"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
 before starting to improve the world"  Anne Frank

A Permaculture Lifestyle

No two permaculture people live the same way, but both can be sustainable. It's not about what to think but how to think.
Before After  What is Permaculture?  More ideas

AFTER Permaculture
Resources going IN: Water Less supplied water, Rain water, localised humidity and condensation, natural cloud seeding. Energy more natural lighting and heating, shade and insulation Housework interesting, interactive and diverse, productive. Materials local, natural, recycled, organic, sustainable, minimum packaging and transportation Food fresh, local, nutritious, minimum packaging and processing. Air filtered and directed.
Resources going OUT: Water Compost toilet, grey water to garden, natural water filter system, poultry, fish, birds and wildlife access water. Energy Reflected heat utilised by plants and animals, smoke and gases filtered, particles captured. 'Rubbish' most recycled, compost and mulched. Surplus of food, animals, fertiliser and fuel shared, less pressure on existing farms and forests, Higher real estate value on the property.  People working more at home, producing more of their needs within the home, negotiating home-office hours, travelling on effecient public transport.

 Below is a photo from Madrid showing the fantastic combination of the built and natural environment. It is a tall building with planters on the walls and a huge sun-seeking window in the centre providing natural light within. Wherever people are, you can implement permaculture ideas.  Because people generate waste, they have the potential to generate useful waste.

What is Permaculture all About?
 Permaculture is basically about reducing waste: energy and materials, human and environmental. It is about thinking and observation. It aims to design and create systems that imitate nature, contain and digest any by products and turn the problems into solutions. No two systems will look the same as each is harmony with its natural surrounds, different climates and aspects and people needs.

The word Permaculture® was first coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978 with their book Permaculture One. It was formed from the words permanent agriculture. It originally meant permanent agriculture, and evolved to encompass strategies for a more Permament, that is, evolving but sustainable Culture. Global needs affect the way we live and, therefore, affect our lifestyle and culture. The main aim of Permaculture is to create living systems without waste. Then people can actively conserve world life and resources.

In the same way that agriculture became a crucial step in the development of human behaviour. Permaculture can too. Agriculture allowed people to stay in one place for generations. With agriculture people no longer had to hunt and move with the seasons. When creating or expanding an agricultural area, humans created more pasture. But pasture is the least productive use of land [Mollison]. It gives little back to the soil and as human populations grow and deplete soils, their agriculture tradition radiates out into forests to turn them into pasture. 
We are quickly running out of forests and good soil. Agriculture is failing.  Most Modern agriculture works in sub-soil with artificial nutrients, bulky machinery and fuel, and articifial pest control to keep feeding the world's people a food that is low in nutrients and vitality.

Permaculture is about reducing pressure on remaining forests by bringing productive gardens and nature to where the people live. We can minimise soil loss and build multifuntional food forests. We can all be productive in our home systems and we can satisfy much of our needs and waste management locally.

Permaculture aims for self-renewing natural systems of food production: Self-seeding annuals, perennials, trees and herbs and self seeding annuals; choosing species high in nutrition and producing it where people live.

For many people, Permaculture has grown to mean Permanent culture. These permaculturalists having designed, implemented and developed permaculture over time, and as a part of their self reliant living, now see Permaculture as a productive and responsible lifestyle and culture. People active in permaculture gain daily insight into their impact on the environment, they eat fresh seasonal produce and so have heightened awareness of nature, they become physically active as they work their site, and they bond with the land through their needs and leisure. Moreover, they realise that they are part of a community, and share their surpluses and support local business and activities.

Permaculture reduces waste and disharmony by integrating more people into the natural world on which their survival depends. "It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order." Mollison 1988

Sustainable human habitats have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. [Fanton 1995] Permaculture builds the relationship between productive ecosystems, buildings, town planning; water supply; sewerage; social and economic structures.

Permaculture is about taking responsibility and control over much of our needs and wants, being part of a global solution rather than part of the problem.
® Permaculture is a registered name with the Permaculture Institute of Australia. It is illegal to use the term Permaculture in public and business activities without having accredited Permaculture Design Course Qualification.

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