The Ethics and Principles of Permaculture Design

[Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>]

Adapted from documents produced by Steve Diver of Appropriate
     Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) http://www.attra.org/
& Albert Bates  <http://www.thefarm.org/permaculture/>
via Bill Mollison's Permaculture: Design for a Sustainable Future or A
Designer's Manual.

These are quite brief and sound bite-ish, and truly require a period of
elaboration, application, and practice, but will, nevertheless, serve as
a starting point and a touchpoint for the REdesign all of us must engage
as we discover our own personal project unfoldment. Whether we have a
farm, forest, jungle,desert, village, garden, neighborhood, urban
rooftop, or asphalt lot, we all need to understand where we are...and
choose to live within the actual limits of the system (see #24 below) or
not. The unspoken Principle, often left out of these lists, is the one
that encourages us to (#35)"Get help!"  Many eyes, many hands, and many
hearts must cooperate to achieve the goal of sustainable culture,
WHATEVER that is. WHAT it IS will be determined by local groups getting
together and comparing notes and sharing results.
Blessed Be.
Keith

The Ethics of Permaculture:

     Permaculture is unique among design systems 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.
     1.Care of the Earth ...includes all living and non-living
     things–plants, animals, land, water and air
     2.Care of People ...promotes     self-reliance and community
responsibility–access
     to resources necessary for existence
     3.Setting Limits to Population & 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 or
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 many climates, and at many scales. The
following is a list
     of these principles.

     1. Relative Location: Components placed in a system are viewed
     relatively, not in isolation.

     2. Functional Relationship between components: Everything
     is connected to everything else.

     3. Recognize functional relationships between elements:
     Every function is supported by many elements.

     4. Redundancy: Good design ensures that all important functions can

     withstand the failure of one or more element.

     5. Every element is supported by many functions: Each
     element we include is a system, chosen and placed so that it
performs as
     many functions as possible.

     6. Local Focus: "Think globally - Act locally" Grow your own food,
     cooperate with neighbors. Community efficiency not
self-sufficiency.

     7. Diversity: As a general rule, as sustainable systems mature they

     become increasingly diverse in both space and time. What is
important is the
     complexity of the functional relationships that exist between
elements not the
     number of elements.

     8. Use Biological Resources: We know living things reproduce and
     build up their availability over time, assisted by their
interaction with other
     compatible elements. Use and reserve biological intelligence.

     9. One Calorie In/One Calorie Out: Do not consume or export
     more biomass than carbon fixed by the solar budget.

     10. Stocking: Finding the balance of various elements to keep one
from
     overpowering another over time. How much of an element needs to be
     produced in order to fulfill the need of whole system?

     11. Stacking: Multilevel functions for single element (stacking
functions).
     Multilevel garden design, ie., trellising, forest garden, vines,
groundcovers,
     etc.

     12. Succession: Recognize that certain elements prepare the way for

     systems to support other elements in the future, i.e.: succession
planting. Build on success.

     13. Use Onsite Resources: Determine what resources are available
     and entering the system on their own and maximize their use.

     14. Edge Effect: Ecotones are the most diverse and fertile area in
a
     system. Two ecosystems come together to form a third which has more

     diversity than either of the other two, i.e.: edges of ponds,
forests, meadows,
     currents etc.

     15. Energy Recycling: Yields from system designed to supply onsite
     needs and/or needs of local region.

     16. Small Scale: Intensive Systems start small and create a system
that
     is manageable and produces a high yield.

     17. Make Least Change for the Greatest Effect: The less
     change that is generated, the less embedded energy is used to endow
the
     system.

     18. Planting Strategy: 1st-natives, 2nd-proven exotics, 3rd
unproven
     exotics - carefully on small scale with lots of observation.

     19. Work Within Nature: Aiding the natural cycles results in higher

     yield and less work. A little support goes a long way.

     20. Appropriate Technology: The same principles apply to cooking,
     lighting, transportation, heating, sewage treatment, water and
other utilities.

     21. Law of Return: Whatever we take, we must return Every object
     must responsibly provide for its replacement.

     22. Stress and Harmony: Stress here may be defined as either
     prevention of natural function, or of forced function. Harmony may
be
     defined as the integration of chosen and natural functions, and the
easy
     supply of essential needs.

     23. The Problem is the solution: We are the problem, we are the
     solution. Turn constraints into resources. Mistakes are tools for
learning.

     24. The yield of a system is theoretically unlimited: The
     only limit on the number of uses of a resource possible is the
limit of
     information and imagination of designer(s).

     25. Dispersal of Yield Over Time: Principal of seven generations.
     We can use energy to construct these systems, providing that in
their
     lifetime, they store or conserve more energy that we use to
construct them
     or to maintain them.

     26. A Policy of Responsibility (to relinquish power): The
     role of successful design is to create a self-managed system.

     27. Principle of Disorder: Order and harmony produce energy for
     other uses. Disorder consumes energy to no useful end. Tidiness is
     maintained disorder. Chaos has form, but is not predictable. The
     amplification of small fluctuations.

     28. Entropy: In complex systems, disorder is an increasing result.
     Entropy and life-force are a stable pair that maintain the universe
to infinity.

     29. Metastability: For a complex system to remain stable, there
must
     be small pockets of disorder.

     30. Entelechy: Principal of genetic intelligence. i.e. The rose has
thorns
     to protect itself.

     31. Observation: Protracted & thoughtful observation rather than
     protracted and thoughtless labor.

     32. We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities.

     33. Wait one year: (See #31,Observation, above)

     34. Hold water and fertility as high (in elevation) on the
     landscape as possible. Its all downhill from there.