Laceweb -
Down to Earth Auspicing Motion
Posted
1997. Last updated April 2014. This page gives a feel for wellbeing needs of
disadvantaged indigenous and small minority people in the SE Asia Oceania,
Australasia Region. While happening on Australia's doorstep we hear little of
what is happening to indigenous and small minority people - 'the cultural
genocide, the forced assimilation and the destruction of the environment on
which these people's existence and development depends' (quote from the UNPO
internet page). As well this paper hints at the support and healing
possibilities that may emerge from an informal network of healers called the Laceweb.
Ideas are emerging for resonant energies to provide
uncompromised auspicing support to the Laceweb. The following embraces Down
To Earth (Vic) - (DTE) - a self help communal energy that has been enabling
large wellbeing conference festivals called ConFest since the Seventies. DTE is an off-shoot of The Australian Down to Earth
Network (ADTEN) founded by Jim Cairns and Junee Morosi. They used the
community mental health 'commune' in Paddington that the founder of the
Laceweb Dr. Neville Yeoman established as their base for evolving the first
ConFest gathering. The
Region: Project Area - SE Asia Australia Pacific Evolving
Possibilities for Travel and Linking That Down To Earth (DTE
Vic.) auspice the Laceweb $1,500. DTE would be auspicing an
Aboriginal Laceweb enabler and the Laceweb in assisting the development of
the Laceweb and its support loci, in order to promote, develop and nurture
wellbeing among indigenous and minorities throughout SE Asia, Australia
Pacific. The Laceweb is a social
movement that commenced out of Australian healing communities and festivals
in the sixties and seventies and prior Keyline deep ecology insights as far
back as the 1940's. Refer Communal
ways for Healing the World. Auspicing this social movement will link DTE further
into an informal healing network among indigenous and small minority and
intercultural people throughout the South East Asia, Australasia and Oceania
region. The Laceweb enables self help wellbeing action. A number of other resonant groups may auspice the
Laceweb The following letter
setting out the Project was sent to DTE by an Aboriginal Laceweb person. This is an inter-peoples
(inter-indigenous locales) project, a Laceweb of small minority peoples
(primarily indigenous). The project will address two broad areas: ·
The (ongoing) development of an
inter-digenous Laceweb of mutual support and consultation. (This could
include a communication and support Laceweb with the regions unincorporated
minorities, such as Bougainville, West Papua, East Timor, etc.; ·
An intercultural Laceweb of
similar/same concerns.) The purpose of the
Laceweb is to mutually explore, advise, assist in: ·
Promoting the inter-indigenous
agendas to relevant UN bodies such as the Working Group on Indigenous
Populations (WGIP), the (proposed) Indigenous Forum, and the Sub-Commission
on the Discrimination against Minorities. ·
Developing a 'neighbours network'
of indigenous, and other, peoples concerned with conflict resolution and
reconciliation at the regional, sub-regional and micro-regional levels. ·
Possibility of Email/Internet/fax
linking support/wisdom sharing through DTE and others. ·
Providing direct enabling
assistance between each inter-indigenous member of the Laceweb. For example: o
development/initiation of
livelihoods based on the sustainable develop-ment of local/regional
resources, and o
supporting the development of
community based, co-learning in the delivery of health, welfare and education
needs (socio-cultural self help action). A key aspect is supporting
self/cultural habilitation, i.e. appropriate psycho-cultural ways of self
healing. ·
NO other energy/group/organisation
to our knowledge is doing 'Laceweb' action, e.g. enabling local indigenous
self-help and the passing of 'what works' on to other indigenous groups
(often through ConFest style gatherings and linking all of this to humane
elements of both alternative/mainstream). ·
A fundamental approach of this
project is that it be primarily mutually beneficial (to interacting Laceweb
linkers and the supporting loci, such as DTE). Guidelines and
experiences to assist in enervating and synthesising this project are the
models developed by Norwegian mediators in the Palestinian/Jewish
rapprochement and the Truth and Reconciliation process in South Africa,
though not simply applied. Refer Laceweb - Communal
Ways for Healing our World elsewhere in the Laceweb Village pages. Rather, the emphasis of
grassroots gatherings in private, supportive consultations in order that
differences can be mediated - and not be used to differentiate - will be a
key feature of those models used in this project. 'Gatherings' like micro,
small and large ConFests. DTE (in exactly the same
way as other support bodies of this project, indigenous and non indigenous)
will be seen as one of the Laceweb's support foci, entailing a
non-compromising line of resourcing and an additional strengthening of DTE's/
other Laceweb foci lines of communication. Re 'non-compromising line
of resourcing'. That is, in supporting, we do not run DTE's agenda(s). If
each supporting group has strings attached to their support (typical of
mainstream), any action fostering "SELF" help among indigenes WILL
be hopelessly compromised as we end up telling them what they can and cant
do! DTE would be auspicing an
Aboriginal enabler and the Laceweb in assisting the development of the
Laceweb and its support loci, in order to promote, develop and nurture the
basic goals of the project. If there is a DTE
committee consensus on this, and a signed agreement by the committee to this
effect, I (the Aboriginal Enabler) would accept DTE's support as a mutually
beneficial undertaking for the project's Laceweb model. The following issues have
been identified through the regions Indigenous Groups' submissions to the UN
working group on indigenous peoples. GENERAL
(A) Contemporary
Environmental/Development Contexts Historically non
indigenous homogenised Asian populations in rich flat lands; non homogenised
indigenous relegated to mountains. Western Multinationals arrive and the
exploitable wealth is in/under mountains (oil/minerals, trees, dams). Emergent regional
geographies ('contested geographies') of indigenous/minority groups Developmental/environmental
issues within the 'contested geographies': ·
land rights ·
conflict over resources: mines,
dams, forests, fishing SPECIFIC
(B) Survivability?
Sustainability? ·
communal survivability: o
physical o
social o
cultural ·
of diverse cultures - to the
survivability of: o
cultural regions, o
environments ·
relationship to place: o loss of 'habitat' for hunter gathers/swidden land rights ·
Economics of survivability o
as individuals o
cultural groups
(dispersed/compact) o
territorial groups. ·
Security - civil unrest ·
Humane relational mediating ·
Humanitarian/human rights: o
liberty - § individual § political § civil o
equality - economic rights to basic needs o
fraternity - group o
International Labour Organisation
convention (ILO) ·
UN and other rights to self
determination o
international sanctions re human
rights of indigenes o
national laws o
Conflicting status/Identity (in
the Nation State) - pluralism § indigene V citizen § international funding bodies' policies (e.g. World Bank) § often 'trans-border' demography The
Region: Project Area - SE Asia Australia Pacific Approximate: Pakistan,
India, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southern Siberia, Mongolia, China, Japan, Vietnam,
Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sarawak, E Timor, West Papua,
Bougainville, Australia Indigenous composition: ·
The region contains around 75% of
the global 'indigenous' population (approx. 180 of 250 million). ·
In the same vein, it contains 75%
of the world's 'indigenous' peoples. ·
The region has 'trans-border'
demography. ·
Indigenes and small minorities are
threatened on two broad fronts: o
environment (physical) § survivability § sustainability o
status § spiritual § cultural § communal Evolving
Possibilities for Travel and Linking Ideas are evolving for
the following possible travel and linking: ·
Japanese indigenous Ainu people in
Northern Japan ·
Indigenous hill people of Vietnam ·
Indigenous Groups with links into
Singapore ·
Indigenous Hill people of Malaysia
·
Dalit peoples 'untouchables'
minorities on Deccan Plateau -- India (180 Million) END OF LETTER
The motion calls for
support of $1,500 by DTE as a once off nominal figure. (It may be lower or
higher with a possibility for further support) DTE would receive
continual feedback and be linked to linking. Other links: Extegrity -
Guidelines for Joint Partner Proposal Application |