I tend to disagree that an explanation of the tools is necessary, or even useful. Let me demonstrate by use of an anecdote.

Last spring in the middle of torrential downpour I took part in a collaborative gardening exercise called permablitz. It’s like a flash mob for people interested in learning about permaculture. I had heard about it over the Internet and decided that I needed to learn more about permaculture and the opportunity to work with others on a project of significance to the local community was attractive to me. For a little context see my photos of the event on Flickr.

I don’t have a lot of gardening equipment, but what I do have I know how to use well. I took a large hunting knife, a pair of secateurs and gardening spade. When I arrived people had brought shovels, picks and wheel barrows. I was familiar with their use, and I borrowed some of them to accomplish certain aspects of the work, but they were not my tools so when the work was over I put them down. There were a bunch of other tools that I was curious about, but had little knowledge of, so I asked about them and learnt what I could but with the understanding they were not right for my circumstances.

I spent most of my time putting my back into the work, I lifted bricks, dug holes and took cuttings of comfrey (that are now part of my garden). I listened to people talk about building resilience in the community through edible gardens. I learned about the medicinal qualities of comfrey. I enjoyed Chai and some wonderful vegetarian food prepared by others.

During the course of the afternoon, with blisters on my hands and covered in dirt, I had the realisation that by contributing to the conversation I was developing a network of people to call on if I needed help with my own garden. Not once however did we stop to talk about the tools. To do so would have eaten up valuable gardening time. We were fully involved in the gardening and the conversations that arose from it.

The experience was refreshing in contrast to many of the conversations that go on in forums and workplaces about the application of technology to novel problems. People seem to be less interested in the work, and more interested in the tools. They use technical naivety as a crutch to lean on while others are getting on with the work.

Now if I need a tool to accomplish a certain task, I do my research and ask the guy in the hardware shop. I never let the shiny tools distract me from what needs to get done in the garden.