Permaculture is a combination of the words permanent and agriculture. It refers to a system thats designed to help create more sustainable methods of agriculture, but also healthy landscapes, ecosystems and even societies.

What is permaculture?

The term permaculture was started in the 1970s by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison who worked together on the theory at the University of Tasmania.

Bill Mollison describes permaculture as a philosophy of working with, rather than against, natureof looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single project system.

The basic idea of permaculture is to develop an area so that it meets the needs of all its inhabitants, human or otherwise. Your choices of plants, landscape features and layout should all have a purpose and work together to create an ideal space that will continue to thrive for many years to come.

This can be much easier said than done, but permaculture provides some key principles to help with whatever project youre planning.

Permaculture Design Principles

Permaculture principles can be used in many ways. You can apply them towards creating a city food garden, restoring damaged wilderness areas, promoting greater biodiversity in backyards and anywhere else where humans can assist or enhance the earths natural systems.

1. Observe and Interact Before you start any permaculture project, you want to intimately understand the area you are dealing with. Spend some time observing the site, how it changes during the seasons, what animals might live there, which plants are growing in what areas, what seems to be working well and what may be harming the local system.

2. Catch and Store Energy Sustainable ways of collecting and storing sources of energy, such as heat and water, are vital to maintain a healthy landscape. For instance, you can create areas that will naturally catch and hold water at the bottom of slopes and valleys. This will also prevent runoff and erosion.

3. Obtain a Yield An important part of any ecosystem is to provide food for all the animals that live in it, including humans. As you design your permaculture area, make sure to include spaces to plant annual vegetables as well as perennial food plants, such as fruit trees and berry bushes.

4. Apply Self-regulation and Accept Feedback All ecological systems have their limits. Work within the natural boundaries of your space and dont plant or include more than it can handle. Also make sure to plant appropriate plants for the site. If you have a hot, rocky slope, try planting a mix of drought-tolerant groundcovers and shrubs.

5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services Compost is an obvious example of this principle. You can plant whats called a cover crop in order to create more organic matter. These are plants that are only grown to be cut down and used as compost. Fast-growing plants, such as peas or buckwheat, make good cover crops.

6. Produce No Waste Any sustainable system contains no waste. This may not always be practical in the modern world, but you can take steps to minimize your waste. For instance, when you buy quality tools, they will last much longer than cheaper ones that you would have to throw out more often.

7. Design from Patterns to Details What patterns does your landscape have? Is there a sunny location that would make a good vegetable plot? Or a hard-to-access corner where you could plant a group of native, low-maintenance shrubs? Keep the larger picture in mind before getting into a detailed plan.

8. Integrate Rather than Segregate See if anything can serve more than one function on your site. If you have an area with too much sun exposure, planting a fruit tree will have the double function of providing shade and food.

9. Use Small and Slow Solutions Systems that operate on a smaller scale will naturally use less energy. Growing and transporting vegetables from thousands of miles away from you uses a lot more energy than growing those vegetables in your backyard or buying locally-grown veggies.

10. Use and Value Diversity Landscapes that include a variety of plants and features will create a richer and more sustainable environment. For instance, groups of native shrubs or perennial herbs next to vegetable-growing areas will attract pollinators and provide protection.

11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal There is often more activity and diversity on the edges of an ecosystem, such as a river. Fish and wildlife will spend most of their time along riverbanks where there is more cover, slower water and opportunity for hunting than the middle of the river. This can be applied to your landscape as well by including features like wandering pathways to provide lots of edges for the beds or ponds for greater diversity.

12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change This principle has particular importance as advancing climate change and human development continue to affect our environment. An inspiring example of what can be done to creatively respond to change is in Chinas Loess Plateau.

The Loess Plateau is an area about the size of the state of Texas that was extremely degraded by human use and had essentially become a desert. In 1994, the Chinese government started a massive rehabilitation project of the region. Environmental engineers organized local communities to help make terraces, replant native vegetation, and create areas for agricultural crops.

John D. Liu, director of the Environmental Education Media Project, filmed some amazing before and after shots of what the Loess Plateau project achieved. Its also a great example of what can be done by applying permacultures principles to work with, rather than against, nature.

Check out a short clip from John D. Lius film here:

Sources:
Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability, by David Holmgren

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Read More: 

Permaculture: Landscaping That Works With Nature