From Envirowiki

Permaculture is a portmanteau of the words "permanent", and "agriculture". In essence, it is the design and implementation of a system agriculture that maximises output and requires low energy and nutrient input (ie. fertilisers and pesticides). In this way it can be seen as one of the most sustainable ways of living off the earth.

Permaculture is not a new thing, rather it is a collation of many systems from all over the world (especially indigeous systems) that just work. It is generally counterpoised to modern agricultural systems, which farm in a rigid, orderly, "rational" way, using vast fields of monocultures. Permaculture systems, on the other hand, thrive on diversity, and the interconnectedness of all life (plants, insects, birds, mammals, fungi, microbes etc.). It is much more closely associated with ecology than modern farming, and generally contributes to maximising soil health, rather than leeching nutrients.

The concept, or the framework of the concept, was formed in Tasmania, Australia, in the 1970s, by Bill Mollison, and David Holmgren. It spread from there, especially due to 1970s-80s fears of imminent peak oil and energy shortages. It has been getting even more attention over the last decade, due to advanced scientific understanding of the surety of peak oil and climate change, the effects of which permaculture can mitigate and minimise.

Permaculture is pretty easy to get into - there's plenty to read for free (check the external links below for starters), and in many towns/regions there's a permaculture group (check your phone book). Talk about it with people you know, share ideas, and get started! A basic plan of your site is a good way to figure out what works where, then get digging!

[edit] Criticism and problems

Permaculture is an excellent system, but it has one problem in a design sense - it's permanent. This can be a problem for people living in transient housing. Permaculture generally takes a long view of the future, but if your tenure is short - 12 months or so - then you may have problems creating something permanent. However this is mostly actually a problem with the private-property regime that's the status quo in most of the world, and not with permaculture.

The temporariness of this situation can be overcome in a number of ways - saving seeds (one of the tenets of permaculture), potted plants that can be moved, chicken tractors. There's an example of this temporary permaculture approach in a Peak Moment" video on youtube.

[edit] external links

• The Permaculture Wiki on wikia.com
• Permaculture.org.au - the Permaculture research institute