What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a revolutionary framework for designing long-term living options. It’s a simple method for creating ecologically harmonious, effective, and sustainable systems that everyone can use, anywhere.
Permaculture’s nature
It is the development of an environmentally friendly way of life in our homes, gardens, neighborhoods, and workplaces. It is made possible by interacting with nature and caring for the earth and its inhabitants.
Permaculture teaches us to be self-sufficient and resourceful. It is an ecological design system, not a dogma or a religion, that assists us in seeking solutions to the many problems faced by us, both locally and globally.
Permaculture addresses how to grow food, build homes, and form communities while minimizing environmental effects. . Its values are continuously being shaped and perfected by people all over the world in a variety of climates and cultural settings.
Following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978, David Holmgren is best known as the co-inventor of the permaculture idea with Bill Mollison. His enthusiasm for the philosophical and conceptual underpinnings of sustainability, as outlined in his book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.
Three ethics of permaculture
– care for the earth
-care for people
-fair share
Permaculture creates a glimmer of hope – a direction forward. It allows everyone to participate in the transition to a more environmentally sound, ethical, and sustainable future.
David Holmgren’s 12 principles of permaculture
- Observe and engage in dialogue
- Capture and store energy
- Generate and yield
- Practice self-control and embrace input
- Make use of and value renewable resources and services
- Create no waste
- Design from the pattern down to the smallest information
- Integrate rather than segregate
- Use small and slow solutions
- Make use of and appreciate diversity.
- Make use of the edges and place a premium on the marginal.
- React to change in a creative way.
Observe and engage in dialogue
Take the time to interact with nature in order to come up with ideas that are appropriate for the situation. Environment, topography, water, soils, plants, animals, wind, fire, and people are only a few of the elements that can be observed.
Capture and store energy
Our world is awash in energy. Develop structures that gather resources when they’re at their most plentiful for use when they’re most required. Not only does stored water reflect potential energy in the form of irrigation water for future crops, but it also represents potential energy in the form of electricity. A forest’s biomass is a living storehouse of building materials, fuel nutrients, and water. Wind, sun, and moving water can all be converted into electrical energy using alternative energy systems. As a consequence, this theory guides us to catch and grow surpkluses in our system.
Generate and yield
Projects that produce tangible benefits should be prioritized. Since it can’t operate on an empty stomach, this idea encourages self-reliance and offers us the directive to reap a harvest from our permaculture method. This idea is important to remember when deciding which tree to plant in a specific location. Often opt for the ornamental plant with the largest and most varied yields. Yields are for more than just-food. Building materials, fuelwood, and honey nectar are all examples of yields. However, having a plentiful supply of food growing all around provides true protection. Living a healthy lifestyle based on permaculture concepts will provide us with a variety of intangible and tangible benefits in addition to the obvious tangible ones.
Practice self-control and embrace input
To ensure that programs operate properly, prevent unethical behavior. Since no one else can do it for us, this idea directs us to live simply and deliberately, limiting our own intake. It must control our own consumption and emissions because it is our duty to care for the Earth and people. Accepting feedback requires us to learn from our achievements and failures, which can lead to better decisions as we discover what works and what doesn’t.
Make use of and value renewable resources and services
As the saying goes, “let nature take its course.”Reduce our consumption and reliance on non-renewable resources by making the most of nature’s abundance. It can power our homes, grow our food, and regenerate our ecosystems by harnessing the power of the sun, wind, and water.
Renewable resources are those that replenish themselves after a brief period of use. This may be in the context of sustainable forestry or fishing methods. This may include planting an orchad downslope from a forest to take advantage of the nutrient and water drift that moves down the hill on a regular basis. This is the wind, this is the fact that plants and animals reproduce, and all of these tools will provide indefinitely if we are responsible and vigilant.
Create no waste
Nothing goes to waste as we respect and use all of the tools at our disposal. This is where we turn one aspect of our system’s waste into fuel for another.
We compost, clean, and recycle greywater, and repair and repurpose damaged tools and equipment, among other things. Reduce, reuse, fix, and recycle all say that we don’t waste people’s time by assigning them to dangerous and pointless tasks.
Design from the pattern down to the smallest information
Patterns in nature and culture should be observed and used to guide designs before incorporating the information.
It means that we research the environment, topography, watershed, and ecology to get a big picture view of how we can work with land and society in a regenerative way before making design decisions. These can serve as the base for our designs.
Integrate rather than segregate
Plants flourish in a number of settings, and humans are no exception. When the right things are in the right place, relationships form between them, and they work together to support one another. Sustainability is something we do as a group – by partnership and cooperation – rather than on our own.
The more relationships between parts of your system, the stronger, more efficient, and more durable your system become, according to this theory. This also has to do with community, since more hands make the job easier.
Use small and slow solutions
Every journey starts with the first move. It’s easy to get frustrated when we try to do too much too quickly – and while big changes can bring big benefits, they also come with bigger risks. Small, gradual improvements are the most successful way to create long-term improvement.
Smaller, slower systems are simpler to maintain than larger systems, and they make better use of local resources and generate more long-term results. Also, when searching for solutions, make sure to allow yourself ample time to observe and check out local information.
Make use of and appreciate diversity
Diversity decreases exposure to a range of threats while still taking advantage of the environment’s specific characteristics. One of the most important aspects of permaculture is diversity. We want to protect a variety of natural ecosystems while also enriching our human habitats with a variety of productive elements.
Diversity promotes adaptability. If one component of our system fails, others will succeed. Permaculture aims to comprehend biological and cultural diversity in the past, present, and future.
Make use of the edges and place a premium on the marginal
The most fascinating activities take place at the intersection of items. These are often the system’s most valuable, complex, and affective components. Instead of dismissing the marginal, we should look for ways to maximize diversity and efficiency.
React to change in a creative way
By carefully watching and participating at the appropriate time, we can have a positive effect on inevitable change. We must not attempt to deprive landowners of their right to self-determination in the process.
Permaculture is a design method that can be applied to companies, houses, and environments, in addition to food production. Recognize the need for restoration by caring for the planet and people, as well as recognizing the limits to development. Food and landscape restoration, rather than degeneration, is a prerequisite for environmental preservation and applied permaculture.
Please read:
What is Sustainable Agriculture?
