I’ve recently discovered a treasure-trove of information on one of my favorite subjects: permaculture. I’m referring to the excellent series of 32 videos offered by North Carolina State University’s Distance Ed program, titled HS 432 Introduction to Permaculture. The class is available online – for free – and is taught by permaculture activist Will Hooker, who is a Professor in the Landscape Design program at the University. The content, which amounts to the first half of a permaculture design certificate (PDC), is very thorough and well illustrated through Powerpoint presentations and even a couple of filmed field trips. Each lecture is approximately 75 minutes long and so far, I’ve watched the first ten. I’m addicted!
I first became aware of that word – permaculture – when I came across Gaia’s Garden (by Toby Hemenway) in Barnes & Noble a few years ago. At the time, my primary interest was in wildlife or habitat gardening and I bought the book because I saw mention of these topics in the text. When I got it home and studied it more thoroughly, however, I remember being a little disappointed that the focus was on so much more than just recreating wild habitat. I put it on my shelf and didn’t look at it again for probably two years.
I’m not sure what triggered my renewed curiosity in the subject. About three years ago, I’d accidentally stumbled upon the term “peak oil” and some of the Peak Moment videos on YouTube and thought, “Jiminy cricket! We’re in more trouble than I thought”. I think it was some of the Peak Moment episodes that put “permaculture” back in my consciousness by showing me the amazing changes some of these “permies” had made to their properties and their lives in the quest for smaller, more sustainable lives. At any rate, I was hooked and Gaia’s Garden came back off the shelf.
For the uninitiated, permaculture (permanent + culture or permanent + agriculture) is a sustainability-design methodology that’s based on observations of the natural world. Permaculture isn’t about gardening per se, but since food security is a major concern for anyone with a stomach, many people are first attracted to permaculture by way of gardening. However, because permaculture seeks to design the relationships between things and systems, permie principles can apply to almost every facet of life including business and finance.
Permaculture has three “prime directives” or ethics:
1. Care of the Earth. This is primary; if we can’t (or won’t) care for the only home we have – the home that provides everything we need and use in our lives – then we and all the other life forms on this planet are doomed.
2. Care for people. Caring for ourselves and our community (in ever widening circles) through self-reliance, cooperation and personal responsibility. This is the antithesis of the survivalist mentality.
3. Fair share. Each of us knowing our enough-point and then cooperatively sharing our surplus with the wider community. (Or, as I like to think of it, the “zucchini principle” in action!)
Permaculture originated with two Australian guys by the name of Bill Mollison and David Holmgren – 35 or 40 years ago – and has since spread world-wide. Its application has proven particularly valuable in areas where soil and other resource degradation have created massive food and water insecurities but it’s no less valuable in consumerist countries like the U.S. where the “new normal” is causing a lot of people to rethink their priorities.
Once understood, permaculture principles provide many of the solutions the world will need in the coming decades. Check out Toby Hemenway’s (author of Gaia’s Garden) excellent lecture on this:
Stay tuned for more on this fascinating subject!
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