graduate work Archives - Permaculture Visions

Being Multi-functional

Permaculture design promotes things that are multi-functional rather than things that have only one use. A medium-sized sharp knife can be used for a wide range of tasks indoors: even be used for circus acts. Whereas fish knife is only designed for fish. And, even then, the fish-knife requires skill and patience. Without this specialist skill we could get cold fish with hidden little bones.

A building can be masterfully designed to be multi-functional. It can shelter us in many ways. As a result, we can have natural light to illuminate many activities. We can be protected from wild-fire. The roof can collect water and shed debris. The internal walls can store heat to be released at night. The shape of the building can also serve as a wind break. An internal courtyard can provide a welcome shady retreat.

On the other hand, a poorly designed building requires artificial lighting during the day. A sick building can make us ill from poor air circulation and we are less likely to be productive or enjoy life.

Multi-functional People

We live in an era where workers are expected to have high levels of expertise in order to compete. Contrast this with a permaculture lifestyle where we explore new ideas. Growing food at home, connecting with others, learning from elders and reconnecting with nature helps us develop a range of skills that are productive and rewarding.

Multifunctional Plants

Here are some tropical trees with multi-function. This information was provided by our recent graduate, Keith Mikkelson. He has uses permaculture design to boost production at an orphanage in Thailand.