Midwest Permaculture & Wayne Weiseman

Fundamentals of Permaculture Webinar Series

Webinar 2 Ethics & Principles

All Slides and Audio Files Wayne Weiseman & Midwest Permaculture

PERMA (permanent) CULTURE

Permaculture is about relationships that we can create between minerals, plants animals and humans by the way we place them in the landscape. The aim is to create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute and are therefore sustainable in the long term. (Bill Mollison)
(Permanent- Latin: per- throughout + manere- to remain; Culture- Middle English: cultivation, tillage; from Old French; from Latin: cultura, from cultus- cultivation, from Germanic: skel- to cut)

Th e Pri me Direct ive o f Permac ul tu re

The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children

The Ethics of Permaculture

Permaculture is unique among alternative farming systems (e.g. organic, sustainable, eco-agriculture, biodynamic) in that it works with a set of ethics that suggest we think and act responsibly in relation to each other and the earth. The ethics of Permaculture provide a sense of place in the larger scheme of things, and serve as a guidepost to right Livelihood in concert with the global community and the environment, rather than individualism and indifference. Care of the Earth includes all living and non-living things- plants, animals, land, water, air. Care of People promotes self-reliance and community responsibility- access to resources necessary for existence. Setting Limits to Population and Consumption gives away surplus- contribution of surplus time, labor, money, information, and energy to achieve the aims of earth and people care. Permaculture also acknowledges a basic life ethic, which recognizes the intrinsic worth of every living thing. A tree has value in itself. Even if it presents no commercial value to humans. That the tree is alive and functioning is worthwhile. It is doing its part in nature: recycling litter, producing oxygen, sequestering carbon dioxide, sheltering animals, building soils and so on.

The Principles of Permaculture Design

Whereas permaculture ethics are more akin to broad moral values and codes of behavior, the principles of Permaculture provide a set of universally applicable guidelines which can be used in designing sustainable habitats. Distilled from multiple disciplines- ecology, energy conservation, landscape design, and environmental science- these principles are inherent in any Permaculture design, in any climate, and at any scale.
Relative location Each element performs multiple functions Each function is supported by many elements Energy efficient planning Using biological resources Energy cycling Small-scale intensive systems Natural plant succession and stacking Polyculture and diversity of species Increasing edge within a system Observe and replicate natural patterns Pay attention to scale Attitude

Permaculture Competencies

Primitive living skills Settlement, village life-ways and folkways Map building and modeling Permaculture principles Concepts and themes in design The local ecosystem Forms of eco-gardening and farming Broad scale, bioregional site design The application of specific methods, laws and principles to design Pattern understanding and observation skills Climatic factors Plants and trees and their energy interactions Water: collection, storage, purification Soils Earth-working and earth resources Zone and sector analysis Food forests and small animal husbandry Cropping and large animal husbandry Harvest and utility forests Natural forests

Aquaculture Planning the homestead Green structures, ecological building practices Craftwork and chores Equipment, tools, bio-fuels and vehicles Renewable energy, system design and implementation Energy conservation Biological waste management and recycling Strategies for different climates Urban and suburban strategies Small farm and garden management and marketing Strategies of an alternative global nation Political, social, economic issues and solutions Designing public policy Land and forest restoration Human settlement and local ecology Site selection, mapping and modeling Dividing, distributing, apportioning land Practical work on design

Yield
System Yield is the sum total of surplus energy produced, stored, conserved, reused, or converted by the design. Energy is in surplus once the system itself has available all its needs for growth, reproduction, and maintenance. Unused surplus results in pollution and more work. The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. Cooperation, not competition, is the very basis of future survival and of existing life systems.