Permaculture Principles

extracted from permacultureEssence

From David Holmgren's Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability

Quick Summary of PermaculturePrinciples

1. Observe and Interact - Observation is interaction and Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
2. Catch and Store Energy - make hay while the sun shines
3. Obtain a Yield - You can't work on an empty stomach
4. Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback - Take Personal Responsibility
5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services - Nature knows best
6. Produce No Waste - Waste not - want not
7. Design from Patterns to Details - Don't reinvent the wheel and See the forest before the trees
8. Integrate rather than Segregate - Together We Achieve More
9. Use Small and Slow Solutions - Small is beautiful, slow is sane and Slow and steady wins the race
10. Use and Value Diversity - Don't put all your eggs in one basket and The key to intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces
11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal - The action is at the edge
12. Use and Respond to Change Creatively - Everything evolves, is succeeded but comes around (again)

Principle 1. OBSERVE AND INTERACT

Observation is interaction

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder


The symbol for this principle is a person as a tree emphasising ourselves in nature and transformed by it. It can also be seen as the keyhole in nature through which one sees the solution.

Permaculture Design depends on observation and thoughtful interaction within a free and harmonious relationship to nature to design our way towards a sustainable future of low energy and resource use. To maintain productivity and stability, permaculture designed systems aim to make more use of observation and thoughtful interaction and less of either repetitive manual labour or non-renewably energy and high technology.

In hunter gatherer and low density agricultural societies the natural environment provided all needs with human effort mainly required for harvesting. In pre-industrial societies with high population densities, agricultural productivity depended on large and continuous input of human labour . Industrial society depends on large and continuous inputs of fossil fuel energy to provide its food and other goods and services. The total energy involved is far greater than in pre-industrial systems making modern systems far less efficient in energy terms despite the prodigious increases in productivity per unit of labour. Making much more efficient use of energy and more creative use of human labour is essential in the transition from growth in energy and population to descent towards a low energy future of fewer people and less energy use. This seemingly unlikely scenario will depend more on creative adaptation of nature’s design solutions than brave new conquests by the armies of science and technology of new fields of specialised knowledge.

Creativity and design, can only arise from careful observation of the natural and human worlds in a context of continuous interaction.

Principle 2. CATCH AND STORE ENERGY

make hay while the sun shines

We live in a world of unprecedented wealth from the harvesting of the enormous storages of non- renewable energy and resources created by the earth over billions of years. We have used some of this wealth to increase our harvest of the earth's renewable resources to a life threatening extent.

In financial language we have been living by consuming global capital in a reckless manner which would send any business bankrupt.

We need to learn how to save and reinvest most of the wealth we are currently consuming or wasting so that our children and descendants might have a reasonable life. The ethical foundation for this principle could hardly be clearer. Unfortunately conventional notions of value, capital, investment and wealth are not useful in this task.

Inappropriate concepts of wealth have led us to ignore opportunities to capture local flows of both renewable and non renewable forms of energy. Identifying and acting on these opportunities can provide the energy by which we can rebuild capital as well as provide for us with an "income" for our immediate needs.

This principle deals with the energy capture and longer term storage, ie savings and investment to build natural and human capital while the income generation (for immediate needs) is dealt with in Principle 3 Obtain A Yield.

Principle 3. OBTAIN A YIELD

You can't work on an empty stomach

The icon of the vegetable with a bite taken out is a good symbol for this principle about producing something which gives us an immediate yield but could also be a reminder of the other creatures who are attempting to obtain a yield from our efforts.

The previous principle (Catch and Store Energy) focused our attention on the need to use existing wealth to make long term investments in natural capital . But there is no point in attempting to plant a forest for the grandchildren if we haven’t got enough to eat today.

This principle reminds us that we should design any system to provide for self reliance at all levels (including ourselves) by using captured and stored energy effectively to maintain the system and capture more energy. Flexibility and creativity in new ways to obtain a yield will be critical in the transition from growth to descent but the original permaculture vision promoted by Bill Mollison of growing gardens of food and useful plants rather than useless ornamentals is still an important example of how we should apply this principle.

Without immediate and truly useful yields, whatever we design and develop will tend to wither while ones which do generate immediate yield will proliferate. Whether we attribute it to nature, market forces or human greed, systems which most effectively obtain a yield and use it most effectively to meet the needs of survival, tend to prevail over alternative choices8 . A yield, profit or income functions as a reward which encourages, maintains and/or replicates the system that generates the yield. In this way successful systems spread. In systems language these rewards are called positive feedback loops which amplifie the original process or signal. If we are serious about sustainable design solutions then we must be aiming for rewards which encourage success, growth and replication of those solutions.

Principle 4. APPLY SELF REGULATION AND ACCEPT FEEDBACK

Take Personal Responsibility

The Gaia hypothesis of the earth as a self regulating system analogous to a living organism makes the whole earth a suitable image to represent this principle. Self maintaining and regulating systems might be said to be the "holy grail" of permaculture: an ideal which we strive for but which might never be fully achieved. Scientific evidence of the Earth's remarkable homeostasis over hundreds of millions of years highlights the earth as the archetypical self regulating whole system which both nurtures the continuity, and stimulates the evolution of its constituent lifeforms and subsystems.

This principle deals with self regulatory aspect of self reliant designs which limit or discourage inappropriate designs or behaviour rather than relying on larger scale external controls. While positive feedback can be thought of as an accelerator to push the system towards freely available energy, negative feedback is the brake which prevents the system falling into holes of scarcity and instability from over or misuse of energy.

In traditional societies it was recognised that external negative feedback effects are often slow to emerge and people needed explanations and warnings such as those about the sins of the fathers being visited onto the seventh generation or laws of karma which operate in a world of reincarnated souls.

In modern society, we have come to take for granted an enormous degree of dependence on large scale, often remote systems for provision of our needs while expecting a huge degree of freedom in what we do without external control. In a sense our whole society is like a teenager who wants to have, without consequences.

Much of the ecologically dysfunctional aspects of our systems result from this denial of the need for self regulation and feedback systems which control inappropriate behaviour by simply delivering the consequences of that behaviour back to us. John Lennon's song Instant Karma suggests that we will reap what we sow much faster than we think. The speed of change and increasing connectivity of globalisation may be the realisation of this vision.

Principle 5. USE AND VALUE RENEWABLE RESOURCES AND SERVICES

Nature knows best

Renewable resources providing direct yields are those which are renewed and replaced by natural processes over reasonable periods of time, without the need for major non renewable inputs.

Renewable Services (or passive functions) are those we gain from plants, animals and living soil and water without them being consumed. For example when we use a tree for wood we are using a renewable resource, but when we use a tree for shade and shelter we gain benefits from the living tree which are non consuming and require no additional energy to gain the benefits. This simple understanding is both obvious and yet powerful in redesigning human systems where many simple functions have become dependent on non renewable and unsustainable resource use.

There could hardly be a more important example from history of how people have prospered by making non consuming use of nature's services than our domestication and use of the horse for transport, soil cultivation and general power plant for a myriad of uses. Intimate relationships to domestic animals such as the horse also provide an empathic context for the extension of human ethical concerns to include nature.

Permaculture design aims to make best use of renewable natural resources for management and maintenance of yield even if some use of non renewable resources is needed for system establishment. Further, it should make best use of non consuming natural services to minimise our consumptive demands on resources and emphasis the harmonious possibilities of human nature interaction.

In the language of business, renewable resources should be seen as our sources of income while non renewable resources can be thought of as capital assets. Spending our capital assets for day to day living is unsustainable in anyone's language.

Restoring the balance between renewable and non renewable resource use in society will require that these abstract concepts become embedded in our understanding if we are to have a more holistic view of the diverse issues which confront us in using natural resources What is so often forgotten is that these new ways were the norm not so long ago. The joke about the environmentally aware person using a solar clothes dryer (washing line) is funny because it works on the very recent nature of much of this take over of functions by technology and fossil fuels.

Principle 6. PRODUCE NO WASTE

Waste not - want not

The earthworm is a suitable icon for this principle because it lives by consuming the plant litter (wastes) which it converts into humus which improves the soil environment for both itself, soil micro-organisms and the plants.

This principle brings together traditional values of frugality and care for material assets, the mainstream concern about pollution and the more radical perspective which sees wastes as resources and opportunities.

Bill Mollison defines a pollutant as an output of any system component that is not being used productively by any other component of the system.9 The definition encourages us to look for ways to minimise pollution and waste through designing systems to make use of all outputs. In response to the question about plagues of snails in gardens dominated by perennials, Mollison was in the habit of replying that there was not an excess of snails but a deficiency of ducks.

Principle 7. DESIGN FROM PATTERNS TO DETAILS

Don't reinvent the wheel

See the forest before the trees

The first six principles tend to consider systems from the bottom-up perspective of elements, organisms, and individuals. The second six principles tend to emphasise the top down perspective of the patterns and relationships which tend to emerge by system self organisation and co-evolution. These principles can help us better design communities of plants, animals and people for self reliance and energy efficiency.

The spider on its web with its concentric and radial design is a suitable icon for this principle because it is evocative of permaculture zone and sector site planning, the best known and perhaps most widely applied aspect of permaculture design. The design pattern of the web is clear but the details always vary.

Modernity has tended to scramble any systemic common sense or intuition which can order the jumble of design possibilities and options which confront us in all fields. The proverb about not being able to see the wood (forest) for the trees reminds us that the details tend to distract our awareness of the nature of the system. This problem of focus on detail (complexity) leads to designs of white elephants which are large and impressive but don't work, or juggernauts which consume all our energy and resources while always threatening to run out of control. Complex systems that work, tend to evolve from simple ones which work, so finding the appropriate pattern for that design is more important than understanding all the details of the elements in the system. Pattern recognition discussed in Observe and Interact is the necessary precursor to the process of design.

Principle 8. INTEGRATE RATHER THAN SEGREGATE

Together We Achieve More

In every aspect of nature from the internal workings of organisms to whole ecosystems, we find the connections between things are as important as the things themselves. Thus The purpose of a functional and self regulating design is to place elements in such a way that each serves the needs and accepts the products of other elements10

The icon of this principle can be seen as a top-down view of a circle of people/elements forming an integrated system. The apparently empty hole represents the abstract whole system which both arises from the organisation of the elements but also gives them form and character.

In permaculture literature and teaching two statements have been central in developing an awareness of the importance of relationships in design of self reliant systems.

<strong>Each element performs many functions.</strong>

<strong>Each important function is supported by many elements.</strong>

The linkages and relationships between elements of an integrated system can vary greatly. Some may be predatory or competitive while others are co-operative or even symbiotic. All these types of relationships can be beneficial in building a strong integrated system or community but in permaculture, there is a strong emphasis on building mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationships based on the beliefs that:

- our cultural disposition to see and believe in predation and competition and discount co-operative and symbiotic relationships in nature and culture.

- co-operative and symbiotic relationships will be more adaptive in a future of declining energy.

Permaculture can be seen as part of a long tradition of concepts in the modern world emphasising mutualistic and symbiotic relationships over competitive and predatory ones. Declining energy availability will shift the general perception of these concepts from romantic idealism to practical necessity.

Principle 9. USE SMALL AND SLOW SOLUTIONS

Small is beautiful, slow is sane

Slow and steady wins the race

The spiral designed house of the snail is small enough to be carried on its back and yet capable of incremental growth. With its lubricated foot the snail easily and deliberately traverses any terrain. Despite it being the bane of gardeners the snail is an appropriate icon for this principle about small scale and slow speed.

Systems should be designed to perform functions at the smallest scale that is practical and energy efficient for that function. Speedy movement of materials, people (and other living things) between systems should be minimised. By reducing speed, total movement is reduced increasing energy available for system self reliance and autonomy.

Human scale and capacity should be the yardstick for a humane, democratic and sustainable society. Whenever we do anything of a self reliant nature (from growing food, to fixing a broken appliance, to maintaining our health), we are making very powerful and effective use of this principle. Whenever we purchase from small and local business or contribute to local community and environmental issues we are also applying this principle.

Principle 10. USE AND VALUE DIVERSITY

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

The key to intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces - Aldo Leopold

The long beak and the capacity to hover of the spinebill and humming bird are perfect for sipping nectar from long narrow flowers. This remarkable co-evolutionary adaptation symbolises the specialisation of form and function in nature.

It is the great diversity of forms, functions and interactions in nature and humanity which are the source for evolved systemic complexity. The role and value of diversity in nature, culture and permaculture are themselves complex, dynamic, and at times, apparently contradictory. Diversity needs to be seen as a result of the balance and tension in nature towards; variety and possibility on the one hand and productivity and power on the other hand.

There is now widespread recognition that monoculture, (the growing of agricultural and forestry crops in large stands of a single variety of a single species), is a major cause of vulnerability to pests and diseases and therefore the widespread use of toxic chemicals and energy to control these. Polyculture, (the cultivation of many plant and/or animal species and varieties within an integrated system) in contrast to monoculture, is one of the most important and widely recognised applications of the use of diversity, but is by no means the only one.

Diversity between cultivated systems to reflect the unique nature of site, situation and cultural context and diversity of structures, (both living and built) are important aspects of this principle as is the diversity within species and populations, including human communities.

Principle 11. USE EDGES AND VALUE THE MARGINAL

The action is at the edge

The icon of the sun coming up over the landscape horizon with the river in the foreground shows us a world composed of edges.

In the eastern spiritual traditions and martial arts the peripheral vision is a critical sense which connects us to the world in ways quite different to focused vision. This principle reminds us to maintain awareness of and make use of edges and margins at all scales in all systems. Whatever is the object of our attention we need to remember that it is at the EDGE of any thing, system or medium that the most interesting events take place and that design which sees edge as opportunity rather than problem is more likely to be successful and adaptable. In the process we discard the negative connotations associated with the word marginal to instead see the value in elements which only peripherally contribute to a function or system.

Principle 12. USE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE CREATIVELY

Everything evolves, is succeeded but comes around (again)

The butterfly (the transformation of a caterpillar) is a suitable icon for the idea of adaptive change which is uplifting rather than threatening.

The acceleration of ecological succession within cultivated systems is the most common expression of this principle in permaculture literature and practice. These concepts have also been applied to understanding how organisational and social change can be creatively encouraged. As well as using a broader range of ecological models for how we might make use of succession I now see this in the wider context about our use and response to change.

This principle is about both how we design to make use of change in a deliberate and co-operative way and creatively respond or adapt to larger scale system change which is beyond our control or influence. In Permaculture One we stated that although stability was an important aspect of permaculture, evolutionary change was essential. Permaculture is about permanence and durability of natural living systems and human culture, but this durability paradoxically depends in large measure on flexibility and change.

The idea that within the greatest stability lie the seeds of change is a theme which comes to us from many stories and traditions. Science has shown us that the apparently solid and permanent is, at the cellular and atomic level, a seething mass of energy and change. Some spiritual traditions include similar explanations of the material world.

While it is important to integrate this understanding of impermanence and continuous change into our daily consciousness, the apparent illusion of stability, permanence and sustainability is resolved by recognising the scale-dependent nature of change discussed in Principle 7 Design From Patterns To Details. For any particular system, the small scale and fast, short lived changes of the elements, actually contribute to higher order system stability. The fact that we live and design in times of turnover and change in systems at multiple larger scales is generating a new illusion of endless change with no possibility of stability or sustainability. A contextual and systemic sense of the dynamic balance between stability and change contributes to design which is evolutionary rather than random.