Our Values – Runa Pangaia

Anti-Oppression Veganism

In Pangaia, we value anti-oppression veganism and food justice as important pillars in the fight for social change. In practice it is reflected in the following actions:

Renounce the consumption of food, clothing, cosmetics, etc that contain ingredients of animal origin or are tested on more-than-human animals.
Reject and help dismantle the exploitation of humans and more-than-human animals in capitalist industries.
Question our privileges within the hierarchical societies we have inherited and put an end to all social systems of discrimination in which we participate.
Create bridges between communities/individuals/more-than-human animals to dismantle systems of oppression.
Create and help promote alternatives free from suffering and exploitation.
Prove that agriculture does not depend on destructive practices or the exploitation of other lives.
Fight for food justice; a movement that proposes proper nutrition as a human right, to combat malnutrition in our region

We see anti-oppression veganism as an important component in the liberation for all. Our community wants to create a space to develop a more harmonious and peaceful co-existence between human communities as well as between human and more-than-human animal communities. We need to abolish food systems that were violently imposed on us by white imperialism more than 500 years ago and take part in the creation of systems of production free from exploitation, discrimination and hierarchies, where everybody has access to nutritious food. In Pangaia, the regeneration of ecosystems, peaceful co-existence with more-than-human animals and responsible agricultural practices go hand in hand.

Cooperation

As of this writing, capitalism has cemented itself as the most widely adopted social system in human existence. Growing up in this system blinds us from seeing that it was actually our ability to cooperate that helped us create such a complex web that connects our different cultures. Since childhood, we are coerced into believing that human beings are inherently selfish and our motivation to provide services or help is fueled by greed. This belief permeates many of our social interactions and is embeded into many of our institutions and ideas on how human civilizations function.

In Pangaia we are unlearning this belief system by changing the perspective from which we learn about humans and their behavior. Literary works in the fields of history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, politics, education, activism from the perspective of BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), feminists, disabled, neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ folk have been teaching us, that communities based on solidarity, mutual aid and cooperation have existed and continue to exist today. Some of them have been able to resist the integration into an inherently flawed economic system. They continue to create valuable knowledge by placing greater value in our ability to cooperate and co-exist peacefully.

These communities represent a threat to our current capitalist system because they prove that alternatives are and have always been possible. They can help us improve the way we communicate with each other and solve disagreements, how we can manage production together and reap the benefits together, that social arrangements like families, romantic relationships, friendships are not rigid structures but rather constantly changing and evolving, and most of all: that human beings have managed to survive this long as a species because of our ability to cooperate.

Our community has chosen the path of cooperation not only because of the overwhelming evidence for it but also because it brings out better qualities in ourselves. We are fortunate to be somewhat isolated from the claws of capitalist greed. This gives us the possibility of nurturing our altruism, solidarity and empathy, human qualities that are too neglected in patriarchal capitalist societies. Our community tries to place equal value on individual as well as our collective well-being. We are in a constant process of learning and unlearning, of setting aside old maps to draw them anew. It is not an easy path, but this time we know we have new stars to guide us, and lead humanity towards a shared future.

“Our very eating habits, then, are reflections of a colonial event that very much still is a living force in our present. In how we eat and what we eat, we play and replay the very source of our collective trauma. The dinner table as colonial and neo-colonial reenactment..”

—David M. Peña-Guzmán

Circular Economies

Global capitalist models have failed us. Their promises to provide access to basic needs (water, housing, education, nutritious food) and a decent living for all, have fallen short. Their trickle down economics is a myth sold to the working class so that we live hoping for something that will never happen. The capitalist class is consuming our lives and the ecosystems that support it. Their belief in endless growth and expansion is what keeps fueling their war machine, bringing our ecosystems to their limits. By making profit the main motivator for our activities, the capitalist system has socialized us into neverending greed and selfish behavior. The result of the economic activity on a global scale has created one of the biggest problems we collectively face today: the climate crisis.

Let’s be honest, no matter how often our politicians try to adjust or change some parts of the capitalist models, the result will always be the same: environmental destruction, growing income inequality, perpetual conflict/war and artificial scarcities. These problems won’t be solved by using capitalist models, they created them to begin with. We need circular economies that are human centered, nurture more positive human qualities, and respect our planetary boundaries. This would be impossible under current neoliberal dogmas. The imposed growth standard cannot deliver economic sustainability; there needs to be a paradigm shift, a Khunite revolution in the world of the ideas that we model our society after. Such ideas are being born right now, or have already existed for centuries between the cracks of global capital.

In Pangaia, we have set ourselves the task of only pursuing economic goals that fit into the circular economy / donut framework. We see it as the only way an economy can function sustainably without destroying our ecosystems. Hopefully our ideas and experiences can become part of a common pool of knowledge that will constantly grow and evolve to help us create the solarpunk futures we dream of.

Many indigenous communities around the world had/have circular economies. Their century old knowledge can serve as a foundation for us to develop economic models suited for the context in which we find ourselves. Kate Raworth, a feminist economist took this task to heart and developed a model she calls the donut. The principles of her economic model compared to the capitalist principles are as follows:

Seven ways to think like a 21st century economist

Permaculture

The word ‘permaculture’ was originally created by putting the words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture’ together. Today the focus is not only in agriculture so the word permaculture is better described as ‘permanent culture’. Permaculture can serve as a theoretical and practical handbook in how we can shape and share our time together on this planet. It goes beyonde theories and offers a range of solutions for many aspects of our daily lives. Even though the word originated from an agricultural movement in Australia in the second half of the 20th century, permaculture has been practiced by many pre-colonial civilizations for thousands of years.

In Pangaia we believe that we have a moral responsibility towards more-than-human animals with whom we co-exist in this planet so we decided to eliminate their abuse and exploitation from our permaculture practices. More-than-human animals are part of the ecosystems we are regenerating but they are not under human domination. The main principles of our permaculture practices are as follows: