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Permaculture
DESIGN COURSE 2.0

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CHAPTER

CONCEPTS AND
THEMES IN DESIGN
 Permaculture in Practice:
Landscape and Society
This chapter will prepare you for what’s to
come. We will learn the conceptual basis for the
designs we will be making. Now is when
diversity, stability, yields, times, and other key
components of permaculture design begin to
become a little clearer, and they begin to
connect in ways that are deeper than even can
be fully conceptualized. The reasons we use
nature as a model, rather than something to
control, will begin to make more sense, and
from this new understanding, the concepts and
themes of building long-term permaculture
systems will develop into something real.
CHAPTER 02 / CONCEPTS AND THEMES IN DESIGN
Permaculture is based on science, and while it
may include both hard (laboratory) and soft (life)
sciences, permaculture systems are alive. Unlike
in a laboratory, the elements are not meant to
be fully controlled; rather, we are meant to
observe them, adapt to their ever-changing
conditions, and design based on what works,
not necessarily on what we want to work.
In this way, permaculture has far-reaching benefits;
this course supplies the training and skills needed
to obtain them in potentially all human endeavors.
However, as a measure of effecting much-needed
change quickly, permaculture first concentrates on
areas already settled, converting practices that are
destroying the planet, such as poorly placed large-
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scale agriculture systems, into designs that will re-
pair it. This transformation happens at home, within
our local communities, and throughout the now
intimately connected world population.
Designs like this are less energy-intensive and
wildly diverse, yet they still provide huge yields
(noting that permaculture yields are not in one
specific crop alone but comprise the totality of
what a space produces). Ethically, we are
stewarding new, dynamic ecosystems towards
productive maturity, not just growing fields of
crops.
For our designs, there are no exact rules. We
search for the edge of order and chaos, for it is
at this border that things reach their most
naturally productive state. If there is one law in
our designs, it is that of putting back into the
system what we take from it. This is how our
designs can create a surplus and constantly
improve their own conditions. Moreover, we
extend the lives of things—plants, homes, tools
so as not to constantly require more than what
is needed to replace them. Our goal is to foster
systems, which we are part of, that sustain
themselves by producing more energy than
they consume. We try to do this with the least
amount of change necessary for the greatest
positive effects.
Good permaculture design makes responsible use Cycles are how we look at time in permaculture de-
of resources, with particular attention to natural el- signs, observing how events recur within the system
ements like the sun, rain, and landscape, but also to and taking advantage of that. By recognizing the
living elements like animals and plants. We recog- time patterns in nature, we can carefully consider
nize the particular characteristics of resources: that our moments of interference. We can also sequence
plants might grow better when we prune or pick how we plant things together or which animals
from them, how water flows aren’t really affected by graze in what order. By paying attention to the sun’s
us using them for energy, or that fossil fuel reserves cycles, we can use solar energy to better heat our
are limited and should be relied on sparingly. We homes in the winter or shade them in the summer.
also note that some resources, such as chemical The moon cycles tell us when to plant or harvest or
pesticides, are just too damaging to use. In this way, transplant. The weather cycles let us know the best
we back away from the modern idea of progress time to plant or apply compost or conserve water for
for a concept based on living systems and endless irrigation. By paying attention to the cycles, we are
supply lines. able to predict, not infallibly but with some proba-
bility, what will happen within our designs. That’s a
Yields are not the same as resources, but rather they powerful thing to know.
are the surpluses of the system, what remains after
it has maintained itself. Unlike commercial agricul-
ture, we don’t focus on singular elements or crops;
instead, we note that yields holistically come in
various forms: energy, nutrition, social life, or many
other things. We design to take what is needed, not
pushing our systems beyond permanent produc-
tiveness, but neither allowing them to over-supply
and pollute the system. We work to fill empty niches
in space and time with productive elements for the
system as a whole, measuring our yields by what an
area produces in total as opposed to how much of
one thing comes from a garden.

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 Getting
Stuck in the
Food Web
Today’s food supply chains are presented more as
a pyramid. Humans are atop the pyramid, followed
by other animals, insects, and plants, respectively. In
reality, just as in the garden, things are much more
interconnected than this. Humans eat plants and
insects, insects eat animals and plants, plants feed
on the decaying of everything, and so on. In other
words, food supply chains are much more web-like
than pyramid, with all elements interacting.

Plant-based diets add an interesting wrinkle in that

CHAPTER 02 / CONCEPTS AND THEMES IN DESIGN

they bypass the animal element of natural sys-

tems, which actually plays a vital role in converting
inedible biomass quickly into fertility for plants. For
plant-based systems to work self-sufficiently, very
special attention must be paid to returning all sur-
plus to maintain fertility. A plant-based diet based
on industrial farming, or any diet based on industrial
farming, is not sustainable nor good for the planet.

Omnivorous diets, however, are a bit more reflective

of how natural systems work. Animals are an inte-
gral part to a self-maintaining ecosystem. They help
to quickly deal with overabundance in plant matter,
breaking down organic matter much faster than
composting does. They help with naturally tilling,
fertilizing, clearing, and maintaining systems. When
incorporated as part of a holistic system, rather than
factory farmed, animals play a vital role in keeping
the system functioning.

However, those in the top echelon of omnivorous

diets are exposed to all of the potential toxins and
diseases that can accumulate in our food sources,
both plant and animal. This is a real problem these
days. On the other hand, plant-based diets are more
susceptible to famines and unusual weather events,
when crop production goes sideways. Also, with
climate change, this is a real problem. Whatever the
case, the home garden is by far the most sustaina-
ble, and likely safest, way to get food.

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Complexity & Connections,
Order & Chaos - What Next?
Permaculture integrates disciplines, incorporating everything from renewable energy sources to
innovative agricultural techniques to eco-construction. As the designers, we are finding as many beneficial
connections between these elements as possible, creating complex systems that become more stable
through being linked to so much. If one thing fails, many are there to step in. Simpler systems, such as a
monoculture field, are much less steady. When we look closely at natural systems, we find that the amount
of connections between elements and the number of elements interacting is uncountable. Permaculture
systems, being living systems, behave the same way.

We are striving to dance on that border between
order and chaos, where the wild productivity of a
rainforest is still within reach but the manageability
of the garden hasn’t escaped us. When we under-
supply our systems, building a minimal amount
of connections, the systems become energy hogs,
reliant completely on external inputs and labor.
These systems the current agricultural system take
in more energy than they provide and don’t renew
themselves, so they ultimately fail. A mature rainfor-
est may look completely chaotic as we walk through
it, but in actuality, the plants and animals there are
all playing specific roles that keep it going strong.
Natural systems like this, full of connections, don’t
need our help.
Tidiness and order are different things. Tidiness is
what we create with lawns and ornamental gardens,
and in reality, naturally speaking, these areas are
chaotic. A natural system does not work this way,
and that is why a prize-winning lawn takes so much
effort and energy to maintain. All of the fertility
must be brought in. All of the maintenance must be
supplied, usually through fossil fuel energy sources.
There are so few connections in the system, so little
complexity, that it will either die or give way to na-
ture if human intervention and external inputs aren’t
constant. In other words, it’s time to reconsider what
order and chaos are. We’ve gotten it all wrong.

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 Meet Our Friends:
Function, Diversity, & Stability
Functions can be permitted or forced. In living systems, every element performs many functions, but in
design, we can definitely risk over-reaching these requirements. For example, factory farms create unnatural
productivity, generating overworked, unhealthy animals dependent on antibiotics because they are living in
horrible conditions. Chickens have more natural functions than eggs, cows more than beef, plants more than
crops. Instead, the elements within a system should benefit the overall, biologically (and otherwise) diverse
productivity. Designers should be looking at inputs and outputs and trying to find a fair and natural balance
between them, not an abundance that is exploitative.

Nature is diverse, even in its harshest conditions; Through diversity and balanced function, we create
therefore, our systems are designed to be so as well. stable systems that regulate themselves, providing
With diversity, individual elements have multiple a constant yield but also constantly adjusting to
CHAPTER 02 / CONCEPTS AND THEMES IN DESIGN

functions that help to maintain stable systems. We
design such that our systems have purposeful di-
verseness seen in a network of positive connections
between the elements there. Each component sup-
plies the needs of others and processes the abun-
dance in a uniquely beneficial way. Information is
critical for putting together such systems, so we are
always observing, recording, reading, reproducing
and expanding on multi-functional designs.
what’s around: new plants, new animals, different
weather, escalating temperatures, novel problems
and opportunities. In this way, we cannot predict the
end result of a self-regulating system, save to say that
it will create abundance in many forms and our job
will be to adapt and responsibly manage that into a
system that also works for us. There are productive,
tribal agriculture systems that have been supplying
food for millennia. This is the way we must once
again come to approach food production: as if there
is a future. The stability of the systems we produce
now is that future.

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In the End, There Is Time & Yield
The hope behind our designs is that systems reach
maturity. In mature systems, our yields lessen but
so does our input, dramatically so. We also have a
much more diverse yield, supplying the multiple
needs of an actual existence, not just of a
temporarily profitable business. The American
prairies once supported endless herds of
migratory animals and countless species of plants,
but we fenced them, cultivated only a few grasses,
and replaced wild animals with domesticated cows.
Now, those same areas produce a miniscule fraction
of what they once would have supplied, and in the
meantime, the land’s fertility is steadily
diminishing. In the end, we are left with desert
landscapes. Instead, we are looking to create the
multiple cycles that we find in nature, which are
both productive and regenerative, as well as annual
and perennial.
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Glossary
Cycles:
the way we look at time within permaculture systems, recognizing
that things are not occurring linearly as the centuries suggest but
through repetition. Examples of cycles of time include the rise and
fall of the sun and moon, the daily repeated activities, the seasons,
and even the process of decomposition and life growing from it.
These cycles are what affect our designs.
Desertification:
the degradation of once productive land into a desert landscape.
Agricultural techniques such as monocultures and slash-and-burn
are huge causes of this, but deforestation, used as part of these
agricultural techniques, disrupts natural water cycles and is the root
cause of desertification.
Entropy:
the amount of energy once present in a system but no longer
available to do work. A classic example of entropy is getting rid of
rainwater as quickly as possible, missing out on its potential. Instead
of draining rain away, in permaculture, we keep it the system as long
as possible to make the most of it, minimizing entropy.
Functions:
the roles, potentially numerous, that an element can play within
a system. There are two types of functions, forced and permitted.
Forced functions are creating conditions in which something over-
produces, such as in an over-fertilized orchard, and this ultimately
leads to an unhealthy system. Permitted functions are those in
which an element is allowed to produce within its natural limits
while still providing beneficial outputs.
Guild
: a polyculture design in which plants, animals, and other elements
interact and has roles benefitting the system as a whole. Guilds are
generally centered on a large fruit-producing tree and includes a
dozen or more productive support species, such as—to name but a
few—soil-enriching legume trees, pest-repelling herbs, and pollina-
tor-attracting flowers.
Hard science:
the branch of science in which studies are very controlled to create
standard results. Chemistry and physics are examples of this kind of
science because their experiments and data are based on stabi-
lizing elements and controlling conditions to produce replicable
outcomes.
Holistic:
considering all elements within a system as relevant and interde-
pendent. We often see holistic approaches with medicine, in which
treating the entire body is viewed as the means for curing a specific
condition. We do the same in permaculture systems by recognizing
that all the diverse parts—energy, water, food, people—of our system
depend on each other, so we can’t focus solely on a singular crop.
Law of return:
in nature, what is taken out of a system to feed trees or animals is
put back in with decomposition or fertile excrement. Permaculture
designs adopt the law of return, extending the life via cycles and
minimizing the pollution of creating them.
Monoculture:
the practice of growing or producing a single crop, be it vegetable,
fruit, or animal. This goes against the way natural systems function,
which is through diversity, and in turn, it creates a chaotic structure
that can’t support itself. This is why agriculture today relies on a slur-
ry of chemical and externally-sourced inputs. Instead, we are striving
to create diverse polycultures that are sustainable.
Niche:
a space of specific conditions in which something can fit. Permacul-
ture designs seek to fill ecological niches with productive plants, pro-
viding us with higher and more diverse yields with less maintenance.
This is how we prevent weeds and invasive species from taking over.
We also seek to find niches in the marketplace, allowing us to grow
reasonable amounts of specialty crops for larger financial returns.
Resources:
anything that we can use to benefit the system. In permaculture,
resources are defined as more than materials and include intrinsic
elements like the sun, water flows, and landscapes, as well as living
elements, like animals and plants.
Slash-and-burn:
an agricultural technique in which plants and trees are cut down
and burned in order to create a field. While this technique has
existed for centuries, used in quick cycles, it will completely destroy
the fertility of the land. The fire kills the soil life, a sustainable source
of fertility, in exchange for a quick, short-term return of exhaustible
nutrients via combustion. Plus, it’s a tremendous cause of pollution.
Soft science:
the branch of science in which life mixes to create variable results.
In this kind of science, observation can lead to meaningful predic-
tions but the outcomes aren’t so rigid as in the hard sciences.
Trophic pyramid:
an (inaccurate) method of viewing the distribution of food supply
lines. Typically, the trophic pyramid has man on the top, followed by
controlled distribution of larger supply lines domesticated animals,
insects, and eventually plants. In reality, food supply lines are more
complex and web-like, with each element interacting with the
others.
Yields:
a surplus of resources, different from resources as they can be easily
measured and understood. Rather than a conventional view of gar-
dening, in which all crops are yields for humans to enjoy, a permac-
ulture view recognizes the need for a system to internally meet the
needs of those plants that produce crops for humans. For example,
fertility and mulch material are also desirable and necessary yields.
Equally so, over-harvesting from old growth forests is not a yield
because it is taking more than the surplus and destroying the forest
system.
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