Permaculture

What is permaculture?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term permaculture as “the development or maintenance of an artificial ecosystem intended to be self-sustaining and to satisfy the living requirements of its inhabitants, esp. by the use of renewable resources” (n.d.).

However, to permaculture practitioners and proponents, the concept of permaculture is more than its dictionary definition. "Permaculture design" is a holistic design framework that re-imagines the relationship between humans and the natural world when planning developments and food systems, whereas "permaculture" itself refers to a broader concept that embodies the ethos of environmental stewardship, regeneration, as well as social and ecological justice (Spangler et al., 2021). On the Permaculture Association's website, they describe the basics of permaculture as "Earth Care", "People Care", and "Fair Share" (n.d.), which is adopted from the work of Holmgren and Mollison described below.

The History of Permaculture

One of the criticisms of the permaculture community is that proper credit in many publications has not been attributed to the traditional Indigenous knowledge from different parts of the world that certain practices are based upon (Spangler et al., 2021). The process of making amends is an ongoing process and a form of decolonization (Spangler et al., 2021). “Permaculture design and practice draw heavily on Indigenous ecological knowledge but are not always or necessarily equivalent to them; the differences (and similarities) should be respected and explicitly acknowledged” (Spangler et al, 2021, p.10).

However, the word permaculture was first conceived in Australia in 1975 by the co-originators David Holmgren and Bill Mollison. According to Holmgren and Mollison, they combined the words permanens (latin for "lasting") and culture to create the word permaculture, which they used to describe an ecological design system that combined the fields of agriculture, ecology, and landscape design (DogsGoWoof Productions, 2019). They were particularly interested in the observation that natural food systems exist in diverse ecological settings like forests with thriving perennial plants, whereas conventional agriculture typically involves the cultivation of a singular, annual crop that degrades the soil (DogsGoWoof Productions, 2019).

From their research, the field of permaculture was born and they published their first book on permaculture together, entitled Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements (Mollison & Holmgren,1978). To date, both Mollison and Holmgren have published numerous books on the topic. Sadly, Mollison passed away in 2016, while Holmgren continues to write, consult, participate in interviews, and educate regarding permaculture practices in person and through his websites http://holmgren.com.au and http://permacultureprinciples.com.

The 12 Permaculture Design Principles

(Holmgren, 2020)

A summary of Holmgren's permaculture design principles from the book Essence of Permaculture (Holmgren, 2020).

Permaculture Action & Energy Transition

Pc_Flower_Poster_EN.pdf

Source: https://permacultureprinciples.com/resources/free-downloads/

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/au/

Permaculture design principles and the associated ethics can help guide us when imagining how our communities will need to adjust as our society transitions away from fossil fuels.

The "Permaculture Flower" poster outlines the "seven domains of permaculture action" (Permaculture Principles, n.d.). For each of the seven domains listed on the petals, excellent actionable ideas are listed that individuals and/or communities can implement to embrace permaculture design principles and ethics. A few examples of these actions are described in more detail below:

Food Forests
Biodynamic Farming
Passive Solar Design

Photo by Michael Burrows from Pexels

Food Forests

Food forests may be considered the original method of gardening, as the concept is based on Indigenous knowledge of horticulture and forest management (Frey & Czolba, 2017). Food forests create an ideal environment for foraging as they are planted to supply local, organic food, while restoring ecosystems and enriching the soil (Frey & Czolba, 2017). A typical food forest is planted to include seven layers of trees and plants that mostly yield edible food: the canopy (trees), understory (shorter trees), shrub layer, herb layer, ground cover, vines, and the root zones (Frey & Czolba, 2017).

Food forests have been planted all over the world and in different climates. In 2018, the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation planted the first phase of their new food forest (sakaw pimatan in Cree) to address food sovereignty concerns and to regenerate the local ecosystem (Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, n.d.). Please click here if you would like to learn more about the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation’s sakaw pimatan.

Biodynamic Farming

While conventional agriculture practices like plowing and the use of herbicides and pesticides tend to degrade the soil, biodynamic farming is an organic agricultural method with a focus on soil regeneration (Demeter Canada, 2021). According to Demeter Canada (the organization that certifies biodynamic farms in Canada), biodynamic farming uses many different techniques (including but not limited to) "crop rotation, composting, inter-planting, careful treatment of livestock to ensure both longevity and quality, and seed saving" (Demeter Canada, 2021). The importance of soil regeneration to enhance the ability for healthy plants and soils to capture large amounts of carbon is highlighted in the trailer for the documentary Kiss the Ground (Kiss the Ground, 2020). The full documentary is currently streaming on Netflix.

Photo by Sippakorn Yamkasikorn from Pexels

Photo by Dorjan Frrokaj from Pexels

Passive Solar Design

A passive house is built according to a set of specific design standards to create an incredibly energy efficient home that can be adapted for both warm and cold climates (International Passive House Association, 2018). A combination of heavy insulation, high-quality windows, excellent ventilation, and other construction design elements help to ensure that solar energy is captured “passively” to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the home (International Passive House Association, 2018). These methods significantly reduce energy consumption, and the costs associated with heating and cooling a home may be reduced up to 90% (International Passive House Association, 2018).