What is Permaculture

An ecological science - the study of nature and natural systems
A design system for self-reliant living
Everything is connected to everything else
Integration of water, people, animals, land, plants, technologies , and community
productive and beautiful environments.
Build harmony, through cooperation with an attitude of Positivism
Global grass roots movement applicable on all scales and in all situations.

Long term self-reliance - consider seven generations
A generation is the average time interval between the
birth of parents and the birth of their offspring.
Work with nature rather than against it
Think globally act locally
Plan for small scale energy efficient systems - intensive rather than extensive
Eat a bio-regional diet-bring food growing to the cities
Hold water and fertility as high on the land as possible
The problem is the solution- - turn constraints into resources
Reforest - restore earth fertility
Emphasize native plants
Increase sum of yields
a.) Succession, natural ecosystems change over time giving rise to
different plants and animals
b.) Stocking, find the balance of various elements keeping one from
overpowering the other(s), number of elements in a guild
c.) Stacking, multi-level functions for each element
Invent and re-invent - close the loops
Whatever we take, we must return:
One calorie in/ One calorie out = sustainability
input = output=energy cycling
The user must pay (ie: recycling, tree tax, seed collecting, composting, energy)
Start small and making lots of little mistakes.
The earth, Gaia, is the super client
Permaculture starts at your doorstep and is a way of life.
he work of the permaculture designer is to maximise useful energy storages in any system on which they are working, be it house, urban property, rural lands, or gardens.