Permaculture is a branch of ecological design and ecological engineering which developssustainable human settlements and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems.
The core tenets of permaculture are:
Take Care of the Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply. This is the first principle, because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish.
Take Care of the People: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence.
Share the Surplus: Healthy natural systems use outputs from each element to nourish others. We humans can do the same. By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.
Permaculture draws from several disciplines including organic farming, agroforestry,integrated farming, sustainable development, and applied ecology. "The primary agenda of the movement has been to assist people to become more self reliant through the design and development of productive and sustainable gardens and farms. The design principles which are the conceptual foundation of permaculture were derived from the science ofsystems ecology and study of pre-industrial examples of sustainable land use."
Permaculture Institute http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/