Permaculture (Permanent Culture) - by Jesse Lemieux
A design system for healthy human habitats, drawing on the principles of natural systems for inspiration.
Most simply stated, permaculture is a "design system" or "design science." Permaculture is a termed coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, in the late 1970s. Permaculture is a concept that evades any single definition, it is a way of looking at the world and finding solution for uncertain futures, a sustainable way forward. As it is a term that has been defined many times over, here is short list of permaculture definitions found on the internet. A common thread through all definitions of permaculture is the coupling of human habitat and ecological harmony. Most every thing else in these definitions is any elaboration of these two key features. In order to get a really good idea of permaculture come to one of our courses
"Consciously designed
landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature,
while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for provision of
local needs. People, their buildings and the ways in which they organize
themselves are central to permaculture."
-David Holmgren
"The conscious design and maintenance of
agriculturally productive ecosystems to create the diversity, stability,
and resilience of natural eco-systems. This form of agriculture seeks
the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food,
energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a
sustainable way."
-Communitys Conservation and Markets
"The
design, installation and maintenance of indefinitely sustainable human
communities set in balanced ecologies, both urban and rural."
-http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/permaculture
"Permaculture is a
philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted
& thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless
action; of looking at systems in all their functions rather than asking
only one yield of them & of allowing systems to demonstrate their
own evolutions."
-Bill Mollison
"Permaculture. A copyright
word, owned as a common copyright by the Permaculture Institutes &
their graduates. Derived from ‘Permanent’ and ‘Culture’, as follows:
Permanent: From the Latin permanens, to remain to the end, to persist
throughout (per = through, manere = to continue)
Culture:
From the Latin cultura - cultivation of land, or the intellect. Now
generalized to mean all those habits, beliefs, or activities than
sustain human societies.
Thus, Permaculture is the study
of the design of those sustainable or enduring systems that support
human society, both agricultural & intellectual, traditional &
scientific, architectural, financial & legal. It is the study of
integrated systems, for the purpose of better design & application
of such systems"
-Bill Mollison
