What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a design practice that seeks to create diverse, stable, and resilient ecosystems that provide for our needs whilst benefitting the environment as a whole.

Permaculture applies and links a broad range of holistic solutions to modern day sustainability problems in urban and rural settings. This practice provides strategies and techniques for creating ecologically sound human settlements that integrate people with their landscapes, providing for material and non-material needs in a regenerative way (1), Regenerative meaning that we design to create environments for the betterment of all (plants, animals, people, soil, waterways) rather than just singular yields for people (2).

Permaculture (permanent agriculture or permanent culture) is a term that was coined by its founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s. The two observed the harmonious balance of life in nature and were inspired by the function of natural systems. They witnessed the connections between living elements and the cooperative relationships between them. Each element existing for a reason, to give life to another. Nature wastes nothing and constantly replenishes itself.

In addition to this Mollison and Holmgren studied and observed indigenous cultures, their beliefs, and approach to land use (3). Aboriginal people, for example, have deep spiritual connections with the land and all living things. The land must be respected for it is the land that nourishes us and gives us life. Aboriginal people operated naturally under the principles of cooperation and necessity and for tens of thousands of years. They stewarded a healthy and productive environment, only taking what they needed so that the health of the entire system would be sustained for the generations to follow. This is a permanent culture.

In contrast to these culturally rich, life-sustaining cultures Mollison and Holmgren witnessed how modern practices that sustain most of humanity today (industrial agriculture, monoculture forestry, and thoughtless settlement design) are causing widespread environmental damage (4). These practices are poisoning the land, destroying biodiversity, and turning fertile lands into arid wastelands. The human race is abusing and destroying one piece of land only to move on and destroy the next and so when we really think about it, our use of the land and our settlements can only be temporary. 

Mollison and Holmgren realized this and theorized that if we can learn to create landscapes and systems that mimic nature, we may prevent our tenure on this planet from being only temporary (5). And so, the two began to identify common characteristics of life-rich natural systems and distilled these into a set of guiding ethics and principles with the aim of designing ecologically sound, economically prosperous human settlements.

The philosophy of Permaculture as described by Bill Mollison begins with a Prime Directive (6). The directive states that we must take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. Most of us are aware of the harm we have done and continue to do to our planet, we know our planet is warming because of our own actions and yet we continue down the same degenerative path driven by short-term financial gains to satisfy our insatiable consumption. If we are going to prolong our existence on this planet then we must take responsibility for our actions, as the dominant species we have a duty of care to sustain the health of all the life forms that support us and we must help mother nature heal.

This directive strongly ties back to the philosophies of many indigenous peoples who maintain sacred bonds with the land. For example, the Cherokee Nation of North America believes the Creator put man on earth to be a helper (7). Native Americans, just like Indigenous Australians, recognized their duty of care for all life on earth, and their laws upheld this obligation to the land. Mollison believed that unless we adopt these sophisticated Indigenous belief systems and ‘learn respect for all life’ then we will ‘lose our own,’ and our opportunity for evolution will cease to exist (8).

Following on from this Permaculture evokes the Principal of Cooperation. We must cooperate, we must stop competing with and exploiting one another in the senseless pursuit of growth at all costs because there is a cost. There is always a cost, a very real cost being that our children’s children will inhabit a planet so polluted and so devoid of life that they won’t be able to feed themselves. We must cooperate, as it is ‘cooperation, not competition, that is the very basis of existing life systems and future survival’ (9).

We see cooperation in action all around us. Just as trees trade elements via sophisticated root systems it is our ability to cooperate, communicate and form communities that have ensured our survival on this planet. We must not forget this. It is interesting to examine the definition of cooperation and apply this to life on earth. Cooperation is ‘the process of working together to the same end’, (10) so if we apply this to life on earth then the end is life. There is death but there is rebirth and the circle continues. Hence, the end is ensuring those that are born can live meaningful and healthy lives, that they can bask in the beauty of life and share it with others. 

The circle of life is a common theme in indigenous cultures. To quote Mollison describing the Aboriginal view of life, ‘life can be imagined as an egg from which all tribes (life forms) issue and to which all will return’ (11). As humans, we are all part of the same circle, a circle that encompasses all life on earth. So, if we are going to create permanent cultures for ourselves and our fellow beings we must care for the earth and each other. It is this concept of earth care and people care that forms the very basis of the three ethics of Permaculture:

1. Earth Care. We care for the earth and work with nature. We are the guardians of mother earth and all her beauty. We think and act regeneratively, taking only what we need so that nature can replenish and heal.

2. People Care. If we care for the earth, the earth can continue to care and provide for all people. Humans help each other to sustain life on earth so that our children may prosper.

3. Return of Surplus (Fair Share). By caring for earth and people we can regenerate ecosystems that sustain us. By returning our surplus inputs to the system (closing waste loops) we increase diversity, resiliency, and stability. Systems that are stable will create an abundance of life and yield that we can all share in.

Our ethics are the foundation of our principles which provide a framework upon which we can think and act. Various publications on Permaculture yield slightly different results regarding the number and order of these principles. Below is my own interpretation of these borrowing from Bill Mollison (12), the teachings of Geoff Lawton and Toby Hemenway (13). I have chosen to categorise principals as ideological and practical.

Ideological 

1. Work with nature. Observe the teachings of mother earth and be guided by these. Understand that you are nature, part of an infinite tapestry of living and breathing organisms that weave the web of life.

2. The problem is the solution. Sometimes what we perceive to be problems are not actually problems at all. The real problem may only lie in our perception of something or lack of understanding. If we learn to view problems from opposing angles or simply question preconceived notions, our problems can quickly become opportunities.

3. Everything gardens. An ecosystem is a complex assembly of living organisms, each with its own unique role. Our gardens can be too. When we increase diversity in our systems we attract new life; insect, bird, and plant life that all play a role in keeping the system in balance. When we enable elements to function naturally these elements will garden for us quite literally.

4. Aim for abundance [in yield]. By working with nature to create permanent systems there is no limit to our yields. We are only limited by our own imaginations.

Practical 

1. Observation. Always begin with thoughtful observation instead of thoughtless action. We need to take a holistic view of what we are managing and observe how existing elements are interacting to determine where we need to intervene.

2. Start small. Once we have observed and diagnosed our problem(s) we begin trialing solutions. Starting small will make the results of our actions more obvious and once we are confident in our solution we can apply these on a broader scale.

3. Make the least change for the greatest effect. Our interventions should be targeted and measured so we are not wasting our own time and energy.

4. Catch and store energy. Observe energy sectors moving through the system and design to catch and store those that are beneficial. Let’s take the example of water; we can catch and store water (via roofs and water tanks) and then distribute it to the rest of the system as needed. This can eliminate consumption from the mains water supply and ensure our landscape remains hydrated using minimal energy.

5. Enable connections between elements. If we design or simply place elements thoughtfully we can enable beneficial connections between them. This will allow these elements to function naturally and reduce the stress on the system.

6. Use biological and renewable resources. Always endeavour to use renewable sources of energy. Take from the system on a needs-only basis to conserve resources and return surplus back to the system.

7. Take only what you need. Respecting the land and taking only what the system can provide will allow systems to replenish quickly and naturally. If we take too much, too often we damage the system and we will enter into a degenerative and downward spiral.

8. Design with succession in mind. We need to enable our systems to evolve naturally towards maturity because mature systems are more stable and self-sustaining. In gardens, we achieve this by planting a diverse array of perennial species starting with pioneers and working towards our target species. This brings diversity to our systems making them resilient to pests and opportunistic plants (or weeds) which means less intervention and work required by us over time.

Permaculture as a practice, its ethics, and principles serve as a basis for ecological mindfulness leading to ethical action. Permaculture suggests that we stop and think for a moment, we think about our actions and how they impact life around us. Permaculture does not propose to be a silver bullet solution to our sustainability problems that the technologists among us [producing carbon capture machines] seem so obsessed with. In fact, it is really the opposite, to practice permaculture one needs to procure no technology at all, only a shift in mindset is required. A shift back to more traditional views of life and land: that humans are part of nature, we are the helpers and we are the guardians of life on earth. If we can instill this type of thought within ourselves then we can make decisions to serve the betterment of all life forms and ensure the health of future generations.