Originated in the 1970s by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, permaculture stands for permanent agriculture or permanent culture and is the science of integrating landscape and people in such a way that it provides for their food, shelter and energy needs. It is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature, and creating diversity, stability and resilience in our agricultural systems. This method of design can be applied to your backyard, your 10-acre plot of land, your community and beyond.
Permaculture is guided by three ethics:
There are several guiding principles to permaculture. David Holmgren's book, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways beyond Sustainability proposes 12 basic permaculture principles as seen in the diagram to the right. Bill Mollison, in his book, Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, offers his own permaculture principles. Like any field, there are differing opinions but here are some principles that most any permaculture practitioner will agree upon:
Permaculture is about maximizing our interaction with the natural world while minimizing our impact. It is about being more conscious of our resource use while providing concrete tools to address environmental, social and energy supply problems all starting at our backdoor!
- Earth Care - care of the forests, rivers, soil and all living beings - all life forms have an intrinsic worth and the best option for reducing our impact on the environment is by reducing our consumption
- People Care - care of ourselves, our families and our wider communities - wisdom lies within the group, companionship and collaboration are necessary for change
- Fair Share - take what we need and share any surplus - any extra time, energy, money, or resources should be fed back to the first two ethics, we must also put limits on our consumption and growth
There are several guiding principles to permaculture. David Holmgren's book, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways beyond Sustainability proposes 12 basic permaculture principles as seen in the diagram to the right. Bill Mollison, in his book, Permaculture: A Designer's Manual, offers his own permaculture principles. Like any field, there are differing opinions but here are some principles that most any permaculture practitioner will agree upon:
- Observe and Interact with Nature - observe patterns in nature and mimic them
- Catch and Store Energy - set up an 'interception net' and catch as much energy as possible before it passes from your site
- Each element performs multiple functions - design your site with the understanding that each element (greenhouse, garden, pond, ducks, goats) will not only fulfill one function e.g. a chicken not only provides you with eggs but meat, feathers, manure, and heat
- Each function is supported by multiple elements - diversity means stability and resilience, e.g. if you capture water five different ways, if one or two fail, you'll still have water in your system
- Small-scale intensive systems
- Optimize Edge - the edge is the most productive area of your site, identify your edges and look for opportunities to create more
- Obtain a Yield - get a yield from everything you grow
- Use renewable resources
Permaculture is about maximizing our interaction with the natural world while minimizing our impact. It is about being more conscious of our resource use while providing concrete tools to address environmental, social and energy supply problems all starting at our backdoor!