Permaculture Practice and Ethics

 

Permaculture is a guide for developing sustainable ways of living that draw inspiration, or benefit directly from, the patterns and features found in nature.

 

It can be used to

• develop abundant, organic plant based food systems/forest gardens, which improve the soil and encourage biodiversity

• build houses – from reclaimed, recycled, natural and locally sourced materials

• collect energy – soft energy technology. from solar panels to mini wind turbines

• collect, store and filter water - grey water systems, rock/sediment filtration, reed beds and water butts

• manage waste – compost collection and toilets

• grow sustainable communities

 

Permaculture seeks to address some of the inequalities found in modern industrial society, and the problems associated with our own escalating patterns of consumption, simply from its premises of recognising ecological and psychological limits and its promotion of core ethics;

 

- Earth care - provision for all life systems to continue and flourish. This is the first principle, because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish. The original vision of care for all living things has grown to embrace a deep and comprehensive understanding of Earth Care that involves many decisions; from the clothes we wear and the goods we buy to the materials we use for DIY projects.

 

- People care - provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence. Fundamental to permaculture is the concept of Permanent Culture. How can we develop a permaculture if our people are expendable, uncared for, excluded? People Care asks that our basic needs for food, shelter and healthy social relationships are met. Genuine People Care can-not be exclusive in a tribal sense; there are no elites: Living in fully localised, self sufficient, moneyless societies will mean that, just as large scale industrial farming, manufacturing or transportation will largely be uncalled for, so to will any 'significant deals’ need signing by suited individuals in parliaments or exclusive institutions.

 

- Fair share/redistribution of surplus -  The last ethic synthesises the first two. It acknowledges that we only have one earth and we have to share it with all living things and future generations. There is no point in designing a sustainable family unit, community, or nation whilst others languish without clean water, clean air, food, shelter and social contact. Fair Shares is an acknowledgement of this terrible imbalance and a call to limit consumption (especially of natural resources)

 

Forest gardening

 

Forest gardening is a low-maintenance, sustainable, organic plant-based food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers, to build a woodland habitat.

Forest gardens are probably the world's oldest form of land use and most resilient agro-ecosystem.

 

 In the 1980s, Robert Hart coined the term "forest gardening" after adapting the principles and applying them to temperate climates.

 

Forest Gardening and Permaculture Zoning

 

Forest gardening is often incorporated into and enhanced by Permaculture Zoning. This is a way of designing to maximize energy efficiency. Activities are put in different zones, depending on frequency of use, maintenance, visits etc. Generally, activities and structures are placed as follows;

 

Zone 0 - Centre of activities - the home

Zone 1 - Annual plants, herbs, shrubs, compost, tools, small-scale water collection and other high use

Zone 2 - Fruit and nut tree orchard, greenhouse/polly tunnels, soft energy technology (mini turbines etc.)

Zone 3 - Water storage, main crops, and field shelters. Reed-bed/rock water filtration ponds

Zone 4 - Forest, managed woodland

Zone 5 - Wild zone, where nature is in charge and where we go to learn and harvest only that which is abundant