An Introduction to Permaculture

Week One:

• What Is Permaculture?

• Ethical Principles

Sources

Books and Electronic Media:

• Hawken, Paul, and Lovins, Amory & Hunter, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next industrial Revolution• David Holmgren, Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability• Bill Mollison, Permaculture One• Starhawk, The EAT Reader (DVD compendium of source material for the Earth Activist Training)

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, direct quotes and illustrations are from David Holmgren, Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability

Web Pages and Sites:

• “Human Appropriation of the Earth’s Water Supply” - Global Change lecture, University of Michigan (http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/freshwater_supply/freshwater.html)

• Permaculture Principles.com (http://www.permacultureprinciples.com)• Anup Shah, Poverty Facts & Stats (http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats )• Stop the Hunger.com (http://www.stopthehunger.com/ )• U.S. & World Population Clock (http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html)• WaterInfo.org (http://www.waterinfo.org/resources/water-facts )

What Is Permaculture?

Illustration from http://www.permacultureprinciples.com

• Origins of Permaculture

• What Is Permaculture

• Elements of Permaculture

• Areas of Influence & Outside Impacts

Origins of Permaculture

• Earlier environmentalists had proposed similar concepts: i.e., Russell Smith's Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture (1929) and Howard T. Odum’sEnvironment, Power and Society (1971).

• Bill Mollison of the University of Tasmania and David Holmgren of the Environmental Design School, also in Tasmania, merged these theories with indigenous traditions learned from the Maori to form the philosophy that they called permaculture. Mollisonbegan teaching this philosophy in the mid-1970’s.

What Is Permaculture?Perma-culture à permanent (sustainable) agriculture

“Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs.”

-- Bill Mollison, Permaculture One

“An integrated, evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating plant and animal systems useful to man.”

-- David Holmgren Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability

What is Permaculture?

What Is Permaculture?

Perma-culture à permanent (sustainable) culture

• “The use of systems thinking and design principles to provide an organizing framework for implementing this vision.”

• “Drawing together diverse ideas, skills, ways of living which need to be rediscovered and redeveloped…to empower us to move from being dependent consumers to becoming responsible and productive citizens.”

--David Holmgren

What is Permaculture?

Elements of PermacultureFrom being a system

of sustainable agriculture,

permaculture is now a broad-based

philosophy encompassing both

environmental and social issues at

home and in the larger culture.

What is Permaculture?

illustration by David Holmgren

Areas of Influence, Outside Impacts

Also known as “zones” -areas receiving attention

and action within a permaculture design

project – and “sectors” –outside influences having

an impact on the area treated within the

project.

What is Permaculture?

illustration by David Holmgren

Ethical Principles of Permaculture

• Care for the Earth

• Care for the People

• Limits to Consumption& Reproduction

• Distribution of the Surplus

Care for the Earth

• Care for the Earth

• Earth as a Living System

• Planetary Stewardship

• Issues of Planetary Stewardship

• Biodiversity – Life for Life’s Sake

• Respect for Living Things

Care for the EarthPermaculture philosophy supports and is supported by emerging holistic scientific perspectives and the growing new eco-spiritual awareness of humankind as a part of the natural world and dependent upon nature.

Care for the Earth

illustration by David Holmgren

Earth as a Living System

• The Gaia hypothesis of Earth as a self-organized living system reflects ancient indigenous views of Earth as mother: both views mandate respect and care for the planet

• Example: both biological and indigenous awareness support a view of the soil as a dynamic source of life; both mandate care for the soil (building humus, feeding micro-organisms, building mycelial networks) to maintain life on Earth.

Care for the Earth

Planetary StewardshipKey question:

Will this resource (soil, water, forest, mountain, etc.) be in better shape after my stewardship?

“The question which must be addressed…is not how to care for the planet, but how to care for each of the planet’s millions of human and natural neighborhoods, each of its millions of small pieces and parcels of land, each one of which is in some precious and exciting way different from all the others.”

--Wendell Berry, quoted by David Holmgren inPermaculture: Principles & Pathways

Beyond Sustainability

Care for the Earth

Issues Related to Planetary Stewardship

• Environmental Justice – “Indigenous land rights and agrarian land reform challeng(e) the ethical validity of ownership of land and natural resources at the heart of our legal system”

--David Holmgren

• Natural capitalism – an economic philosophy recognizing “the critical interdependency between the production and use of human-made capital and the maintenance and supply of natural capital, (i.e.,) natural resources, living systems, and ecosystem services.”

-- Paul Hawken and Amory & Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next industrial Revolution

Care for the Earth

Biodiversity – Life for Life’s Sake

• Viewing Earth as a living system with interdependent elements, permaculturists see the value of all life forms as distinct from human use for them.

• “If permaculture is a philosophy, then it is a pragmatic, down-to-earth one, which takes the ecological limits of our power and intelligence as foundations for anything we do. The traditional saying ‘Live and let live’ encapsulates a more modest notion of avoiding harm where possible. Permaculture principles and strategies provide ways to meet our needs while allowing other species to meet theirs.”

--David Holmgren

Care for the Earth

Respect for Living Things

Permaculture ethics are based on indigenous values regarding life forms on Earth:• “We accept all life forms or species as intrinsically

valuable, no matter how inconvenient they are to us (or to other lifeforms that we value).

• We reduce our total environmental impact as the best way to care for all living things, with no need to understand, have control over, or be responsible for the myriad of impacts of every individual action.

• When we harm and kill other living things, we always do so in a conscious and respectful way; not to use what we kill is the greatest disrespect.”

--David Holmgren

Care for the Earth

Care for the People

• Care for the People

• Care for the Self

• Care for Self vs. the Wider World

• Non-Material Values & Benefits

Care for the People

• Permaculturists focus on opportunities rather than obstacles, personally accepting responsibility for circumstances to the greatest degree possible, rather than surrendering to external forces as controlling influences.

• Result: permaculture strategies have succeeded in empowering the urban and rural poor in the Third World to become more self-reliant.

Care for the People

Care for Self• Care for the People starts with the self and expands in

successive circles (zones) to include our families, neighbours, local and wider communities, regions, nations.

• “Care for the Self involves relationship with the larger group, not only through service but also through setting boundaries, delegating work, and ensuring the seamless continuity of the group by training others to take your place.”

Starhawk, lecture at EAT

• “The greatest ethical concern is naturally focused close to the centre because that is where we have the greatest power and influence. To be able to contribute to a wider good, one must be healthy and secure.”

--David Holmgren

Care for the People

Care for Self vs. The Wider World

• Permaculture acknowledges the fact that the comfort of people in rich countries is based on the exploitation of planetary wealth, often depriving other people (and future generations) of their own local resources.

• “As we reduce our dependence on the global economy and replace it with household and local economies, we reduce the demand that drives the current inequities. Thus “look after yourself first” is not an invitation to greed but a challenge to grow up through self-reliance and personal responsibility.”

--David Holmgren

Care for the People

Non-Material Values & Benefits

• In permaculture we apply ethic of Care for the People by achieving self-care through natural, resource-neutral means rather than consuming material resources (walking rather than going to a gym to support health, enjoying nature rather than a movie, etc.)

• Increasing evidence that “rising consumption is not improving well-being in rich countries… wealth is being used to combat effects of over-consumption and over-development (remedial health care, pollution control, crime control, etc.)”

--David Holmgren

• People in poorer countries recognize that the non-material aspects of well-being are the most valuable.

Care for the People

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

• Paradox of Abundance/Limitation• From Abundance to Abuse• Limiting Our Consumption• Why Limit Consumption: Water• Why Limit Consumption: Food• Limiting Population Growth• Distributing the Surplus• Giving Back to the Land

Paradox of Abundance/Limitation

• “The apparently contradictory messages of (planetary) abundance and limits encourage us to repeatedly ponder the meaning and expression of these two aspects of nature as a paradox which should continuously reshape our ethical response to life’s opportunities and problems.”

--David Holmgren

• This gives rise to the merged permaculture ethic of limiting consumption and reproduction while redistributing surplus.

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

From Abundance to Abuse

• When we experience abundance through nature, divine blessing, or human endeavor, we are encouraged to distribute the surplus to the Earth and the people outside our immediate circle of responsibility, believing our needs will be met….

• “The sense of abundance is lost through addictive indulgence to excess and waste. This excess and waste are only possible through power over nature and people.”

--David Holmgren

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

Limiting Our Consumption

• Nothing is limitless: neither ourlifespan nor the Earth as source of supply.

• Each person in the U.S. consumes more than the Earth’s capacity to provide (for your global footprint, seehttp://www.myfootprint.org/).

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

World Bank Indicators, 2008

Why Limit Consumption: Water

• 97.5% of all water on Earth is salty; only 2.5% is fresh.

• Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in polar icecaps and glaciers; most of the rest is in soil moisture, or in inaccessible aquifers. Only 0.007% of Earth’s water is cyclically renewed and available for human use.

• Agriculture consumes 70% of the water used globally per year; industry consumes 22%; much of this is not usable afterwards. Only 8% serves the needs of nearly 7 billion humans.

“Human Appropriation of the Earth’s Water Supply”

Global Change lecture at the University of Michigan

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

Why Limit Consumption: Water

• A human being needs a minimum of 13.2 gallons per day for drinking, sanitation, bathing & cooking.

• The average African family uses 5 gallons/day.

• The average American individual uses an average of 176 gallons/day.

--http://www.waterinfo.org/resources/water-facts

Why Limit Consumption: Food• This year, roughly 7.8 million people have died of hunger;

more than 1 billion are malnourished.

• Americans toss out more than 70 thousand tons of spoiled food per day.

• Roughly 78% of malnourished children live in nations with food surpluses, while 90% of the hungriest nations on earth are net exporters of food to rich nations.

http://www.stopthehunger.com/

• “In thinking about what is enough, we have to look at the needs and wants that drive material gain, and also at the capacity of earth and people to provide those needs and wants.”

-- David Holmgren

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

Limiting Population Growth• Roughly 6.8 billion people are alive today on planet Earth;

-- U. S. & World Population Clock

• Ethically appropriate course: to consider what actions we should take, rather than what others should do.

• Birth rates in poor countries drop rapidly when:– Women are economically secure– They have control over their own reproduction– Infant mortality rates are low.

• Almost every child born in rich countries accelerates consumption.

• One solution in privileged countries: adoption. “Learning to see all children, rather than just our own offspring, as our heirs is one of the great challenges for male culture around the world.”

-- David Holmgren

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

Distributing the Surplus• Today the gap between the very rich and the very

poor is widening, and corporations and other powerful economic institutions are consolidating power over the planet’s natural and economic capital, with little to no ethical constraint.

• People in affluent societies are finding many ways to redistribute the surplus: humanitarian projects, social service clubs, philanthropic trusts, volunteer work.

• However, many materially poor individuals and communities redistribute proportionally more of their material wealth.

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

Giving Back to the Land• Indigenous cultures were based on an ethos of giving devotion

to nature spirits and the living world. Often, traditional peoples would plant trees and forests, redistributing surplus time and resources to replenish the land itself.

• In the organic movement, repairing and improving long-term soil fertility, leaving the land in better shape than one found it, is a recognized form of stewardship.

• Both of these means of redistribution for the sake of the land are recognized in permaculture, which aims not only to avoid harming both the ecosystem and community, but actively to repair past damage.

-- David Holmgren

Limits to Consumption/Reproduction, Redistribution of Surplus

ResourcesWebsites:

• Global Footprint Calculator (http://www.myfootprint.org/).

• Permaculture Principles (http://tinyurl.com/39ruvgq) – downloadable Powerpoint summary of permaculture ethics & design principles

• David Homgren’s site (http://www.holmgren.com.au/ ) - David Holmgren is the co-originator of the permaculture philosophy.

• Key Concepts of Permaculture (http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/classroom/) – summary page of the Permaculture Institute site. This site is a fabulous resource for news, courses, and opinions relating to permaculture today.

• Permaculture Principles (http://permacultureprinciples.com/) – a resource site inspired by David Homgren’s work and message

• The Permaculture Wiki site (http://permaculture.wikia.com/wiki/Permaculture_Wiki) – good general resource

• EarthActivistas Permaculture videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/earthactivistas) – these videos cover core concepts as well as the ways in which they’re being put into practice by the Earth Activist Training program.

Books

• Hemenway, Toby , Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

• Holmgren, David , Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability

• Morrow, Rosemary , Allsop, Rob , Earth User's Guide to Permaculture

• Bell, Graham , Bell, G. , Mollison, B. , The Permaculture Way: Practical Steps to Create a Self-Sustaining World

• Mollison, Bill , Slay, Reny Mia , Mollison, B. C. , Introduction to Permaculture

• MacGregor, Catriona , Partnering with Nature: The Wild Path to Reconnecting with the Earth

• Starhawk , The Earth Path: Grounding Your Spirit in the Rhythms of Nature