THE STORY

In the 1960's and 70's Bill Mollison developed the concepts of permaculture (derived from the words "permanent" "agriculture" and "culture").  In 1978, Bill wrote "Permaculture One" with David Holmgren, followed a year later by "Permaculture Two" again with David Homgren, followed by Bill's seminal work "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual".  By 1981, the graduates of the first permaculture courses were making a difference in the world.  Mollison and countless acolytes have spread permaculture strategies and principles throughout the world while developing thousands of sustainable systems and models for ecological design and development.

THE GOAL

We are designing the world as our ally.

THE PROCESS

(1)  OBSERVE...the land through the seasons (often for three years in order to "feel" our observations adequately), gather data, create maps and overlays.

(2)  RECOGNIZE THE CONNECTIONS in terms of flows and functions.  Gravity draws materials and water downhill, put highest use at the top and flow downhill from function to function.  Conceptualize the placement of the elements connecting needs and product uses.

(3)  SELECT MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES to integrate (i) energy, (ii) nutrients, (iii) structures and (iv) biotic components. 

(a) Design in redundancy  and resilient diversity.  Preheated water systems with heat storage; solar boxes for heat distribution; biothermal compost/manure systems.

(b) Use renewable energy sources. Manage and harvest in tune with regenerative cycles.  Wood can meet needs when managed with conservation and collaboration; Sun can be captured passively as well as actively; Wind and Hydro now have micro systems; Biotics, such as gas exchanges, humidity regulation, air purification, and "waste" treatment through methane digesters, are site specific resources.)

(c) Discern appropriate scale through full- or total-cost accounting and sum of yields analysis.

(4) Design and Establish a self-regulating over-all symbiosis, informed by positive feedback mechanisms.

(a) Positive feedback mechanism relying on earth's photosynthetically-based food chains feed and maintain

(aa) Nutrient cycles to meet the real needs of people, fish, animals and maintain pure air and water with annual and perennial vegetation, and

(ab) Self-regulating microbial pathways in compost, fish/algae, water, and food production.

We are ever-recreating Culture.