
of Sydney’s Faculty of Education and Social Work.
Emeritus Professor Tony
Vinson
Tony goes on to have the following roles
o 1971-1975 Foundation Director, NSW Bureau of Crime
Statistics and Research.
o 1975-1979 Professor of Behavioural Science in
Medicine, University of Newcastle.
o 1979-1981 Head, NSW Department of Corrections.
o 1981- 1995 Professor of Social Work and Dean,
Faculty of Professional Studies, UNSW.
o 2001-2002 Chair, Independent Inquiry into NSW
Public Education.
o 2008 Founding member, Australian Social Inclusion
Board.
Pioneering
Healing Festivals. N. Yeomans, with
growing Laceweb support, pioneers Healing Festivals in Australia as contexts
rich with possibilities for building networks for self help action. The first
ones were the Watson Bay Healing Festival 1968, the Paddington Festival and the
Centennial Park Healing Festival, both in Sydney in 1969 (followed up with the
Campbelltown Festival around 1971/2) and the Aquarius Festival in Nimbin, NSW
in 1973.
The
Watson Park Festival following Laceweb enabling and enriching action by the
Total Care Foundation and the Care Free Self-help Group, included the music and
healing artistry of people from over 23 countries - a precursor of Laceweb
intercultural healing action.
Some of the Participants in the Watson's Bay
Festival
The follow people, cultural groups and
activities were involved:
·
Filipino Band
·
Malaysian Scarf
dance
·
Welsh folk singers
·
Indonesian singers
·
Czech Trich Trach
Polka
·
Polish dance music
and songs
·
Ivan Withers
Spanish Flamenco Guitarist
·
Hungarian Czardas
·
Spanish Flamenco
Dancers
·
Don Henderson sings
folk with poetic interludes
·
Sally Hart - also
folksy
·
Rev Swami Sarcorali
and Roma Blair and the Yoga Fellowship gave a Yoga demonstration
·
Japanese dancers
·
Indian dance by
Rama Krishna
·
Don Gillespio -
Australian Folk singer
·
Greek display by
Girls of the Lyceum Club
·
Mike Harris -
guitarist
·
Oriental dancers
·
Karate display
·
Israeli Dancer -
Vera Goldmen
·
Spanish Classical
guitarist Antonio Lazardo
·
A collection of
expensive sculpture, pottery and art was on display - on loan from Art
Galleries
·
In the evening
there was what was described as a psychedelic light display and pop band.
Watsons Bay behind the Gap at South Head in Sydney
Watsons
Bay Festival was held in the Primary Valley in the Green Park running down to
the shores of Sydney Harbour showing in the photo above. Neville set of the
stage at the Keypoint. Note that the primary valley drops away from the main
ridge that drops to the Pacific Ocean. Neville knew well that these cliffs were
where Sydney people were going to suicide. Neville want to reframe the area as
the place you go to celebrate life!
Centennial Park Gathering. According to one journalist writing on the
Centennial Park gathering, 'tough looking bikies mingled with old ladies and
mothers pushed babies in strollers between crowds of sprawling hippies' (Sydney
Morning Herald 13 October 1969). Enabling the healing potential of gatherings
and festivals is another central concept within the Laceweb.
Enabling Remote Area
Linking. Linking between healers continues
to be made throughout remote and rural regions of Northern Australia and the
off- shore Islands. The Laceweb continues to grow as an informal network
enabling mutual-help and self-help action. Small groups take local action.
N.
Yeomans and Terry Widders, an Australian Aboriginal from Armidale, enable a
series of seminal 'human relations' gatherings in Armidale and Grafton NSW for
Aboriginal and Islander people in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Some other Anglos also
attend. The theme for the gatherings is 'Surviving Well in Relating to the
Dominant Culture'.
Professor
Max Kamien in his book, 'The Dark People of Bourke - A study of Planned Social
Change', writes about these gatherings. Professor Kamien, a Western Australian psychiatrist,
refers to these Laceweb gatherings as 'a
milestone' in development among the Aboriginal people from around Bourke, a
remote town in New South Wales (pages 48, 49, 55, 57, 69-70, 77-78, 297 and
324). Three of the Aboriginal community from around Bourke attended the Human
Relations gatherings in Armidale in 1971 with Max Kamien. (Kamien was working
as a psychiatrist in Bourke at the time.)
Major
insights for the three Aboriginals came from 'witnessing white 'resource
people' with 'emotional hang-ups''. They were 'most surprised to see that some
white folk could be helped by Aboriginals'. Upon hearing that some aboriginal
attendees had elected to skip the morning session and go wait for the local pub
(hotel) to open intending to spend the whole morning getting drunk, Neville
took the rest of the group down to the same hotel and then Neville went into
high expressed emotion (the ‘emotional hang-ups’ referred to above) with
sobbing and irrational despair about indigenous self harm in coping with the dominant system. The Aboriginals
waiting for a drink went into support of Neville and the whole group (including
those intending to get drunk) returned to the workshop.
While
returning to Bourke, one of the three extensively question members of different
Aboriginal communities visited on the way. On their own initiative the three
commence similar human relations gatherings back in their own communities in
Bourke. The underlying group processes used by Dr Yeomans in the Armidale and
Grafton gatherings were simple and easy to pick up.
Local
white teachers in Bourke have the first contact with adult Aboriginals
when invited by local aboriginals to attend their Bourke Aboriginal human
relations groups. In 1972, 34 Aboriginals from around Bourke journeyed to
Armidale and 21 actively participated in another Laceweb human relations group.
Many of the attendees at the Armidale and Grafton gatherings are now playing
key enabler roles within Aboriginal and Islander communities. Eddie Mabo
attended the Grafton Gathering.
The
Book 'Assimilation in Action - The Armidale Story' by Sociologist Margaret-Ann
Franklin, also makes extensive references to the Armidale human relations
gatherings and their consequences for the Armidale Aboriginal communities,
including Terry Widders role in Armidale
N.
Yeomans and Terry Widders enable a series of 'human relations' gatherings in
Alice Springs and Katherine in the Northern Territory. Evolving Laceweb links
in this area continues till this day.
N.
Yeomans is a key enabler in the development of the Divorce Law Reform
Society of NSW. Branches of the Society spread to other states. Dr. Paul
Wilson, a criminologist, becomes Patron of the NSW Divorce Law Reform Society.
Neville prepares a series of mediational sub-missions in his own divorce case -
particularly the desirability of setting up family and individual counselling
and family mediating processes. These writings, along with other submissions
from the Divorce Law Reform Society, become a basis for submissions to Justices
Evatt and Mitchell and play a substantial part in the formation of the new
Family Law legislation. From these beginnings, the use of mediation has been
growing in Australian society.
In
the early 1970s, Australia is a World leader in the use of mediation,
especially relational mediation. Since the 1970s to the current times Laceweb
action research has extended processes for relational mediating and
peacehealing.
Associated
with relational mediating are processes:
o For interrupting reactive behaviour
o For interrupting rapid shifts to violence
o Whereby people can lower system charge in their
sympathetic nervous system instead of being hyper-aroused all the time
Neville
goes way outside the traditional five step linear mediation model in evolving a
context-guided non-lineal Relational
Mediation, Mediation, and Mediating Therapy that is guided by the ever
transforming context and uses processes that are holistically non-linear.
Refer:
o Relational
Mediation and the Daughter on Bail Story
o Discussion
About the Daughter on Bail Story
Neville
collaborates closely with psychiatrist Professor John Cawte (1925 – 2011)
innovator in the field of transcultural psychiatry at University of NSW.
Cawte’s mentors included anthropologist Margaret Mead. Cawte recognised earlier
than most the important role of traditional healers, documented in Medicine is
the Law: Studies in Psychiatric Anthropology of Australian Tribal Societies
(University Press of Hawaii, 1974). This was followed by Cawte’s book, ‘Healers
of Arnhem Land (UNSW Press, 1996). Cawte introduces socio-medicine in these
writings. Cawte also draws attention to the devastating physical and
psychological consequences of Aboriginals using white flour and white sugar.
John Cawte invites Neville to join him in the transcultural unit at University of
NSW though Neville does not take up this offer. Later Aboriginal Geoff Guest is
to take up action research on the effects of white sugar and white flour in
Aboriginal communities.
Professor John Cawte
Cambelltown Festival - 1971. Alternative Lifestyles Gathering at P. A. Yeoman's
Keyline Farm in Campbellfield NSW. Members of the cast, crew and orchestra from
the Sydney production of the Musical Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock
Musical attended. On the final afternoon of the Gathering everyone was
singing This is the Dawning of the Age of
Aquarius and then attendees settled and discussed the evolving of a large
Festival. The name Aquarius Festival
was chosen. Neville and Ken Yeomans suggested Nimbin in Northern NSW be
explored as a potential site for the proposed Festival. The Aquarius Festival
happened in 1973 with somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 attending.
While living in
Bondi Junction with wife Lien, and working as NSW Director of Community Mental
Health and Community Health, Neville sets up the self-help group Mingles and
links local wellbeing healers with university students from Africa and Asia
studying under the Colombo Plan through Sydney University and University of
NSW. Intercultural parties, Balls and other events are held.
Mingles re-emerges
at ConFest in the early 2000s
ConFest Mingles
Photo Set
ConFest Mingles 2012 complete with Chandelier Feldenkrais experience.
Also refer Therapeutic Communities in the World for
Laceweb UK outreach.
Aboriginal
Human Relations Magazine. In 1971 and 1972 'Connexion' a Laceweb
not-for-profit charity registered in NSW becomes the publisher of the Aboriginal Human Relations Magazine
(AHR) started by Dr Ned Iceton in Armidale NSW. This AHR magazine reported on
community healing action among Aboriginals throughout Australia. The collection
of the AHR magazine is held in the Australia National Library in Canberra.
Another Laceweb Functional
Matrix Nexus Groups took over publishing the magazine for a number of
months.
Ric
Johnstone (1933 – 2012), a Laceweb person doing the publishing of the AHR
magazine for Connexion was a key enabler for getting the Maralinga Royal Commission
started on the aftermath of Nuclear Testing on traditional Aboriginal land in
South Australia. 'Connexion's' name is changed to 'Nexus Groups'.
Ric Johnstone
P
A Yeomans: Book. Yeomans, P. A., 1971. The City Forest: The Keyline Plan for
the Human Environment Revolution. Internet Source, accessed 19 Feb, 2014.
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010127yeomansIII/010127toc.html
The
book explores using Keyline in urban areas. A City Forest project was evolving
in the late 1990's on the Hawkesbury River.
Eco-Cities & City
Forests
Global
Conferences are occurring on Eco-Cities. An eco-city is a city evolving whereby
both nature and human nature thrive. Eco-city projects are now evolving around
the world. Davis, a city of over 160,000 people in America, has adopted many of
'The City Forest's' concepts including extensive edible landscaping and water
harvesting in public places. This Landscaping is established and sustained by
volunteer community mutual-help action.
The Planned City of Monarto
PA
Yeomans with the Murray Darling Basin Commission prepare a Keyline Plan for the
planned city of Monarto in South Australia – an early example of an Eco-City.
Every aspect of the plan was guided by nature – land topography, natural
surface flows of rain water, where the creeks were, and the like. All rain and
grey water flowed into dams and then through city forests to emerge as clear
water.
1971
– Neville sets up a Therapeutic Community House in Edge Hill, a Northern suburb
of Cairns.
Neville’s Therapeutic Community House INMA in Cairns
This
Therapeutic Community involved two adjoining flats above a drug support and
referral agency. The Agency continually referred clients to Neville. Three or
four people could stay at Inma. Neville held small therapy groups all the time
at Inma with around 12 people attending. Aboriginal and Islander people
attended. Rob Buschken sits in on Neville’s therapy groups and continues these
groups after Neville shifts to living up in Yungaburra on the Atherton
Tablelands.
1972
Both Neville and Vietnamese wife Lien described the decade in the Far North
from 1972 as the hedonistic period of their lives, though on all accounts they
had great parties in Sydney linked to the self-help group Mingles. Lien, in her
book. ‘The Green Papaya’ describes
their time in Cairns as one continuous party where she and Neville ‘entertained
artists for fun, and social reformers and medical practitioners for favour’
(Yeomans and Yeomans, 201, p 108). Lien is a superb cook. Her book the Green
Papaya is largely a cooking book on Vietnamese cooking with her personal life
as a secondary thread. Lien founded and for time ran the widely acclaimed Green
Papaya Vietnamese Restaurant in Brisbane.
1974
- Neville Yeomans writes the paper, 'On
Global Reform and International Normative Model Areas' for the Australian Humanitarian Law Committee
while engaged in Humanitarian Law studies as a major in his Law degree. Given Neville’s use of norms and
values in Fraser House, he was very interested in the notion of Jus Cogent (Cogent Law) in international
humanitarian law. Neville wrote:
In
1969 the Law of Treaties introduced Cogent Law - 'a peremptory norm of international law (jus cogens)'. These norms include humane laws that even nations must not ignore. Again, in 1970 the
International Institute of Humanitarian Law was founded in San Remo, Italy.
The
modern international law doctrine of jus
cogens asserts the existence of fundamental legal norms from which there
can be no exemptions or no relaxing
of a rule or law (that is, no derogation).
It imports the idea of universally
applicable norms into the international legal process. Article 53 of the
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states:
A
peremptory norm of general international law is a norm accepted and recognised
by the international community of States as a whole as a norm from which no
derogation is permitted and which can be modified only by a subsequent norm of
general international law having the same character.
It
is generally accepted that jus cogens includes:
o the prohibition of
genocide
o maritime piracy
o slaving in general (including slavery as well as the
slave trade)
o torture
o wars of aggression and territorial aggrandizement
o crimes against humanity
o war crimes
o apartheid
Within
Fraser House, processes ensured their lore – their way of living together and relating
was up for continual reflecting within a norm and values based culture of
continual adapting and improving, where the norms
and values were an integral aspect of review. Norms and values were one of
the staff discussion themes after every big Group.
Evolving Laceweb in the
Mackay area
Neville
sets up an Aboriginal and Islander Therapeutic Community house modelled on
Fraser House in Mackay in NE Australia. Neville is the key enabler for
this Mackay house. Dr. Paul Wilson, a well known criminologist and former
acting head of the Australian Institute of Criminology in Canberra for nine
years, devotes Chapter Six of his book, 'A life of Crime', to his personal
healing experiences living within the Neville’s Mackay Therapeutic Community
house (Wilson P., 1990). Wilson describes the positive changes that occurred
within him during his stay. He also provides a portrait of Neville Yeomans and
the breadth of Neville's vision for global Laceweb action. Evolving Laceweb in
the Mackay area with links to Australian South Sea Islanders continues to this
day.
Aquarius Festival. Ken Yeomans (another son of P. A. Yeoman) is on the
coordinating group for the first Aquarius Festival in Nimbin 1973, and part of
the Coordination Cooperative setting up the Tuntable Falls Community that grew
out of the Festival; Ken sets up the water supply for that community on Keyline
principles. The Festival organisers worked closely with the Nimbin community
and it was agreed that the local community would share in any surplus created by
the Festival. There was surplus and the local community decided that they
wanted a swimming pool built from their share of surplus. Ken Yeomans designs
and builds the Nimbin Community Swimming pool on Keyline principles – refer the
round pool at the Nimbin camping ground in the photo below. It is deep in the
centre and gets progressively shallower with water entering in the middle and
draining through into water filters at the perimeter.
P. A .Yeomans is a main
platform speaker at UN Habitat ‘On Human Settlements’ Forum in Vancouver, Canada during 27th May
to 11th June 1976. P.A.’s speech was entitled ‘The Australian Keyline Plan for
the Enrichment of Human Settlements.
1975
- 80
Planning the first ConFest. Mangold M. (1993, p8) in his book Paddington Bazaar records Dr Yeoman's
Paddington Commune meeting in the church hall at the back of the Paddington
Church. This group was been chosen by Dr Jim Cairns (Deputy Prime Minister and
Treasurer in the Whitlam Federal Government) and Junie Morosi as their base for
planning the first ConFest - an alternative conference festival that continues
to this day. Dr Cairns was Acting Prime Minister during Cyclone Tracy in Darwin
Neville
co-writes the paper 'Whither Goeth the Law - Humanity or Barbarity' giving an overview of the history of mediation
in law and society and exploring possibilities for mediation as an aspect of humane community integral law. This
paper introduces the concept ‘lawfare’ that is picked up by people in places of
high power who use the term to mean something very different.
Neville
helps evolve the five Festivals that lead up to the first ConFest at Cotter
River NSW in 1976, namely, Watsons Bay Festival, Paddington Festival,
Centennial Park Festival, Cambelltown Festival and Aquarius Festival. ConFest
continues as a twice annual Festival.
Night time atmosphere at the ConFest Market
ConFest sites are
chosen for their special enabling environments.
ConFest property on the Edwards River outside of
Moulamein
A
view of one of the properties owned by Down To Earth that put on ConFest as a
community based organisation totally energised by volunteers
K.
Yeomans uses Keyline principles to set up the water system as Laceweb enabling
at Bredbo ConFest (Mt. Oak 1977); ideas from 'The City Forest' book are used to
lay out ConFest roads along ridge lines; walking workshop/conferences are held
on Keyline. ConFest is a festival-celebration regularly attracting over 3,000.
It is now held twice yearly by Down to Earth (Vic.)
The
Laceweb published Aboriginal Human Relations Magazine publishes an article inviting
the Aboriginal and Islander people of Australia to attend ConFest.
N
Yeomans: Therapeutic Community Gatherings and Celebrations commence in Atherton
Tablelands. Evolving Laceweb continues in this area.
In
1978 Laceweb people, active in Fraser House in 1960, energise the Cooktown Arts
Festival in remote Cooktown in Far North Queensland modelled on Neville's
Watson's Bay Festival and ConFest. This was a time when the road between Cairns
and Cooktown was rugged and filled with potholes, washouts, and covered in
rocks falling from road cuttings - a hard trip to make.
Road to Cooktown – Now Sealed
Cooktown
at the time had 300 residents. 2,500 people attend the Cooktown Arts Festival.
The program includes three three-act plays complete with stage, scenery,
costumes, orchestra and lighting. One was a Chekov play – The Cherry Orchard.
As well the Cairns Youth orchestra played along with swing and trad jazz bands,
pop groups and a xylophone/ percussion group. Jim Cairns, Neville Yeomans and
Bill Mollison (Permaculture) were speakers and workshop presenters. There was a
very active workshop scene on all aspects of wellbeing.
1980 - 85
N.
Yeomans acts as an enabler throughout the Australian South Sea Islander
communities in Queensland and NSW and works closely with Nasuven Enares,
President of the Australian South Sea Islanders United Council (ASSIUC).
Neville attends national gatherings of the ASSIUC. Nasuven works for the NSW
Justice Department and is active in energising community wellness.
Nasuven Enares house near Broadway in Sydney
1985
- 90
Regular
experiential sharings take place at 245 Broadway. Groups of around 20 would
come together to experience, Feldenkrais, Ericksonian Hypnosis, NLP and other
mindbody transformational ways.
245 Broadway Sydney Where the Late Eighties Healing
Sharing Gatherings Occurred
The
group would go across the road into a park engaging in trust and awareness
experiences like holding on to the hand of the person in front and behind and
going on a blindfold walk like a string of sausages and passing back non-verbal
signals by gesture to the person behind you about the immediate location and
nature of obstacles. We didn’t end up in the lake!
N.
Yeomans, Terry Widders and others enable a dispersed urban Laceweb
therapeutic community (refer Program 12) evolving in the Bondi Junction
area with about 145 people becoming involved - regular healing gatherings until
1989. 25 experienced Laceweb people invite 25 to join them for what was called
‘Healing Sunday. The ones invited were varied till the community, though living
throughout Sydney was vibrantly networked. During Healing Sunday there was a
commit to come to circle four times. Many healing modalities were shared and
experienced with the protocol that anyone introducing a way took at most 90
seconds before we were experiencing
the way and engaged in embodied learning and knowing.
Neville’s House where Healing Sunday was Held
Refer ‘Evolving a dispersed Urban Community’.
Internet site Accessed April 2014. http://www.tc-of.org.uk/index.php?title=P7S4-1Script. Also
refer Dispersed Urban
Laceweb Therapeutic Community (refer
Program 12).
1990 – 95
Neville still works closely with Australian South
Sea Islanders. Nasuven Enares and her team achieve many goals including working
with 14 ASSI branches nationally. In 1993 Nasuven addresses the United Nations
in Geneva, which attributed to the Australian Government push for ASSI National
Recognition of August 1994. In 1994 Nasuven addressed the Unrepresented Nations
and Peoples Organisation in the Hague.
Nasuven in Geneva
1993
-Neville through the Mutual-help Group Mediation
Matters arranges a Gathering Celebration at Lake Tinaroo on Relational
Mediation. Experienced Aboriginal natural nurturer women do a 6,000 km round
bus trip to attend. Neville’s son David attends as well as the Aboriginal woman
who co-hosts the Small Island Coastal and Estuarine people gathering in 1994.
Neville with some of the Attendees at Lake Tinaroo
N.
Yeomans and other enablers: Therapeutic Community Gatherings and Celebrations
continue in Atherton Tablelands. Evolving Laceweb continues in this area.
Examples of one fortnight:
o Virtually all of the children of Yungaburra (over
40) prepare atmospherics for New Year Party enabled by the Functional Matrix Connexion
o Approximately 150 adults and children attend with
half being Aboriginal and Islander families
o From the children's energy in preparing for the New
Year's Eve party, the Laceweb Functional
Matrix Funpo, energises and enables
a children's group in Yungaburra
o 40 at rainforest camp-out on Baron River, Kuranda
and bus load comes in for night dance party in the rainforest
o Another camp-out at Ravenshoe enabled by the Laceweb
Functional Matrix Inma
Nelps is attended by people from Bama Healing Prison Diversion Program and
others;
o A series of family therapy sessions for an
Aboriginal extended family.
N.
Yeomans: Enabling Laceweb action commences in Darwin and surrounding regions
with links to East Timor, the Timorese Sea Gipsies and Indonesia. Enabling
visit to Darwin by a Laceweb enabler meeting N. Yeomans and Laceweb links.
Neville energises the Rapid Creek Project that uses the decontaminating and reclaiming of
Rapid Creek as a catalyst for Urban Renewal. Brian Howe Deputy Prime Minister
in the Keating Government asks Neville for help based on the Rapid Creek
Project. The National Government’s Department of Local Government was having at
the time extreme difficulty in gaining cooperation between National, Territory,
and Local Governments and Aboriginal Councils and Land Councils for road and
infrastructure development. Howe saw the Rapid Creek Project as a model that
may well be applied for resolving government impasses..
Rapid Creek - Darwin
Dispersed Urban Laceweb
Therapeutic Community continues in the Bondi Junction area.
Laceweb
evolving throughout SE Asia Pacific.
Aboriginal,
Torres Strait Islander and Australian South Sea Islander Laceweb people at the
Unrepresented Nations and People Organisation (UNPO) gatherings and in UNPO and
UN Human Rights working groups. UN addressed on the plight of Australian South
Sea Islanders. Terry Widders’ Masters thesis is on Chinese and Japanese
minorities. Terry is conversationally fluent in Chinese and Japanese.
1990 - 95
1990-92
Dr.
Yeomans is an enabler mentor of Old Man Geoff
Guest, and Norma at their remote Aboriginal Therapeutic
Community and prison diversion farm at Petford, inland from Cairns. Neville
teaches NLP and Blissymbols to Geoff and the Petford Youth.
Also
refer:
o More
Healing Ways of Old Man
Old Man, Aunty Norma and a group of young residents
Geoff
has carried out systematic literature researches and action research on
nutrition. Geoff has also studied transcultural psychiatrist Professor John
Cawte’s work on the devastating consequences for psychological and physical
wellness that comes from eating white sugar and white flour. According to
Geoff’s experience these two substances can cause of chain of dysfunction
including birth defects in skull and jaw bones, other bone deformities,
auto-immune deficiencies, vitamin uptake deficiencies, heart and kidney
disorders and diabetes as well as behaviour disorders and learning
difficulties. Geoff notes a fast difference in youth arriving at his place when
their food intake does not include white sugar and white flour.
Geoff
is a superb horseman. He has been catching and befriending wild horses all his
life and uses the horses in having the boys transform themselves.
A clip from the film ‘The Ringer’
The film, ‘The
Ringer’ may be see on the net at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o55Q7FsW8bQ
After
a co-learning exchange over many months between indigenous women natural
nurturer/healing storytellers and Neville, the women introduces Neville to
other indigenous women who are also natural nurturers with extensive links to
indigenous people across Northern Australia. For a brief description of
co-learning between Neville and these other nurturers refer - An
Example of Enabling Indigenous Wellbeing.
1992
Through
Laceweb enabling action with three Aboriginal communities Laceweb flies and
busses in to Geoff Guest's Therapeutic Community over 70 Aboriginal and
Islander healers from Northern Australia, including off-shore islands for a
healing sharing gathering. As well, two Aboriginal Permaculture practitioners
(a female and a male), and Anglo members of the Australian Therapeutic
Community Association and a few others are flown in. Funded by National
Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) the theme for the gathering is 'Exploring
Therapeutic Community and Permaculture as Processes for Softening Drug Use'.
Aboriginal and Islander people have many learnings relating to the themes:
o
Experiencing Geoff
Guest working with 25 troubled Aboriginal and Islander youth using therapeutic
community self help and community mutual-help processes. Youths typically stay
with Geoff around six weeks, with some staying a number of months. Geoff has
been successfully working with youth for over twenty years, with over 2,000
youths passing through the community between 1987 - 97.
o
Exploring the
evolving and sustaining of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander therapeutic
communities and prison diversion processes for Aboriginal, Torres Strait
Islander and other youth who may benefit from the various activities, including
young people who are at risk of offending and other socially disruptive or
self-harming behaviours.
o
Experiencing using
Permaculture, Keyline and Cultural Keyline processes as part of the above
healing action.
Aboriginals
and Islanders later expressed that at the Petford Gathering key insights into
'surviving in the dominant culture' came from seeing the way some white
attendees used group process in a futile attempt to impose white agendas
including their demand to have a time-based fixed agenda rather than having the
gathering run using Aboriginal cultural ways including context-based
open-agenda with the three guiding themes detailed above. The imposers had
little sense at all that they were attempting to impose dominant way. They
assumed that with no fixed agenda it was ‘not organised properly’. NACADA only
funded the gathering because it was
being organised according to Aboriginal Cultural Ways. Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Drug and Substance Abuse Therapeutic Communities - A
report to the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse).
Through
Laceweb enabling action this gathering was funded by the Federal Government's
'National Campaign Against Drug Abuse'. The Canberra funding people stated that
the 14 working days it took to get money out of Canberra for this gathering was
perhaps a record!
N.
Yeomans attended the UN NGO Rio 'Earth Summit'. Neville is a main speaker at
the indigenous platform on Laceweb Healing Action, and perhaps the only non
indigenous person invited to speak at that platform. Neville's is accompanied
to the Earth Summit by his son Quan Yeomans, a leading member of the Australian
music group, 'Regurgitator'. In an ABC TV interview with Gabrielle Carey, Quan
describes his father's Fraser House and Laceweb work and the Rio Earth Summit
as major influences on his life and music (Carey G. 1997).
Following
Rio, the Laceweb Functional
Matrix Entreaties engages in the drafting and disseminating of wordings of
possible treaties that may be used as resources by adults, adolescents and
youth among Indigenous and Unique People. Refer:
The Young Persons Healing Learning Code
Gathering
Celebrations in NE Australia enabled by N. Yeomans and another Laceweb enabler.
Themes
- Using therapeutic community processes for:
·
Softening drug
abuse
·
Softening domestic
violence
·
Relational
mediating
·
Alternatives to
prisons and psychiatric incarceration
·
Support for
Bougainville survivors of torture and trauma.
Book by K. Yeomans:
Water for Every Farm: Yeoman's Keyline Plan, 1993.
1993
Professor
Alfred Clark in his 1993 book, 'Understanding and Managing Social Conflict'
(Pages 61, 117, ) specifies the 1960-63 'Fraser House' model as being still
'state of the art' as a process for intervening and resolving social conflict
within any context around the globe.
Following
enabling action by the Laceweb Functional
Matrix Cadres, Neville Yeomans enables small gathering in the Atherton
Tablelands attended by Aboriginal women healers from remote Aboriginal
communities (travelling over 3,000 km). Micro-experiences and healing ways in
relational and mediation therapy are shared.
Neville
Yeomans is supported by Enabler in sending news that ideas are evolving for a
gathering celebrating of Small Island, Coastal, and Estuarine Indigenous Women
and resonant others using a themes based open agenda exploring (i) humane
caring alternatives to criminal and psychiatric incarceration, (ii) ways of
stopping family violence, and (iii) soften alcohol and other drug abuse. This
news was sent widely to global bodies and agencies. It was picked up by UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) who sent a letter to
the effect that (i) they wanted to send a cheque for US$13,500, (ii) to send
details of where to send the cheque, (iii) and to send a short report and
photos of the gathering celebration.
June
1993 – March 2004
Laceweb
Enabler lives with Neville Yeomans in Yungaburra, in the Atherton Tableland in
co-mentoring co-learning of Laceweb Way. Laceweb Enablers begins extending
Keyline understandings through action researching new soil creating
March
1994
Through
Laceweb enabling action, Down to Earth (Vic.) funds an Aboriginal woman
(Islander) and a PNG NE woman (Estuarine) to travel down to Tocumwal in NSW.
The purpose of the trip was to enrich their capacity to host Small Island,
Coastal Estuarine Gathering Celebrations via experiencing ConFest and sharing
and co-learning healing ways at the Easter ConFest 1994. During their ConFest stay
the visitors run workshops at the Indigenous Village on Indigenous healing ways
including Aboriginal Astronomy.
March
1994 – to the present
Laceweb
Enabler continues the Action Research into Keyline new soil creating processes
melding these with processes evolved in the Terra Preta soils from South
America. Exploring ways of producing colloidal charcoal and colloidal humus and
evolving processes that may shorten down to 7 to 8 weeks what may take 8,000
years in ideal natural contexts. Also ways to have nature go into massive
thrival mode generating trillions of soil organisms. Evolving ways of
introducing colloidal charcoal and colloidal humus and trillions of soil
organisms into degraded natural environments.
June
1994
Laceweb
enabler invited to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait Islands to link into
Laceweb action. Healing ways are shared with teachers and students at local
schools and also with others during small gathering celebrations on Thursday
Island, Horn Island and on a deserted Island in Torres Strait.
June
1994
UN funds a Laceweb
Bougainville person. Following Laceweb
enabling, the UN funds a Laceweb Bougainville person as a platform speaker on
Laceweb Healing Action at UN NGO 'Small Island' Conference in the Caribbean.
UN Human Rights Commission
Fund Laceweb Gathering
Following
Laceweb enabling action, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights funds one of the Laceweb's international initiatives - The
Small Island, Coastal and Estuarine Waters People Gathering Celebration. This gathering is held on a promontory on Lake
Tinaroo not far from magnificent world heritage rainforest in the wet tropics
in the Atherton Tablelands and Aboriginal and Islander women are hosts.
On the way up to the Tablelands from Cairns
The
Atherton gathering was attended by around 350 Aboriginal, Islanders and 150 intercultural
healers and others invited from remote parts of Australia and the SE Asia
Pacific region. People came from very remote regions in Northern Australia -
especially small groups of Aboriginal women healers. For example, one group of
Aboriginal women came from the remote region of North Western Australia. Of
these seven women, six had university degrees and two had Masters degrees.
Another group came from an outer island in the Torres Strait. These cook a
magnificent underground feast for all the attendees.
The core buildings may be seen near the end of the
Promontory
Cathedral Tree 20
minutes from Gathering Celebration
This
Small Island, Coastal, and Estuarine Gathering Celebration is positioned as a
small local follow-on to the UN NGO Small Island Conference in the Caribbean.
OHCHR in Geneva had recognised the nature of the organic action energising the
Small Island Gathering as well as the themes based open agenda format.
Following
Laceweb enabling, Down to Earth (Vic.) (DTE) provides a seeding loan for this
local Small Island Gathering and also lends equipment. DTE also funds a small
group of Melbourne based ConFesters to travel up to the Small Island Gathering.
For
six weeks prior to the Small Island, Coastal, and Estuarine Gathering
Celebration, Laceweb enabling spread word about it among the ConFest-attending
artistic healers of the Byron Bay hinterland. Ninety five people from the Byron
Bay region - mostly extremely marginal - made it up to the Small Island
Gathering. Many of this Byron group are first-timers to the Atherton region and
make links with Aboriginal, Islander and intercultural Laceweb healers in the
region. Many Byron Bay people now include the Atherton Tablelands, the Daintree
River region and Venus Bay further North, in their regular healing sojourns.
Following
Laceweb enabling action, DTE (Vic.) provides support for Laceweb linkings on a
number of occasions. DTE (Vic.) assists another Bougainville Laceweb person
Jobson Missang to travel from Bougainville to have Laceweb briefings and
exchange with a Laceweb enabler in Victoria. Jobson goes on to have key roles
in the Bougainville peace process.
The
PNG woman who attended the Easter ConFest in 1994 hosted the Spirit of the
Oceans Gathering Celebration in Townsville attended by Aboriginal and Islanders
as well as Pacific Island students attending the James Cook University.
Participants lived in a number of Villages, as is the way at ConFest.
Throughout
the 1990's Laceweb 'Enabling Micro-experiences' Gatherings of between 50 to 200
are held at ConFest. At each ConFest, over 500 people attend multiple Laceweb
workshops by Laceweb enablers. These workshops are used to evolve ways of
fast-tracking large groups
of people into being able to use psycho-emotional healing micro-experiences -
sociotherapy/sociomedicine. (Refer Wounded
Healer - Wounded Group for a brief
introduction to sociomedicine and sociotherapy. The large groups are also
resonant with and replicating/evolving Fraser House 'Big Group' ways (refer Fraser House above). Also refer Sociograms.
These
processes may be used in the Bougainville context in enabling Bougainville
locals in firstly building mutual-help and self-help healing networks, and secondly,
in supporting trauma survivors. (Refer Cairns
Safe Haven Proposal).
The UN Inter-Agency Task
Force Report identifies support
for torture and trauma survivors in Bougainville as been a top priority in any
move to normalcy. More than 160,000 people are suffering trauma. The author of
that section of the UN report, a Bougainvillian, is a part of the Laceweb. His
Ph.D. thesis at an Australian University is on 'Community Development Following
the Restoration of Normalcy'.
Neville
makes a video on Neuro-linguistic Programming in Darwin.
1995 - 2000
Between 1995 and 1997 a series of gatherings were
held in Melbourne by Mingles called Spiral Sunday modelled on the Healing Sunday Gatherings in Bondi Junction, NSW during the
late 1980s.
Laceweb
enabler supports wellbeing action within Australian South Sea Islander
communities during the lead up to the official Recognition of Australian South
Sea Islanders in the National Parliament. The Laceweb enabler is invited to be
present with a number of first descendent elders at a special ceremony at
Parliament House when recognition occurs; also providing support to the
Australian South Sea Islander United Council (ASSIUC) and its President.
A
Laceweb enabler co-enables trauma support workshops at ConFest with Laceweb
visitors from Bougainville. This includes experiencing a hypothetical realplay
of traditional Bougainville whole village-to-whole village relational
mediating.
A
network of healers in Hobart Tasmania invites Alex Dawia, a Bougainville healer
from Cairns to be with them for a long weekend of sharing. One of them had met
Alex in Cairns and had found out that he had been inducted into the traditional
healing ways of his birthplace by his grandfather. Alex suggests that another
Laceweb healer storyteller also come down. These two share healing ways with 45
healers including traditional Bougainville whole village-to-whole village
relational mediating. The Sunday afternoon sharing was located on gentle
sloping grass overlooking the Derwent River where all of the boats in the
Sydney to Hobart yacht race pass by.
A
Hobart healer taking the Laceweb person to the a Hobart Airport shares that she
and many of her work friends were in constant contact with Neville Yeomans during
his Fraser House days and they adopted and adapted Fraser House ways to their
work within Government Departments in Tasmania.
Extensive
private Laceweb briefings are held at ConFest between the Laceweb Bougainville
visitors and a Laceweb enabler.
A series of meetings are held in Cairns and Victoria attended by Laceweb
nurturers from Bougainville and two Laceweb enablers - one a local Bougainville
person. Discussion centred on evolving support processes for over 160,000
survivors of torture and trauma on Bougainville.
Emeritus Professor Stuart
Hill, Founding head of Ecology and Social Ecology at the
University of Western Sydney interviews Neville about his and his father PA
Yeomans’ Keyline work in researching Hill’s book, Thinking Like an Ecosystem - Ecological Pioneers. A Social History of
Australian Ecological Thought and Action. (Mulligan, M. and S. Hill, 2001.
Melbourne, Vic, Cambridge University Press).
Uncles Program. Following the success of 'Uncles' based programs
in the Torres Strait - where youths at risk of offending are placed with uncles
for a time to experience self healing and transforming ways, Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal Youth Camps are established in the Torres
Strait. The camps are ongoing, residential, sea-based programs open to any
young Torres Strait Islander, Aboriginal or Papuan who may benefit from the
various activities, including young people who are at risk of offending and
other socially disruptive or self-harming behaviours.
The
aim of the camps are to confirm and strengthen the young participants identity
and pride in being a Torres Strait Islander, Aboriginal or Papuan, to elevate
their confidence, self-esteem and respect for themselves and others, and to
strengthen their cultural values and spiritual relationship with the land and
sea. The Torres Strait Camps are linked to Geoff and Norma’s Youth Camp at
Petford through the Aboriginal Youth Camps Association. Boys may call in at any
of the camps on their way to other camps.
Bougainville person commences PhD at James Cook University on 'The
Application of Laceweb Self Help Healing and Other Self Help Models in
Australian Aboriginal and Islander Communities'.
Denmark Co-learning. European NGO funds Laceweb person to attend
workshop in Denmark to share healing ways for survivors of torture and trauma.
Extensive
Laceweb linking to indigenous and small minority people in Northern Japan,
South West Provinces of China, parts of SE Asia and India
Laceweb
receives letters of support from Bougainville nurturers. All the support
received by Australian Laceweb enablers acknowledges the keen desire within
Bougainville to link with Laceweb psycho-emotional enablers - towards building a self help support Laceweb on
Bougainville for torture and trauma survivors. The Laceweb has around 16 highly
experienced intercultural psycho-social healers that may be available as a
small resource group.
July
1997 - A Laceweb enabler commences PhD at James Cook University researching the
history of the Laceweb and its beginnings in Fraser House.
The
Laceweb linked Bougainville Survivors of Trauma Association is set up in
Cairns.
The Laceweb Village at ConFest enabled by a Laceweb
enabler - again about 500 people attend Laceweb work-shops on healing ways
including Keyline and support of trauma survivors. Cultural
Healing Artistry , processes were
used in what has become known as the Pineapple Workshop. Spontaneous drama,
art, storytelling, mime and many other expressive modes were embraced in
exploring around 150 themes.
Laceweb
contributes to relaxing evening in a garden environment for all delegates to
the Bougainville Peace Talks in Cairns - Jan 1998.
The
resonant Functional Matrix,
Extegrity contacts Aboriginal and Islander groups throughout remote regions of
Australia informing them of fund roving action and possibilities for funding
that may flow from forming cooperative links with other resonant Indigenous,
micro Disadvantaged Small Minorities and Nurturing Intercultural Groups in the
SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region. Extegrity also informs potential funding
bodies throughout the World of the unfolding Action.
European
NGO funds Laceweb person to again attend a workshop in Denmark to share healing
ways for survivors of torture and trauma.
Laceweb
contexts set up in Atherton Tablelands region in NE Australia building links
among Bougainville nurturers living in the area - The Bougainville Association
hosts community building gatherings among Bougainville people in public parks
and spaces around Cairns. Seventy five local Bougainville people living in the
Atherton Tablelands area attend the first gathering. Ideas evolving for
enriching some of these people who have expressed a desire to be fast-tracked
as psycho-social healers and potential resource people for evolving lacewebs on
Bougainville.
In
Dec 1998 a Laceweb enabler gives series of workshops on sociomedicine at the
Healing Arts Festival in SW Victoria organised the Complementary Medical Unit
of the Medical Faculty at Monash University. Aboriginal Elder from Mount
Buffalo Region shares stories of Aboriginal networking and wisdom exchange from
Antiquity with links to the Bogong moth.
June
1999 - A Laceweb enabler has series of meetings at the University of New
England with Naihuwo Ahai, a Bougainville person who had just completed his PhD
resonant with Laceweb Way- 'Community Development Following the Restoration of
Normalcy'. Possibilities for supporting the evolving of self help healing
networks in Bougainville are explored (refer the Laceweb Paper Self-Help
Action Rebuilding Well-Being).
In
June 1999, Laceweb organises a celebratory gathering in a park in Cairns to
mark the designated UN Day for Traumatised People. Refugees from many countries
attend.
Evolving
possibilities for a healing gathering in Atherton Tablelands region linked to the designated UN Day for
Traumatised People in June 2000. Bougainvillians may join with East Timorese,
West Papuans, and Hmong people (from Northern Laos) in the region who are
survivors of trauma
Nov
1999 - A Laceweb enabler has series of small sharing gatherings with
Bougainville and other Islander people in Cairns as a small follow-on gathering
to the Small Islander Coastal and Estuarine Peoples Gathering Celebration in
June 1994 at Lake Tinaroo in the Atherton Tablelands. Possibilities of healing
gatherings in the Atherton Tablelands and the Mosman Gorge are explored. A site
trip to one possible venue for these gatherings was carried out with a group
down from PNG. This site is also being explored as a possible place for establishing
cooperative organic farming of traditional Island food as a source of funding
Laceweb Action. In 2013 this site was acquired by a community group with
Laceweb links.
In
Dec 1999 a Laceweb enabler gives six workshops on sociotherapy and mindbody
healing ways at the Healing Arts Festival in SW Victoria, again organised the
Complementary Medical Unit of the Medical Faculty at Monash University.
2000 - 2005
In
March 2000 a Laceweb enabler gave a workshop on sociomedicine at the Sixth
International Holistic Healing Conference in SW Victoria promoted by the
Medical Faculty at Monash University.
During
17 June - 12 July 2000 the Laceweb Functional Matrix Connexion enabled
a series of small Laceweb gathering celebrations in the Inma
- International Normative Area -
Atherton Tablelands, Far North Queens-land Australia - A month of Gathering
Celebrations in support of the UN Peace Week and the 26th June UN Day in
Support of Survivors of Torture and Trauma. These Intercultural Trauma Healing
Gatherings were for the Sixth Anniversary of the Small
Island Coastal and Estuarine People Gathering Celebration (funded by the UN Human Rights Commission). For full
report on this month refer Trauma Healing Sharing Gathering Celebratings .
A
series of Small Trauma Healing Sharing Gathering Celebratings were held between
17 – 21 June 2000. Attendees: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders,
Australian South Sea Islanders, Bougainvillians, East Timorese, Anglo-German,
Hmong, Irish, Japanese, North American Indian, Papua New Guinea and Anglo
people.
Other Activities 17
– 21 June 2000
·
East Timorese Youth
dancing, singing and poetry
·
Hmong traditional
music and dancing
·
Traditional North
American Indian song, drumming and dance
·
Showing of the
film, 'Death and the Maiden'
·
Welcoming ceremony
for Spirit Runners
·
Didgeridoo playing
·
World Music Peace
Concert and Community Market
·
Acapella Concert
·
Peace Poetry Night
·
Multicultural
Performances
·
Peace week song
competition
·
Australian Aboriginal
Didgeridoo playing and Dance
·
Intercultural Songs
and dances:
o Samoan
o Chilean
o East Timorese
Other Activities -
17 June – 3 July 2000
A
Laceweb workshop on Cultural Healing Artistry was enabled at the Indigenous Studies Section of
the Cairns TAFE College and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing
arts mature age students attended.
Return
visit to Rainforest Healing Place by some delegates who were present at the
1994 UN funded Small Island Coastal and Estuarine People Gathering Celebration.
A
Laceweb meeting with a Torres Strait Islander sharing healing ways and outcomes
in a community renewal program in the region.
East
Timorese gathering celebration - Photo Journalism display - the Aftermath.
Small
Laceweb gatherings with Aboriginal, Bougainvillian, East Timorese, Hmong,
Papuan, and Torres Strait Islander nurturer/enablers regarding enabling self
help healing networks.
17
June – 2 July 2000
Laceweb
Gatherings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander socio-emotion-spiritual
healers sharing healing ways – including self help wellbeing action in Lotus
Glen Prison and Aboriginal and Islander prison diversion programs and use by
one of these healers of the latest understandings in Neuro-feedback technology.
On
26 June 2000
A
celebration reunion is enabled by the Laceweb Functional Matrix Inma Nelps,
supporting the UN Day in Support of Torture and Trauma Survivors. The reunion
brought together a number of the 1994 Hosting and Supporting Group for the
1994, 'Small Island Coastal and Estuarine People Gathering Celebration', as
well as some of the Hosting and Supporting Group for '1992 Preparatory
Gathering' for the 1994 Gathering.
This
1992 Gathering was held at Petford Aboriginal Therapeutic Community Farm,
approximately 150 Klms inland from Cairns. Around 100 Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders attended that ten day gathering on soften substance abuse, and
stopping violence, self harm, and criminal acts leading to secure custody,
psychiatric incarceration and suicide among Aboriginal and Islander youth.
(Refer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Drug and
Substance Abuse Therapeutic Communities.
27
– 30 June 2000
A
Laceweb enabler stayed at Petford Aboriginal Therapeutic Community Farm
observing, and researching Geoff's processes in working with 15 indigenous youths.
Experienced Geoff using nutrition and neuro-feedback equipment in treating
Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism and Tourettes Syndrome. Geoff's healing ways
were photographed and modelled so that they may be passed on to other Laceweb
nurturers (refer page 79 on the link Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Drug and Substance Abuse Therapeutic Communities.
24
– 26 June 2000
The
Laceweb Functional Matrix
Nexus Groups energises meetings towards evolving the 22st Anniversary of the
Cooktown Arts Festival in the coming months. These meetings were attended by
the enabler/hosts of the first and only Cooktown Arts Festival in 1979. Dr
Neville Yeomans, the founder of the Laceweb, and the Laceweb Functional Matrix Connexion,
was also involved in the energising of the first Festival. In 1979, around
2,500 attended from a vast area around the very remote Far North town of
Cooktown. The Festival included a number of plays, a wide range of music, youth
orchestras, puppetry and aboriginal ceremonial dance.
A
trip was planned to travel up to Cooktown to survey potential festival sites,
energise a hosting group and set up seed funding processes.
A
series of Laceweb meetings with a participant in Fraser House, the pioneering
first Therapeutic Community in the Laceweb (1959-69); researched healing ways
used at Fraser House – (refer Fraser House earlier on this page .
7
June - 2 July 2000
A
series of Laceweb meetings with hosts and enablers of a network of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Youth Camps
3
- 7 July 2000
Townsville
- a series of gatherings exploring action research; Laceweb meetings with a
Fraser House outpatient; Laceweb enabled gatherings with Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander, Australian South Sea Islander and Papua New Guinea people on
evolving self help wellbeing networks.
8
- 9 July 2000
Atherton
Tablelands. Further preparatory gatherings enabled by Connexion energising the
2001 Cooktown Arts Festival. Laceweb enabler exploring archival material on the
evolving Laceweb. Further discussions between Laceweb indigenous and
intercultural enablers regarding evolving the Laceweb in the Cape York and
Torres Strait Islands region.
10
-12 July 2000
Laceweb
reunion and discussion/research between ex-Fraser House staffers
(anthropologist/ psychologist, senior charge nurse and psychologist). Laceweb
enabler had discussions with Dr Yeoman's family on early Laceweb action.
Laceweb enabler had talks with Aboriginal Laceweb person on Laceweb action
around ten years ago and exploring implications for the future.
17
June - 12 July 2000
The
Intercultural
Trauma Healing Gatherings through
Atherton Tablelands Far North Queensland, Australia - a Month of Gathering
Celebrations in Support of the UN Peace Week, and the 26th June UN Day in
Support of Survivors of Torture &Trauma
2002 -
2004
Following
Laceweb postings re natural nurturers as
a naturally occurring phenomenon, Un-Inma enabler invited to a meeting in
Bangkok, Thailand on supporting local
folk engaging in mutual help towards wellness following man-made and natural
disasters. From that gathering Un-Inma Enabler funded to travel through,
East Timor, Indonesia, Thai-Burma border regions, Cambodia, and Vietnam as well
as through Indigenous communities in Cape York, Australia. Enabler locates 240
Natural Nurturers and 49 networks of Natural Nurturers in the Region.
UN-Inma Enablers preparing the
document Interfacing Alternative and Complementary
Wellbeing Ways For Local Wellness. Enabler prepares resources for energising Natural Nurturers in the Region
into small teams capable firstly, of mobilising quickly to move into post
disaster contexts to find and support local Natural Nurturers, and secondly, of
sending back to some mainstream coordinating disaster relief agency/ies every
few hours a steady stream of succinct informative briefings on local
disaster/post disaster contexts, including the presence, locations, and ways
(if safe to do so) of local natural nurturers and their psychosocial-cultural
healing ways, resources, competencies, networks, and capacities. In this way
scope may emerge for First world agencies engaging in disaster areas without collapsing local way and capacity.
UN-Enabler and Laceweb folk link with 49 Natural Nurturers in the Philippines
countryside from 11 countries (Australia, Cambodia, China, East Timor,
Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea (Bougainville), Philippines, Vietnam, West Papua, and Western Samoa). This
gathering, co-hosted by the UN-Inma Enabler, explores and fine-tunes the
resources evolved by the UN-Inma Enabler. Field testing these resources and
processes (consistent with the above Interfacing document) in the War Zone
around Pikit in Mindanao in Southern Philippines.
While
in the remote countryside outside Mai Sot in Thailand a visiting Laceweb Person
from SE Australia is speaking to the receptionist at a small hospital used by
Burmese who have sneaked across the border from Burma into Thailand. Upon the
Laceweb person saying that the purpose of the trip was to find local natural
nurturers a voice comes from the next room saying, ‘someone out there knows Dr
Neville Yeomans!’ The speaker turns out to be a nurse from Shepparton in
Country Victoria who knew Neville and his work and had been introducing
Neville’s ways firstly in Shepparton, then in the hospital in Mai Sot,.
Writing
up the 2002-2004 of UN-Inma experience of Laceweb linking with the natural
nurturers of the SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region through Cape York in
Australia, Dili and Bacau in East Timor, Jakarta and Bali in Indonesia,
Thai-Burma Border Regions, Cambodia, Saigon, Mekong Delta, and Hanoi in
Vietnam, and Pikit, Mindanao in the Philippines war zone. Also writing up the
linking between 49 healers from eleven countries in the SE Asia Oceania
Australasia Region in the Philippines countryside to share healing ways
especially local variations of Cultural
Healing Artistry.
Weaving
together 130 stories from life that provide glimpses of the healing Way used in
the Region. These form two volumes that complement the four volume biography of
the life of Dr Neville Yeomans. These six volumes together form a reservoir of
resources as entry points into Laceweb Way and complement the Laceweb Internet
site.
Alex
Dawia, a Bougainville person receives Yachad Scholarship to pursue study in
Israel at Tel Aviv University to investigate grassroots community capacity
building with a particular focus on assisting disadvantaged Youth and those who
have been through the Justice system. Alex is also an Honorary Professor
at a Japanese University lecturing on Aboriginal Community Justice.
Reconstituting
a Collapsed Society – The Fertile Futures Program
Consistent
with Extegrity, Laceweb people
work with over fifty highly experienced people from a number of countries -
many professors and other academics and industry professional advisors in
evolving a significant macro-model global program titled the Fertile Futures
Program. This Program explores capacity, resourcefulness and resilience among
grassroots folk using Laceweb loco-lateral processes and the Extegrity
Framework for Reconstituting a Collapsed Society. The Program action research
embraced the local grassroots natural nurturers of the Program host country.
They contemplated, discussed, and reflected upon what would be five major
culturally and geo-socially fitting community-owned and operated enterprises
(with initial mentoring and support). Running alongside these would be
complementary grassroots cooperatives and small landholder initiatives. Also in
parallel was community-based enterprise funded humanitarian action towards
increasing community wellness. The local natural nurturers were quick to
respond with priority foci and fields of action. With donated support from the
advisors, a very detailed Excel Program Document was developed facilitating and
enabling every aspect of the associated infrastructure rollout, as well as
enterprise set-up and community based management for the first five years. The
Excel document also includes comprehensive insurance schedules for all
activities and cash drawdown schedules and funds flow projections for the first
five years. The accompanying documentation set Extegrity protocols for all
humanitarian rollout and full transparency and tight accountability for funds.
The assumed Program Funding: Aus$380 million. The Excel spreadsheet has 67
pages, many that extend right and down massively. All the back pages are
cross-linked and connected to the front executive summary pages. Any adjustment
of figures or assumptions ripples through the document so it’s a modelling,
planning, scheduling, reporting, controlling, management document. The 1997
version of Excel ceased to work as the file exceeded that version’s capacity.
This is a glimpse of Laceweb capacity. Capacity on the margins.
Below
are the integrated aspects of the Program.
PROGRAM
FLOW CHART
The following diagram details the Program Roll-out Process:
Atherton Tablelands Action
Research
Following
Neville Yeomans 1973 paper On Global Reform INMA, humanitarian types from the SE corner of Australia
have been visiting the healing networks of the Atherton Tablelands and
hinterland INMA (Inter-people Normative Model Area) linking with and supporting
Laceweb networks and community based bodies through that region.
Keyline
Workshop at Yungaburra 2012
Supporting
Bougainville people return to wellness following the Conflict in the 1980’ and
1990’s.
Supporting
the local folk affected by the 2009 Victorian bushfires engaging in mutual help
wellness action.
Small
group of Laceweb people travel 1000’s of kilometers to share the total eclipse
with Laceweb people in the Atherton Tablelands, selecting a healing retreat
located on the edge of the Tablelands with the view of the eclipse over the
rainforest.
Laceweb
Action being pickup by various bodies in the UK linked to Enabling
Environments, Therapeutic Communities and Greencare, with Laceweb Way being
explored as a way of supporting folk with mental strife in low and middle
income communities and countries around the world.
Videos
providing a snapshot of Laceweb Action in the SE Asia Oceania Australasia
Region being shown to a Global Psychiatry Conference in the UK as possible
models for supporting 100s of millions of people in low income countries
affected by war, conflict and other man-made and natural disasters.
Writing
up the rollout that continues to flow from social relating generated by Dr
Neville Yeomans and his nurturing friends from the 1950’s onwards.
Networking
continues sharing rumours of what works through the East Asia Australasia
Oceania Region and further afield.
Consistent with Dr Neville Yeomans On Global Reform paper networking
is continuing among natural nurturers up the East Coast of Australia and across
the Australia Top End. Linking is maintained with Natural Nurturers and Mutual Help
Groups through SE Asia and the UK. Both Transition Stage I (Tl) is Consciousness-raising in national Arenas,
and Transition Stage 2 (T2) Mobilization
in Transnational Arenas continues.
A
series of experiential workshops are held in Quezon City in the Philippines for
(a) Masters and PhD students in Indigenous Filipino Clinical Psychology, (b)
for ten heads of department and 20 professors in the University of the
Philippines, (c) for 40 clinical psychologist in private practice, (d) for 35
members of the University of the Philippines Wellness Unit, (e) for 2 University
of the Philippines professors on relational mediating to support their
mediation role in the warzone in Mindanao in Southern Philippines, and for 16 para-professional
and life-skilled members of EnFance Foundation who provide support for the
ultra poor in Manila.
Networking journeys through the UK visiting therapeutic
communities, participating in gatherings, celebrations, and conferences;
visiting and contributing to therapeutic community archives, attending and
participating in study centres near Oxford; visiting therapeutic communities in
prisons and visiting and supporting a PhD student researching therapeutic community
practice in Nottingham University in the UK. Visiting Geel in Belgium where there
has been therapeutic community practice for over 800 years; attending the 17th EWODOR International Symposium in Ghent in Belgium (European
Working group on Drug-Oriented Research) on therapeutic community
approaches to softening substance abuse. Participated in an evaluation of a
therapeutic community in Athens in Greece. Visited and supported a Greek PhD student
in Istanbul in Turkey on therapeutic community futures. Attended and spoke at the
European Therapeutic Community Conference in Thessaloniki in Greece. Writing
resources on Laceweb way and extending the Laceweb Archive. The Archive has had
folk from an additional forty countries accessing the site.
SUMMARY
This
Timeline has provided a small glimpse selected from the massive number of
happenings over the years. Healing Artistry for wellbeing has involved
thousands. One estimate is that there has been well over 400,000 attendances at
various Laceweb festivals, gatherings, events, celebrations, dinners, workshops
and other happenings over the years. Grassroots healers from countries right
through the Region are involved. Many of the seminal pioneering contributors
have sadly died. Their magnificent pioneering work is acknowledged. While
mentioning seven Professors, many more professors, doctors and other academics
have been involved and donated their experience and time.
___________________________
A SAMPLE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LACEWEB ACTION
Bruen W. 1968.
Problems in the Evaluation of a Therapeutic Community - A Five Year Fraser
House Follow-up. Bulletin of the Division of Clinical Psychiatry. Vol. 1, Feb.
Carlson J. &
Yeomans N. 1975. Whither Goeth the Law (From litigation to Mediation) in 'The
Way Out - Radical Alternatives in Australia'. Smith M. & Crossley D (Eds.)
Melbourne: Landsdowne Press, Page 155.
Carey G. 1997.
Australian Story Sydney: ABC Books, (Chap 181-192).
Cawte, J., 1974. Medicine is the Law: Studies in Psychiatric
Anthropology of Australian Tribal Societies. University Press of Hawaii.
Cawte, J., 196. Healers of Arnhem Land. UNSW Press,
1996.
Clark A. W. &
Van Sommers P. 1961. Contradictory Demands in Family Relations and Adjustment
to School and Home. Human Relations. 14, Page 97-111.
Clark A. W.
1967.Conditions Influencing Patient Response to Treatment in a Therapeutic
Community. Social Science & Medicine. 1, Page 309-319.
Clark A. W. &
Yeomans N. T. 1969. Fraser House - Theory, Practice and Evaluation of a
Therapeutic Community New York: Springer Pub Co., (Cited by many other
researchers 1969-1985)
Clark A. W. 1993.
Understanding and Managing Social Conflict, Melbourne: Swinburne College Press,
(Pages 61, 117).
Franklin M. 1995.
Assimilation in Action - The Armidale Story. Armidale: University of New
England Press.
Hansell N. 1970.
Book Review - Fraser House - Theory, Practice and Evaluation of a Therapeutic
Community. Archives of General Psychiatry. Vol. 22, Page 380.
Hirschowitz R. G.
1971. Book Review - Fraser House - Theory, Practice and Evaluation of a
Therapeutic Community. Social Science and Medicine Journal, Vol. 5, Page 514.
Iceton N. 1969-98.
The Social Developers Network Private Archive Collection. Armidale, NSW.
Iceton, N, 1970-78.
The Aboriginal Human Relations Magazine. Sydney: Connexion, Volumes 1-60. (Held
by Australian National Library, Canberra).
Jones M. 1953. The
Therapeutic Community New York: Basic Books.
Kamien M. 1978. The
Dark People of Bourke - A study of Planned Social Change. Canberra: Australian
Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
Laceweb, 2000. Wounded
Healers - Wounded Group
Laceweb, 1997a. Laceweb
- Healing The Mindbody.
Madew L., Singer
G., & MacIndoe I. 1966. Treatment and Rehabilitation in the Therapeutic
Community. The Medical Journal of Australia. 1 Page 1112-14.
Mangold, M., 1993.
Paddington Bazaar. Sydney: Tandem Productions
Manning N. 1976.
Values and Practice in the Therapeutic Community. Human Relations, Vol. 29,
Page 135.
Ng M. L., Tam Y.
K., & Luk S. L. 1982. Evaluation of Different Forms of Community Meeting in
a Psychiatric Unit in Hong Kong. British Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 140, Page
491.
Renouf A. 1992. The
Uneasy Sixth Stage of Mediation. Australian Disputes Resolution Journal, Vol 3.
No 4. November, page 257. (Note: the sixth stage for Amelia is 'therapeutic
mediating'.)
Trauer T. 1984. The
Current Status of the Therapeutic Community. British Journal of Medical
Psychology. Vol. 57, Page 74.
Watson J. P. 1970.
The First Australian Therapeutic Community - Fraser House. British Journal of
Psychiatry. Vol. 117, Page 109.
Yeomans K. 1993.
Water for Every Farm: Yeoman's Keyline Plan. Surfers Paradise: Keyline Publishing.
Yeomans N., et al
1995 Governments and the Facilitation of Community Grassroots well-being
Action. A discussion paper sent to
RHSET, Department of Health Canberra.
Yeomans N. 1973.On
Global Reform and International Normative Model Areas . Thesis prepared for
Degree in Law: University of New South Wales and for the Australian
Humanitarian Law Committee.
Yeomans N. 1969-73
Submissions to Justice Evatt and Justice Mitchell through the Divorce Law Reform
Society of NSW on Divorce Law reform.
Yeomans N.
1965.Collected Papers on Fraser House and related healing Gatherings and
Festivals Mitchell Library Archives, State Library of New South Wales.
Yeomans N. (1961)
Notes on a Therapeutic Community Part 1 Preliminary Report Medical Journal of
Australia, 2 Sept, Vol 48 (2), pages 382-384.
Yeomans N. (1961)
Notes on a Therapeutic Community Part 2. Medical Journal of Australia, Vol 48
(2), 18 Nov, pages 829-830.
Yeomans N., Clark
A. W., Cockett M., & Gee K. M. 1970. Measurement of Conflicting
Communications in Social Networks. British Journal of Social and Clinical
Psychology Vol. 9, Page 275-281.
Yeomans P. A. 1976.
Paper to the United Nations 'Habitat' Conference in Canada - On Human
Settlements' Canada.
Yeomans P. A. 1971.
The City Forest: The Keyline Plan for the Human Environment Revolution.'
Keyline Publishing.
P A Yeomans 1965.
Water for Every Farm. Murray Publishing.
P A Yeomans 1958.
'The challenge of Landscape: The Development and Practice of Keyline.' Keyline
Publishing.
P. A. Yeoman 1955.
The Keyline Plan. Yeoman's Publishing.
Wilson P. 1990. A
Life of Crime. Newham, Victoria: Scribe, (Chapter 6).
Other Resources on the Net
o Radio TC International, 2009b. Spotlight on Fraser House – A Series of Ten Radio Programs on Fraser
House. Internet Source sighted 18 July 2013-07-19 http://www.tc-of.org.uk/index.php?title=P7S1
o Radio TC International, 2009c. Beyond the Therapeutic Community - Healing Sunday and Nurturing
Community Action for Global Wellbeing.
Internet Source Sighted 20 Oct 2012
http://www.tc-of.org.uk/index.php?title=P7S4-2Script
o Radio TC International, 2009d. Evolving a Dispersed Urban Wellbeing Community. Internet Source
Sighted 23 Aug 2009
www.tc-of.org.uk/index.php?title=P7S4-1Script
Un-Inma
Atherton Tablelands Inma Project