The overriding assumption of our industrial growth society is that we are and should be making progress. It urges us to do better. Better than we did last year. Better than previous generations. Better than our peers. It exhorts us to go faster, do more, achieve. And so we all rush to a goal that Read More …

The eighth Permaculture design principle is close to my heart. It asks us to ‘integrate rather than segregate’. I have been writing for years about the value of making connections to everything around us. Making connections is everything. The more connections we can make, the richer, the stronger, the more resilient we are. And this Read More …

Much as I would like to design the details of my life and garden, plan where all my perennial vegetables will go, how my kitchen will look, how to juggle different commitments, for now, I’m going to have to live with the overriding pattern of my life: the building project. Four years ago, we took Read More …

Originally, Permaculture was a land based system, all about who to do agriculture in a more ecologically sound way. As it evolved, its practitioners started to apply its tools to other aspects of life. That’s how ‘permanent agriculture’ turned into ‘permanent culture’. I am particularly drawn to Permaculture as applied to the ‘Peoplecare’ Ethic and Read More …

A Permaculture designer uses and values renewable resources. The more we can do without depleting the resources of the planet, the better. I would love to live in a small house sunk into the side of a hill, all made out of wood and straw bales. I can imagine a round structure with a turf Read More …

The fourth Permaculture principle, ‘apply self-regulation and accept feedback’ asks us to take responsibility for how our actions affect the world we live in. In our uncertain times, both sides of this principle require a fair amount of courage to implement. The Earth is a self-regulating system where every element constantly adapts to changes in Read More …

The third Permaculture principle as expressed by David Holmgren is ‘Obtain a yield’. When working with the land, you can take that quite literally: make sure that you get a harvest at the end of your season’s gardening. But yield can be so much more than that. When I’ve read about this principle, it always Read More …

One of the challenges about renewable energy is that it’s hard to store. There is plenty of it when the sun shines and the wind blows, but there is a a lot less on a dark, still day in Winter. Much the same is true for our own energy. I know that mine comes and 爱加速

When I encountered the first Permaculture principle ‘observe and interact‘, my impression was that it’s mainly utilitarian. You want to plant a garden, so you take some time to observe where there is light and shadow, what the prevailing wind is, and how you habitually move through the space. Or you are growing cabbages and Read More …

As we observe Nature, we notice that certain patterns are repeated. Permaculture learns from these patterns and uses them to help solve problems in our environment, our homes and our lives. Here are some examples: Trees grow in a branching pattern that repeats itself into its twigs and the veins of its leaves, and downward Read More …