Permaculture

Imagine a community that has abundant healthy food, abundant clean water, inexpensive renewable energy, multiple accessible transportation sources, many choices for meaningful work, abundant natural areas, and multiple forms of community support, all affordably accomplished. 

Permaculture is a set of tools for life that has accomplished this in neighborhoods around the world through use of “whole systems design”. So much of our culture is designed without really thinking about the big picture opportunities or consequences. 

Permaculture works with whole systems, because there is more opportunity for healthy, long term yields with much less waste and harm to systems. Here’s an example of how it can work. 

Today’s agriculture, while efficient, is also highly destructive. When we clear fields and plow them, we degrade the soil and open it up to erosion. We have lost millions of tons of high quality topsoil through these methods. That then needs to be replaced by chemical fertilizers, which don’t perform all the functions that a living soil does. 

Thus, plants are more susceptible to disease and pests - we have to use more chemicals to destroy those. This becomes a vicious circle when diseases and pests acquire immunity to the toxins and we have to use stronger and stronger toxins to control them. 

The soil, having lost its ability to hold water, requires more irrigation. We have to now use more of our underground water supplies that also provide water to communities. In some cases, wells have gone dry or nearby communities have been impacted, if not by reduced water availability, by nitrates and other toxins in their water supply from nearby farms. 

Because the soil no longer holds water, it sheets off in heavy rains and can cause more flooding downstream. The dry soil also blows away during windstorms, creating toxic particulates in the air and removing more topsoil from the fields. 

Because fields are more vulnerable to heavy weather and only one type of crop is grown (mono crop), crop insurance becomes a necessity or farmers would go broke when their crop fails (which happens regularly). 

Farms are subsidized by tax money to ensure stability of food supply. There are many other issues that are created by modern agriculture affecting health, water, air quality, local ecologies and wildlife, and overall quality of life. 

What if we could grow just as much food, without these issues? 

Permaculture principles, when applied, have achieved this. Permaculture, applied to agriculture, rebuilds soil, recharges aquifers (underground water supplies), increases biodiversity and wildlife habitat, produces health food without toxic chemicals, reduces flood and drought pressures, increases local food resilience and security, increases local economic resilience, reduces toxins in air, water and food, and more. 

This is achieved by working with nature instead of focusing on destroying natural energies and patterns. Nature has a tremendous ability to recover from damage, when given a chance. When we work with the significant power and force of nature, we create more resilient and productive systems, with less harm. 

Permaculture is a truly regenerative practice as it can actively heal landscapes that have experienced even severe damage. Permaculture design tools and principles are most often utilized by individuals in cities, suburbs or rural communities but can be used by organizations and communities as well.