What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a term created by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, two Australians, in the 1970s. The word "permaculture" is a mix of the words "permanent agriculture" and "permanent culture". Permaculture is very wholistic and involves many practices including design of communities, social systems in a sustainable way. However, I will focus on the agricultural and garden aspects.

When you apply Permaculture to organizing a garden or landscape, you are mimicking the structure and relationships of the natural world. For example, in a forest you normally find trees and an understory of other plants. The understory plants thrive under the canopy of the trees and in turn hold the soil and moisture in for the trees root system. It's a very wholistic way of looking at the garden because the elements of the garden are analyzed with their interconnection with other elements in mind. You can create an edible landscape that closely resembles a wild landscape, for example, a forest garden. Because you look to Nature for inspiration, Permaculture could be called "Ecological Design".

Permaculture seems to replicate Nature's design, getting maximum yield while minimizing human efforts (there's a lot of mulching and layering). Social and environmental responsibility and sustainability are a big part of Permaculture. It is a very large movement across the world. One example of Permaculture design is the "Wastewater Gardens" in Indonesia, which is a small-scale waste treatment design similar to reed beds.

Permaculture redefines what is a garden. Although the perfect plants with weedless black soil surrounding them may be aesthetically pleasing, it isn't natural or sustainable. Nowhere but a desert do you find bare soil in Nature. Permaculture looks to the beauty of Nature's design to create a living space.

Written and Researched by Kim Tanasichuk. Copyright © 2007-2009 Kim Tanasichuk. All Rights Reserved. You may not reproduce any content on this website without the written permission of Kim Tanasichuk.

Videos About Permaculture

Videos courtesy of Youtube and Google Video and Copyright to Their Owners

Permaculture With Claude Genest	Permaculture in Lesotho	What is Permaculture?
Suburban Renewal - One Backyard at a Time (Peak Moments Episode 37)	An Experiment in Backyard Sustainability (Peak Moments Episode 51)	The Permaculture Concept Part 1
The Permaculture Concept Part 2	The Permaculture Concept Part 3	The Permaculture Concept Part 4
The Permaculture Concept Part 5	The Permaculture Concept Part 6