Permaculture: Design for Sustainable Living

by Nick Kaplan and Damon Lesjack

The term "permaculture" was coined by an Australian named Bill Mollison in 1978.  Mollison himself defines permaculture as a "design system for creating sustainable human environments.  The word itself is a contraction not only of permanent agriculture but also of permanent culture, as cultures cannot survive for long without a sustainable agriculture base and land use ethic."  In other words, all human activity must prioritize healthy and productive ecosystems.  Permaculture is often mistakenly thought to be applicable environments The only to those individuals involved with farming or those who have access to large tracts of land.  Permaculture, as Mollison conceives it, is intended to apply to anyone who is willing to take responsibility for their own actions.  This includes, then, more than farm design or agricultural techniques and includes all aspects of providing human necessities while maintaining a harmonious integration of landscape and the people occupying it.

Permaculture begins with ethics as outlined in a Permaculture: A Designers Manual (Mollison 1988):

   1) CARE OF THE EARTH: Provisions for all life systems to continue and multiply.

   2) CARE OF THE PEOPLE: Provisions for all people to access those resources necessary to their existence.

   3) SETTING LIMITS TO POPULATION AND CONSUMPTION: By governing our own needs, we can set aside resources to further the above principles.

These principals urge us to reach for the Rules of Conservative Use, as applied to resources; to reduce waste (and therefore pollution); do thorough energy accounting through a system (a home, a , a bank account); and assess the long term effects of conservation efforts on society.  Closing energy loops (keeping energy in a usable form) will create less pollution and more re-use of waste streams for individuals and community benefit.

Many sincerely concerned individuals share similar ethical standards (Simply Living for example), but many lack a practical strategy to cause as little environmental damage as possible.  Permaculture encompasses many common conservation strategies, but combines them into a more elaborate and holistic design scheme.  It provides potent design concepts that can be applied in any situation, at any scale, and also includes many specific design applications that are derived from those concepts.  There are many ways in which the urban dweller can transform their homes and gardens into more energy efficient dwellings and immediate landscapes into ecologically stable environments.

For a free Permaculture consultation please call anytime! together we can all make a difference.