Permaculture Design Principles
Observe and Interact
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Catch and Store Energy
Energy flows; materials cycle.
“Make hay while the sun shines.”
Obtain a Yield
“You can’t work on an empty stomach.”
Each Element Performs Multiple Functions
Stacking functions.
Design for Redundancy
Provide backup for critical needs.
Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback
“The sins of the fathers are visited on the children unto the seventh generation.”
Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
“Let nature take its course.”
Relative Location
Needs & Yields.
Use Energy Efficient Planning
Sectors, zones and elevation.
Produce No Waste
“A stitch in time saves nine.” “Waste not, want not.”
“Work where it counts.”
Stack & Pack
Use vertical space, and plant densely.
Design from Patterns to Details
"Can't see the forest for the trees"
Integrate Rather than Segregate
“Many hands make light work.”
Use Small Scale Solutions & Technologies
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
“Slow and steady wins the race.”
Use and Value Diversity
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Use Edges and Value the Marginal
“Don’t think you are on the right track just because it’s a well-beaten path.”
Observe & Replicate Natural Patterns
“Mother knows best.”
Consider Succession
“Stand on the shoulders of those who have come before you.”
Creatively Use and Respond to Change
“Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be.”
“Attitude matters.”
Permaculture
Coming to Wildscape this fall!
Permaculture
• a design system, available to anyone, offering the possibility of disengaging from consumer culture using solutions which emulate natural patterns.
• combining ancient wisdoms with scientific knowledge to form a set of ethics and principles for creating sustainable culture.
• an ecologically balanced lifestyle and a worldwide movement with over half a million Design Course graduates.
Permaculture Design Course
Learn to create Joyful Human Futures
in balance with the Natural World
September 25 - October 9, 2010
INSTRUCTORS: Patricia Allison * with Dylan Ryals-Hamilton,
Mateo Ryall, and guests.
PRICE: $1100 includes tuition, camping**, food, and certification
upon completion — Postmarked by Sept. 1st —
[Buddy discount: $100 off for each person]
TO REGISTER: Call Melissa (preferred) at 828-669-7632
* Patricia Allison is a member of Earthaven Ecovillage, a Permaculture-based intentional community in NC, where she continues to learn and to practice what she preaches. She has taught Permaculture Design Courses since 1994.
Permaculture Design Course Certification Curriculum
The following topics are required elements of the Permaculture Design Course Certification Curriculum:
Ethics
Principles
Pattern Understanding
Design Processes
Ecosystems
Soil
Site Analysis
Trees & Forests
Agroforestry
Water
Wastewater Treatment
Microclimates
Ecosystems
Gardens
Orchards
Natural/Green Building
Appropriate Technology
Animals
Aquaculture
The Home System
Mapping
Economics
Urban Permaculture
Ecovillages
Ecovillage Design
Erosion Control
Earthworks
Design for Human Dynamics
Budgeting & Costs
Cultural Sustainability
FAQs
Many general questions about Permaculture can be answered online at ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) which is funded by the USDA.
How much land do I need in order to apply Permaculture design principles?
Permaculture design principles will be useful to you whether you have a typical backyard or many acres. (See The Practical Application of Permaculture below.)
Who can attend?
Anyone can attend the course, and there are no pre-requisites.
What is the course like?
This course is an intensive learning experience presented by a team of instructors using lecture, discussion, hands-on projects, videos, and site visits as teaching tools. Be prepared for an incredible amount of information to be presented to you during our short time together!
As you can see from the Schedule of Classes (below), our general pattern will be to have two classes in the morning and a hands-on activity plus a class in the afternoons. (This schedule may vary due to weather, guest teacher availability, etc.)
Daily Schedule
7:00 - 8:15 Breakfast8:30 - 12:30 Morning Classes12:30 - 2:30 Lunch Break2:30 - 6:00 Afternoon Classes6:00 - 7:30 Supper7:30 - 9:30 Evening ActivitiesA basic premise of Permaculture is that, as well as learning the practical aspects of sustainability, humans need to re-learn cultural practices that connect them to Earth and to tribe or community. Thus, part of the “invisible structure” of this course is a conscious design for experiencing community and connectivity. We meet in circles, we share words and songs of gratitude and inspiration, we make music, we dance, we work together, we hear each others’ stories. And, because Permaculture attracts some of the most intelligent, dedicated, vital people on the planet, you can expect that the social and cultural aspects of this course will be as rich as the intellectual!
How Difficult is the course?
There will be hands-on projects daily, which are designed for folks of varying degrees of physical strength; each of you will decide how intensely to engage. However, the program is extremely intellectually, psychologically and emotionally stimulating; so applicants should be in good physical and mental health. This is not a good time to begin a severe health regime. If you’ve been living a standard American life, the change in diet and exercise will be challenging enough.
What might I do to prepare for the course?
You can begin to prepare for the course by looking at some of the books mentioned in the Suggested Reading section below. There is no required textbook, but David Holmgren’s book, Permaculture: Pathways Beyond Sustainability or Bill Mollison’s Permaculture Designer’s Manual will get you started thinking like a permaculturist.
Suggested Reading
Permaculture
Gaia's Garden, Toby Hemenway. [the best practical backyard PC book.]
Permaculture: Pathways Beyond Sustainability, David Holmgren.
[the best philosophy of PC book.]
An Introduction to Permaculture, Bill Mollison
Permaculture Designer's Manual, Bill Mollison
Plants/soil
Edible Forest Gardens, Dave Jacke
Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew
How to Grow More Food . . ., John Jeavons
Synergistic Gardening, Emelia Hazelip [video]
Mycelium Running, Paul Stamets
The Humanure Handbook, Joe Jenkins [all you need to know about
recycling "human nutrient residue".]
Anthropology/Culture
The Chalice and the Blade, Riane Eisler. [the story of Dominator
culture replacing Partnership culture]
A Green History of the Earth, Clive Ponting
My Name is Chellis and I'm in Recovery from Western Civilization,
Chellis Glendenning
Ishmael, Daniel Quinn
The Fifth Sacred Thing, Starhawk
To Be Healed by the Earth, Warren Grossman
Peak Oil
The Party's Over, Richard Heinberg
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil [video]
at Wildscape Acres
As an example, standard organic farming and gardening techniques utilizing cover crops, green manures, crop rotation, and mulches are emphasized in permacultural systems. However, there are many other options and technologies available to sustainable farmers working within a permacultural framework (e.g., chisel plows, no-till implements, spading implements, compost turners, rotational grazing). The decision as to which "system" is employed is site-specific and management dependent.
Farming systems and techniques commonly associated with permaculture include agroforestry, swales, contour plantings, Keyline agriculture (soil and water management), hedgerows and windbreaks, and integrated farming systems such as pond-dike aquaculture, aquaponics, intercropping, and polyculture.
Gardening and recycling methods common to permaculture include edible landscaping, keyhole gardening, companion planting, trellising, sheet mulching, chicken tractors, solar greenhouses, spiral herb gardens, swales, and vermicomposting.
Water collection, management, and re-use systems like Keyline, greywater, rain catchment, constructed wetlands, aquaponics (the integration of hydroponics with recirculating aquaculture), and solar aquatic ponds (also known as Living Machines) play an important role in permaculture designs.
Permaculture's Ethical Principles
Earthcare — recognizing that the Earth is the source of all life and that we recognize and respect that the Earth is our valuable home and we are a part of the Earth, not apart from it.
Peoplecare — supporting and helping each other to change to ways of living that are not harming ourselves or the planet, and to develop healthy societies.
Fairshare - (or placing limits on consumption) — ensuring that the Earth's limited resources are utilized in ways that are equitable and wise.
from a Permaculture Design Course in Belize
PBS video: "Transition Cities"
The Practical Application of Permaculture
(from the ATTRA website)
Permaculture is not limited to plant and animal agriculture, but also includes community planning and development, use of appropriate technologies (coupled with an adjustment of life-style), and adoption of concepts and philosophies that are both earth-based and people-centered, such as bioregionalism.
Many of the appropriate technologies advocated by permaculturists are well known. Among these are solar and wind power, composting toilets, solar greenhouses, energy efficient housing, and solar food cooking and drying.
Due to the inherent sustainability of perennial cropping systems, permaculture places a heavy emphasis on tree crops. Systems that integrate annual and perennial crops—such as alley cropping and agroforestry—take advantage of "the edge effect," increase biological diversity, and offer other characteristics missing in monoculture systems. Thus, multicropping systems that blend woody perennials and annuals hold promise as viable techniques for large-scale farming. Ecological methods of production for any specific crop or farming system (e.g., soil building practices, biological pest control, composting) are central to permaculture as well as to sustainable agriculture in general.
Since permaculture is not a production system, per se, but rather a land use and community planning philosophy, it is not limited to a specific method of production. Furthermore, as permaculture principles may be adapted to farms or villages worldwide, it is site specific and therefore amenable to locally adapted techniques of production.
**Camping is encouraged but not required. The site will include a prepared camping area with solar showers and compost toilets. If you need to (or prefer to) sleep in Bonham, there are several options:
Bed & Breakfasts
Carleton House B&B, 803 N Main, 903-583-2779, www.
Granny Lou's B&B, 317 W Sam Rayburn Dr, 903-583-7912
Motels
America's Best Value Inn, 1515 Old Ector Rd & Hwy 121, 903-583-3121
Economy Inn, 713 E Sam Rayburn, 903-583-2154
Click here to listen to an interview with course instructor Patricia Allison
(Episode #12) . . . [interview starts at about 3 min 14 sec. in]
