From: gav (gav_gc@yahoo.com.au)
Date: Wed Oct 05 2005 - 04:45:38 BST
hey all,
for those interested:
permaculture (short for permanent agriculture or
simply permanent culture) originated in tasmania,
australia in the 70s. an new interdisciplinary course
at the university of tasmania (combining agriculture,
design, and town planning) was the trigger: a guest
lecturer called bill mollison gave a series of
lectures for the course. together with one of the
students - david holmgren - he went on to coin the
term 'permaculture' and together they wrote
'permaculture one' the fist book exploring the
production of sustainable human settlements.
okay enough history, now for some basics:
from 'introduction to permaculture' by bill mollison
and reny mia slay
"permaculture is about designing sustainable human
settlements. it is a philosophy and approach to land
use which weaves together microclimate, annual and
perennial plants, animals, soils, water management and
human needs into intricately connected, productive
communities"
"the prime directive of permaculture: the only ethical
decision is to take responsibility for our own
existence and that of our children, now."
"permaculture ethics:
in permaculture we embrace a threefold ethic: care of
the earth, care of people, and dispersal of surplus
time, money and materials towards these ends.....
the permaculture system also has a basic life ethic,
which recognises the intrinsic worth of every living
thing. a tree is something of value *in itself*, even
if it has no commercial value for us. that it is alive
and functioning is what is important. it is doing its
part in nature: recycling biomass, providing oxygen
and carbon dioxide for the region, sheltering small
animals, building soils etc.
So we see that the permaculture ethic pervades all
aspects of environmental, community, economic and
social systems. CO-OPERATION, NOT COMPETITION, IS THE
KEY."
Some permaculture design principles:
elevational planning:
water flows downhill. it is cooler at the bottom
multiple functions:
every element should be placed so that serves 2 or
more functions. eg a tree may provide fruit for
eating, shade for chickens, be a trellis for a vine
etc
sectors:
channeling external energies (wind, sun, fire) into or
away from the system. eg firebreaks/fire resistant
species to control fire danger; dams to collect water;
trees planted to shield dwelling from prevailing wind
or summer sun.
zones: the placement of elements depends on the
importance, priorities and number of visits needed for
each element.
zone 0 = house
zone 1 = immediate area around house. suitable for
herb garden and vegies, some fruit eg lemon tree,
workshop, nursery/greenhouse, small animals.
zone 2 = next concentric layer. intensively managed
vegies, orchard, larger shrubs and trees, ponds,
poultry
zone 3 = not intensively maintained. unmulched
orchards, pastures, woodlot, windbreaks, large trees.
zone 4 = semi-managed; semi wild. timber, bushfoods.
zone 5 = wild. unmanaged. for observation and learning
and meditation. we are vistors here not managers.
maximise edge:
the interface bewteen two ecosystems represents a
third more complex ecosystem which combines both. also
species are found at the edge that exist in neither of
the bordering ecosystems. there is more life at the
edge.
relative location:
to enable a design component to function maximally we
must put it in the right place
diversity:
the number of functional connections between elements.
it is not the number of things but the number of ways
in which things work....a guild of elements working
harmoniously together.
patterns:
design from patterns to details. the patterns we
observe in nature and then use in design allow our
elements to flow and function in beneficial
relationships. in designing with nature rather than
against it, we can create landscapes that operate like
healthy natural sytems, where energy is conserved,
wastes are recycled and resources made abundant.
biological resources:
use plants and animals wherever possible to save
energy and do the work of the farm or system. eg why
weed when chooks love to and fertilise as they go; why
buy a dishwasher when the kids can do it!
natural succession:
evolution of a system. to enable a cultivated system
to evolve toward a long-term stable state, we can
construct a system...carefully planning the succession
of plants and animals so that we can receive short,
medium and long term benefits. eg plant leguminous,
pioneer and green mulch species first. they improve
the soil and provide support for the slower growing
crop species (eg fruit trees) that succeed them.
energy cycling:
stop the flow of energy/nutrient off the site. turn
them into cycles instead. ie produce no waste, waste
no resource. catch and store energy in the system:
make hay while the sun shines.
multiple elements:
every function(eg water collection, fire prevention)
is served in two or more ways.
to finish another defn, from 'permaculture: a
designer's manual' bill mollison, tagari press.
"permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance
of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the
diversity, stability and resilience of natural
ecosystems. it is the harmonious integration of
landscape and people providing their food, energy,
shelter, and other material and non-material needs in
a sustainable way. without permanent agriculture there
is no possibility of a stable social order.
permaculture design is a system of assembling
conceptual, material and strategic components to
benefit life in all its forms.
the philosophy behind permaculture is one of working
with rather than against nature; of protracted and
careful observation rather than protracted and
thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their
functions, rather than asking only one yield of them;
and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own
evolutions."
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