Intro to PC Wayne

7/27/2019 Intro to PC Wayne

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PERMA (PERMANENT) CULTURE

Permaculture is about relationships that we can create between minerals, plants,

animals and humans by the way we place them in the landscape.

The aim is to create natural systems that do notexploit or pollute, and are therefore

sustainable in the long term.

(Bill Mollison)

(Permanent- Latin: per- throughout +

English: cultivation, tillage; from OldFrench; from Latin: cultura, from ultus-

cultivation, from Germanic: skel- to cut)

The Prime Directive of PermacultureThe only ethical decision is to take

responsibility for our own existence and thatof our children


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The Ethics of PermaculturePermaculture is unique among alternative farming systems (e.g. organic, sustainable,

eco-agriculture, biodynamic) in that it works with a set of ethics that suggest we thinkand act

responsibly in relation to each other and the earth.

The ethics of Permaculture provide a sense of place in the larger scheme of things, and serve as aguidepost to right livelihood in concert with the global community and the environment, rather than

individualism and indifference.

Care of the Earth

includes all living and non-living things- plants, animals, land, water, air.

Care of People

promotes self-reliance and community responsibility- access to resources necessary for existence.

Setting Limits to Population and Consumption

gives away surplus- contribution of surplus time, labor, money, information, and energy to achieve

the aims of earth and people care.

Permaculture also acknowledges a basic life ethic, which recognizes the intrinsic worth of every

living thing. A tree has value in itself. Even if it presents no commercial value to humans. That the

tree is alive and functioning is worthwhile. It is doing its part in nature: recycling litter, producing

oxygen, sequestering carbon dioxide, sheltering animals, building soils and so on.


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The Life Ethic Thesis

Living organisms are not only means but ends.

In addition to their instrumental value tohumans and other living organisms, theyhave an intrinsic worth.


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Nothing in Nature Grows Forever

Continuation of life depends on themaintenance of the global bio-geochemical cycles of essential

elements, in particular, C, O, N, S and P.

The probability of extinction of populations ofa species is greatest when the density is

very high or very low.

The chance that a species has to survive andreproduce is dependant primarily uponone or two key factors in the complex

web of relationships of the organism to

its environment.


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The Overrun Thesis

The Overrun Thesis

Our ability to change the face of theEarth increases at a faster rate than our

ability to foresee the consequences ofchange.


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Strategies of an Alternative Global Nation

Do we want this?


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Or do we want this?


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Can We Close the Circle?


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Or Have We Peaked Too Soon?


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YieldSystem Yield is the sum total of surplus energy produced, stored,

conserved, reused, or converted by the design. Energy is in surplus

once the system itself has available all its needs for growth,

reproduction, and maintenance. Unused surplus results in pollutionand more work.

The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own

existence and that of our children.

Cooperation, not competition, is the very basis of future survival

and of existing life systems.


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Permaculture Competencies Primitive living skills Settlement, village life-ways and folkways Map building and modeling Permaculture principles

Concepts and themes in design The local ecosystem Forms of eco-gardening and farming Broad scale, bioregional site design The application of specific methods, laws and

principles to design Pattern understanding and observation skills Climatic factors Plants and trees and their energy interactions

Water: collection, storage, purification Soils Earth-working and earth resources Zone and sector analysis Food forests and small animal husbandry Cropping and large animal husbandry Harvest and utility forests Natural forests

Aquaculture Planning the homestead Green structures, ecological building

practices Craftwork and chores Equipment, tools, bio-fuels and vehicles Renewable energy, system design and

implementation Energy conservation Biological waste management and recycling Strategies for different climates Urban and suburban strategies Small farm and garden management and

marketing

Strategies of an alternative global nation Political, social, economic issues and

solutions Designing public policy Land and forest restoration Human settlement and local ecology Site selection, mapping and modeling Dividing, distributing, apportioning land Practical work on design


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The Principles of Permaculture Design

Whereas Permaculture ethics are more akin to broad moral values and codes ofbehavior, the principles of Permaculture provide a set of universally applicable

guidelines which can be used in designing sustainable habitats. Distilled from

multiple disciplines- ecology, energy conservation, landscape design, and

environmental science- these principles are inherent in any Permaculture

design, in any climate, and at any scale.

Relative location

Each element performs multiple functions

Each function is supported by many elements

Energy efficient planning

Using biological resources

Energy cyclingSmall-scale intensive systems

Natural plant succession and stacking

Polyculture and diversity of species

Increasing edge within a system

Observe and replicate natural patterns

Pay attention to scale

Attitude

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