What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a method of working which aims to create sustainable systems by
following nature's patterns.
Permaculture can best be described as an ethical design system applicable to
food production and land use, as well as to the
building of communities.
It seeks the creation of productive and sustainable ways of living by integrating
ecology, landscape, organic principles, architecture and agroforestry. However the
focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather on the relationships created
among them by the way they are placed together; the whole then becoming greater than
the sum of its parts or synergetic.
Permaculture is also about careful and contemplative observation of nature and
natural systems, and of recognizing universal patterns
and principles, then learning to apply these 'ecological truisms' to one's own circumstances.
The core values or principles of permaculture then are
Earthcare, that
we recognise that the Earth is our valuable home and we are a part of the Earth, not apart from it; Peoplecare, that we need to support and help
each other develop to our full potential as well as develop healthy societies and
Fairshares, that we ensure that we recognise that the resources we have are probably limited and need to be utilised and re-invested in
ways that are equitable and wise.
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