Permaculture is a method of designing sustainable human settlements similar to natural ecosystems based on ethical land management. This agricultural practice does not only concern the cultivation of the land, but also our social relationships and those of the natural environment around us. The term, coined in Australia in 1978 by Bill Mollison, initially meant “permanent agriculture”. Nowadays Permculture takes on the broader meaning of “permanent culture” because, as Mollison states, it has “a sustainable agricultural basis and an ethic of land use”. The design principles of this method have a scientific basis in systems ecology.
The fundamental principle of Permaculture recognises the application of low impact ecological methods in agricultural production systems as a means of achieving the indispensable balance between man and Nature.
The ethics on which it is based are as follows:
- care of the earth ( of the soil and our planet)
- care of people ( one another, but also care of ourselves)
- investment of surplus time, money and materials to comply with the first two points, according to Bill Mollison, or limiting our consumption to our needs and sharing the surplus (sharing the earth’s resources fairly and equitably), in the elaboration of David Holmgren
Then there are 12 principles, namely methods to follow in order to comply with the Permaculture ethic:
- observe and interact
- store and conserve energy
- secure a harvest
- apply self-regulation and accept feedback
- use and value renewable resources and services
- avoid producing waste
- design from model to detail
- integrate instead of separate
- small and slow is beautiful
- use and value diversity
- use and value the margin
- react to changes and use them creatively
It is recommended to combine the wisdom of traditional farming methods with modern technological and scientific skills.