Permaculture is a term coined by Tasmanian, Bill Mollison back in the hippie era of the 1960’s to combine the concepts of permanence and agriculture, i.e. perma – culture. This was a time when deforestation was perhaps hitting a peak and land was stripped bare without deep consideration for anything other than human purposes.
Permaculture integrates many faculties including ecology, horticulture, architecture, philosophy as well as business, to present an alternative way of living than the industrial revolution would have suggested. But much of what Mollison spoke and taught about is now reappearing as the focus continues to move towards environmental sustainability and many of his original concepts have now become mainstream.
Words like sustainability, conservation, recycling, energy efficiency and organic have become commonplace in our vocabularies. Yet, permaculture advocates were onto these concepts way before the rest of us. While we were busy watching Gordon Gekko tell us that “Greed is good!” in Hollywood’s Wall Street, they were telling us that “Green is good”. And not just simply telling us, but they were also living it.
Simply put, permaculture works in harmony with natural forces rather than against them, integrating natural systems into a human existence. Where an organic farm or garden can still be very structured and labour intensive, permaculture design on the other hand, can include natural heating, self seeding, alternative energy sources and cycling of nutrients in a natural forest-like habitat. The natural food forest is born. Ecological balance encourages many diverse species in flora and fauna so that pest control is handled by natural predators.
The ethics of permaculture form the basis for all human and natural interaction. These are:
1. Care for the earth.
2. Care for people.
3. Share any surplus.
An element of limitation goes along with these ethics. Limiting our consumption and limiting our focus or efforts so that the first 2 are abided by. Caring for the earth and her people means that all choices that we make reflect a no-harm policy … to anyone!
Perhaps to some, this way of life may seem ideal or utopia, but I think we can all move a little bit more in the same direction. We can all take a moment to think a little bit more about the decisions we make and their effects upon the earth and humanity for today as well as tomorrow.
Permaculture as a natural eco-system, has some great design aspects that every home gardener can use. Zoning or grouping your plants into their different irrigation and fertilising needs is a good practice that we can all adopt. Even if you don’t end up with the ultimate food forest, you can still use the same principles and cycle nutrients through backyard chooks that gobble up food scraps and turn them into manure that we can then use for nutrient rich compost on our garden beds. Reducing the number (and cost) of inputs and limiting the waste we individually produce helps to control our domestic consumption patterns, helps close the system and keeps things in natural balance.
Until next time.
The Veggie Lady.
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