What is “Permaculture”? p.2

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The Permaculture ethic is all about earth care, people care and fair shares, according to longtime horticulturist Jude Hobbs of Oregon:

The fair shares part of the permaculture ethic brings earth care and people care together. We only have one earth, and we have to share it – with each other, with other living things, and with future generations. This means limiting our consumption, especially of natural resources, and working for everyone to have access to the fundamental needs of life – clean water, clean air, food, shelter, meaningful employment, and social contact. Permaculture does not provide prescriptive solutions to the problems facing the world – nobody is going to demand that you put an herb spiral in the bottom left corner of your garden, or wear only hand-knitted recycled non-bleached organic fair trade clothes. It is about allowing you the freedom to observe your surroundings, and make decisions that will work for you, in your situation, using the resources you have.

Industrial societies can seem so entrenched in the old paradigm of profligate resource use that our collective trance and disconnect from the natural world may seem an impossibly enormous juggernaut to overcome, but more and more individuals and communities are turning to more sustainable methods and discovering great hope and connection in the process. There is a revolution underway that has no need or use for guns or massive amounts of money. Our hearts and human connections are enough for cooperation to take place. As Bill Mollison says,

I teach self-reliance, the world’s most subversive practice. I teach people how to grow their own food, which is shockingly subversive. Yes, it’s seditious. But it’s peaceful sedition.

Next time you take a bite of food, try, as the eminent Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hahn suggests, to do so mindfully, paying close attention to not only the flavor, the texture and temperature of the food, but also bearing in mind the beings that made it possible for this food to reach your table. If you don’t have any idea about all that, take the time to ask questions, investigate a bit and find out. This can be quite eye opening. You may find yourself planting an apple tree or visiting (hopefully by bike or by foot!) the farmer’s market when you discover how many gallons of fossil fuel it takes to transport your New Zealand apple to your local supermarket. You could say it’s revolutionary…or you could say it’s just common sense.

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