Thinking about the three ethics.


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Scope of this episode

I want to explain the value of permaculture
I will try to avoid jargon

It can be alienating
Also, I am dummy and have lots to learn




What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is hard to define

Permaculture, as an idea, is sprawling and all-encompassing. It can be difficult to easily define because it is almost like a whole ideology or culture.
It is a system

The thing about it is, it’s not sectarian

This is why you’re just as likely to find it practiced by anarchists or free market chuds


Though there are prominent and foundational figures, there’s no czar of permaculture and there’s no codified creed.


There is a “founder”, but it sort of acretes concepts and practices like a sort of katamari damacy
Perhaps the best way to define it is to begin by explaining its origins.


Origins

What is it’s root? Where did it come from and why was it created?
Tasmania, 1978

The term permaculture was coined by David Holmgren, then a graduate student at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education’s Department of Environmental Design, and Bill Mollison, senior lecturer in Environmental Psychology at University of Tasmania, in 1978.


1979–1983 Eastern Australian drought - Wikipedia


Ethics, Principles Methods, Developments

Ethics

The Three Ethics

Earth Care: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply.
People Care: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence
Fair Share (Setting limits to population and consumption): By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.




Principles

Observe and interact: By taking time to engage with nature we can design solutions that suit our particular situation.
Catch and store energy: By developing systems that collect resources at peak abundance, we can use them in times of need.
Obtain a yield: Ensure that you are getting truly useful rewards as part of the work that you are doing.
Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: We need to discourage inappropriate activity to ensure that systems can continue to function well.
Use and value renewable resources and services: Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce our consumptive behavior and dependence on non-renewable resources.
Produce no waste: By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us, nothing goes to waste.
Design from patterns to details: By stepping back, we can observe patterns in nature and society. These can form the backbone of our designs, with the details filled in as we go.
Integrate rather than segregate: By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.
Use small and slow solutions: Small and slow systems are easier to maintain than big ones, making better use of local resources and producing more sustainable outcomes.
Use and value diversity: Diversity reduces vulnerability to a variety of threats and takes advantage of the unique nature of the environment in which it resides.
Use edges and value the marginal: The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.
Creatively use and respond to change: We can have a positive impact on inevitable change by carefully observing, and then intervening at the right time.


Methods

Food forests

What is a Food Forest? – Project Food Forest
Forest gardening - Wikipedia


Water capture and storage

Contoured earthworks AKA Swales

Swales - Appropedia: The sustainability wiki
Greening the Arizona Desert - The Tucson Swales with Matt Powers 2016 - YouTube


Check Dams

Check dam - Appropedia: The sustainability wiki




Greenhouses
Rotational grazing

How to green the world’s deserts and reverse climate change - Allan Savory - YouTube
Running out of Time - Documentary on Holistic Management - YouTube


Composting systems
Urban food production
Grey water use
Aquaculture
Renewable energy and heat

Rocket stoves

http://www.ernieanderica.info/rocketstoves


Pressurized air

Lost Technology – The Trompe.
Compressing air underground could help the planet shift to renewables
History and Future of the Compressed Air Economy - Resilience


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