-Ross Mars
The term permaculture is a combination of the words permanent and agriculture. It can also be thought of as a combination of the words permanent and culture, incorporating all aspects of human beings and human settlements.
Permaculture deals with our existence on this planet and it encompasses many different aspects of this. Firstly, permaculture is about producing edible landscapes, mirroring the natural ecosystems in their diversity and production. Permaculture is primarily a design system. This is the main difference between it and all other agricultural and horticultural practices. Permaculture designs endeavour to integrate all components of the ecosystem in a holistic approach to sustainable living and practice.
The overall aim of Permaculture design is to produce an efficient, low maintenance, productive integration of plants, animals, structures and people with the ultimate result of on-site stability and food self-sufficiency in the smallest practical area.
Permaculture means thinking carefully about our environment, our use of resources and how we supply our needs. It aims to create systems that will sustain not only for the present, but for future generations. From a philosophy of co-operation with nature and each other, of caring for the earth and people, it presents an approach to designing environments which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems, to regenerate damaged land and preserve environments which are still intact.
Since the late nineteen seventies the concepts of permaculture have also developed, such that it encompasses finances, water harvesting, communities, buildings, and alternative and appropriate technology. For many of us, permaculture is a framework that unites many disciplines, and so the subjects of aquaculture, ethical investment, horticulture, solar technology, soils, and many others can be integrated together, each contributing as part of the whole.
Truly successful designs create a self-managed system. A large amount of what we call permaculture is really just common-sense, using human intuition and insight to solve problems that confront us. The outcomes of good design should include:
• sustainable land use strategies, without wastes and pollution.
• established systems for healthy food production, and maybe some surplus.
• restoration of degraded landscapes, resulting in conservation of endemic species – especially rare and endangered species.
• integration and harmony of all living things on the property – all things live in an atmosphere of co-operation or interact in natural cycles.
• minimal consumption of energy.
However, permaculture is not just about designing gardens. It is about designing human settlements. It is a plan that endeavours to maximise and enhance human interaction with the environment that surrounds them. This plan considers all facets of human existence. Coming to the realisation that changes are needed to the ways humans live, and then facing the bold step of acknowledging that we should do something about it, is crucial for our own survival on this planet. In essence, permaculture is not a destination, it is a direction. You don’t suddenly “arrive” at some point to finally declare “I’m a permaculturist”. It is a life-long journey of change and growth.
What you learn in the garden is closely linked with natural cycles, and it also provides the opportunity to take responsibility for growing your own healthy food. Furthermore, we mustn’t forget that many plants in our permaculture systems may not be directly useful to us, but may be essential in the life cycle of insects, birds and other animals.
I don’t believe permaculture should be seen as a way in which people can become self-sufficient. The emphasis should be on people becoming self-reliant, with positive interaction and co-operation between all members within the community.
It is true that the goal of permaculture design is to create an edible landscape. Like a natural forest, our gardens should contain a mixture of both different species and different ages. How to achieve this is known as succession, and it occurs in all ecosystems.
We can be prepared for change as well as being the agents for change. The garden teaches us balance, and permaculture is also about balance – how we integrate our lives with nature, how we juggle input and output to get optimum yields, and how we tend to the needs of all the organisms present in our world so that everything flourishes.
Permaculture, and the ecological framework it embraces, will give people hope and enable them to develop skills that allow us to rise to the challenges of a changing world. Permaculture doesn’t have its own set of techniques, but rather a bag of tricks; tricks that are really principles and strategies to enhance vulnerable ecologies.
Ultimately, Permaculture is a way of life. It is about taking responsibility of your own life and doing the things you feel are important for your own well-being, for the well-being of others and to help the environment.