What is Permaculture?

What is Permaculture?

Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments."

At the centre of Permaculture are the ethics of
Care of the Earth, Care of People, Limiting Consumption, and Fair Distribution of Resources

The practice of Permaculture enables people to, over time, "create systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute and are therefore sustainable in the long term."
Mollison, Bill and Reny Mia Slay,. Introduction to Permaculture

Permaculture is the thoughtful design and creation of systems which fulfil the needs of people and communites for the long term, without threatening natural systems

Permaculture draws on ecological principles and the ingenuity and knowledge of humans.

Permaculture is about working in partnership with nature, learning the lessons of ecology, and applying them to the way we live.

Permaculture has practical applications from the city to the bush...........

Permaculture provides us with the means to develop vibrant communities, healthy ecosystems, energy efficient living, personally fulfilling lifestyles, sustainable food production, and much more.............................

Note: The following links in upper case are external to this site, so you will have to use your 'back' button or command to return to this page

WHAT IS PERMACULTURE by David Holmgren, co-originator and living example of the Permaculture Concept

PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLES by David Holmgren

PERMACULTURE as defined by Bill Mollison
"A copyright word, owned as a common copyright by the Permaculture Institutes and their graduates. Derived from permanent and culture, as below.

Permanent. From the Latin permanens, to remain to the end, to persist throughout. (Latin; per - through, manere - to continue).
Culture. From the Latin cultura - cultivation of land, or the intellect. Now generalised to mean all those habits, beliefs, or activities that sustain human societies.

Thus, Permaculture is the study of the design (see below) of those sustainable (see below) or enduring systems that support human society, both agricultural and intellectual, traditional and scientific, architectural, financial and legal. It is the study of integrated systems, for the purpose of better design and application of such systems.

Design: Restricted in the case of Permaculture, to integrated functional design, thus the conscious and intentional design of integrated systems. The process of design is to place any component of a system where it will best connect to other components; when, therefore, its requirements are met, and its products used. It is the science of best relative placement of components in a plan or pattern whose main function is to increase resources, conserve energy, and reduce or eliminate pollution or waste.

Sustainable systems: Restricted in Permaculture usage to any system that provides or conserves sufficient energy, over its normal life expectancy, to build and maintain itself, and to give a yield surplus to those requirements. Essentially, any system which amortizies its costs in energy terms."

A BRIEF DEFINITION OF PERMACULTURE DESIGN by Graham Brookman

The PERMACULTURE JOURNEY by Margaret RainbowWeb.
A series of six short articles written to explain the philosophy as well as the practice of Permaculture.

SELF-EMPOWERMENT THROUGH PERMACULTURE

And for an in-depth look at the spectrum, spend some time browsing the proceedings of the
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PERMACULTURE CONFERENCE AND CONVERGENCE
held in Perth & Bridgetown, Western Australia, September 27 to October 7, 1996

Contact Us........

Permaculture Association of South Australia
info@permaculturesa.org.au
Or
c/- Conservation Council of SA, Level 1, 157 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Tel/Fax: Annemarie Brookman (08) 8552 6450