Permaculture means learning from Nature herself. Sounds simple.
Yet somewhere along the line, “people have stepped outside of Nature,” says Hank Gibson, a certified permaculturalist
in Port Angeles, Wash.
A contraction of “permanent,” “culture,” and “agriculture,”
permaculture has three basic principles: Caring for the Earth, caring for people and sharing the surplus.
Its
design principles embrace every aspect of living, “including food and building materials, animals and economics, living
in communities -- and meeting our needs without poisoning everything,” Gibson explains.
Not so long
ago, people knew where to plant certain crops, when to harvest, and what grew easily. A “food forest” in Vietnam
that has been feeding a village for more than 700 years, exemplifies how partnering with Nature works.
Today
“we no longer consider ourselves part of Nature. We’re Nature controllers, not Nature adapters,” he said.
And, as Joni Mitchell sang: “We've got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
The
three Bullock brothers, whose Orcas Island homestead is a “25-year permaculture project,” were inspired by apricot
trees in San Louis Obisbo, Calif. Eating apricots from trees that had been uncultivated for some 400 years that tasted better
than any supermarket apricots was an eye-and-taste-bud-opening experience. Their learning path eventually led to Washington.
 |
|
Studying what naturally grew and what had been altered by previous farmers,
they planted crops in fertile soil that had been a lake bottom. Areas with poor soil were left as woods. Following Nature’s
patterns back as far as the last glacial retreat yields lush crops -- without straight rows.
The Bullocks now involve students, including Gibson, in roll-up-your-sleeves learning. Video.
Caring for the Earth includes protecting and creating
wildlife niches and habitats, increasing biodiversity and protecting watersheds.
Caring for people means
creating thriving local economies, strengthening and enlivening local culture, valuing indigenous knowledge and increasing
the diversity of crops.
Sharing abundance goes beyond seeds and plants and harvests to sharing your knowledge
about sustainable design, the skills you have acquired and your personal energy in whatever form -- emotional, intellectual
and physical.
Permaculture, a word coined by Australian ecologist Bill Mollison in 1978, links sustainability
and learning to work smarter, not harder.
The knowledge sharing keeps expanding.
Take the
Washington State Permaculture Convergence, held September 18-20, 2009, at Sahale near Belfair. Interested folk were warmly
welcomed to come, camp out and join in workshops, networking and conversations. (Details: 360-820-8586; e-mail)
|
|
Blue Raven Farm on Salt Spring Island, B.C., hosts a 145 hours lecture/discussion
and hands-on permaculture design course August 31 - September 20. Tuition is $2150 Canadian($1,996 U.S. (Phone 250 537 0866;
email) A variety of Permaculture Now! projects support plans for a new Sustainable Design Institute in Port Townsend. Former tree planter, helicopter pilot, carpenter,
and yurt builder Jenny Pell manages many of them, working with members of the Bullock family. (phone 206-949-0496)
A gold star for best acronym, however, goes to EAT, the California-based Earth Activist Training. Among its programs is the Permibus, a traveling self-contained sustainable living demonstration project that travels the
countryside during growing season.
The Portland Permaculture Institute, within Portland, Oregon’s city limits, includes vegetable gardens, food forests, rainwater collection and ponds on
its site. It demonstrates and teaches ways for people to develop the understanding and skills to move toward a more sustainable
life on the planet.
Many of these groups extend their teaching to other countries, too.
Making
our lives more sustainable and more productive with less work and energy -- what’s not to like?
Fall offers the perfect time to learn. Dig in.
|
