SYJ - Fall 2015 PERMAC CARE FOR THE EARTH C ARE

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1 SYJ - Fall 2015 PERMAC CARE FOR THE EARTH C ARE 52

2 WRITTEN BY: JENNIFER PALMER PHOTOGRAPHY BY: FRANKLINTON GARDENS & JENNIFER PALMER ULTURE FO R THE PEO PLE FAIR SHARE 53

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4 When you ask the average person about what they think permaculture is, you will likely get a wide variety of responses. Well, at least I did when I asked random strangers who, like me, did not have a background in agriculture or gardening. A few of the guesses included, the practice of making culture permanent, that treatment that women do to their hair to make it curly, and that bio-culture thing they do to yogurt to help us go poop. Needless to say, I felt much better about the fact that I wasn t the only one who really didn t have a clue what the word permaculture meant. Yet, so many of us have been tied to the principles and philosophy of permaculture since the beginning of human civilization. There is quite a lot to learn about and from these ancient CONSERVATION practices to improve our food production, Food Future Whether at home or in your local community, permaculture can help build skills and resilience to help prepare for a future of uncertainty and with less energy from natural resources. conserve our water, and help ease the impacts of climate change. But first, we need to figure out what IS permaculture? 0 55

5 SYJ - Fall 2015 Urban Farms are based in the center of neighborhoods or cities, such as Franklinton Gardens in Columbus, Ohio, are dedicated to growing and sharing healthy food, creating beauty, and building community with neighbors. 56

6 SYJ - Permaculture Special Edition Perma-what? The basics of Permaculture Founder of the Permaculture Institute, Scott Pittman, is one of the foremost experts in the field of permaculture and has taught the subject extensively for the past 20+ years in over thirty countries. He says that the hardest question he is asked to answer is what is permaculture? Pittman knows that the average person asking this question wants a quick sound bite that sums up this topic one that he has devoted an entire lifetime to research and to practice. Here is what Mr. Pittman offers as a place for us to start: What is permaculture? The easy answer is that permaculture is a design discipline based on the foundational ecological principles of nature. One then takes one s observations of natural systems and applies the lessons learned to the human based environment. This easy answer is rife with further questions and implications and generally doesn t satisfy the questioner nor does it instill in them a desire to learn more, even though it is a fairly good definition of permaculture. ~ Scott Pittman, Founder of The Permaculture Institute 1 So, what does instill a desire to learn more about this foreign new concept for many of us? Well, what intrigued me most when I was doing research was the complexity and beauty of something that I once thought was simply a form of gardening or agriculture. Everything from animism, spirituality, environmentalism, politics, and even social justice can be tied to permaculture. I had no idea that how we grow our food could bring so much positivity to the way our natural systems functioned and that some of the most critical issues we face today, such as water shortages and climate change, are intertwined in permaculture. History of Permaculture According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the word permaculture was coined by Australian Bill Mollison in the late 1970 s as a contraction of the words permanent agriculture 2. Starting out as a public interest topic, permaculture was mentioned on a radio talk show in 1975, when Mollison was interviewed about the topic in Melbourne, Australia. Unexpectedly, the switchboard blew up with questions. Mollison then co-published a book with this colleague David Holmgren called Permaculture One and within three years, twenty-five thousand copies had been purchased and the book was sold out of print (*Permaculture Two the second book has also been a huge success) 3. As the buzz grew around the world, associations and regional groups were formed and several journal publications such as The International Permaculture Journal, TRIP The Resources of International Permaculture and Yankee Permaculture have all been produced and continue to circulate ongoing information about the field. Fast-forward to the present: the year 2015 marks the 12th International Permaculture Convergence and Conference where experts from across the globe join forces to share knowledge and best practices. Needless to say, permaculture has greatly expanded over the past 40 years! Permaculture Ethics & Design Principles Larry Santoyo, Founder of City of Planners Permaculture Academy considers permaculture as what we use to tell us what to do 1. But what exactly does this entail and what kind of questions can we get guidance on from permaculture? As an ecological design system that is viewed as an approach to finding solutions for sustainability in all of our undertakings, here are just a few thoughts from The Permaculture Institute for questions permaculture can help us answer 4. How do I decrease my own ecological footprint? How do I direct my money to do good work that restores communities and local economy? for other living things, instead of relying on commercial food supply and all its vices? How do I design a natural home? How do I create abundant gardens? How do I plant food forests? How do I include backyard animals? How do I build biodiversity to protect wildlife How do I harvest rainwater? Although we won t be able to answer most of these questions in a single article, it is helpful to understand that permaculture focuses on three primary ethics and twelve principles. These are the foundation of all things that grow out of this approach to sustainability and it is through these ethics and principles that practitioners see permaculture as the way forward. CONSERVATION 57

7 SYJ - Fall 2015 Permaculture Ethics 5 : Care of the Earth Care of the People Fair Share Permaculture Design Principles 5 : 1) Observe & interact 2) Catch & store energy 3) Obtain a yield 4) Apply self-regulation & accept feedback 5) Use & value renewable resources & services 6) Produce no waste 7) Design from patterns to details 8) Integrate rather than segregate 9) Use small & slow solutions 10) Use & value diversity 11) Use edges & value the marginal 12) Creatively use & respond to change What makes permaculture so special? In a recent article from Columbia University s State of the Planet, author Lakis Polycarpou says that permaculture has a postmodern sensibility in that it borrows from ancient farming techniques and indigenous knowledge while also drawing from the most up-todate understanding and knowledge of geology, biology, physics and systems ecology 6. Based on whole-systems thinking, permaculture has been defined as a creative design process that uses ethics and design principles and by adopting these principles in our daily lives, we can transition from being dependent consumers to becoming responsible producers. Whether at home or in your local community, permaculture can help build skills and resilience to help prepare for a future of uncertainty and with less energy from natural resources. According to the experts at Permaculture Principles, permaculture guides us to mimic the patterns and relationships we can find in nature and can be applied to all aspects of human habitation, from agriculture to ecological building, from appropriate technology to education and even economics 5. There are many methods to permaculture, with different techniques and strategies, especially depending upon what resources are available, location and climatic conditions. However, experts share that through this holistic approach, you can acquire valuable thinking tools that help you become more resilient in an era of change, especially in an era of increasingly expensive energy and declining resources 5. Sustainability and Permaculture Permaculture is one of the many forms of agriculture considered to be sustainable. However, according to John Quinny s article Permaculture in the United States, permaculture is not only unique in its emphasis on design but also the location of each element in a landscape and the evolution of those landscapes over time. The goal of permaculture is to produce an efficient, low-maintenance integration of plants, animals, people and structure... applied at the scale of a home garden, all the way through to a large farm 10. For example, research by the Department of Environmental Affairs in South Africa found Cuba to be an ideal case study of how permaculture can produce food in a low carbon manner with almost no input (fertilizers and pesticides), nor transport and heavy equipment (all of which depend on oil and are sourced externally). Researchers reported, employment was created, and the principle of working with nature was applied by rehabilitating and using the many environmental services (nutrient and inputs recycling) 8. The end result: Cubans produced healthy food that had no external costs. Agricultural development strategies should promote the localization of food production, recognize the negative environmental impacts of monoculture, develop conservation agriculture and permaculture production, require responsible producers to be accountable to local customers, ban Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that kill biodiversity and producer resilience, and last but not least secure land for small-scale agriculture 8. - Department of Environmental Affairs in South Africa, Climate Change Response White Paper 2012 As we have already learned, permaculture has many facets but by far one of the most exciting is its approach to water. As we have learned from the Spring 2014 issue of Shakti Yogi Journal, water resources around the world are in dire despair. Researchers from Columbia University published an article The Permaculture Approach to Water which stated that through intelligent landscape design, it is frequently possible to go beyond conservation of water to actually recharge groundwater supplies 6. Permaculture designers use ancient sustainable farming designs, involving terracing to catch water and grow food on marginal lands. Not only is this method incredibly practical and smart in terms of water conservation, these slopes create beautiful landscapes all over the world. Through a combination of mulching, contour swales, micro-irrigation and careful planting 5, designers have been able to grow food where no one thought it was possible. 58

8 SYJ - Permaculture Special Edition Yummy Leaf Permaculture teaches us to see life in the soil and with good soil begins water conservation, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and resilience. More than planting a garden, permaculture helps our world develop ethical economies and communities. CONSERVATION 59

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10 SYJ - Permaculture Special Edition Permaculture Zones: Permaculture often operates by the use of zones. Zones are a way of intelligently organizing design elements in a human environment on the basis of the frequency of human use and plant or animal needs. Check out these common permaculture zones to learn more about the design: Zone 0 The house. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live and work. Zone 1 The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, etc. Raised beds are often used in zone 1 in urban areas. Zone 2 This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards, pumpkins, sweet potato, etc. This would also be a good place for beehives, larger scale composting bins, and so on. Zone 3 The area where main-crops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control maybe once a week. Zone 4 A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as production of timber for construction or firewood. Zone 5 A wilderness area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural ecosystems and cycles. Through this zone we build up a natural reserve of bacteria, moulds and insects that can aid the zones above it. *Source: Burnett, G, Permaculture a Beginner s Guide 9 To achieve sustainable economic development it is vital to work within the community and work with the environment instead of fighting with the forces of nature. 8 -Pierre-Louis Lemercier from Renewable Energy and Transition Network Permaculture and You Now that you have a bit more insight into what permaculture actually is and how zones, ethics and principles play a vital role, the real impact starts with you. Gardens are often the first step for permaculture applications at home, with focus on growing your own food, protecting biodiversity and seed sovereignty, encouraging wildlife habitat and native pollinators, building soil fertility and, ultimately, imbuing your own home and community with the gifts of good land. 4 The Permaculture Institute However, permaculture extends far beyond a method of gardening, ecological agriculture or organic farming with a twist. After a lifetime of devotion to the study and sharing of permaculture practices, Scott Pittman sums it up beautifully by saying permaculture focuses on the interconnections between things more than individual parts. He says that permaculture teaches us to see life in the soil and with good soil begins water conservation, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and resilience. More than planting a garden, permaculture helps our world develop ethical economies and communities. Whether you are novice or a noteable to the permaculture world, it is clear that the connectivity of this approach is one that can transcend many areas of our lives. Together, we can utilize even the basic ethics and principles of permaculture to learn so much more about one another and about our planet. Personally, I have fallen in love with the simplicity of care for the Earth, care for the people, and fair share as a way to step into each day and moment. You may or may not have a green thumb, or live in a space that offers the opportunity to plant your own garden or get involved in local agriculture, farming or living directly off the land around you. Yet, I believe that permaculture can be viewed as one of those unique threads that can truly connect humanity. Person to person, community to community, we humans tend to always be better served by deepening our roots to one another, as well as to our precious plants, animals and earthly elements. REFERENCES 1- related-terms Burnett, G, Permaculture a Beginner s Guide (Spiralseed, 2001 ISBN ) 10-Quinney,John. Permaculture in the United States, The New Alchemy Quarterly (Spring 1986) 23: p. 3. NAL Call # S589.7 N48 CONSERVATION 61