Did you ever see the term Social Permaculture, knew it had something to do with the environment, but wasn’t really sure what the term means? Then here’s your chance to learn more of the topic.
As we are witnessing fires, floods and changes of climate worldwide, we can’t help but become involved in debates about what is the best way for us to contribute to the environment.
Some people decide to go vegan, some are recycling whereas some others have decided to change their life perspective in becoming part of communities that nourish a slightly more specific approach to the land and natural ecosystems.
This approach is a whole philosophy of its own, and it’s known by the name – Permaculture.
The first persons to coin the term were Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1979. The origin of the word was in fact: Permanent Agriculture, but these two words were later coined together as Permaculture so as to incorporate the social aspects involved in cultivating agriculture, deriving from the knowledge and tradition of indigenous people.
More Than A Lifestyle
Permaculture has become a lifestyle for many people due to its sustainable principles such as regenerative agriculture, rewilding, and community resilience.
These principles are shared among the community, and you will notice ‘permaculture’ sharing a garden, recycling, using renewable/solar energy sources trying to reduce their carbon footprint in the world.
Their communities are often called by other names as well, such as intentional communities, eco-villages, or eco-communities, although they all pretty much use the same permaculture concepts.
“A permaculture community is a group of people living in a self-sustaining ecosystem. The goal is to live in harmony with the environment in an eco-friendly way.”
As the Foundation for Intentional Community defines it very well: “We look at plants in the garden not in isolation but in terms of how they affect one another, how they interact, how the pathways and beds determine the flow of our energy in caring for them, how they can provide fertility or protection for one another, how we can get multiple yields from each element”.
The Best Future?
Permaculture is being considered as the best, environmentally friendly lifestyle because it does not support the notion that nature is separated from people, and that people will inevitably harm it.
On the contrary, permaculture makes people more and more aware of the connection they have with the earth, how they can preserve natural resources and how they can work for the benefit of the environment.
It is by no surprise that the three core ethics of permaculture are:
- Care for the people
- Care for the earth
- Care for the future
The aim of the three consists of fair share and reduction of consumption. Permaculture tries to really embrace the best of the people and merge it with the best of the earth, trying to connect the two of them through awareness and senses.
Every time the permaculture community builds or plants something, they tend to think a little bit deeper about the impact of the environment around that new building? What resources will it use?
In what way will it provide for the people, and in what way will this action contribute to further empowerment and equality, or will it actually do the reverse?
Even if your contribution is as small as planting a few plants, and becoming aware of their growth, their impact on the environment and their need for light – we approve.
As Mike Feingold said “Permaculture is a revolution disguised in gardening”.
More from Valmira Rashiti here:
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