By Tarryn Nichols
Before I picked up "The Earth User's Guide to Permaculture" last summer, I thought the fancy word possibly had something to do with hair salons or cells in a petri dish. Now, I wholeheartedly believe that it's a way of living that could change our world for the better.
Permaculture is both a practice and a philosophy. It's a system of land management that works with nature, rather than against it. The goal of permaculture is to create a "closed-loop system" of zero waste that imitates diverse natural ecosystems, but on any scale in both urban and rural areas.
The urban plot of land I have to work with in downtown Ocala.
The word permaculture is a portmanteau of "permanent agriculture" and "permanent culture" coined by Bill Mollison, who developed the practice. The balance between humans and the environment is at the heart of permaculture, because it involves designing ecological human habitats and sustainable food production systems.
Best of all, permaculture is something that is accessible to most. Even if you only have a balcony, it's possible to create a mini food forest and grow plants that attract local pollinators. Permaculture principles simply offer a way of thinking that can be applied to nearly anyone's living situation.
My messy dining room table after an afternoon of planning permaculture projects.
From a larger environmental perspective, the more productive the land next to people's homes become, the more we can avoid exploiting resources from the remaining natural lands and forests. It can also help people provide food and other resources for themselves so they don't have to rely on dying systems to support their livelihoods.
As Bill Mollison said in "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual":
"The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter.”
Permaculture combines concepts of community and integration with techniques like water collection, composting and regenerative agriculture to provide a sustainable lifestyle.
So, if you have a lawn or even a small balcony attached to your rental apartment, permaculture is a practice you could likely participate in. Do some more digging into the subject, or your yard!
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