Interfacing Alternative and Complementary Well-being Ways for Local Wellness

Intercultural Peacehealing and the Netherlands Document -

Guidelines for Programmes
Psychosocial and Mental Health Care Assistance in

(Post) Disaster and Conflict Areas

A UN-INMA Conversation Paper prepared for the

SE Asia Oceania Psychosocial Emergency Response Network -

An Initiative auspiced by UNICEF with UK Government funding

The comments are the views of the writers. They do not speak for, or re-present others.

Paper Summary

Emerging Possibilities

This paper outlines possible actions whereby the nurturers of psycho-social and other forms of well-being in the First, Third, and Fourth Worlds may engage together in supporting people in the aftermath of man-made and natural disasters in ways that enrich local way, have positive second and third order consequences, that detract from the well-being of no one involved, and that do not compromise local mutual-help and self help. The paper also has implications for supporting Oppressed Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority people in the Region, in the context of the ongoing fragmenting and disintegrating of their culture, in their place, by dominant elements.

The paper draws upon inter-digenous wisdoms of the East Asia Oceania Region.

The Laceweb, an informal network of Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority psycho-social healers is presented as an example of local Well-being Action in the Region. Such local well-being ways are deeply embedded in the social fabric, draw upon the cultural history of the people and are resonant with local knowledge and ways of understanding (local logical frameworks). By their very nature such local and endogenous Well-being actions actively reconstitute the social fabric of shattered communities even while acting specifically at the inter-individual level. This aspect of the reconstituting of social forms of organization has been epidemiologically demonstrated as basic and essential to individual health and psychosocial well-being, yet is characteristically undeveloped in First World Aid efforts.

Further, the paper describes resonances between contemporary research of self-organisation within living systems, the Science of Complexity and Third and Fourth World Well-being ways.

The Context for the Writing of This Paper

The current practice is for First World Aid bodies to come to the SE Asia Oceania Region often with scant comprehension of local ways and logical frameworks. First World Aid bodies naturally use First World well-being ways. First World way is not the primary way of the SE Asia Oceania Region.

How Psychosocial support is provided to Grassroots people in the SE Asia Oceania Region was one of the foci at a meeting of experts (all of whom did not like the designation ‘expert’) convened by the SE Asia Pacific Office of UNICEF in August 2001. This meeting set up a working group made up of attendees at that meeting and a process for forming an Emergency Psychosocial Response Network in the Region.

The view was expressed by one of the writers of this paper (and resonant with others present) that while First World support is needed in the Region, this currently comes with a price – the fraying of the cultural fabric of the very people it is intended to support.

Working Group members had their own personal and second-hand experience of how First World Aid, done with the very best intentions in the World, alienates local grassroot people, and consistently disables self-organising grassroots action by investing decision making power in two characteristic ways: (1) explicitly in the hands of non-local experts who draw upon fundamentally alien cultural histories and logical frameworks and (2) where local people are involved; in processes, strategies and interventions which are imposed according to an exogenous (externally sourced) prescriptive framework (eg the Netherlands paper 'Guidelines for Programmes).

Contemporary scientific understandings of living systems have yet to penetrate far into biomedical, psychiatric and First World Aid discourse. In brief, we note that living systems are open systems. In practical terms we may disturb living systems but not control them. They are self organizing. Understanding these complex features of living wholes does not negate the role of the healer, the therapist or the policy maker. Rather it prompts us to redefine our roles, so that we may serve better.

This paper is a response to a call from members of the working group for a discussion paper on the interface between First, Third and Fourth World healing well-being way, and especially on interfacing with the healing ways of Oppressed Indigenous people and Oppressed Small Minorities in the Region.

There were massive dilemmas in writing this paper. Hearing about one’s trauma support being traumatizing may be traumatizing. Heaping a lot of ‘things’ in one place, especially things relating to the aversive implications and role-out of action, can easily up the ante. At the same time, setting out what others may not have seen - that others do not seem to know, and may be, do not know they do not know, could be useful. Bringing out what powerful and vested interest groups do know, and do not want discussed may provoke them.

An issue is that many First World people operate on the assumption that everyone shares their reality – that First World way of doing and way of thinking is universally applicable. This is NOT so. First World way is not the way of the Region. This is not to say, one or other way is best or better. It is just that there is difference.

The paper introduces the Netherlands paper 'Guidelines for Programmes - Psychosocial and Mental Health Care Assistance in (Post) Disaster and Conflict Areas' and analyses/ unpacks it in terms of its embeddedness in First World way as a typical type document. The Netherlands document is highly specialized and the distilled wisdom of highly specialized people. That paper is fully consistent with First World way. First World way is not the primary way of the SE Asia Oceania Region.

First World Aid bodies come to the Region using First World way often with scant comprehension of local ways and logical frameworks. The Netherlands document imposes one particular alien (meaning that which is non-local) cultural framework and derived logical system and proceeds as if this particular way is universally applicable.

What follows in our paper is a comparison of First World Well-being Way with Ways of the Third and Fourth Worlds, along with analysis of longitudinal outcomes of current patterns of implementation, and possibilities for productive integration of strategies for future implementation

There is a dearth of Western psycho-social aid bodies that have any experience of Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority nurturing/healing well-being Way, or experience in enabling locals engage in self-help. Laceweb, an evolving informal network of Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority Healers has years of such experience in micro-projects. Indigenous and Small Minority Natural Nurturer may be available as a resource. Laceweb examples are given.

Man-made and natural disasters typically create emergency contexts where a quick response is necessary to save lives and minimize immense suffering.

Laceweb and other local well-being action has been creating some capacity for inter-culturally sensitive quick-response healing teams. Energy may be available - and supported by First World capacity - in ways that do not place lives in jeopardy. Western and other funding may be made available in ways that do not compromise Local Way.

Specific Future Possible Action

Here is a scenario in point form:

· A Disaster occurs and there is a need to act quickly

· Essential everything has been destroyed; the local area is a mess

· The First World has what has been called ‘grunt’ – it has the capacity and will to get resources anywhere in the world quickly

· The First World Aid bodies can quickly and effectively establish a transitional zone and enable basic survival functioning (we would characterize this temporary period as the rescue phase of the Aid process) of the shattered systems (biological and social).

· The local people have the feelings and knowing about what is missing from their well-being

· The local people have the capacity for healing their well-being, though this is stressed and may need enabling support from within the local community and/or from without by intercultural enablers

· the store of local knowing and wisdom is in the local communities – there is special wisdom among a few, and general wisdom among the many

· The local people have the capacity and potential to self organize and establish self sufficiency - non compromising support may be very welcome

· Given sensitive intercultural enabling support, the local people may provide important information about what they need and how they need to reconstitute their own well-being

· First World Aid people arrive with scant knowledge of this local context/capacity

· The First World provides Aid and the issues raised in our paper unfold

The paper explores how to nurture the locally emergent context imbedded within the disaster context - enabling the local voices, resources, wisdom and capacity for co-reconstituting themselves according to their local way. This is a missing piece of the Netherlands document and First World Aid generally. They hint that they want to embrace the locals, though their frameworks make no provisions on how to do so.

Intercultural enabling and support of this local way is embodied action finessed by mentored experience engaging in enabling real contexts. It is being able to draw on embodied inter-cultural wisdom to act in ways appropriate unto the moment. It is being able to gently be present to identify and engage with the local wisdom and way. Intercultural enablers are very special people with a scarce and vital experience base. Intercultural enablers for SE Asia Oceania Australasia are already in the Region. They may be found among other Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority People in the Region - within the Laceweb.

These intercultural enablers serve an interfacing role between First World Aid - as well as Aid from NGO’s and CBO’s from within the Region - and the local people. Intercultural enablers may again support in increasing integrity and connexity (inter-dependent, inter-woven, inter-related and inter-connected) based cooperation into fragmented sectorised Aid efforts.

The First World can only naturally use First World way. The Third and Fourth World can only naturally use their respective ways. One cannot think one’s way into understanding the ways of another culture. Culture is phenomenological; experienced and lived. Those who move and act well between Worlds using meta-well-being processes are a rare breed – people of high degree.

We are seeking to encourage thriving action at the interface of the Worlds. To this end:

1) We will work on a sequel to our paper focusing on suggestions for specific action.

2) Members of the Study group interested in the issues raised in our paper may enter into email exchange.

3) It may be that those of the Group interested in the above issues may have telephone conference link-ups and a sub-group meeting either associated with, or independent of any future Expert Study Group meeting.

4) It may be that key nodal intercultural enablers from the Laceweb may be open to contribute. It is sensed that the starting place is linking intercultural enablers with the nurturers within local at-risk communities.

5) From years of first-hand experience intercultural enablers know that First World and Regional governance as well as NGOs and CBOs use what they learn about grassroots self help to undermine grassroots self-help. A way ahead of this impasse may be to non-compromisingly explore the well-being interface between grassroots self help and these other entities.

6) Funding people could ensure accountability for disbursement.

7) Indigenous academics and others resonant with Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority way may enter into co-learning review of unfolding Action

Funding could be sought for small (two or three people) local community visits to identify the local nurturers. Local camp-out micro-gatherings could emerge in the Region. A campout environment may allow participants to be ‘close to the ground’ and to ‘sit around the fire under the night sky’. To bring these people into dominant power places (upmarket conference facilities in upmarket hotels) would be inappropriate because inevitably shifting to such places is accompanied by shift in processes towards First World ways (ways of relating to others, ways of relating to the natural world, ways of relating to self, and ways of understanding). Close-to the-ground Micro-gatherings may allow people to discover each other and each other’s ways. Themed open agendas may evolve. Local grassroots natural nurturers may be the hosts. Nodal intercultural enablers may be invited. Exploring together the notion of a grassroots emergency response network may be a focus. It is suggested that First World Aid and Regional governance people not be involved at this stage.

A subsequent step may be for intercultural enablers to host gatherings fostering possibilities for genuine dialogue about the interface between the nurturers of the First World and the nurturers of the Third and Fourth Worlds. Out of these processes and hopefully authentic alive dialogue, may emerge new, and perhaps more holistic perceptions of each other and insights about non-compromising action. Both the locals and the non-locals have vital and to some extent non-transferable roles to play.

End of Paper Summary

The Context for the Writing of this paper

This paper emerges from a blend of action research and contemplation and ends with an outline of possible actions whereby the natural nurturers of well-being in the First, Third, and Fourth Worlds may engage together in supporting people in the aftermath of man-made and natural disasters in ways that enrich local way, have positive second and third order consequences, that detracts from the well-being of no one involved, and that does not compromise local self help.

The current practice is for First World Aid bodies to come to the SE Asia Oceania Region often with scant comprehension of local ways and logical frameworks. First World Aid bodies naturally use First World well-being ways. First World way is not the primary way of the SE Asia Oceania Region

How Psychosocial support is provided to Grassroots people in the SE Asia Oceania Region was one of the foci at a meeting of experts (all of whom did not like the designation ‘expert’) convened by the SE Asia Pacific Office of UNICEF in August 2001. This meeting set up a working group made up of attendees at that meeting and a process for forming an Emergency Psychosocial Response Network in the Region. The view was expressed by the principal writer of this paper (and resonant with others present) that while First World support is needed in the Region, this currently comes with a price – the fraying of the cultural fabric of the very people it is intended to support.

Working Group members had their own personal and second-hand experience of how First World Aid, done with the very best intentions in the World, alienates local grassroot people.

This paper is a response to a call from members of the working group for a discussion paper on the interface between First, Third and Fourth World healing well-being way, and especially on interfacing with the healing ways of Oppressed Indigenous people and Oppressed Small Minorities in the Region.

There were massive dilemmas in writing this paper. Hearing about one’s trauma support being traumatizing may be traumatizing. Heaping a lot of ‘things’ in one place, especially things relating to the aversive implications and roll-out of action, can easily up the ante. At the same time it seems that setting out what others may not have seen - that others do not seem to know, and it seems, do not know they do not know, seems useful.

The richness and spontaneity of everyday life grassroots healing wellbeing ways may be understood in the embodied experiencing. Attempting to re-present this experience in words in a ‘paper’ invariably fails! Using words, description, explanation and categorization are a distorting pale caste of alien life experience. Words fail. A First world way is to attempt to ‘capture’ it. Wrong metaphor! Categorising fragments the pervasive holistic.

Throughout this paper we use tentative language, non linear and matrix linking of ideas (creating some repetition), and the passive voice. These forms are familiar to Third and Fourth World people. For First World people this may fire off aspects of the core issues of this paper – that the ’writers do not know how to write ‘properly’’. We right out of respect for Third and Fourth World way. We are feeling our way. In the First World, left brain rules. This paper tends to the right.

An issue is that many First World people operate on the assumption that everyone shares their reality – that First World way of doing and way of thinking is universally applicable. This is NOT so. First World way is not the way of the Region. This is not to say, one or other way is best or better. It is just that there is difference.

If using First World way with the very best of intentions is experienced by locals as imposition and is doing harm, then this needs to be said - though how to explore these issues in a loving caring way - that nurtures all of the nurturers of the world, and encourages them to continue nurturing – though perhaps tempering some of their ways - in ways they work out themselves - extends the essence of the loving heart.

More and more we are sensing that in the rich diversity of the World’s cultures, especially the small and micro-cultures – those that are closely connected to nature – humankind, homo amans, as in Maturana’s ‘loving people’, is a thrival wellness resource pool for us all (Maturana, Verden-Zöller 1996).

This paper sets out many challenges, though it seems that our (and fellow members of the Study Group) own wellness may be maintained and extended by meeting these challenges.

Let us first define some core terms that jointly go to the heart of this paper.

Context - From the Latin contexere : 'to weave together' or 'webmaking'. ‘The setting in which experience takes place which can shed light on its meaning’. We are mindful that people may impose their defining of the meaning of context to the exclusion of any other people’s meaning (This is the place for a hydro electric scheme and you have to all move out and we don’t want trouble’, compared with, ‘This sacred beautiful place is our home and we don’t want any trouble)’. Awareness of context, especially the scope for viewing and living in multiple realities held jointly and/or severely is a sustained mode of being for the nurturing peacehealer (see below).

Connexity - A central lived, embodied, and experienced framing concept is ‘connexity’ – that everything within and between people and context (which see), culturally and inter-culturally is inter-dependent, inter-related, inter-connected and interwoven, while maintaining, respecting and celebrating difference.

Fostering and maintaining connexity relating is a potent force for resolving and peacehealing (which see) of the inter-cultural and inter-ethnic tensions in the region.

Culture – ‘Culture’ is used in the sense of what a community, or people in communities do as they go about our lives.

Heal - ‘Well-being Healing’ is used in the original meaning of ‘heal’, as in ‘to make whole’ and ‘integrated’. Only locals know when they do not have their Well-being, and know what is missing.

Logic - We speak of logical local frameworks - where the term 'logic' has the originally meaning - 'the universal principle through which all things are interrelated and all natural events occur'.

Nurturing Wisdom - Nurturers are the humane carers and are typically present in any community. These are typically carriers and users of the local wisdom. These people have a feminine, soft yin energy. They are for well-being and the realizing (in its two fold sense – to understand and to make real) of well-being and connexity (both of which see) as both an inherent aspect of their social life world and way of being within their own community, and with different communities and cultures.

Peacehealing - ‘Peacehealing’ is a collection of mutual-help Well-being processes. These have been evolving for over 40 years within Laceweb, an informal network of Well-being enablers among Oppressed Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minorities in the SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region (refer www.laceweb.org.au).

Well-being - The word 'Well-being' is used for the experience of wellness in the Illness-Wellness Continuum. What constitutes wellness may vary considerably between different cultures, communities and people in their varied habitat and context. It is more about better feeling in context, rather than 'trying to feel better'. Well-being is holistic and includes psychosocial, emotional, habitat, environmental, cultural, economic, spiritual, mindbody, and intercultural Well-being.

To use all of the above terms, this paper is about naturally and logically identifying, linking up and supporting the natural nurturers in the region using the local nurturing wisdom in unfolding daily contexts as people go about their daily lives (their culture) for healing well-being and fostering connexity based relating between people and cultures.

Most well-being issues revolve around what we do, or do not do, as we go about our lives; that is, our culture. It is trivially true that if people in the region started living the above concepts, inter-ethnic, intercultural and other strife, (and use of terrorism, torture and trauma by both the powerful and the weak) would naturally settle down and Regional security would increase without oppressing or marginalizing the weak and without costing a cent. But it's not that simple.

A very small proportion of loss of well-being relates to the action of germs, viruses, and chance occurrence.

Well-being loss can be attributable to government, business and other decision-makers (use of traumatizing militia, pollution, environmental degradation, and the like). Natural disasters are another cause of well-being loss. A very large proportion is imposed on others or self-imposed – torture and trauma, terrorism and other violence, substance abuse, domestic violence, becoming insane, committing crime, poor eating habits and life styles, polluting, causing soil erosion, and so on.

An aim of this paper is to encourage conversations about local grassroots self-help and mutual well-being Actions among torture and trauma survivors in the context of man-made and natural disaster in the Region, and about how others may support these Actions in ways that do not compromise them.

More widely this paper is about fostering dialogue between First, Third, and Fourth World nurturers - about how each can support each other in connexity, co-learning and co-reconstituting their own Well-being for a better life and shared World.

At a macro level, the natural World is giving those with the capacity to perceive (the sense we make of our senses), ample evidence that people are placing unsustainable demands upon Earth living systems. Something has to give.

Maybe the natural nurturers of each of the worlds, in realizing (in the twofold sense of ‘re-cognize’ and ‘make real’) their connexity, are the natural source for support. They may explore how - in respecting and maintaining their difference - they may be complementary. Cleavered unity is common in living systems (Firth 1936).

Further, this paper is about exploring and respecting difference. The 'alternative' in the title has multiple implications. It hints again at difference between First, Third and Fourth World ways and exploring new (alternative) ways of First World support. It also refers to the possibilities for working with First World nurturers in altering First World nurturing ways that disintegrate, such that First World nurturers do not even see their decimating. It also refers to local endogenous (internally produced) and exogenous (externally produced) well-being emergence - that is, individual and shared internal experience of individual and shared contexts that unfold in everyday life.

The Region is racked with man-made and natural disaster. Support is needed, especially by Oppressed Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minorities - people who have collective experiences of colonization and violent oppression of their ways. Local people have used self-help and mutual help for centuries in the face of man-made and natural disasters.

First World service delivery is characterized by being preplanned, remote-from-context (alien) and prescriptive. This Aid may have aversive consequences that while evident, are rarely beheld by First World people. We return to this latter, but first some shrimps and greens.

Shrimps and Greens

As a glimpse of possible futures, consider what was thought to be an intractable issue in the early Nineties - child malnutrition in Vietnam. The NGO, Save the Children knew that traditional First World solutions would just not work - providing lots of food was not a sustainable solution.

There were dozens of inter-related issues contributing to malnutrition such as poor local knowledge of hygiene and nutrition, lack of clean water, poor sanitation, and the like.

A simple local solution was found in the poorest villages - shrimp and greens (Pascale R. T., Millemann, M., & Gioja, L., 2000, p. 175-181). A few children were found who were not malnourished. Their natural nurturer families were positive deviants. These families were making their children nutritious meals from rice mixed with two ingredients freely available nearby. These were fresh water shrimp and the vitamin rich leaves of the sweet potato. The recognizing of these local natural nurturers started a process that radically altered child nutrition throughout Vietnam.

This local natural nurturer wisdom was obvious once made visible. Their practical ways were passed on to other families in the same village. The 'price' to attend small informal gatherings about caring for their children was a handful of shrimp and sweet potato leaves.

Natural nurturer mothers showed the others what to do and how to get their children to accept the new tastes. In the process of 'finding their voices' these natural nurturers increased in confidence. Previously, they had been hardly noticed in the village. In the continuing conversations about their children's well-being, other connexity initiatives arose such as village school life and curriculum. These conversations and shared experiences engendered other well-being action including engendering second and third order benefits (e.g., income creation).

Once energized, local action was self-organizing, essentially self-funding and sustainable. Well-being actions unfolded in everyday life. The natural nurturers and other mothers evolved additional joint activities that they could all engage in.

There was local participation and 'ownership' of all these actions. This shrimp and leaf diet 'solution' was not expanded to other villages. Rather, the same process was replicated. Natural nurturers with the well-nourished children were found in other very poor villages. These were also using local food (such as sesame seeds) in a particular way. Again, these foods were freely available nearby.

The process respected the local wisdom, intelligence and capacity. Local people took on what other local people were already doing. The process involves gentle respectful rapport building and conversing. Within 6 months, two thirds of the children in the first village had gained substantial weight. After two years, 85% had grown to acceptable nutritional status and were no longer clinically malnourished.

Within five years the Vietnamese government had adopted the practice of extending positive deviance nationwide to great effect.

From such a little 'butterfly' as shrimps and greens, the non-linear 'butterfly effect' flowed on to create far-reaching winds of change that millions of dollars of introjected food could not achieve sustainably.

The multiplier effect was sustained throughout the wider action as women found their voices, passing on nutrition, hygiene and sanitation ideas spontaneous as they went about everyday life. These young women increased in status, increased in self esteem, engaged in small and large group conversation in everyday life, and sustained all manner of well-being action research. This simple action research involved trying things that work or modifying them till they did work for others, and passing on to other locals what works. Things that worked tend to become local informal ‘policy’. Informal policy is ‘that which works’. Therefore, informal policy works.

No one solution is turned into a big package solution and imposed on everyone. Each local solution is spread locally.

The work of Lien Yeomans and Helping Hand is also resonant (Yeomans, 2002). Lien took the simple act of riding a bicycle around Vietnam identifying the natural nurturer women. Vietnamese by birth, Lein married Dr. Neville Yeomans, founder of the Laceweb.

In the Australasian context a superb example of positive deviance is the work of Aboriginals Geoff and Norma Guest. Geoff has Aboriginal, Islander and other youth nourish themselves psychosocially on metaphoric shrimps and greens. Geoff uses the ways of the Aboriginal storyteller and the lore of the wild bush horses and other Australian animals to prevent petrol sniffing, other self-harm and civil disobedience. For Geoff, nature is culture. Over the past 24 years, over 3000 youth have changed their lives around at Geoff and Norma’s remote farm.

Energy is evolving to have Geoff and Norma’s pass on their ways to people in remote Central Australian Aboriginal communities to prevent endemic petrol sniffing. Some communities have over 8% of the total population addicted to petrol sniffing. The percentage of youth addicted is much higher. Petrol sniffing quickly kills or reduces the person to requiring 24 hour care.

Wider Applications

There are many coherent aspects of the above action that differ from First World way of thinking and acting. Indigenous way of the ages is living naturally in connexity and being mindful of this connexity - being pervasively connected and a part of natural living systems in mindbody, ideas, feeling and acting.

All of this is embodied with implication for function. This 'emerging integrity in unfolding context' is fundamentally a very different mode of being to the way of most people in the First World. The implication of this is immense.

The First World has had a split between mind and body, and between mindbody and nature for centuries. For all its economic might, the First World has a lot to re-learn and re-member (as in to embody) about human integrity.

Humankind is facing immense issues threatening the quality of life of future generations. The ways of the Third and Fourth Worlds hold profound implications for the First World. Each of the Worlds has so much to share with each other without imposing each others way. This may be respected and celebrated.

It is understood that self and mutual help by local nurturer networks has been evolving in Cambodia. This may be explored further by members of our Group.

This same model of supporting positive deviance is embraced by Laceweb. Informal local natural nurturer networks have been evolving in the SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region for over 40 years. Oppressed indigenous people along side Oppressed Small Minorities have been taking small actions to restore their well-being decimated by man-made and natural happenings.

In the Vietnam example, the wisdom about local well-being was in the community. Laceweb experience is that well-being wisdom is pervasive and profound among Oppressed indigenous and Oppressed Small Minorities. It embraces all aspects of well-being. It typically is carried with a soft Yin energy that acts quietly.

Laceweb processes mirror natural living systems. They entail using:

· self help and mutual help

· self-organizing local networking

· nodes (people at the junction of network strands) and links along network strands

· the well-being wisdom disbursed in the local populations

· local solutions locally

· catalytic local and intercultural enabling action to trigger local action

· living systems capacity to thrive in disequilibrium on the edge of chaos

· non-linear effects - small actions having large first, second and third order effects

An ongoing central focus of Laceweb action is people who are survivors of torture and trauma. Experience has established that people who have experienced torture and trauma can return to well-being through self and mutual help.

As in the Vietnamese experience, natural nurturers may be found among survivors of torture and trauma. They may use the local 'psycho-emotional-social-spiritual' equivalents of shrimps and greens to thrive.

They may do this using simple well-being ways fitting to the local way of life - their local culture. The word 'may' is used as a positive tentative. It is a respectful natural tentative. It is a tentative that fully respects that it is a local matter. Locals do it if locals want to. Local people are not focused on certainty. Tentative (fuzzy logic) is nature's way.

Within informal local Laceweb networks, indigenous and small minority natural nurturers act in a catalyst role as nodal people. They seek out the local natural nurturers. They help evolve conversations and relationships between other local natural nurturers. They seed possibilities for mini gatherings (two or more people) and celebrations for evolving simple well-being action. Possibilities for sharing well-being ways as locals go about their daily life are also shared. These well-being networks evolve viral like. They have potential to have non-linear growth. Small input may have large effects. This nodal enabling action refines intercultural insight and respectful ways of being and relating with diversity.

Future Possibilties

The sheer size of man-made and natural disasters in the region tends to stretch conventional service delivery beyond capacity. It may well be that using the positive deviance ideas mentioned above may spread possibilities for well-being that is just not possible using a service delivery approach.

Micro Laceweb action is evolving throughout the SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region. People engaging in preparing emergency psycho-social response in the Region could well explore using this positive deviance well-being networking already in the region as an integral part of action.

Fostering Laceweb like action may strengthen the resilience and well-being capacity in the Region generally, as well as have many second and third order well-being effects.

Skilled nurturers may be available as a quick response well-being team in times of emergency. As well, ‘mediation nurturers’ and ‘peacehealers’ - both processes developed within the Laceweb - may be an invaluable resource in settling down conflict and supporting the process of co-reconstituting collapsed society.

The local process outlined above is profoundly different to the conventional service delivery by 'professionals' approach of the First World nations and Global governance bodies. In this context it is useful to distinguish outcomes and outputs. Locally developed self-sustaining process such as ‘shrimps and greens’ produce the same output (nourished children) as service delivery may attempt to do, but outcomes (wellness) are massively different.

Thrival outcomes (system thriving) emerge as the natural life sustaining processes which produce the conditions for more life in a wide web of ecological relationships. In contrast, survival outcomes manifest as a system is functionally isolated from the context of its ecological relationships, and its ability to reconnect and re-establish these relationships, through the exercise of self-determined strategies, is attenuated. Therefore, the non-locally derived service delivery model tends to deliver and perpetuate survival outcomes because it perpetuates exogenously determined and artificial (not pertaining to the local ecology of relationships, culture, history and environment) problem-solving strategies.

Service delivery ‘clients’ tend to remain within a vicious cycle of dependency, creating the need for ongoing welfare and ongoing employment of Aid bodies, which brings up the question of, ‘Who benefits the most in the ‘core-periphery’ relationships between the First and Third Worlds?’

In contrast, self-help modelling tends to enable self-perpetuating thrival outcomes as people make sense of, and embody their experiences, develop endogenous strategies for employing themselves which are consistent with their logical frameworks, and pursue authentic wellness.

Well-being emerges naturally and spontaneously as people develop new ways to ‘take the helm’ in their lives together. It is pertinent to recognize that no-where in nature is there evidence of living systems being ‘empowered’ by other living systems. Living systems develop authentic power by traversing the threshold of a previous relationship with their ecosystem and emerging into a new reality.

Consider how a fledgling eagle learns to fly and how a duckling learns to paddle and dive. There is no instruction manual provided on how to move its body, only an enabler (parent) who places a ‘wellness demand’ - essentially a stressor that challenges the system to come alive in new ways and who supports it to meet the ensuing challenges.

Closer to home, remember how we learnt to drive a car. Was there a section in the Road Rules manual on how to reconfigure your central nervous system to perform the highly specialized co-ordinated movements that enable one to drive?

Rather, we were given a challenge, told what to do and somehow, our mind and body came together to work out how to do it. The skills became embodied. Perform a thought experiment - what would have happened if we’d never seen a car in all our life and on the day we became legally eligible to drive, we were presented with a new car and an instruction manual written in a language we did not understand? The point being that it’s difficult to learn and embody a new skill without the right enabling. The role of the enabler is vital to the development of authentic power. We weren’t given the power to physically perform the actions of driving (the myth of empowerment); we developed it ourselves after being enabled to do so.

Our power, which may be described as the spectrum of our functional capabilities and capacities, is an emergent property that only arises when a system, understood as a unity, is enabled and engaged in the performance of a self-determinative function to meet a new adaptive challenge.

Our theoretical basis may be redevelop as we remember that these complex biological and social living systems are self-steering and self-governing adaptive systems. We may begin recognizing that self-organising and emergent phenomena form the basis of living processes and that attempting to impose order and organization on processes which are naturally and spontaneously self-organising tends to produce negative long-term outcomes and often the opposite of what we were trying to achieve. Complexity science puts forth the possibility of learning about ways to create conditions and contexts in which self-organisation and growth oriented emergent phenomena are maximized in complex adaptive systems.

The Netherlands document

The Netherlands Document (the Document) 'Guidelines for Programmes - Psychosocial and Mental Health Care Assistance in (Post) Disaster and Conflict Areas' is fully consistent with First World way. First World way is not the primary way of the SE Asia Oceania Region

First World Aid bodies come to the Region using First World way often with scant comprehension of local ways and logical frameworks. The Netherland document imposes one particular alien cultural framework and derived logical system and proceeds as if this particular way is universally applicable. The document systematically excludes other ways and gives superficial recognition while excluding local ways of thinking from the theory-base. The theory base is a monocultural monologue. It is simply a masquerade to assert that an operational approach is ad hoc culturally sensitive or appropriate when at the fundamental level of theory there is no evidence of the integration of cross-cultural and intercultural logical frameworks in First World way.

There is talk of coopting locals though coopting them within First World way. Local ways of nurturing for well-being are locally appropriate logical frameworks. Recall that 'logic' is being used with the originally connexity meaning, 'the universal principle through which all things are interrelated and all natural events occur'. Local ways are fully consistent with the latest understandings in connexity, complexity science and the science of living systems.

The concept of cultural unemployment (as in, 'in use', not as in, 'working for the man') is apropos. A system can only well employ those processes that have been successfully explicated (developed). Indigenously, these have emerged over millenniums for thriving, often in habitat where First World people would not survive.

Local Well-being is directly proportional to the capability and locally appropriate employment of these inherently local mindbody-habitat-context strategies and processes. Imposing foreign strategies on a system may simultaneously lead to unemployment of the existing processes. For example, had Save the Children brought in massive injections of food aid into Vietnam (the shrimps and greens example), the simple nutrition practices of the local natural nurturers may have been swamped and lost forever. In the case of the Netherlands document this invasive imposing from an alien environment could equate to, and result in, local cultural unemployment, with a corresponding lowering of local based well-being and other related thrival outcomes.

Conversely the Laceweb by its very nature supports a local thrival process among disaffected individuals, with additional outcomes that amplify indigenous strategies. Recall, that the 'Shrimps and Greens' strategy created local second and third order action 'employing' local resonant way. In First World terms this is 'delivering cost effect outcomes' that avoid the typically ignored cost of local cultural unemployment and cultural impoverishment.

Islamic, Buddhist and Animistic traditional way is pervasive in some areas of the Region. Western Aid bodies often have little knowledge of these traditions. Oppressed Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority people of the Region have rich psycho-social community healing traditions which are profoundly different to Western way and also profoundly different to local ‘mainstream’ (dominant) way.

'Heal' and 'healing' are here used again in the sense of making whole. Using Positive Deviance and self/mutual help networking is one example. The cultural frameworks and forms of logically consistent ways of acting, thinking and being have evolved through very different selection pressures than Western and Other First World way. Hence it is quite inappropriate to assume that First World way can be readily introduced into these cultural systems without messing with and spoiling the local cultural environment. It is also inappropriate to assume that local people will 'buy into' alien Aid schemes in sustainable non-superficial ways. And yet this imposition of Alien Aid way is what happens regularly. First World Project failure is typically slated home to the 'lack of buy-in' (a First World concept) by locals.

Consistent with Western way, the Netherlands document prescribes (specifies what shall happen prior to context) and proscribes (specifies what shall not happen prior to context). Pervasive in the Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority way of the Region is moment-to-moment context based socio-healing for cohesion as people engage in their everyday social-life world. Anyone to everyone may enter into well-being healing acts. Emergent co-reconstituting cohesion is possible in and through the daily passing on of the minutiae of family, clan and community life networking. For hundreds of years their life together as a people, as a way of life in their place has been precarious because of man-made and natural disintegrating, and they have evolved natural local ways of reconstituting their extensive integrity.

Prescriptive non-locally developed 'formulaic' service delivery is observed to systematically annihilate emergent self-organising phenomena developing from within local communities. Imposed planned action interrupts local self organizing action.

One example mentioned at the UNICEF organized meeting in Thailand in August 2001 (to explore setting up an Emergency Psychosocial Response Network for the Region) was the simple healing well-being ceremonies by the grassroots villages in response to the massive volcanic ash build up in their villages a few years ago. Even though the person mentioning the example pointed these local healing practices out to First World Aid Agencies, it is understood that this person observed that these practices were disdained and ignored by the visiting psychosocial expert professionals.

These spontaneous self organizing Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority networks have potential for trauma healing that may exponentially evolve in contexts where First World delivery by experts would fail through resources been stretched beyond capacity. Resonant outside support may foster the potential of these local processes. Non-resonant support may disintegrate these local ways.

In the following paragraphs some differences between First World and Third/Fourth World ways are outlined. A more comprehensive exploring of difference is included later in the paper.

These local ways differ profoundly from First World service delivery of 'programs' designed by distant non-local 'experts' - experts with no knowledge of local healing way, operating from alien pre-prescribed frameworks. The term pre-prescribed is used here to emphasise that alien people with virtually no knowledge of local context, let alone the exiguous moment-to-moment trauma contexts, deign beforehand on the other side of the globe, to declare, 'that which shall be done'.

The Document does nothing about interfacing First World 'expert professional skill' with 'Local self organizing well-being experience of what works in action'. There is nothing which meshes local and non-local ways in functional and unfolding context molded ways. There is nothing that ensures local buy-in and sustainability. Intercultural exploring is absent. This is typical.

The Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority way of the Region is self-help by, and mutual help between, survivors of torture and trauma - the continuing ancient tradition of the shaman/healer supporting pervasively socially shared socio-reconstituting-action, socio-healing, and socio-medicine. The ways are pervasively social, holistic, natural, and inclusive.

In stark contrast, the First World way sectorises, dichotomises, fragments and cleavers. There is a cleavage between the doer and the done to. The doer decides well prior to the presenting context, that which must and must not happen.

Experts specialize in the 'fixing' of various fragmented aspects of well-being. 'I am a counsellor'. 'I am a 'mental health' expert'. 'I restore infrastructure.' 'I am the healer and you are the target.' It is germane that the term 'fixing' means to immobilize!

The local way is inclusive. 'We engage with other locals in socio-spiritual-emotional-mind-body-community healing of ourselves mutually, and for the healing of our place. This local way is not 'delivered'. Rather it is pervasively lived - embedded as an aspect of our way of life together.’

In local way, those initiating and sustaining healing may provide something approximating 'service'. It is more 'enabling' - enabling of themselves and other locals in self-help and mutual-help. The local people together are the re-constituters, not local or outside 'experts' doing things to and for people.

The psychosocial dynamics of such bi-directional feedback (co-learning and co-reconstituting) profoundly alter the healing experience and are notably absent in the service-delivery model deriving from Western way.

Other locals may take up this enabler role. Outsiders sensitive to the enabler role and sensitive to, and familiar with local way and intercultural merging, who are accepted in the enabler role by locals, may contribute to unfolding processes, if locals want their support.

The informal Laceweb networks serve as an example of how this works. A series of Well-being Gatherings of Bougainvillian and West Papuan refugees in Far North Queensland, Australia is another example.

In this most sensitive area of support for survivors of torture and trauma, perhaps local way may be the only Way that ensures local ownership of the processes and overall sustainability of development strategies.

Intercultural Well-being Enablers (those able to move freely between ways) may be used to support the Local way.

The Netherlands document sets up Western Way as THE way. No other way is contemplated or considered. 'Local' has to be 'accommodated' from deep within the Western way. This is typical of Western way.

Typically, if First World way is used with the 'proviso' that local ways, self-help and local people will be 'allowed for' - local way is ignored or compromised. That is, there is often a divergence between First World 'espoused way' and 'way in use'.

The Western way is neither right nor wrong. Neither are other ways. Strife may come from not being mindful of, and respectful of other ways, and in imposing - in insisting, via a fait accompli, that First World way has to be used. As the songwriter Ben Harper tells us ‘There are good deeds and there are good intentions. And they’re as far apart as heaven and hell.’ The problem is simply stated. First world way is attempting to impose organization on phenomena which are fundamentally self-organising, self-steering and self-governing. First World therapeutic intervention strategies continue to approach living systems (both biological and social systems) as closed systems, which can be controlled, which can be fixed when broken and in which thermodynamic equilibrium is an ideal state.

Contemporary scientific understandings of living systems have yet to penetrate far into biomedical, psychiatric and psycho-social aid discourse. In brief, we note that living systems are open systems. Living systems are by their nature, far-from-equilibrium structures which seek to amplify rather than attenuate far-from-equilibrium (dissipative) processes in their environment. Thermodynamic equilibrium is in fact a condition of near death in alive unities. Importantly, living systems cannot be controlled nor fixed in sustainable ways despite sustained attempts at controlling and fixing for hundreds of years in the West. Change in living systems occurs through interactions between extrinsic control parameters and intrinsic order parameters which are self-organising and not static. Consequently, inputs and outputs are disproportionate, non-linear and unpredictable.

That the Netherland's document implies applicability around the World, and unequivocally assumes the use of Western Way for 'delivery' is, with respect, characteristic of neo-colonial ignorance (unintentional arrogance?) about other ways, although perhaps done with the best will in the world.

It is pertinent here to distinguish between outcomes and output. Locally developed self-sustaining process such as the ‘Shrimps and Greens’ example produces the same output (nourished children) as that which may be pursued by service delivery. However, the outcomes (wellness) are typically massively different between local nurturer way and First World way (feeling better). First world way may have the outcome of further disintegrating local self-organizing networks. It is respectfully suggested that first, second and third order consequences be continually monitored by local and intercultural people to ensure 'Aid' actions are systems-enabling ways rather than systems-disabling ways to deliver output, so as to generate living-thriving outcomes rather than disintegrating-dead outcomes.

The First World has the financial resources to be of considerable help. Local people have the know-how and know-what about sustainable local way. Local well-being nurturers among indigenous and oppressed small minorities as well as Laceweb interculturals in the region are skilled nodal people.

What is being proposed here is the exploring of behaving in functional effective and mutually respectful ways resonant with the local ways of the Region. Thinking like a self organizing living system rather than a bureaucracy may be explored.

Aid acts may be undertaken within the pervasive frame of being part of a living system - enmeshed and interconnected in a mutually sustaining connexity web of life - rather than thinking and acting in fragmented, divided and bureaucratic ways; in course computer programmer terms – ‘Crap In, Crap Out’.

Sensitivity to the possibilities flowing from the above may allow for a recasting of the role of First World potential towards supporting rather than ‘contributor to the marginalizing and devaluing of local way’.

Laceweb - An Overview

Throughout the SE Asia Oceania Region, Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority healers have been quietly evolving small informal networks. These networks have been supporting cultural healing action for restoring well-being in response to continuing oppression and conflict for a number of decades.

See: www.laceweb.org.au/cha.htm, www.laceweb.org.au/cwhw.htm, and www.laceweb.org.au/soc.htm.

Some Western and other healing processes have been explored and adopted/adapted into Laceweb Action.

A common experience in using local way is that those most traumatized are those most transformed towards well-being. A typical finding in Western way is that the severer the dysfunction, the more difficult to 'treat' it becomes.

While typically an alien notion to First World 'professionals', Laceweb has a history traceable back to the 1930's of demonstrating that severely traumatised, dysfunctional people (and violent protagonists and combatants) may be enabled to help themselves (self-help) to humane well-being. Refer Clark and Yeomans (1969), www.laceweb.org.au/cwhw.htm and www.laceweb.org.au/out.htm.

Differing Ways and Differing Agendas

There are major differences between First World way and local way. Both First World way and local way have evolved within, and have been adapted to their own respective place and cultures. Difference can be respected and celebrated. Noting difference can aid understanding of the respective ways.

However, putting these contrasts and the implications of Western Way for Third and Fourth World people all in one place may be for some very confronting. Stating these contrasts and implications may 'up the ante'. The need for support is massive. It is the mode of support that is being raised here as a conversation point.

It is germane to look at principles underlying First World Aid generally. First World Aid Agencies are often 'big concerns'. People have very good careers carved out for themselves helping Third and Fourth World People.

National Donor Country Aid works closely with National Donor Country Trade. Why else would Sixty billion (in Australian dollars) of Aid come into the SE Asia Oceania Region annually in the late Nineties - Aus$45 Billion from Japan with a struggling economy? The standard rule is a seven-fold multiplier effect of Aid on flow-on trade; that represents 420 billion (in Australian dollars) annually as the anticipated trade spin-off from donated aid. That is Big business self-interest in the context of, 'Look what we do for you!'

We are suggesting change effecting big money interests. The current norm/process is that organizations from donor countries 'do the work' and not the local people ('We know.' 'We are the experts.') and hence much of Aid money finds its way back into the donor country. Aid is linked into business opportunities which again are snapped up by donor countries and wages and profits return to the donor country.

This process was openly acknowledged in the Australian Government AusAid/AusTrade conference in Melbourne in the late Nineties, 'appropriately' called, 'Aid Business is Good Business'.

Speakers at that conference revealed that the common experience was that around 75% (or more) of Aid projects failed because of lack of 'real participation' and lack of local 'buy-in' by local people. That they fail does not alter the multiplier effect on trade. It approximates full employment in time of war when the economic product is being destroyed. It is like military spending (product to be destroyed) currently priming the giant American economy.

There will be pressure to ensure that local people do not have buy in or any substantial say in Aid matters. It typically remains as 'government bureaucracy to government bureaucracy'. A Self-Help based aid focus would radically alter the above funding and payoff context for donor countries.

There will be pressure to ensure that local people do not have buy-in or any substantial say in Aid matters. A Grassroots based aid focus would radically alter the above funding and payoff context for donor countries.

Directly and indirectly, Global trade and First World Nation interests are placing all manner of pressures on the Oppressed Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minorities of the Region - threatening their very survival. It is suggested that it is appropriate to have Aid conversations in the Region based upon a value system centred on being humane, caring, local Well-being and respecting diversity.

Because of the above issues potentially upping the ante, just giving this paper out to people could well be counter-productive. We have in our group, or a sub-group of the working group, a golden opportunity to explore ways of fostering respect for difference, and ways in which local way may be supported in the Region.

What follows is a comparative analysis of the two ways, implications of current patterns of implementation, and possibilities for productive integration of strategies for future implementation.

Differences Between First World Way and Local Grassroots Way

First World (Western) Way (using non local experts) Local Indigenous and other Ways
‘Non-locals use an assumption of universality, i.e., ‘Our way is good for all people.’ This is typically taken for granted, never questioned and presented as a fait accompli.	Locals have their own ways, including community and inter-community place-making, ceremonial, ritual, and spiritual-psycho-socio-emotional-mind-body healing well-being ways (i.e., pervasively holistic; many levels of non-linear healing). Local holistic interconnectiveness is consistent with the latest understandings in neuro-psycho-biology
Go through local Governments service delivery	In Irian Jiya, East Timor and Bougainville the government was/is the protagonist. The traumatized have often spent more than a decade hiding from the government – (see below re self-help; refer Extensive Integrity document)
Certain things are necessary – We have to X. We must X. We should X (for example, ‘We should have an exclusive process - in that those who can’t do X, can’t be involved’.) Use experts for service delivery. We have to use organizations. These are typically hierarchical top-down, service delivery based, bureaucracy supported, entities. Core requirements must be preplanned. A focus on identifying and removing problems Outsiders have to come in to help locals	Indigenous people tend to view things very tentatively – they are very aware of fuzziness and shades of gray. For them, very little is ‘necessary’. They are very linked to letting the contexts organically unfold naturally – with local here-and-now open agendas according to the flux and flow of the energy and inclination of the moment. Local way is resonant with connexity, self-organising complex inter-connected, inter-related natural living systems Non linear healing occurs in the presenting contexts. The real is ephemeral. Reality is inter-subjectively constituted in the flux and flow of connexity (inter-relating, inter-connecting, inter-depending) in everyday life. Indigenous informal healing networks are pervasively self-help – co-re-constituting well-being with support from the natural nurturers (positive deviants) among local communities – with nurturers engaging in fostering mutual self-help among local community members. Large numbers of traumatized people invariably stretch Western Service delivery processes beyond capability. The natural multiplier effect within self-organizing Indigenous self help networks (where one person may pass well-being ways to a few, who in turn pass them on to others) may extend to reach large numbers. NO organizations are used. Rather, news of healing ways that work are passed along self-organizing, informal nurturer/healer networks - through culturally emergent Keylines of action (refer Appendix A). News typically passes along these networks as rumours. These organic processes are robust and have a long history – with some having links to antiquity. Evolving micro-action is resonant with natural networks. Healer networks use the potency of the tentative. Much is spontaneously appropriate unto the moment in everyday life. Action is ‘natural’. Like nature upon which it is modelled, indigenous way is organically self organizing. There is little or no preplanning. Self-help networks are alive and well, albeit small and unfunded. There is ongoing action research and action learning. As above, the unfolding context from moment-to-moment reveals the best thing to do right now. Self-starters initiate action and others follow. Even the USA Armed forces now recognize and use self organizing of Action on the frontline! The soldier in the field knows the moment to moment context, not command H.O. (Pascale R. T., Millemann, M., & Gioja, L., 2000, p.135-141) The focus is on identifying free energy, adding to what works, and de-attenuating naturally emergent growth-oriented adaptive responses rather than taking defence-oriented adaptive responses away. The presenting behaviours (eg., ‘emotional numbing’) are viewed as adaptive psycho-social-emotional-spiritual-mind-body holistic processes for self-healing. Typically, the healers and the natural nurturers are in the communities already. We understand that the indigenous view is that Outsiders MAY support if locals want them - as enablers of LOCAL way.
Action has to be designed, (diagnose, prescribe, and proscribe) implemented and evaluated. Research may be carried out to determine need. Western way is consistent with first order cybernetic principals.	No research is needed to find local need. As described by a local indigenous person, ‘Action emerges from deep within local knowing of what is missing in our well-being – only we know this (NOT DISTANT ‘EXPERTS’). What to do next from moment-to-moment is context dependent. Action is eclectic and does not follow a linear step-by-step procedure. Action is ‘action research’, i.e., we do, and immediately check outcomes, and compare this with others’ outcomes. We consensually agree on what works. What works tends to be repeated and become ‘policy’ in similar contexts – hence policy is ‘that which works’, and hence, policy works.’ Indigenous way embraces second order cybernetic and other principles for embracing the complexity of adaptive cultural systems.
Must not be medicalising (though use medical metamodel (diagnose, proscribe and prescribe))	What unfolds is neither diagnosing nor prescribing (refer above).
We work with target people.	Indigenous people are sick of being ‘targets’. It is suggested that military metaphor be dropped.
Projects aimed at mental health care should, wherever possible, focus on the (re-) building or improvement of the regular care service delivery system.	The indigenous ‘care system’ implicit in every interaction is typically alive and well, even among traumatized people, and has the form outlined above. It operates typically in remote places away from government service delivery. Because of the tenuous tentative self organizing nature of the informal living caring networks, the term ‘building’ (with connotations of ‘strong foundations’ is not consistent with Cultural Keylines (refer Appendix A) sharing nurturing. Rigidity is not resonant – hence the term ‘Laceweb’. At times, whole communities may engage in all manner of ongoing action to sustain community socio-spiritual-emotional-mind-body well-being. It is mutual holistic help – NOT service delivery; certainly not service delivery by government agencies - who are often the protagonist against indigenous people. At times nurturer/healers gather to share healing ways. Refer Small Island Gathering Report for an example of a Laceweb gathering funded by UNHRC.
Action must strive to restore (social) self sufficiency and integration of the target group within the community at large. Yet the Netherlands document hives off self-sufficiency as separate to their program. However, in actual practice this assertion is neither explicated nor evident. Non-local experts may be ‘striving’ to introduce self-sufficiency and integration but the document does not specify a theoretical basis about how this is realistically and genuinely achieved. This is normal as providing a service setting up ‘self sufficiency’ is the exclusive perogative of other experts. The typical conversation produced by the Western Way is predominantly a one way conversation. Typically, when the expert driven dialogue and the flow of money cease, disintegration and entropy set in fast. A key observation is that the theoretical basis of the proposed ‘action’ is significantly lacking integration with cross-cultural and intercultural logical frameworks. In order to perpetuate genuine buy-in and produce self-sustaining and self-amplifying outcomes, a comprehensive approach to the dynamic complexity of biological and social living systems is necessary.	Complexity science offers fresh perspectives about how these living unities may be understood and differentiated from mechanistic, homeostatic and entropic systems and how their naturally far-from-equilibrium, morphogenetic and non-linear processes may be leveraged to effect sustainable global change in the system. At an experiential level; we may recognize that authentic dialogues coming forth from genuine living relationships are very different from the data we obtain from the objectification of other people into a ‘target group’. In our hearts, we know this. Enabling of self-help and self-sufficiency processes is basic and fundamental to enabling self-sustaining and naturally self-amplifying change in complex adaptive (biological and social) systems. A Local psycho-social healing-mindbody way may be’ re-establishing self sufficiency’. Connexity - ‘Everything is connected’ may be a powerful local mantra. And yet strangers come and say, ‘No! Self sufficiency is no part of psycho-social healing. Indigenous well-being self-help is pervasively holistic, including well-being in ALL its forms (for example, economic self sufficiency and psycho-social self sufficiency). All forms of well-being action happen simultaneously. Often the torture and trauma is related to issues of indigenous people resisting the local dominant society’s ‘integration’ and other ‘interventions’ typically threatening indigenous people’s very survival as a ‘people’, and a ‘culture’ in their ‘place’.
Well-being is separated into different sectors - those needing (fragmented) service: o counselling o social support o more intensive or professional care o economic well-being o material resources such as food, clothing, housing, income and the like First World way is intrinsically good and to be preferred. Anything not organized the Western way is deemed to be ‘not organized properly’. People not trained in Western way are deemed ‘not competent’ to be involved. Western way tends to come with internecine conflict between varying types of agencies marked by poor cooperation and fragmented service, producing fragmented help to fragmented people, further fragmented by attempts to help which are often not helpful.	Typically, Indigenous well-being action is pervasively holistic – people who in ‘Western terms ‘need’ intensive or professional care are cared for via community psycho-socio-emotional heal-ing by natural nurturers. The Laceweb networks have over 25 years experience of action that works in healing even those most severely psycho-emotionally traumatized and dysfunctional – those who would be locked away in the back wards in First World mental hospitals. This action has drawn on indigenous healing ways of the ages. First World way is, in some part, the process that has been used to marginalize Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority People, threatening their survival as a people, as a cultural way, in their place, through the interface of Global commerce and local government. While in the past indigenous and Oppressed Small minority People were relegated away from the rich alluvial plains to off-shore islands and the high country, these places are now being perceived by ‘big money’ as holding the treasures of timber, hydro power and minerals. Examples are the strife flowing from the Freeport Mine in Irian Jiya and the Panguna Mine in Bougainville. Some predict the decimating of the Regions indigenous people within the next Century unless their ways are respected and celebrated. Local way is natural. Locals have the evidence of their own experience that natural ways works for them. Local ways taps into the holistic free energy and nurturing surviving among fragmented people. Indigenous holism is natural – following nature’s way - where everything is interconnected, inter-related, inter-woven and inter-dependent. Indigenous way is logical in what we understand was the original sense (from the Greek word logos, meaning 'reason') - originally denoting 'the universal principle through which all things are interrelated and all natural events occur'
Evaluation is done by independent people. The evaluation methods and instruments must be able to realistically assess the processes and outcomes of the interventions. In terms of design, implementation and reporting, the evaluation study should follow the same guidelines as those for scientific research (see below). Preferably, the evaluation of the results of interventions should be carried out by independent experts. The evaluation must be cost effective and proportional, in terms of scope and methods, to the project or program to be evaluated. The evaluation report or any summary thereof should be thorough and reliable, and be made available to donors, to partners and to relevant third parties.	As stated above, indigenous ‘action research’ entails culturally appropriate moment-to-moment evaluation of what is happening by the local indigenous people, as experienced by locals. ONLY these people know what is missing in their well-being and only they know when it has been resolved. Evaluation of Indigenous healing action research by Western top down service delivery criteria, by so-called experts with little or no knowledge, understanding, or experience of indigenous healing ways is profoundly inappropriate. Imposition of alien way further contributes to marginalizing processes. Intrinsic evaluation is done by the locals (see above). Scientific research may be best done by indigenous and Oppressed Small Minorities and intercultural researchers resonant with and sensitive to local healing ways, culture and fittingness of second and third order consequences. Typically, moment-to-moment evaluation of outcomes of local way involves no cost. Action is imbedded in everyday life. Action is not a separate ‘project’ or ‘program’. Local healing processes may be documented to the full satisfaction of donors who respect indigenous way. Using Western way funding criteria to evaluate Action using Indigenous Way is profoundly inappropriate (for example asking whether local way Is ‘organised properly – that is, by top-down experts in service delivery) Local evaluating way is holistically thorough and appropriate to context. Both culturally appropriate quantitative and qualitative research may be carried out with due rigor. Laceweb way uses action research and evaluation as one of its healing processes.

Exploring Possibilities

The Illness-wellness continuum and the experience of, or lack of, Well-being is embodied. This happens to all people on Earth, whether we are aware of it or not. Lack of awareness of this embodiment goes hand-in-hand with notions of mind body split and all of the ways First World people use to have ‘flight from body physiological awareness, sensitivity, and groundedness’ – fast cars, entertainment, alcohol, etc. All manner of dissociation processes and other system function/dysfunction are the endogenous correlates of the fragmenting ideas. Ways of acting and thinking about the world, in this case producing fragmentation and dissociation, feedback into the ways we relate to our own mind, body and spirit; our actions in the world all have physiological or embodied consequences.

Quality of Life/Well-being outcomes are legitimately experienced, owned and may be authentically self-reported by the local people experiencing these outcomes, while 'Standard of Living' or Output indicators like 'Per Capita Income' derive from a First World virtual or artificial realm. This artificial realm - the realm of Cartesian or fragmented expertise (expertise which excludes and dissociates parts from a living whole, in contrast to integrated expertise - about inter-relating, interconnecting and sustaining living systems) conforms to the operation of conditioned intellectual processes which tend to disembody and fragment the doer, the done to and world in which deeds are done.

In contrast, endogenous self-organising well-being actions conform to the operation of embodying and integrating processes which employ the intellect but do not give it the driving seat. This is a feature of self-organized complexity in real living systems and real social systems that Western scientific discourse is only now beginning to recognize.

Authentic wellness processes in complex living and social systems appear to be characterized by physiologically and intellectually coupled processes, rather than deriving solutions to ‘problems’ through rational intellectual operations.

Living systems explore their environment, learn and adapt through complex embodied contemplative feeling and not simply conscious decision-making. Life proceeds through emergent phenomena, as systems self-steer through challenging ecological topography.

Reliance upon exogenously (outside) sourced solutions to the pressing problems of community - war and disaster - disables the system. It does this by dissecting it from its historical roots of mutual experience, and self-determining and deciding behaviours.

For some local people even ‘deciding’ is alien. It is more that a shared sense of what to do emerges from a shared knowing and people who sense this and reflect it to the group become people of high degree.

Enabling a system to develop its own unique context-dependant solutions to its own problematic, allows Well-being action to draw upon living non-linear processes of wisdom (wise actions) which are embodied and embedded in appropriate logical frameworks resonant with the history of the region (as in the Shrimps and Greens example).

In contrast, the knowledge of the non-local professional expert is disembodied from the local history, local logical frameworks and, importantly, from feeling and sense-ability (ability to sense). It represents an intellectually driven or determined process rather than sense or physiologically coupled process. It is illogical because it is not whole, it is incomplete and its principle effect as a modus operandi in the world is to fragment and disintegrate living wholes into devitalized and alienated parts. This is why the short-term outputs of such interventions are acceptable on a surface reading, yet the long-term outcomes tend to have non-fitting second and third or effects that are often detrimental to the ‘target’ group. Often that these second and third order effects will occur is patently obvious to locals who have the local knowing of how to live well in their place, and what not to do – and yet Aid action is typically unilateral in implementation when it comes to grassroots people.

A similar outcome is observed in epidemiology, in that, for many diseases treated by pharmaceutical prophylaxis, the disease process is successfully interrupted. However, this has little if any effect on the overall quality of life of the person and may even accompany a reduction in their overall wellness.

Simply increasing the amount of symptom free time available to the person has not been shown to improve the quality of their time. The point is more than a moral assertion, it is a principle of the field of complexity science. If we persist in treating a complex living system as an object that can be directed, steered, controlled, disassembled and reassembled, normalized and corrected; in other words - like a machine - then we are contributing to the ultimate annihilation of that system.

We need to recognize, from the longitudinal first, second and other order outcomes of our interventions, whether our discourse and our praxis are actually part of the problem, rather than part of the resolution/evolution.

As one example, Laceweb encourages the local embodying of mindbody action processes. These characterize endogenous grassroots self organizing living system nous-processes-of-well-being - as in, ‘Shrimps and Greens. Ideas among the Laceweb are exploring the 'complementary' roles of the non-local service-provider and self-help/mutual-help local and/or intercultural enabler. These roles may help to hold a space for local self-organising - to identify, nurture and amplify - again using endogenous processes to do this - the local endogenous self-occurring rhythms of wholeness which are locally authentically alive and naturally seeking to reconstitute well-being.

There is a dearth of Western psycho-social aid bodies that have any experience of Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority nurturing/healing well-being Way, or experience in enabling locals engage in self-help as outlined above. Laceweb has three decades of such experience in micro-projects. Indigenous and Small Minority Natural Nurturer may be available as a resource.

Laceweb and other Well-being Action in the Region has been engaging in small ways supporting strengthening the Well-being fabric of communities. Man-made and natural disasters typically create emergency contexts where a quick response is necessary to save lives and minimize immense suffering. Laceweb and other local well-being action has been creating some capacity for inter-culturally sensitive quick-response healing teams. Energy may be available - and supported by First World capacity - in ways which do not place lives in jeopardy. Western and other funding may be made available in ways that do not compromise Local Way.

· Funding people could ensure accountability for disbursement.

· Indigenous academics and others resonant with Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority way may enter into co-learning review of unfolding Action.

This paper has discussed the notion ‘way’ - drawing distinctions between Western ways and ways in use among Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minorities in the SE Asia Oceania region for the purpose of healing all Worlds.

Local fostering of Positive Deviance at local levels has been outlined.

Recognising difference in ways, there remains aspects of the Netherlands document and this document that may form the basis for further exploring of non-compromising supporting and funding of Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority Way and other Way in the SE Asia Oceania Region. It may be that in emergencies and with sensitivities to the issues raised in this paper, First World Ways may be used so as to have minimal negative impact on local way.

With every respect, given the tenor of this paper, to have the Netherlands document widely adopted as ‘policy’ and imposed on Third and Fourth World people may well further entrench the imposing of First World way and support tragic consequences.

It is relevant that all in our ‘Expert’ group distanced themselves from the term ‘expert’ because of the connotations that have been noted above. Our Expert Group is an ideal forum for exploring ways for building bridges between the nurturers of all worlds.

Specific Future Possible Action

Here is a scenario in point form:

· A Disaster occurs and there is a need to act quickly

· Essential everything has been destroyed; the local area is a mess

· There are dead, dying and traumatized and little or no food and shelter

· The living system – people and habitat - is fragmented

· Local people are in shock and concerned about loved ones and survival

· Life threatening and critical things have to be addressed quickly

· The First World has what has been called ‘grunt’ – it has the capacity and will to get resources anywhere in the world quickly

· The First World Aid bodies can quickly and effectively establish a transitional zone and enable basic survival functioning (we would characterize this temporary period as the rescue phase of the Aid process) of the shattered systems (biological and social).

· The local people have the feelings and knowing about what is missing from their well-being

· The local people have the capacity for healing their well-being, though this is stressed and may need enabling support from within the local community and/or from without by intercultural enablers

· the store of local knowing and wisdom is in the local communities – there is special wisdom among a few, and general wisdom among the many

· The local people have the capacity and potential to self organize and establish self sufficiency though non compromising support may be very welcome

· Given sensitive intercultural enabling support, the local people may provide important information about what they need and how they need to reconstitute their own well-being.

· First World Aid people arrive with scant knowledge of this local context/capacity

· The First World provides Aid and the issues raised in this paper unfold

The question is how to nurture the locally emergent context imbedded within the disaster context - enabling the local voices, resources, wisdom and capacity for co-reconstituting themselves according to their local way. This is a missing piece of the Netherlands document. They hint that they want to embrace the locals, though their framework makes no provisions on how to do so.

Intercultural enabling and support of this local way is embodied action finessed by mentored experience engaging in enabling real contexts.

It is being able to draw on embodied inter-cultural wisdom to act in ways appropriate unto the moment. It is being able to gently be present to identify and engage with the local wisdom and way. Intercultural enablers are very special people with a scarce and vital experience base. Intercultural enablers for SE Asia Oceania Australasia are already in the Region. They may be found among other Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority People in the Region - within the Laceweb.

These intercultural enablers could play an interface role between First World Aid - as well as Aid from NGO’s and CBO’s from within the Region - and the local people. Intercultural enablers’ connexity and living system perception and perspective may be of support in increasing integrity and connexity based cooperation into fragmented sectorised Aid efforts. They could look for and encourage the modelling and use of the ways of the positive deviants existing within all Worlds.

The First World can only naturally use First World way. The Third and Fourth World can only naturally use their respective ways. Those intercultural enablers who move and act between Worlds using meta-well-being processes are a rare breed – people of high degree.

The Netherlands document is highly specialized and the distilled wisdom of highly specialized people. This current paper is endeavouring to provide hints of bits that are missing and that which may complement for everyone’s well-being. We seek to have a meshing of the intrinsic of all Worlds such that the energy at the interface enhances the respective different well-beings of all those involved, and detracts from the well-being of no one involved.

It is hopeful and a blessing that it is in the nature of things on Planet Earth that along with adversity comes advantage. It is nature’s way that emergence, innovation, new life and abundance takes place at the edge of chaos far from equilibrium in living systems. Life thrives far from equilibrium (Sahtouris, Capra).

We are seeking to encourage thriving action at the interface of the Worlds. To this end:

1) We will work on a sequel to this paper focusing on suggestions for specific action.

2) Members of the Study group interested in the issues raised in this paper may enter into email exchange.

3) It may be that those of the Group interested in the above issues may have telephone conference link-ups and a sub-group meeting either associated with or independent of any future Expert Study Group meeting.

4) It may be that key nodal intercultural enablers from the Laceweb may be open to contribute. It is sensed that the starting place is linking intercultural enablers with the nurturers within local at-risk communities.

5) From years of first-hand experience intercultural enablers know that First World and Regional governance as well as NGOs and CBOs use what they learn about grassroots self help to undermine grassroots self-help. A way ahead of this impasse may be to non-compromisingly explore the well-being interface between grassroots self help and these other entities.

As mentioned at the August 2001 Expert Group meeting, a database of nodal enablers is not wise. Those who use torture and trauma in the Region for social control, target the healers, nurturers, teachers and natural leaders. Such a database could be used as an assassination list.

Funding could be sought for small (two or three people) local community visits to identify the local nurturers. Local camp-out micro-gatherings could emerge in the Region. A campout environment may allow participants to be ‘close to the ground’ and to ‘sit around the fire under the night sky’. To bring these people into dominant power places (upmarket conference facilities in upmarket hotels) would be inappropriate.

Micro-gatherings may allow people to discover each other. Local grassroots natural nurturers may be the hosts. Nodal intercultural enablers may be invited. Exploring together the notion of a grassroots emergency response network may be a focus. It is suggested that in the first instance First World Aid and Regional governance people not be involved. Test the waters first!

Having done this, a subsequent step may be for intercultural enablers to host gatherings fostering possibilities for genuine dialogue about the interface between the nurturers of the First World and the nurturers of the Third and Fourth Worlds. These dialogues may produce very different perceptions between the groups involved than the typical core-periphery, expert-target group, and client focused-professional obscured conversations (monologues) which currently predominate.

Out of these processes and hopefully authentic face-to-face and heart-to-heart dialogue, may emerge new, and perhaps more holistic perceptions of each other and insights about non-compromising action. In the living body, the heart and the liver perform differentiated, specialized and non-transferable vital functions. Both are living componentry of a living unity (living system). Similarly, both the locals and the non-locals have vital and to some extent non-transferable roles to play.

At this juncture it is germane to conclude with a segment of a Laceweb paper written in 1993. That paper outlines four possible roles for Laceweb.

References

Clark A. W. & Yeomans N. T. 1969. Fraser House - Theory, Practice and Evaluation of a Therapeutic Community New York: Springer Pub. Co.

Firth, R. 1936 We the Tikopia

Maturana, H., R. Verden-Zöller, et al. (1996). Biology of Love - Online http://www.ozemail.com.au/~jcull/articles/bol.htm, (Hrsg.): Focus Heilpadagogik, Ernst Reinhardt.

Mulligan, M & Hill, S Ecological Pioneers – A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought and Action Cambridge University Press Oakleigh, Victoria

Pascale R. T., Millemann, M., & Gioja, L. 2000. Surfing the Edge of Chaos - The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business London: Texere Publishing

Yeomans, L. The Green Papaya. New Growth From Old Seeds

Government and the Facilitating of Grassroots Action

How can Local Community based Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority Wellbeing way be supported by First World way?

Three issues will be introduced.

Firstly, Western policy and program processes are presently geared for traditional top-down expert-driven organizational undertakings. Currently, committees evaluating funding submissions presuppose that traditional top-down expert driven approaches will be used.

Grassroots community wellbeing action also has both their equivalents to ‘policy’ and ‘program’ processes (as described above). However these are generated by lateral and occasionally bottom-up action. Specific and general ‘programs’ evolve out of this action. ‘Programs’ and actions that 'work' are consensually validated and adopted as policy at the local level. The fundamental aspect of Action is that local people have the first and last say about everything to do with their own wellbeing.

A second issue is that global and national governance and their bureaucracies, funding entities, and Western NGO’s and CBO’s have tended to fragment the world into narrow separate bits - economics, health, housing, agriculture, forestry, the environment etc. Each of these are also subdivided into sectors. For example health may be subdivided into mental health, aged care and the like. Each government and NGO program area tends to jealously guard onerous apparent prerogatives as a 'dispenser of public/private funds'.

Few, if any, government/NGO inter-sector funding arrangements exist. In contrast, local action (outlined above), which we will from here on refer to as ‘grassroots wellbeing action’, is holistic in a manner that is at the same time both pervasive and detailed.

A third issues is that while people may aspire to lessen public expenditure and obtain better value for the public dollar, there is a strong pressure towards putting self-preservation first if achieving the above goals appears personally detrimental.

Traditional government and non-government wellbeing agencies may see grassroots initiatives as a threat to their own funding. If grassroots wellbeing action really starts to be effective on a larger scale, this may raise a fear of presupposed downsizing within sections of the bureaucracy and a similar fear within traditional wellbeing services.

Because of these perceived threats, the foregoing entities may mistakenly seek to undermine grassroot wellbeing initiatives. They may fail to see scope for multiple lateral integration between lateral/bottom-up and top down processes, or appreciate the scope for shifting from vertical integration to lateral integration.

The obvious claim from within the existing Western paradigm is that grassroot wellbeing action is 'unprofessional' - that it is not under the direction and control of professed experts. Also, that it is not organised 'properly' - in other words, it is not 'top-down'.

The Laceweb

The Laceweb has experience dating from the 1940's in working with grassroots healing action. The Laceweb is a source of influence, confluence, understanding and enabling in linking up peoples, contexts, issues, and actions in sustained lateral/bottom-up nurturing culture for action for wellbeing - refer ‘An Example of Enabling Indigenous Wellbeing’ http://www.laceweb.org.au/ena.htm

Other Laceweb roles are seeking out people who are generating nurturing cultural Actions that work, letting other grassroot people know about them and sharing healing ways that work. For example, Laceweb people have evolved mediation therapy© and peacehealing©, both relevant to the present context

Possible Laceweb Roles

The Laceweb is well placed to take on a number of roles in exploring the possibility of government and NGO facilitation of grassroot community wellbeing action.

Firstly, The Laceweb can continue to expand in its current Action role.

Secondly, The Laceweb can work along side governments, NGO’s and CBO’s to develop processes for resolving the many matters arising from the three issues previously mentioned and the differences cited above.

Thirdly, The Laceweb could provide an interface and support role between government/top down NGO/CBO and grassroots nurturing action. This could relate to the evolving of action agreements and other funding arrangements for specific local action initiatives.

Fourthly, The Laceweb could provide intercultural support in the cooperative interfacing of Western way with other ways in the SE Asia Oceania Region.

Laceweb ways are explored online for non-compromising facilitating and funding of Indigenous and Oppressed Small Minority Way and other Way in the SE Asia Oceania Region. These ways may be extended in supporting survivors of man-made and natural disasters, and evolving Quick Psychosocial Emergency Response Networks for ensuring the integrity and full involvement and ‘ownership’ of continuing local self sustaining and self replicating wellbeing action - refer www.laceweb.org.au/gfg.htm and www.laceweb.org.au/aose.htm

Appendix A

Keyline and Cultural Keyline

Geosocial Mindbody Processes

Psychiatrist Barrister Dr. Neville Yeomans was one of the founding energizers of the Laceweb. The concept 'Cultural Keyline' was developed by Dr. Neville T. Yeomans from his father P.A Yeomans' 'Keyline' concept for water harvesting (Mulligan, M. and Hill, S 2001). This paper briefly introduces Keyline and Cultural Keyline. The later concept is a guiding concept in Laceweb Action.

The above panorama is of the property at Richmond (an hour’s drive out of Sydney) where Neville’s father, P.A. Yeomans developed 'Keyline'.

Notice the Keyline design features adapting natural placeforms in the above photo. The closest dam is sited so it is in the highest point in the valley floor where the convex curve shifts to being concave. The Keypoint is where the steep landfall first flattens at the ‘head’ and ‘floor’ of a primary valley.

Making a dam at the Keypoint allows water storage at the highest point in the valley so the free energy of gravity can be used to freely distribute water for stock and irrigation.

The upper section of the dam is at the Keypoint. The line extending a certain way along the contour through the Keypoint is called the Keyline. The Keyline has some very unique features allowing the natural flow of water to be shifted 85 degrees towards the ridges. This slows the flow, prevents erosion, spreads the soaking, and with chisel plough evolved by P.A., allows for a massive increase in the moisture levels in the soil without water logging – that is, storage of water in the soil as well as in all the dams. These changes are vital in the driest inhabited country in the World. All of the concepts evolved by P.A. Yeomans are now included under the name ‘Keyline’.

The dam wall has a specially designed and constructed pipe that comes out at the base of the middle of the dam wall. The pipe is fitted with a valve on it. Other dams are situated so that overflow from a higher dam can flow by gravity into it. The irrigation channels are filled from the valve outlet and the overflow channel by gravity flow.

The irrigation channel is sited below the overflow channels. Keyline has many design features all resonant with natural system connexity (meaning contexts that are simultaneously interconnected, inter-related, interwoven and inter-dependant). This is discussed more fully in other places. P.A Yeomans is viewed by many as making the greatest contribution to sustainable agriculture of anyone in the world for the past 200 years (Mulligan, M. and Hill, S 2001).

No farmers through all time had noticed what P.A. and Neville noticed. Neville was with P.A. when he evolved Keyline (refer the Foreward of P.A’s book, The City Forest (1971)) P.A. perceived system connexity and how he could design landscape to merge with the natural design features of nature. Once under way P.A. allowed nature to be his guide so that he, his farm design and nature were self organising. Thirty years after P.A.'s death the system he established on the farm still works with little maintenance required. As can be seen from this photo taken in Oct 2001, the farm still looks like sweeping gardens or golf course.

The subtle changes P.A.Yeomans made to his farm created a context where natural emergent processes in nature made a quantum self-organising shift to abundance in soil producing detrivores and related aspects that massively increased the farms fertility and output. Four and a half centimeters of new top soil was created in two years – something that was previously thought to take around 800 years!

Yeomans action’s were resonant with indigenous way. Things were placed relative to other system parts and place - for maximizing functionality, emergence and use of free energy in the system. Perceptive readers may see links in all this to the shrimps and greens process in Vietnam – use of inherent aspects of the local area, allowing for system emergence and self organizing capacity and allowing nature to take its course..

Dr. Neville Yeomans, the founder of the Laceweb evolved the concept ‘Cultural Keyline’ from his father’s work - adapting natural placeforming and placeforms to the sociocultural sphere - linking people, processes, place and landform.

An example is the isomorphic (of identical form) relation between primary and secondary ridge systems in nature, and informal Laceweb healer networks. Key Laceweb people have a nodal role at key positions or nodal points at the junction of network pathways for the free flow of information and energy. Context are created that have emergent self organizing properties (refer www.laceweb.org.au/tcj.htm and www.laceweb.org.au/rsig.htm)

References

Mulligan, M & Hill, S Ecological Pioneers – A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought and Action Oakleigh, Victoria: Cambridge University Press

Yeomans, P.A., 1971. The City Forest: The Keyline Plan for the Human Environment Revolution Sydney: Keyline Publishing