In some of my previous posts at our website I have referenced Permaculture and linked to some videos that have shown the tremendous benefits of applying Permaculture techniques on a large scale. We do not have a large piece of land and likely will not for the foreseeable future so why do I think Permaculture is so important? Well, it is for a wide variety of reasons but primarily because it focuses on offsetting and repairing the damage that has been done to the earth by unsustainable farming and agriculture techniques. It is scalable from the smallest urban home to the largest farm and even to huge land areas spanning many many square miles.

Permaculture is an integrated approach to the care of the earth and its people. It is about creating sustainable human habitats by following nature’s patterns, using the stability and resilience of natural ecosystems to provide a framework and guidance for people to develop their own sustainable solutions to the problems facing their world. Permaculture seeks to foster the skills, confidence and imagination to enable people to become self-reliant, and to seek creative solutions to problems on a global or local scale. Here is a link to the Permaculture Research Institute’s definition

Permaculture techniques can help restore and improve degraded soils, encourage species diversity, harvest and recycle water, maximize efficiency of water use throughout the system, and minimize harmful impacts on the environment from human activities through composting, creatively reusing materials and good waste management practice. Permaculture techniques are highly adaptable, cheap and easy to implement.

We believe that the application of Permaculture design and ethics can help with the restoration of robust natural ecosystems, help to counteract environmental degradation, conserve species, provide food and materials and restore a sense of independence and dignity to people.

Applying Permaculture ethics and techniques as an individual and family is the small part we can all do. Here are a few things we are doing and you can do as well:

• Grow an organic garden close to our home, preferably right out our front or back door
• Use container gardening if space is limited
• Grow some fruit producing trees or bushes, some can even grow in rather small containers
• Buy and eat locally produced food and products
• Grow a diversity of plants in companion settings to help increase plant health and develop a diverse and pest resistant ecosystem
• Mulch everything to conserve water and encourage soil improvement
• Apply the Permaculture zone techniques to the extent we can
• Use all organic and natural fertilizers and pest control
• Engage at a community level to encourage and assist others in our area
• Share surplus with friends and neighbors
• Reuse as much as we can by finding ingenious uses for items we might normally throw away
• Recycle as much as possible by participating in community recycling programs
• Reduce our consumerism by buying, selling or trading used items
• Compost our scraps in a small composter or through a small worm bed