Category: permaculture

Yield feeds and energizes us. But how can we have an attitude of obtaining a regenerative yield rather than one that is merely extractive?

We can build systems using natural techniques for edible and useful products.  With clever design we can use natural systems that are productive as well as regenerative.  

Better still, we can apply permaculture thinking to social structures such as courses. In March we are releasing the test run of our Advanced Permaculture Design Course. We will question what yields can result from a course. What can a participant get from a course that they can’t simply glean from the internet?

3 Basic Yields

1.  Product yield: the resulting goods from a managed system. Physical yields include fruit, grain, herbs, animals, medicine, materials.

2.  Energy yield: stored and generated energy sources. Energy yields include increased efficiency, fuel, solar heating, gravity as in water storage, food preservation techniques.  

3.  Social yield: cultural benefits include security, creative and co-operative activities. “We see the invisible yields in terms of values and ethics.  This governs our concept of needs and sets the limits of enough.”  [B. Mollison] Social yields include time efficiency, creativity, community skills and structures and safety.

C.S. Lewis wrote about friendship, a social yield: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art….it has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

Time and Yield:

Mature systems store energy with low maintenance regimes.  Old forests, large fish and animals maintain their large structures. So, some of the energy and nutrients they absorb is dedicated for maintenance. It is readily available as a or ‘yield’ for other elements.  Yes, these big structures can be a host to other living beings. But, the need for maintenance reduces the flow of energy through the system. It locks up energy and stores it.

There is great diversity attached to this maturity. And this diversity provides resilience and a long term yield. This includes habitat, food, shelter, clothing, security, warmth and shade. Also there are cultural values attached to the environment, broader animal community, sense of place. And long term gains from management of air, soil and water pollution. When we integrate mature forest systems with short-term agriculture the yield is richer.

As the system matures, we manage yield expectation and value the total yield.

Annual foods versus Perennial foods

Annual foods are foods that are produced by plants that live only seasonally. These plants are common in the modern diet: wheat, potato, most salad greens and most vegetables. Annual plants spend very little energy on self-maintenance.  But conventional annual agriculture has a very high energy cost per crop. And the management of the soil that supports these plants is expensive. The soil is tilled, nutrients added. Then we select the seed, plant the seeds, protect them, water them, remove weeds.

In a Permaculture system we can use animals to prepare the soil, remove weeds and kill pests and disease. There are some modifications that would reduce this cost. These modifications include hybridisation of seed, natural seed dispersal, rotating crops and creating rain water harvesting channels. We can also select varieties of foods that are adapted to our climate.

Cultural Change

The biggest challenge required can be a change in our choice of food types. Changing dietary habits is very difficult. It is cultural. And pinpoint the need for cultural change if we seek permanent, sustainable future. As we age we become less willing to try new foods.

We also need to build the knowledge of how to prepare these foods for optimal nutritional value. Much of this knowledge and skill can be learned from other cultures, especially tribes where bio-regional food are indigenous. A good example of the difficulty to change diet is Cuba. In Cuba, white bread was first introduced 500 years ago. And is still eaten daily yet Cuba does not grow wheat. The small population of indigenous people successfully grew Cassava and yet, this food was not adopted due to cultural preferences.

Perennial plants include only a few common vegetables like asparagus, buckwheat, rhubarb, and most fruits and nuts. Perennial plants store energy; they take longer to produce a yield and need to spend energy on sustaining themselves.  After maturity they produce less useful yield per energy used. On the flip side, perennial plants require less management (we plant, prune, mulch and provide some water). 

Side Yields

The structural effort by perennial plants provides many side yields. These include fine timber; habitat for nurturing young plants and animals. And micro-climate creation by producing of shade and condensation; and windbreak and shelter.  A poly-culture enables all the yields to contribute to the health of the farm and provides mixed marketable products.

Farmers like  Charles Massy, Martin Crawford, Mark Shepherd aim for both short term and long term yields. Diversification ensures a healthy combination of plant types for healthy total yield. We can install water catchment measures, build healthy soil, filter river water, and support wildlife. The yields also include deflected wind, reforested steep slopes and ridges, wildfire management and reduced pollutants and erosion.

Calculate Total Yield

The total yield of a farm includes side products. Side projects often include income from visitors to seasonal camping grounds for wild-life lovers. For out of season periods, the area can be grazed. Farmers can also offer education programs for city-dwellers, native foods farming and sales.

Social Yield

When applying this thinking beyond land based systems, we can search for yields beyond the short term. For instance, a social enterprise can have quick income streams and long term influence. It can create long term cultural change. Charles Massey wrote that there was no point in only creating change on his farm. He realized he needed to help enrich the whole water catchment area. The success of one area inspires many others.

Upcoming Mentorship session will focus on Yield

Our first mentorship session is March 18th. The first part of the session will be devoted to introducing each participants current projects. Then the Second part is an exercise to explore different types of yield from your projects.

This session satisfies assignment requirements for PDC Natural systems and design and Advanced Permaculture Design assignments for facets 1, 2 and 3

Contact us to REGISTER for the online mentorship sessions.