What is Permaculture? Permaculture is an ethical approach to designing land use and community systems, to provide food, ecological habitats, and other essentials needed for human survival. The term ‘Permaculture’ comes from the words ‘Permanent and agriculture; and implies the permanence of culture. The term was first devised in 1978 by Bill Mollison (An Australian ecologist) and co-originator David Holmgren. The Permaculture ethics are at the centre of Permaculture philosophy and are broad guidelines of how we should behave towards the earth and towards each other. The Permaculture design principles are the guidelines that you follow when you design a Permaculture garden or larger Permaculture system. It embraces three main ethical principles as follows: Care of the earth: In everyday language, you probably more often hear “protect/save the environment”. It means the same thing: using renewable resources, recycling, minimizing waste, building up soils rather than depleting them, conserving water and so on. Anybody who aims to do that is following that first Permaculture principle or ethic. Care of the people: This means simply to look after yourself and others. Health and well-being are important as are learning, a sense of belonging, communication, trust and respect. All people should have access to what they need to live a safe and healthy life. Fair share: Only take what you need and share the rest. This Permaculture ethic focuses on co-operation, networking, contributing to the community and on distributing resources and wealth. ( labour, information or money). Permaculture Design Principles Permaculture principles are the result of observation of natural systems. They outline how things work in nature, and how you can apply that to your design. They also tie in with the three ethics listed above. It is a system of agriculture based on perennial and self-perpetuating, multi-use plants, and animal species useful to man. It encompasses the establishment of environments which are highly productive, stable and harmonious and which provide shelter, food, energy, etc., as well as supportive social and economic infrastructures. Permaculture teaches us to observe nature, to understand our environment and so become more ecologically aware and responsible. The philosophy behind Permaculture also looks at appropriate use of technology, eg. energy efficient buildings, recycling, waste water systems, solar and wind energy, and creative solutions such as, compost showers and toilets. The key elements of Permaculture are low energy inputs, and high diversity outputs. 12 guiding principles of Permaculture design: 1. Observe and Interact 2. Catch and Store Energy 3. Obtain a Yield 4. Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback 5. Use and Value Resources and Services 6. Produce No Waste 7. Design from Patterns to Details 8. Integrate Rather than Segregate 9. Use Small and Slow Solutions 10. Use and Value Diversity 11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal 12. Use Creativity and Adapt
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 12:58:32 +0000