The Long Lost Art of Permaculture #1: Sustainability
The basis of permaculture is... sustainability!
I chose to start with this idea first. Partly because (in my opinion) it's the most important principle, but also for life to be possible there has to be sustainability. That might come through as an obvious statement, but MANY people disregard the importance of it. Sustainability is an energy audit which means that the system has to produce more energy than it consumes. In a sustainable system you're making it easy on yourself! Minimal input with maximum output. It sounds great, but you need design to transition into an efficient system. It also helps when the massive forces of Earth are on your side, so we will try to use that to our advantage as much as possible.
The 3 ethical principles of permaculture:
- Care For The Earth
- A care for the earth is our utmost priority. If there is no Earth there is no you, or the rest of us for that matter. We depend on it for all of our necessities.
- Care For The People
- In today's distant society most have all but forgotten how much we need each other. Instead of doing EVERYTHING yourself you could trade with others, and simply make your life more efficient. We do this daily at the @gardenofeden, and you wouldn't believe how much easier life can be when we work together.
- Return Of Surplus
- If you are designing a sustainable system there will be a surplus. There are many options of what to do with it, but it boils down to returning it to the Earth and the people. I'll be going into these options more in future posts.
"Ethics is what you do in the dark when no one’s watching."
~ Rushworth Kidder
Living by these values is a formula for success as the system provides it's own fuel to survive. Maintaining a healthy relationship with the Earth and the people on it ensures the survival of our species. Solution oriented thinking and moral obligation is what this world needs!
These are all original photos. I want to again thank @quinneaker and @gardenofeden for their undying love for everyone, and showing me what sustainability is really about. Thanks @almiller for the ideas, and thanks @apollomission for introducing me to permaculture. Until next time, peace steemians.
Nice post, Riley! Many juicy tidbits in here that can be expanded in their own right: "...most have all but forgotten how much we need each other" really sticks out to me. Looking forward to more blogs in this series!
Thanks Sara! I could elaborate more on some concepts; grateful for the feedback.
I like how you encapsulated those three principles into your own words and experience -- in a very succinct way, too. Your third principle really jumps out at me. I have so much surplus from my yard, with so little effort. It's amazing how productive a system can be, especially if we recognize how edible some of the weeds, trees, and shrubs are. Happy sustainable gardening!
Thanks for your input! Some weeds are tasty too. Such a waste pulling them up
Pull them up to eat them up! :D
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone, I see
: )
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Calling permaculture a long lost art is a bit a misnommer. While it does bear similarites to things that humans have done before; it is a new way of thinking about the problems of agriculture. Permaculture is not a step back in time and its damaging to suggest that it is.
Many methods of permaculture are ancient. It's obviously not a step back in time, but it is a revival of sorts. I don't know where you live, but I live in the U.S. and dysfunctional agriculture has taken over. To suggest I'm damaging permaculture is comical. I'm encouraging people to be more sustainable and using permaculture as a tool to do that.