GAIA CREATIONS
Ecological Landscaping
& Permaculture Solutions
What Is Permaculture?
Permaculture Toolbox
Permaculture Prime Directive
Ethics &
Principles
Permaculture Services
Permaculture
What Is Permaculture?
" ...you could liken it [permaculture] to a miraculous wardrobe in which you can hang garments of any science or any art and find they're always harmonious with, and in relation to, that which is already hanging there. It's a framework that never ceases to move, but that will accept information from anywhere."
~Bill Mollison
Permaculture can be defined by many experts in the field. Some of the most famous definitions come from Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, co-originators of permaculture and of the Ethics and Principles.
"Permaculture" originated from the two words Permanent and Agriculture. Created in the 1970's the word itself hasn't changed but the utility of its principles have evolved over time. Permaculture principles as related to farming and gardening have received the most notoriety particularly in the areas of resource efficient design strategies and harmonizing human interactions with nature.
More recently the term permaculture has taken on a more social context -which was provided in the original text Permaculture One from 1978, but not widely practiced as a cultural sustainability.
Permaculture was later modified to mean Permanent and Culture, modeling by design techniques how we can beneficially coexist with nature by establishing a balance in human habitation -from agriculture to buildings, technology to governance, education to socio-economics. The aim is to create a permanent culture which support generations to come.
Permaculture Co-Originator Definitions
"Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order. Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms."
~Bill Mollison
(Permaculture: A Designers Manual )
"Permaculture is a design system inspired by nature which is based on ethics and design principles that can be used to guide you, your household and your community ‘beyond sustainability’. By adopting the ethics and applying these principles in our daily life we can make the transition from being dependent consumers to becoming responsible producers."
~David Holmgren
(Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability)
Our own Definition of Permaculture
"Permaculture aims to create a regenerative and permanent culture. It is a holistic approach to designing human systems which mimic the abundance and resilience of natural ecosystems. Through protracted and thoughtful observation permaculture can ensure abundant water, shelter, food, energy and other essential needs for all living things. Permaculture can be replicated around the world, in any climate and at any scale."
Permaculture Tool Box
The permaculture tool box provides us with a multitude of tools which encompass various areas of knowledge. We can utilize these tools as they are necessary for the task at hand; whether that be a design for farms, homes, landscapes, cities, or any other facet of our world. Permaculture design can be applied at any scale and in any climate.
Building
Tools & Technology
Urban and Suburban Strategies
Energy & Water Conservation
Waste Management & Recycling
Ecological & Living Structures
Low Impact Development
Hand tools
Map Building & Modeling
Bio-fuels & Transportation
Appropriate Technologies
Renewable Energy
Education & Culture
Finances & Economies
Indigenous Wisdom & Culture
Wholistic Pedogogies
Radical Unschooling
Concepts & Themes in Design
Open Source Learning Platforms
Local & Regional Currencies
Socio-economic Solutions
Ethical Investment & Fair Trade
Farmers Markets
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Land & Nature Stewardship
Land & Community Governance
Health & Well-Being
Patterns in Nature
Ecology & Restoration
Soil Health & Carbon Farming
Plants & Energy Interactions
Regenerative Agriculture
Animal Husbandry
Community Empowerment
Cohousing & Ecovillages
Cooperatives & Body Corporates
Open Space Technology
Complementary & Wholistic Medicine
Reclaiming Birth & Death
Sense & Spirit of Place
Indigenous Cultural Revival
The information in the Permaculture Tool Box is based on David Holmgrens' The Seven Domains of Permaculture Action. Learn more here: https://permacultureprinciples.com/flower/
Permaculture Prime Directive
"The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. Make it now."
From Bill Mollison:
"Permaculture really starts with an ethic or earthcare, understood as care of whole systems of earth & species. So we actually devise model systems. Much of the design is drawn from nature. The end result that we aim for, is to produce a system that is ecologically sound & economically profitable. It can get sophisticated or be as simple as you like.
- Permanent Agriculture, the requirement for a permanent culture
- An ethical philosophy of earthcare & peoplecare supported by the distribution of surplus goods; wealth, labor, attention, information
- The condition of abundance in nature marked by cooperation, diversity of species, occupation of essential ecological niches, & stability over time, in contrast to the conditions of competition, scarcity, monotony, & imminent decay which predominate under hierarchical social conditions.
- A productive system of human design based on maximal beneficial connections between the elements thereof.
- A global grassroots movement for self-reliance, community responsibility, decentralization of social, political, economic, & technical authority.
- The demonstrated & replicated teaching & techniques thereof.
- Interactive, recombinant ecologies marked by elegance of principle, efficiency of function, appropriateness of form, & astonishing beauty.
- Maximum satisfaction of needs for all living beings employing the minimum area of built space with a high density & quality of biological information."
Permaculture Ethics & Principles
Permaculture Ethics
Earth Care
Care of the Earth
Ensure survival and abundance for all life systems so they can continue and multiply.
Includes both living and non-living things.
People Care
Care of People
Ensure abundance for all people and access to provisions which are necessary for existence.
Promotes self-reliance and community responsibility.
Fair Share
Share the Surplus
Ensure we set limits to human population and consumption.
By governing our own needs, we can set aside resources for the Earth and others.
"Permaculture philosophy is one of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation, rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking only one yield of them; of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolution."
~Bill Mollison
Permaculture Principles
Work With Nature
Rather than against natural processes and assist rather than impede natural developments.
Applications: gravity, solar, native species, location, wind...
Everything works both ways
The problem is the solution. How we view things make them helpful or not; think outside the box.
Application: slugs are not the problem in a garden, it's the lack of ducks.
Least change for the greatest affect
Work a source not a sink of energy.
Application: storing water in the earth in the most efficient places possible for maximum water availability over an indefinite period of time.
Yield of a system is theoretically unlimited
The only limit on the number of uses of a resource possible within a system is in the limit of the information and the imagination of the designer.
Application: thoughtful research and an open mind govern our designs.
Everything gardens
Everything is connected and has an effect on its environment in some way.
Application: rabbits garden by burrowing in the soil and displacing worms and beetles, mice control snails by taking them to their nests and eating them.
Cyclical opportunities
Every cyclical event increases the opportunity for yield to be increased. Increasing cycling is to increase yield.
Application: chickens eat insects and plants, they poop, we gather the manure and use it to make methane to power our stove to cook the egg harvested from the chickens.
Stacking functions
All functions are supported by many elements while each element performs many functions; planned redundancy.
Application: the woodshed provides rain shelter for fuel, is covered by a vine that feeds us fruit, rainwater flows into a cistern that is used to water the vines...
Diversity creates stability
Stability is created by a number of beneficial connections between diverse beings.
Application: fruit tree diversity combined with species specific plant guilds and water harvesting earthworks to become self regulating ecosystems overtime.
Information as a resource
Information is the critical potential resource, share it.
Application: sharing information only broadens the potential for a just and rengenerative society.
Relative location
Start small and build on success; through proper placement of elements we can save time and energy.
Application: south facing slope increases heat absorption in cold climate gardens extending the growing season for food production and warming homes/greenhouses.
Permaculture Services
We provide permaculture solutions to land care needs. We use design and implementation strategies to create abundance for you, your land and all its inhabitants. Contact us for a initial consultation.
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