(permanent {agri}culture)
a method of designing homes, gardens, farms, and communities for the long term and from the ground up.Permaculture is a young design method that originated in Australia. Though most often developed, embraced, and used by folk of a completely different sort than me, its patterns and ideas are more useful than anything I've seen. It is the strategy that orchestrates all the tactics and techniques here on our place.
But, I think it's more than something merely useful. I think it's useful enough to be something eternal.
Anyway, this will be an ongoing (and hopefully improving) post, both as an uncolored introduction to "permaculture" itself, and what I'm doing with it..
- Permaculture starts with a superbly rational kind of reverence for Nature (including human nature).
- "It" especially seeks out and studies the useful keys to, facets of, and connections within stable eco-systems and/or human societal systems.
- The thinking is, if these systems "developed" by themselves.. if they've maintained and repaired themselves, and all without conscious input (work) from humans then there's something/s in them that can be interwoven into all our laborious toiling to make them more: productive, automatic, and synergistic.
Permaculture, formal origins/ resources
- It's origins/testing grounds are Australian (a place where things that even survive stand out, and things that thrive cry out for marveling, study, and emulation)
- Bill Mollison and David Holmgren; originators, authors
- The currently excellent wikipedia entry
Permaculture has largely been developed by folk as a vehicle for societal change but is prone to being employed by folk
- Bottom to top design (kitchens-to gardens- to fields -to neighborhoods- to societies)
- Simplicity and economy