Permaculture Principles

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES RECOGNIZED BY PERMACULTURE DESIGNERS

Care for the land,

Care for all the peoples of the land,

Promote biological diversity,

Observe, and cooperate with wildness,

Conserve resources, both renewable and non-renewable,

Share the Surplus

Promote carrying capacity limits to population and consumption

Promote harmony, cooperation and beauty

Chaos has form, but is not predictable, thus:

1. Study and mimic natural patterns and shapes (Biomimicry)
2. Consider meta-stability, complexity, entropy, synergism and symbiosis
3. We Observe carefully before action (protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action)

In our learning and practice as designers, we remember:

1. Turn problems into solutions
2. Turn constraints into resources
3. Mistakes are tools for learning (feedback loop)
4. Make the least change for the greatest effect
5. Integrate our living and our work
6. The ability to say “No” to the possible
7. Work within and as part of Nature
8. Value long term association and follow through
9. Our goal is regional resilience through self reliance, not self sufficiency
10. Responsibility is local and specific (no passing the buck)
11. Use local and biological resources with as much implication and recycling imaginable
12. Plan seven generations hence (take the long view)
13. Think globally while we act locally
14. Avoid errors that are irreversible (look to review and team work)
15. Abundance is unlimited, the designer’s imagination and skill are bigger limits to yield than any physical limitations
16. We are designing systems that self manage
17. Start small with intensive and productive systems that are manageable

While designing specific sites, we remember:

1. Slow down, observe the site for one year before making major changes

2. Use onsite resources first and local resources second

3. Use biological intelligence primarily (observe and replicate natural patterns)

4. Choose native species first, unproven exotics last

5. Focus on connections within diversity, not diversity for its own sake

6. Follow the sequences of ecological succession

7. Consider relative location by;

a. Stacking functions and elements

b. Stocking elements with diversity, connections and carrying capacity in mind

c. Placing elements in ways that create time saving connections

d. Setting up working relationships between plants, animals, people, land and structures so the needs of one component are met by the yields of another component.

e. Creating Redundancy – every function is supported by many elements, every element provides many functions

f. Holding water and fertility as high on the landscape as possible

g. Eating a bioregional diet

8. Consider time as an element of design

Other assumptions from theory and observation include:

1. Our goal is systems with closed loops and conservation of nutrients

2. Create a balanced energy flow – one calorie spent for one calorie gained

3. Appropriate technology implies accessibility and ecologically restorative operations

4. The role of authority lies with biology, every action is weighed against ecological restoration

5. There is no waste or pollution – all outputs are potential inputs (make nothing that cannot be recycled, as in industrial ecology)

6. In synergistic systems, the behavior of the whole is not predicted by the behavior of the elements

7. Even without mechanical proof, there is a spiritual aspect to our work

8. As we increase biodiversity, we get pests, plan ahead

9. Build new businesses whose primary aim is ecological and cultural restoration

10. We are all facilitators, we are not separate from natural and artificial systems, our lives are a transformative force

That we reach for beauty, bounty and celebration