Permaculture: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:23, 30 September 2009

Welcome to the Wikademia Department of Permaculture.

The Department of Permaculture is a content development project where participants create, organize, and develop learning resources about permaculture.

Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments.

Definition

Permaculture has been developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1974 to develop a sustainable multi-crop agricultural system based on annual trees, bushes, herbs, mushrooms and root systems. It is developed as a response to diminishing resources and pollution.

Permaculture relies on ecological principles to create sustainable human settlements by integrating design to support the ecological cycle of the present elements, picking eco-friendly principles from traditional knowledge and modern science. Natural systems is the main concern to build sustainable human environments and socio-economical infrastructure, to step forward to find conscientious solutions to local and global problems. Personal impressions are important to consider to make the environment appealing to humans, and inducing arts.

Permacultural Ethics

Care of the nature
Care of the people
Distribute surplus
Reduce consumption

Permaculture Principles

Observe and interact- Everything functions at least two ways and every function is supported by many elements.
Manage consumption and refuse, yield produce- Organise surroundings effectively and self-sustainably. This way there will be less need for maintenance by energy saving and recycling house and land models.
Holistic approach for controlling surroundings- Intensive work in small land encouraging endogenous species.
Cooperate with complete system- Design the area where plants and animals support each other and provide each other's maintenance. This way there will be less need for human interference and maintenance. Work together and avoid competition.
Be patient-Slow and small solutions may seem ineffective, but in long term they may yield better results, and they are easier to control.
Embrace diversity- If diversity is present there is a chance that there is interaction and nature will select the compatibility of species itself.
Embrace minority- We don't know for certain which recipe will work in which environment. There is always a good chance of success if we maximise edges. This is achieved by including everything in the plan, but emphasising the most effective.
Pace with "la vie quotidienne"- Creative use and adaptation of technology and scientific innovation is inevitable. This allows us to work effectively and save time, money and energy.

Learning projects and resources

Subdivisions

Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Permaculture

Active participants

The histories of Wikademia pages indicate who the active participants are. If you are an active participant in this division, you can list your name here (this can help small divisions grow and the participants communicate better; for large divisions a list of active participants is not needed).

External links

Ethics and principles of permaculture By Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture
Permaculture design (Wikieducator)
Research Institute (Australia)
Association (Britain)
Institute (New Mexico)

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-'''Permaculture Definitions'''
+Welcome to the Wikademia '''Department of Permaculture'''.
+__NOTOC__ <!--__-__-->
+The Department of Permaculture is a content development project where participants create, organize, and develop learning resources about permaculture.
--[[w:Permaculture|Permaculture]] is a design system for creating sustainable human environments.
+<blockquote>
+    '''Permaculture''' is a design system for creating sustainable human environments.
+</blockquote>
+==Definition==
+Permaculture has been developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1974 to develop a sustainable multi-crop agricultural system based on annual trees, bushes, herbs, mushrooms and root systems. It is developed as a response to diminishing resources and pollution.
-Defined From Bill Mollison:
+Permaculture relies on ecological principles to create sustainable human settlements by integrating design to support the ecological cycle of the present elements, picking eco-friendly principles from traditional knowledge and modern science.  Natural systems is the main concern to build sustainable human environments and socio-economical infrastructure, to step forward to find conscientious solutions to local and global problems.  Personal impressions are important to consider to make the environment appealing to humans, and inducing arts.
--Permaculture: the use of ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development. Permaculture is built upon an ethic of caring for the earth and interacting with the environment in mutually beneficial ways.
+==Permacultural Ethics==
+*Care of the nature
+*Care of the people
+*Distribute surplus
+*Reduce consumption
-From the Permaculture Drylands Institute, published in The Permaculture Activist (Autumn 1989):
+==Permaculture Principles==
+*Observe and interact- Everything functions at least two ways and every function is supported by many elements.
+*Manage consumption and refuse, yield produce- Organise surroundings effectively and self-sustainably.  This way there will be less need for maintenance by energy saving and recycling house and land models.
+*Holistic approach for controlling surroundings- Intensive work in small land encouraging endogenous species.
+*Cooperate with complete system- Design the area where plants and animals support each other and provide each other's maintenance.  This way there will be less need for human interference and maintenance.  Work together and avoid competition.
+*Be patient-Slow and small solutions may seem ineffective, but in long term they may yield better results, and they are easier to control.
+*Embrace diversity- If diversity is present there is a chance that there is interaction and nature will select the compatibility of species itself.
+*Embrace minority- We don't know for certain which recipe will work in which environment.  There is always a good chance of success if we maximise edges.  This is achieved by including everything in the plan, but emphasising the most effective.
+*Pace with "la vie quotidienne"- Creative use and adaptation of technology and scientific innovation is inevitable.  This allows us to work effectively and save time, money and energy.
--Permaculture (PERMAnent agriCULTURE or PERMAnent CULTURE) is a sustainable design system stressing the harmonious interrelationship of humans, plants, animals and the Earth.
+== [[Portal:Learning Projects|Learning projects]] and resources ==
+* [[Introduction to Permaculture]]
+* PDC21 [[Taming the wicked problems of tomorrow, today|Taming the wicked problems of tomorrow, today]]
-From Lee Barnes (former editor of Katuah Journal and Permaculture Connections), Waynesville, North Carolina:
+==Subdivisions==
+==Wikimedia==
+* [[Wikipedia: Permaculture]]
+==Active participants==
+The histories of Wikademia pages indicate who the active participants are. If you are an active participant in this division, you can list your name here (this can help small divisions grow and the participants communicate better; for large divisions a list of active participants is not needed).
-To paraphrase the founder of permaculture, designer Bill Mollison:
+==See also==
+*[[Ecological sustainability|Ecological sustainability]]
--Permaculture principles focus on thoughtful designs for small-scale intensive systems which are labor efficient and which use biological resources instead of fossil fuels. Designs stress ecological connections and closed energy and material loops. The core of permaculture is design and the working relationships and connections between all things. Each component in a system performs multiple functions, and each function is supported by many elements. Key to efficient design is observation and replication of natural ecosystems, where designers maximize diversity with polycultures, stress efficient energy planning for houses and settlement, using and accelerating natural plant succession, and increasing the highly productive "edge-zones" within the system.
+==External links==
+*[http://patternliteracy.com/principles.html Ethics and principles of permaculture] By Toby Hemenway, author of [http://patternliteracy.com ''Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture'']
+* [http://www.wikieducator.org/Permaculture_design Permaculture design] (Wikieducator)
+* [http://permaculture.org.au/Permaculture Research Institute (Australia)]
+* [http://www.permaculture.org.uk/Permaculture Association (Britain)]
+* [http://www.permaculture.org/Permaculture Institute (New Mexico)]
--Permaculture is: the design of land use systems that are sustainable and environmentally sound; the design of culturally appropriate systems which lead to social stability; a design system characterized by an integrated application of ecological principles in land use; an international movement for land use planning and design; an ethical system stressing positivism and cooperation. In the broadest sense, permaculture refers to land use systems which promote stability in society, utilize resources in a sustainable way and preserve wildlife habitat and the genetic diversity of wild and domestic plants and animals. It is a synthesis of ecology and geography, of observation and design. Permaculture involves ethics of earth care because the sustainable use of land cannot be separated from life-styles and philosophical issues.
+[[Category:Ecological sustainability]]
+[[Category:Social ecology]]
-From Michael Pilarski, founder of Friends of the Trees, published in International Green Front Report (1988):
--Permaculture is a practical concept which can be applied in the city, on the farm, and in the wilderness. Its principles empower people to establish highly productive environments providing for food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs, including economic. Carefully observing natural patterns characteristic of a particular site, the permaculture designer gradually discerns optimal methods for integrating water catchment, human shelter, and energy systems with tree crops, edible and useful perennial plants, domestic and wild animals and aquaculture.
-From a Bay Area Permaculture Group brochure, published in West Coast Permaculture News & Gossip and Sustainable Living Newsletter (Fall 1995):
--Permaculture adopts techniques and principles from ecology, appropriate technology, sustainable agriculture, and the wisdom of indigenous peoples. The ethical basis of permaculture rests upon care of the earth-maintaining a system in which all life can thrive. This includes human access to resources and provisions, but not the accumulation of wealth, power, or land beyond their needs<>ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/perma.html
-Ethics
-Care of the Earth
-Care of the People
-Return and sharing of Surplus
-Principles
-Work with nature, rather than against the natural elements, forces, pressures, processes, agencies, and evolutions, so that we assist rather than impede natural developments.
-The problem is the solution; everything works both ways. It is only how we see things that makes them advantageous or not (if the wind blows cold, let us use its strength and its coolness to advantage). A corollary of this principle is that everything is a positive resource; it is just up to us to work out how we may use it as such.
-Make the least change for the greatest possible effect.
-The yield of a system is theoretically unlimited. The only limit on the number of uses of of a resources possible within a system is in the limit of the information and the imagination of the designer.
-Everything gardens, or has an effect on its environment.
-http://www.permaculture.biz/mollison.htm
-Common Techniques and Strategies
-By Julianne Skai Arbor
--Site Analysis and Inventory
--Mapping
--Designing with zones and sectors
--Sheet Mulching
--Swales
--Chickens Tractors
--Edible Food Forest
--Plant Guilds
--Native Plants
--Small Scale Intensive
--Herb Spirals
--Greywater systems
-Benefits of well-developed permaculture projects include:
--Conserving and building healthy soils, the basis of food systems.
--Diversifying and greatly increasing local food production (typically from a few sources to dozens, even hundreds), which increases the nutritional quality and pleasure of local diets and buffers against market fluctuations in food prices.
--Eliminating use of toxic chemicals that cause a variety of health problems from immediate toxic poisonings to longer-term chronic problems like cancer, birth defects and the destruction of healthy natural food source (i.e. toxic fish).
--Maximizing efficient beneficial use of local water sources, the critical lifeblood for people.
--Practically eliminating pollution of water by human wastes, thereby dramatically reducing water born diseases.
--Creating clean drinking water sources, further reducing disease.
--Increasing tree crops, which retain soils, slow water runoff, increase groundwater storage, and provide cooling shade.
--Increasing the beauty of the community though the creation of diverse life forms - flowers, insects, birds, frogs, and hundreds of others that create a pleasant and inspiring atmosphere for people, especially children.
--Harnessing natural renewable energies to create comfortable home living conditions.
-http://www.essentiallivingfoods.com/permaculture.html
-Combines Disciplines Examples
-*Agriculture and Horticulture
-Landcare
--Soil conservation
--Reafforestation
--Agroforestry
--Analog forestry
--Organic farming
--Biological pest control
--Kitchen gardens in cities and villages
-Integrated farming systems:
--Aquaculture
--Aquaponics
--Intercropping
--Companion planting and polyculture
--Perennial and tree cropping systems.
--Trellising
--Worm composting
-Gardening techniques:
--Utilizing crop rotations
--Cover crops
--Green manures
--Composts
--Mulches
--Medicinal plants
--Useful plants/edible landscaping
--Heritage plant varieties
--Seed saving
-Bioregional planning
--citizen action
--cooperative organization
--micro-enterprise
--community credit schemes
--barter and LETS systems
-*Appropriate Technology
-Water collection
--Greywater reuse
--Rain & runoff catchment
--Swaling
--Constructed wetlands
--Fungal systems for wastewater treatment.
-Energy
--Passive solar heating
--Solar and wind power
--Solar water pasteurizers

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